-
Articles/Ads
Article THE APPROACHING ELECTION FOR THE BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. ← Page 2 of 2 Article MASONRY IN AMERICA. Page 1 of 2 Article MASONRY IN AMERICA. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Approaching Election For The Benevolent Institution.
If all will do their utmost there is yet time to hope for something better than a disappointment for some at least of the large number who , under existing circumstances , must be sent empty away .
Masonry In America.
MASONRY IN AMERICA .
BY BRO . R . F . GOULD .
IT is a curious but undoubted fact that Masonic journals , like human beings , are commonly devoid in their old age of many attractions which they possessed in their youth . Nob to make any invidious comparisons , let mo state at once that the remark holds good with regard to
both of the Masonic newspapers published in this Metropolis . In their early days there was much to read , and very little that one waa compelled to skim . Articles or original contributions wero the rule , and Reports merely
the exception . But , nous avons change tout cela , and the journalism of tho British Craft is now content with the humbler mission of recording at portentous length the proceedings of Masonic or quasi-Masonic bodies , together
with , alas , tho oratorical feats on such occasions , of which , to put tho case mildly , it is not too much to say that , in by far tho majority of instances , the impression they leave on
the mind of any reader not belonging to the Society is , that the Lodges of English Freemasons are but so many branches of a great Mutual Admiration Society .
In some recent numbers of the CHRONICLE I have noticed
with much pleasure , a sort of return to the old practice , under which the literary fare was of a more digestible character than is now generally tho case . But , in order
to illustrate my meaning , I need not go further back than the issue of last week , where will be found an Article of great interest by Bro . Jacob Norton , upon which I shall make some observations .
The gist of the Article is the fact of the Grand Master of Ohio claimino- to decide whether the Masons under
his jurisdiction may or may not . join one of the competing bodies ol the ( so-called ) Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite . But a further principle is involved , viz ., the prerogative of a Grand Master , about which American Masonic
jurists are now vainly contending , in the circular letters they annually address to one another ; or , to use other terms , in the Reports on Foreign Correspondence , printed year by year in the majority of State jurisdictions .
The latter I must reserve for future treatment , and shall now proceed with an examination of the occurrence to which attention has been directed by Bro . Norton . Our brother speaks of Cerneauites and Gonrgasites , and to facilitate a
comprehension of these expressions I shall give some extracts from Mackey , premising , however , that this writer , as a prominent official of the A . and A . S . R . Southern
Jurisdiction , must be viewed as a hostile witness with regard to a person whom he no doubt considered a rebel against tho only really lawful authority : —
CEUXF . AU JOSEPH . —A French jeweller , born in 1763 , and who in the beginning of tho nineteenth century removed to the City of New York , wliere in 1812 he established a spurious body under the title of " Sovereign Grand Consistory of the United States of
America , its Territories and Dependencies . " This Masonic charlatan , who claimed the right to organise bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , was expelled and his pretensions denounced , in 1813 , by the legal Supreme Council [ of which Mackey subsequently became a member ] , sitting at Charleston , South Carolina .
GOURGAS , J . J . J . —A merchant of New York , who was born in Fi ance , in 1777 , and received a member of the Scottish Rite in 1806 . His n » me is intimately connected with the rise and progress of the Ancient and Accepted Scotch Rite in the Northern Jurisdiction of
the United States . Through his representations and his indefatigable exertions , the Mother Council at Charleston was induced to denonnce the spurious Consistory of Joseph Cerneau in the City of New York ,
and established there a Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction , of which Bro . Gourgas was elected the Secretary General . He continued to bold this office until 1832 , when he was elected Sovereign Grand Commander .
The Gonrgasites and Cerneauites may therefore be likened to the " Moderns " and " Ancients , " with which Masonic students are familar . The former claiming a descent from the Mother of Supreme Councils at
Charleston , and the latter professing to act under authority lawfully acquired by , and duly transmitted from , Joseph Cerneau . The literature on this subject is extensive and conflicting , but I carefully refrain from either summing up or dealing
Masonry In America.
iu any other way with the facts in dispute , becanse they have been , or shortly will be , related , with the apparent sanction of my name , in the American edition of my
History of Freemasonry , and I have yet to consider what steps it may be expedient for me to take , to rebut the presumption that the narrative was either written or approved by myself . According to Mr . John Haigh : —
The Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction [ U . S . A . ] has 10 , 000 members , few if any more . The Supreme Council Southern Jurisdiction less than 2 , 000 members . The Supreme Council of the United States of America , their Territories and Dependencies , now has 109 bodies subordinate to it
distributed in It' different States . Of these bodies , 29 are in Ohio , and 22 in New York . Counting alphabetically the others are placed as followB : —California , 5 ; Connecticut , 5 j Florida , 4 ; Indiana , 4 ; Iowa , 13 ; Massachusetts , 11 ; Minnesota , 8 ; New Hampshire , 8 . The total membership exceeding 4 . 000 . *
Of the last-named body , Mr . Haigh is the Sovereign Grand Commander , and the above figures are given on his authority . There are thus ( at least ) three Supreme Councils in
America , two of which are in amity and divide the country between them , and a third * which claims and exercises a concurrent ( or it may be an exclusive ) jurisdiction over the whole of the United States . These may be severally described as the S . C . N . J . ; S . O . S . J . ; and
S . C . U . S . A . On 14 th June 1882 , the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
passed a resolution defining what organisations were " regular and duly constituted Masonic Bodies . " Among these were the Supreme Councils of the Northern and
Southern Jurisdictions and their subordinates , but no other bodies of the A . and A . S . R . —the restriction of course only referring to the United States . The following are the final clauses of this resolution : —
" Now , therefore , it is hereby declared that any Mason who is hereafter admitted , in this jurisdiction , into any other orders , as Masonic , whether called the Eite of Memphis or by any other name , is acting
nn-Masonically , and for such conduct shall be liable to be expelled from all the rights and privileges of Masonry , and shall be ineligible to membership or office in this Grand Lodge .
Any Mason in this jnnpuiction who shau hawk and sell any of the degrees , so called , hereinbefore forbidden , calling them degrees in Masonry , may be expelled from all the rights and privileges of Masonry . "
This was the famous " Massachusetts New Departure , " as it was commonly termed , and it occasioned me not a little astonishment to find that a letter of my own , written without a thought of publication to Bro . Sereno D .
Nickerson , was used by that worthy Brother to fortify his argument in favour of the resolution . However , as my testimony only went to show that the leading members of the A . and A . S . R . in this countrv were " most earnest
and devoted Masons , I need not regret that my humble opinion of the estimation iu which the authorities , at 33 Golden Square , are generally regarded , has been recorded iu the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts .
The wisdom of this legislation was very fiercely debated by the Reporters on Foreign Correspondence under the various Grand Lodges , but we now learn , from Bro . Jacoh Norton , that the new law was never enforced .
In Ohio , a very simihar enactment must have been passed , but the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge are not available for present reference , so I can only infer , from Bro . ther Norton ' s article , that the example set in Boston was copied very closely at Cincinnati .
A very similar legislation appears to have been contemplated , and has possibly been carried into effect in Minnesota , but as my information is derived from the
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Michigan for 1888 , reporting those of Minnesota for 1887 , I am unable to speak with precision .
It seems to me that many of what in legal phraseology are termed " nice points " may arise for decision in the event either of Lodges being erased , or brethren expelled , through exhibiting a preference for a form of the socalled Scottish Rite over which the mantle of a Grand
Lodge has not been extended . But pending further light , and until the result of the appeal to the Courts of Law by the Ohio brethren , it would be premature to speculate upon the disastrous consequences of Grand Lodges going beyond their proper functions , and arbitrarily deciding that of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Approaching Election For The Benevolent Institution.
If all will do their utmost there is yet time to hope for something better than a disappointment for some at least of the large number who , under existing circumstances , must be sent empty away .
Masonry In America.
MASONRY IN AMERICA .
BY BRO . R . F . GOULD .
IT is a curious but undoubted fact that Masonic journals , like human beings , are commonly devoid in their old age of many attractions which they possessed in their youth . Nob to make any invidious comparisons , let mo state at once that the remark holds good with regard to
both of the Masonic newspapers published in this Metropolis . In their early days there was much to read , and very little that one waa compelled to skim . Articles or original contributions wero the rule , and Reports merely
the exception . But , nous avons change tout cela , and the journalism of tho British Craft is now content with the humbler mission of recording at portentous length the proceedings of Masonic or quasi-Masonic bodies , together
with , alas , tho oratorical feats on such occasions , of which , to put tho case mildly , it is not too much to say that , in by far tho majority of instances , the impression they leave on
the mind of any reader not belonging to the Society is , that the Lodges of English Freemasons are but so many branches of a great Mutual Admiration Society .
In some recent numbers of the CHRONICLE I have noticed
with much pleasure , a sort of return to the old practice , under which the literary fare was of a more digestible character than is now generally tho case . But , in order
to illustrate my meaning , I need not go further back than the issue of last week , where will be found an Article of great interest by Bro . Jacob Norton , upon which I shall make some observations .
The gist of the Article is the fact of the Grand Master of Ohio claimino- to decide whether the Masons under
his jurisdiction may or may not . join one of the competing bodies ol the ( so-called ) Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite . But a further principle is involved , viz ., the prerogative of a Grand Master , about which American Masonic
jurists are now vainly contending , in the circular letters they annually address to one another ; or , to use other terms , in the Reports on Foreign Correspondence , printed year by year in the majority of State jurisdictions .
The latter I must reserve for future treatment , and shall now proceed with an examination of the occurrence to which attention has been directed by Bro . Norton . Our brother speaks of Cerneauites and Gonrgasites , and to facilitate a
comprehension of these expressions I shall give some extracts from Mackey , premising , however , that this writer , as a prominent official of the A . and A . S . R . Southern
Jurisdiction , must be viewed as a hostile witness with regard to a person whom he no doubt considered a rebel against tho only really lawful authority : —
CEUXF . AU JOSEPH . —A French jeweller , born in 1763 , and who in the beginning of tho nineteenth century removed to the City of New York , wliere in 1812 he established a spurious body under the title of " Sovereign Grand Consistory of the United States of
America , its Territories and Dependencies . " This Masonic charlatan , who claimed the right to organise bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , was expelled and his pretensions denounced , in 1813 , by the legal Supreme Council [ of which Mackey subsequently became a member ] , sitting at Charleston , South Carolina .
GOURGAS , J . J . J . —A merchant of New York , who was born in Fi ance , in 1777 , and received a member of the Scottish Rite in 1806 . His n » me is intimately connected with the rise and progress of the Ancient and Accepted Scotch Rite in the Northern Jurisdiction of
the United States . Through his representations and his indefatigable exertions , the Mother Council at Charleston was induced to denonnce the spurious Consistory of Joseph Cerneau in the City of New York ,
and established there a Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction , of which Bro . Gourgas was elected the Secretary General . He continued to bold this office until 1832 , when he was elected Sovereign Grand Commander .
The Gonrgasites and Cerneauites may therefore be likened to the " Moderns " and " Ancients , " with which Masonic students are familar . The former claiming a descent from the Mother of Supreme Councils at
Charleston , and the latter professing to act under authority lawfully acquired by , and duly transmitted from , Joseph Cerneau . The literature on this subject is extensive and conflicting , but I carefully refrain from either summing up or dealing
Masonry In America.
iu any other way with the facts in dispute , becanse they have been , or shortly will be , related , with the apparent sanction of my name , in the American edition of my
History of Freemasonry , and I have yet to consider what steps it may be expedient for me to take , to rebut the presumption that the narrative was either written or approved by myself . According to Mr . John Haigh : —
The Supreme Council of the Northern Jurisdiction [ U . S . A . ] has 10 , 000 members , few if any more . The Supreme Council Southern Jurisdiction less than 2 , 000 members . The Supreme Council of the United States of America , their Territories and Dependencies , now has 109 bodies subordinate to it
distributed in It' different States . Of these bodies , 29 are in Ohio , and 22 in New York . Counting alphabetically the others are placed as followB : —California , 5 ; Connecticut , 5 j Florida , 4 ; Indiana , 4 ; Iowa , 13 ; Massachusetts , 11 ; Minnesota , 8 ; New Hampshire , 8 . The total membership exceeding 4 . 000 . *
Of the last-named body , Mr . Haigh is the Sovereign Grand Commander , and the above figures are given on his authority . There are thus ( at least ) three Supreme Councils in
America , two of which are in amity and divide the country between them , and a third * which claims and exercises a concurrent ( or it may be an exclusive ) jurisdiction over the whole of the United States . These may be severally described as the S . C . N . J . ; S . O . S . J . ; and
S . C . U . S . A . On 14 th June 1882 , the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
passed a resolution defining what organisations were " regular and duly constituted Masonic Bodies . " Among these were the Supreme Councils of the Northern and
Southern Jurisdictions and their subordinates , but no other bodies of the A . and A . S . R . —the restriction of course only referring to the United States . The following are the final clauses of this resolution : —
" Now , therefore , it is hereby declared that any Mason who is hereafter admitted , in this jurisdiction , into any other orders , as Masonic , whether called the Eite of Memphis or by any other name , is acting
nn-Masonically , and for such conduct shall be liable to be expelled from all the rights and privileges of Masonry , and shall be ineligible to membership or office in this Grand Lodge .
Any Mason in this jnnpuiction who shau hawk and sell any of the degrees , so called , hereinbefore forbidden , calling them degrees in Masonry , may be expelled from all the rights and privileges of Masonry . "
This was the famous " Massachusetts New Departure , " as it was commonly termed , and it occasioned me not a little astonishment to find that a letter of my own , written without a thought of publication to Bro . Sereno D .
Nickerson , was used by that worthy Brother to fortify his argument in favour of the resolution . However , as my testimony only went to show that the leading members of the A . and A . S . R . in this countrv were " most earnest
and devoted Masons , I need not regret that my humble opinion of the estimation iu which the authorities , at 33 Golden Square , are generally regarded , has been recorded iu the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts .
The wisdom of this legislation was very fiercely debated by the Reporters on Foreign Correspondence under the various Grand Lodges , but we now learn , from Bro . Jacoh Norton , that the new law was never enforced .
In Ohio , a very simihar enactment must have been passed , but the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge are not available for present reference , so I can only infer , from Bro . ther Norton ' s article , that the example set in Boston was copied very closely at Cincinnati .
A very similar legislation appears to have been contemplated , and has possibly been carried into effect in Minnesota , but as my information is derived from the
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Michigan for 1888 , reporting those of Minnesota for 1887 , I am unable to speak with precision .
It seems to me that many of what in legal phraseology are termed " nice points " may arise for decision in the event either of Lodges being erased , or brethren expelled , through exhibiting a preference for a form of the socalled Scottish Rite over which the mantle of a Grand
Lodge has not been extended . But pending further light , and until the result of the appeal to the Courts of Law by the Ohio brethren , it would be premature to speculate upon the disastrous consequences of Grand Lodges going beyond their proper functions , and arbitrarily deciding that of