Correspondence.

however , that ninety-six degrees of Egyptian Masonry includes all the ancient Masonic degrees , and the different so-called Rites are simply transpositions or re-arrangements of a portion of these

A ntf But here comes something new about Sir Christopher Wren's Grand Mastership which , if true , will smash np Bro . Gould ' s Wren theory , and will make Bro . Woodford very , very happy . Bro . Wilson

gays— - " Yon are of course familiar with the fact that prior to 1703 no Masonic Lodge was permitted to initiate any person except an operative Mason . During that year St . Paul ' s Lodge of London rebelled as it were against the laws and regulations of the Order by

passing a resolution , which reads thus : ' Resolved—That th * privilegos of Masonry shall no longer be confined to operative Masons , but to be free to men of all professions . ' .... This was a first step towards a change from the raonarchial to a democratic government . The constant warfare carried on between this Lodge and the Grand

Master at York , Sir Christopher Wren , until his death in 1716 , so disgusted the Fraternity , that in 1717 only four working Lodges were to be found in all England , and these were at that time called together in general convention for the purpose of organising a Grand Lodge . " There is evidently an affinity in the traditions preserved in the

archives of the A . and A . Rite , and the Royal Masonic Rite , for both Bro . Drummond P . S . G . C of the A . and A . Riters , and Dr . Wilson 96 th degree and Grand Something of the " Royal Masonic , " agree that Masons had Grand Masters before 1717 , and that the government oE the Graft was then despotic ; and now

Who shall dispnte when doctors agree r " The standing of the officers [ continues Bro . Wilson ] is of the highest order , socially , morally , intellectually , and Masonioally . Most of them are Knight Templar ;; , and a large majority are 32 nd and 33 rd degree members of the Scottish Rite : the standing of the

entire membership ( nearly 16 , 000 , mostly Knight Templars ) com . pares most favourably with that of the best organisations of whatsoever name or nature in the U . S . A . " So much for Bro . Wilson , Grand Something of the Royal Masonic Rite , and now I will introduce " a bird of another feather . "

7 th . At Buroyras , Ohio , the A . and A . Riters of the Cerneau brand , erected a Cathedral , for so the the Scotch Riters style the halls they meet in . [ By the bye , is the house in Golden Square also a Cathedral ?] The said Cathedral was dedicated on the last St . John ' s Day . For such a purpose an orator is essential ; usually either a Eev ., an M . D

a Lawyer , or some great Masonic dignitary is chosen to do the talking . Upon this occasion no less a personage than the illustrious J . E . Clymer was the orator of the day . And here are Bome of his specimens of select and original Masonic historic events , he said" Masonry has been the conservator of the Holy Scriptures at

times and periods of history when without its protecting care it would have been lost to the world , and in conjunction with the Jewish Church it was the medium through which the revealed Word of God was preserved in the terms of the original text , and its alteration , adulteration , or perversion prevented .

' Freemasonry , like the religion of Jesus , has been the object of the fiercest persecution . Like the church , it has its honoured roll of martys . Prominent among them , was that peerless Christian Knight Jaques De Molay . " We see now that our orator believes firmly that De Molav actually

rode on the back of our Masonic goat , and for which he suffered martyrdom . Again" There be those who affect to despise Freemasonry , its teachings , and its history j who do not remember , or else never knew that England numbers on record [ that is original ] fiftv-one Grand Masters

from A . D . 596 to A . D . 1717 , including among them the great names of King Alfred [ original ] , Athelstan , Edward the Confessor , King James I ., Edward III ., Henry VII ., Cardinal Wolsey , Thomas Cromwell , and Sir Christopher Wren the architect of St . Paul ' s . The greatest men in nearly every walk of life dnring the past ages have

concluded it to be an honour to enrol themselves as Craftsmen . Look at them ! John Locke , the greatest metaphysician ; Newton [ original ] , the wisest of philosophers ; Shakespeare , the foremost poet . * * * Webster , our country's greatest lawyer and statesman . " [ Webster must have been Masonized in the other world , for while he was alive he never was a Mason .

"Are Masons gooder men than others ? was the question asked by King Henry VI . of England , as found in an ancient manuscript by Locke in the celebrated Bodleian Library ; the answer , as found in the manuscript was , ' Some Masons are not so virtuous as some other

wen , but in most parts they be more good than they would be if they were not Masons . ' That great man Locke was so struck with this colloquy , that he knocked for admission , and became a patron of the Order . "

I suppose that you desire now to learn what comments were made by the learned Masonic editor of the International Masonic Review ? ( m which paper Bro . Clymer ' s hotch-potch specimens of Masonic hisory was printed ) . Well , you may judge from tho following : — ' We publish , says the editor , the dedication , as a matter of Masonic

news , and the oration , because it is a beautiful tribute to our noble Urder and its remarkable and glorious history . It is an oration that the Masons of Ohio—yea , that the entire Masonic Fraternity—may teel justly proud of , and we commend its perusal to our many thousand readers . "

The above proves what I have already inferred , viz ., that the Patrons of the International Masonic Review must be mainly com - Posed of Masonic Tertullianites . And now for the last , and

Oh ! " may it be the last . " I he editor of the Freemason ' s Repository , of Providence , Rhode 3 and ' is of course a high degreer , and is , therefore , bound to prop np the iegen ^ f au high degreers , came out as a champion or Cryptic Masonry , " ( see FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE of 18 th July ) , and he reasons thus : *'

Correspondence.

" The Temple of King Solomon was undoubtedly constructed over crypts or vaults , some of which may have served as secret repositories of important treasures , and others as burial places of the illustrious dead . Various legends , of more or less striking charaoter , are associated with these subterranean recesses . Thus we have an

account of the precautions taken by Josiah , who , foreseeing the destruction of the Temple , commanded the Levitea to deposit the Ark of the Covenant in one of the hidden vaults , where it remained till discovered by the workmen of Zerubbabel at the building of the second Temple . This legend , and others of a like nature , may not

deserve full credit , though in nowise opposed to the probabilities of the case . Of one thing we may be certain , there were secret vaults beneath the great Temple at Jernsalem , and the Masonic traditions which refer to treasures thus carefully concealed , and afterwards brought to light , are by no means as absurd as some writers wonld

make them appear . Historical evidence and modern discoveries show the existence of Buch crypts , and the infereuce is natural that they were used according to what is the teaching of the Masonic system on this subject . " Now , the communication I mailed to you last Friday ( and the

subject is not yet exhausted ) will show that , to the best of my ability , I havo investigated the origin of the so-called Cryptic de . grees . I have since then read the history of Josiah in the Books in the Bible , 2 Chronioles and 2 Kings , which contain all that is known about Josiah , and I have no hesitation in saying that all the

fine reasonings of the learned editor of the Freemason ' s Repository are hollow , and his conclusions unfounded . And if the said editor had been acquainted with the Mosaic laws he would have known that the crypts under the Temple could not have been designed for a burial ground : for according to the said laws the body of a dead

man was deemed nnclean . I respectfully recommend the Rev . editor to read the 19 th Chapter of the Book of Numbers . But the 14 th verse will give the reader au idea what the laws were , and here it is" This is the law ; when a man dieth in a tent , all that come into , and all that is in the tent , shall be andean seven days . " Indeed , to

this very day , the descendants of Aaron ( theCohnnim ) if they strictly observe the Jewish laws , cannot enter a burying gronnd . The crypts under the Temple of Jerusalem were , therefore , never designed for burying , even " the illustrious dead . "

Now , my Dear Brother , the above specimens from the pens of our greatest writers , Grand Masters of various Ei'es , and of our Masonic editors , proves , I think conclusively , that as far as American Masonry is concerned , " the blind are leading the blind . "

Fraternally yours , JACOB NORTON . BOSTON , U . S ., 4 th August 1885 .

The General Committee of the R > yal Masonic Institution for Girls met at Freemasons' Hall , London , on Thursday , under the presidency of Bro . Frank Richardson P . G . D . The minutes of the last meeting having b- en

confirmed , and those of the House Committee read for information , the Chairman announced that fifty-seven pupils of the School were examined at the Science and Arts Department at Kensington , in physiography , and out of

these 9 were in the advanced stage , and they all passed . In the first stage 14 passed in the first class , 26 in the second , and 8 failed . In geology 32 were presented and 30 passed—Class I . 10 , Class II . 20 , failed 2 . The

brethren must remember that this education did not cost the School anything ; the study was all extra , in the evening . Authority was given to the Chairman to sign cheques for wages and office expenses . A West Yorkshire

petitioner was placed on the list of candidates for the April Election . Brother C . H . Webb , before the business was closed , said he thought after the announcement of the success of the children at the Science and Arts examination , the Institution was to be

congratulated on the fact , and that it ought to be widely made known , as ifc would show that what was believed

to be an expensive education was not so costly as was supposed . The Chairman said that electricity and galvanism were going to be the next subjects tried , and after that a very pretty and interesting subject

indeed—Botany . It must be remembered that the study of those subjects was in addition to the regular school routine , and out of school hours . The usual vote of thanks to the Chairman closed the proceedings .

Marriage.

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