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Article ANSWERS TO " MASONIC STUDENT.' ← Page 2 of 2 Article ANSWERS TO " MASONIC STUDENT.' Page 2 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 →
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Answers To " Masonic Student.'
third degree before the revival at London , none such has been produced , " & c . It seems therefore that in the discussion carried on in the Freemasons' Magazine , Bro . Student ' s theory was not triumphant . The next dissertation of Bro . Student is about
the gilds , or guilds , viz ., whether " guild is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word gelt or money , or from gildan . This refers to the paragraph I copied from Bromfield ' s History , but as I never passed an opinion on that part of the paragraph , it has really nothing to do with
me . It may be , Mr . Bromfield s etymology is right , or that Bro . Student ' s is right , or both are wrong ; this is not a chicken of my hen ' s hatching , apd must therefore not come into my hennery to roost ; and now for the remainder . M . S . — " If it be true , as no doubt it is . that
other trades had their secrets , and mysteries , and points , as well as the Freemasons , no guild that I know of had constitutions or legends dating as far back as 1390 , admittedly , and no other guild had an elaborate ritual , " & c . N . — , In the first place , I do doubt " that
other trades had their secrets , mysteries , and points , " in the same sense as Masons have , or have had . Secondly , if other fraternities had " secrets , mysteries , and points , " they must have had a ritual and constitution too , the one is indispensable to the other ; and thirdly , that
other guilds had no legends , shows clearly that either their Chaplains were more honest and truthful than those attached to the Alasonic fraternity , and therefore invented no legends for their respective Crafts , or that the members of those Crafts were less credulous than the Alasons
were . The last remarks of Bro . Student refer to " freeborn , " in which my brother admits the very fact I meant to establish , viz ., that the oldest Constitution which has come down to our time , did not require the apprentice to be
freeborn , bat only that he should be no bondman at the time when apprenticed ; that " freeborn " was a later introduction , and consequently it cannot be an irremovable landmark . One more subject I must discuss ere I finish this paper . Bro . Student seems to take it for
granted that the Halliwell Constitution is older than that of any other Craft , but is it so ? I know that Bro . Student sticks to his imaginary idea that the Halliwell Constitution is a copy of an Athelstan Constitution , but here I must again ask , was it so ? It is my opinion that the
Alasons ofthe English metropolis were , entirely ignorant of an Athelstan Constitution , or any other kind of a Constitution , at the beginning of thtj second half ot the 14 th century . In The Freemason of April Sth , 1871 , page 217 and 218 ,
Bro . Student will find the most authentic , as well as oldest code of laws that the London Alasons liad ever had . For the document says , " Whereas , Simon Fraunceys , Mayor of the City of London , has been given to understand that divers distentions have been moved in the said
City , between the Alasons who are hewers on the one hand , and the light Alasons and setters on the other , because of their trade has not been regulated in due manner by the government and folks of their trade in such a form as other trades
are . lhis was in 1 . 356 , or about 40 years before the Halliwell AIS . was written . Now , if an Athelstan Constitution , or even the Halliwell Constitution , had been in existence in 1 . 356 , the London City authorities never would have said that the Alasons' trade " has not betn regulated
m such a form as other trades are , " anti what is more , the code of laws which thc Alayor and Aldermen then gave to the Alasons , wculd have been perfectly needless , as the most essential part thereof forms part of the Halliwell Constitution . The inference therefore is that some of
the laws in Halliwell ' s MS . were copied from thc above code , or from a later edition . Now , if the Masons of the English metropolis were without the regulations in 1356 , which other trades then had , it proves certainly that the Alasons' Constitution is not so old as Bro . Student imagines .
And secondly , if the Alasons in tlie English metropolis knew nothing of an Athelstan Constitution in 1356 , we may rationall y conclude that the then Alasons residing in provincial towns also knew nothing about it . It seems to me that Bro . Masonic Student
Answers To " Masonic Student.'
and the brethren who support him , would be as right in charging me with intolerance for calling a pickpocket " thief , " or a thimblerigger " gambler , " as they are for my denominating the pervertors of Masonic history and Masouic principles as dreamers and charlatans . Bro .
Emra Holmes , in The Freemason , Nov . 30 th , page 762 , attributes what he calls my coarseness to Yankee manners . The truth , however , is , that as long ago as 1757 Bro . Sauer , S . G . W . of Holland , in a letter to Dr . Thomas Manningham , then D . G . AL of England , denominated the
pretensions of Alasonic Templarism and High Degreedom , as charlatanism , and Bro . Afanningham , in reply to the above letter , said , " and which you designated with perfect right as the charlatanism of Alasonry . " If , therefore , there is any coarseness in my vocabulary , as they call it , I have copied it from European Alasonic
dignitaries of very high standing . Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford was also pleased in the same paper to refer to what he calls "" Bro . Norton ' s wild and chimerical attack on Anderson and Preston . " Bro . AVoodford in the very same letter admits that no Grand Lodge did or could exist before 1717 under such a
name . Now , let him read the introductory paragraph of Anderson to the Edward III . Constitution , given in my last reply to Bro . Student , about the
Grand AIaster with his Wardens , at the head of the Grand Lodge , with the consent of the lords of the realm , then generally Freemasons , ancl then ask himself , was this written by an historian or by a romancer >
Nor is Bro . Norton the only one who is not ashamed to expose tht ; errors propagated by the early writers of modern Alasonry , as Bro . Dr . Alackey , in his introduction to Bro . Hughan ' s "Unpublished Records of the Craft , " in the first number of his Magazine , condemns
Anderson ' s and Preston ' s Histories of Frcemas . nry as worthless . I have not thc said Magazine before me now to give the quotation , but I beg to assure Bro . Woodford that Bro . Alaekey ' s language was as p lain in relation to that point , as Bro . Norton ' s is , and has been for several years
past . Another part I must mention in connection with the questions under consideration ; Bro . Albert Pike , who styles himself " Thrice Illustrious Alost Puissant Sovereign Grand Commander of the Alother Grand Consistory of the World
( and is , besides , a Knight lemphir . and whatnot ) . Well , the said Bro . Pike furnished an article of thirteen printed pages for Bro . Alaekey ' s " National Freemason . " It was , in fact , a synopsis of the history of the twelve London guilds , and in that article he showed a
strong leaning to what is called "the 1717 theory . " Last spring I was introduced to Bro Pike by onr mutual friend , Bro . John W . Simons , P . G . AI ., and now G . Treasurer of the Grand Lotlge of New York , when he took occasion to compliment Bro . Pike on the
commonsense views he propounded in the aforesaid article , and expressed a hope he would continue to furnish some more articles ofthe same nature . And I must here add , that as a scholar , Bro . Pike has not a superior , and very few equals among the M ¦ -onio fraternity in the U . S . He has
written more about ancient mysteries than any other Alasonic writer I know of , and was always a highflyer in the upper regions of , the very first order , but yet I found in his conversation a spirit of candour and truthfulness , very rare among the professed defenders of High
Degreedom . In reply to the remarks I made about the communication from his pen , Bro . Pike said , " Bro . Norton , we all know , that previous to 1717 , there was but one degree , and tliat one degree was not like or did not resemble any of our degrees . " Further comment is needless .
Microscopical invcstie , ation has proved that the substances which accumulate hetvveen llie teelli contain animal and vegetable parasites , and Ilial the tooth powders , pastes , and washes in general vise have no etlect upon these . Messrs . vhibviel's t ' ovalitc Tooth Paste and Koyal Dcnttilice ( sold by all chemists and perluiners at is . ( jd . p i , v box ) completely destroy and remove these avvimnlcviles and also preserve and heautilv * the teeth . Prepared onlv bv Messrs . Ciabliel , tlie old-established dentists , 64 , l . vulp . ate-llill , and' 5 ft , llarleystreet , Caveudish-s . piare , London , vv here they practice their unii | ue system ol painless dentistry .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
NAVAL AND MILITARY BRETHREN . To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , —¦ I believe , from some little experience I have had at home and abroad , that many hardworking Masons in the navy and army are practically lost to us for the reason that having
so frequently to change their residences through the exigencies of the service , the expense of having to join new lodges , chapters , etc ., falls heavily on them , and the higher they are in Masonry the worse it is . This is bad enough in the commissioned ranks
but it falls more heavily still on the non-commissioned officers , amongst which worthy body we number a very large proportion of brethren . These , in many cases , are unable to attend lodge from the heavy demand on their slender purses , in consequence of the necessity of joining new lodges , & c , so frequently , and their
unwillingness to partaKe too often of the hospitality so universally shown to them whenvisitors . I am certain more brethren than would like to acknowledge the fact , even to themselves , are deterred from doing their duties as contributors to our charities through the regular channel on account of the everrecurrintr expense .
In civil life the most regular attendant of a lodge pays his entrance fee but once , while we , in order to be considered good Alasons , have to do so nearly every year , if not oftener . Now , I think this could easily be remedied , if in towns possessing no regular naval or military lodge , ( whose fees I imagine are always small ) ,
the lodges treated the temporary sojourners amongst them , in a similar manner to that in which most clubs , institutes , etc ., do under similar circumstances—viz ., by giving these brethren all the privileges of membershi p for the time being , upon payment of a subscription
only , plus the necessary registration fee , but without other joining fee . We must , however , by our constitutions , still insist on a ballot , and "clearance" from last lodge , which latter , by the way , is , I am afraid , too often overlooked .
Whether these brethren should be permitted to take office would be a matter for each lodge to decide . I think myself that when they took office they should be called on to pay the regular joining fee . I am sure if this idea was acted on , lodges in
seaports and garrisons would geta large increase of subscribing members , if some of them were onl y for a few months . I hope an abler pen than mine will take up this matter , for I feel convinced from personal knowledge that it would have a good effect .
Apologising for the length of this letter , which you will oblige me greatly by inserting . I beg to remain yours fraternally , R . A "'
THE A 1 ASONIC SCHOOLS
lo the hditor oj The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , The letter of " A Life Governor , " which appears in 77 / c * Freemason of the 22 nd instant , has been written under a misconception . Allow me , as Chairman of the Joint
Committee for revision of Laws , to state that no proposition has been made to deprive any Lodge , Chapter , or Society of any of its privileges . On all occasions , hitherto , of alteration in the laws , the invariable rule has been that there should be no retrospective action which would abrogate or
reduce privileges already acquired , and this rule will apply to any alterations that may now be adopted . Aloreover , at the adjourned General Committees on the 15 th instant , formal notice was given for the Special Court , on the 6 th March , of the following motion : — " That the Laws as revised shall come into
operation on ist July , 1873 . " Ihe object of this motion , it will be at once seen , is to enable lodges , Jtc , to add to their present privileges nnd acquire fresh ones , according to the laws existing , up to 30 th June next , inclusive . As many of your readers must , of necessity , have been unable , from various causes , to attend recent meetings of Courts or Committees , it will
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Answers To " Masonic Student.'
third degree before the revival at London , none such has been produced , " & c . It seems therefore that in the discussion carried on in the Freemasons' Magazine , Bro . Student ' s theory was not triumphant . The next dissertation of Bro . Student is about
the gilds , or guilds , viz ., whether " guild is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word gelt or money , or from gildan . This refers to the paragraph I copied from Bromfield ' s History , but as I never passed an opinion on that part of the paragraph , it has really nothing to do with
me . It may be , Mr . Bromfield s etymology is right , or that Bro . Student ' s is right , or both are wrong ; this is not a chicken of my hen ' s hatching , apd must therefore not come into my hennery to roost ; and now for the remainder . M . S . — " If it be true , as no doubt it is . that
other trades had their secrets , and mysteries , and points , as well as the Freemasons , no guild that I know of had constitutions or legends dating as far back as 1390 , admittedly , and no other guild had an elaborate ritual , " & c . N . — , In the first place , I do doubt " that
other trades had their secrets , mysteries , and points , " in the same sense as Masons have , or have had . Secondly , if other fraternities had " secrets , mysteries , and points , " they must have had a ritual and constitution too , the one is indispensable to the other ; and thirdly , that
other guilds had no legends , shows clearly that either their Chaplains were more honest and truthful than those attached to the Alasonic fraternity , and therefore invented no legends for their respective Crafts , or that the members of those Crafts were less credulous than the Alasons
were . The last remarks of Bro . Student refer to " freeborn , " in which my brother admits the very fact I meant to establish , viz ., that the oldest Constitution which has come down to our time , did not require the apprentice to be
freeborn , bat only that he should be no bondman at the time when apprenticed ; that " freeborn " was a later introduction , and consequently it cannot be an irremovable landmark . One more subject I must discuss ere I finish this paper . Bro . Student seems to take it for
granted that the Halliwell Constitution is older than that of any other Craft , but is it so ? I know that Bro . Student sticks to his imaginary idea that the Halliwell Constitution is a copy of an Athelstan Constitution , but here I must again ask , was it so ? It is my opinion that the
Alasons ofthe English metropolis were , entirely ignorant of an Athelstan Constitution , or any other kind of a Constitution , at the beginning of thtj second half ot the 14 th century . In The Freemason of April Sth , 1871 , page 217 and 218 ,
Bro . Student will find the most authentic , as well as oldest code of laws that the London Alasons liad ever had . For the document says , " Whereas , Simon Fraunceys , Mayor of the City of London , has been given to understand that divers distentions have been moved in the said
City , between the Alasons who are hewers on the one hand , and the light Alasons and setters on the other , because of their trade has not been regulated in due manner by the government and folks of their trade in such a form as other trades
are . lhis was in 1 . 356 , or about 40 years before the Halliwell AIS . was written . Now , if an Athelstan Constitution , or even the Halliwell Constitution , had been in existence in 1 . 356 , the London City authorities never would have said that the Alasons' trade " has not betn regulated
m such a form as other trades are , " anti what is more , the code of laws which thc Alayor and Aldermen then gave to the Alasons , wculd have been perfectly needless , as the most essential part thereof forms part of the Halliwell Constitution . The inference therefore is that some of
the laws in Halliwell ' s MS . were copied from thc above code , or from a later edition . Now , if the Masons of the English metropolis were without the regulations in 1356 , which other trades then had , it proves certainly that the Alasons' Constitution is not so old as Bro . Student imagines .
And secondly , if the Alasons in tlie English metropolis knew nothing of an Athelstan Constitution in 1356 , we may rationall y conclude that the then Alasons residing in provincial towns also knew nothing about it . It seems to me that Bro . Masonic Student
Answers To " Masonic Student.'
and the brethren who support him , would be as right in charging me with intolerance for calling a pickpocket " thief , " or a thimblerigger " gambler , " as they are for my denominating the pervertors of Masonic history and Masouic principles as dreamers and charlatans . Bro .
Emra Holmes , in The Freemason , Nov . 30 th , page 762 , attributes what he calls my coarseness to Yankee manners . The truth , however , is , that as long ago as 1757 Bro . Sauer , S . G . W . of Holland , in a letter to Dr . Thomas Manningham , then D . G . AL of England , denominated the
pretensions of Alasonic Templarism and High Degreedom , as charlatanism , and Bro . Afanningham , in reply to the above letter , said , " and which you designated with perfect right as the charlatanism of Alasonry . " If , therefore , there is any coarseness in my vocabulary , as they call it , I have copied it from European Alasonic
dignitaries of very high standing . Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . Woodford was also pleased in the same paper to refer to what he calls "" Bro . Norton ' s wild and chimerical attack on Anderson and Preston . " Bro . AVoodford in the very same letter admits that no Grand Lodge did or could exist before 1717 under such a
name . Now , let him read the introductory paragraph of Anderson to the Edward III . Constitution , given in my last reply to Bro . Student , about the
Grand AIaster with his Wardens , at the head of the Grand Lodge , with the consent of the lords of the realm , then generally Freemasons , ancl then ask himself , was this written by an historian or by a romancer >
Nor is Bro . Norton the only one who is not ashamed to expose tht ; errors propagated by the early writers of modern Alasonry , as Bro . Dr . Alackey , in his introduction to Bro . Hughan ' s "Unpublished Records of the Craft , " in the first number of his Magazine , condemns
Anderson ' s and Preston ' s Histories of Frcemas . nry as worthless . I have not thc said Magazine before me now to give the quotation , but I beg to assure Bro . Woodford that Bro . Alaekey ' s language was as p lain in relation to that point , as Bro . Norton ' s is , and has been for several years
past . Another part I must mention in connection with the questions under consideration ; Bro . Albert Pike , who styles himself " Thrice Illustrious Alost Puissant Sovereign Grand Commander of the Alother Grand Consistory of the World
( and is , besides , a Knight lemphir . and whatnot ) . Well , the said Bro . Pike furnished an article of thirteen printed pages for Bro . Alaekey ' s " National Freemason . " It was , in fact , a synopsis of the history of the twelve London guilds , and in that article he showed a
strong leaning to what is called "the 1717 theory . " Last spring I was introduced to Bro Pike by onr mutual friend , Bro . John W . Simons , P . G . AI ., and now G . Treasurer of the Grand Lotlge of New York , when he took occasion to compliment Bro . Pike on the
commonsense views he propounded in the aforesaid article , and expressed a hope he would continue to furnish some more articles ofthe same nature . And I must here add , that as a scholar , Bro . Pike has not a superior , and very few equals among the M ¦ -onio fraternity in the U . S . He has
written more about ancient mysteries than any other Alasonic writer I know of , and was always a highflyer in the upper regions of , the very first order , but yet I found in his conversation a spirit of candour and truthfulness , very rare among the professed defenders of High
Degreedom . In reply to the remarks I made about the communication from his pen , Bro . Pike said , " Bro . Norton , we all know , that previous to 1717 , there was but one degree , and tliat one degree was not like or did not resemble any of our degrees . " Further comment is needless .
Microscopical invcstie , ation has proved that the substances which accumulate hetvveen llie teelli contain animal and vegetable parasites , and Ilial the tooth powders , pastes , and washes in general vise have no etlect upon these . Messrs . vhibviel's t ' ovalitc Tooth Paste and Koyal Dcnttilice ( sold by all chemists and perluiners at is . ( jd . p i , v box ) completely destroy and remove these avvimnlcviles and also preserve and heautilv * the teeth . Prepared onlv bv Messrs . Ciabliel , tlie old-established dentists , 64 , l . vulp . ate-llill , and' 5 ft , llarleystreet , Caveudish-s . piare , London , vv here they practice their unii | ue system ol painless dentistry .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
NAVAL AND MILITARY BRETHREN . To the Editor of The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , —¦ I believe , from some little experience I have had at home and abroad , that many hardworking Masons in the navy and army are practically lost to us for the reason that having
so frequently to change their residences through the exigencies of the service , the expense of having to join new lodges , chapters , etc ., falls heavily on them , and the higher they are in Masonry the worse it is . This is bad enough in the commissioned ranks
but it falls more heavily still on the non-commissioned officers , amongst which worthy body we number a very large proportion of brethren . These , in many cases , are unable to attend lodge from the heavy demand on their slender purses , in consequence of the necessity of joining new lodges , & c , so frequently , and their
unwillingness to partaKe too often of the hospitality so universally shown to them whenvisitors . I am certain more brethren than would like to acknowledge the fact , even to themselves , are deterred from doing their duties as contributors to our charities through the regular channel on account of the everrecurrintr expense .
In civil life the most regular attendant of a lodge pays his entrance fee but once , while we , in order to be considered good Alasons , have to do so nearly every year , if not oftener . Now , I think this could easily be remedied , if in towns possessing no regular naval or military lodge , ( whose fees I imagine are always small ) ,
the lodges treated the temporary sojourners amongst them , in a similar manner to that in which most clubs , institutes , etc ., do under similar circumstances—viz ., by giving these brethren all the privileges of membershi p for the time being , upon payment of a subscription
only , plus the necessary registration fee , but without other joining fee . We must , however , by our constitutions , still insist on a ballot , and "clearance" from last lodge , which latter , by the way , is , I am afraid , too often overlooked .
Whether these brethren should be permitted to take office would be a matter for each lodge to decide . I think myself that when they took office they should be called on to pay the regular joining fee . I am sure if this idea was acted on , lodges in
seaports and garrisons would geta large increase of subscribing members , if some of them were onl y for a few months . I hope an abler pen than mine will take up this matter , for I feel convinced from personal knowledge that it would have a good effect .
Apologising for the length of this letter , which you will oblige me greatly by inserting . I beg to remain yours fraternally , R . A "'
THE A 1 ASONIC SCHOOLS
lo the hditor oj The Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , The letter of " A Life Governor , " which appears in 77 / c * Freemason of the 22 nd instant , has been written under a misconception . Allow me , as Chairman of the Joint
Committee for revision of Laws , to state that no proposition has been made to deprive any Lodge , Chapter , or Society of any of its privileges . On all occasions , hitherto , of alteration in the laws , the invariable rule has been that there should be no retrospective action which would abrogate or
reduce privileges already acquired , and this rule will apply to any alterations that may now be adopted . Aloreover , at the adjourned General Committees on the 15 th instant , formal notice was given for the Special Court , on the 6 th March , of the following motion : — " That the Laws as revised shall come into
operation on ist July , 1873 . " Ihe object of this motion , it will be at once seen , is to enable lodges , Jtc , to add to their present privileges nnd acquire fresh ones , according to the laws existing , up to 30 th June next , inclusive . As many of your readers must , of necessity , have been unable , from various causes , to attend recent meetings of Courts or Committees , it will