The Ancient And Accepted Rite.

Who , knowing the circumstances , can calmly endure the meddling ancl unmasonic invasion of our rights with pretensions so extravagant and absurd ? If brethren must and will have high degrees , the Rite of Misraim , consisting of ninety degrees , the K . H ., or neplus ultra , being

sixty-five degrees , is superior in every respect to this . Even Dr . Mackey , the great American Mason , admitting that it is the most philosophical of all the rites . Nor do we believe that it will attempt to interfere with the Templar Kadosh , but rather seek its support . But the time has come for some influential

Mason to put away that fancy association called the 33 rd Degree , unestablished as it is by Masonic law or precedent ; and to make it render an account to the Grand Lodge of England of the fees , amounting to many thousands of pounds , of which it has possessed itself , and

which should be carried , under the circumstances , to the credit of the Treasurer of Grand Lodge Were the members of the Supreme Council following a profession on the strength of their diplomas , from accredited sources , and practising for fees , the latter would undubitably

be entitled to personal remuneration for services rendered . But here there is no accrediting diploma—no profession , no services—but simply the self-created function of receiving fees , which cannot be considered as due , or the reward of any personal services . And therefore those who

have taken upon themselves to levy them ought to be held amenable to the Grand Lodge for a grave offence—inasmuch as they have usurped functions not pertaining to them on any hypothesis , ancl have assumed to exercise a position and authority detrimental to the status of Grand

Lodge and subversive of order and discipline throughout the Craft at large . It has been the policy of the Supreme Council ( so-called ) in every possible way to oppose those Avho , like myself , have shown a spirit of restiveness , and to hunt them down at times even in

the Craft at large—this being tlie necessary result of a self-elective centeralizing authority issuing its mandates to its subordinates , and determined to maintain power at all hazards . Hence , when I proposed four candidates , men of position most highly recommended by their lodges ,

I was met by two Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret ( 32 ) ready to oppose them at the ballot ; and as at the banquet afterwards I announced my intention of again working the old Templar Kadosh , or ncplus ultra , I was called to account for my conduct by this surreptitious authority . The following extracts from a recent

correspondence are given to save me from misrepresentation , and will elucidate my further reasons for bringing before the general Masonic bod y the proposal to suppress the so-called Supreme Council as not requisite in the Craft . The replies Avere mere maudiing letters , useless to print for any purpose : —

" 43 , Chorlton-road , Manchester , Nov . nth , 1870 . " Dear Sir and Brother , —I am duly in receipt of your favour of thc 9 th inst ., informing me that some ' Commission' had been appointed to inquire into and report upon my conduct at a late meeting

of the ' Palatine Rose Croix Chapter . ' The phraseology of your letter , coupled with verbal report , precludes my supposing , as I have a right to do , that this letter springs from an attempt to do mc justice against certain misrepresentations , made by four individuals against four well-recommended

Irish candidates proposed by mc , and whose reiterated falsehoods were very energetically repelled by m ? at thc time . But before I can reply further to your letter , I must beg you to inform ine : 1 . AVhat is thc object of said inquiry ? 2 . By what authority does thc commission sit ? In reference to query 2

I may observe that J do not claim to be either a member of your Rite or a Sovereign Prince , nor have I ever cither contributed to , or been asked to contribute lo , thc election of Grand Inquisitor Commanders , Sublime Princes of the Royal Secret , or Most Potent Sovereign Grand Commanders ; and it is therefore very desirable that I should know who

these Commissioners' are who assume to themselves these high prerogatives , as it is usually considered good Masonic law that the governed should have some voice in thc election of such high functionaries . When I hear further from you as to these points , I will consider whether it may be advisable to be present at your ' Commission ' either myself , or to send my solicitor to protect

The Ancient And Accepted Rite.

my good name and fame so slanderously assailed . At present it seems to me that your so-called Supreme Council have adroitly seized upon a circumstance which , whatever the result , may equally suit me or them . "

"Nov . 13 th , 1 S 70 . " * * •**¦• •& -jf ¦* In my reply to your notification I took the liberty of inquiring : 1 . What it the object of the commission ? 2 . Under what authority does it sit ? At the same time I alluded to the fact that the

socalled Supreme Council is a self-constituted body , having not the slightest representative character or authority from the governed . But your satisfaction of these question would be scarcely sufficient to enable me to come to a conclusion , and I must beg for information on these other three points : 3 .

Avho are the Most AVise Potentates , Grand Inquisitors , and Sublime Princes of whom the commission is composed—their Masonic rank and services , and their trade or professions ? 4 . What other Sovereign Princes are conjoined with me in this complaint , as laid before the so-called Supreme Council ?

5 . Who has preferred the said complaint ? [ Here followed by name charges of unmasonic conduct , better omitted , also showing the ridicule brought on tradesmen by the assumption of the magniloquent titles common to this Order . J "My hostility to the unrepresentative character of

your so-called Supreme Council and exquisite and sublime irony in such designations as the " Illustrious Sovereign Prince John Yarker , Yarn and Cloth Merchant , Manchester , " have been well known for the last half-dozen years , and has brought down no end of malignant venom on my

head . I have been represented as crotchety ancl quarrelsome by people who knew that they were uttering the most deliberate falsehoods ; and in every case where I have met with unmasonic treatment the offender has been one of your ineffable and Sublime Potentates . This is so well known to

me that I barely hesitate to mention names . In the face of this I can only refer to an active and useful Masonic career of sixteen years , during which I have occupied the chief chair in every rite and degree , aiding in keeping alive and constituting several Masonic lodges , Mark lodges , chapters , and

encampments ; and I challenge any individual out of your so-called Supreme Council to say that during such period I have been tinmcek , uncharitaablc , quarrelsome , or guilty of a single unmasonic act ; or , commercial ! y , ofa single disreputable transaction . Yet during all this time I have seen the

wicked flourishing like a green bay tree , and bankrupts in character and reputation promoted to high office . In fine , the treatment I have always received at the hands of members of your Rite ( and from members of your Rite solely have I received unmasonic treatment ) has been such that for many years I abstained from all attendance at thc

Palatine Chapter of Rose Croix , ancl thc second meeting I did attend afterwards was to meet with a repetition of insults , snubs , and snobbish manners . "I nowawaityotir reply to these two letters , which I beg you not to delay , as I wish to close the correspondence by . 1 final reply , when I know what are the grounds which your so-called Supreme Council have assumed on the question . "

"Nov . 15 th , 1870 . " I received your very proper letter this evening , but you must see for yourself that I cannot attend any meeting which does not take into account my charges against others , and which I am prepared to support on proper occasion . This I must say , that

a similar course of procedure would at any moment produce a still stronger eblution of feeling . Had this unpleasantness not occurred , I might have probably become a zealous member of your Rite , reserving my disapprovals for more convenient occasions . As it is , nil that is now past , and I must

perforcebidemytimc . My experience of thc notorious clique who have reduced the Palatine Chapter from being one of the best in England to an attendance of about a dozen members , is the only unpleasant reminiscence I can possibly have of Frcemasonrv .

[ Here followed certain names and charges better omitted , anda suggestion that I ought in a Masonic manner to have been asked to withdraw thc candidates privately , if their admission was not desired . ] " In my previous letter I alluded to thc fact that there was no representative government of the Rite

111 existence , that one elected the other like the late Manx " House of Keys ; " and I further pointed ont thcabsolutelyridiculoiisand ironical nature of all its titles , an objection which did did not and does not exist in the old English Rite now and formerly

practised here . " The question of insubordination and allegiance is a very peculiar and conflicting one , and I do not consider myself to belong to your Supreme Council , not being in possession of any degree over which they can claim exclusive jurisdiction . When I

The Ancient And Accepted Rite.

became a member of the Palatine Chapter of Rose Croix I was induced to become so on the representation that it was a continuation of the Jerusalem Chapter of Rose Croix , which had a chapter of the Order , as well as of Kadosh-and nc plus ultra , long before your Supreme Council was

ever heard of ; and ot this chapter and all its degrees ( revived then ) I am a Past Commander . The Rose Croix and Kadosh are perfectly legal and stand by themselves without the assistance of your Supreme Council . Indeed , there is no degree but the 33 over which your Supreme Council can

legitimately claim jurisdiction , and even in that you are a self-constituted authority , as if I , a 33 , were to establish a 34 for my friends . All degrees of the rite worth retaining were possessed by the Grand Conclave of Templars since 1791 , whilst you obtruded yourselves here in 1846 only , and it is upon

the ruins of that Grand Conclave that you have erected your Supreme Council . Besides this , it is almost impossible , in the confused working of the Palatine Chapter as I have seen it given , to say what any one possesses . "But this is by no means the worst feature of your

case . You are , or ought to be , aware that your Rite originated with certain non-recognised Masons at Paris , in 1758 , styling themselves Emperors of tha East and West , and the twenty-five degrees possessed by these Sublime Potentates weregoverncd by an elective body . From Paris thc Order went

to Berlin , ancl adopted a Constitution in 1762—thence it spread to America . Here , in 1786 , certain brethren , lusting for power , inserted eight more degrees , and forged a Constitution under the name of Frederick the Great of Prussia . This fraud is historically well known ( wV / . * Bi-os . F . Bolger , Findell

, andother reliable historians ) , and one proof ofit is at my elbow in thc printed statutes . I find at page 129 the four names — Stark , N . Willelm , D ' Estcrno , Woellna , thc remaining five ( the inventive faculty of the forger having failed him ) is stated to

have been effaced by the attrition of sea-water . Singular to say , the miraculous objections of seawater is shown at page 134 in the attrition of the same names . But even one Council is at war with another , and Scotland brands England as illegally constituted .

" It is for Masons of probity and wisdom to say whether this fraudulent Constitutionand its abettors shall be allowed to exist . But there is still another view of the matter . If the Rite is to be made the means of individual annoyance against brethren who differ on certain points in this way , by a clique

without a single claim to respect , the names of these Mighty , Sublime , and Most Wise Potentates ( to be found in any Masonic Calendar ) must be proclaimed , and thc Craft must stamp out these degrees as a Masonic pest . "With regard to the ceremonies of the RiteI may

, say that several official rituals of the whole thirtythree degrees are in my possession ; and whilst many degrees are unobjectionable , thc bulk are a chaos—everything valuable wc had here . before your Council existed , and shall have generations after it has ceased tocxist .

"It only remains for mc to observe that this quarrel has been forced upon me greatly against my wish—not desiring to offer annoyance to your degrees , but live peaceably in my own way ; but if your Supreme Council will not see justice done to

mc , I will do myself the justice to circulate this correspondence throughout the world . In it I have said all that I could say if present at your ' Commission , ' and it is for you to report upon it to your Supreme Council . " JOH . V YARKER .

P . S . —I will , if time and convenience permit , refer again to this subject , ancl probably give further particulars in my forthcoming work on " Secret Schools of Anti quity and of the Middle Ages . " T Y .

A Christmas Wish.

A CHRISTMAS WISH .

AN ACROSTIC inscribed respectfully to the members of the Koyal Vurk Lodge of Perseverance , Xo . 7 , by a deceased Freemason's daughter , who recollects their kindness with gratitude .

Angels hear my supplication , Christmas once again draws near , Heaven-sent gifts my home are cheering , Rend ' ring bright the closing year . In our grief kind benefactors

Soothed bereavement's keen distress ; Taught my mother , thro'her suffering , Mentally their names to bless . At this festive season , Father , Strew Thy mercies o'er their way ,

Watch oer those they love most fondly In each trial , I humbly pray ; Shed Thy blessed solace o ' er them , Hope ' s bright star shine e ' er before them . A' -NIW S ,