Freemasonry & Israelitism.

from spoliation ( see Joshua vii . 26 , viii . 29 , 2 Sam . xviii . 17 ) . Now , the country northwest of the region in which the Israelites were placed , and now forming part of the Russian empire , consists of vast plains .

apparently capable , when cultivated , of sustaining great multitudes , but now chiefly remarkable as places of sepulture . Dr . E . J . Clarke , the observant and intelligent traveller , who went through this region ,

says : " The most frequent objects here were the tumuli , which , from their great number , I should have been inclined to think had been raised as marks of guidance across the immense plains , during winter . "

But he goes on to say , that , whenever any one of them hacl been laid open , the appearance of a sepulchre placed their origin beyond dispute , as places of interment . The number of these monuments , he says , greatly increased as he

drew near to the Kuban , which falls into the sea of Azov , north-east of the Crimea ; and in the last stages before he reached that river he counted ninety-one , all at once in view . The Russian Archaeological Society , of which Prince

Woronzow , Governor General of Odessa , is President , has brought to light many interesting Israelitish relics found in this region , many hundreds of epitaphs fifom tombs , & c , some of which go back to pre-Christian times , and date

from the " year of our exile" —no doubt , the Assyrian captivity . No trace of any ancient work afterwards appeared , excepting tumuli , to Dr . Clavk , until he reached the Bay of Taman , on the shore of which stands tlie remains

of a very lafgc fortress and town , entirely surrounded with tombs and broken mounds of earth , evident vestiges of human labour . The neighbourhood was entirely covered with tumuli , of a size and shape that could not fail to excite

a traveller s wonder and stimulate his research . One of these tombs had been opened by the soldiers of the garrison . It was quite a mountain ; and after considerable labour they opened the eastern side , when they discovered the

entrance to a large arched vault , of the most admirable masonry , of a white crumbling limestone , which the country still affords . The stones ofthe sides were all square , perfect in their form , and put together without any cement , the

roof exhibiting the finest turned arches imaginable , having the whiteness of the purest marble . It contained two chambers , and there were found in them vases and other relics , but the most noticeable of all was a fine piece of

workmanship in gold , representing a serpent with two heads , studded with rubies , to imitate the eyes , while the back part of each head was ornamented with two rows of gems . Further describing the sepulchre , he states that immediately above the

stonework , constructed for the vault , was first a covering of earth , and then a layer of seaweed , compressed by another superincumbent stratum of earth , of the thickness of about two inches ; and the like was found in all thc tombs of the

country . Similar tombs , he says , are seen on all the shores of the Bosphorus ; and Pallas , in his journey over this country , states the same tiling . Tlie tomb described by Dr . Clarice was no doubt that of a person of distinction , and it

reminds us of several passages in thc Hebrew Scriptures , especially of Abraham's tomb , called the Cave of Machpelah ( Gen . xxiii . 17 , < S * c . ) , the double cave , for so the Hebrew word signifies , consisting , as Aben-E ^ ra and others suppose , of an inner and an outer chamber—a common

form ot thc Jewish sepulchre for persons of note or distinction . But what of the golden serpent found in it ? Does this in any way point to Israel ? I think so . The Beni-Israel , in India , are said to have each in his secret chamber a

a silver serpent , before which he burns incense twice a day , and scatters a little flour , singing , accompanied by a small tom-tom , during the ceremony and we know it was not until after thc ten tribes were carried away lhat Hczekiah

broke m pieces the brazen serpent which Moses had made , as a healer , through faith , of the bites of the fiery serpents in the wilderness for until his days " the children of Israel did burn incense to it" ( 3 Ki . sviij . 4 ) . Was the golden serpent

Freemasonry & Israelitism.

found in the tomb , near the Bay of Taman , a representation of the brazen serpent , which had thus become an object of idolatrous veneration , if not of worship , and which , it would appear , is still used as a sacred relic and charm by the Beni-Israel ? I do not ask that this conjecture

should be taken for more than it is worth , but as one thing amongst others—as circumcision and sepulture—it deserves notice . May we not also find , as we pass westward along the shores of the Euxine , names which are indicative of an Israelitish origin ? Do not the names of all the

great rivers seem to refer to the Jordan , as marking the original seat of the people , which , before the great migration of nations westward , inhabitated the country north of the Euxine , between the Don and the Danube ? Thus , proceeding westward from the Don , we have the

Danez , flowing into the Don ; then we have the -Dnieper , contracted into Dnieper ; and further westward , the Dankster or Dniester ¦ and southward , and flowing from the far west , the Dana . \ i or Danube . May not all these be regarded as waymarks of Israel , in their progress westward , on the north ofthe Euxine ?

Masonic Authority Claimed By The S.G.C. 33°.

MASONIC AUTHORITY CLAIMED BY THE S . G . C . 33 ° .

In THE FREEMASON of the 24 th June "A Royal Arch Companion " puts a query as to the " ruling power" claimed by the S . G . C . 33 ° " over all legitimate lodges , chapters , " & c , and as lie suggests that one of tlie nine members should satisfy him as to such assumption of

authority , it might be well to enlighten him , while awaiting the rcplyfr om head-quarters as to what claims are put forward by the S . G . C , leaving to Bro . Yarker , for the present , tlie easy task of disposing of the validity of the grounds on which their assumptions rest .

Our enquiring brother states that although he has been a Craft Mason for nearly fifteen years , and a Royal Arch Mason for over twelve years , this is the first ttme he ever heard that they had any jurisdiction whatever over either lodges or chapters . Unfortunately , such want of

information is very general among those who are not , and probably quite as much among those who are , under the immediate jurisdiction ofthe S . G . C . 33 ° by being members of the A . and A . Rite . If their unwarranted assumptions , and the

grounds on winch they base them , were clearly understood by the Craft at large , I think the " Golden-square Magnates " might soon ( to use a trade expression , for which I hope I may be forgiven ) "shut up shop . "

The circular , " What is Spurious Masonry ?" printed in last Saturday's FREEMASON , condenses a good deal of information on the question as to the right ofthe S . G . C . $£ to control the higher degrees , such as the Rose Croix , K . U ., & c . That document is now being largely

circulated 111 Ireland , where , from somewhat difierent causes , we are nearly as impatient of the assumption of the S . G . C . 33 as many of the English Masons are ; and i am inclined to think that the time is fast approaching when the " good men ancl true " of both countries will

make " common cause , " and finally throw off a yoke which should never have been submitted to . This is doubtless very revolutionary , but to my mind a revolution , not a reformation , is required . The latter would most likely be a compromise by which the S . G . C . 33 " would be

perhaps permanently established ; whereas , if what is so distinctly stated and apparently proved as to theiroriginand pretensionsiscorrect , they are simply usurpers with whom no terms should be made , and whose overthrow should he desired and worked for by all good Masons .

lo come , however , to the immediate subject of this communication , we find that the S . G . C . 33 claims authority over all the degrees of thc A . and A . Rite , from the 4 " to the 33 " . According to its published " rules ancl regulations , " it

docs not interfere with or militate against the authority of the Grand Lodge governing the three symbolic degrees , " and requires that candidates for the higher degrees should have been previousl y -raised to the degree of M ,. M , " in

Masonic Authority Claimed By The S.G.C. 33°.

some regularly constituted lodge . Take , however , the fact that the title of its 20 ° is " Grand Master of all symbolic lodges , " in connection with the statement found in Frederick Dalcho's " Orations " ( as republished under the sanction of the Illustrious the College of Knights of

K . H . and the Original Chapter of Prince Masons of Ireland , " where the right of Councils of Sublime Masons to grant Blue warrants is claimed as indefeasible , and we need have little difficulty in understanding that it is quite possible " the secret constitutions " of the Order

contain provisions that , if acted on , would be found most inimical to the authority of Grand Lodge , and that as such claims could not now be enforced , it is considered wiser for the present to hold them " in abeyance . " The "Supreme Grand Council" further kindly

informs us that " it does not interfere with " the S . G . C . of the RA . or the G . C . of K . T . It "does not forbid any of its members belonging " to those Orders , though it does not recognise them as part of the Ancient system . It is strange , however , that the 13 ° of the A . and A .

Rite , though stated by Mackey to be " Knight of the Ninth Arch , " stands in the list of the 33 in Dalcho ' s work ( published here in 1808 ) simply as " Royal Arch , " and its identity with the existing Royal Arch Order is clearly shown by a footnote in Dalcho's work , appended to the text ofthe " report , " where it is stated : " In

this part ofthe report the Inspectors omitted to insert that on the 20 th Feb . 5792 ( A . D . 1788 ) the Royal Arch Chapter in this city , working under a warrant from Dublin , formed a junction with the Sublime Grand Lodge , and their members were received into our degrees free of expense , and were acknowledged as high as the 13 inclusive . "

It would seem that those " modern Masons " subsequently "improved" (?) their degrees , as is further shown by a comparison of Mackey ' s list with theirs of 1808 , in which latter the 30 ° , 31 , and 32 are grouped together as " Prince of the Royal Secret—Prince of Masons . "

The theory which seems to have inspired Dalcho in his dealing with the " ineffable " degrees assumes just the reverse of what is usually believed , namely , that Craft Masonry is Ancient Masonry , and that the high grades are modern additions . He assumes that in the high degrees

we have preserved the ancient system as it existed before the era of Solomon ' s Temple , and he regards the three symbolic degrees as a kind of entrance chamber , necessary to be passed through before receiving the true mysteries of Masonry , and instituted to give tlie Sublime

Masons an opportunity of knowing the characters and dispositions of the initiated before admitting them into the inner mysteries . Viewed thus , we can easily understand the claim of control over those so-called inferior degrees . It may interest those who regret the necessary

exclusion of women from our meetings , to know ( as stated in a footnote to one of the orations ) that " although in the symbolic lodge no woman is admitted into a knowledge of their mysteries , yet in the sublime degrees there is a female lodge handsomely calculated to interest

the delicacy of a female mind . In this lodge none but females are admitted , and their officers are selected from among themselves . " Clearly , the Masons of the present day are as a body in much ignorance of the ancient truths of their Order .

I trust that the discussion of this branch of the subject lately commenced will enlighten many who " took things for granted , " and help to establish the true principles of Masonry by enabling the Craft to discriminate between wellfounded claims and pretentious assertions .

I hope shortly to take up more in detail the " Irish branch" of the subject . It is just possible that the discretion of those at the head of the high grades here may enable them to " steer clear " of a revolution but if they are

foolish enough to come into collision with the Craft at large , their power is not worth many years' purchase . I have been looking into the " statistics " of the subject , and they point to conclusions which I may throw into shape for your columns , if deemed advisable .