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Article RANDOM NOTES ON FREEMASONRY. ← Page 3 of 4 Article RANDOM NOTES ON FREEMASONRY. Page 3 of 4 Article RANDOM NOTES ON FREEMASONRY. Page 3 of 4 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Random Notes On Freemasonry.
Rite over the two hemispheres . In the same year they were transmitted to Stephen Morin , who had been appointed in j 761 , Inspector General for the new world by the consistory of Princes of the
Royal Secret , convened at Paris , under the presidency of Chaillon de Joinville , Substitute General of the order . On the ist May , 1786 , the Grand Constitutions of the Supreme Council
of tlie . 3 . 3 were ratified by the King of Prussia , by which the Masonic prerogatives of Inspectors were deposited in a council consisting of nine brethren in each nation . On the , 31 st May
3801 , the Supreme Council of the , 3 , 3 ° was opened in Charleston with the grand honours of Masonry by John Mitchell , and P ' rederiek Dalcho , S . G . I . G . On the ( th August , 181 . 3 , a
Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction ol the United States was opened at New York , but has since been removed to Boston . In 1845 , the Supreme Council of the , 3 , 3 ° was opened in
London for Phigland and the Dependencies of the British Crown under warrant from the S . C . , 3 . 3 ° Southern Jurisdiction U . S ., and similar
Supreme Councils' have since been founded in almost every country in the world . Findel , in his liistory of Freemasonry , disbelieves the connection of P ' rederiek the Great with the
A . & A . Rite , and quotes the declaration ol the Grand Lodges of the Three Globes at Berlin on the subject . The Grand National Mother Lodge of the Three Globes was founded on the
1 , 3 th September , 1 740 , under authority of Frederick the Great , who was its lirst Grand Master , it asserts , "he never had anything to do with the organisation and legislation of the Grand
Podge . All that has been related of his having in 1716 originated a high Masonic Senate , & e , has no historical basis . " It goes on to say , that P ' rederiek tlie Great was ill at
the tune he is stated to have signed the Constitutions , that lie never came to Berlin after September , 178 ' ,, and moved on the 171 I 1 April , 1786 , to Jiis Castle of Sans Souci , wliere Jit
died some four months afterwards . 'Phe declaration further states that " the documents kept from time to time in the Archives of the ( hand National Mother Lodge do not show the
slightest trace of the above mentioned documents , or of the existence of a Grand Council in Berlin . " This argument does not go for much however—rememberimr that there were at the
time , several opposing Masonic Bodies in Germany—that Count Xiimendorf had introduced the higher degress into the system , and that the Three Globes Lodge at that time would be as
fair an authority to go to , respecting the Secret Constitutions of the A . and A . Rite as the Grand Lodge of England at this moment . Another of the arguments used against the
Constitutions of Frederick the Great , is that the names of but two of the Hgnilaries are known , yet those two , Dr . Stark , Professor of Oriental Languages , at Konigsberg , and Woellner ,
elected National Grand Master in 1791 , were both well-known Masons . It is admitted that a letter is kept in the Archives of the National Mother Grand Lodge , signed b y Bro . Lavalette des
Langes , and touching upon the meeting of a convention in Paris , on the njth June , 1786 , but the declaration alluded to , adds " Nowhere in the Archives can be found evidence , that he took
Random Notes On Freemasonry.
an interest in the higher degrees . " Supposing 100 years hence , a masonic student groping amongst the papers belonging to the Grand Lodge of Plngland came upon the names of
H . R . H . the Prince of Wales and the Earl of Carnarvon—he might just as well conclude , that as no mention ol" the higher degrees is made in connection with their names , that therefore thev
had nothing to do wdth them , and like Bro . P'indel and the German opposers of the higher degrees , ( is it on account of their being Christian 1 wonder ?) he mig ht deny that the former was a
Knight Templar , Knight of the East and West , ( 17 A . and A . Rite , ) and Knight of the Masonic Order of Charles XIII . of Sweden , or that the
latter was , besides being Deputy Grand Master , S . G . I . G . . 3 , 3 ° , and Past Grand Master of the Mark .
A learned and very distinguished brother of my acquaintance is now translating the third volume of " Mirabeau ' s Secret History of the Court of Berlin , " and he tells me he discovers
in it evidence sufficient to establish the truth ol the Secret Constitutions of Frederiek ' the Great . It does not seem to me at all improbable that an ambitious man like Frederick , should aim at the
universal empire of Masonry , and the idea of a Sovereign Grand Commander of the whole world was worthy of the ambition of even P ' rederiek the Great , if Masonry were only what
it prolesscs , and what it ought to be . At any rate the truth or falsehood of the constitutions , so far as Frederick is concerned , is a matter of no great importance to this , the most powerful
and widely spread rite 111 the world , and ol no more value than the truth or falsehood of sonic other of the traditions of Masonry which can never be verified .
The fact remains that , whoever lirst re-modelled the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , it is at this moment : the most perfect embodiment of Masonic learnino- that exists ; and
remembering the condition of Masonry in Germany and its three Grand Lodges , one must look with an eve of suspicion upon this declaration of the Grand Loilsre . of the Three Globes .
P ' reemasonry is , as it is received , to some a religion , to others , a system of morality only . I have known Jews wdio thought they did their duty by their God and Creed , il' they attended
their Podge , no Synagogue being near . . Masonry , as Geometry , is an exact science . As- a Religion , it bears the impress of a higher wisdom than is contained in the study of Mathematics and
Astronomy . In fact , Masonry stands next to revealed reli g ion in the opinion , of many people , unfortunately , however , like , religion , il has been made the instrument , in the hands of evil
designing men , for much , wrong doing . instance , the Carbonari , J . lltuninali , Cagliostro , the Communists . The Chevalier Ramsay is said to have invented certain , of the degrees in the A . and A .
Rite—as secret associations the real object ol wdiose members was the restoration of the Stuarts . The Royal Order of Scotland , from
which some think the Rose Croix , iBthdegrec , is derived , was presided over by Charles Stuart , the Young Pretender , who granted a charter to a chapter at Ami ? , ( which charter is still in
Random Notes On Freemasonry.
existence ) , as Hereditary Grand Master of the Order . Cagliostro was made a Freemason in London , and it is said that he and the Illuminati were instrumental in bringing about the
great revolution of France . Alexandre Dumas has written a very powerful romance , founded upon this , called "The Memoirs of a Physician . " The reign of the Communists , and the part many
misguided Masons took in the late unhappy struggle in PYance , is too recent to need more than a passing allusion here . I cannot help repeating wdiat I said at a recent meeting of the
St . Luke ' s Royal Arch Chapter , at Ipswich that Masonry without Christianity , in a Christian country , cannot be said to be complete . This was recognised in the fact , that before the Union
of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 , the Knights Templar degree was especially recognised by the Grand Lodge of all England , at York , previous to 1770 , at which time the Rose Croix
18 ° , and Kadosh . 30 ° were also worked ; and I fearlessly assert , that the perfection of Masonry and its Christian character can only be obtained , in the Antient and Accepted Rite , and
the Order of knights Templar . Much difficulty exists in tracing the origin of the Royal Arch Degree . Dr . Oliver thinks it did not exist before the middle of the last century , whilst
Mackay is of opinion , thatbelore the year 1 740 , the essential element of the . Royal Arch constituted a part of the third degree . In America , as formerly in England , it is necessary to be a P . M .
before the candidate is eligible for the R . A . In Ireland it is the same , and there the degree differs essentially from otirown . In Scotland you must be . a Mark , as well as a P . M ., to be eligible , and
chapters in Scotland also confer the degree of Royal Ark Mariner , whieli is now , I believe , given in I'higland , under the ( hand Lodge of Mark Masters . The Scotch Masons contend
that the Royal Arch , with its subsidiary degrees , constitute a pari of Templar Masonry , and in this country , as you are doubtless aware , it is necessary to be a R . A . M . before you are eligible
lor the rank ol K . I . My own opinion is that the degreejike thatof the Rose Croix is verv ancieiil , but I am quite willing to admit ( hat it took its present form as Dr . Oliver asserts , about
1 740 or i 7 ^ 0 . Nothing is more surprising than the ignorance of Masons about Masonry , and one is quite surprised to find excellent Masons ,
who have never yet joined in the sublime mysteries of the Royal Arch degree , which is as necessary to the completion of the Third as the Mark is to the second degree .
Findel says , " Ihe Royal Arch degree , now the fourth degree in England , is in its essential elements decidedly French in its origin , but received a somewhat diiierenl form in Phigland ,
with additions from the higher degrees , then flourishing on the Continent , ( Kni ghts of the Burning Bush , Red Cross , Ike ., ) and adopted by the Schismatic Ancient Masons , adherents of
Dennett , who himsell testifies that this degree was first introduced into Plngland by the Grand Lodge of the Ancient Masons . Ramsey calls the Royal Arch the Ami Plus Ultra ( sic ) of
Masonry , and these Antient Masons boasted of their bungling composition as the " summit and perfection of Ancient Masonry . " But they are quite in the wrong , for in truth , this degree of the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Random Notes On Freemasonry.
Rite over the two hemispheres . In the same year they were transmitted to Stephen Morin , who had been appointed in j 761 , Inspector General for the new world by the consistory of Princes of the
Royal Secret , convened at Paris , under the presidency of Chaillon de Joinville , Substitute General of the order . On the ist May , 1786 , the Grand Constitutions of the Supreme Council
of tlie . 3 . 3 were ratified by the King of Prussia , by which the Masonic prerogatives of Inspectors were deposited in a council consisting of nine brethren in each nation . On the , 31 st May
3801 , the Supreme Council of the , 3 , 3 ° was opened in Charleston with the grand honours of Masonry by John Mitchell , and P ' rederiek Dalcho , S . G . I . G . On the ( th August , 181 . 3 , a
Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction ol the United States was opened at New York , but has since been removed to Boston . In 1845 , the Supreme Council of the , 3 , 3 ° was opened in
London for Phigland and the Dependencies of the British Crown under warrant from the S . C . , 3 . 3 ° Southern Jurisdiction U . S ., and similar
Supreme Councils' have since been founded in almost every country in the world . Findel , in his liistory of Freemasonry , disbelieves the connection of P ' rederiek the Great with the
A . & A . Rite , and quotes the declaration ol the Grand Lodges of the Three Globes at Berlin on the subject . The Grand National Mother Lodge of the Three Globes was founded on the
1 , 3 th September , 1 740 , under authority of Frederick the Great , who was its lirst Grand Master , it asserts , "he never had anything to do with the organisation and legislation of the Grand
Podge . All that has been related of his having in 1716 originated a high Masonic Senate , & e , has no historical basis . " It goes on to say , that P ' rederiek tlie Great was ill at
the tune he is stated to have signed the Constitutions , that lie never came to Berlin after September , 178 ' ,, and moved on the 171 I 1 April , 1786 , to Jiis Castle of Sans Souci , wliere Jit
died some four months afterwards . 'Phe declaration further states that " the documents kept from time to time in the Archives of the ( hand National Mother Lodge do not show the
slightest trace of the above mentioned documents , or of the existence of a Grand Council in Berlin . " This argument does not go for much however—rememberimr that there were at the
time , several opposing Masonic Bodies in Germany—that Count Xiimendorf had introduced the higher degress into the system , and that the Three Globes Lodge at that time would be as
fair an authority to go to , respecting the Secret Constitutions of the A . and A . Rite as the Grand Lodge of England at this moment . Another of the arguments used against the
Constitutions of Frederick the Great , is that the names of but two of the Hgnilaries are known , yet those two , Dr . Stark , Professor of Oriental Languages , at Konigsberg , and Woellner ,
elected National Grand Master in 1791 , were both well-known Masons . It is admitted that a letter is kept in the Archives of the National Mother Grand Lodge , signed b y Bro . Lavalette des
Langes , and touching upon the meeting of a convention in Paris , on the njth June , 1786 , but the declaration alluded to , adds " Nowhere in the Archives can be found evidence , that he took
Random Notes On Freemasonry.
an interest in the higher degrees . " Supposing 100 years hence , a masonic student groping amongst the papers belonging to the Grand Lodge of Plngland came upon the names of
H . R . H . the Prince of Wales and the Earl of Carnarvon—he might just as well conclude , that as no mention ol" the higher degrees is made in connection with their names , that therefore thev
had nothing to do wdth them , and like Bro . P'indel and the German opposers of the higher degrees , ( is it on account of their being Christian 1 wonder ?) he mig ht deny that the former was a
Knight Templar , Knight of the East and West , ( 17 A . and A . Rite , ) and Knight of the Masonic Order of Charles XIII . of Sweden , or that the
latter was , besides being Deputy Grand Master , S . G . I . G . . 3 , 3 ° , and Past Grand Master of the Mark .
A learned and very distinguished brother of my acquaintance is now translating the third volume of " Mirabeau ' s Secret History of the Court of Berlin , " and he tells me he discovers
in it evidence sufficient to establish the truth ol the Secret Constitutions of Frederiek ' the Great . It does not seem to me at all improbable that an ambitious man like Frederick , should aim at the
universal empire of Masonry , and the idea of a Sovereign Grand Commander of the whole world was worthy of the ambition of even P ' rederiek the Great , if Masonry were only what
it prolesscs , and what it ought to be . At any rate the truth or falsehood of the constitutions , so far as Frederick is concerned , is a matter of no great importance to this , the most powerful
and widely spread rite 111 the world , and ol no more value than the truth or falsehood of sonic other of the traditions of Masonry which can never be verified .
The fact remains that , whoever lirst re-modelled the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , it is at this moment : the most perfect embodiment of Masonic learnino- that exists ; and
remembering the condition of Masonry in Germany and its three Grand Lodges , one must look with an eve of suspicion upon this declaration of the Grand Loilsre . of the Three Globes .
P ' reemasonry is , as it is received , to some a religion , to others , a system of morality only . I have known Jews wdio thought they did their duty by their God and Creed , il' they attended
their Podge , no Synagogue being near . . Masonry , as Geometry , is an exact science . As- a Religion , it bears the impress of a higher wisdom than is contained in the study of Mathematics and
Astronomy . In fact , Masonry stands next to revealed reli g ion in the opinion , of many people , unfortunately , however , like , religion , il has been made the instrument , in the hands of evil
designing men , for much , wrong doing . instance , the Carbonari , J . lltuninali , Cagliostro , the Communists . The Chevalier Ramsay is said to have invented certain , of the degrees in the A . and A .
Rite—as secret associations the real object ol wdiose members was the restoration of the Stuarts . The Royal Order of Scotland , from
which some think the Rose Croix , iBthdegrec , is derived , was presided over by Charles Stuart , the Young Pretender , who granted a charter to a chapter at Ami ? , ( which charter is still in
Random Notes On Freemasonry.
existence ) , as Hereditary Grand Master of the Order . Cagliostro was made a Freemason in London , and it is said that he and the Illuminati were instrumental in bringing about the
great revolution of France . Alexandre Dumas has written a very powerful romance , founded upon this , called "The Memoirs of a Physician . " The reign of the Communists , and the part many
misguided Masons took in the late unhappy struggle in PYance , is too recent to need more than a passing allusion here . I cannot help repeating wdiat I said at a recent meeting of the
St . Luke ' s Royal Arch Chapter , at Ipswich that Masonry without Christianity , in a Christian country , cannot be said to be complete . This was recognised in the fact , that before the Union
of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 , the Knights Templar degree was especially recognised by the Grand Lodge of all England , at York , previous to 1770 , at which time the Rose Croix
18 ° , and Kadosh . 30 ° were also worked ; and I fearlessly assert , that the perfection of Masonry and its Christian character can only be obtained , in the Antient and Accepted Rite , and
the Order of knights Templar . Much difficulty exists in tracing the origin of the Royal Arch Degree . Dr . Oliver thinks it did not exist before the middle of the last century , whilst
Mackay is of opinion , thatbelore the year 1 740 , the essential element of the . Royal Arch constituted a part of the third degree . In America , as formerly in England , it is necessary to be a P . M .
before the candidate is eligible for the R . A . In Ireland it is the same , and there the degree differs essentially from otirown . In Scotland you must be . a Mark , as well as a P . M ., to be eligible , and
chapters in Scotland also confer the degree of Royal Ark Mariner , whieli is now , I believe , given in I'higland , under the ( hand Lodge of Mark Masters . The Scotch Masons contend
that the Royal Arch , with its subsidiary degrees , constitute a pari of Templar Masonry , and in this country , as you are doubtless aware , it is necessary to be a R . A . M . before you are eligible
lor the rank ol K . I . My own opinion is that the degreejike thatof the Rose Croix is verv ancieiil , but I am quite willing to admit ( hat it took its present form as Dr . Oliver asserts , about
1 740 or i 7 ^ 0 . Nothing is more surprising than the ignorance of Masons about Masonry , and one is quite surprised to find excellent Masons ,
who have never yet joined in the sublime mysteries of the Royal Arch degree , which is as necessary to the completion of the Third as the Mark is to the second degree .
Findel says , " Ihe Royal Arch degree , now the fourth degree in England , is in its essential elements decidedly French in its origin , but received a somewhat diiierenl form in Phigland ,
with additions from the higher degrees , then flourishing on the Continent , ( Kni ghts of the Burning Bush , Red Cross , Ike ., ) and adopted by the Schismatic Ancient Masons , adherents of
Dennett , who himsell testifies that this degree was first introduced into Plngland by the Grand Lodge of the Ancient Masons . Ramsey calls the Royal Arch the Ami Plus Ultra ( sic ) of
Masonry , and these Antient Masons boasted of their bungling composition as the " summit and perfection of Ancient Masonry . " But they are quite in the wrong , for in truth , this degree of the