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Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article United States of America. Page 1 of 1 Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article Answers to Correspondents.. Page 1 of 1 Article LIVERPOOL THEATRES, &c. Page 1 of 1 Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article THE ABERDEEN RECORDS. Page 1 of 2 Article THE ABERDEEN RECORDS. Page 1 of 2 Article THE ABERDEEN RECORDS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00800
NOTICE . The Subscription lo THE FREEMASON is now ios . per annum , post-free , payable
in advance . Vol . I ., bounel in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto . 15 s . od .
Vol . IV ., ditto 15 s . od . Vol . V ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 25 . Cd . Pitto ditto 4 do . ... is . 6 d .
United States Of America.
United States of America .
Tug FREEMASON is delivered free in any part of tlie United States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance . The Freemason is published on Saturday Mornings in time for thc catty vvavvvs . The price of the Freemason is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , ios . ( payable in advance . ) All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the Editor , 198 , Fk-et-strcct , E . C . Thc Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him , but cannot undertake to return them unlcssaccompanied by postage stamps .
Ar00801
NOTICE . AH Communications , Advertisements , £ sV ., intended for insertion in the A ' uinber of the following Saturday , must reach the Office not later than 6 o ' clock on IVednesdat j evening .
Answers To Correspondents..
Answers to Correspondents ..
' The following communications stand over : —Reports of Lodges . 73 , 1309 . 73 . S . C ; Chapter 73 , 1086 , 50 S . C ; Prov . G . Chapter Lancashire East ; Mark Lodges 104 , 14 , 159 ; Hoyal Kent 1 'ieceptory K . T . ; Kcd Ctoss Conclave 12 ; Consecration of a Maik Lodge in Liverpool .
Liverpool Theatres, &C.
LIVERPOOL THEATRES , & c .
Week ending April 20 . ROYAL ALEXANDRA TllliATR . 1 ' , Lime-street . —Lessee Uro . 1 * . Salter . . New drama , " . Sitliors to Grind . "
ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE , Great Cliarlottc-strcct . — Lessee Uro .. IL Leslie . Mr . I * , Falconer's nevvilrama " Killarney . " RTNL'IC OK VVALliS THEATT'K , Clayton-square . — Lessee-Mr . Seltou Tarry . . Mr . J . K . 1 'mnlctt in " Fritz , our Cousin Herman . " __^_———— — HEATKE KOYAL Williamson-square . —Lessee , Bro . Dc freecc . liurlcs (| ue ot "flic- Corncaii Urolhers , " and . Misccllaneaun Entertainment .
ST . JAMES'S HALL , Lime-street . —Proprietor , Bro . S . Hague . Special Artistes and l-ClbU-r _ Prograinmc . NEW " STAR MUSIC HALL , Wii . iamson-tquare . —Manager , Bro . Saundeis . Opera , and Special Kaster Attractions . OTUNOATl-lEAfltiFaro ) MUSIC HALL . —Proprietor , Mr . D . ( Jrannell . Miscellaneous Entertainments .
/ "VUEES'S HALL , Mr ; liar y l . istons' " Merry Moments . TwFlNOl'ST . JAMLSllALL . l ' rofcssor Hermann's " iUeddTeins
Ar00808
TheFreemason, SATURDAY , APRIL 19 , 187 , 3 .
The Aberdeen Records.
THE ABERDEEN RECORDS .
TIIE aUESTIOX Oh' ilERBDITARY GRAND MASTER . Bro . J . S . B ., of No . 175 , has thought fit to question the remarks made by a member of the
" German Alasonic Union ( to whicli society I have the honour to belong ) , and claiming an equal right with him to speak pro or con respecting any matter of Alasonic interest , I respectfully
beg to support my fellow member—whoever he may be—and to strongly object to the method Bro . J . S . B . has taken to ventilate his opinions .
So far as his belief is concerned , that , of course , mainly depends upon the evidence he has had submitted to him ; but seeing that ev idently the
The Aberdeen Records.
chief documents relating to the question have not been studied by him , he really should first have examined them , and then stated his views if they were not in agreement with the writer ' s .
Study first and write afterwards is our motto , and surely it is one that will commend itself to Bro . J . S . B ., and all other Masonic Students , who , like him and me , are anxious to gather
information and discover the truth . Bro . j . S . B . fells us that there are " proofs open to any brother , if properly gone about , " of there having been "a Hereditary Grand Alaster of the Scottish
Alasons . " The proof he submits is " an old Alasonic Record , written about the middle of last century , " which is in his possession , and from which he quotes at length an account of the
orig in of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . I take it that the old Alasonic Record he has is simply a transcript from the " Freemasons' Pocket Companion , " first published at Edinbugh , A . 11 .
1761 , and of which we have a copy . The " Record" and the ** Pocket Companion of 1761 " read just word for word , and this confirms me in my belief as to the origin of the Al . S-
Bro . J . S . B . possesses . About thc " middle of the last century " is then a fair guess , and we may accordingly leave the date to stand as an approximation . Now , what do the " Record " and
" Pocket Companion " say on the subject ? namely as follows : — "That King James I . was the' Royal Grand Alaster ' of the craft , attended the lodges * and appointed a yearly sum to be paid to a Grand
Alaster chosen by the brethren . William St-Clair , Earl of Orkney , & c , became Grand Alaster by authority of King James II ., and subsequently by virtue of the same power that ofiice was made
hereditary to the heirs and successors of the said Barony of Roslin . The Barons of Roslin , having ever since continued to support and countenance the Craft as Grand Alasters , assembled their
Grand Lodge at Kilwinning , gave authority to the lodge at Kilwinning to erect lodges ( as Grand Alasters ) , and until William Sinclair , of Roslin , having no children of his own , resigned his
distinguished and hereditary rights into the hands of the Craft , A . D . 17 , 36 . " Now it is easy to prove all these statements respecting the Craft to be entirely wrong , and a most unwarrantable misrepresentat ion of the true facts of the case .
( a ) King James I . was never " Grand Alaster , ' no such title ever having been used until A . D . 17 '/' If such a cognomen was known or used before by the ancient Freemasons , whose documents and
charges exist to this day , and date from the four-( Centh century at least , then let the same be pointed out . J have published over a dozen comp lete AISS ., and am familiar with all the rest
known , and will forfeit a hundred pounds to our charities if the appointment of " Grand Alaster '' can be traced prior to the last century . Remember , I go in thoroughly for thc antiquity of
Freemasonry , but not of such titles , Nrc , as Grand Alaster , Grand Lodge , anel the King James' being Grand Alasters , and such like nonsense . ( b ) What record is there of King James I .
attending a lodge ? Please , Bro . P . S . B ., produce the minute . ( c ) What AIS . mentions a yearly sum to be
paid to the Grand Alaster during James Ids reign ? I have copies of all the AISS . as yet traced in Scotland anterior to 1736 relative to
The Aberdeen Records.
Alasonry , but they contain no such clause . In which AIS . or record are the dues mentioned as payable to such an officer ? ( d ) The so-called " old record " declares the
G . M . was to be chosen by the brethren , and then almost directly afterwards states that the Earl of Orkney received his appointment as G . Al . from the King ! When was the one law
made , and the alteration of it affected ? Who can tell ? The answer will be the same as to the inquiry , " What were the first words Adam said to Ever" nobody knows .
( e ) In the first Charter , of A . n . 1600 ( circa ) , no word is said about the Earl of Orkney whatever ; and in the second Charter , of about A . D . 1628 , although the Lords of Roslin are mentioned as
/ patrones and protectoris , " there is no reference made to the authority of King James II ., and on neither of the Roslin Charters does the office of Grand Alaster appear . It is true that in the
later AIS . a ( ire is noted , which consumed the documents said to contain certain grants made to the Roslin famil y , but in the earlier Charter no such conflagration is recorded ; and , what is
more remarkable still , the date of the lire is not chronicled , and as the editor of the " Genealogie of the Saint-Claires of Rossl yn , " ( Edinburgh 1 & 35 )> litis noted " these particular writings were
consumed , anel yet all the remaining Charters , f orming a complete charttilary of Rosslyn escaped ! " Surely such a lame story as this cannot be accepted by Alasonic students without other
testimony to its truth than is afforded in the second Charter ? Another fact must be remembered , viz ., If the ofiice of Grand Alaster was really hereditary at the period mentioned , then the
Earl of Orkney ( the representative of the elder branch of the St . Clairs ) had the power to convey his privileges ( if such conveyance had been provided for , which was not the case ) to other
parties , and not the representative of the younger branch of the same family . Father Richard Augustus Hay , Prior of St . Pieremont , never mentions any other documents than these two charters
as illustrative of the connection of the St . Clairs with Alasonry , and even this writer ' s transcripts are not exactly correct—so Bro . D . Murra y Lyon , the Scottish Alasonic historian , informs me , as he
has compared the Hay AISS ., in Advocates ' Library , Edinburgh , with the orig inals in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . As full particulars of these valuable documents will
be given in my iriend s forthcoming History of the Lodge of Edinburgh , as also fac-similes , I need not now allude any further to them , excepting to draw attention to the fact that the
Charter of . \ . u . 1628 ( circa ) was by the authority of the Hammermen as well as the Alasons , and so it is not for the latter to claim any exclusive interest in it , but only in common with the
Hammermen : and hence , if the Charter proves the Alasons of that period had the honour of having Hereditary Grand Alasters to rule over them , so also had the Hammermen . The truth is »
neither hael such a distinction conferred upon them at any time , but simply patrons , protectors , judges and such like were elected and appointed to manage anel control the Alasons and other crafts .
( f ) No record exists of any Grand Lodge having been held by the St . Clairs at Kilwinning , and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00800
NOTICE . The Subscription lo THE FREEMASON is now ios . per annum , post-free , payable
in advance . Vol . I ., bounel in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto . 15 s . od .
Vol . IV ., ditto 15 s . od . Vol . V ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 25 . Cd . Pitto ditto 4 do . ... is . 6 d .
United States Of America.
United States of America .
Tug FREEMASON is delivered free in any part of tlie United States for 12 s . per annum , payable in advance . The Freemason is published on Saturday Mornings in time for thc catty vvavvvs . The price of the Freemason is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , ios . ( payable in advance . ) All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the Editor , 198 , Fk-et-strcct , E . C . Thc Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him , but cannot undertake to return them unlcssaccompanied by postage stamps .
Ar00801
NOTICE . AH Communications , Advertisements , £ sV ., intended for insertion in the A ' uinber of the following Saturday , must reach the Office not later than 6 o ' clock on IVednesdat j evening .
Answers To Correspondents..
Answers to Correspondents ..
' The following communications stand over : —Reports of Lodges . 73 , 1309 . 73 . S . C ; Chapter 73 , 1086 , 50 S . C ; Prov . G . Chapter Lancashire East ; Mark Lodges 104 , 14 , 159 ; Hoyal Kent 1 'ieceptory K . T . ; Kcd Ctoss Conclave 12 ; Consecration of a Maik Lodge in Liverpool .
Liverpool Theatres, &C.
LIVERPOOL THEATRES , & c .
Week ending April 20 . ROYAL ALEXANDRA TllliATR . 1 ' , Lime-street . —Lessee Uro . 1 * . Salter . . New drama , " . Sitliors to Grind . "
ROYAL AMPHITHEATRE , Great Cliarlottc-strcct . — Lessee Uro .. IL Leslie . Mr . I * , Falconer's nevvilrama " Killarney . " RTNL'IC OK VVALliS THEATT'K , Clayton-square . — Lessee-Mr . Seltou Tarry . . Mr . J . K . 1 'mnlctt in " Fritz , our Cousin Herman . " __^_———— — HEATKE KOYAL Williamson-square . —Lessee , Bro . Dc freecc . liurlcs (| ue ot "flic- Corncaii Urolhers , " and . Misccllaneaun Entertainment .
ST . JAMES'S HALL , Lime-street . —Proprietor , Bro . S . Hague . Special Artistes and l-ClbU-r _ Prograinmc . NEW " STAR MUSIC HALL , Wii . iamson-tquare . —Manager , Bro . Saundeis . Opera , and Special Kaster Attractions . OTUNOATl-lEAfltiFaro ) MUSIC HALL . —Proprietor , Mr . D . ( Jrannell . Miscellaneous Entertainments .
/ "VUEES'S HALL , Mr ; liar y l . istons' " Merry Moments . TwFlNOl'ST . JAMLSllALL . l ' rofcssor Hermann's " iUeddTeins
Ar00808
TheFreemason, SATURDAY , APRIL 19 , 187 , 3 .
The Aberdeen Records.
THE ABERDEEN RECORDS .
TIIE aUESTIOX Oh' ilERBDITARY GRAND MASTER . Bro . J . S . B ., of No . 175 , has thought fit to question the remarks made by a member of the
" German Alasonic Union ( to whicli society I have the honour to belong ) , and claiming an equal right with him to speak pro or con respecting any matter of Alasonic interest , I respectfully
beg to support my fellow member—whoever he may be—and to strongly object to the method Bro . J . S . B . has taken to ventilate his opinions .
So far as his belief is concerned , that , of course , mainly depends upon the evidence he has had submitted to him ; but seeing that ev idently the
The Aberdeen Records.
chief documents relating to the question have not been studied by him , he really should first have examined them , and then stated his views if they were not in agreement with the writer ' s .
Study first and write afterwards is our motto , and surely it is one that will commend itself to Bro . J . S . B ., and all other Masonic Students , who , like him and me , are anxious to gather
information and discover the truth . Bro . j . S . B . fells us that there are " proofs open to any brother , if properly gone about , " of there having been "a Hereditary Grand Alaster of the Scottish
Alasons . " The proof he submits is " an old Alasonic Record , written about the middle of last century , " which is in his possession , and from which he quotes at length an account of the
orig in of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . I take it that the old Alasonic Record he has is simply a transcript from the " Freemasons' Pocket Companion , " first published at Edinbugh , A . 11 .
1761 , and of which we have a copy . The " Record" and the ** Pocket Companion of 1761 " read just word for word , and this confirms me in my belief as to the origin of the Al . S-
Bro . J . S . B . possesses . About thc " middle of the last century " is then a fair guess , and we may accordingly leave the date to stand as an approximation . Now , what do the " Record " and
" Pocket Companion " say on the subject ? namely as follows : — "That King James I . was the' Royal Grand Alaster ' of the craft , attended the lodges * and appointed a yearly sum to be paid to a Grand
Alaster chosen by the brethren . William St-Clair , Earl of Orkney , & c , became Grand Alaster by authority of King James II ., and subsequently by virtue of the same power that ofiice was made
hereditary to the heirs and successors of the said Barony of Roslin . The Barons of Roslin , having ever since continued to support and countenance the Craft as Grand Alasters , assembled their
Grand Lodge at Kilwinning , gave authority to the lodge at Kilwinning to erect lodges ( as Grand Alasters ) , and until William Sinclair , of Roslin , having no children of his own , resigned his
distinguished and hereditary rights into the hands of the Craft , A . D . 17 , 36 . " Now it is easy to prove all these statements respecting the Craft to be entirely wrong , and a most unwarrantable misrepresentat ion of the true facts of the case .
( a ) King James I . was never " Grand Alaster , ' no such title ever having been used until A . D . 17 '/' If such a cognomen was known or used before by the ancient Freemasons , whose documents and
charges exist to this day , and date from the four-( Centh century at least , then let the same be pointed out . J have published over a dozen comp lete AISS ., and am familiar with all the rest
known , and will forfeit a hundred pounds to our charities if the appointment of " Grand Alaster '' can be traced prior to the last century . Remember , I go in thoroughly for thc antiquity of
Freemasonry , but not of such titles , Nrc , as Grand Alaster , Grand Lodge , anel the King James' being Grand Alasters , and such like nonsense . ( b ) What record is there of King James I .
attending a lodge ? Please , Bro . P . S . B ., produce the minute . ( c ) What AIS . mentions a yearly sum to be
paid to the Grand Alaster during James Ids reign ? I have copies of all the AISS . as yet traced in Scotland anterior to 1736 relative to
The Aberdeen Records.
Alasonry , but they contain no such clause . In which AIS . or record are the dues mentioned as payable to such an officer ? ( d ) The so-called " old record " declares the
G . M . was to be chosen by the brethren , and then almost directly afterwards states that the Earl of Orkney received his appointment as G . Al . from the King ! When was the one law
made , and the alteration of it affected ? Who can tell ? The answer will be the same as to the inquiry , " What were the first words Adam said to Ever" nobody knows .
( e ) In the first Charter , of A . n . 1600 ( circa ) , no word is said about the Earl of Orkney whatever ; and in the second Charter , of about A . D . 1628 , although the Lords of Roslin are mentioned as
/ patrones and protectoris , " there is no reference made to the authority of King James II ., and on neither of the Roslin Charters does the office of Grand Alaster appear . It is true that in the
later AIS . a ( ire is noted , which consumed the documents said to contain certain grants made to the Roslin famil y , but in the earlier Charter no such conflagration is recorded ; and , what is
more remarkable still , the date of the lire is not chronicled , and as the editor of the " Genealogie of the Saint-Claires of Rossl yn , " ( Edinburgh 1 & 35 )> litis noted " these particular writings were
consumed , anel yet all the remaining Charters , f orming a complete charttilary of Rosslyn escaped ! " Surely such a lame story as this cannot be accepted by Alasonic students without other
testimony to its truth than is afforded in the second Charter ? Another fact must be remembered , viz ., If the ofiice of Grand Alaster was really hereditary at the period mentioned , then the
Earl of Orkney ( the representative of the elder branch of the St . Clairs ) had the power to convey his privileges ( if such conveyance had been provided for , which was not the case ) to other
parties , and not the representative of the younger branch of the same family . Father Richard Augustus Hay , Prior of St . Pieremont , never mentions any other documents than these two charters
as illustrative of the connection of the St . Clairs with Alasonry , and even this writer ' s transcripts are not exactly correct—so Bro . D . Murra y Lyon , the Scottish Alasonic historian , informs me , as he
has compared the Hay AISS ., in Advocates ' Library , Edinburgh , with the orig inals in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . As full particulars of these valuable documents will
be given in my iriend s forthcoming History of the Lodge of Edinburgh , as also fac-similes , I need not now allude any further to them , excepting to draw attention to the fact that the
Charter of . \ . u . 1628 ( circa ) was by the authority of the Hammermen as well as the Alasons , and so it is not for the latter to claim any exclusive interest in it , but only in common with the
Hammermen : and hence , if the Charter proves the Alasons of that period had the honour of having Hereditary Grand Alasters to rule over them , so also had the Hammermen . The truth is »
neither hael such a distinction conferred upon them at any time , but simply patrons , protectors , judges and such like were elected and appointed to manage anel control the Alasons and other crafts .
( f ) No record exists of any Grand Lodge having been held by the St . Clairs at Kilwinning , and