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Births, Marriages, And Deaths.

Births , Marriages , and Deaths .

o DEA Til . POTTER . —On Friday , the 121 I 1 inst ., at his residence in Russell-square , Bro . George AA . K . Potter , I ' ast Grand Deacon , aged 73 vears .

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TheFreemason, SATURDAY , MAY 20 , 1 S 71 .

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Royal Arch Masonry.

ROYAL ARCH MASONRY .

WE disagree in toto with those brethren AVIIO entertain the opinion that tlic recognition of Royal Arch Masonry was an impolitic act on the part of the United Grand Lodge

of England at the Union in 1813 . Beyond doubt , thc ancient subdivisions of thc Craft Avere but three—thc highest being thc degree of Master Mason ; but the

mutilation of the latter necessitated the creation of a fourth , in which thc imperfect revelations of the third degree were more fully explained and elucidated . Wc do not , of

course , mean to convey that the dramatic arrangements of modern Royal Arch Masonry are necessary to a thorough comprehension of the mystery , although they are

evidently not without their effect upon impressionable or plastic minds . But we contend that the lessons of tlie third degree , beautiful and practical as every brother

will admit them to ' be , arc nevertheless incomplete without the addition of the Royal Arch . As we pointed out recently , the central idea of all the pagan mysteries was the passage of man through the various

Royal Arch Masonry.

toils and trials of life , and his ultimate apotheosis in the regions of light and perfection . This was a grand conception ; but as one of our able correspondents on the

subject observed , it was often disfigured by gross interpretations of the original sense . An Elysium of sensuous bliss—in which

none of the entrancing sights and sounds of earth were wanting—was promised to the servant of the gods , nor Avere similar allurements overlooked in more modern

creeds , whose houris beckon the true believer to the gates of Paradise . The third degree may therefore justly be said to illustrate the present condition as Avell

as the future state of humanity ; but the Royal Arch Degree carries us to a superior altitude of thought , imaging in reverential outline the nature and attributes of the

Deity Himself . The one teaches selfknowledge—truly one of the most interesting branches of human study—while the other unveils the highest forms of Avisdom

and the divinest shapes of heavenly intelligence . If the one be more useful—speaking humanly—the other is more spiritual and sublime .. If the one be the ladder of

terrestrial hope , the other bears us up upon the wings of celestial joy . It would , therefore , be a fatal mistake to circumscribe the

area of our Masonic investigations by the repudiation of the keystone of the structure—the Holy Royal Arch Degree as now practised in England .

It may be that the intense adoration of thc Sacred Name which pervades the ritual of the degree is misunderstood by some

superficial thinkers ; it may be that its lofty idealism of the Supreme Being ill accords with certain modern rationalistic

opinions . Be this as it may , Ave are not likely to part with the sacred legacy bequeathed us by our ancient brethren ; but it behoves us to make better use of the

precious gift . We must really learn and thoroughly understand the secrets and symbolism of the Royal Arch degree , as well as enforce a stricter attention to its

ceremonial and formularies . Now , this is unfortunately not the case at present . Many active Masons concentrate the Avhole of their energies on the

promulgation ofthe Craft ceremonies and lectures , forgetting—if even they have ever acknowledged—the claims of the more philosophical Order . It might have been reasonably

pleaded as an excuse for this apathy some few years ago that thc same facilities for acquiring perfection , which Avere Avithin thc reach of every Craft Mason , did not

exist in the Royal Arch . Now , however , we have several schools of instruction . Yet they are scantily attended , and the rare and valuable knowledge of thc degree is confined

to a very select few . A few months since we chronicled the formation of a "Royal Arch Chapter of Improvement " at Freemasons' Hall , and bore testimony to the

unwearied exertions and ceaseless zeal of Companion Brett in thc cause . We now take the opportunity of again appealing vo our readers upon the subject of " more

Royal Arch Masonry.

light , " inasmuch as the neAV chapter is about to celebrate the close of its first session by holding a " public night , " to which all companions of the Order will be welcomed , and which we hope will be very numerously

attended . This meeting is fixed to take place on the 1 st of June , and several Royal Arch Masons of eminence have promised their co-operation and assistance . The

various expositions of R . A . mysteries -will be given , and as usual among English Masons—if it be not heresy to say so—a carnal banquet will succeed the " feast of

reason .

Have we said enough to induce our metropolitan companions to range themselves under the leading standards of the army of Israel upon the forthcoming occasion ? Or must Ave descend to lower

ground , and say that greater support and encouragement ought to be SIIOAVIA to the teachers of the Royal Art , if it Avere merely as an incentive to their arduous labours in the cause . We have no Avish to see the

study of the "blue " degrees neglected , far from it ; but a little more time might be spent with advantage in mastering the deeper , broader , and higher secrets unfolded in the Supreme Degree of the Royal Arch .

The inscription on the jewels of the Order should alone be a stimulus to our efforts in this direction ; and if we can fully fathom the mystery , it may indeed be said , " If thou knowest this , thou knowest enough . "

Obituary.

Obituary .

IP BRO . GEORGE W . K . POTTER ,

Past Grand Deacon . We deeply regret having to announce the decease of this well-known and estimable brother , who expired at his residence in Russell-square , on Friday , the 12 th inst Bro . Potter was initiated in the Moira

Lodge , No , 92 , on the Sth December , 1845 , and duly passed the chair in that lodge . He was also a member of the Grand Master ' s Lodge , No . I , and of the Royal Alpha , No . 16 . On the 24 th April , 1850 ,

Bro . Potter Avas elevated to the rank of Junior Grand Deacon of England , and Avas appointed in the same year Sword-Bearer in the Grand Chapter . For many years our deceased brother

held the post of Treasurer of the Grand Officers' mess , and by his kindly disposition endeared himself to all with whom he Avas brought in contact . In him the Corporation of London has lost one of its

oldest and most respected ofiicers . He was admitted a solicitor in 1819 , and was elected to the office of Secondary in 1831 by the Court of Common Council , in succession to Mr . Philip Wyatt Crowther , and

year by year the appointment had been confirmed . In that capacity he presided over one of the City courts , and he also had the duty of providing juries at the courts sitting at Guildhall and at the

Central Criminal Court . His position required him to act ar . legal adviser to the Sheriffs , and he conducted for them all the elections in which they Avere returning ofiicers . He was likewise one of the Under

Sheriffs for London . For forty years he had discharged his duties with the utmost regularity , and he Avas universally liked in the ^ Corporation . One of his last official acts " was that of presiding at the election of members of the School Board for the City