Ad00607

To ADVERTISERS . THE Circulation of THE F REEMASON being now at the rate of nearly Haifa-million per annum , it offers peculiar facilities to all who advertise . It is well known that the Fraternity of Freemasons is a large and constantly increasing body , mainly composed of the influential and educated classes of society ; and as The Freemason is now the accepted organ ofthe Brotherhood in the United Kingdom , and also enjoys an extensive sale in the colonies and foreign parts , its advantages as an advertising medium can scarcely be overrated . For terms apply to GEORGE KENNING , 2 , 3 , & 4 , LITTLE BRITAIN , LONDON , E . C .

Ar00600

NOTICE . o The Subscription to THE FREEMASON is now io _* . per annum , post-free , payable in advance . Vol . I ., bound in cloth 4 s . 6 d . Vol . II ., ditto 7 s . 6 d . Vol . III ., ditto 15 s . od . Reading Cases to hold 52 numbers ... 2 s . 6 d .

Ar00601

AH communications for THE FREEMASON should be written legibly n one side of the paper only , and , if intended for insertion in the current number , must be received not later than 10 o ' clock a . m . on Thursdays , unless in very special cases . The name and address of tvery writer must be sent to us in confidence .

Ar00608

The Freemason , SATURDAY , MARCH 25 , 1871 .

Ar00602

THE FREEMASON is published on Saturday Mornings in time for Ihe early trains . The price of THE FREEMASON is Twopence per week ; annual subscription , 10 s . ( payable in advance ) . All communications , letters , & c , to be addressed to the EDITOR , x , 3 , and 4 , Little Britain , E . C . The Editor will pay careful attention to all MSS . entrusted to him but e **_ ot undertake to return them unless accompanied by postage stamps .

The Supreme Grand Council 33 .

THE SUPREME GRAND COUNCIL 33 .

WE have now before us a pamphlet published by the members of the Antiquity Rose Croix Chapter at Bath , relative to their suspension by the Supreme Grand

Council 33 , and we have also read an answer to the statements made by the Bath brethren . It appears that the Camp , or Chapter , of Antiquity is one of the five

original Grand Encampments established in England ; that for many years it worked all the Christian degrees without acknowledging the supremacy of the Grand

Conclave , so far as regards the Order of the Temple , or of the Supreme Grand Council 33 , with reference to the Rose Croix and Kadosh degrees . However , in 1862 the

members of the Camp were induced to place themselves as Templars under thc rule of the Grand Conclave , and four years later they accepted a charter from the

governing body in Golden-square . A misapprehension seems to have existed in thc minds of the Antiquity brethren as to their liability to the payment of certain fees to

the Council—it having been the custom in the Chapter , under the independent regime , to confer the Rose Croix Degree free of expense upon all members of the Knights Templar Encampment . Now , we conceive that , if this were the only cause of complaint against the Bath

The Supreme Grand Council 33 .

brethren , it was one which might have been easily removed by the exercise of a little tact and forbearance on the part of

the Supreme Council . There is not a single passage in the voluminous correspondence now before us in which evidences of

revolutionary ideas on the part of the Antiquity Chapter can be traced , and we therefore remain unenlightened as to the real causes which led to the suspension of its members .

It is very much to be deplored that such high-handed proceedings as those adopted by the Supreme Grand Council should be possible in any Alasonic body ; and it is

certainly not in consonance with the laws of justice and honour that so grave a sentence as suspension should have been

promulgated without giving the brethren inculpated a chance of explaining their alleged derelictions .

Unfortunately , however , the policy pursued by the Supreme Grand Council of late years , and especially since the retirement of Dr . Leeson from its head , has been

retrogressive in its tendency and despotic in its operations . Masons who appreciate and admire many of the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite are driven from

its ranks by the glacial hauteur and extravagant pretensions of some members of the Council , who seem to fancy that their peculiar mission is to make other people uncomfortable . The dissatisfaction which

such a line of conduct has naturally created is not confined to the Bath Chapter , it is felt very strongly by influential metropolitan brethren—it exists in more than one

provincial chapter ; and unless conciliatory measures and a thorough reform of the present government ofthe Rite be speedily adopted , it is not difficult to foresee that

the power ofthe Council will be . shattered . The first reform must be one of a vital character . Let the members of the 33 be elected by the representatives of the

several Rose Croix Chapters . The system of self-election has been tried and found wanting , it is not adapted for a country

with free institutions , and , moreover , it is in opposition to the recognised rules of government which prevail in the Craft and other Masonic degrees .

Another very important reform relates to the finances of the Rite—at present the members of the Order generally have absolutely no control over their own funds ,

nor have they the poor satisfaction of knowing how those funds are appropriated . It is true that some years ago , after a vigorous demand by one of the Knights

K . H . for the production of some accounts , a so-called balance-sheet was issued by the Council , but inasmuch as it simply stated that the receipts were so much and the

disbursements so much , without furnishing any details , or specifying any of the items , it can scarcely be called a very satisfactory

exhibit of the exchequer . A similar document has since appeared annually , and we gather from it that the income of the Supreme Grand Council is a very handsome

The Supreme Grand Council 33 .

one , and that Golden-square is a very appropriate name for its head-quarters . Now , every other Masonic jurisdiction in in England publishes full and complete

accounts of every shilling received and every shilling expended , and we see no reason why the 33 should be an exception to so wholesome a rule . There is , we are

glad to testify , no ground whatever for supposing that the funds of the Ancient and Accepted Rite are applied to other than legitimate purposes ; but we repeat that the brethren who contribute to those funds

should have a voice in their disbursement , as well as the members of the Supreme Grand Council . It is to be hoped that the schism which now unhappily prevails will

soon be healed , and that by a policy of mutual concession the Council of the 2 , 2 , ° , and the brethren who dispute their power , may be reconciled to each other , and work

with the love and harmony which should ever distinguish Freemasons . Whatever may have been the origin of the Supreme Grand Council—and no proof of its having

been illegally constituted has , so far as we know , ever been adduced—no one can deny that its occupies a de facto position as a ruling body in Freemasonry , and has

acquired certain rights and privileges . There are also , both in the Council and the subordinate chapters , men of high character and Masonic experience . It is to them

we look to initiate such reforms in the administration as will satisfy a legitimate desire for information , and enable the Council to rely with confidence on the

lasting support of the brethren of the Rite . At present the Councillors command but a negative respect—a barren homage—but

our desire is that their power should be firmly fixed in the hearts and affections of all who owe allegiance to their rule . What we want is REFORM , not REVOLUTION .

Lodge Of Benevolence.

LODGE OF BENEVOLENCE .

The regular meeting of the Lodge of Benevolence was held on Wednesday , the 22 nd inst ., for the first time , at 6 o'clock ( in future to be the regular hour ) , in Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street . Present : Bros . J . M . Clabon , V . P ., P . G . D ., President ( in the chair ); J . Nunn , S . V . P . ; James Brett , J . V . P . ; J . Hervey , J

Savage , J . Cooper Foster , W . Farnfield , C . C . Dumas , J . Smith , J . Coutts , C . J . Hogg , S . May , W . Smith ( E . C ) , H . G . Buss , R . W . Little , S . Gale , C . A . Cottebrune , J . Weaver , M . L . Alexander , Harris , Reed , J . Boyd , G . Kenning , W . Mann , F . Walters , H . Garrod , H . W . Hemsworth , & c .

The grants passed at previous meeting were taken seriatim and confirmed .

Thirty-two petitions were brought under the consideration of the meeting , out of which number five were deferred until the next meeting , and twenty-seven were relieved as follows , viz ., one , £ 3 ; four , £$ ; nine , - £ io j four , £ 15

seven , . £ 20 ; one , £ 40 ; and one , - ^ so—subject to some of the larger grants being confirmed at the next meeting . The total amount voted was ^ 403—a larger sum than is usually voted .

" l * OR several years 1 nave sunerea Irom repeated and severe attacks ot' lumbago , and I can truly say that I have never found such effectual relief as I have from your Vegetable Pain Killer . Its effects arc truly marvellous . — J LONGLEY , Chapcl-st ., London , Jan . 1870 . —To P . Davis & Son . ''