Table Of Contents.

TABLE OF CONTENTS .

PAGE A " COUNCIL OF R ITES" FOR ENGLAND 97 LEAVES FROM MY LIBRARY 97 and 98 R EMARKABLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY ... 99 BRO . T . A . ADAMS' BALL 98 ANCIENT AND MODERN MYSTERIES ... 98 and 99

MASONIC ARCH / EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE 99 THE C RAFT—Metropolitan and Provincial ... 99 and 100 I NSTRUCTION—Metropolitan 101 MARK M ASONRY 101 C ONSECRATION OF THE GOOCH LODGE , No ; 1295 ... 101 MASONIC MEETINGS FOR NEXT WEEK 101 CONSECRATION OF THE ROYAL STANDARD LODGE ,

NO . 1298 101 BUSINESS TO BE TRANSACTED IN GRAND LODGE ... 102 MULTUM IN PARVO ... 103 OBITUARY—Bro . Henry Stevens ... 103 ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCEUniformity of Working and Ritual .. .. ... 10 3 The Brett Testimonial 104

Hiram Abif ... 104 A Query ... ... 105 An Appeal to the Craft ... ... ... ... 105 The Boys'School Festival 105 Has the Craft Deteriorated ? ... ... ... 105 Henry Price Again ... ... ... ... ... 105 Domatic Lodge , No . 173 ... ... ... ... 106

A "Council Of Rites" For England.

A "COUNCIL of RITES" for ENGLAND .

BY BRO . WILLIAM J AMES HUGHAN , Provincial Grand Secretary for Cornwall , Sv . After reading the able leading article in THE FREEMASON for February 12 th , we have been led to consider the question as

to whether a " Council of Rites would not be found workable in this country . It has certainly answered well in Ireland , and , to a more limited extent , in Scotland . In the latter country , the Grand Lodge recognizes

the three Craft degrees alone , including the Mark . The Grand Chapter gathers under its wing the degrees of Mark Master , Past Master , and Excellent Master , and requires them to be taken before the Royal Arch

degree , which in turn is a pre-requisite for Knight Templary . This same Grand Chapter issues warrants to work the Royal Ark Mariner and the Red Cross degrees . The " Royal Order" must be joined before a

candidate can be received into the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and thus there is a gradation acknowledged throughout , and all the degrees , excepting the Mark , are kept apart from the Craft .

In Ireland , the Grand Lodge displays much more system , and has developed , within the last few years , a most excellent method whereby to regulate and control all the degrees beyond the third . The

Constitutions provide for the members not being permitted to wear any jewel , medal or device belonging to any order or degree beyond that of Master Mason ( in which , however , the jewel of a P . M . of a lodge is included ) in

the Grand Lodge , and strictly prohibit as unlawful all assemblies of Freemasons in Ireland , under any title whatever purporting to be Masonic , not held by virtue of a warrant or constitution from Grand Lodge , or from one of the other Masonic bodies

recognised by and acting in unison with it . The degrees above the third arc under the authority of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter ( the Mark and Royal Arch degrees with the "Veils" ) , the Grand Encampment of High

Knights Templar ( for the degrees of Knight of the Sword , Knight of the East , Knight of the East and West , Knight Templar , and Knight of Malta ) , and the Grand Council of Rites with the Supreme Council for thc

Ancient and Accepted Rite . Brethren excluded , suspended or restored by either of these Grand bodies , arc , on thc case being

communicated to the Grand Lodge of Ireland , excluded , suspended or restored , as the case may be ; and brethren excluded , suspended or restored by Grand Lodge are also

A "Council Of Rites" For England.

similarly treated by the other Grand bodies , as also the- same action being taken by either , the remainder are reciprocally affected , and act in unison without further enquiry or investigation . The Grand Master for the time being , if a Royal Arch Mason

and Knight Templar , is ex officio chief among Royal Arch Masons and Knights Templar in Ireland ; and the present Grand Master is de jure Sovereign of the Council of Rites . The Constitutions also provide for the tyling of the several lodges , chapters

and encampments being performed by the Tyler and the Asst . Tyler to the Grand Lodge , who are paid by a fixed salary , and on no account by fees from these respective bodies . In the several meetings of these

authorities for each of the rites only the clothing and jewels pertaining to their degrees and ceremonies are allowed to be worn . The following is the gradation adopted under the Irish system : —

1 ^ -. WH M 4 * OJ N w e \>~ . n - - • I— " * cs ¦ , Ef 2 . " [ OOQQ ' ¦ ' > ~«—^ - ~— - — - o-w ge-c-c 3 £ S " era <*" ¦ era p-cra inn * § 3 . " S- 5 * ™ = | E 0 § ra = ° u $ « s 2 , = s , s ° %¥ sgo ? •*§§ . § | ou | g UN <¦ f-8 . 3 swa p * f FOS ..- p- s » s * - < 19 g . M * 8 * 5-0 , P r * - r * -

The qualifications for the second Rite are , for a Master Mason , a registered Master Mason and for the Royal Arch , six months a Master Mason ; and a unanimous ballot . For the third series of the degrees , registration for two years as a Master Mason , and six months as a Royal Arch Mason , and also a unanimous ballot .

For the last rite , most stringent regulations are adopted , and indeed more rules are laid down respecting the Rose Croix and the other " hautes grades " than we know of under any other similarly constituted authority . The degree of Prince , or Rose

Croix Mason , cannot be conferred on any brother who has not obtained all the previous degrees , from the Entered Apprentice to the Knight of Malta , and professes the Christian religion . Besides these indispensable conditions , the following arc also

deemed essential without a special dispensation , viz . : Each candidate must have attained the age of thirty-three years , have been registered as a Master Mason for seven years , and have been a Master of a Craft Lodge for six months at least .

Thesepre-rcquisites having been complied with , the names have also to pass a unanimous ballot of the Chapter , and be accepted by the Council of Rites . Hence thc Rose

Croix degree is valued more hi ghly in Ireland than anywhere else , as it is not to be obtained , as in England , by brethren who are not old enough Masons to become members of thc Royal Arch .

Seeing thc evident utility of thc Irish organisation , what is to preventanothersuch being formed in England , apart from the jurisdiction of thc Grand Lod ge and the sphere of Craft Masonry . So many independent Grand Bodies in this country

involve an unnecessary and large outlay of time and money , and after all do not answer thc purposes for which they arc created . Wc surely do not require no less than five different Grand Masters and sets of Grand Officers beyond thc third degree ? Wc arc

persuaded that before long , thc importance of this question will be forced upon thc attention of the supporters of these degrees , and a new and improved system , founded upon a reciprocal treaty between thc authorities working thc Mark , Royal

A "Council Of Rites" For England.

Arch , Red Cross of Rome and Constantine , Knights Templar and Malta , and the Ancient and Accepted Rite , will be inaugu rated and adopted by the unanimous desire of the various Rites . Let it be decided which is to be considered the last in the

series , and have the remainder placed in their acknowledged order , beginning with the Mark degree , and requiring certain time to elapse between each , and in no

case to allow of either being omitted to take others beyond , and also to allow of no degrees being worked but those admitted into the recognised number by the members of the united system .

We draw attention to these hurriedly expressed views , and plead their importance as an excuse for their examination now .

Leaves From My Library.

LEAVES FROM MY LIBRARY .

BY MARMADUKE MAKEPEACE . ( Continued from page 86 . } The next extract I shall give from this singular work describes a visit of Alamede , " the page of Eral , " to the dwelling-place of his mysteroua protectress , Ipsiboe , the heroine of the tale : —

He descended the mountain , on the summit of which the Castle of Aiguemar was built . The sky was full of stars , but thick clouds scudded rapidly over its surface ; and a west wind blowing strongly now cleared the firmament , and now overspread it with clouds .

During the five years of Ipsibod's absence , the page of Eral had not visited the marsh of St . Chrisogonc . The road , obstructed by shrubs and intersected by brooks , hacl become almost impracticable ; and a white fog rising from the stagnant waters prevented his seeing either the path or the

surrounding objects . Thc superstitious inhabitants of thc canton believed this damp valley was peopled by malevolent spirits , and that the marsh lights which appeared so often to passengers were perfidious enchanters who sought to lead them to precipices .

Alamdde had often heard stories of grey spectres , seen through the fog . He had listened a thousand times to descriptions of the dracs , the scorpions , the terrasques , and the basilisks , who suddenly reared their monstrous heads from the thick deros . * He recollected all the conjectures which had been

formed in consequence of thc strange manners of Ipsiboe ;—her mysterious doings , her inexplicable mode of living—and a sort of indefinite alarm took possession of him . A biting wind blew from thc cold waters . The shrill cry of the lake birds , the murmuring of the

waters and thc wind among the rushes and against thc rough shore , sounded like groans . Thc Orphan listened to these mournful sounds ; the desert spot in which he stood , thc obscurity which surrounded him , and the freezing vapour which stiffened his limbs , combined to dissipate his habitual gaiety ,

and a feeling of bitterness prevailed . Foul exhalations , plaintive sounds , and a doubtful light , formed around him a phantasmagoric region , and he would have been little surprised at seeing an apparition in the midst of it . Striving to surmount these evil influences— "No ;"

said Alamdde , internally , " this extraordinary scene shall not divert my reason . Ipsiboe" employs no cabalistic art . I know her sentiments ; I have received her wise advice ; and never did purer morals , or sounder Christian maxims , proceed from more noble lips . She has been as a mother to me ,

and I ought to respect all she does . He drew near Ipsibod's dwelling , which he now began to perceive through the thick mist . It was an octagonal building , composed of stones and bricks , and presenting the most sombre appearance . An iron grate formed thc door , and made it look

like a frightful prison . The walls were covered with hieroglyphic characters , the figures of the Zodiac anc " Egyptian symbols . There were no other windows than loopholes ; and on thc roof , upon a large platform , stood a small wooden tower ,

openat the top , and surrounded with glazed windows . In this kind of observatory , which was always lightened at night , Ipsibod , according to common fame , studied astrology , and composed magical philtres .