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Article THE HIGH GRADES IN IRELAND. Page 1 of 1 Article THE HIGH GRADES IN IRELAND. Page 1 of 1 Article THE HIGH GRADES IN IRELAND. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The High Grades In Ireland.
THE HIGH GRADES IN IRELAND .
BY HISTORICUS . ( Continued from page 308 . . ) We shall see from the following pamphlet all that we have been able to glean in regard to the Irish Council of Rites . We are inclined , however , to consider even a constitution of this
nature as more regular than such a body claiming powers from a foreign source : for it would appear from the Grand Lodge Constitutions that the Irish Masons afterwards obtained a 33 warrant from America , and the authenticity of the spurious Ancient and Accepted Rite is assumed in these Constitutions . The Charleston
patents are probably the most valuable , inasmuch as they augmented the rite . About the year 1808 , one , Bro . Abraham Jacobs , after travelling over America , settled at New York . He had given the first 18 degrees to Bro . J . J . Gourgas , clerk to a Dr . de la Motta . Bro .
Gourgas afterwards showed a patent in his own handwriting , signed , however , by Dr . de la Motta ,, of the remaining fifteen degrees , and upon this the , no doubt , worthy Bro . Gourgas founded an authorised and schimatic S . G . Council in New York , he being then a clerk
upon a boat trading with England . To this body applied Drs . Nash , Goss , Oliver , and Leeson in 1845 , and Bro . Gourgas was glad to oblige them with a warrant and patents of 33 ° . Immediately thereupon these brethren abrogated the Templar qualification , and gave the degrees
to any M . M . ; but Bro . Nash received his degrees in the Templar Camp at Bristol ( and was afterwards expelled by his friends of the 33 ) , Bro . Oliver in the Templar Conclave of Hull , and Bros . Goss and Leeson , as has been stated , at London ; so that , as a learned brother remarks ,
the origin of the English Council , " was a schism , emanating from a schismatic bod y , through a schism . " But to the Irish pamphlet " It is true , indeed , that upon one solitary occasion the Grand Chapter allowed itself to be dragged from the usual tenor of its unobtrusive course . Its
claims were openly denounced in the public newspapers . It publicly asserted its independence and long recognized rights . But upon that occasion alone , and then only when it became a necessary measure of self-defence against an act of public and unprovoked aggression , and a public appeal to the
Masonic community , ever resorted to by the Grand Chapter . And since that period , while its enemies have been , during the last two years , unremitting and indefatigable in their exertions to promulgate unfairly their ex parte statements , and to assail the Grand Chapter by secret communications and
whispered charges , which they have never ventured to bring to the test of open and impartial investigation , the Grand Chapter , in proud consciousness of the unimpeachable integrity of its pretensions and rights , has invariably acted by tlie conciliating rule of uniform forbearance and
patience of injuries ; content with the complete victory which it had achieved in respect of truth and argument , although outwitted by manceuvrc and finesse ; and satisfied ( more , perhaps , than a selfish prudence would have dictated ) with reflection that so long as those who had ventured to
impeach its title , still shrank from its public , recorded an abiding challenge it would best preserve its own dignity , and most effectively advance the harmony ofthe Craft in general by gently turning a deaf car to misrepresentations breathed only in secret , and
calmly suffering to pass unnoticed each repeated , weak exhibition of those unenviable feelings and each impotent sally of those inglorious tactics which love to injure , but are afraid to abide the consequences of an evil conflict .
" But , as in matters of less vital consequence than the arbitrary assumption of supreme power by the Council of Rites , the Grand Chapter has ever been manifest in its desire to tolerate the claims of that irregular society ; so it is determined never to bow its neck beneath the yoke ot
illegal and unconstitutional usurpation . It never will submit to surrender up its indefeasible rights to the imperious demands of a chapter , whose only title must be derived through an irregular descent from the Grand Chapter itself . " In the spirit of this resolution , the following statement has been compiled , at the request of
several distinguished friends ofthe Grand Chapter , in order that every present or future member of it . and every Mason who may at any time feel an interest in the subject may bc prepared to repel misrepresentation wherever met with , and may be preserved from the fatal errors into which some ( even amongst the intelligent and respectable mem-
The High Grades In Ireland.
bers of the Craft ) have been heretofore too easily seduced . " The obscurity in which the origin of primaeval Masonry is involved has extended itself to the several causes and occasions of most ofthe Masonic orders which from time to time have sprung up
during the lapse of ages , and the original source of the transcendant degree of the Prince Mason is now lost in the darkness of remote antiquity . " But the grand revival of this Order , from which all chapters now in existence have arisen , took place about the commencement of the fourteenth
century , immediately previous to the period when the splendid qualities of Robert Bruce , displayed in the assertion of his claim to the Kingdom of Scotland , vindicated the honour of his country and restored its national independence . " By that distinguished patriot this illustrious
Christian Order was revived in Scotland about the year 1302 , and was by him placed upon that solid foundation upon which it has continued down to the present time . " At what period this Order , which had been for ages buried in oblivion , was first revived in Ireland
is not certainly known . Some suppose that Bruce himself re-established the mystery during his residence at Rathlin , or Rachrin , a small island off the Irish coast , where , with some of his faithful followers , he was for some time reduced to seek a refuge from the pursuit of his enemies . This
opinion , however , is much shaken by the circumstance that the island had been totally uninhabited until it afforded to King Robert a place of safety and concealment ; nor does it clearly appear that Bruce ever approached nearer to the Irish shores . But , however this may be , it is well known that
when Edward , the brother of Robert Bruce , having been invited by the men of Ulster to aid them in their resistance to the English , landed at Carrickfergus , A . D . 1315 , with a considerable army , that gallant and enterprising leader initiated a number of his Irish allies into this sublime degree , and
formed a chapter in that ancient town , where traces ofthe existence of a great Lodge of Prince Masons may even now be found . " By these means the art of Prince Masonry was introduced into Ireland , where it is still cultivated , and where , for upwards of 50 c years , its pure light
has been preserved . " Among the Irish chapters which derive their descent in direct succession from this distinguished source one is that which has been long known and recognised under the style and title of' The Grand Chapter of Ireland , ' which chapter has held its
meetings in Dublin for a great number of years , and still continues to hold them in that city . This chapter , until the last few years , used to meet only at intervals for the purpose of transacting important business , such as the granting of warrants , enacting laws , and conferring its pre-eminent degrees upon
the most distinguished members of the Masonic Order . " In the exercise of these functions it appears from its records that , on the 7 th March , 1796 ( in which year several noblemen and other eminent persons were added to the Grand Chapter ) , the late
Grand Master ofthe I-recmasons of Ireland , Lord Donoughmore , the predecessor of his Grace the Duke of Leinster , was advanced in this chapter to the honours of Prince Masonry j and on the 10 th June , 1809 , a warrant to form a subordinate chapter in Dublin was granted upon the memorial of several respectable brethren ofthe degree of H . K . T .
"' Dublin , AprU , 1809 . '" To the Officers and Brethren composing the Chapter of Prince Masons , held at the Eagle , iu Eustace-street . "' Gentlemen and Brethren , It having been intimated to us , the undersigned Past Masters of Blue
Masonic Lodges and High Knights lemplav , that it is your intention to establish another Chapter of Prince Masons in this city , under your immediate protection , to bc composed of such members as you shall approve of , and who shall bc bound to adhere
to the laws you shall prescribe , for the general regulation of that sublime degree , we beg to offer ourselves as candidates . "' Should we meet your approbation , we pledge ourselves to act in strict conformity to such instructions as we may receive .
' ' We remain , Gentlemen and Brethren , "' Yours most fraternally , Henry Straban , P . M . 155 ; John Sharkey , P . M . 189 ; Thomas Grubb , P . M . 207 ; James Frederick Adamson , 620 ; Michael O'Brien , 54 ; William P . Graham , 6 ; Andrew Cosgrave , 189 . '
" The above memorial having been presented to the Grand Chapter about two months previously , was , on the 10 th June , 1809 , taken into consideration , whereupon it was resolved , ' that the request of said memorial bc complied with . ' " By giving this warrant the Grand Chapter showed its willingness to communicate the knowledge of its high degrees to all respectable Masons ,
The High Grades In Ireland.
being duly qualified ; a willingness which was the more necessary , because , except the Grand Chapter , there was at the time no other authorised or legal society of Prince Masons which met in Dublin or its vicinity , which circumstance was the cause of the above application in the year 1809 .
" In the year 1800 , a foreigner , named Emanuel Zimmerman , who had been previously admitted into the Grand Chapter , was expelled for having committed several acts inconsistent with the principles of the Order ; this being the only instance of an expulsion from the chapter since its formation .
"In 1802 , this Zimmerman , being so expelled , and thereby under a legal disability to communicate the honours of Prince Masonry , affected to elevate Bro . John Fowler , the present D . G . S . of the G . C , to the rank of a Sovereign Prince Mason . "It is altogether unnecessary , and would be beside
the present purpose to consider , or enquire , whether or not Emanuel Zimmerman ever received the mysteries of the chair , or whether he received them surreptitiously or in a regular manner . Not a semblance of proof , however ; not a vestige of presumption , or of probability , has ever been adduced
to show that he had , by any means , regular or irregular , obtained any higher degree than that which is conferred upon all the brethren in a Prince ' s Chapter ; but whether he was or was not possessed of the degree of a Sovereign , his expulsion—which was for the most base and scandalous
offences—totally deprived him of any previous right to confer , or assist in conferring , any of the honours or privileges of the Princely Order . " In the year 1804 , Bro . Fowler , after having in this manner obtained an insight into the mysteries , unceremoniously proceeded to the formation of a
chapter , and began to make Prince Masons , producing as his authority for so doing a piece of paper or parchment , which he called an authorisation from the before-mentioned Emanuel Zimmerman , the degraded Mason , whose sentence was never afterwards rescinded .
" Now , of what use or validity was this paltry document ? Zimmerman had not , at any time , the authority to communicate , even in the body of a lawful chapter , the degree of a Sovereign Prince , and , if even he had once been qualified to do so , his expulsion must have divested him of all such rights .
Could he thus—could this wretched man ( after his expulsion , too)—not only admit persons to honours which he had never himself received , but also communicatej to a party so admitted , a personal authority to elevate others , clandestinely , whensoever he pleased , without the assistance and sanction
of any chapter or even of any third person . "It has been stated in some of the vague rumours that have been put into circulation on behalf of this Chapter of Zimmerman , that its title is , or may be , derived from some other less disreputable source ; and it has also been reported that , within
the last two years , and long after the assumption by that chapter of its modern title of a Council of Rites , it became ashamed of its origin , and that it has lately procured , from a Continental chapter , a warrant or authority to legalise its meetings . For the first of these reports the members of the Grand
Chapter are not , in any manner , responsible . They can neither vouch for its correctness , nor , on the other hand , are they anxious to enquire whether or not the Chapter of Zimmerman is entitled to the benefit of the fact averred . They only protest against that circumstance ( if , indeed , it bc a fact )
being taken for more than it is worth j its true and only value being merely to prove that the previous title was bad ; while it remains to be proved—notwithstanding the aversion ofthe Zimmcrananiacs to all and every process of inductive reasoning—that it was at all within the compass ofthe authority of a Mason , or Masons , in a foreign country , to
establish a Masonic supremacy in Ireland , any more than it lies within the compass or authority of the said Mason , or Masons , to elect members to sit in the Imperial Parliament , to place a member of the Council of Rites upon the woolsack , or , by means of a few worthless words upon a scrap of paper , to delegate to Bro . John Fowler the right to fill the throne of the United Kingdom . " ' ( To bc continued . )
REPORT of Dr . Arthur Hill Hassall , Analyst of the " Lancet" Sanitary Commission , Author of " Food nml its Adulterations , " & c , Sc , on Mayar's Semolina : " I have carefully tested , chemically and microscopically , the samples of Semolina sent by Messrs . L . Mayar & Co ., 36 , Mark Lane , London , K . C . I find them to be perfectly genuine , of excellent quality , and eminently nutritious . They contain a very lan ; c percentage of
nitrogenous matter , chiclly gluten , and arc far more nutritious than any other food , such as Arrowroot , Tapioca , Sago , Corn Flour , Farinaceous Food , ordinary Wheat Flour , or any of the Cereals in use as food in this country . — ( Signed ) ARTHUR HIM . IIASSAI . L , M . D ., London . " - - Highly recommended by the Faculty for Infants , Invalids , & c . Makes delicious Pudding , Custards , Wane Mange , & c . After a trial no family will be without Mayar ' a Semolina ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The High Grades In Ireland.
THE HIGH GRADES IN IRELAND .
BY HISTORICUS . ( Continued from page 308 . . ) We shall see from the following pamphlet all that we have been able to glean in regard to the Irish Council of Rites . We are inclined , however , to consider even a constitution of this
nature as more regular than such a body claiming powers from a foreign source : for it would appear from the Grand Lodge Constitutions that the Irish Masons afterwards obtained a 33 warrant from America , and the authenticity of the spurious Ancient and Accepted Rite is assumed in these Constitutions . The Charleston
patents are probably the most valuable , inasmuch as they augmented the rite . About the year 1808 , one , Bro . Abraham Jacobs , after travelling over America , settled at New York . He had given the first 18 degrees to Bro . J . J . Gourgas , clerk to a Dr . de la Motta . Bro .
Gourgas afterwards showed a patent in his own handwriting , signed , however , by Dr . de la Motta ,, of the remaining fifteen degrees , and upon this the , no doubt , worthy Bro . Gourgas founded an authorised and schimatic S . G . Council in New York , he being then a clerk
upon a boat trading with England . To this body applied Drs . Nash , Goss , Oliver , and Leeson in 1845 , and Bro . Gourgas was glad to oblige them with a warrant and patents of 33 ° . Immediately thereupon these brethren abrogated the Templar qualification , and gave the degrees
to any M . M . ; but Bro . Nash received his degrees in the Templar Camp at Bristol ( and was afterwards expelled by his friends of the 33 ) , Bro . Oliver in the Templar Conclave of Hull , and Bros . Goss and Leeson , as has been stated , at London ; so that , as a learned brother remarks ,
the origin of the English Council , " was a schism , emanating from a schismatic bod y , through a schism . " But to the Irish pamphlet " It is true , indeed , that upon one solitary occasion the Grand Chapter allowed itself to be dragged from the usual tenor of its unobtrusive course . Its
claims were openly denounced in the public newspapers . It publicly asserted its independence and long recognized rights . But upon that occasion alone , and then only when it became a necessary measure of self-defence against an act of public and unprovoked aggression , and a public appeal to the
Masonic community , ever resorted to by the Grand Chapter . And since that period , while its enemies have been , during the last two years , unremitting and indefatigable in their exertions to promulgate unfairly their ex parte statements , and to assail the Grand Chapter by secret communications and
whispered charges , which they have never ventured to bring to the test of open and impartial investigation , the Grand Chapter , in proud consciousness of the unimpeachable integrity of its pretensions and rights , has invariably acted by tlie conciliating rule of uniform forbearance and
patience of injuries ; content with the complete victory which it had achieved in respect of truth and argument , although outwitted by manceuvrc and finesse ; and satisfied ( more , perhaps , than a selfish prudence would have dictated ) with reflection that so long as those who had ventured to
impeach its title , still shrank from its public , recorded an abiding challenge it would best preserve its own dignity , and most effectively advance the harmony ofthe Craft in general by gently turning a deaf car to misrepresentations breathed only in secret , and
calmly suffering to pass unnoticed each repeated , weak exhibition of those unenviable feelings and each impotent sally of those inglorious tactics which love to injure , but are afraid to abide the consequences of an evil conflict .
" But , as in matters of less vital consequence than the arbitrary assumption of supreme power by the Council of Rites , the Grand Chapter has ever been manifest in its desire to tolerate the claims of that irregular society ; so it is determined never to bow its neck beneath the yoke ot
illegal and unconstitutional usurpation . It never will submit to surrender up its indefeasible rights to the imperious demands of a chapter , whose only title must be derived through an irregular descent from the Grand Chapter itself . " In the spirit of this resolution , the following statement has been compiled , at the request of
several distinguished friends ofthe Grand Chapter , in order that every present or future member of it . and every Mason who may at any time feel an interest in the subject may bc prepared to repel misrepresentation wherever met with , and may be preserved from the fatal errors into which some ( even amongst the intelligent and respectable mem-
The High Grades In Ireland.
bers of the Craft ) have been heretofore too easily seduced . " The obscurity in which the origin of primaeval Masonry is involved has extended itself to the several causes and occasions of most ofthe Masonic orders which from time to time have sprung up
during the lapse of ages , and the original source of the transcendant degree of the Prince Mason is now lost in the darkness of remote antiquity . " But the grand revival of this Order , from which all chapters now in existence have arisen , took place about the commencement of the fourteenth
century , immediately previous to the period when the splendid qualities of Robert Bruce , displayed in the assertion of his claim to the Kingdom of Scotland , vindicated the honour of his country and restored its national independence . " By that distinguished patriot this illustrious
Christian Order was revived in Scotland about the year 1302 , and was by him placed upon that solid foundation upon which it has continued down to the present time . " At what period this Order , which had been for ages buried in oblivion , was first revived in Ireland
is not certainly known . Some suppose that Bruce himself re-established the mystery during his residence at Rathlin , or Rachrin , a small island off the Irish coast , where , with some of his faithful followers , he was for some time reduced to seek a refuge from the pursuit of his enemies . This
opinion , however , is much shaken by the circumstance that the island had been totally uninhabited until it afforded to King Robert a place of safety and concealment ; nor does it clearly appear that Bruce ever approached nearer to the Irish shores . But , however this may be , it is well known that
when Edward , the brother of Robert Bruce , having been invited by the men of Ulster to aid them in their resistance to the English , landed at Carrickfergus , A . D . 1315 , with a considerable army , that gallant and enterprising leader initiated a number of his Irish allies into this sublime degree , and
formed a chapter in that ancient town , where traces ofthe existence of a great Lodge of Prince Masons may even now be found . " By these means the art of Prince Masonry was introduced into Ireland , where it is still cultivated , and where , for upwards of 50 c years , its pure light
has been preserved . " Among the Irish chapters which derive their descent in direct succession from this distinguished source one is that which has been long known and recognised under the style and title of' The Grand Chapter of Ireland , ' which chapter has held its
meetings in Dublin for a great number of years , and still continues to hold them in that city . This chapter , until the last few years , used to meet only at intervals for the purpose of transacting important business , such as the granting of warrants , enacting laws , and conferring its pre-eminent degrees upon
the most distinguished members of the Masonic Order . " In the exercise of these functions it appears from its records that , on the 7 th March , 1796 ( in which year several noblemen and other eminent persons were added to the Grand Chapter ) , the late
Grand Master ofthe I-recmasons of Ireland , Lord Donoughmore , the predecessor of his Grace the Duke of Leinster , was advanced in this chapter to the honours of Prince Masonry j and on the 10 th June , 1809 , a warrant to form a subordinate chapter in Dublin was granted upon the memorial of several respectable brethren ofthe degree of H . K . T .
"' Dublin , AprU , 1809 . '" To the Officers and Brethren composing the Chapter of Prince Masons , held at the Eagle , iu Eustace-street . "' Gentlemen and Brethren , It having been intimated to us , the undersigned Past Masters of Blue
Masonic Lodges and High Knights lemplav , that it is your intention to establish another Chapter of Prince Masons in this city , under your immediate protection , to bc composed of such members as you shall approve of , and who shall bc bound to adhere
to the laws you shall prescribe , for the general regulation of that sublime degree , we beg to offer ourselves as candidates . "' Should we meet your approbation , we pledge ourselves to act in strict conformity to such instructions as we may receive .
' ' We remain , Gentlemen and Brethren , "' Yours most fraternally , Henry Straban , P . M . 155 ; John Sharkey , P . M . 189 ; Thomas Grubb , P . M . 207 ; James Frederick Adamson , 620 ; Michael O'Brien , 54 ; William P . Graham , 6 ; Andrew Cosgrave , 189 . '
" The above memorial having been presented to the Grand Chapter about two months previously , was , on the 10 th June , 1809 , taken into consideration , whereupon it was resolved , ' that the request of said memorial bc complied with . ' " By giving this warrant the Grand Chapter showed its willingness to communicate the knowledge of its high degrees to all respectable Masons ,
The High Grades In Ireland.
being duly qualified ; a willingness which was the more necessary , because , except the Grand Chapter , there was at the time no other authorised or legal society of Prince Masons which met in Dublin or its vicinity , which circumstance was the cause of the above application in the year 1809 .
" In the year 1800 , a foreigner , named Emanuel Zimmerman , who had been previously admitted into the Grand Chapter , was expelled for having committed several acts inconsistent with the principles of the Order ; this being the only instance of an expulsion from the chapter since its formation .
"In 1802 , this Zimmerman , being so expelled , and thereby under a legal disability to communicate the honours of Prince Masonry , affected to elevate Bro . John Fowler , the present D . G . S . of the G . C , to the rank of a Sovereign Prince Mason . "It is altogether unnecessary , and would be beside
the present purpose to consider , or enquire , whether or not Emanuel Zimmerman ever received the mysteries of the chair , or whether he received them surreptitiously or in a regular manner . Not a semblance of proof , however ; not a vestige of presumption , or of probability , has ever been adduced
to show that he had , by any means , regular or irregular , obtained any higher degree than that which is conferred upon all the brethren in a Prince ' s Chapter ; but whether he was or was not possessed of the degree of a Sovereign , his expulsion—which was for the most base and scandalous
offences—totally deprived him of any previous right to confer , or assist in conferring , any of the honours or privileges of the Princely Order . " In the year 1804 , Bro . Fowler , after having in this manner obtained an insight into the mysteries , unceremoniously proceeded to the formation of a
chapter , and began to make Prince Masons , producing as his authority for so doing a piece of paper or parchment , which he called an authorisation from the before-mentioned Emanuel Zimmerman , the degraded Mason , whose sentence was never afterwards rescinded .
" Now , of what use or validity was this paltry document ? Zimmerman had not , at any time , the authority to communicate , even in the body of a lawful chapter , the degree of a Sovereign Prince , and , if even he had once been qualified to do so , his expulsion must have divested him of all such rights .
Could he thus—could this wretched man ( after his expulsion , too)—not only admit persons to honours which he had never himself received , but also communicatej to a party so admitted , a personal authority to elevate others , clandestinely , whensoever he pleased , without the assistance and sanction
of any chapter or even of any third person . "It has been stated in some of the vague rumours that have been put into circulation on behalf of this Chapter of Zimmerman , that its title is , or may be , derived from some other less disreputable source ; and it has also been reported that , within
the last two years , and long after the assumption by that chapter of its modern title of a Council of Rites , it became ashamed of its origin , and that it has lately procured , from a Continental chapter , a warrant or authority to legalise its meetings . For the first of these reports the members of the Grand
Chapter are not , in any manner , responsible . They can neither vouch for its correctness , nor , on the other hand , are they anxious to enquire whether or not the Chapter of Zimmerman is entitled to the benefit of the fact averred . They only protest against that circumstance ( if , indeed , it bc a fact )
being taken for more than it is worth j its true and only value being merely to prove that the previous title was bad ; while it remains to be proved—notwithstanding the aversion ofthe Zimmcrananiacs to all and every process of inductive reasoning—that it was at all within the compass ofthe authority of a Mason , or Masons , in a foreign country , to
establish a Masonic supremacy in Ireland , any more than it lies within the compass or authority of the said Mason , or Masons , to elect members to sit in the Imperial Parliament , to place a member of the Council of Rites upon the woolsack , or , by means of a few worthless words upon a scrap of paper , to delegate to Bro . John Fowler the right to fill the throne of the United Kingdom . " ' ( To bc continued . )
REPORT of Dr . Arthur Hill Hassall , Analyst of the " Lancet" Sanitary Commission , Author of " Food nml its Adulterations , " & c , Sc , on Mayar's Semolina : " I have carefully tested , chemically and microscopically , the samples of Semolina sent by Messrs . L . Mayar & Co ., 36 , Mark Lane , London , K . C . I find them to be perfectly genuine , of excellent quality , and eminently nutritious . They contain a very lan ; c percentage of
nitrogenous matter , chiclly gluten , and arc far more nutritious than any other food , such as Arrowroot , Tapioca , Sago , Corn Flour , Farinaceous Food , ordinary Wheat Flour , or any of the Cereals in use as food in this country . — ( Signed ) ARTHUR HIM . IIASSAI . L , M . D ., London . " - - Highly recommended by the Faculty for Infants , Invalids , & c . Makes delicious Pudding , Custards , Wane Mange , & c . After a trial no family will be without Mayar ' a Semolina ,