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Article CORRESPONDENCE. Page 1 of 5 →
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Correspondence.
GOEEESMNBB ^
TO 1 ^ Sir and BrOTHEB , —rThe title which I give this communication is ^ so extensive that I hardly know what branch of the subject to begin with . It is , indeed , an extensive subject . Poor Burns , peace to his inemory , would be surprised to see in this iC land that's far awaV the numerous offspring of that " favoured and enlightened few , " whom he addressed on the occasion of his fr Earewell to the Brethren of St . Jarnes s Lodge , " I am sometimes compelled to think that Masonry is too common here . It is the property of the masses , and the privilege
[ The Editoh does not hold Mmselfi responsible for any opinions entertained ly Correspondents ^
MASONED IN AM 1 EICA
of every one who commands the necessary sum to pay for the initiation , and enjoys " a tongue of good report . " I fear that in the investigation of the latter the Brethren are hardly strict enough , and the result is that many , I fear very many , unworthy persons are admitted within the portals of our time-honoured and illustrious order . The Brethren here are really go-a-head Masons , as well as go-a-head business men . A candidate is entered on one night , passed at the next ( weekly ) meeting , and in a fortnight after the mysteries of the sanctum sanctorum are explained to him !
The work also is very different to what we practised in England ; so much so that an English Mason coming into a Lodge here , almost fancies himself in a Bruidical temple , or amongst the practical workers in some other order ! You are aware that at home I was considered somewhat of an expert , but here I am a perfect numskull , and before I can make any advanced movement , I must try to forget all I ever knew , and start , as the lawyers say , de novo . By the way , this difference of work is a very important subject of study , and some of your numerous readers , on both sides of the Atlantic , may be able to
shed more light upon it . I have conversed with very intelligent Brethren here , and they say that the American mode of working is the correct one . Whether their position be exactly right or not I cannot say , but their account is a very plausible one , and will repay an examination into it . One gentleman , who was evidently well acquainted with the subject , said the work practised in England is new , while the system worked in this country is the old English work of Preston . He says that , at the beginning of the present century , Thomas Smith Webb ( a , very popular lecturer on Freemasonry he became subsequently ) went from here to
London , to learn the work and lectures , theoretically and practically , from the lips of William Preston , and remained three years , until he was thoroughly master of the Prestonian work , which was the only work then practised in England by the legitimate Grand Lodge . He states that , at the union of the two Grand Lodges ( Sussex and Kent ) , in 1813 , there was a new system of work adopted—a blending of the two systems of Preston and Dermott , and that this is the system now practised in England , while the Simon Pure , taught by Preston , and imported by Webb , is still practised here , as it was handed down and
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
GOEEESMNBB ^
TO 1 ^ Sir and BrOTHEB , —rThe title which I give this communication is ^ so extensive that I hardly know what branch of the subject to begin with . It is , indeed , an extensive subject . Poor Burns , peace to his inemory , would be surprised to see in this iC land that's far awaV the numerous offspring of that " favoured and enlightened few , " whom he addressed on the occasion of his fr Earewell to the Brethren of St . Jarnes s Lodge , " I am sometimes compelled to think that Masonry is too common here . It is the property of the masses , and the privilege
[ The Editoh does not hold Mmselfi responsible for any opinions entertained ly Correspondents ^
MASONED IN AM 1 EICA
of every one who commands the necessary sum to pay for the initiation , and enjoys " a tongue of good report . " I fear that in the investigation of the latter the Brethren are hardly strict enough , and the result is that many , I fear very many , unworthy persons are admitted within the portals of our time-honoured and illustrious order . The Brethren here are really go-a-head Masons , as well as go-a-head business men . A candidate is entered on one night , passed at the next ( weekly ) meeting , and in a fortnight after the mysteries of the sanctum sanctorum are explained to him !
The work also is very different to what we practised in England ; so much so that an English Mason coming into a Lodge here , almost fancies himself in a Bruidical temple , or amongst the practical workers in some other order ! You are aware that at home I was considered somewhat of an expert , but here I am a perfect numskull , and before I can make any advanced movement , I must try to forget all I ever knew , and start , as the lawyers say , de novo . By the way , this difference of work is a very important subject of study , and some of your numerous readers , on both sides of the Atlantic , may be able to
shed more light upon it . I have conversed with very intelligent Brethren here , and they say that the American mode of working is the correct one . Whether their position be exactly right or not I cannot say , but their account is a very plausible one , and will repay an examination into it . One gentleman , who was evidently well acquainted with the subject , said the work practised in England is new , while the system worked in this country is the old English work of Preston . He says that , at the beginning of the present century , Thomas Smith Webb ( a , very popular lecturer on Freemasonry he became subsequently ) went from here to
London , to learn the work and lectures , theoretically and practically , from the lips of William Preston , and remained three years , until he was thoroughly master of the Prestonian work , which was the only work then practised in England by the legitimate Grand Lodge . He states that , at the union of the two Grand Lodges ( Sussex and Kent ) , in 1813 , there was a new system of work adopted—a blending of the two systems of Preston and Dermott , and that this is the system now practised in England , while the Simon Pure , taught by Preston , and imported by Webb , is still practised here , as it was handed down and