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Article UNIFORMITY OF RITUAL. ← Page 3 of 3 Article UNIFORMITY OF RITUAL. Page 3 of 3
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Uniformity Of Ritual.
the best of their power , and for the benefit of their respective Orders . " ( Signed ) CHAS . Jyo . YIGNE , 33 ° , " Sov . G . Commander . "To the Rev . G . Raymond Portal , "Grand Master of Grand Mark Lodge , England , " & c . Chambers , 3 A , North Sfc . David-street ,
Edinburgh , 5 th January , 1870 . Frederick Binckes , Esq ., 2 , Red Lion-square , High Holborn , London , W . C . My Dear Sir , —I am this morning in receipt of your favour of date the 3 rd inst ., enclosing ( 1 ) copv of letter from Bro . Francis B . DavidsonSdneyN . S . W . with
, y , , copy of my letter of date 11 th June , 1869 , addressed to Comp . Higsfcrim , therein referred to ; ( 2 ) copy of resolutions adopted by the body you represent , of date 30 th November last ; and ( 3 ) copy of amended resolutions agreed to b y the Supreme Grand Council 33 ° of England . I also recentl y observed in one of the London magazines a report of one of your meetings , at which the matters
referred to in your letter were discussed . At that meeting the Supreme Chapter of Scotland was accused , if I recollect ri ghtly , of a want of courtesy ; and in your letter now before , we are stated to be deficient in " Masonic good feeling . " It mi ght , probably be sufficient for me to say that tho body youreprosent is not recognised either by the Grand '
Lodge or Chapter of England , nor , so far as I know , by any regular Grand Lodge or Chapter ; that such a body as a " Graud Lodge of Mark Masters" is unknown in any country , and therefore that I cannot enter into any discussion on the subject ; but as I entertain a great respect for you personally , I shall reply to yonr letter upon the distinct understanding that I am not to be held thereby as admitting , to any extent whatever , the legality of the body you represent .
the circumstances under which I wrote to Companion Higstrim , Sydney , N . S . W ., the letter of the 11 th June , 1 S 69 , of which you appear to have a copy , aro shortly as follows . In the month of June la & t I received from that companion , in his official capacitv of Scribe E . of the St . Andrew ' s Chapter , Sydney , N . S . W ., No . 110 , S . C ., a letter dated 23 rd March , 1869 , from which it appeared
that some members of iiis chapter , and , as such , lawful Mark Masters , in ignorance that they were doing anything wrong , visited one of your lodges in Sydney / One of the brethren so visiting " was the R-. W . Master of our Mark Lodge in connection ' with the St . Andrew's Chapter . It further appeared that on tho evening of the visit in question your lod had occasion to instal its Masterand
ge , previous to the commencement of this ceremony the members of our lodge , including its installed Master , wer-e requested to withdraw . This they did after protesting , and an account of the whole affair was sent me in order that I might advise tho brethren how they should act . Now in these circumstances , with every desire , as I am sure you will believeto be courteousand
, , to show a " good Masonic feeling , " what was I to do ? I could not write to yon officially , as the Supremo Chapter , in conjunction with the Grand Lodge and Chapter of England , does not rceogni TCW body as a lawful one . 1 was compelled to answer ovr hv-. \ ' hrcii asking instructions , and to tell them that I could not get lliem redress because we hold tho lodge they visited to bo a
spurious one , and that they should not have been there . But yon will observe I only communicated this to the brethren of the lodge for their guidance , and I did not ask them to publish my letter beyond their own members , although the letter contains nothing which may not be published over the world . "Tho so called Grand Lodge of Mai'k Masters of England is an entirely spurious
Uniformity Of Ritual.
body , self constituted , and not recognised by any governing Masonic body in this country . " And this you know as well as I . These are the facts of the case , and I cannot help thinking it would have been wiser had you written me privately asking an explanation , which in that way you would have received , instead of rushing into print , as you have done . That , however , is a matter for your own consideration , as it does not concern the Supreme Chapter of Scotland .
With regard to the other part of your letter , I can only say that I have no doubt your threat of issuing so called Mark warrants in Scotland will be viewed with indifference by the Supreme Chapter of Scotland . In the fist place , because , as you may be aware , every lodge of St . John ' s Masonry in this country holding charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland is entitled , in virtue
of an arrangement between the Grand Lodge and Supremo Chapter , to work the degree . The Supreme Chapter accordingly does not grant Mark warrants in Scotland except to its own chapters , and therefore it is with the Grand Lodge , and not with the Supreme Chapter , you are proposing to enter the lists ; and so far as I knowthe former of these bodies has given you no
, cause of offence , unless , indeed , refusing , along with all other lawfully constituted governing Masonic bodies , to recognise you , bo construed as one ; and in the second place , because I don't think any Masons in Scotland who would take a charter or warrant from a body of such a questionable constitution as yours would be a credit , even to it . I feel certain when you see the position you have
assumed in the light of the information I have now given you , and which information you might have had long ago had you asked it , you will regret your recent proceedings—proceedings which I scarcely think are the best means of procuring the recognition you have so long been seeking .
You must understand , as I said at the outset , that I am not writing officially , or by authority , but merely as a member of the order , and , as your proceedings have been published , I shall send a copy of our correspondence to tho Freemason ' s Magazine . I am , My dear Sir and Brother , ' Yours truly , ( Signed ) L . MACKEKOSY .
THE following paragraph was forwarded to us by a correspondent , as a , catling from some newspaper , and inserted by us in last week ' s number . A contributor to tho Licensed Victuallers ' Guardian writes to inform us that , only the former portion is extracted from "Chambers' Kiieyclopiedia , " the latter being luS
remarks upon it . The paragraph should have been inserted thus : — " Free and Accepted Masons are an ancient society or body of men , so called either from some extraordinary knowledge of masonry or buildings which they were supposed to be masters of , or because the first founders of this society were of this profession . "—Chambers' Encyclopedia .
"In the present time we , as 'Masons , ' are not operative . We aro simply speculative . We are a body , composed of all sects : md denominations . We arc bound together by a secret and mystic tie . The result is , true friendship and charity in its fullest extent . Even in the ordinary occurrences of life is not secresy essential ? And it ought to bo more rigid in excluding those whose character will not bear the fullest
investigation . It is very easy to bo admitted into the Order , but not , unfortunately , to be so easily excluded . It , therefore , behoves all Masons never to introduce any one whose character is such that the least taint would bring discredit on our ancient and excellent institution . " —Licensed Victuallers' Guardian .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Uniformity Of Ritual.
the best of their power , and for the benefit of their respective Orders . " ( Signed ) CHAS . Jyo . YIGNE , 33 ° , " Sov . G . Commander . "To the Rev . G . Raymond Portal , "Grand Master of Grand Mark Lodge , England , " & c . Chambers , 3 A , North Sfc . David-street ,
Edinburgh , 5 th January , 1870 . Frederick Binckes , Esq ., 2 , Red Lion-square , High Holborn , London , W . C . My Dear Sir , —I am this morning in receipt of your favour of date the 3 rd inst ., enclosing ( 1 ) copv of letter from Bro . Francis B . DavidsonSdneyN . S . W . with
, y , , copy of my letter of date 11 th June , 1869 , addressed to Comp . Higsfcrim , therein referred to ; ( 2 ) copy of resolutions adopted by the body you represent , of date 30 th November last ; and ( 3 ) copy of amended resolutions agreed to b y the Supreme Grand Council 33 ° of England . I also recentl y observed in one of the London magazines a report of one of your meetings , at which the matters
referred to in your letter were discussed . At that meeting the Supreme Chapter of Scotland was accused , if I recollect ri ghtly , of a want of courtesy ; and in your letter now before , we are stated to be deficient in " Masonic good feeling . " It mi ght , probably be sufficient for me to say that tho body youreprosent is not recognised either by the Grand '
Lodge or Chapter of England , nor , so far as I know , by any regular Grand Lodge or Chapter ; that such a body as a " Graud Lodge of Mark Masters" is unknown in any country , and therefore that I cannot enter into any discussion on the subject ; but as I entertain a great respect for you personally , I shall reply to yonr letter upon the distinct understanding that I am not to be held thereby as admitting , to any extent whatever , the legality of the body you represent .
the circumstances under which I wrote to Companion Higstrim , Sydney , N . S . W ., the letter of the 11 th June , 1 S 69 , of which you appear to have a copy , aro shortly as follows . In the month of June la & t I received from that companion , in his official capacitv of Scribe E . of the St . Andrew ' s Chapter , Sydney , N . S . W ., No . 110 , S . C ., a letter dated 23 rd March , 1869 , from which it appeared
that some members of iiis chapter , and , as such , lawful Mark Masters , in ignorance that they were doing anything wrong , visited one of your lodges in Sydney / One of the brethren so visiting " was the R-. W . Master of our Mark Lodge in connection ' with the St . Andrew's Chapter . It further appeared that on tho evening of the visit in question your lod had occasion to instal its Masterand
ge , previous to the commencement of this ceremony the members of our lodge , including its installed Master , wer-e requested to withdraw . This they did after protesting , and an account of the whole affair was sent me in order that I might advise tho brethren how they should act . Now in these circumstances , with every desire , as I am sure you will believeto be courteousand
, , to show a " good Masonic feeling , " what was I to do ? I could not write to yon officially , as the Supremo Chapter , in conjunction with the Grand Lodge and Chapter of England , does not rceogni TCW body as a lawful one . 1 was compelled to answer ovr hv-. \ ' hrcii asking instructions , and to tell them that I could not get lliem redress because we hold tho lodge they visited to bo a
spurious one , and that they should not have been there . But yon will observe I only communicated this to the brethren of the lodge for their guidance , and I did not ask them to publish my letter beyond their own members , although the letter contains nothing which may not be published over the world . "Tho so called Grand Lodge of Mai'k Masters of England is an entirely spurious
Uniformity Of Ritual.
body , self constituted , and not recognised by any governing Masonic body in this country . " And this you know as well as I . These are the facts of the case , and I cannot help thinking it would have been wiser had you written me privately asking an explanation , which in that way you would have received , instead of rushing into print , as you have done . That , however , is a matter for your own consideration , as it does not concern the Supreme Chapter of Scotland .
With regard to the other part of your letter , I can only say that I have no doubt your threat of issuing so called Mark warrants in Scotland will be viewed with indifference by the Supreme Chapter of Scotland . In the fist place , because , as you may be aware , every lodge of St . John ' s Masonry in this country holding charter from the Grand Lodge of Scotland is entitled , in virtue
of an arrangement between the Grand Lodge and Supremo Chapter , to work the degree . The Supreme Chapter accordingly does not grant Mark warrants in Scotland except to its own chapters , and therefore it is with the Grand Lodge , and not with the Supreme Chapter , you are proposing to enter the lists ; and so far as I knowthe former of these bodies has given you no
, cause of offence , unless , indeed , refusing , along with all other lawfully constituted governing Masonic bodies , to recognise you , bo construed as one ; and in the second place , because I don't think any Masons in Scotland who would take a charter or warrant from a body of such a questionable constitution as yours would be a credit , even to it . I feel certain when you see the position you have
assumed in the light of the information I have now given you , and which information you might have had long ago had you asked it , you will regret your recent proceedings—proceedings which I scarcely think are the best means of procuring the recognition you have so long been seeking .
You must understand , as I said at the outset , that I am not writing officially , or by authority , but merely as a member of the order , and , as your proceedings have been published , I shall send a copy of our correspondence to tho Freemason ' s Magazine . I am , My dear Sir and Brother , ' Yours truly , ( Signed ) L . MACKEKOSY .
THE following paragraph was forwarded to us by a correspondent , as a , catling from some newspaper , and inserted by us in last week ' s number . A contributor to tho Licensed Victuallers ' Guardian writes to inform us that , only the former portion is extracted from "Chambers' Kiieyclopiedia , " the latter being luS
remarks upon it . The paragraph should have been inserted thus : — " Free and Accepted Masons are an ancient society or body of men , so called either from some extraordinary knowledge of masonry or buildings which they were supposed to be masters of , or because the first founders of this society were of this profession . "—Chambers' Encyclopedia .
"In the present time we , as 'Masons , ' are not operative . We aro simply speculative . We are a body , composed of all sects : md denominations . We arc bound together by a secret and mystic tie . The result is , true friendship and charity in its fullest extent . Even in the ordinary occurrences of life is not secresy essential ? And it ought to bo more rigid in excluding those whose character will not bear the fullest
investigation . It is very easy to bo admitted into the Order , but not , unfortunately , to be so easily excluded . It , therefore , behoves all Masons never to introduce any one whose character is such that the least taint would bring discredit on our ancient and excellent institution . " —Licensed Victuallers' Guardian .