The Threatened Secession From The Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter Of Scotland.—No. Ix.

Arch Masons , from which he considered it to be his duty to withdraw his Masonic allegiance . From intelligence which has reached Grand Chapter , the most active and persevering efforts are beingput forth in the rebel camp to widen the circle of disaffection and strengthen the cause of secession ,

and Ave have been assured by a rabid secessionist that the " formal deed of demission from Supreme Grand Chapter" will ere long herald the advent of the Grand Royal irch Chapter of Glasgow . The rank and file of the rebels seem to be under the impression that Freemasonry apart from their

chief cannot exist in Scotland ; but it is unfortunate that the Masons in this country are of a different opinion , and have by their removal of the most illustrious of the instigators of rebellion from seats in the Supreme Councils of the Craft shows the estimate they put upon the services of those who now shine as

stars of the first magnitude in the firmament of Masonic insubordination aud misrule . [ This dispute shows the folly of our Scotch brethren in keeping the Craft and Arch so distinct that on being suspended by the one the brother can laugh in his sleeve as possessing all the priviliges of the other . -ED . F . M . l

The Antiquity Of Masonic Degrees.

THE ANTIQUITY OF MASONIC DEGREES .

The paper on the above subject , signed EBOR , which appeared in the last number of the Magazine , reminded me that at Christinas I received some letters bearing on the subject—extracts from which may be acceptable to more than one brother . I think it right to DISCLAIM ALL RESPONSIBILITY EOR

THE OPINIONS GIVEN IN THESE LETTERS , ( as On 11101 * than one occasion I have been charged with writing things I have never done , and making statements on historical points which I have never spoken of , not even knowing the existence of some of them ) , and merely to add that as I received them from my friend , who I will

call the Rev . A . A ., and his friend the Rev . B . B ., an entire stranger to myself , so those portions which bear upon Masonry are here copied verhatim et literatim . The reason of my being in possession of them is told as follows : —

The Rev . A . A . writes to me "I send you a letter , just received , from a neighbouring clergyman in reply to the curious work on Freemasonry you were good enough to send me some time since . I lent it to Mr . B . B . at his request . You may be amused by his comments . The whole thing is a mystery to me . "

Enclosed in my friend A . A . ' s note , was one from B . B . to him , occupying no less than fifteen closel y written pages , from which the following are extracts-. — " I thank you for the book on Masonry which I have read . The notes are valuable , and so , as far as it goesis the bookbut I had read in other worksthe

, , , suhstance of what is said . I observe that in proportion as the writer on Masonry is modern ,. so he pretends to tell us more about the Romulus and Remus of Masonry . I observe a note ou the words '

speculative Masonry , ' as to its meaning , p . 151 The modern Mason , I apprehend , would take it to mean the Masonry professed in the lodges of the day , viz ., deriving a system of morality from Masonic tools , emblems , & c , but , ut mihi videtur , it is capable of another meaning . It is asserted of King

Athelstan ' s youngest son , that he learned - practical Masonry in addition to speculative Masonry , ' of which he was already a Master . ' That is , he had studied geometry , & c , and knew the theory , so far as his mathematical knowledge could lead him , of the art ; but wished to add the practice of the art to the knowledge of its

principles . To a certain extent I know the principles of the arrangement of the notes in music , and what is called ' harmonic progression , ' and why a note is called natural , what constitutes sharps and flats , chords , & c , but I should make a funny composer , and have not added the art to the science . I am so far a ' specu-¦

lative ' musician • • "Are you aware that the heralds , or as Gerard Legh writes , ' Herehaughts , ' had their secrets as well as the Masons , and a peculiar method of writing . The following two verses are given . * Legh says of a Herehaught , ' he can read and well understand these two

verses . ' ' And who that can do the same ( Golighty ) shall become his scholar , ' & e . Cornelius Agrippa gives an alphabet something like the foregoing , but I have not had time to examine how far such al phabet would lead to the deciphering of the two verses . " . . . . . Reverting to Mr . Cooke ' s publication on Masonry , the date of the book would , certainly , not be earlier than the division of the university

curriculum into the Trivium and Quadrivram , embracing the seven sciences enumerated by the writer of the work on Masonry . The work corroborates what I have gathered from different sources , viz ., that the first Masons were really architects and engineers . They had the science and practised the art of building . Like all other craftsMasonry , as a working system

, , would have its laws and regulations , and its grades of artificers . It would also have its secrets , which apprentices would be bound to keep , and , so far , as connected with the solution of geometrical problems , there would be no difficulty in keeping them from most people . Who built the first habitation it would not

be easy to determine , but to him , as an artificer , belongs the honour of commencing the craft of Masonry . The first idea of a roof would most probably suggest a few uprights and transverse beams—then the convenience of a sloping roof might appear , and a curved bough would , perhaps , suggest the idea of an arch .

The development of science following , as it does , the practice of the art would lead to an examination of the properties of the arch . This development would be regulated hy the avp ^^ nizoTa ( as Aristotle in his Ore / anon calls attendant circumstances ) , of the wants of the builder , the materials at command , the soil , the

climate , & c . Hence the difference of styles in Asiatic , Egyptian , Grecian , and other architecture . When ornamentation was studied the impress of climate and national influence would necessarily be shown in this also . Could we accurately trace up Graft Masonry to its primary elements , the history would be truly interesting . As that cannot be done we have eoniec-