Meeting Of Mark Masters.

MEETING OF MARK MASTERS .

A meeting of Mark Masters -was held at the Freemasons ' Tavern ,, on Saturday , the 30 th ult ., originally convened by Brother the Eight Hon . the Lord Leigh , to meet , on Monday , the 25 th , and subsequently postponed to the 30 th . The following letter had been previously circulated by his Lordship amongst all the Brethren and Jjodges of the Degree of whom he could obtain any information : — To the Brethren of the Graft of Marls Masters in England

and Wales . I have deemed it right , as the present recognized Head of the body of Freemasons , formed under the title of the Grand Lodge of Mark Masters of England and Wales , and the Colonies and Possessions of the British Crown , to address to my brethren in that Degree of Masonry a few remarks on the subject of the Degree , and the desire I feel to promote union amongst its members . When , in the month of June . 1856 , 1 accepted the Office of Grand Master , I had , from my position as W . M . of a Lodge of Mark Masters , ample means of judging the intrinsic value of Ihe Degree , and its wide-spread influence

throughout the country , and this , not only in respect to numbers , but to the high Masonic position of the great bulk of its members . I am , therefore , on a level with every other Mark Master who is a well-wisher of the craft , and it is from that level only I desire to speak . The antiquity of the degree , and the steps taken by the Grand Lodge of Free aud Accepted Masons of England to resume that jurisdiction over it which was relinquished on the 1 st of December , 1813 , are matters of notoriety . It is sufficient for me to drawaltention to this fact that the Grand Lodge of England , on the Report of its Committee , decided in March , 1856 , to admit our working into their system ; and , if the proceedings of the Grand Lodge on that occasion had been confirmed at the quarterly communication in June , no other authority would have been desired for the government of Mark Masters . Partly from

conscientious objections based on the principles promulgated in 1813 , by the Lodge of Reconciliation , and partly from the disapproval by Mark Masters , Members of tbe Grand Lodge of England , of what they considered the improper manner in which it was proposed to confer the Degree , the proceedings were not confirmed , and the Degree of Mark Master in England was still left beyond the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge . Tin ' s being the case , it appears to me very desirable that before the next meeting of the Grand Lodge of Mark Masters in June , the whole of the Brethren of the Degree in England and Wales should be iuvited to attend a General Meeting , for the purpose of expressing their opinion as to whether it is better to unite whole under elected

as a a constitutionally governing body , or to continue as at present , some under the English Constitution , and some under Irish , Scotch , or American warrants , each relatively to the other , in effect irregular . At the Grand Lodge , in June next , my year of office terminates , and with it , that also of my Grand Officers . Should the Brethren accept my invitation to hold a Meeting of the General Body of the Craft , and deem it right to unite in placing themselves under one constitution , I would desire to forestall my year ' s termination of office , by at once placing myself in their hands . I shall therefore be happy to meet . it tbe

FREEMASONS' TAVEKN , on Monday , the 25 th of May , at 0 p . m ., all such Brethren of the Degree as will do me the honour to accept this my invitation . Should they unanimously agree in nominating me as their Grand Master for the next ensuing year , and decide upon uniting all the English Lodges of Mark Masters under one Grand Lodge , I should then be privileged , upon my confirmation in the office of Grand Master , to appoint my Grand Officers from amongst the most eminent members of the Craft , from a consideration only of the well-being of the general body , and the peculiar aptness of the brethren to be appointed . ( Signed ) LEIGH . Stoneleigh Abbey , 7 th May , 1857 .

Between sixty and seventy brethren assembled at the meeting , amongst whom were Mark Masters from Ireland , Scotland , and from different parts of England and the Colonies . Lord LEIOH , being requested , consented to preside over the meeting , and , on taking the chair , expressed his hope that those brethren present who had served the office of Master of a Lodge of Mark Masters would honour and support him by taking seats at the table . ; The following brethren placed themselves at or near the

table : — Brothers Adams , W . M . of the Thistle Lodge ; Win . Jones , P . M ., of the Bon Accord Lodge ; Cole , W . M and P . M ., of the Bon Accord Lodge ; Isaacs , W . M . of the Arnott Lodge ; Woolley , W . M ., of the Pkcenix Lodge ; Warren , W . M ., of the St . Mark ' s Lodge ; Barringer , W . M ., of the Keystone Lodge ; Hughes , D . M ., of the St . Mark ' s Lodge ; Norton , P . M ., of the Bon Accord Lodge ; AriaP . M . of a Lodge at Jamaica ; RidgewayW . M .

, , , , of the Mark Lodge , No . 4 . His LOISDSHIP proceeded to explain the object with which he had summoned his brethren together , and , with that view , read to the meeting the letter he had caused to be circulated ; this , he declared , contained his sentiments , and he had only further to express this hope that the object of the meeting , being to promote union between the different bodie 3 of Mark Masters in England ,

whatever the authority under which they mig ht profess to work , the brethren would abstain from discussing the validity of any such authority , and keep in view solely the course to he pursued for the future well-being of the craft . Brother JONES proposed the first resolution :- " That this meeting , as a collection of brethren practising the Mark Degree , regret that this interesting portion of Freemasonry should have been , since ISIS , omitted from the ceremonies recognized by

the United Grand Lodge of England , and is anxious to promote the working of Mark Masonry , " Brother ISAACS felt much pleasure in seconding that resolution ; and the more so , because there were many differences between him and other brethren present this evening , in respect to this degree , he desired to promote the working of the degree and union amongst its members . Brother ALFRED KING desired to say a few words upon a

subject of the greatest importance to the craft . It was a fundamental rule in all Societies of Freemasons that candidates should be elected by ballot , and he was bound , on the first public opportunity which presented itself to protest against any infringement of this rule . He understood some candidates for the degree of Mark Master had been advanced in a Lodge without due notice and opportunity for ballot . He believed no such practice was now continued and therefore , he was satisfied with having thus brought

the fact under public notice as he felt it his duty to do . Brother LEWIS Ami objected to the invitation of the Chairman to Masters and Past-Masters of Mark Lodges , because that argued a distinct organization for this degree , whereas he ( Bro . Aria ) maintained that the Master of every Graft Lodge had the inherent right to open such Craft Lodge in the Mark Degree , and with his officers work this degree in such Craft Lodge when thus opened . His argument was this : —The craft warrant entitled him to work his lodge in craft masonry , and the Mark Degree is a portion of ancient craft masonry , and unless the words of the warrant excepted this degree the Craft Lodge was entitled to work it .

Brother H . G . WARREN remarked that if Brother Aria s Lodge in Jamaica was held under the Grand Lodge of England , he had better not allow such proceedings to come under its cognizance , for any such irregularity would most surely he severely reprimanded . Brother HAVERS objected to this resolution , on the broad ground that he objected to the degree altogether , and , although he felt that many brethren in that meeting could not agree with

Mm to that extent , he , nevertheless , feeling as he did , must state his sentiments honestly . He was surprised to see in Lord Leigh ' s letter this clause , " The Antiquity of the degree , and the steps taken by the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England to resume that jurisdiction over it which was relinquished on the 1 st of December , 1 S 13 , are matters of notoriety . " Now he ( Brother Havers ) denied altogether the antiquity of the degree , and that it had ever been under the jurisdiction of the

Grand Lodge , and desired that the brethren should not be misled but should understand as a fact that the degree was a recent and modern innovation , and never formed part of Ancient Free Masonry . A very heavy responsibility rested with his Lordship and with the meeting if they lightly forgot the obligation taken by every Master of a Lodge on being installed , and the memoraable declaration of their ancestors in 1813 . He contended that mindful of his oathhe must resist anv innovation the

, upon ancient plan of Freemasonry , and that Masonry consisted solel y of three degrees , including the Koyal Arch . Our brethren at the Lodge of Reconciliation , in 1 S 13 , did not make anything new , they only declared what the pure landmarks had been ! The Scotch , Irish , and American Masons , who practised the Mark Degree , took their Masonry from England , and their adopting this degree proved that they had not kept to the purity of English Masonry . There was another great argument against

this degree , it diverted the spare money of the brethren , and so dried up the springs of our Masonic Charities . He would also take exception to another remark in his Lordshi p ' s letter , in which he alluded to the wide-spread influence of the decree throughout the country . Mow he ( Brother Havers ) altogether denied that its influence was wide-spread , and he believed that it was only by the exertions of a few zealous Masons , who beo-an