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The History Of Freemasonry.

THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY .

( Continued from page 186 ) . HAVING traced the rise of the Craft Guilds , we fcnrn onr attention more particularly to the Stonemasons , who in many things resembled the other Craft Guilds , while at the same time , in matters prescribed hy the exigencies of the trade , they differed from them all . The

fraternity of builders , whose first authentic charter dates from the 13 th century , had no doubt an earlier existence , and Bro . Gould considers it not improbable that skilled masons of the convent builders left the employ of their masters , the monks , " in the twelfth century or thereabouts , " and

" amalgamated with the Craft builders in the towns , " and that "the two together formed the society afterwards known throughout Germany as the Steinmetzen . " Certain it is , he says , that in the twelfth century we " do hear of the stonemasons as a distinct fraternity , occupied

in the construction of largo edifices , chiefly cathedrals and churches . " These 8 teinm . etzen were a branch of the Spinnewetter , who at first included all the building trades , but afterwards , following the example of other Crafts , resolved themselves into their component parts .

Bro . Gonld contents himself by referring at some length to the " Constitutions " of the Steinmetzen of the year 1459 . They have been reprinted oftentimes , and those who are curious in such matters will find them at p 660 and following pages of Findel ' s " History of Freemasonry . "

These were confirmed on 9 th April 1464 , and fresh signatures were attached as late as 1472 . They appear to have been revised in 1563 , on St . Michael ' s Day , at Strassburg , and as no English translation of the new code has heretofore been published , it is re-produced in these pages in its

entirety . The preamble is to the following effect : " His Imperial Roman Majesty , nur most gracious Lord , having in this one thousand five hundred and sixty-third year most graciously renewed , confirmed , and approved to the general fellowship and brotherhood of the Stonemasons in

German Lands their regulations and duties ; and whereas for some time past many irregularities and bad habits have arisen and obtained in the craft of masonry , therefore have many masters and fellows of aforesaid craft and fraternity , as they are named hereafter , met together in the

aforesaid sixty-third year at Bale on St . Bartholomew ' s , and at Strassburg on St . Michael ' s Day , in order to elucidate and better aforesaid Ordinances and Articles of the Craft and Brotherhood , and the aforesaid have elucidated and bettered said Ordinances , and settled that they shall be

held as hereafter follows ; and no one who is of this guild shall do or act contrary thereto . " It is no part of our duty to reproduce these articles , but some among them may be quoted or described . Thus Article II ., which treats " Of the Duties of those who are

of this Guild " -declares that : "Whoso comes into this guild of his own good will , as hereafter stands written in this book , he shall promise to keep every point and article if he be of our craft of Masonry . Those shall be masters who can erect costly edifices and such like work ,

for the which they are authorised , and serve no other craft unless they choose so to do . And be it masters or fellows , they shall and must condnct themselves honourably , and none shall be wronged by them ; therefore have we taken power in these Ordinances to punish them on the

occasion of every such act . " Article XI ., in laving down the law as to " Who thrusts another from ont " a Work , " says : "Whoever it be , either master or fellow , who shall oust from his work another master who is of this guild of craftsmen , or shall apply , be it in secret or openly ,

without his knowledge ancl consent , for the work that he possesses , be it large or small , the same shall be brought to task ; and no master or fellow shall have any communion with him . And no fellow who is of this guild shall enter into his employ so long as he possesses the Work which be has dishonourabl y obtained : nor until he

shall have made restitution and g iven satisfaction to him who was thus dispossessed of tho work ; and also until he shall have been punished bv the masters who are enjoined so to do by the guild . " The meaning of this is obvious enough , notwithstanding that the pronouns "he" and

" his " refer sometimes to the one dispossessed , and sometimes to the dispossessor , and it will be accepted as a very useful and proper regulation , which might he enjoined not without advantage at the present day among the members of some trades or callings . Rule XIV . ordains

that "No Mnster shall teach a Fellow anything for Money , " and Rule XV . regulates the number of Apprenticen a Master may have . Rule XIX . relates to hearing , judging , and conducting conplaints , and is to the following effect : " And if a master have a complaint against another master for havincr violated the regulations of the

craftsmen , or in the same way a master against a fellow , or a fellow against another fellow , whatever master or fellow is concerned therein shall give notice thereof to the masters who hold these books of the regulations . And the masters who are informed thereof shall hear both parties ,

and set a day when they will hear the cause . And meanwhile , before the fixed or appointed day no fellow shall avoid the master , nor master the fellow , but render services mutually until the hour when the matter is to be heard and settled . And this shall be done according to the

judgment of the Craftsmen , and what is adjudged shall be observed accordingly . And , moreover , where the case arose there shall it be tried , by the nearest masters who hold the book of these regulations , and in whose district it occurred . " Rule XX . " concerning driving away , " may be said to

follow naturally , and reads thus : "It is also further decided as regards the driving away : if it happen that anything be reported of a Master or Fellow , a matter of hearsay , repeated from one to the other , so long as it is not certain , and the aforesaid not righteously convicted thereof ,

he shall be avoided of or driven away by no one , but pursue his work until such time as it shall really be brought home to him , and he be righteously convicted . Unless it be that he will not yield obedience to the laws of the craft , such a one shall ffo idle according to our

aforesaid Ordinances . Rule XXI ., headed " Is ot to Appeal , " may likewise be quoted : " It is also decided , where a matter begins and takes its rise , there shall it be settled , or in the nearest lodge where a book lies . And neither party shall appeal until plaint and answer take place and

are heard , nor carry the matter further than aforesaid , unless it be rejected there . " The Rule that follows determines " What Master has power to hear Complaints . " Rule XXIV . provides for " a collection for the Poor and Sick Brothers " in places where there is a Book , the sum

thus collected from the fellows being a penny per week , to be put into a common box , the Master having a box , sending " a bohemian " a coin of trifling value , " every year at

Michaelmas to the chief Lodge at Strassburg , with a ticket whence it comes , as a sign of obedience and brotherly love . " Rule XXV . enumerates the places " which , having Books , are subject to the Chief Lodge at Strassburg . "

Rule XXIX . treats of Punishments entailing expulsion from the Craft : — " If a complaint be laid before a master , such as would entail the greater punishment ; for instance , if any one is to be forbidden the craft , that shall the master of a district not hear or judge of alone , but call to

his aid the two nearest masters , who also possess a book and power according to these ordinances , that there may be three of them , and also the fellows that are in the employ where the complaint arose , and that which these three , together with the fellows , unanimously or by a

majority , shall then decide on their oath and to the best of their judgment , that shall thereafter be maintained by the whole " body of craftsmen . " Rule XXX . relates to cases " where Quarrels ari e , not concerning Masonry , " and lays it clown that " Shonld it be that two or more

masters who are of this guild be at variance or discord about matters which do not concern masonry , they shall not on account of this difference , summon one another

anywhere but before the craft and brotherhood ; and they shall judge and reconcile them to the best of their ability , but so thafc fche matter be settled without prejudice to the rights of those Lords or cities where the matter arose . "

The following rule provides that a master , on admission , " pay one florin , and every year thereafter two bohemians or blapperts into the Craft box , " a fellow paying five bohemians , and an apprentice , " when he has served his time , " the like amount . Rule XXXIII . meets the case of