Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
L EADER- PAGK Original By-Laws of Ancient Ledge , No . 69 , England , now No . 2 , Pennsylvania •• ••• ••• ••• " - " -15
Ledge Officers ... - - - - 4 S 6 Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham ... ... - ... 4 ™ Consecration of the St . Olave's Lodge , No . 2764 ... ... ... 4 ^ 7 Three Days in Belfast ... - - - 4 j > a William James Hughan ... ... ... ... ••¦ 4 * 3 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... ... 4 ^ 9 Craft Masonry ... ... - - - 4 *> 9
MASONIC NOTESOuarterly Court and Election to the Girls' School .., ... ... 49 Suarterly Court and Election to the Boys' School ... ... ... 49 * Monthly Meeting of Committee of Management of the Benevolent Institution ... ••• - — 49 Ashton Mark Lodge and the Grand Lodge of M . M . M . ... ... 491 Provincial Priory of Burma ... ... ... ... •¦• 49
Correspondence ... ¦•• ••• ••• ••• ;•• 49 Original By-Laws of" Ancient" Lodge , No . 6 g , now No . 2 on the Pennsylvania Register ... ... ... ... - - 492 Lecture by Bro . Hughan ... ... ... ••• ••• 493 Craft Masonry ... ••¦ •¦• ••• ••• 493 Instruction ... ... ••• ••• ••¦ 495 Provincial Priory of Burma ... ... ... ••• 495 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ••• 49 °
Original By-Laws Of Ancient Lodge, No. 69, England, Now No. 2, Pennsylvania.
ORIGINAL BY-LAWS OF ANCIENT LODGE , No . 69 , ENGLAND , NOW No . 2 , PENNSYLVANIA .
We mentioned in one of our " Notes " last week that Bro . JOHN A . PERRY , Deputy Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , while recently searching among a number of old Records in the Grand Secretary's office at the Masonic Hall ,
Philadelphia , had had the good fortune to come across the original minute book of what ranks now as No . 2 on the register of lodges under the jurisdiction of that Grand Lodge ; that the said minute book had been handed over to the Secretary of
No . 2 , and on examination by him was found to contain the original Lodge By-Laws ; and that these By-Laws were reproduced in full by the Philadelp hia Keystone in its issue of
the gth ult . These By-Laws will be found in another column , and will , no doubt , be perused by our readers with considerable interest , as giving them some idea of the Rules and
Regulations which in those days were thought necessary for the order and good government of " Ancient" Lodges . Moreover , certain of the Rules are such as we should hardly have
expected to meet with in a lodge deriving its authority for congregating as such and discharging the duties of Masonry from the Ancient Grand Lodge of England .
According to the introductory paragraph supplied by LAURENCE DERMOTT , Grand Secretary , the lodge was warranted on the 7 th June , 175 8 , by tho . Earl of Bl . ESlNTON , G . Master ; Bro . WILLIAM HQLI-ORD , Dep . G . M . ; Bro . ROBERT GOODMAN ,
S . G . W . ; and Bro . WILLIAM OSBORNE , J . G . W ., " with ye consent of 47 York Regular Lodges of Eree and Accepted Ancient Masons . " As for the By-Laws themselves , we remark in the first place that ARTICLE 2 provides
'or the officers serving " for one whole year , except in case of misconduct , whereas the general rule in "Ancient " Masonry , so far as our experience goes , was that the term of service was onl y six months . Why this deviation from law
° r custom we know not , but possibly it may have been adopted with the idea of giving greater stability to the lodge , the officers becoming necessarily better acquainted with their duties after a service of 12 instead of six months . In addition , it will
° e remarked that any brother elected to office was bound to accept it under a penalty of " ten shillings to the Charity Fund . "
Original By-Laws Of Ancient Lodge, No. 69, England, Now No. 2, Pennsylvania.
Rule No . 3 determines the fees to be paid by "any person well recommended ( who desire to have the Degrees of Masonry as exhibited in this lodge ) and of a fair character . " These arefirstly , one of half-a-crown to the Secretary for making out the
applicant ' s petition , and then , in the event of its being accepted , 20 s . "to the Box , " and " seven and sixpence to Cloathe ye Lodge " on his being made , with a further 20 s . " at Passing , " and 20 s . " at Reasing , " and , in the event of his becoming " a
Stated Member" seven and sixpence , " which shall likewise absolate go to ye Box . " Rule 4 provides for joining members , the fees being 30 s . to the Charity Fund and half-a-crown to the Secretary for enrolment . Rule No . 6 lays it down that every
brother attending the lodge must come prepared with i 8 d . to defray his share of the lodge expenses " in Lodo-e hours , '' and Rule No . 7 that those not attending at the appointed time shall , pay a fine of
threepence , and if absent from the meeting altogether i 8 d . By Rule No . 8 , a brother is not to be introduced as a visitor " till he is first tried and aproven of by the Report given to the Chair or well known to be an Ancient Mason by two or more of
the Brethren then present , " and by Rule 9 , none could be admitted while the degrees were being conferred until he had been approved as by Rule 8 , and " not even then , if two or more of ye Brethren have any doubts and cannot get them solved "
The Rules that follow from No . 10 to No . 15 , both inclusive , provide for the conduct of brethren in lodge during the transaction of business , No . 15 being directed against " any Brother
who shall swear , curse , or damn for any cause whatever , except in a lawful way , though no explanation is vouchsafed as to what may constitute a lawful way " of swearing , cursing , or damning . "
Rule No . 16 provides for the settlement of disputes between brethren , who are to lay their complaints before the lodge and only in the event of its being found impossible to adjust them , arc they to consider themselves at liberty to refer them to
a court of law . Rule No . 17 provides for the payment of a shilling per month to the Charity Fund over and above the ordinary Lodge expenses , while No . iS is directed against the entering , passing , or raising of candidates in a clandestine
manner , the penalty being expulsion " unless the Officers and two-third of ye members agree in pardoning the crime , and if he or they and each of them pay the sum of three pounds to ye Charity Fund andali their arrearages from ye
time of their expulsion to ye lime of grace being granted . " B y Rule 19 , the youngest brother and member of the lodge was to issue the summonses and tile the lodge until the appointment of a "Stated tiler , " and in the event of his refusal he must pay
a line of 7 s . 6 d . " to ye Charity Fund . " No . 20 provides for the making of new Rules . No . 21 fixes the penalty for breakiiv them , and No . 22 is directed against communicating whit passes in the lodge to persons outside it , while No . 23 provides
for the reading of the Laws to every brother entered in the lodge , who is also required to sign them . No . 25 enumerates those constituting the Committee of the lodge . Two other laws appear to have been subsequently added , one on the 12 th
February , 1760 , in respect of a brother being passed or raised in an " extra Lodge , " who is to pay the additional expenses up to 30 s ., the lodge itself defraying any excess over that sum ; and
the other on the 25 th September , 1764 , for the purpose of more clearly defining the differences and disputes . between brethren to be dealt with in Article 16 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
L EADER- PAGK Original By-Laws of Ancient Ledge , No . 69 , England , now No . 2 , Pennsylvania •• ••• ••• ••• " - " -15
Ledge Officers ... - - - - 4 S 6 Provincial Grand Lodge of Durham ... ... - ... 4 ™ Consecration of the St . Olave's Lodge , No . 2764 ... ... ... 4 ^ 7 Three Days in Belfast ... - - - 4 j > a William James Hughan ... ... ... ... ••¦ 4 * 3 Royal Masonic Institution for Boys ... ... ... 4 ^ 9 Craft Masonry ... ... - - - 4 *> 9
MASONIC NOTESOuarterly Court and Election to the Girls' School .., ... ... 49 Suarterly Court and Election to the Boys' School ... ... ... 49 * Monthly Meeting of Committee of Management of the Benevolent Institution ... ••• - — 49 Ashton Mark Lodge and the Grand Lodge of M . M . M . ... ... 491 Provincial Priory of Burma ... ... ... ... •¦• 49
Correspondence ... ¦•• ••• ••• ••• ;•• 49 Original By-Laws of" Ancient" Lodge , No . 6 g , now No . 2 on the Pennsylvania Register ... ... ... ... - - 492 Lecture by Bro . Hughan ... ... ... ••• ••• 493 Craft Masonry ... ••¦ •¦• ••• ••• 493 Instruction ... ... ••• ••• ••¦ 495 Provincial Priory of Burma ... ... ... ••• 495 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ••• 49 °
Original By-Laws Of Ancient Lodge, No. 69, England, Now No. 2, Pennsylvania.
ORIGINAL BY-LAWS OF ANCIENT LODGE , No . 69 , ENGLAND , NOW No . 2 , PENNSYLVANIA .
We mentioned in one of our " Notes " last week that Bro . JOHN A . PERRY , Deputy Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania , while recently searching among a number of old Records in the Grand Secretary's office at the Masonic Hall ,
Philadelphia , had had the good fortune to come across the original minute book of what ranks now as No . 2 on the register of lodges under the jurisdiction of that Grand Lodge ; that the said minute book had been handed over to the Secretary of
No . 2 , and on examination by him was found to contain the original Lodge By-Laws ; and that these By-Laws were reproduced in full by the Philadelp hia Keystone in its issue of
the gth ult . These By-Laws will be found in another column , and will , no doubt , be perused by our readers with considerable interest , as giving them some idea of the Rules and
Regulations which in those days were thought necessary for the order and good government of " Ancient" Lodges . Moreover , certain of the Rules are such as we should hardly have
expected to meet with in a lodge deriving its authority for congregating as such and discharging the duties of Masonry from the Ancient Grand Lodge of England .
According to the introductory paragraph supplied by LAURENCE DERMOTT , Grand Secretary , the lodge was warranted on the 7 th June , 175 8 , by tho . Earl of Bl . ESlNTON , G . Master ; Bro . WILLIAM HQLI-ORD , Dep . G . M . ; Bro . ROBERT GOODMAN ,
S . G . W . ; and Bro . WILLIAM OSBORNE , J . G . W ., " with ye consent of 47 York Regular Lodges of Eree and Accepted Ancient Masons . " As for the By-Laws themselves , we remark in the first place that ARTICLE 2 provides
'or the officers serving " for one whole year , except in case of misconduct , whereas the general rule in "Ancient " Masonry , so far as our experience goes , was that the term of service was onl y six months . Why this deviation from law
° r custom we know not , but possibly it may have been adopted with the idea of giving greater stability to the lodge , the officers becoming necessarily better acquainted with their duties after a service of 12 instead of six months . In addition , it will
° e remarked that any brother elected to office was bound to accept it under a penalty of " ten shillings to the Charity Fund . "
Original By-Laws Of Ancient Lodge, No. 69, England, Now No. 2, Pennsylvania.
Rule No . 3 determines the fees to be paid by "any person well recommended ( who desire to have the Degrees of Masonry as exhibited in this lodge ) and of a fair character . " These arefirstly , one of half-a-crown to the Secretary for making out the
applicant ' s petition , and then , in the event of its being accepted , 20 s . "to the Box , " and " seven and sixpence to Cloathe ye Lodge " on his being made , with a further 20 s . " at Passing , " and 20 s . " at Reasing , " and , in the event of his becoming " a
Stated Member" seven and sixpence , " which shall likewise absolate go to ye Box . " Rule 4 provides for joining members , the fees being 30 s . to the Charity Fund and half-a-crown to the Secretary for enrolment . Rule No . 6 lays it down that every
brother attending the lodge must come prepared with i 8 d . to defray his share of the lodge expenses " in Lodo-e hours , '' and Rule No . 7 that those not attending at the appointed time shall , pay a fine of
threepence , and if absent from the meeting altogether i 8 d . By Rule No . 8 , a brother is not to be introduced as a visitor " till he is first tried and aproven of by the Report given to the Chair or well known to be an Ancient Mason by two or more of
the Brethren then present , " and by Rule 9 , none could be admitted while the degrees were being conferred until he had been approved as by Rule 8 , and " not even then , if two or more of ye Brethren have any doubts and cannot get them solved "
The Rules that follow from No . 10 to No . 15 , both inclusive , provide for the conduct of brethren in lodge during the transaction of business , No . 15 being directed against " any Brother
who shall swear , curse , or damn for any cause whatever , except in a lawful way , though no explanation is vouchsafed as to what may constitute a lawful way " of swearing , cursing , or damning . "
Rule No . 16 provides for the settlement of disputes between brethren , who are to lay their complaints before the lodge and only in the event of its being found impossible to adjust them , arc they to consider themselves at liberty to refer them to
a court of law . Rule No . 17 provides for the payment of a shilling per month to the Charity Fund over and above the ordinary Lodge expenses , while No . iS is directed against the entering , passing , or raising of candidates in a clandestine
manner , the penalty being expulsion " unless the Officers and two-third of ye members agree in pardoning the crime , and if he or they and each of them pay the sum of three pounds to ye Charity Fund andali their arrearages from ye
time of their expulsion to ye lime of grace being granted . " B y Rule 19 , the youngest brother and member of the lodge was to issue the summonses and tile the lodge until the appointment of a "Stated tiler , " and in the event of his refusal he must pay
a line of 7 s . 6 d . " to ye Charity Fund . " No . 20 provides for the making of new Rules . No . 21 fixes the penalty for breakiiv them , and No . 22 is directed against communicating whit passes in the lodge to persons outside it , while No . 23 provides
for the reading of the Laws to every brother entered in the lodge , who is also required to sign them . No . 25 enumerates those constituting the Committee of the lodge . Two other laws appear to have been subsequently added , one on the 12 th
February , 1760 , in respect of a brother being passed or raised in an " extra Lodge , " who is to pay the additional expenses up to 30 s ., the lodge itself defraying any excess over that sum ; and
the other on the 25 th September , 1764 , for the purpose of more clearly defining the differences and disputes . between brethren to be dealt with in Article 16 .