Not Affectation.

possible harm in the use of this harmless and familiar symbolism , and if a writer wishes to attack Freemasonry , he must be very badly off for an argument , if he can find any fault or

make any merchandise out' of so unpretending and innocent a formula ; It is " well known and agreeable to Freemasons , and that is quite sufficient for " Hornets " or any one else to know or to be told .

Original Correspondence.

Original Correspondence .

[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving cf , the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion , —ED . 1

ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE . To the Editor of the " Freemaso ? i . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The letter of my III . Bro . Gen . Pike , in the Freemason of 6 th inst ., does not , I regret to say , trot the points on which he writes with that impartiality which I would expect from a brother of his distinguished eminence

and learning . He denies that the higher degrees of Masonry were practised by the Grand Lodge and Grand Orient of France prior to the commencement of the present century , and he states that the Grand Lodge practised the Blue Degrees only . He admits , however , that that lodje hael united with it the first twenty-five degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite : and , as regards the Grand Orient

he speaks of it as having in 1786 reduced its degrees to seven , thereby implying that prior to that date it had practiced a larger number . But the Granel Chapter General of France , possessing , according to Thory , an " incredible number of degrees , " and every other Masonic order in France , became united to the Granel Orient prior to 1801 , when it proclaimed the unity of Freemasonry in France .

We learn , further , from Gen . Pike himself , that the Supreme Council cf Charleston in 1801 had before it "the French Copy of the Constitutions , " containing peculiar provisions ; and the Supreme Council of Scotland elescribes the position of the Rite in 176 5 as having then ' extended throughout Europe . " At that period France was the leading kingdom of the world , both socially and politically ,

and if the Rite then extended throughout Europe , and France had an edition of the Constitution for itself , why deny its existence there ? It is well known that the Oreler originated in France , and I tnke the liberty to say that no one knows that fact better than Gen . Pike himself . I regret that I must question the accuracy of the General ' s statement as to the formation of the present

Supreme Council of France . That Council was formed in May 1821 . Assuming that the Count de Grasse imported , as the General states , the Ancient and Accepteel Rite into France , we find that in October 1804 he instituted , according to Gen . Pike , a genuine Supreme Council , which he elesignated the " Grand General Scottish Lodge of France . " In December following that lodge cntereel

into a concordat with the Granel Orient by which the two bodies became united , and the Grand Orient was declared to possess " the Grand Council of the 32 ° , and the Supreme Council of the 33 ° . " De Grasse and the Office Bearers of his lodge became officers of the Grand Orient , anel his lodge proclaimed that its existence had terminated . In consideration of this union the Grand Orient discharged the

pecuniary obligations of de Grasse ' s lodge , and guaranteed a pension to its Secretary . One named Pyron , who had been Orator of De Grasse ' s Lodge , having calumniated some of the officers of the Grand Orient , was deprived of this office also held by him in the Grand Orient , and in consequence he immediately thereafter organised a rival council , and prevailed on de

Grasse , and others of his friends , to join it . Following up this secesssion , De Grasse in 1805 pretended to cede the rights he had previously transferred to the Grand Orient , and which that body still helel to Prince Cambacercs , as Sovereign Grand Commander e . f Pyron's Council . It is manifest to any one that such a proceeding was' invalid . But Gen . Pike appears to be of opinion that everything De

Grasse did , however extravagant , was lawful , and that he could enter into onerous contracts and breakifrom them at pleasure . Strange principles ! The Granel Orient held other views . It adhered to the agreement , ' and still adheres to it . It is thus seen that Prince Cambaceres ' s body was spurious . But even it recognized the lights of the Grand Orient , and provided by its constitutions that

none of its degrees would be conferred , unless the recipient at his initiation took an obligation to the " Grand Orient as uniting to itself the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite . " The Cambacerds body ceased to exist in 1814 . a De Grasse in 1815 instituted another Supreme Council under the title of the Supreme Council of America , or Du Prado . To evade the diligence of creelitors he left France

in 1816 . On his return in 1818 , his Du Prado Council still existing , he created another , which he styled the Supreme Council of Pompeii . Outraged by this prcceeeling , the Du Prado Council met , trieel anel deposed De Grasse , as being guilty of "trafficking in degrees . " General Pike wishes it to be understood that De Grasse ' s first council , that cf the " French West Indies Islands , "

was part and parcel of the Du Prado and Pompeii Councils . In this he is mistaken , for the West Indian Council continued its existence throughout , anel side by side , with all the other Supreme Councils of France , and exercised jurisdiction there until at least 19 th March 1823 . I have seen one cf its diplomas of that date . The Du Prado Council ended its career in 1820 . In i 8 ai the members

Original Correspondence.

of the Pompeii Council convened some of the members of the late Council of Cambacercs , and they on 7 th May , 1821 , declared themselves the Supreme Council of France . It is thus seen that that Council was formed in 1821 . General Pike states that the Grand Orient of France " never had any lawful possession of the supreme powers of the A . and A . Scottish Rite . This possession for a loiig

period of lime became title by usurpation . " We have seen the character of the Grand Orient ' s possession of the Rite , and that , assuming it did not have it before the concordat of 1804 , it lawfully acquired it then . But this is a singular objection on the part of General Pike . When did he , a well known Masonic historian , discover that the Grand Orient never had lawful possession of the Rite ? His

own council , and that of Northern States of America , for many years , not only recognised , but entered into alliances with the Grand Orient as a lawful Supreme Council , and General Pike and his council interchanged representatives with it . This alliance is no doubt now severed , but it was so only in 1870 , and not because the Grand Orient was in

unlawful possession of the Rite , but because , being so , it had recognised as genuine a Supreme Council for Louisiana , which was repudiated by the other two American Councils . The severance too , was not intended to be permanent , for these two councils declare , in announcing their breach of alliance ? "with the Grand Orient that "this suspension of amicable relations will continue only until all claim of

right on the part of the Grand Orient of France , to consider the pretences of legality of bodies of the A . and A . Scottish Rite within our respective jurisdictions , are disavowed . " It was then too , and only by way of retaliation , that the two American Councils resolved " henceforward to recognise the Supreme . Council for France and its dependencies * * * as the sole legitimate supreme power of the Ancient and

Accepted Scottish Rite of France . " In the face of such circumstances , I have again to ask General Pike when he first became aware of " the usurpation of the Granel Orient as a Supieme Council " ? To say that the Grand Orient is not a Supreme Council because it dors not adopt that descriptive name , is simply playing upon words . The infallible De Grasse called Hs councils by many names ,

some of them certainly strange ones , and yet General Pike makes no objection to them . The explanation he gives of the institution of De Grasse ' s Supreme Council of the " French West Indies " Islands" renelcrs the genuineness of that body very doubtful indeed . But this is so clear that it is unnecessary for me to follow him on the point . Its existence at Paris

was clearly illegal . We have seen how the General has dealt with rival councils in Louisiana , and the exercise of the functions at Paris of the West Indian Council was in more unfavourable circumstances , for there it was not only acting beyond its assigneel territory , but in rivalry to councils , the creatures of its Granel Commanders ' s own creation . While General Pike denies that it exercised

jurisdiction at Paris , he contradicts that denial by stating that it did so in 1815 , and giving a list of distinguished men ( Dr . Morison has to be added ) whom it admitted in France as members of the Rite . None of them appear to afford the excuse of having been connected directly or indirectly with the French West Indies , to which the Charleston Council limited De Grasse's patent as Grand

Commander . But General Pike states Dr . Morison ' s patent of 1814 had nothing to do with his powers in 1846 , and he hazards a random statement that Morison " had ample power then . " Me docs not say what that power was , nor by whom conferred . Between these elates , no additional powers were conferred on Morison . His

mere presence at meetings of Supreme Councils did not confer such powers . He was there under his limited patent of 1814 . By that patent , the power to create councils was cxpressely withheld , and the Supreme Council of Scotland in its Constitutions assigns to that patent alone , Morisons's authority to form it . In so far as the creation by him of a council in Scotland is concerned , it might as well have

been formed by any one not a member of the A . and A . Rite . Scotland has recently conferred the Thirty-third Degree on a brother in New Zealand , but under a declaration that he shall not have power to form Supreme Councils . Suppose that brother were to elisregard the terms of his patent , would General Pike consider a council formed by him as lawful , because he discovered he had been

subsequent to the date of his patent present as a 33 ° at a meeting of a Supreme Council ? If he would not , why eloes he maintain the Supreme Council of Scotland to be validly created ? The General says that the English Council was similarly formed . The circumstances are entirely different . Dr . Crucefiix received his patent direct from the Supreme Council at Boston . That council ' s validity is admitted ,

and the patent was granted for the special purpose of forming the English Council . Dr . Morison held his Patent from a spurious source , and even by it he was debarred forming councils . When we consider for what Masonic offence De Grasse was deposed , the cause of the restriction is easily seen . Morison himself seems to have had little faith in the genuineness of his patent , after having

been , according to General Pike , a genuine 33 for ten years , or in that of the Supreme Council of France , for in 1824 he applied to the Grand Orient for the 30 th Degree , and obtained it in May of that year , probably with a view of further advancement . The Supreme Council of France's recognition of Scotland appears to have been given on the erroneous assumption

of Morison ' s patent being unqualified in its lerms , and that the 33 rd Degree was not worked in Scotland at the time . Had it been truly informed on these points , such recognition would have surely been witheld . France , however , by its recognition conferreel no warrant on the Scottish Council . Its recognition was an act of courtesy merely , neither conferring a right nor taking one away . I think that General Pike has failed to establish that his

Original Correspondence.

is the Mother Council of the world . There was only one original council . The General says that it existed at Berlin , and unless his council was formed by some member of it , or a descendant of such member , his council is necessarily illegitimate . I fear that it is so . So , for by the Constitutions , the presence of three Sovereign Grand Inspector Generals is required to form a council , and by the Charleston records only two—assuming

them to be genuine—were present at its formation . To overcome this fatal difficuly the General makes an inference , but inferences are not admitted to overide the statements contained in contemporary records , and thus create legal titles . Besides , the inference that De Grasse was present does not hold , for his patent is dated in 1802 . The Charleston Council was formed in 1801 . Yours fraternally ,. A 33 ° .

IRISH ROYAL ARCH MASONRY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — The original of the enclosed has been sent mc by my friend , our 111 . Bro . Col . C . McLeod Moore , 33 ° . the Great Prior of Canada . This certificate is new the earliest known record of Irish Royal Arch Masonry , and proves that this degree was

worked in Ireland 106 years ago , the next record being that contained under date 2 nd December , 1781 , in the minute books of the High Knights Templar of Ireland , Kilwinning Lodge . Lodge 308 was warranted by the Grind Lodge of Ireland on 7 th December , 1758 , and was working at Carrickon-Suirup to the year 1825 . This Royal Arch Degree must have been conferred under that Craft Warrant . Yours fraternally ,

JAMES H . NEILSON . 15 th July , 1878 .

" We , the Right Worshipful Grand Officers of a Royal Arch Excellent Lodge , held under the sanction of Lodge 308 on the registry of IRELAND , " Do certify the bearer hereof , our well-beloved Bro . Henry Price , a Past Master of Lodge 308 aforesaid , was by us installed and instructed into the Sublime Secrets of Royal Arch Excellent Masonry , he having with due honour anil justice to the Royal Craft justly supported

the mysterious and amazing tryals of skill and valour attending his admission to our said lodge , wherefore we recommend him as a just , honest , skilful , and worthy brother . " Given uneler our hands and seals of our lodge at our lodge room in Carrick-on-Sure this 27 th day of July , 1772 , and of Masonry 5772 , EDWD . RYAN , H . P .

THOS . LARK . R . A . C . [ Seal . ] EDMD . AUt > TIN , G . M . EDWARD STAWILE , S . G . W . JOHN RYAN , J . G . W . EDWD . RYAN , Sec .

CLIQUEISM . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — There seems , if I may judge from current conversation amongst my brethren , a sort of floating idea , very prevalent just now , that there is a tendency to create and make use of such a very unwholesome agency in our '" English Freemasonry , and especially in the metropolis .

From the most cartful enquiries I am led to hope that such is a chimera , as not only would such a state of things be most hostile to all the true principles of Freemasonry , but I do not think that Freemasonry is a soil in which such a parasitic plant could flourish . Your correspondent " H " seems to have heard the same remarks as I have , but he , unlike myself , seems to lay more stress upon them than I do . I believe Masonic cliqueism to be impossible . Yours fraternally , CAUTION .

MARK MASONRY . To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — In answer to the letter of Bro . Mortlock I beg tn state . 1 . That there is no metropolitan district in Mark Masonry .

2 . That the Provincial Grand Lodge of Middlesex and Surrey was constituted in 1870 . 3 . That the Temple Mark Lodge , No . 173 , was consecrated in 1874 . 4 . That the Temple Mark Lodge meets at Stepney , in the county of Middlesex , and is , therefore , within the province of Middlesex and Surrey .

5 . The Temple Mark Lodge refuses to pay dues or acknowleelge the Provincial Grand Lodge in any way . 6 . That the Provincial Grand Lodge contests the socalled decision of the Temple Mark Lodge , and the matter has yet to be otherwise elisposcd of . 7 . That my report to the Provincial Granel Lodge was

therefore correct . Yours fraternally , W . G . BRIGHTEN . Provincial Granel Mark Secretary Middlesex and Surrey . [ This communication reached us too late for insertion last week . ]

THE RITE OF SWEDENBORG . To Ihe Editor of Ihe " Freemason . " Dear Sir anil Brother , — Inanswerto Bro . Kenneth Mackenzie ' s courteous letter , I beg to say that I am quite open to information and correction upon the point . As far as I have been able to master the history of the sc-ca } l . ed Swedenborgian Masonry , or the " Rite of Sweden-