Ancient Masonic Lodges, No. Iv.

" No Master of the Lodge of Banff shall employ a * Cowan , unless he make it appear it was a case of necessity ; otherwise he is liable to the cognizance of the next general meeting . " ( 7 th Jan . 1773 . ) No Brother who was not raised to the

degree of a Master Mason was allowed to " undertake or come on work " even so late as A . D . 1774 , showing how curiously the operative was still blended with the modern system . The St . John ' s Operative Lodge ,

Seatown , Banff , stands as No . 92 on the Roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and was warranted A . D . 1764 , The appended by-laws of the lodge , dated A . D . 1765 , are exceedingly curious ; and afford an insight into the

arrangements and discipline then prevalent among country lodges . As the Grand Chapter of Scotland was not formed until the second decade of the present century , Eoyal Arch Masonry may be said to have run wild in the north for

some seventy years or more . Generally , however , the working of both this degree and the Knights Templars contributed to improve the finances of the lodge ; and it will be seen , as the records are still further examined , that

the Scottish Benefit Societies usually attached to the early Operative Lodges offered additional advantages to the promoters of the " higher degrees" ( so called ) . It is impossible now to decide whether Scotlanct obtained the Royal

Arch degree from England . It was evidentl y first started in England , and seems to have flourished soon after in Scotland , and about the same time in Ireland . The following references to the degreethough not the earliest

, known , are at least the oldest by-laws ever published , or that have seen the light of late years . According to Dr . Dassi gny , the degree was unknown in

Ireland before A . D . 1744 ; and before A . D . 1739 we can find no direct reference to Eoyal Arch Masonry anywhere . Stirling Chapter is said to possess the earliest minutes , dated 1743 , but these have never been made public ; in fact , if

ever they existed , they are now missing , for on enquiry of some of the brethren there who would be likely to know , they actually seem as ignorant of their nature as ourselves . In the absence then of other documents , these by-laws

may fairly be assumed to be the earliest extant . We have not produced any records of the Eoyal Arch being

worked in this country anterior to 1750 . The original text of the laws has been preserved , and the copy has been most carefully made and examined ( to prevent the slightest inaccuracy ) , from the minute book itself . 'In the

list of chapters under the Supreme G . E . A . Scotland , it is placed as No . 4 , 1765 . As No . 3 is only said to have been instituted 1818 , and No . 1 no earlier than 1779 ; while No . 2 , though it may have been worked as far back

as A . D . 1743 , is after all but of uncertain date , we think the Operative Chapter of Banff should be honoured with the first position on the roll .

LAWS OF ST . JOHN'S OPERATIVE LODGE , BANFF , SCOTLAND , AD . 1765 .

At a meeting of the Operative Lodge of Banff St . John ' s Day , one Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty Four . The following Members being Present and Paid in their Quarterly pennice .

Here follows a list of 42 members . The Members in Office for this year JOHN EHIND Master ROBERT MAIR Seneor Warden WILLIAM MATHESON Juneor Warden JOHN ORD Treasurer

GEORGE FAITH Secretary Banff , 7 th January 1765 . Regulations and by Laws for the Free and ' Accepted Masons of the Operative Lodge of Banff . o 2