"My Stars And Garters." — Past Masters And The Past Masters Degree.

The collar of Grand Conclave and the purple of Hertfordshire were given to me quite unexpectedly ; to the kindness of my friends more than to my OAVU merits I am indebted for the Masonic rank I hold . To say that the opprobrious attacks that have been mado upon me are an insult to the Grand Master of the Templars and the

Provincial Grand Master of Hertfordshire , through me , his officer , would not be true , for I am sure that such communications , proceeding from anonymous quarters , and appearing in THE BEEEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR , are utterly beneath his notice ; nor should I have condescended to reply but for the reasons I have stated above .

I must apologise for taking up so much of your valuable space , but you may rest assured , sir , that I shall not again trouble you with any further communication . If any of your correspondents want to knoAV anything more of me , let them , if they have sufficient manliness , ask me themselves , and they shall receive such answers as the nature of their communications may deserve . I have the honour to be , yours , very fraternally .

> £ W . S . CAKRINGTON NICHOLSON , ProA ' . J . G . D . of Herts , First Grand Herald to the Grand Conclave of Masonic Knights Templar . 10 , Gray ' s-inn-place , Gray ' s-inn , Oct . 14 th , 1862 . We accept Bro . Nicholson ' s explanation , that he did not wear any but the recognised jeivels in a Craft

Lodge , though he did afterwards , at the request of the brethren , exhibit others—the number we regard as unimportant—a matter of which Ave have little to complain . We pass over Bro . Nicholson ' s returning thanks for the Provincial Grand Officers to come to Avhat

" we consider of far greater consequence , his assertion— " My rank as a Past Master of a Scotch Lodge entitles me to wear the leA'els of that degree . " It is admitted that Bro . Nicholson was only initiated about nine months since , and as he is carrying on an arduous profession in London , it is hardly

possible to be supposed that he can have been affiliated to a Scotch lodge , and have been regularly elected to the chair under the provisions of the Scottish Book of Constitutions , which Ave will recite , . and a compliance Avith Avhich the Grand Lodge of Scotland are very strict in enforcing .

At pp . 29-80 , of the " Laws and . Constitutions of tiie Grand Lodge " of Scotland , we find the following : —

" Upon the day preceding the general election , annually-., the Master of each lodge shall cause a list to b-j made up of the names and designations of all the intrants in his lodge during the preceding yanr , which list shaii likewise specify the respective dates of entering ., passing , and raising , or affiliation , as the case may be , and shall be certified hy the Master , Treasurer , and Secretary , to be correct . "Tho Master of each lodge shall , within one month after the

clay of election , transmit this list , along with the Grand Lodge dues of enrolment , to the Grand Secretary , for registration by the Grand Clerk in the boohs of the Grand Lodge . " Any lodge found guilty of making incomplete or fraudulent returns of intrants to the Grand Lodge . , shall be liable to have its Charter recalled and cancelled—to suspension from Masonic privileges , or such other punishment as the Grand Lodge may he pleased to inflict .

" No Brother , whose name has not been enrolled in the books of the Grand Lodge , in terms of Sections II . and III . hereof , shall be eligible to he a member thereof , or to he an Office-Bearer in any Subordinate Lodge . "

And to shoAV how the admission of brethren , for the purpose of electing them Masters of lodges is guarded against , the following law has been enacted and appears at page 44 : — "So lodge shall , upon the day of electing their

Office-Bearers , assume any brethren of other lodges as members , until after the election is over ; under certification , that upon complaint being made to the Grand Lodge , the election shall he declared void . " The Grand Lodge of Scotland , unlike the Grand Lodge of England , does not acknowledge the B , oyal Arch , but " practises and recognises no degrees of

Masonry but those of Entered Apprentice , FelloAv Craft , and Master Mason , denominated St . John ' s Masonry , " to which has recently been added , " together Avith the Mark degree , Avhich shall constitute the fourth degree of Masonry , " and it is declared at page 49 of the Scottish Constitutions : —

" !_ o clothing , purporting to be Masonic , shall be worn in Grand Lodge , or any Subordinate Lodge , except that appertaining to St . John ' s Masonry , whicli alone is recognised ancl acknowledged . " After the words no clothing , the words " Jewels and other decorations" formerly stood , but they

have been expunged , and as there is a distinctiA'e jewel for a Past Master of a lodge , the wearing of that jewel , unless it has been regularly obtained , is not authorised , though perhaps Avinked at , and a brother does not legally take the levels until he becomes the actual Master of a lodge .

In Eoyal Arch Masonry , as practised in Scotland and other parts of the world , it is necessary that a brother should , prior to exaltation , be an installed Master ; and he is , therefore , passed through a series of so-called " chair degrees , " amongst Avhich is that of an installed Master ( Avhich Bro . Nicholson has , no doubt , taken ) , and Avhich is thus described in Mackey ' s

Book of the Chapter : — "It is evident , then , that this degree was originally simply a degree of office , and conferred only on the elected Master of a lodge . As these rulers of Masonry were supposed to be selected for their superior skill and intelligence , they alone Avere permitted to receive that consummation of Masonic light Avhich is contained in the Royal Arch degree . Hence , therefore , the

possession of the degree of Past Master became a necessary qualiiication for exaltation to lloyal Arch ; and as , at first , that degree Avas conferred in connection with and under the jurisdiction of symbolic lodges , none but those who had presided in the chair were permitted to receive it . "So , in time , when the chapters were separated from the lodges and placed under a distinct jurisdiction , the usage still prevailedand candidates for exaltation were investedas a

pre-, , paratory step , with the Past Master's degree , and for this purpose a lodge of Past Masters was opened , and a fictitious installation ( for it was nothing else ) Avas performed . " But this gives no rank in Craft Masonry in any part of the world .

Bro . Oliver , in his Institutes of Masonic Jurisprudence , distinctly lays it doAvn : — " It AVIU not he unimportant to remark ab the close of this chapter , that if an English Master Mason , not having actually passed the chair of his lodge , shall be exalted to the Royal Arc " degree in any other country , it will confer no additional rank in ° an English Craft lodge ; although he will have necessarily