Uniformity Of Ritual.

What are the working constitutions of Masonry ? If the Grand Lodge is in possession of these constitutional workings , there can be no necessity for a committee of inquiry , for the command of the Grand Lodge ought to be sufficient to enforce the

constitutional practice . There are some 350 Colonial Lodges working under English warrants ; all the brethren of these lodges fancied that their authority was the Grand Lodge itself , but now it will surprise them to find that the parent stem is

no constituted authority , and that it has authorised a committee to inquire into the ceremonies of Masonry now prevailing . It is an admitted fact , that Masonry of this age is not what Masonry was formerly ; indeed , very

considerable changes have taken place during the lives of the elder brethren , and unless some check be given to the evasions and innovations , every lodge will have its own especial working , and thus each lodge will shut the door to all the other

offsprings of the same parent . The alterations that have been made are not so much in the symbolism as in the tradition ; for instance , the pedestal has

not yet proceeded to the west—the cable has not been converted into a patent chain cable , nor has the slipper been improved into a Wellington boot . No , it is the oral portions of the ceremonies that have been tampered with . Masonry ought to be

like the Medeian and Persian laws , unalterable . Masonry formerly was monarchial , but from causes now unknown it is creeping fast into democracy . Every Master of a , Lodge in England now believes his own knowledge of the rites and ceremonies of

the Order to be equal , if not superior , to the knowledge possessed by the members of the Grand Loclge collectively . Unfortunately , too , there are writers endeavouring to deprecate the Order by

attempting to prove that Masonry is not of ancient and sacred origin , but of modern invention . The most endearing influences of Masonry are its solemn ceremonies and its sacred antiquity . Instead of Masonry being derived from the builders

of Solomon's Temple , these enemies of the Order eudeavour to prove that one Elias Ashmole , a quack astrologer of the 17 th century , was the inventor . Reason naturally asks what object could any one man have in instituting such an Order

What could an astrologer mean by the sacred obligations—the pedestal , the cable , and the slipper—these have nothing to do with astrology ! Had Ashmole been a priest , and had he lived centuries before the age attributed to him ,

Ashmole might then have founded the Order , if he were assisted by his clerical brethren , but then there must have been some object in view , some end to be attained . Learned clericals would not have introduced a cable or a slipper as symbols in

sacred mysteries , unless there vvas some occult meaning . Ashmole , if he invented modern ritual Masonry , ought at least to have instructed his pupils from whence these symbols were derived . What an idiot must Ashmole's first apprentice

have been to learn by rote the lengthy formula of the first degree , and how overpoweringly ridiculous must the lodge have appeared when Ashmole himself represented the W . M ., the Tyler , and all the officers ? Masonry was and still is a mighty

engine , not easily set in motion , aud its movements are slow in proportion to its magnitude—any sudden alteration in its working machinery would throw the ponderous fabric out of gear . Suppose the committee were to consider that the W . M .

representing the rising sun was partaking of Sabeism , and were to recommend that in future the Master ' s symbol should be the moon ; that the pedestal should be in the west , and that the slipper should be introduced as a neat walking

shoe fitting the foot , why every Mason would laugh at such absurdities , just in the same manner as would an astronomer laugh were queer shaped old Ara'O Navis converted into a screw steamer .

Before leaving Ashmole , let him show himself m his true colours ; fortunately , he has written his own memoirs , or racher his own life journal . " 1645 , Oct . 16 . 4 Hora , 30 minutes post meridian , I was made a Freemason at Warrington in LancasHre . '

Is this the man that invented Masonry , that ordained among Masons there should be no ante or po st meridian ? " 1653 , May 13 . My father told me in syllables the true matter of the philosopher ' s stone , -which he bequeathed to me as a legacy . " Has Ashmole bequeathed

the philosopher ' s stone to the Masons ? " 1681 , April 11 . Hung three spiders about my neck , and they drove my ague away . " Will any brother with an ague try the same remedy ? " 1682 , March 10 . About 6 post meridian received a held the next

summons to appear at a lodge to be day at Masons Hall in London . Went the next day and was admitted into the fellowship of Freemasons ; was senior fellow among them , it being 35 years since I was admitted . We all dined at the Half-moon tavern in Cheapsideat a noble dinner prepared at tho charge of

, the new Accepted Masons . " Ashmole , throughout his journal seems to have thought much more about the feasts of the astrologers , and his bodily ailment , and his physic , than he did about any other matter .