Speculative Freemasonry And Its Origin (Pp. 67, 69.)

SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY AND ITS ORIGIN ( pp . 67 , 69 . )

" Our Freemasonry , or Speculative Masonry , was a new institution , manufactured or brought into being in A . D . 1717 . It was made up of quotations from operative documents—Rosicrucian ideas , principles and doctrines stirred up by the Reformation , ideas taken from the study of ancient history & call mixed

, , together with such suitable seasoning as the brains of Drs . Desaguliers and Anderson judged best for the purpose . There being a few old Masonic lodges in London , the Doctors gave each a dose of the new ¦ compound , which so tickled their fancy , pleased , and intoxicated them , that , inirabile d-ictu , they immediately

lost all remembrance of past events ! Yea , verily , such was the curious action of this new compound , that if ¦ a Masou only took one sip , he was ever after ready to swear that lie had been drinking it continually and habitually all his life . A dose being also sent to the Scottish lodges , they tasted , were quite satisfied , and immediately adopted the recipe , and , as quickly as

the new compound could be manufactured in that cold climate , dispensed it . It was soon found , however , ¦ that the old lodges , or " old bottles , " were neither sufficient in capacity nor numbers to contain anything like the necessary amount of material , nor were they able to dispense the intended good in a manner

commensurate with the good intended ; consequently the Doctors had to set about manufacturing more " hot ties , " which they of course did in a dignified manner , and in accordance with the demand . So much for the manufacture of Speculative Masonry about A . D . 1717 . 'The Masons before 1717 depicted the compasses and

square and others of their tools upon their flags , & c . ; but so also did the Wrights , who also used the compasses and square , & c ; aud other trades had also their tools depicted . But although that was done , it does not follow that they served any other purpose with them than merely as trade marks ; and much less does it follow that our degrees and rituals , & c ., existed before 1717 ; as yet , I have seen no evidence to prove so , but a good deal against it . —W . P . BUCHAN .

THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED EITE . I think we may fairly presume that this rite originated about the year 1730 . We know that Ramsay and others were busy with a " new system" some years earlier , and it is probable that the Royal Arch established 1740 , was arranged from the degrees of

this rite relating to Zerubbabel ' s Temple . All the Cross degrees , viz ., the Rose Croix of Prance , Rosy Cross of Scotland , Eouge Croix of Sweden , and the Templar of England appear to have arisen about the year 1750 . Of course the Ancient and Accepted Rite was not established in its present entirety till many vears later . " - —Lx . W . L .

THE EOSICEUCIANS . Anew work , " The Rosicrucians , " by Mr . Hargrave Jennings , author of " Indian Reli gions , - or , Results -of the Mysterious Bhuddism , " will be immediately published b y Mr . Hotteu , of Piccadilly . This book will contain upwards of 300 engravings of Hermetic

subjects , expressly collected for this publication . The book will give a serious view of the occult system of the renowned brothers of the Eosy Cross , otherwise the Alchemists and " Illuminati , " drawn , for the first

time , from the Latin writings of Robertus de Fluetibus ( Robert Flood , or Fludd ) .

THE GUILDS . The following appeared in " Notes and Queries , " of Jan . 22 nd : — " Important as has been the influence of guilds upon the social and municipal institutions of England , their history , it would seem , is destined to be written by forei scholarsWilda published in

gn . 1831 a book upon the subject , TJeber das Gildewesen des Mittelalters , and now we learn that the late lamented Mr . Touhnin Smith ' s 'English G-uilds' is to be accompanied by a review of the whole history and development of guilds , from the pen of a learned German scholar , Dr . L . Brentane . "—PICTTJS .

MASONEY IN JEETJSALEM . At the conversazione of the London Institution on Wednesday , the 19 th inst . Bro . the Rev . H . B . Tristram , one of the Palestine explorers , in giving an address on Jerusalem , made distinct reference to its Masonic interest , speaking as a Freemason . He

particularly referred to the masons' marks on the walls ofthe Harem , defined by Bro . Deutsch as Phoenician , and which Bro . Tristram therefore decides to be those of the workmen of Hiram . It must , however , be observed that as yet the identification is incomplete , because it does not follow , as assumed by Bro . Tristram , that in the next construction ofthe Temple Phoenician masons may not have been employed as before . —A MASONIC ATJDITOE .

ONE OP BEO . HUGHAN ' LETTEES . Bro . Hughan ' s letter , respecting which a West of England correspondent enquires , is one with which most readers of the Freemasons ^ Magazine must be familiar . It is inserted in Ho . 536 , 9 th Oct ., 1869 . I recommend to my correspondent ' s attention the

following passage : — " Our present system of Speculative Freemasonry arose out of the mediaeval and early operative guilds or fraternities , when the latter were languishing , after a long existence of many centuries , and these in their turn were but a copy of still earlier secret organisations . "—CHAELES PUETON COOPEE .

THE LODGE 01 ? GLASGOW ST . JOHN AND THE MAEK ( page 68 ) . Allow me to inform your esteemed correspondent , Bro . W . J . Hughan , that in my next article , and at date April , 1858 , there occurs notice of contest with the Glasgow Prov . Grand Lodge upon this matter , which will be alluded to . —W . P . BUCHAN .

EECOGNITION OP THE HIGH DEGEEES BY GEAND LODGE . I think " Yerha Nbn Res" has misunderstood my remarks in the Magazine , page 49 . I stated that the Act of Union " declares what we know to be but a form of high grade Masonry { i . e ., the B . A . ) , to be

part of the Antient system . " I did not mention the Ancient and Accepted Rite , but its degrees were in operation ( abroad ) A . D . 1813 . He admits that its two principal degrees had already been incorporated with English high grade Masonry . I am not an advocate of the Ancient and Accepted or any other form of high grade Freemasonry , but I think I state facts . — HOLZ .