Part 12 (1/2)

Returning to the Grand Lodge of England, we have now to make record of ridicule and opposition from without, and, alas, of disloyalty and discord within the order itself With the publication of the _Book of Constitutions_, by Anderson, in 1723, the platfore, and its eneilant None are so blind as those ill not see, and not a few, unacquainted with the spirit of Masonry, or unable to grasp its principle of liberality and tolerance, affected to detect in its secrecy soe in the _Book of Constitutions_ enjoining politics froe hardly lessits attitude toward differing religious creeds, and which it behooves Masons to keep always in mind as both true and wise, especially in our day when effort is being ious issue into politics:

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In order to preserve peace and harht within the door of the Lodge, far less any quarrel about Religions or Nations or State-Policy, we being only, as Masons, of the Catholic Religion above ree); we are also of all Nations, Tongues, Kindreds and Languages, and are resolved against all Politics as what never yet conduced to the welfare of the Lodge, nor ever will This charge has always been actively enjoined and observed; but especially ever since the Reformation in Britain or the dissent and secession of these Nations from the communion of Rome

No sooner had these noble words been printed,[139] than there ca itself the ”truly Ancient noble Order of the Gored to have been instituted by Chin-Quaw Ky-Po, the first Emperor of China,of the order appeared in the _Daily Post_, Septeh-sounding declarations, that ”no Mason will be received as a Member till he has renounced his noble order and been properly degraded” Obviously, fro at the secrets of the Lodges--the order was aping Masonry by way of parody with intent to destroy it, if possible, by ridicule For all that, if we , ”raded theons Not ”many” perhaps, but, alas, one eminent Mason at least, none other than a Past Grand Master, the Duke of Wharton, who, piqued at an act of the Grand Lodge, had turned against it Erratic ofan inordinate lust for praise, and pilloried as a ”fool” by Pope in his _Moral Essays_, he betrayed his fraternity--as, later, he turned traitor to his faith, his flag, and his native land!

Simultaneously with the announceraded theons, there appeared a book called the _Grand Mystery of Free was plain to the Masons, and if it had not been clear, the way in which the writer emphasized his hatred of the Jesuits would have told it all It was a Jesuit[140] plot hatched in Ro use of the dissolute and degenerate Mason for that purpose--tactics often enough used in the nah, this was further made evident by the fact that the order ceased to exist in 1738, the year in which Cleainst the Masons Thereupon the ”ancient order of Gorons” sed itself, and so disappeared--not, however, without one last, futile effort to achieve its ends[141] Naturally this episode stirred the Masons deeply It was denounced in burning words on the floor of the Grand Lodge, which took new caution to guard its rites from treachery and vandalis men to the order ere unworthy of the honor

There were those who thought that the power of Masonry lay in its secrecy; so that its _real_ power lies in the sanctity of its truth, the simplicity of its faith, the sweetness of its spirit, and its service to mankind, and that if all its rites were made public today it would still hold the hearts of ed exposures there were ned, and theyh to name the most famous, as well as the most elaborate, of them all, _Masonry Dissected_, by Sah three editions in one month, October, 1730, and called out a noble _Defence of Masonry_, written, it is thought, by Anderson, but the present writer believes by Desaguliers Others came later, such as _Jachin and Boaz_, the _Three Distinct Knocks_, and so forth They had their day and ceased to be, having now only an antiquarian interest to those ould know thethe order, they really helped it, as such things usually do, by showing that thereto do it But Masonry went otten, as it does all its back-stair spies and heel-snapping critics

More serious by far was the series of schisan in 1725, and ran on even into the next century For the student they inner; for e read of four Grand Lodges in England, and for so to be the Grand Lodge of England, the confusion seee of a very limited territory, and few adherents, adopted the title of Grand Lodge of _all_ England, while another which commenced in the middle of the century assumed the title of ”The Ancients,” and dubbed the older and parent Grand Lodge ”The Moderns” Besides, there are traces of an unrecorded Grand body calling itself ”The Supre toin numbers Strict search and due inquiry into the causes of these divisions would see results:

First, there was a fear, not unjustified by facts, that the ancient deed upon by certain acts of the Grand Lodge of 1717--as, for exa to the Grand Master power to appoint the Wardens[144] Second, there was a tendency, due to the influence of soive a distinctively Christian tinge to Masonry, first in their interpretations of its symbols, and later to the ritual itself This fact has not been enough emphasized by our historians, for it explains much Third, there was the further fact that Masonry in Scotland differed froland, in details at least, and the two did not all at once hare and tradition Fourth, in one instance, if no more, pride of locality and historic anization Fifth, there was the ever-present element of personal ambition hich all human societies, of whatever kind, ether, the situation was amply conducive to division, if not to explosion, and the wonder is that the schisms were so few

III

Time out of mind the ancient city of York had been a seat of the Masonic Craft, tradition tracing it back to the days of Athelstan, in 926 AD Be that as it e minutes of York are the oldest in the country, and the relics of the Craft now preserved in that city entitle it to be called the Mecca of Masonry Whether the old society was a Private or a Grand Lodge is not plain; but in 1725 it assu, it would seeht by virtue of antiquity had in soe of London After ten or fifteen years the rand bodies speak of it as still working In 1761 six of its survivingsuccess until its final extinction in 1791, having only a few subordinate Lodges, chiefly in Yorkshi+re Never antagonistic, it chose to remain independent, and its history is a noble tradition York Masonry was acknowledged by all parties to be both ancient and orthodox, and even to this day, in England and over the seas, a certainaplace of Masons[145]

Far in, as is now thought, in a group of Irish Masons in London ere not recognized by the pree, averring that it had adopted ”new plans” and departed froed, to the old for upon their rivals the odious nauished from each other by the names of their respective Grand Masters, one called Prince of Wales' Masons, the other the Atholl Masons[147] The great figure in the Atholl Grand body was Lawrence Derable industry as its secretary for e measure, its success In 1756 he published its first book of laws, entitled _Ahiman Rezon, Or Help to a Brother_, much of which was taken from the _Irish Constitutions_ of 1751, by Pratt, and the rest from the _Book of Constitutions_, by Anderson--who satire, of which he was a s, the office of Deacon seein with this body Atholl Masons were presided over by the Masters of affiliated Lodges until 1756, when Lord Blessington, their first titled Grand Master, was induced to accept the honor--their warrants having been left blank beti of a nobleman to that office Later the fourth Duke of Atholl was Grand Master at the sae, the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland being represented at his installation in London

Still another schisnificant, came in 1778, led by Williaht in the order On St John's Day, Decee of London, of which Preston was Master--one of the four original Lodges fore--attended church in a body, to hear a sermon by its Chaplain They robed in the vestry, and then marched into the church, but after the service they walked back to the Hall wearing their Masonic clothing Difference of opinion arose as to the regularity of the act, Preston holding it to be valid, if for no other reason, by virtue of the inherent right of Antiquity Lodge itself

Three e, he foolishly striking their na

Eventually the Grand Lodge took the ainst Preston, and ordered the reinstate the Antiquity Lodge voted not to coe, and, instead, to withdraw froe of All England at York City,” as they called it They were received by the York Grand Lodge, and soon thereafter obtained a constitution for a ”Grand Lodge of England South of the Trent” Although much vitality was shown at the outset, this body only constituted two subordinate Lodges, and ceased to exist Having failed, in 1789 Preston and his friends recanted their folly, apologized to the Grand Lodge, reunited with the men whom they had expelled, and were received back into the fold; and so the matter ended

These divisions, while they were in soood of the order in the sequel--the activity of contending Grand Lodges, often keen, and at ti the spread of its principles to which all were alike loyal, and to the enrichment of its Ritual[149] to which each contributed Deronist, had left no stone unturned to advance the interests of Atholl Masonry, inducing its Grand Lodge to grant warrants to ar Masons in every part of the world where the English army went[150] Howbeit, when that resourceful secretary and unco rest, a better an to make itself felt, and a desire to heal the feud and unite all the Grand Lodges--the way having been cleared, e and the ”Grand Lodge South of the Trent” Overtures to that end were made in 1802 without avail, but by 1809 co on the ”propriety and practicability of union” Fraternal letters were exchanged, and at last a joint committee met, canvassed all differences, and found a way to heal the schise of Reconciliation held in Freemason's Hall, London, on St John's Day, Dece scene as the two Grand Lodges, so long estranged, filed into the Hall--delegates of 641 Modern and 359 Ancient or Atholl Lodges--so uishable the one from the other Both Grand Masters had seats of honor in the East The hour was fraternal, each side willing to sacrifice prejudice in behalf of principles held by all in common, and all equally anxious to preserve the ancient land that the Atholl Masons had insisted that Masonry erase such distinctively Christian color as had crept into it, and return to its first platform[152] Once united, free of feud, cleansed of rancor, and holding high its unsectarian, non-partisan flag, Masonry reatdead schis our regulations, and cultivating that spirit of Love which is the fountain whence issue all our voluntary efforts for what is right and true: union in essentialunimportant and doubtful; Love always--one bond, one universal law, one fellowshi+p in spirit and in truth!

IV

Relirowth and influence of Masonry in A ht As we have seen, it ca before the naospel of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity it helped to shape the institutions of this Continent

Down the Atlantic Coast, along the Great Lakes, into the wilderness of the Middle West and the forests of the far South--ard itup its altar on remote frontiers, a symbol of civilization, of loyalty to law and order, of friendshi+p with school-house and church If history recorded the unseen influences which go to the ood which never stop, never tarry, never tire, and of which our social order is the outward and visible sign, then ht the real story of Masonry in America be told

Instead of a dry chronicle,[153] let us make effort to capture and portray the spirit of Masonry in Areat order actually presided over the birth of the republic, hose growth it has had so much to do For example, no one need be told what patriotic on Tavern, in Boston, which Webster, speaking at Andover in 1823, called ”_the headquarters of the Revolution_” Even so, but it was also a _Masonic Hall_, in the ”Long Rooe of Massachusetts--an off-shoot of St Andrew's Lodge--was organized on St John's Day, 1767, with Joseph Warren, who afterwards fell at Bunker Hill, as Grand Master There Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, Warren, Hancock, Otis and others met and passed resolutions, and then laid schemes to make them come true There the Boston Tea Party was planned, and executed by Masons disguised as Mohawk Indians--not by the Lodge as such, but by a club for itself the _Caucus Pro Bono Publico_, of which Warren was the leading spirit, and in which, says Elliott, ”the plans of the Sons of Liberty were matured” As Henry Purkett used to say, he was present at the famous Tea Party as a spectator, and in disobedience to the order of the Master of the Lodge, as _actively_ present[154]

As in Massachusetts, so throughout the Colonies--the Masons were everywhere active in behalf of a nation ”conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all ned the Declaration of Independence, the following are known to have been members of the order: William Hooper, Benjamin Franklin, Matthew Thornton, Williaston, Thomas Nelson; and no doubt others, if we had the Masonic records destroyed during the war Indeed, it has been said that, with four men out of the room, the assee, on the Third Degree Not only Washi+ngton,[155] but nearly all of his generals, were Masons; such at least as Greene, Lee, Marion, Sullivan, Rufus and Israel Putnam, Edwards, Jackson, Gist, Baron Steuben, Baron De Kalb, and the Marquis de Lafayette as es held in the Continental Ares could be written, what a story it would tell Not only did they initiate such men as Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall, the immortal Chief Justice, but they made the spirit of Masonry felt in ”tih picket-lines, eluding sentinels, and softening the horrors of war

Laying aside their swords, these Masons helped to lay wide and deep the foundations of that liberty under the lahich has reat hope of man” Nor was it an accident, but a scene in accord with the fitness of things, that George Washi+ngton orn into office as the first President of the Republic by the Grand Master of New York, taking his oath on a Masonic Bible It was a parable of the whole period If the Magna Charta derant, Masonry frohts which man derives from God the Father of men Never did this truth find sweeter voice than in the tones of the old Scotch fiddle on which Robert Burns, a Master Mason, sang, in lyric glee, of the sacredness of the soul, and the native dignity of humanity as the only basis of society and the state Thatover continents and seas, until it found embodiment in the Constitution and laws of this nation, where today e, then, that Masonry should have been made the victim of theelse, in the annals of the Republic Yet so it came to pass between 1826 and 1845, in connection with the Morgan[158] affair, of which so much has been written, and so little truth told Alas, it was an evil hour when, as Galsworthy would say, ”o blind to justice, fact, and reason” Although Lodges everywhere repudiated and denounced the crime, if crime it was, and the Governor of New York, himself a Mason, made every effort to detect and punish those involved, the fanaticism would not be stayed: the mob-mood ruled An Anti-Masonic political party[159] was formed, fed on frenzy, and the land was stirred froreat credulity and strong prejudice, was drawn into the fray, and in a series of letters flayed Masonry as an eneton, Franklin, Marshall, and Warren were members of the order!

Meanwhile--and, verily, it was a mean while--Weed, Seward, Thaddeus Stevens, and others of their ilk, rode into power on the strength of it, as they had planned to do, defeating Henry Clay for President, because he was a Mason--and, incidentally, electing Andrew Jackson, another Mason! Let it be said that, if the Masons found it hard to keep within the Compass, they at least acted on the Square Finally the fury spent itself, leaving the order purged of feeble men ere Masons only in form, and a revival of Masonry followed, slowly at first, and then with great rapidity

No sooner had Masonry recovered from this ordeal than the dark clouds of Civil War covered the land like a pall--the saddest of all wars, dividing a nation one in arts and ar an entail of blood and fire and tears Let it be forever remembered that, while churches were severed and states were seceding, _the Masonic order remained unbroken_ in that wild and fateful hour

An effort was made to involve Masonry in the strife, but the wise counsel of its leaders, North and South, prevented theof Masonry with politics; and while it could not avert the tragedy, it did es of h passion may have strained, it could not break the tie of Masonic love, which found athe sick, the wounded, and those in prison; and rave of a man ore the blue Some day the writer hopes to tell that story, or a part of it, and then men will understand what Masonry is, what it means, and what it can do to heal the hurts of huh our national history, and today Masonry is worth more for the sanctity and safety of this republic than both its arhts of man have been threatened by enehts like signal fires along the heights of liberty, keeping watch Not only in our own land, but everywhere over the broad earth, when men have thrown off the yoke of tyranny, whether political or spiritual, and de to manhood, they have found a friend in the Masonic order--as did Mazzini and Garibaldi in Italy Nor er of foes froence of indifference, the seduction of luxury, the machinations of politicians, and the shadow of a passion-clouded, impatient discontent, whose end is madness and folly; lest the most hallowed of all liberties be lost

/P Love thou thy land, with love far-brought From out the storied past, and used Within the present, but transfused Through future tiht