N
National Society of Research ⬩ Negro Masonry ⬩ Netherlands ⬩ Nimrod ⬩ Noachite, or Prussian Knight ⬩ Non-Masonic Rites ⬩ Notes on Colonial and Indian Masonry
National Society of Research
When a man enters Freemasonry it is customary to present him with The Book of Constitutions and the By-Laws of that Lodge by which he has been received into the great community. These things are provided, so that he may live in conformity with Masonic rule as to matters which concern the Brotherhood, and they are therefore put into his hands by an act of necessity, not an act of grace. During a period of considerably over two hundred years, there may have been rare cases in which other information has been furnished, but they have not come under my notice. The new member has therefore very little knowledge of the organisation into which he has entered, its pretensions or its history. The mystery of speculative building, of Temples spiritualised, the Symbols and Rites of the Order, their developments and transformations—of all these things—he who would learn must seek; and it might happen that the Master of the Lodge would prove—as already suggested—not only the last person who could guide him, the very last person to instruct, but even the first to feel confused and astonished at direction being sought on such subjects. I am not wishing to affirm that there is no guidance possible. In this as in all things else a man who wants to learn will not fail to find his teachers, while for the Mason also—as for others—there is a great cohort of instructors—each at his own value—in books, and even in periodicals. There are further a few Lodges which pass as learned and issue Transactions that those who wish may see, without any grave difficulty.
The Masonic Subject.—Of course in the multitude of counsellors there is the confusion which might be expected, and that most natural question arises: What have the Masonic Headships to say on the subject of Masonry? Hereunto there has been so far no answer whatever, but the reason will not be anticipated by the generality—even among Masonic readers. Individual Grand Officers may write of that and this, but only in their private capacity, for—as a matter of fact—any teaching body of the kind implied by the question is not possible in Masonry. It is on the surface a “system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.” The morality is perfectly clear and calls for no exposition, while up to a certain point the Rituals exist to explain the allegories and symbols. The essence and spirit of Masonry are not contained, however, within the terms of the definition which I have quoted. I have shewn rather that they escape therein. But of that which lies beyond no governing body in Masonry has the power to speak with authority, such corporations being custodians of the surface-meaning only and of what is involved thereby. Omnia exeunt in mysterium, and if it should profit little to consult the Master of a Lodge, in the great majority of cases, the profit might be less than nothing to consult the Grand Lodges, which would exceed their province by speaking.
The Soul’s Legend.—If some time or another in the history of Masonry—-whether Operative, Speculative, or both—there grew up or was imported within it that strange Ceremonial Mystery which constitutes the Third Craft Degree, and if it contains within it, as a summary of all the Instituted Mysteries, the Legend of the Soul and a pictorial figuration of the Soul’s Attainment at the Centre, the Grand Lodges cannot tell us when and how it originated, whence it came, or alternatively how it grew up within the four walls of the Universal Lodge. They cannot unveil the allegories—if this be their inward aspect—nor can they illustrate the symbols. It is their province to maintain Landmarks and Constitutions without innovations therein, other than those which times, circumstances and disposition may lead them to introduce on their own part.
Counter Views.—The result is that every man who is made a Mason thinks what he pleases to think on all sides of the Masonic Subject. He may regard it as a benefit society, a social club, a method of bringing people together, a concern which provides status, or things further from the purpose than one or all of these. He may believe alternatively that it is a great instrument of moral and social amelioration, or an aspect of religion; that it is the wisdom of Egypt projected through the centuries; that its first traces are in Aztec or even in Atlantis; that it is Kabalistic Theosophy popularised in moving Ceremonies; and so forward—without stint or hindrance. The position is open at all its doors and quarters, and if it leaves the new-comer more or less helpless in the midst of a great confusion, this is unavoidable in the nature of things.
Grand Lodge of Iowa.—It has happened, however, within comparatively recent days that the Grand Lodge of Iowa—being the second largest on the great continent of America, and second to none in importance or influence—has set itself to remedy that portion of the difficulty which may be called remediable within the best and only measures that it is free to act. It has assumed no seat of authority in teaching; it has sought to arrogate to itself no artificial orthodoxy of opinion on matters of speculation; but it has resolved that the new Mason coming under its obedience shall know what there is to be known—outside controversial regions—on the foundations of Masonry; on general symbolism in its connection with particular forms prevailing in the great Craft; on the realm of Masonic legend which goes before Masonic history; on the unquestioned historical data; on the history of the Grand Lodge of England—which in one sense or another is the Mother-Lodge of the whole Masonic world; on the story in brief of her children in other countries, long since grown up and working out their own destiny; and on that which—apart from all dogma—may be thought and held about the deeper meaning of Masonry, its philosophy and its spirit.
Joseph Fort Newton.—To attain this end the Grand Lodge of Iowa chose Joseph Fort Newton, a Doctor of Literature, to prepare the designed memorial; and so it comes about that we have his “story and study of Masonry,” which is called The Builders. It was written as a commission from the Grand Lodge in question and was approved thereby on June 10, 1914. Thenceforward a copy has been “presented to every man upon whom the Degree of Master Mason” has been “conferred in the Grand Jurisdiction of Iowa.” It is of course an individual effort, though bearing an important imprimatur; and there are two ways in which it marks an epoch. They are the circumstances of its production, as stated, and the value of its contents. As regards the second, I am convinced that every thinking Mason into whose hands it comes will wish sincerely that it could have been presented to him when he became a Master Mason and will envy generously those who receive it now under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Iowa.
Masonic Scholarship.—Dr. Fort Newton is known otherwise as author of The Eternal Christ, a series of studies in “the life of vision and service” and as a preacher who on many occasions has proved to have a mouth of gold. In his own words concerning Emerson, he is one of the seers of this day who are seeking to make “the Kingdom of the Spirit something more than a visionary scene suspended in the sky.” Because of what he is in these respects and—for the rest—because of his Masonic scholarship, he has written a book which is not only the best introduction to the study of Masonry that I have met with in my whole experience—whether in English or another language—but is something also that belongs to the domain of literature. He has gifts therefore which have been wanting but too often in the generality of Masonic writers. Finally, he has accomplished a responsible task without imperilling the Grand Lodge of which he is the spokesman by any tincture of extravagance in theory or grave mistake in fact. My knowledge of things as they are within Masonic measures is much too wide for me to dream that other Grand Lodges will adopt The Builders as their text-book; but I am not without hope that the high interest and importance which attaches to this little classic will bring it into general demand, and that these words may help in this direction.
Negro Masonry
There are negro Grand Lodges in most States of America, but they are not recognised by the other Grand Obediences, and I have met with no particulars. They must represent a very large membership. There are such Lodges also in Canada. In the negro Republic of Liberia there is a Grand Lodge, and the fact of its existence—to the exclusion of all others—is specified in the English official Masonic Year Book. So far as America is concerned, there is evidence that fourteen negroes, among whom was Prince Hall, were made Masons on March 6, 1775, in a Military Lodge of the British army at Boston. They applied subsequently for a Warrant to England and received it in 1787, being constituted as African Lodge, No. 429, located at Boston. The next event in its history with which I am acquainted is that it was struck off the Roll of Grand Lodge at the beginning of the nineteenth century, having ceased to make its returns for a very long time. It had either passed into abeyance or so passed subsequently. In the course of time it reported revival to England but obtained no recognition; and in 1827 it proclaimed independence and reconstituted soon after as the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. It issued Warrants and all negro Lodges in the United States are said to derive therefrom. They are all indifferently illegal in the opinion of American Masonic jurisprudence. Whether so-called “coloured Masonry” in Canada and Liberia come from the same stock I have no means of knowing. It is rumoured that the High Grades are also in vogue among American negro Masons, but nothing is to be found concerning them, so far as available sources of reference are concerned.
Netherlands
The romance of Masonry in Holland opens with a legend concerning a Lodge called Het Vredendal, otherwise Frederick Vredendal, and says that it was founded, under an English Warrant, in 1519, 1601 or 1637, according to the variants of the story. The first date is that which is most in harmony with the mind of the myth, which should have the freedom of its whole licence. There is no need to say that such a Lodge was created only in dream, was warranted and worked therein. The historical period begins in 1731, when Desaguliers and others went over to the Hague, under a dispensation from Lord Lovell, to initiate “the first Royal Freemason”—as Gould points out—namely, the Duke of Lorraine, afterwards the Emperor Francis I. There are no records of this important event in the Minutes of Grand Lodge, or elsewhere in the archives: there is, however, the authority of Anderson, in the second Book of Constitutions, and him Preston follows. There is no evidence of Dutch Brethren taking part in the emergency meeting, or of a Lodge existing at the period in Holland. We hear of one being started by Count Vincent de la Chapelle in 1734 under the fantastic name of Loge du Grand Maître des Provinces Réunies et du Ressort de la Généralité. Who the Grand Master was and what may be signified by the last words must be left open questions: it looks like another myth. We hear also of a Lodge called Le Veritable Zèle in 1735, under English authority, and of J. Cornelius Rademaker being appointed Provincial Grand Master in that year. In any case there was Masonry in Holland, as the States General suppressed it by edict, also in 1735. The decree was rescinded in 1740, and there was considerable Masonic activity about 1744, at the Hague, Amsterdam and Rotterdam. In 1749 one of the older Hague Lodges—said to be the Loge du Grand Maître—assumed the title of Lodge of Royal Union and also of Mother Lodge. It is believed to have promoted the movement which culminated in 1756, when fourteen Lodges assembled at the Hague and a National Grand Lodge of the Netherlands was proclaimed on December 27, England continuing, however, to constitute Dutch Lodges, till a satisfactory concordat between the two powers was arranged in 1770. In 1816 the second son of King William I, Prince Frederick William, became Grand Master of the Order and so remained for sixty-five years, or till his death in 1881. He was also Grand Master of Belgium in 1817 and presided over a Grand Orient which had jurisdiction in both countries. The last arrangement probably came to an end in 1730, when Belgium attained political independence. At the present time the governing Masonic Obedience is a Grand Orient of the Netherlands, having its Headquarters at the Hague, and the Grand Master is Mr. M. S. Lingbeck. Its jurisdiction extends over a considerable number of Lodges in South Africa and in the Dutch Colonies, as well as in the mother country.
Dutch Craft and High Grades.—Prior to the foundation of the National Grand Lodge a Provincial Grand Lodge was at work in Holland, and in or before 1753 the Dutch Brethren began to be interested in the claims and working of Écossais Grades. They applied presently to the London Grand Lodge under Lord Carysfort for permission to hold Scots Lodges. They appear to have addressed the Grand Master in question, who was succeeded in 1754 by the Marquis of Carnarvon. Because of the change or otherwise, they did not receive a reply till December 3, 1756, when the Deputy Grand Master, Dr. Thomas Manningham, refused the request in a letter which exhibits his complete ignorance of High Grade Masonry, though it had passed through several stages of development by that time. In a second letter, dated July 12, 1757, he states that Lord Aberdour, a past Grand Master of Scotland, had never heard of such inventions. We do not know what followed on this correspondence or whether the National Grand Lodge worked or even tolerated anything outside the Craft Degrees; but it is certain that High Grades existed in Holland, and in 1798 it would seem that the Grand Lodge had been concerned therein, for its statutes of that year restrict Lodge workings within Blue Masonry and relegate the High Grades to the care of a Grand Chapter. They were those of the French Grand Orient, namely, (1) Elect, (2) Écossais Master, (3) Knight of the East, and (4) Rose-Croix. In 1816, as we have seen elsewhere, Prince Frederick attempted a Ritual reform, reducing the High Grades superposed on those of the Craft to Elect Master and Super-Elect Master. In 1885 these were converted into a single Grade, governed by a Chamber of Administration. The reform had not been popular and the Grand Chapter continued to exist. At the beginning of the present century it controlled the following Grades: (1) Elect, alternatively Select Master; (2), (3), (4) Écossais Grades; (5) Knight of the Sword, or of the East; (6) Rose-Croix: in other words, the Grades of the French Rite, plus three of those Scots Degrees which had been condemned by Dr. Manningham. In this connection my friend Mr. F. H. Buckmaster, who speaks from first-hand knowledge, tells me that South African Lodges, under the Netherlands Constitution—e.g. the Good Hope, No. 12—work the Degrees of the Scottish Rite, from the Fourth to the Eighteenth, both inclusive, but they are classed as “side Degrees” and are reserved for Past Masters of the Craft.
Nimrod
It will astonish most students of Masonry to learn that in the eighteenth century the eldest son of Ham—who is heard of in Scripture chiefly as “a mighty hunter before the Lord”—was not only regarded by the erudition of the period as founder of the Babylonian monarchy but was Grand Master of all Masons and a builder of many cities in Shinaar. The principles which governed what passed once for research—and the findings of supposedly serious opinion as the result thereof—in the English Fraternity are past finding out. There would be no puzzle before one if we could say with comparative certitude that we are in the presence of conscious mendacities. There is no question in my mind that this is an almost irresistible conclusion in several typical cases, but a considerable proportion are more complex in character. The facility with which wild speculations translated themselves into the credulous minds of their makers in the form of literal certainty suggests that the whole subject belongs to pathology. For the rest it is not without interest to register that there was a mythical Grand Master prior to the age which is occupied by the mythos of the Holy Lodge. I need not speak of Ashur, the son of Shem, who is credited with cities unnumbered—including Nineveh. It is Babylon which figures in the annals of this kind of Masonic belief, and there is of course the traditional side of the Royal Arch looming in the foreground. The Babylonians are supposed to have advanced in geometry and astronomy beyond all other nations, Egypt apparently included, though Egypt had the Pyramids and Sphinx—if the so-called city of Nimrod had the great wonder of its walls. There are other speculations than those of Masonic archaeology on the subject of the mighty hunter, other and earlier inventions than that of his rank in Masonry, and some of them have led the way in the direction with which we are concerned here.
Noachite, or Prussian Knight
The Council of Emperors placed the Grade of Grand Noachite Patriarch as the twentieth in their long series, and there is no need to say that it was without any shred of connection with Prussian chivalry. Of recent days we have come to know all about this, in all its phases, together with all its connotations. Antecedently we know also that the place and title of the Emperors’ Grade were altered at the foundation of the Scottish Rite, while a peculiarly mendacious myth was turned out from the factory at Charleston to institute a trumpery bond of kinship between the diluvian Noachidae and anything that passed at the period for Prussian Knighthood. Incidentally no doubt it was held to serve as a support for the major mendacity of the Rite respecting Frederick the Great, the plight of which was desperate enough to call for broken reeds as well as forged charters. By the hypothesis therefore, the Noachite Grade was of German origin and was translated into French by an imaginary Frenchman, who was Inspector-General of imaginary Prussian Lodges in France.
Grade Traditions.—So much for lying history, and in respect of lying legend the oratorical discourse says that the architect of Babel travelled into Germany after the great confusion and erected many monuments in Prussia. He died in his day, and thereafter the story jumps to the year 1555, when certain workers in salt mines discovered the ruins of a triangular edifice, containing the tomb of Peleg, various trophies of antiquity and a pillar of white marble on which was written in Hebrew the whole history of the Noachidae. So far as I have been able to trace, the earlier recensions tell of Peleg and his travels but do not take him into Germany and much less into Prussia. The original motive was characteristic in an eminent degree of High-Grade pretensions. The alleged discovery of archives belonging to the age of Noah naturally placed the Grand Patriarchate in a superior position to that of Hiramic Masonry. When the Grade was converted into a chivalry it added hereto a crusading element, according to which the Patriarchs had got back into Palestine and initiated various persons belonging to Orders of Knighthood, but also—as the Oration adds sagely—those Masons who were descendants of Hiram.
Procedure of the Grade.—The Candidate passes from Hiramic to Noachite Masonry; he is shewn the Tower of Babel and the Mausoleum of Peleg, who began in pride but ended in humility; he undertakes to emulate Noah in his justice and righteousness; he is pledged and knighted, becoming a Mason Noachite as well as a Prussian Knight. It is the lean ghost of a Ritual, and though it appeals to a tradition, the vestiges of which are to be found in Zoharic Kabalism, it is empty of all that belongs thereto or connects therewith.
Non-Masonic Rites
The Great Rites which are above and behind Masonry receive their particular consideration in the body of this work, but there remains beneath and beside them a multitude of lesser institutions, most of them trivial enough or extrinsic otherwise to the real purpose of initiation. Some of them may consort with the subject as things that stand in the precincts; others are foreign thereto: it is my intention to mention only—and that briefly—a proportion of those which it has been customary to cite in Masonic handbooks, and I do it rather for the sake of completeness than on any ground of urgency. The note which follow have no special claim on research, but where it has been possible I have sought to clear the ground of false issues and errors of the uncritical spirit.
Academy of the Ancients.—It would seem on the surface so natural as to be not less than inevitable that people who pursued in past centuries the study and practice of occult arts and sciences should have joined together in associations for their common instruction and protection. Except in a sporadic way, there is, however, little evidence that they followed this course. We hear from time to time of magical societies, but it is under circumstances in which the testimony cannot be taken seriously, for the claims bear all the marks of invention. There was practically no incorporation of alchemists till the beginning of the seventeenth century, when we hear of the Rosicrucian Order. About 1650 there was an astrological coterie in England which used to meet and have meals together. It is said that Johannes Baptista Porta, a writer on natural magic, founded an Academy of Secrets at Rome above all places in the sixteenth century, “for the advancement of the natural sciences and their application to occult philosophy.” I am not at all certain as to what this statement of objects is meant to convey, but for the foundation itself there is no evidence whatever: it belongs to the growth of legend about occult personalities and pursuits. It appears, however, that in 1767, Thoux de Salverte—who belonged to the Strict Observance—did almost unquestionably establish at Warsaw an Academy of the Ancients—otherwise an Academy of the Mysteries—for the study of Hermetic Science and Philosophy in their connection with Freemasonry. We know at most the fact of its existence and of its history nothing at all. It may, of course, have had a mythical history and a false claim on the past bound up with the name of Porta. Presumably the experiment proved a failure, as might have been expected: the records are in any case silent as to its end.
Academy, Platonic.—In the days of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Marsilino Ficinus was a noted Platonist, and the story is that under Lorenzo’s patronage, he founded a Platonic Academy in 1480, at Florence. It was the day of the Renaissance, Plato was a great name, and there is no reason to call the foundation in question, whether or not it was incorporated in the sense that we should attach to the term. At this point the legitimate story ends, and the romance follows. It is said to have been a secret society, about the last necessity which one would connect with the study of Plato, however caviare to the vulgar. It is said also to have had a Masonic character. The evidence for these things resides in the fact that the Academy’s Hall of Meeting was still standing in the days of Clavel, according to his story, and was rich in Masonic symbols. The overwilling mind is convinced easily, but on our part we should call—I take it—for proof that the Hall in question was erected for the Academy itself and that it contained the said symbols ab origine. In this case it would not shew that Marsilino Ficinus, his coadjutors or pupils, were Masons, but that the decorators of the building made use of devices belonging to Masonry. The monstrosities on spouts and gargoyles of mediaeval churches do not prove that the Christianity of this period was a form of devil-worship.
Agathopaedes, Order of.—The sixteenth century is a most unlikely period for the opening of a common ground on which Roman Catholics and Protestants could come together in peace: that which they needed and that which they contrived to find was a field of battle. When it is said that an Order of Agathopaedes was founded at this period for this purpose in Brussels one requires tolerable evidence, but it is not forthcoming. An alternative date is the fifteenth century, before the thing called Protestantism had assumed any manifest body of life. According to its story, the association continued even to the time of Voltaire. It came to an end in 1837, and was revived by one Schayes in 1846 as the new Agathorpaedes. More probably it is about this time that it was invented. Members assumed the names of wild beasts and to the Grand Master was assigned that of the hog—a very curious symbology for the apostles of a via media. I agree with Woodford that if such a thing ever existed it was by way of mockery alone. It has not been suggested that it was so far connected with Masonry as to have been a burlesque thereon.
Alli Allahis.—It has been affirmed that a Secret Society has existed under this name in Persia from very ancient times, and that its ceremonies have “considerable analogy” with those of Masonry. They appear to centre in the sacrifice of a sheep or ox, which is cooked and eaten solemnly by the members. The observance has not so far been brought into Masonic practices, and it is admitted that “the nature of the ceremonies” is otherwise little known. A Persian secret society is described by Herodotus, but the Rites had no correspondence to those of Masonry. The alleged analogies seem to have been discovered by MacKenzie and may be left with him.
Almousseri.—The first and—so far as I am aware—the sole particulars of an alleged “secret Sect” among the “Moors” are given under this name by G. Mollien, whose Travels in the Interior of Africa were translated out of French by T. E. Bowdich in 1820. The community being secret and having a ceremony of initiation or reception, it was inevitable that Mollien should connect them with Freemasonry, and this is my sole reason for citing—out of his own mouth—such heads of a description as may be required to establish that they were not. It appears (1) that the Candidate was imprisoned in a hut for a period of eight days; (2) that he was allowed but one meal per diem; (3) that he saw no one except the slave who brought it; (4) that a number of masked men entered the hut when his time of preparation was over; (5) that they put his courage to the proof in various ways; and (6) that he was admitted into the community only if he withstood the tests. The Masonic analogies throughout this procedure are for those who can find them. As regards the privileges of memberships, it was claimed (1) that the community beheld all the Kingdoms of earth; (2) that the future was unveiled before them; and (3) that their prayers were heard by heaven. But these are “mysteries of Nature and science” to which Masons cannot pretend, either in the heaven above of the High Grades or in the earth beneath of the Craft. It is affirmed that the secrets of this so-called Moorish Order have never been revealed, as destruction would overtake the traitor. Les Almousseri were discovered by Mollien at a place called Fontatoro, their actual occupation being that of conjurors and medicine-men.
Amicists, Order of.—The authorities are Thory and Penning, according to whom this was a secret society originating in the College of Clermont at Paris, spreading thence to Jena and Halle. It is said to have been suppressed by the German Government, but whether a similar fate befell it in France does not transpire in the records. I note that Lenning derives from a work on the subject published at Halle in 1799 by F. C. Lankhard.
Angelic Brothers.—The name of J. G. Gichtel is memorable in the records of German Mysticism, between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is connected also with the Secret Order of Angelic Brethren, of which he is said to be founder. Gichtel died in 1710, but the association had Lodges or Houses in Altona, Amsterdam, Berlin, Halle, Magdebourg and Nordhausen, nor had it utterly passed away in the first decade of the nineteenth century. For its alleged Rosicrucian connections or analogies I have met with no evidence. The inspiration came from Böhme, to whose revelations were added those of Gichtel himself, who also edited Böhme.
Arch, Confraternity of the Sacred.—The authority is MacKenzie, who does not cite his source. He says that a society of builders existed under this name in 1540, and that they enacted mystery plays in the Roman Colosseum, “ until the earth sank considerably below its former level.” He is scarcely intending to argue that this was a consequence of the performances. It is not suggested that the Confraternity was secret or Masonic, though formed by builders.
Benefit Societies.—The American Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, the Druids, the Ancient Order of Foresters and the Oddfellows are worthy of every consideration within their own measures, as institutions founded on the principles of self-help and that saving quality of prudence which provides against a rainy day, seasons of sickness or other misfortune. The funds in common which are made available on such occasions are of course created by the membership, and after this manner those who are not in need become purveyors to those who are. These Benefit Societies are not therefore without a certain likeness to Masonry, which maintains great charitable institutions by the generosity of members at large; but the likeness is on the surface only. The Benefit Societies are entered rightly and honestly so that aid may be available where aid is necessary; but except in a few very bad cases, which are rare and becoming rarer, no one is made a Mason with the idea of falling back on its charities, nor are these so organised that they are open to traffic of this kind. The Buffaloes, Druids and so forth are also in the surface likeness of Masonry because they are in a sense secret, and because they work in Ritual. Some of them, moreover, have certain Degrees, so that there is not only initiation but advancement. Yet the Rites are not otherwise comparable to those of the great Order which deals in great things of symbolism, whereas these institutions belong to another and very different category. Their ceremonies are in comparison trivial and in comparison almost burlesque. I speak of course at second-hand, believing that I have misrepresented nothing and assuring those who are concerned that I am actuated only by goodwill.
Black Friars, Society of.—The authority is Carson’s Bibliography of Masonry, which says that an association under this name held meetings in New York in 1793. The Officers included cardinals and friars. It is perhaps on account of its obscurity that it has not become accused of Jesuitry by those who see Jesuits everywhere—within and without Masonry.
Bridge, Brethren of the.—There are several authorities, but Lenning and the German Handbook will serve the purpose of reference in a Masonic sense. Those who wish to go further will find much to their purpose in the Bollandist collection of Acta Sanctorum and in Butler’s Lives of the Saints. The Fratres Pontifices were founded in 1177 by St. Benezet, and it was he who first built a bridge over the Rhone at Avignon. The fraternity was confirmed by Pope Lucius III in 1182, and again by Clement III in 1187. Its vocation was to build bridges, to maintain ferries, even to erect hospitals and protect travellers and pilgrims. In this most natural manner did it spiritualise the art of Masonry, and so did its patrons and craftsmen exercise a kind of pontificate extending from this world to that which is to come. The beginning was in the South of France, but such builders were also in Germany and so far North as Sweden. After its dissolution, which may have been about the end of the sixteenth century, its possessions are supposed to have been acquired by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Makers of High Degrees, like the Knight of the Sword and Grand Pontiff, have been idly credited with an attempt to revive the Brotherhood.
Carpenters, Order of.—An incorporated association of these craftsmen is said to have existed in Holland and Belgium, having its centre at Antwerp. Their place of meeting was in forests during dark hours. Very little seems to be known about them.
Constantinists, The.—At the end of the eighteenth century—according to Woodford—this was one of the widely diffused secret Student-Orders in Germany. It had branches at Marburg and Jena. But it connects neither approximately nor remotely with any part of the Masonic subject.
Enlightened, Order of the.—According to Thory, this Sect or Order was a branch of the German Illuminati established in Italy. It seems unknown, except for his reference.
Eons, Rite of.—According to Thory, from whom Ragon derived subsequently, a very beautiful Rite under this name was once practised in Asia, the foundation being Zoroastrian. Asia is a wide field to cover by so vague a reference, and I share the doubt of those who have questioned its existence. The Gnostic Doctrine of the Eons is of course well known to students.
Exegetical and Philanthropical Society.—The practice of animal magnetism and the exposition of Swedenborgian doctrines were brought together in the activities of this Society, which was founded—according to Thory—in 1787, at Stockholm. A certain Dr. Rosenmüller is said to have killed it by his ridicule, but whether this is a reference to the German theologian and Mason who was a member of the Lodge Minerva I am unable to say. Neither poets nor exegetical societies are killed by criticism, and Masonry itself has survived a long cycle of literary lampoon. However, the thing died, as it might have been expected to do, German wit notwithstanding. It was like a scion of Magnetic Masonry, itself the device of a moment.
Friends, Order of Perfect.—This foundation was otherwise called the Seven Allies, and was a product of the restless activity which characterised Baron von Knigge. He being a Mason and a leader of the German Illuminati, we may infer that it must have possessed at least some shadow of ceremonial procedure; but it was—according to the description—a society of German men of learning. For what purpose they were incorporated and how long the Order continued I have not ascertained.
Harmony, Order of.—The Mysteries of a Commercial Rite might be curious from more than a single point of view; but when we hear of one established somewhere in France under this title, for the cultivation of trade with the East Indies and extending to twenty-six Degrees, it is certain that some one has blundered, or is otherwise playing the fool. Kenneth MacKenzie and Woodford both affirm the fact of the Order and certify to the number of Grades, the latter adding that it conferred “military rank up to Maréchal de l’Empire.” No references are given.
Harugari, Order of.—I suppose that this foundation, which belonged to the year 1848, when it first appeared in New York, is not now in being, or it would have been mentioned assuredly in the greatly extended edition of Mackey’s Masonic Encyclopaedia, published in 1917. It has been called a secret society, using Masonic forms and working three grades, described as yellow, red and black. With the amazing general object of spreading a knowledge of the German language it combined the relief of suffering members and the maintenance of their widows and orphans. It is said to have had ninety Lodges throughout the United States in the year 1860. The authority for these things is Woodford.
Hermandad, La Santa.—The meaning of the word is Brotherhood. One story affirms that this Spanish sodality, which is referred to the year 1295 or earlier, in Castile, Aragon and Leon, had ceremonies of initiation, signs and hidden places of meeting, making full use in this manner of “the Masonic principle of secrecy.” It was a kind of Secret Tribunal for the prevention and punishment of crime, on the principle of absolute justice and equality in the sight of God. It was a check in particular on the power and rapacity of the nobles, and after more than two centuries of existence it was sanctioned, reorganised and extended by Isabella of Castile. On the other hand, an alternative statement scouts the Masonic analogies—in deference to considerations of time—and regards La Santa Hermandad as “an offshoot of the Holy Inquisition.”
Iatrique, L’Ordre.—The authority is Thory, who refers to the Ritual collections of Fustier. It was apparently a healing Fraternity, or one which was in search of healing—that is to say, of the Universal Medicine. Thory terms it “a reunion of adepts,” but this title belongs to those who have attained and not to those on the quest. There are no indications of date or place in connection with the alleged Order; but I should suppose it to have existed—on paper or otherwise—somewhere in the eighteenth century. It may have been a branch of Magnetic Masonry.
Invisibles, The.—Our authority is Thory, who quotes a German writer, not otherwise identified, as follows: “It is the most dangerous of all sects. The reception of initiates takes place at night beneath a subterranean vault, and the doctrine imparted is that of atheism and suicide.” Woodford discountenances the notion of its existence in 1878; but MacKenzie, who omits its teachings, calls it a society of an occult and Masonic character, which “is still in full action,” though scarcely anything is known of it. The accent of mystery was dear to this writer, and dear above all was the implication that he and he only was chosen out of thousands to lift at least one corner of the veil. Pace the unknown German, I discredit the fact of the Society, of which it is obvious that Thory had no evidence before him. I discredit above all MacKenzie’s attempt to connect it with Masonic forms or ceremonies. The date and place of its origin are both wanting. The Rosicrucians were called Invisibles—rather as a word of scorn, because they could not be found if wanted and gave people the slip when they were. But their worst enemies never accused them of atheism or an apostolate of suicide. I think that MacKenzie was talking in reality about a modern school of Rosicrucians when he appeared to be dealing with Thory’s mythical Order. It is a pity that the Marquis de Luchet had not come across it in his day, for another entertaining section would have been added to his Essay on Illuminism.
Ishmael, Order of.—The alternative titles are Order of Esau and Order of Reconciliation. The statements are: (1) That it is a very ancient Eastern secret association; (2) that its history is lost in the night of time; (3) that the Chiefs reside habitually in the East, two out of the three being always East of Jerusalem; (4) that there are branches in Russia, Turkey, Greece, Austria, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Spain, Portugal, Africa and Great Britain. This testimony was borne in a very formal manner by Kenneth MacKenzie in 1877. It is impossible that an Order thus widely diffused and of such hoary antiquity should not merely have made no mark on history but should have found only one witness throughout the ages, and that one who is so reasonably suspect as he who adopted the pseudonym of Cryptonymus. The antiquity of the Order is that of its “traditional story,” according to which Ishmael sought reconciliation “with his immediate relatives of the seed of Abraham,” especially Esau. Eighteen Degrees of this unhappy invention were expended in telling that story, which apparently ends in failure, because “these family jars cannot be so easily healed.” In its ceremonial “sections” and sub-sections there is nothing shines forth so prominently as its root in a Victorian yesterday. The arrangement is in this fashion: I, INITIATORY.—(1) Stranger, (2) Guest, (3) Proselyte, (4) Minor Fellow, (5) Major Fellow, (6) Trusted, (7) Companion, (8) Master, (9) Guardian. II, HISTORICAL.—(10) Hagar, (11) Ishmael, (12) Isaac, (13) The Burial, (14) Inheritance, (15) Marriage, (16) Power, (17) The Meeting, (18) The Desert. III, EXPLANATORY.—(19) Novelty, (20) The Attack, (21) Aid, (22) Chief, (23) Prince, (24) Teacher, (25) Illustrious, (26) Commander, (27) Patriarch. IV, PHILOSOPHICAL.—(28) Hope, (29) Faith, (30) Charity, (31) Providence, (32) Fate, (33) Lawgiver, (34) Councillor, (35) Servant, (36) Submission. The objects said to be in view throughout this awful sequence are aid in common, instruction and general enlightenment—advantages secured to the member of the three Craft Degrees at one-twelfth part of the expenditure in Ritual. Persons of all religions—Christian and non-Christian—were qualified for membership, except Roman Catholics. The supreme and co-equal headship was vested in a Patriarch, a Priest and a King. Now, I suppose that all these sparks must have indicated an axe grinding somewhere, and my suspicion is that MacKenzie may have held the weapon while Yarker turned the wheel, or vice versa, and that if the putative Jerusalem of the Order were not indeed London it was almost certainly Withington—over against Manchester. It is not entirely unlikely that the third of the unknown headship was Major F. C. Irwin. We know otherwise that Withington was an intellectual stew-house surrendered to the Masonic intrigues of innumerable bogus Grades.
Ismaelites, Order of.—The distinction between this Order and that of Ishmael is that the latter seems to be an invention on paper, while that which is here under notice has certain warrants at the back of it in the far past. Behind it there lies of course the historical fact of the Fatima Caliphate incursion, as behind the other lies the story of Ishmael in Holy Scripture. The thesis is that the Ismaelites were a secret Mohammedan Order, working nine Degrees, embodying the following successive instructions: (1) That the Koran was to be understood mystically—as a storehouse of hidden truths beneath the written word; (2) that an infallible authority was vested in certain Imaums, or Spiritual Teachers; (3) that these Teachers were seven in number; (4) that Allah had commissioned Seven Legislators to man, who were called Speakers, and that they had seven immediate subordinates, termed Mutes; (5) that each of these subordinates had twelve Apostles; (6) that religion was subordinate to philosophy; (7) that (apparently) these guides in philosophy were Plato and Aristotle; (8) that the principles of Mohammedan jurisprudence were to be understood in a special sense; (9) that nothing was to be believed, and that all things were lawful. The Order is said to have lasted for about a century, its headquarters being a College of the Mysteries at Cairo. It is perhaps by an oversight that Masonic analogies do not happen to be affirmed, or the existence of Signs, Tokens and Passwords.
Jerusalem, Order of.—The authority is the German Handbook, and its account is sufficiently confusing. (1) It was an alchemical Order, in which case the connection with Jerusalem is an anachronism. (2) It was founded in 1791—apparently in North America—and passed over to Germany in 1793; but it can be said, I think, certainly that alchemical pursuits were quite foreign to America at that date. (3) It spread through England, Holland and Russia, but as regards the first of these countries this is certainly untrue. (4) It was open only to Christians, and its concern was “union with God and love of man”: it was not therefore alchemical in any sense that would have warranted the use of the term at the close of the eighteenth century. At the head of the Order was a Commander, called blasphemously Jehovah Tsabaoth, and under him there was—curiously enough—a Grand Master, who was supposed to reside at Jerusalem, where also the Mother Lodge was located. I agree with Woodford that the association was of German invention. It seems to have been obscure, and I should question whether it passed beyond the Fatherland.
Kadiri, Order of.—See Burton’s Pilgrimage to El Medineh and Mecca, where he gives account of his reception into this Order, which he regarded as an Eastern Freemasonry. It was comprised in three Degrees, being (1) Servant of God, (2) King in the name of Allah, and (3) Murshid or Master, which carried the right to initiate others.
Kalends, Brothers of the.—This German Society, according to the German Handbook, can be traced so far back as 1210. In accordance with their name they met on the first of each month for the commemoration of the faithful departed—especially relatives and friends—according to the Rites of the Church, and for other devotional purposes, the promotion of Christian love and union. They devoted their funds to charity, had a special annual assembly, and traced their origin to the time of Solomon. For these reasons they are held to have been in kinship with Freemasonry.
Knights of Liberty.—This was a French political association, said to have been started about 1820 in the Department of Deux-Sèvres, to oppose the Government of the Restoration. It seems to have been of brief duration. The suggestion that it was merged into the Italian Carbonari is of course ridiculous.
Knights of the Redemption.—I am inclined to think that this is mythical, but the story is that a Sicilian noble brought a Masonic or semi-Masonic chivalry under this name to Marseilles about 1813. The forms are said to have been taken from the Knights of Malta, but whether those of the genuine Order or the Masonic imitation is left open for our settlement.
Lanturelus, Ordre des.—This is mentioned by Clavel, who throws no light on its name. It was founded in 1771 by a Marquis de Croismare, whose purpose—if any—does not seem to have transpired.
Lay Brothers.—In the proper understanding Fratres Laici are servants in monasteries and not, I believe, professed brethren. But the German Handbook has a story of a Lay Brotherhood who were skilled in architecture and were incorporated with the German Stonemasons. In such a corporation the title of Lay Brothers would be unmeaning: it is purely monastic and signifies a class corresponding to Lay Sisters in nunneries.
Light, Seers of.—An alternative name is Order of the Enlightened. The German Handbook says that it was founded by Küper Martin Steinbach, of whom nothing seems known otherwise, in the sixteenth century, at Schlettstadt. It was attacked by Pastor Reinhard Lutz, and this led to its suppression. It has been called a mystical sect which studied the inner meaning of Holy Scripture.
Lion, Order of the Sleeping.—A political association which came into existence at Paris in 1816, and laid plans for the restoration of Napoleon. It was suppressed immediately by the Government of the moment.
Magicians, Order of.—This appears to be identical with the alleged Academy of Secrets, but with Florence as its location—instead of Rome. It is identified with J. B. Porta as head and founder. According to Thory, it was merged into the Italian branch of the Rosicrucian Society. Another story refers it to the eighteenth century, which puts an end to the Porta legend.
Manichaeans, Brotherhood of.—The authorities are Thory and Clavel, who say that a secret society was founded in Italy during the eighteenth century, to expound the dualism of Manes in several Grades. It is rather an incredible story and seems to be a mere vague report, as no actual place or precise date are mentioned. But the follies of Ritual and imbecilities of object were very numerous at that period, and it is unsafe to say that any extravagance was impossible, though a few seem unlikely. It is not so very long ago that a Gnostic Church and Hierarchy were set up in Paris.
Modern Order of Illuminati.—I do not think that the least importance attaches to this resurrection in shadow of the Bavarian Weishaupt’s scheme. It took place at Dresden about 1890. It was called the Order of the Illuminati of Dresden in Germany, otherwise the Society of Illuminated Brothers, and was open to both sexes, though women were not admitted to the highest offices. For this reason it is distinct from Adoptive Orders, which were in most cases ruled by a Grand Mistress, while because it is androgynous it is equally distinct from Masonry, as at present practised. It follows that its proper place is in the present section. At the same time there is a very true sense in which this revival is comparable to an illicit and clandestine form of Masonry, because two out of its three Grades are adaptations—as we shall see—of well-known Masonic Degrees, while it requires on the part of its members a theoretical acquaintance with Masonic science. The objects of the Order are (1) to advance the spiritual and social life of members; (2) to benefit them by help in common, more especially in cases of undeserved adversity. The furtherance of business affairs is, however, expressly excepted, together with all intervention over State business and State religion. It is said further that the doctrine of the Order is spiritual, and on the exoteric side it insists on love of mankind, love of brethren, the practice of all virtue and all uprightness. On the esoteric side it is concerned with occult sciences and apparently with theurgic practices. In one of the secret documents it is said that Theurgy is a real knowledge, which joins the mortal with the immortal and creates masters of Nature. There are three Grades: (1) Minerval Degree, corresponding in name to the second in the system of Weishaupt. (2) Andreas-Knight Degree, otherwise Scottish Knight, or Knight of St. Andrew, corresponding to the fifth of Weishaupt and having splintered, meaningless reflections from the Strict Observance. (3) Rose-Cross Grade, not represented in Weishaupt’s system and a truncated form of the eighteenth Degree. It preserves the Christian elements. I have spoken throughout in the present tense, but have no means of knowing whether the Order is in existence at this day. There was a Regency established in Britain, but it came to nothing.
Noachites, Order of.—The chief authority is Ragon, who—seeing that he became a Mason in 1803—had every opportunity of knowing what activities of the Masonic kind were taking place about him at Paris in 1816. It is this date that he assigns to the foundation of a so-called Maçonnerie Napolienne under the title of Order of Noachites, having as its object the restoration of the great Corsican Emperor to freedom, and presumably to power in France. With France still palpitating from the shock of Waterloo one would have thought that such plans were too early in the common logic of things; but no date signifies especially, as there is not the least reason to suppose that the Rite attained any prominence, within or without Masonry, or exercised any special political influence. It consisted of three Grades, being (1) Knight, (2) Commander and (3) Grand Elect, the last being divided into three Points or sections, denominated (1) Secret Judge, (2) Perfect Initiate and (3) Knight of the Crown of Oak. The symbolism introduced the Tower of Babel—as it might be, the fortunes of France rising in the scale towards universal dominion—under the presiding genius of the architect Phaleg, “a cunning workman,” who “laboured for fourteen years as Apprentice, Fellow-Craft and Master Mason, and ten years as an architect.” Phaleg represented Napoleon, and the fourteen years have been referred to the period between 1790 and 1804, while those which followed were the years of the First Empire. The Tower had eight stages or stories, to which were attributed the names Adam, Eve, Noah, Lamech, Naamah, Phaleg, Oubel and Orient, the initials of which form Napoleon. This imagery belongs to the First Degree. In the Second an urn is carried by the Candidate, who has come from an island—obviously that of St. Helena—and carries an urn containing the ashes of Phaleg. I do not know what happened in the Third, whether Phaleg rose like a phoenix, to signify a Napoleonic restoration. If not, the symbolism seems more properly to be that of a Lodge of Mourning. The commemoration in any case ceased before very long, for the Rite died, and I have not been able to find the urn containing its Rituals among the funereal monuments of Masonry. The Grand Master was General Bertrand, who was in voluntary exile with his Emperor at St. Helena; the Order was governed in his absence by a Supreme Commander and two Lieutenants. I have placed it among non-Masonic Rites, because it was political and nothing else, but it may have required the Masonic qualification from its Candidates. It may be compared with the Sleeping Lion, and must be distinguished from Prussian Knight.
Oak Apple, Society of the.—-The objects of this institution do not appear in the memorials of Masonic writers who have mentioned it, but they connect its foundation with the year 1658, when Charles II came into his own. The name alludes evidently to Oak-Apple Day, May 29, when the King was saved from his enemies by the Oak of Boscobel—already or soon to become a rural festival along many a countryside. The Society continued to exist—though no one knows what it did—during the reign of the Merry Monarch; it languished in that of his successor, but is supposed to have served somehow an undeclared purpose of the Stuart cause in the days of William and Mary. It was preceded by an Order of the Oak, which is said to have come into being about 1625 and followed antiquarian pursuits, by which—according to one intelligent writer—it was “allied to the Masonic principle.” It would astonish Grand Lodge to hear that it was of the same kith and kin as the Royal Archaeological Society.
Patriots, Society of True.—The German Handbook mentions a German association of this name as in existence prior to 1787, when some particulars concerning it appeared in print at Frankfort. It was called alternatively the True Friends of Men, is said to have been semi-Masonic and to have been in union with some Order of Jerusalem—presumably that which has been mentioned on the same authority earlier in this section. There was also a Society of Patriots founded it is said on February 16, 1816, in France, to oppose the restoration. I suppose that it came to an end with the execution of its leaders a few months later.
Paul, Confraternity of St.—A Secret Tribunal of Sicily in the days of Charles V—that is to say, in the sixteenth century. It passed sentences of death and deputed members to execute them. Woodford—in a mood of liberality, or perhaps of humour—mentions that it was not Masonic. Hermann of Unna, a famous German romance, gives a good account of its doings, as do also the travels of Stolberg and Brocquire, the latter especially.
Purity, Brothers of.—The authority is Steinschneider’s work on Jewish Literature, and the Society was founded in the tenth century at Bosra, in Syria, being an incorporation of Arabian philosophers, whose writings at a later period were much in vogue among Spanish Jews. They had ceremonies of reception, and have been called a kind of Freemasons by the German historian mentioned.
Regenerated Freemasons, Order of.—This is said to have been formed in Canada circa 1787, but I have met with no particulars concerning it.
Regeneration, Order of Universal.—A society under this name was established somewhere in Switzerland between 1815 and 1820. aiming at an European revolution along republican lines. It does not appear what became of it; but the revolution hung fire and the apostolate smouldered out.
Rodents, Society of.—The authority is Storbanaeus, to whom may be added Goethe in Götz von Berlichringen. The association was founded in 1422, at Immengau in Westphalia, and its name, I suppose, signified that it sought in secret to eat away the roots of injustice secretly. In any case, it was a Hidden Order which bound members by an oath, and I gather that admissions took place in a Secret Vault. It is said to have brought about a reformation in the Secret Tribunal, “substituting principles of forbearance for violent means.” This seems to have been sapping the root of the Vehmgericht itself, which existed to execute justice as it chose to understand the word, and to forbear from such execution was to nullify its raison d’être.
Sophisians, Sacred Order of.—This was of Masonic foundation in the sense that Cuvelier de Trie, with whom it originated, was the member of a Paris Lodge. Whether it was Masonic in any other sense is doubtful. It belongs to the year 1801, was concerned with the exposition of Egyptian Mysteries and worked three Degrees: (1) Aspirants, (2) Initiates, and (3) Fathers of the Grand Mysteries. It is said to have published its own Rituals, which is not a Masonic procedure.
Sun of Mercy, Society of the.—As an association separate from the other activities of Pernety, his Illuminés of Avignon, Academy of True Masons, and so forward, I think that this Order is mythical, and mythical above all is the statement that Swedenborg was induced to join it, "after his illumination.” Our only information concerning it comes from a most dubious source—that of Kenneth MacKenzie.
Tobaccological Society.—An Order of smoking symbolised, said to have been in four Degrees, obviously a nicotine enthusiasm, but if it were well done I am open to believe that delightful “moral instruction” could be derived from the tobacco plant. The dream belonged to the eighteenth century, and I have met with no particulars; the catechisms are said to be extant, but unfortunately I have not seen them.
United Friars, Fraternity of.—Founded at Norwich in 1785, the object of this incorporation was to pursue whatsoever seemed praiseworthy in monastic institutions, the religious functions apart. It turned therefore a keen eye towards works of benevolence and charity. It is difficult to look seriously on such a scheme, more especially as members adopted monastic names of Orders and wore monastic habits at the meetings. But the outstanding fact is that they literally fed the poor, and during a quarter of a century expended several thousand pounds in this manner. In 1818 there arose a London branch, which read historical papers. An abbot was the head of the Fraternity, and there is said to have been a ceremony of reception on the admission of novices.
Notes on Colonial and Indian Masonry
The governing principles, the issues arising therefrom, and the Ritual developments of Freemasonry are the chief concern of these volumes. On the side of external and official history there is the progress of the Order in Britain, its birthplace and cradle, with all that belongs to its development and that of the High Grades, in France and some other countries of Europe. Of the general growth and evolution I have spoken as space permitted. The local and incidental histories belong to another category, and I must summarise shortly concerning Masonry in the Colonies and India, as I have done already in respect of the Latin countries outside France. They are all of importance and interest within their proper measures, but they do not belong to the story on its high creative side. They may be recapitulated therefore thus, following accessible sources.
A.—African Continent: (1) Egypt and the Soudan. The District Grand Lodge at Cairo governs: (a) the Zetland Lodge at Alexandria; (b) the Atbara Lodge at Atbara; (c) at Cairo the Bulwer, Grecia, Star of the East, Lotus, Lord Kitchener and Ionic; (d) at Khartoum the Khartoum, the Sir Reginald Wingate, and Mahfal-el-Ittihad; (e) at Port Said the Pelusium; (f) at Suez the Ataka; (g) at Tantah the Delta. (2) British East Africa. There are Lodges at Eldoret, Mombasa, Navioli and Nakuru. (3) Nigeria. There is a District Grand Lodge centred at Lagos, and ruling five Lodges. (4) British West Africa. There are Lodges at Accra, Cape Coast Castle, Sekondi and Tarkwa. (5) Sierra Leone. There are five Lodges at Freetown. (6) Transvaal. There is a District Grand Lodge at Johannesburg having fifty-five Lodges under its rule. (7) South Africa. There are three District Grand Lodges, respectively for the Central, Eastern and Western Division. The headquarters are at Kimberley, King Williams Town and Cape Town. Under these Obediences there are eighty-two Lodges in all. (8) Natal. The District Grand Lodge has thirty-seven Lodges under its rule and is located at Pietermaritzburg. (9) Various. When it is added that there are District Lodges at Buluwayo, Coomassie, Kampola, Umtali and Zanzibar, it will be seen that English Freemasonry covers the whole African continent, not to speak of one Lodge at St. Helena or of Scottish and Irish foundations in Egypt, on the West Coast and in South Africa.
B.—India: The beginnings of Emblematic Freemasonry were at Calcutta, 1730; Madras, 1752; and Bombay, 1758. By the year 1779 the “Antients” and “Moderns” are said to have extended their respective rules over the whole of Hindustan. Provincial (now District) Grand Lodges were founded at Bengal circa 1755; Bombay, 1764; Madras, 1767. In 1786 Brigadier-General Matthew Home united the Antients and Moderns of the Madras Presidency. At the present time the District Grand Lodge of Bengal governs seventy-nine Lodges; that of Bombay has forty-six under its charge; Burma has sixteen Lodges; Madras has thirty-one; and the same number is ruled by the District Grand Lodge of the Punjab.
C.—Ceylon: The District Grand Lodge has its headquarters at Colombo and rules over eight Lodges. As regards other East India Islands—Borneo, Celebes, Java, the Philippines and Sumatra—whatever foundations exist are not under English Obedience.
D.—Eastern Archipelago: The scattered rule of this District Grand Lodge extends over fifteen Lodges, and the headquarters are at Singapore.
E.—West Indies: There is a District Grand Lodge of Jamaica ruling twelve Lodges, the headquarters being at Kingston. The District Grand Lodge of Barbados has its centre at Bridgetown and governs six Lodges, of which two are at the town mentioned and the others at Belville, Granada, Kingstown and Santa Lucia. There are also four Lodges on the Roll of the English Grand Lodge at Bermuda and four at Trinidad. Lastly, there are two Lodges at Antigua, one at Grand Turk, one at Roseau in Dominica Island, one at New Providence in the Bahamas, and one at St. Thomas.
F.—Australasia: In addition to the Colonial and Imperial Grand Lodges, with which I have dealt elsewhere, there are District Grand Lodges and Lodges on the Roll of the Grand Lodge of England. (1) District Grand Lodge of Queensland, with headquarters at Brisbane and one hundred and one Lodges under its rule. (2) District Grand Lodge of Auckland, controlling seventeen Lodges and having its centre at Auckland. (3) District Grand Lodge of Canterbury, ruling seven Lodges from its headquarters at Christchurch. (4) District Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland, situated at Dunedin and governing four Lodges. (5) District Grand Lodge of Wellington, comprehending six Lodges; and (6) District Grand Lodge of Westland, N.Z., ruling five Lodges from Greymouth. (7) There are also detached Lodges under English Obedience at Albany, Western Australia; Melbourne, Victoria; Sydney, New South Wales; and Nelson and Takaka, New Zealand. (8) Other Lodges, not under Districts, are at Lautoka, Nausori, Narua and Suva in the Fiji Islands, and at Tulagi, Solomon Islands.
G.—Dominion of Canada: There are four detached Lodges, abiding under English obedience, namely, one at Halifax, one at Nova Scotia and two at Montreal.
H.—Newfoundland: According to American claims a Provincial Grand Lodge at Boston granted the first Warrant by which Masonry was established in this island, the date being 1746. Between 1774 and 1785 six English Lodges were created by the “Ancients” and “Moderns,” being four in the first and two in the second case. At the present time the District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland, situated at St. John’s, has ten Lodges under its obediences.
I.—Gibraltar: The District Grand Lodge governs eight Lodges.
J.—Malta: The District Grand Lodge is located at Valletta and has charge of seven Lodges.
K.—Cyprus: There are two Lodges, under English obedience, respectively at Limasol and Nikosia.
L.—Mauritius: There is one Lodge, located at Phoenix.
English Lodges in Foreign Parts.—(1) China: There are District Grand Lodges at Shanghai for Northern China and at Hong Kong for the South, their rule extending respectively over eleven and nine Lodges. (2) Japan: The District Grand Lodge is at Kobe and has charge of five Lodges. (3) South America: The District Grand Lodge has its headquarters at Buenos Ayres, with twenty-two Lodges under its obedience. (4) Various: There are Lodges under English obedience at Basra; Constantinople; Curacao Island; Funchel, Madeira; Monte Video (2); and Zante—one of the Ionian Isles.