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Article TENEBRÆ E TENEBRIS.—No. I. ← Page 2 of 2 Article HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. Page 1 of 2 Article HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Tenebræ E Tenebris.—No. I.
and amended , do not profess , as I understand , to be new ones in 1720 , but old ones put into order , as is expressed by the use of the word " compiled . " Indeed , it is said expressly in 1723 that these general regulations had been compared by Anderson with the " ancient records and immemorial usages of the Fraternity , " so that we have not actually before us , which ought to be noted , Payne ' s actual Orders or Regulations , though probably as near as possible , but really Payne , plus Anderson .
In 1738 , when Anderson is more implicit and less condensed , he gives us this specific information , that the General Regulations were compiled first by Bro . George Payne when Grand Master in 1720 , approved by the General Assembly atStationers' Hall , on 24 th June , 1721 . " Next by order of the Duke of Montague when Grand Master , the author , James Anderson compared them with the antient records of the Fraternity , and digested them into this method , with proper additions and explanations from the said
records , and the Grand Lodge having revised and approved them , ordered them to be printed in the Book of Constitutions on 25 th March , 1722 . " In 173 8 Anderson sets out paginally "the old and new regulations , " that is the old ones of 1720 and the new ones that had been passed since . Unfortunately , the Grand Lodge minutes only begin in 1723 , so that we have no official record of what took place between 1717 and that date . It would be interesting to see Payne's original Regulations , if extant , as the verbiage he uses would settle many questions .
A good deal of our present difficulty and debate arises from our attempting to explain English customs by Scottish regulations , which are " sui generis , " and , as far as we know at present , had little or nothing in common with our English ones . It is a pure assumption lhat the rules which governed the Scottish bodies in any way affected our English lodges
We are still in complete darkness as to what was the normal life of English seventeenth century Freemasonry , and until we see that a little clearer it is idle , and worse than idle , critically and historically to lay down clever hypotheses for facts , and to dogmatize where all is doubt and confusion .
Thus far in England the earliest trace of lodges conferring the Third Degree is in 1724-25 , though probably other examples exist previously to the withdrawal by Grand Lodge of the prohibition in the earlier regulations of 1720 . This took place at thc two lodges at the Queen's Head , in Holies-street , and near Temple Bar . The second was constituted by the Dukeof Richmond , Grand Master , December , 22 nd , 1724 .
The same brethren had been made "Masons December 15 th , 1724 , at the Oueen's Head , in Holies-street . The Second Degree is not mentioned , " but they are said to be " Passed Masters , " that is , before the " limitation " as to Fellow Crafts and Masters was withdrawn by Grand Lodge , November 27 th , 1725 .
It seems to me we must still deal with the subject very cautiously . When I note in some of these discussions the dogmatically confident tone of some , and the amusing egotism of others , I am reminded of the Scottish story : "It is very sad , " said a Scotchman , " to think on the number of the world ' s greatest men who have lately been called to their last account . And the fact is , " added he , with unction , " I don ' t feel very well myself . " The
one real question is where the Three Degrees mentioned in the regulations of 1720 ca .-ne from ? The idea that they were invented by Desaguliers and Co . then , for the first time , is really too absurd critically to consider , and until we get a little more light as to the lodges in the seventeenth century , we had better , I think , be both careful and hesitating in laying down the law . All I can say is , having studied the question closely since 185 S in every way specifically , and having seen all available
evidences , I feel certain that it is impossible at present to speak distinctly or definitely on the subject . Bro . Sadler , Grand Tyler , tells me no copy of Payne ' s Regulations is to be found among the Grand Lodge records , and he has kindly furnished me with an exact copy of the resolution passed 27 th November , 1725 , which slightly differs from the form in Anderson 1738 , Bro . Hughan gives il correctly .
" 27 th Nov ., 1725 . —A motion being made that such part of the 13 th article of the Genii . Regulations relating to the making of Mastrs , only at a Quarterly Commn . may be repealed , and that the Mastr of each lodge , with the consent of his Wardens , and the majority of the brethren being Mastrs , may make Mastrs at their discretion . —Agreed , nem . con . "
A good deal might be said on various points brought out by this order ; but I prefer keeping what I have to say until No . 2 . I may just add , curiously enough , as Bro . Sadler tells me , there is no record between 1723 and 1725 in the Grand Lodge minutes of any " passing" or " raising" in Grand Lodge . A . F . A . W .
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
( Concluded from page 425 ) . VVe have now completed our history of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . We have traced out who was the Founder or " Institutor " of the Charity—a point hitherto veiled in obscurity—and have shown that Sir F . ColomDine Daniel , to whom has commonly been ascribed that honour , played only a secondary , albeit a prominent , part in its establishment . We
have marked out the several stages of its development , the depressed state of its fortunes during a not unprotracted term of years , the strenuous opposition exhibited by the Duke of Sussex , in his official character of President , to the extension of the Charity—which opposition was , in fact , the cause of that depression—the more enlightened views which prevailed under the Duke ' s successor , the late Earl of Zetland , and the almost
unparalleled rapidity with which the policy of extension , when once it had been resolved upon , was carried out . There is , however , one part of our duty unfulfilled—that of describing , in fuller detail than was possible in the narrative itself , the invaluable services rendered by him who , since the first School was opened at Wood Green and thc House Committee became a necessary part of the Executive or Governing body ,
has had the chief hand in formulating and giving effect to all the important measures passed for the purpose of protecting and promoting the interests of the Charity and enlarging the sphere of its benefits . That Bro . Binckes , who has been the Secretary of our Boys' School since the spring of 1861 , is a man of superabundant energy , and possesses gifts , both mental and
physical , above the ordinary run of mortals , is so well known to our readers , that to repeat it here—or indeed at any time or in any place—would be about as sensible as to point out that the man who can translate the Iliad of Homer must have studied thc grammar of the Greek language . All of us know more or less circumstantially , how hard and how successfully he has
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
laboured in his Secretarial capacity , but few are able to grasp , in idea , the full extent of those labours , or the full measure of that success . Now and again we see it announced that a new dormitory or wing is to be added to the School at Wood Green ; that ten or a dozen more boys will shortly be placed on the establishment ; that a particular Festival yielded its £ 10 , 000 or ; £ i 2 , 000 , which , it may be , was - £ 1000 or' /* 200 o in excess or defect of
previous Festivals . We glance rapidly down the columns of the Masonic press , and we find Bro . Binckes one week in Northumberland . strenuousl y advocating the cause of the Boys' School , the next in Cumberland or Lancashire , then back at head quarters in London , then in Devonshire , Wales , Norfolk , thc Midlands , and so on . We mark all this with the accustomed notes of admiration , exclaiming from time to time , " Wonderful man that !"
" Man of tremendous energy ! " and our excitement terminates with , possibly , a " thank heaven we need not be as ubiquitous as he is . " But not so his labours , which continue always . More dormitories or wings have to be built , more boys received into the School , more Festivals held , and the feat of traversing the provinces in all directions in the briefest possible compass of time again and again repeated . These , indeed , are only the ordinary incidents in a career which has endured for about a quarter of a
century ; and yet there are those who fancy they have gauged the extent of Bro . Binckes ' s labours , and some even who look-hesitatingly at a policy , which has enlarged this Institution from such humble to such magnificent proportions . Be it our present task , in fulfilment of what is manifestly an imperative duty , to lay before our readers a somewhat circumstantial account of what has been effected by him or through his instrumentality during the period of his association Vith the School .
It may be as well , perhaps , to state at the outset that Bro . Binckes ' s connection with Freemasonry dates from December , 1 S 51 , when he was initiated in the Enoch Lodge , No . 11 . He was elected to the chair of Master in 1 S 56 . In 1 S 55 he was exalted to the Royal Arch Degree , in Mount Sinai Chapter , No . 19 , and is a P . Z . of the Royal Union Chapter , No . 3 S 2 , a member of the Westminster and Keystone Chapter ,
No . 10 , and the present J . of the Royal Naval Chapter , No . 59 , as he is also a Past Master of several of the lodges he has joined as member , but particularly of the Lewis Lodge , No . f 1 S 5 , of which he was both founder and first Master , the Crescent Lodge , No . 7 S 8 , of which he was a founder and the second Master , the Peace and Harmony , No . 60—which he represented on the Board of Grand Stewards in 1867 , in the capacity of
its Hon . Sec . —and the Grand Stewards Lodge . He is likewise a member of that old and influential lodge , the Westminster and Keystone Lodge , No . 10 . He was perfected Rose Croix , 18 , of the A . and A . Rite in 1862 , is a Past M . W . S ., and took the 30 in 1864 ; was installed a K . T . in 1866 , and is a P . E . C . ; joined the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine in 186 9 , was subsequently elected Sovereign of his Conclave , and for some
time past has been an Intendant-General of Division unattached ; and is a leading member of the Grand Council of the Allied Degrees . But his chief distinctions have been achieved under the banner of the Grand Mark Lodge of England and Wales , soon after the constitution of which he was appointed Assistant Grand Secretary . In 1861 he was invested Grand Secretary in succession to Bro . Louis Collins , and took a
prominent part in determining the rivalry between the Mark Lodges of English and Scotch origin in this country , and uniting them as one body under the Mark Grand Lodge . It was mainly at his instigation that some 17 or 18 years ago the Mark Benevolent Fund was established , while his eminent services to the Degree have been again and again recognised , but more particularly when there was conferred upon him
some time back the honorary rank of a Past G . J . Warden . These honours , however , great as they undoubtedly are , and testifying , as they do , to the rare merit displayed by Bro . Binckes , in the many and various important positions of responsibility and trust to which from time to time he has been elected , weigh but lightly in the balance against what more immediately concerns us here—namely , the inestimable services he has rendered to the
Masonic Boys School . His name has of necessity figured prominently on very many occasions during the latter portion of this narrative -, but though it might savour of exaggeration it we described him as- the Executive , we make bold to affirm that whatever of progress there has been since Bro . Binckes was chosen Secretary in 1861 is due , primarily , to the energy and determination of his
character , and in the next place , to the almost magical influence he seems to have exercised over well-nigh everyone he has been associated with in the government of the Institution . His earliest effort in its behalf was made in 1856 , during his Mastership of the Enoch Lodge , when he gave his services as Festival Steward and qualified au a Life Governor . In the latter capacity he became entitled to a seat on the General Committee , and was
appointed one of a Sub-Committee to visit the newly-purchased Lordship Lodge , Wood Green , and report upon the repairs and alterations which would be necessary in order to make it suitable as a School . The year following he served on several other Sub-Committees , among them being those appointed to arrange for the election of a Master and Matron , and the definition of their respective duties , and to make provision for the inaugural
ceremony ; in July he was one of the 12 brethren elected to act as the first House Committee . In 1858 , and again in i 860 , he was re-elected on the same Committee , and was likewise told off , in conjunction with Bros . J . Symonds and the Rev . W . H . Lyall , to report on the financial position of the Institution , and offer such recommendations as in their opinion were calculated to improve it . In 1861 he was elected Secretary , in succession to
the late Bro . Thiselton , by an overwhelming majority of votes over his solitary opponent , Bro . Spencer Compton . In that position we still find him displaying the same energy and determination of character , and exercising the same magical influence for good over his associate workers . If there are times when we may fancy he is less active than of yore , we have the consolation of knowing that with his greater experience his judgment now in all
cases of doubt and difficulty is well-nigh unapproachable . There may be a greater amount of deliberation in the fulfilment of his duties , but there is the same vigour of thought ; the same readiness to grasp a subject in all its bearings on the instant , and , as it were , intuitively ; the same fertility of resource in grappling with difficulties , whether anticipated or unforeseen ; and the same imperious will to conquer them at all hazards . Had there been any diminution of energy on his part , we should not now be contemplating
him in the very heart of a fresh undertaking , as though he had done little or nothing during his past career . To the infusion of his " new blood " into the government ol the Charity we owe the erection of the splendid building at Wood Green . To him we owe its rapidly progressive enlargement , til ! now it accommodates thrice as many boys as the premises it replaced . It was he who boldly counselled the appropriation to building purposes of the whole capital of the Institution—the slowly-accumulated savings of some
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Tenebræ E Tenebris.—No. I.
and amended , do not profess , as I understand , to be new ones in 1720 , but old ones put into order , as is expressed by the use of the word " compiled . " Indeed , it is said expressly in 1723 that these general regulations had been compared by Anderson with the " ancient records and immemorial usages of the Fraternity , " so that we have not actually before us , which ought to be noted , Payne ' s actual Orders or Regulations , though probably as near as possible , but really Payne , plus Anderson .
In 1738 , when Anderson is more implicit and less condensed , he gives us this specific information , that the General Regulations were compiled first by Bro . George Payne when Grand Master in 1720 , approved by the General Assembly atStationers' Hall , on 24 th June , 1721 . " Next by order of the Duke of Montague when Grand Master , the author , James Anderson compared them with the antient records of the Fraternity , and digested them into this method , with proper additions and explanations from the said
records , and the Grand Lodge having revised and approved them , ordered them to be printed in the Book of Constitutions on 25 th March , 1722 . " In 173 8 Anderson sets out paginally "the old and new regulations , " that is the old ones of 1720 and the new ones that had been passed since . Unfortunately , the Grand Lodge minutes only begin in 1723 , so that we have no official record of what took place between 1717 and that date . It would be interesting to see Payne's original Regulations , if extant , as the verbiage he uses would settle many questions .
A good deal of our present difficulty and debate arises from our attempting to explain English customs by Scottish regulations , which are " sui generis , " and , as far as we know at present , had little or nothing in common with our English ones . It is a pure assumption lhat the rules which governed the Scottish bodies in any way affected our English lodges
We are still in complete darkness as to what was the normal life of English seventeenth century Freemasonry , and until we see that a little clearer it is idle , and worse than idle , critically and historically to lay down clever hypotheses for facts , and to dogmatize where all is doubt and confusion .
Thus far in England the earliest trace of lodges conferring the Third Degree is in 1724-25 , though probably other examples exist previously to the withdrawal by Grand Lodge of the prohibition in the earlier regulations of 1720 . This took place at thc two lodges at the Queen's Head , in Holies-street , and near Temple Bar . The second was constituted by the Dukeof Richmond , Grand Master , December , 22 nd , 1724 .
The same brethren had been made "Masons December 15 th , 1724 , at the Oueen's Head , in Holies-street . The Second Degree is not mentioned , " but they are said to be " Passed Masters , " that is , before the " limitation " as to Fellow Crafts and Masters was withdrawn by Grand Lodge , November 27 th , 1725 .
It seems to me we must still deal with the subject very cautiously . When I note in some of these discussions the dogmatically confident tone of some , and the amusing egotism of others , I am reminded of the Scottish story : "It is very sad , " said a Scotchman , " to think on the number of the world ' s greatest men who have lately been called to their last account . And the fact is , " added he , with unction , " I don ' t feel very well myself . " The
one real question is where the Three Degrees mentioned in the regulations of 1720 ca .-ne from ? The idea that they were invented by Desaguliers and Co . then , for the first time , is really too absurd critically to consider , and until we get a little more light as to the lodges in the seventeenth century , we had better , I think , be both careful and hesitating in laying down the law . All I can say is , having studied the question closely since 185 S in every way specifically , and having seen all available
evidences , I feel certain that it is impossible at present to speak distinctly or definitely on the subject . Bro . Sadler , Grand Tyler , tells me no copy of Payne ' s Regulations is to be found among the Grand Lodge records , and he has kindly furnished me with an exact copy of the resolution passed 27 th November , 1725 , which slightly differs from the form in Anderson 1738 , Bro . Hughan gives il correctly .
" 27 th Nov ., 1725 . —A motion being made that such part of the 13 th article of the Genii . Regulations relating to the making of Mastrs , only at a Quarterly Commn . may be repealed , and that the Mastr of each lodge , with the consent of his Wardens , and the majority of the brethren being Mastrs , may make Mastrs at their discretion . —Agreed , nem . con . "
A good deal might be said on various points brought out by this order ; but I prefer keeping what I have to say until No . 2 . I may just add , curiously enough , as Bro . Sadler tells me , there is no record between 1723 and 1725 in the Grand Lodge minutes of any " passing" or " raising" in Grand Lodge . A . F . A . W .
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
( Concluded from page 425 ) . VVe have now completed our history of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys . We have traced out who was the Founder or " Institutor " of the Charity—a point hitherto veiled in obscurity—and have shown that Sir F . ColomDine Daniel , to whom has commonly been ascribed that honour , played only a secondary , albeit a prominent , part in its establishment . We
have marked out the several stages of its development , the depressed state of its fortunes during a not unprotracted term of years , the strenuous opposition exhibited by the Duke of Sussex , in his official character of President , to the extension of the Charity—which opposition was , in fact , the cause of that depression—the more enlightened views which prevailed under the Duke ' s successor , the late Earl of Zetland , and the almost
unparalleled rapidity with which the policy of extension , when once it had been resolved upon , was carried out . There is , however , one part of our duty unfulfilled—that of describing , in fuller detail than was possible in the narrative itself , the invaluable services rendered by him who , since the first School was opened at Wood Green and thc House Committee became a necessary part of the Executive or Governing body ,
has had the chief hand in formulating and giving effect to all the important measures passed for the purpose of protecting and promoting the interests of the Charity and enlarging the sphere of its benefits . That Bro . Binckes , who has been the Secretary of our Boys' School since the spring of 1861 , is a man of superabundant energy , and possesses gifts , both mental and
physical , above the ordinary run of mortals , is so well known to our readers , that to repeat it here—or indeed at any time or in any place—would be about as sensible as to point out that the man who can translate the Iliad of Homer must have studied thc grammar of the Greek language . All of us know more or less circumstantially , how hard and how successfully he has
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
laboured in his Secretarial capacity , but few are able to grasp , in idea , the full extent of those labours , or the full measure of that success . Now and again we see it announced that a new dormitory or wing is to be added to the School at Wood Green ; that ten or a dozen more boys will shortly be placed on the establishment ; that a particular Festival yielded its £ 10 , 000 or ; £ i 2 , 000 , which , it may be , was - £ 1000 or' /* 200 o in excess or defect of
previous Festivals . We glance rapidly down the columns of the Masonic press , and we find Bro . Binckes one week in Northumberland . strenuousl y advocating the cause of the Boys' School , the next in Cumberland or Lancashire , then back at head quarters in London , then in Devonshire , Wales , Norfolk , thc Midlands , and so on . We mark all this with the accustomed notes of admiration , exclaiming from time to time , " Wonderful man that !"
" Man of tremendous energy ! " and our excitement terminates with , possibly , a " thank heaven we need not be as ubiquitous as he is . " But not so his labours , which continue always . More dormitories or wings have to be built , more boys received into the School , more Festivals held , and the feat of traversing the provinces in all directions in the briefest possible compass of time again and again repeated . These , indeed , are only the ordinary incidents in a career which has endured for about a quarter of a
century ; and yet there are those who fancy they have gauged the extent of Bro . Binckes ' s labours , and some even who look-hesitatingly at a policy , which has enlarged this Institution from such humble to such magnificent proportions . Be it our present task , in fulfilment of what is manifestly an imperative duty , to lay before our readers a somewhat circumstantial account of what has been effected by him or through his instrumentality during the period of his association Vith the School .
It may be as well , perhaps , to state at the outset that Bro . Binckes ' s connection with Freemasonry dates from December , 1 S 51 , when he was initiated in the Enoch Lodge , No . 11 . He was elected to the chair of Master in 1 S 56 . In 1 S 55 he was exalted to the Royal Arch Degree , in Mount Sinai Chapter , No . 19 , and is a P . Z . of the Royal Union Chapter , No . 3 S 2 , a member of the Westminster and Keystone Chapter ,
No . 10 , and the present J . of the Royal Naval Chapter , No . 59 , as he is also a Past Master of several of the lodges he has joined as member , but particularly of the Lewis Lodge , No . f 1 S 5 , of which he was both founder and first Master , the Crescent Lodge , No . 7 S 8 , of which he was a founder and the second Master , the Peace and Harmony , No . 60—which he represented on the Board of Grand Stewards in 1867 , in the capacity of
its Hon . Sec . —and the Grand Stewards Lodge . He is likewise a member of that old and influential lodge , the Westminster and Keystone Lodge , No . 10 . He was perfected Rose Croix , 18 , of the A . and A . Rite in 1862 , is a Past M . W . S ., and took the 30 in 1864 ; was installed a K . T . in 1866 , and is a P . E . C . ; joined the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine in 186 9 , was subsequently elected Sovereign of his Conclave , and for some
time past has been an Intendant-General of Division unattached ; and is a leading member of the Grand Council of the Allied Degrees . But his chief distinctions have been achieved under the banner of the Grand Mark Lodge of England and Wales , soon after the constitution of which he was appointed Assistant Grand Secretary . In 1861 he was invested Grand Secretary in succession to Bro . Louis Collins , and took a
prominent part in determining the rivalry between the Mark Lodges of English and Scotch origin in this country , and uniting them as one body under the Mark Grand Lodge . It was mainly at his instigation that some 17 or 18 years ago the Mark Benevolent Fund was established , while his eminent services to the Degree have been again and again recognised , but more particularly when there was conferred upon him
some time back the honorary rank of a Past G . J . Warden . These honours , however , great as they undoubtedly are , and testifying , as they do , to the rare merit displayed by Bro . Binckes , in the many and various important positions of responsibility and trust to which from time to time he has been elected , weigh but lightly in the balance against what more immediately concerns us here—namely , the inestimable services he has rendered to the
Masonic Boys School . His name has of necessity figured prominently on very many occasions during the latter portion of this narrative -, but though it might savour of exaggeration it we described him as- the Executive , we make bold to affirm that whatever of progress there has been since Bro . Binckes was chosen Secretary in 1861 is due , primarily , to the energy and determination of his
character , and in the next place , to the almost magical influence he seems to have exercised over well-nigh everyone he has been associated with in the government of the Institution . His earliest effort in its behalf was made in 1856 , during his Mastership of the Enoch Lodge , when he gave his services as Festival Steward and qualified au a Life Governor . In the latter capacity he became entitled to a seat on the General Committee , and was
appointed one of a Sub-Committee to visit the newly-purchased Lordship Lodge , Wood Green , and report upon the repairs and alterations which would be necessary in order to make it suitable as a School . The year following he served on several other Sub-Committees , among them being those appointed to arrange for the election of a Master and Matron , and the definition of their respective duties , and to make provision for the inaugural
ceremony ; in July he was one of the 12 brethren elected to act as the first House Committee . In 1858 , and again in i 860 , he was re-elected on the same Committee , and was likewise told off , in conjunction with Bros . J . Symonds and the Rev . W . H . Lyall , to report on the financial position of the Institution , and offer such recommendations as in their opinion were calculated to improve it . In 1861 he was elected Secretary , in succession to
the late Bro . Thiselton , by an overwhelming majority of votes over his solitary opponent , Bro . Spencer Compton . In that position we still find him displaying the same energy and determination of character , and exercising the same magical influence for good over his associate workers . If there are times when we may fancy he is less active than of yore , we have the consolation of knowing that with his greater experience his judgment now in all
cases of doubt and difficulty is well-nigh unapproachable . There may be a greater amount of deliberation in the fulfilment of his duties , but there is the same vigour of thought ; the same readiness to grasp a subject in all its bearings on the instant , and , as it were , intuitively ; the same fertility of resource in grappling with difficulties , whether anticipated or unforeseen ; and the same imperious will to conquer them at all hazards . Had there been any diminution of energy on his part , we should not now be contemplating
him in the very heart of a fresh undertaking , as though he had done little or nothing during his past career . To the infusion of his " new blood " into the government ol the Charity we owe the erection of the splendid building at Wood Green . To him we owe its rapidly progressive enlargement , til ! now it accommodates thrice as many boys as the premises it replaced . It was he who boldly counselled the appropriation to building purposes of the whole capital of the Institution—the slowly-accumulated savings of some