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Article COIRESPGNDENCE. ← Page 11 of 11
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Coirespgndence.
FRAGMENTS AND DOOUMSNTS RELATING TO FREEMASONRY . TO THE EDITOB OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRHOE . Sir and Brothek , ^—Wur collection of documents relating to the history of the Order will give the materials for a more copious and more critical history than we now have . The discussion of these documents is one necessary step towards this result , and with your leave I will say a few words on the Lansdown MSS ., No . 98 , article 48 , referred to at page 348 of the Freemasons Magazine . The iiiternal evidence derived from the language of this document , shows it to
that the conduct complained of is calculated to bring discredit and injury upon our Order , and , therefore , without comment , beg to subscribe myself , —Yours fraternally , An Old Mason . March 20 th , 1858 . [ It would be advisable where gentlemen from a distance offer themselves for initiation in a Lodge , for greater caution to be used in their admission than we fear is too often the case . The great fault , however , lies with the proposer , as Brethren are apt , relying on him , to forego inquiries as to the position of the candidate . No visiting fee can be charged for a Brother during the hours of business , but Masters of Lodges in the provinces may refuse admission to a Brother objected to if he present himself .
be aclumsy and impudent forgery . The language is quite enough to betray it to any one conversant with MSS . of the sixteenth century , and it is time that its true character should be known .
Your correspondent , " Amanuensis , " will do a good service by closely examining the paper and writing , and likewise the mode in which this MSS . is connected with the rest of the volume . One amusing part of this sha ^ m antiquity is to be found in the blanks , or supposed chance imperfections , each of which begins after the words "A man . " The discussion of this MSS . is the more necessary as on it is based a wdiole fabric of false legends of St , Alban ' s , Athelstan , Edwin , and the Lodge of York . The imposture of Edwin , son of Athelstan , being made a Mason at Windsor , is enough , one would have thought , to raise the suspicion of tile most credulous . — I remain , Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , Hyde Clarke .
The Past and the Future—The future is before us , and if we are spared by the Great Architect , it is ours for improvement . Let us take courage from what we have done , and renew our efforts in the cause of Masonry for the time to
come . Masonry among the Indians . —The Rev . Leander Ker , Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Kansas , in his report on foreign correspondence , states that he was informed " by a worthy Brother Mason and a worthy minister of the Methodist church , who had been for many years a missionary among the Chippeway Indians , that he found Masons among the Chippeways , and was himself in their Lodges ; and that their signs , tokens , and pass words were the same as ours ,
and that they could not tell when or by whom Masonry was introduced among them , but it was beyond the memory of their fathers . " On this the committee of Missouri remark : — " It is a subject worthy of thought , whence came the Masonry of the Indians ? Certainly not from the white man , because their traditions run back beyond the discovery by Columbus . May it not be that the learned Dr . Bobinson was right in ascribing to the Indian a Jewish origin , and that the rites of Masonry , like the mounds , are left as marks of a race whose history has passed into oblivion V
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Coirespgndence.
FRAGMENTS AND DOOUMSNTS RELATING TO FREEMASONRY . TO THE EDITOB OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRHOE . Sir and Brothek , ^—Wur collection of documents relating to the history of the Order will give the materials for a more copious and more critical history than we now have . The discussion of these documents is one necessary step towards this result , and with your leave I will say a few words on the Lansdown MSS ., No . 98 , article 48 , referred to at page 348 of the Freemasons Magazine . The iiiternal evidence derived from the language of this document , shows it to
that the conduct complained of is calculated to bring discredit and injury upon our Order , and , therefore , without comment , beg to subscribe myself , —Yours fraternally , An Old Mason . March 20 th , 1858 . [ It would be advisable where gentlemen from a distance offer themselves for initiation in a Lodge , for greater caution to be used in their admission than we fear is too often the case . The great fault , however , lies with the proposer , as Brethren are apt , relying on him , to forego inquiries as to the position of the candidate . No visiting fee can be charged for a Brother during the hours of business , but Masters of Lodges in the provinces may refuse admission to a Brother objected to if he present himself .
be aclumsy and impudent forgery . The language is quite enough to betray it to any one conversant with MSS . of the sixteenth century , and it is time that its true character should be known .
Your correspondent , " Amanuensis , " will do a good service by closely examining the paper and writing , and likewise the mode in which this MSS . is connected with the rest of the volume . One amusing part of this sha ^ m antiquity is to be found in the blanks , or supposed chance imperfections , each of which begins after the words "A man . " The discussion of this MSS . is the more necessary as on it is based a wdiole fabric of false legends of St , Alban ' s , Athelstan , Edwin , and the Lodge of York . The imposture of Edwin , son of Athelstan , being made a Mason at Windsor , is enough , one would have thought , to raise the suspicion of tile most credulous . — I remain , Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , Hyde Clarke .
The Past and the Future—The future is before us , and if we are spared by the Great Architect , it is ours for improvement . Let us take courage from what we have done , and renew our efforts in the cause of Masonry for the time to
come . Masonry among the Indians . —The Rev . Leander Ker , Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of Kansas , in his report on foreign correspondence , states that he was informed " by a worthy Brother Mason and a worthy minister of the Methodist church , who had been for many years a missionary among the Chippeway Indians , that he found Masons among the Chippeways , and was himself in their Lodges ; and that their signs , tokens , and pass words were the same as ours ,
and that they could not tell when or by whom Masonry was introduced among them , but it was beyond the memory of their fathers . " On this the committee of Missouri remark : — " It is a subject worthy of thought , whence came the Masonry of the Indians ? Certainly not from the white man , because their traditions run back beyond the discovery by Columbus . May it not be that the learned Dr . Bobinson was right in ascribing to the Indian a Jewish origin , and that the rites of Masonry , like the mounds , are left as marks of a race whose history has passed into oblivion V