Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/174

* MASONS. 148 MASONS. was made in favor of Jlasoiiic lodf;es, which were credited with meeting solely for benevolent pur- poses. .Jews were admitted to nieniborship on the same footing as other religious denomina- tions. The growth and progress of the fraternity has been so marked that there are now in tiio (irand Lodge of Kngland nn>re tlian liOIMI bulges, a tirand Lodge, sixty provincial (irand Lodgis, a tirand Lodge of JIark Masters, a Supreme tirand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, a (ireat Priory of iCuiglits Templars, and a Su])reme Coimcil of the. cient Accepted Scottish Hite. A few years after the revival a Committee on Charity was formed and since then Masonic schools have been founded for boys and girls and institutions for the aged and intirm. In Scotland the early history of the JIasons dillercd in no essential respect from that of otiicr trade crafts. In 15!I8-!1U the statutes and ordinances of the Order to be observed ""by all Jlaster Masons as set down by William Shaw, Master of Work to His Majesty, and general war- dent of the craft" (see Lyon, History of Free- masonry in Scotland), were published. These ordinances, however, are largely concerned with trade relations. The system of degrees was not <lcvelo]jed, but a 'pass-word' was adopted. In IT.'ili a final elVort, set on foot tifteen years be- f(M-e by Disaguliers, the oi-ganizer of the English ^Masonic nuivcment, to consolidate the various lodges into a representative body, was successful, and on November 30, 1736, the first general as- sembly of symbolical Masons was held and a Grand Lodge for Scotland formed. The . repre- sentative of the family of Saint Clair, wdiich was patron of the ilasonie Lodge, was elected first grand master; |)rovincial grand masters were appiiintcd. a general adhesion of Seotdi lodges to the new organization was eHected, and Saint Andrew's Day was substituted for the day of Saint .Folin the Baptist, the fete day in England. I'recTnasonrv was introduced into Ireland in 1730, when the first lodge was opened at Dublin. The English system and ritual were adopted, but, owing to the fact that the religion of the country is so largely Roman Catholic, Masonry has not made :i very marked progress. At the close of the nineteenth century its representation con- sisted of one (irand Lodge and about 3.j0 lodges. The first .Masonic lodge in Erance, according to Clavel and other wi'll-authcnticafcd authori- ties, was established at Dunkirk on October 13, 1721, and was styled 'h'Amitif ct Frittrniite.' The second was (uganized by Lord Derwcnt water in Paris in 172'). It was at fir.st largely patron- ized by the nobility, but its purpose does not seem til have been of an clivateil character, and this, supplemented by tiii' vigorous op]>osition of tlu' Calliolic Church. t<'nded to invest the institution of Masonry with a very unstable character. In 173(! a Grand Lodge was formed, and in 1706 a new (iriinilr-Lotie yntionntr of Eranee was cre- ated (subsequently altered in title to the flrnnd fiririil). ami a representative system adopted un- der which the various lodges were brought into a degree of .tubordination to the central and au- thoritative body. Considerable hostility, how- ever, was manifested toward the new organiza- tion by the original tirand Lodge, and there was, besides, a conllict between the rituals in us<', the Grand Orient following the Scottish rite, while the original Grand Lodge had adopted a wildly superstitious form, fathered by the impostor Cagliostro. The Revolution practically suspended both organizations, which subsequently were re- vived and in 1799 became united in one national organization. Hardly had this iniion been ctrcct- cd when another entering wedge was inserted by the introduction of two new systems of ritual, one the Scottish Philosophical Rite, including till' luminous ring and the white and black eagle, and the other the Ancient and .ccepted Scottish Rite of thirty-three degrees. Einally, in 1804, a iTiio7i was again effected between the (irand Orient and the Supreme Council, but since that period the cause of Freemasonry in France has not been as progressive as in other European countries. At the close of the nineteenth cen- tury the number of lodges in existence was only about 3.50. The Grand Orient has ceased to re- uire belief in a pcr.-fonal (!od as a test of mem- bership. The introduction of Freemasonry into other European countries, notably Spain, Hol- land, Italy, Austria, Germany, and Russia, took place between 1725 and 1750, but with varying results. In Russia the Jlasonic lodges have been suppres.sed, while in Austria-Hungary they mere- ly preserve an existence, owing to the ban of the Church being placed on them. The introduction of ilasonry into America was under the <lcputation to Daniel Coxe of New Jersey, from the Grand Lodge of England, dated .June 5. 1730, which appointe<l him provincial grand master for Pennsylvania, New York, and New .Jersey, 'for the space of two years.' While Coxe does not seem to have been active in estab- lishing lodges in his territory, reliable evidence that Saint .John's Lodge was founded in Phila- del])hia in the latter part of 1730 or early in 1731 is found in a letter written by Henry Bell, dated November 17, 1754, in which he speaks of a charter being granted by Daniel Coxe to a number of Philadelphians. The exist- ence of the lodge in 1731 is further proved by the account books of Renjannn Franklin, who sold stationery to and did printing for Saint .John's Lodge. The entries bear dates in 1731. Another corroborative proof is found in a ledger of the lodge discovered in 1SS4. which is callcil 'Liber B.' Its entries begin with .Line 24. 1731, and consist of amounts paid into the lodge by mem- bers. Franklin was made a Mason in .January, 1731. In 1733 the Grand Tvodge of England granted a deputation to Major Henry Price of Boston, as 'Provincial Grand Master of Free and Accepted Jlasons in New England.' On July 30, 1733, a warrant was granted to form Saint .John's Lodge in Boston, Mass. From this beginning. Freemascmry spread throughout the colonies. There also existed a large number of military and traveling lodges, usually attached to H'giments or battalions of the British Army, and formed imder warrants from the Grand Lodges of England. Scotland, and Ireland. When the War of the Revolution came to a successful close the American lodges so created withdrew their allegiance to the parent lodges in England and Scotland and created Grand Lodges in several of the States, and the Order thus became deeply rooted in .American soil, where it has continued to grow without inter- rujiticm other than what is known as the great anti-Masonic movement, which began in 1826 and continued for about ten years, during which period the membership was reduced to a very small number. (See Anti-Masons; Morgan,