By Bro. H.L. HAYWOOD, Editor
PART XI. THE GREAT CLEAVAGE IN FREEMASONRY; AN ACCOUNT OF THE "ANCIENT" GRAND LODGE
OF
all the chapters in the long and varied
history of our Craft not one is more interesting or more important to
know than
that which relates how there grew up alongside the first Grand Lodge
(described
last month) a rival Grand Lodge, how the two became bitter rivals, and
how at
last a union was brought about. Therefrom a reader can learn how
certain
changes came into the Craft which still puzzle him, and also, to a
certain
extent, why Masonic ceremonies in America differ from those practiced
in
England, and also among various American states. Necessarily only a
rapid
summary of many events can be attempted here; those who would seek
details are
referred to the books listed at the end of this article, and especially
to
Masonic Facts and Fictions, by Henry Sadler, the classic in this field.
It
is absolutely impossible to work out a
connected and detailed history of all the causes that led at last to
the
formation of a new Grand Lodge, and for the same reasons impossible to
lay
one's finger on a certain year or place and say, here is where it
began. The
thing came about gradually and out of many forces at work.
One
of the main results of the formation of
the first Grand Lodge established at London in 1717 was that Operative
Masonry
was completely laid aside in favour of Speculative Masonry. Such a
radical
change in the inmost nature of the Craft could not but arouse
opposition. It is
supposed, for example, that the difficulties into which Anthony Sayer
fell,
after he had served as the first Grand Master, may have been due to his
dislike
of the new regime, he having been an old Operative Mason. How much
trouble the
great change caused, or long it lasted, is now impossible to determine,
but it
seems evident that a resentment against the new order of things lasted
long in
some quarters, and that whole lodges refused for many years to
acquiesce in so
complete a departure from the old ways.
Another
cause of trouble in the early years
of the first Grand Lodge was the adoption of the "Paragraph Concerning
God
and Religion" in Anderson's Constitutions. Prior to 1717 the rank and
file
of Craftsmen had been of the Christian persuasion and the Craft itself,
to
judge by its own Constitutions, had been frankly Trinitarian Christian.
The new
Constitutions, now associated with the name of Anderson, changed all
this;
according to its somewhat ambiguous wording a Mason was required to be
only of
that religion "in which all good men agree". This did not please
those who wished to see Freemasonry remain specifically Christian;
consequently
they made trouble about it.
From the records of the first
Grand Lodge itself it is evident that all was not smooth sailing. There
was
constant complaint of "irregular makings", but little was done to
head off that evil; also it appears that Grand Lodge affairs were
managed with
laxness, if not sometimes with downright carelessness. A fair example
of this
is furnished in the case of Lord Byron, who was elected Grand Master
April 30,
1747. That gentleman, sometimes known as "the wicked Lord Byron",
appeared before his brethren only five times in five years, and seems
to have
paid little heed to his responsibilities. The carelessness aroused so
much
feeling that "it was the Opinion of many old Masons to have a
consultation
about electing a new and more active Grand Master"; they "assembled
for that purpose" and would have carried it through had it not been for
the intervention of Bro. Thomas Manningham, M.D. From this, and from
similar
instances that could be named, one may judge that Grand Lodge did not
keep a
very tight hold of the reins, a fact that will help to explain what
came afterwards.
A
worse thing "worse", that is,
from the point of view of the conservative brethren at the time was
that the
first Grand Lodge deliberately made a few drastic "innovations" in
the old forms, a thing that came about after this wise, so it is
believed:
after Freemasonry became more or less popular in London numberless men
became
desirous of making their way into lodges without the troublesome cost
of a
regular imitation. To meet their needs certain so-called "exposes"
were published, the most notable of which was Masonry Dissected, by one
Samuel
Prichard, described as a "late member of a Constituted Lodge". Upon
this, clandestinism became so rife that at last Grand Lodge, in
self-defense,
determined upon making changes in the esoteric work that would enable
regular
lodges to detect the frauds. It is now next to impossible to learn with
certainty just what these changes were, but according to the enemies of
the
Grand Lodge of 1717 and to scattered references in Grand Lodge records
they
were somewhat as follows: The installation ceremony of the Worshipful
Master
was either abolished or suffered to go by default; the Third Degree was
remodeled; the symbolism of the preparation of a candidate was changed;
one of
the most important secrets of the First Degree was transferred to the
Second,
and vice versa; some of the old "geometrical secrets" long practiced
among "ancient Operative Masons" were either entirely omitted or else
changed out of all recognition, etc. As a proof that such charges of
innovations were not without foundation in fact is an entry in the
Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of 1717, 1784 edition, which says,
"Some
variations were made in the established forms," and this goes on to
explain that these changes were made, "more effectually to debar them
[i.e., clandestines] and their abettors from the Lodges."
Still
another cause that contributed to the
new developments has to do with the Royal Arch, a subject peculiarly
difficult
to deal with, especially on paper and then in short space. Laurence
Dermott,
the creative genius of the new Grand Lodge (about which more anon),
once wrote
these words:
"A
Modern Mason a member of a lodge
under the Grand Lodge of 1717 may safely communicate all his secrets to
an
Ancient Mason, the member of a lodge under the Constitutions of the
Grand Lodge
started in 1751, but that an Ancient Mason cannot with safety
communicate all
his secrets to a Modern Mason without further ceremony."
After
quoting these words, and some others
not necessary to be included here, Bro. Fred J.W. Crowe, in his
revision of
Gould's Concise History, page 256, remarks that, "There is little doubt
that these differences consist of changes in the Third Degree and the
introduction of the Royal Arch."
The
theory here is that in their
re-organization of the Ritual, Desgauliers and his fellows in the early
days of
the Grand Lodge of 1717 left the Third Degree without its logical
conclusion,
so that a certain vital secret was lost but not found; and that many of
the
brethren, in order to complete the symbolism, either adapted or created
a
supplementary ceremony to make good the loss. In so doing they ran
counter to
the practices of the Grand Lodge of 1717 and thereby became stigmatized
as
"irregulars". Firm in their belief that they were right and the Grand
Lodge was wrong, they persisted in their course until at last they
founded a
Grand Lodge of their own. This, as stated above, is a "theory", but
there are facts to support it, and it is reasonable on the face of
things.
Be
the facts what they may, it is certain
that after the new Grand Lodge was formed it made use of the ceremony
known as
the Royal Arch and practiced it as a part of legitimate ancient
Freemasonry.
The results of this have been succinctly described by W.J. Hughan in a
communication quoted on page 1185, Mackey's Revised History of
Freemasonry, by
Bro. Robert I. Clegg:
"The
Royal Arch Degree was not started
by these 'Antients' [as the new Grand Lodge came to be styled] but only
adapted
by them as an authorized ceremony. In self-defence the 'Moderns' [as
the Grand
Lodge of 1717 was dubbed], who had worked it before the origin of the
'Atholl
Masons' [another name for the new Grand Lodge], but not officially,
gradually
gave it more prominence. In 1767 they formed a Grand Chapter of Royal
Arch
Masons and issued Warrants for Chapters, pushing the degree more even
than the
'Antients', though not recognized by their Grand Lodge; so at the Union
of the
two Grand Lodges in December 1813, the way was prepared for the
inauguration of
the 'United Grand Chapter' in 1817, the ceremony being adopted as the
completion of the Master Mason's ceremony, not as a separate and
independent
degree."
The
most important of all the theories as to
the rise of the new Grand Lodge is that worked out by Henry Sadler,
though the
word "theory", in view of the many facts he has marshaled in his
Masonic Facts and Fictions, is too weak to suggest the cogency and
power of his
reasoning. I must content myself with giving a very brief resume of the
results
arrived at in this remarkable book.
The
most important result of Sadler's
work has been to abolish the old notion that the "Antient" Grand
Lodge resulted from a "schism", or "secession" from the
older Grand Lodge. The "schismatic" theory was given currency by the
older Grand Lodge, and it came to be generally accepted among its
supporters
and apologists; even Gould, who was usually so independent in his
theorizing,
clung stubbornly to it long after others had been convinced of Sadler's
views,
for the which reason it was deemed wise to make a revision of his
Concise
History. Sadler made it clear that the "Antient" Grand Lodge grew up,
not out of a split-off from the Grand Lodge of 1717 but from
independent causes,
and that in a day before the doctrine of exclusive jurisdiction had
been
adopted there was no illegality in such a step.
The
next most important result of his
researches was that the primary inspiration in the founding of the
"Antient" Grand Lodge came from Irish Masons who had settled in
London, and who had not been recognized by the Grand Lodge of 1717.
Sadler
shows that a majority of the members of the first lodge warranted by
the
"Antients" were Irishmen, and that they closely copied the usages and
customs of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, and that in the loose talk of
the times
they were accordingly dubbed "Irish Masons". Most of these men were
of the "lower" classes, painters, tailors, mechanics, labourers, and
so on, thereby standing in sharp contrast to the membership of the
lodges
working under the Grand Lodge of 1717.
The
"Antients" differed much in
their practices from the older Grand Lodge and at the same time, in so
differing, stood close to the customs of the Grand Lodge of Ireland:
Sadler's
own summary of this may be given:
It
will doubtless suffice if I merely
mention the chief remaining points of connexion and similarly without
further
comment: The Book of Constitutions, and the By-Laws for private lodges;
Craft
Warrants recognizing the Royal Arch degree; Grand Lodge Seals, and the
method
of affixing them with the same coloured ribbons [same, that is, as the
Grand
Lodge of Ireland], which so far as I know were not used by any other
Grand
Lodge; Certificates in Latin and English; Constitution of a lodge for
Grand
Officers only, and the names of the members entered in the front of the
register; System of registritation in the books of the Grand Lodge; the
fact
that the 'Ancients' were designated 'Irish Masons', their lodges 'Irish
Lodges', and their warrants 'Irish Warrants', by independent and
unofficial
writers at various periods, from about fifteen years after their
organization
in 1751 up to the end of the last century" [that is, the eighteenth
century].
After
the new Grand Lodge was once under way,
and after it had begun to come into conflict with the older body, of
course the
defenders of the "Antients" began to make up arguments to defend
their own position; to a large extent such arguments were merely
special
pleading, and not now to be taken with much seriousness. Such, by way
of
example, was Dermott's that the earlier Grand Lodge had been
constituted in an
illegal manner. In his Ahiman Rezon, 1778 edition, he says that "to
form a
Grand Lodge there must have been the Masters and Wardens of five
regular
Lodges," and asserts that "this is so well known to every man
conversant with the ancient laws, usages, customs and ceremonies of
Master
Masons, that it is needless to say more." Dermott must have known at
the
time that such a statement was groundless; there never had been such a
law. As
time went on this argument was replaced by another to the effect that
the
"Antients" had set up house for themselves because the older Grand
Lodge had been guilty of innovations, which, though it was doubtless
true
enough, could not very well stand because the "Antients" themselves
had been guilty of many innovations of their own; for they had brought
into the
Masonic system an entirely new degree, an innovation of the first
order, one
would suppose.
It
is time to give an account of how
the "Ancient" (I shall hereafter give it the modern spelling) Grand
Lodge came into existence.
First,
however, I shall say a word about Laurence
Dermott, who figured so much in all that happened, recommending the
reader
betimes that he peruse W.M. Bywater's Notes on Laurence Dermott and His
Work,
published in London, 1884. Dermott was born in Ireland in 1720,
twenty-two
years before the birth of William Preston, who first saw the light of
day in
Edinburgh, July 28, 1742, and who alone of all the luminaries in
Freemasonry of
that generation shares with Dermott an equal fame. Dermott was
initiated in
Ireland in 1740, and went through the chairs of Lodge No. 26, Ireland,
where he
was installed Worshipful Master June 24, 1746. It appears that he was
fairly
well educated for those days, and Gould is of the opinion that he
probably knew
a little Hebrew, which will account for the fondness he had of covering
his
papers with Hebrew characters that ancient and difficult language! He
moved to
London, probably as a youth, with little in his pocket but many schemes
boiling
in his head, which head was tireless, alert, witty, sarcastic, and
often a bit
unscrupulous in waging war on his foes, of which his energy made him
many. It
seems that he engaged himself as a journeyman painter (Preston became a
journeyman printer, it will be remembered) and that he prospered so
that in
after years he spent much money in charity and in his Masonic
activities. In
late records he was described as a wine merchant, and it appears that
he
enjoyed the luxury of gout. Once made a Mason he never rested but
devoted
himself to it as to a mistress, with passionate earnestness, never
permitting
himself to become discouraged, and always in the front line of battle.
Aside
from his genius in putting a Grand Lodge under way his greatest
achievement was
the composition of his Ahiman Rezon (meaning "Worthy Brother
Secretary"), the Constitutions of the new Grand Lodge, and afterwards
adopted by many other Grand Lodges, our own Pennsylvania, Maryland and
South
Carolina among them.
So
much for Dermott. The extent of the
"irregular makings" so often complained of in the records of the
Grand Lodge of 1717 may be shown by the fact that because of these the
Grand
Lodge erased from its list at least forty-five lodges between 1742 and
1752.
Brethren so dealt with, along with many free lances, and also some
independent,
or "St. John's lodges," (about which many interesting things might be
written) came together and formed a "Grand Committee" of "the
Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons";
this
Committee formed itself into "The Grand Lodge of England according to
the
Old Constitutions," which Grand Lodge afterwards came to be called the
"Ancient" Grand Lodge in contradistinction to the "Modern,"
as the older Grand Lodge became dubbed. The earliest record of the
Grand Committee
is of date July 17, 1751; on that day Lodges No. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
"were
authorized to grant Dispensations and Warrants and to act as Grand
Master." The office of Grand Master was left vacant until a "noble
brother" could be found to accept the position; and the place of Lodge
No.
1 was left standing to be occupied by the Grand Master's Lodge, a thing
suggested no doubt by the Grand Lodge of Ireland having done the same
thing.
John Morgan was elected Grand Secretary in 1751 but it appears that he
was lax
in his duties, therefore Laurence Dermott was elected to take his place
Feb. 5,
1752, after which time the Grand Secretary's most bitter enemies could
not
complain of any laxness whatsoever, because Dermott became the leading
spirit
in all that followed, and it was to his genius that a group of
malcontents,
drawn from what at that time were the lower or middle classes, were
able to
forge ahead and to grow more rapidly, time taken into consideration,
than their
rival Grand Lodge.
One
of the expedients hit on by Dermott was
the warranting of military lodges, a thing not done before, and which
accounts
for the rapid growth of Ancient Masonry in the American Colonies, for
owing to
the use of warrants to army lodges the British forces in this continent
became
Masonic missionaries. The Modern Grand Lodge afterwards followed suit
in this.
Another expedient was the frank and open pushing of the Royal Arch
Degree; it
is easy to understand that a system offering four degrees would make
more
appeal to the generality than one offering only three. Also the
Ancients were
able to secure formal endorsements from the Grand Lodges of Ireland and
Scotland, and in addition thereto a certain amount of active support
from those
influential bodies.
It will be observed that of the sixty years during which the Ancients had a Grand Master, a Duke of Atholl occupied the throne for thirty-one years; it was for this reason that the Ancients were often called "Atholl Masons," and for a corresponding reason that the Moderns were sometimes called "Prince of Wales Masons."
The zeal and energy of the Ancient leaders, in addition to the superior attractiveness of their degree system, is shown in the rapidity with which the new Grand Lodge made headway. In 1753 a dozen or so lodges were on the list; during the next four years, and largely owing to Dermott's activity, twenty-four were added; between 1760 and 1766, while the Earl of Kelly was nominally Grand Master, sixty-four more were taken in charge. By 1813, when the Union was effected, the Ancients claimed a grand total of 359 lodges, though it is certain that in many cases the names of defunct lodges were still carried.
The Ancients adopted as their Book of Constitutions the Ahiman Rezon, largely the work of Dermott, though he closely followed in the main the lines of the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of Ireland and at the same time borrowed with a free hand the Anderson Constitutions used by the Moderns, first published in 1723; the first edition of the Ahiman Rezon appeared in 1756. By closely following the Constitutions already in use Dermott was able to avoid the appearance of too wide a departure from Freemasonry as already practiced, and at the same time, though unwittingly, prepared the way for the Union that came afterwards, a fact of happy augury for the Craft at large.
The existence of two Grand Lodges, both with their headquarters in London, naturally caused a great deal of confusion and misunderstanding among ordinary Masons; in many cases such brethren held no brief for either party, so that in some cases it is of record that a man held office in lodges under both constitutions; but for the most part there was a good deal of bitterness among the partisans, though it must be said that the Ancients were more avid of controversy than the Moderns, and that in almost every instance when all olive branch was extended it was from the latter named camp. An example of the irenic attitude of the Moderns is furnished by Preston, who says that while in 1801 charges were preferred against brethren under the Moderns for their activities in Ancient lodges the matter was suffered to drop.
In 1797 a move was made looking toward union but the project fell through. Two years afterwards, however, the two Grand Masters, the Earl of Moira for the Moderns and the Duke of Atholl for the Ancients, acted together to have the Craft specifically exempted from the Act to Prevent Secret Societies in England. Also, as another step that paved the way for a merger, the Modern Grand Lodge succeeded in securing the endorsements of the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland in such wise as to place the Ancients on a somewhat doubtful footing, a thing that completely reversed the original situation so far as those two Grand Bodies were concerned.
As early as 1809 committees met to consider the "propriety and practicability of union." On Oct. 26 of that year the Earl of Moira (for the Moderns) warranted a special lodge to serve as a means for bringing about a merger; this lodge held its first meeting on Nov. 21 and then resolved to call itself "The Special Lodge of Promulgation." On April 10 of the year following the Earl of Moira informed his Grand Lodge that both he and the Grand Master of the Ancients "were both fully of opinion, that it would be an event truly desirable, to consolidate under one head the two Societies of Masons that existed in this country." These proceedings were transmitted to the Grand Lodge of Ancients, where this frank avowal of a desire for union was met with unfeigned cordiality, so that after concessions were made by both sides, though more heartily by the Moderns, it was agreed all the way around that differences should be ironed out, and a union be made. "The Grand Assembly of Freemasons for the Union of the Two Grand Lodges of England" was held Dec. 27, 1813. With due and solemn ceremonies the long wished for merger was consummated, all Grand officers showing, almost without exception, a fine and statesmanlike spirit. During the month preceding the Duke of Atholl had resigned the Grand Mastership of the Ancients in favour of the Duke of Kent, the latter being placed in the chair Dec. 1; at the time of the Union the latter nominated the Duke of Sussex as "Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England" and he was unanimously elected.
Each of the two Grand Lodges participating appointed a committee of nine expert Master Masons or Past Masters and these were then formed into a Lodge of Promulgation, the purpose of which was to work out a form of ritual acceptable to all. This lodge continued its work from 1813 to 1816, often against opposition; but while its work was of consequence and official, the real fusing of the two systems went on according to circumstances in the private lodges, so that the influence of the Lodge of Reconciliation was more academic than real.
The work of preparing a new Code of Regulations for the United Grand Lodge was referred to a Board of General Purposes; its work was approved by a Special Grand Lodge Aug. 23, 1815. Meanwhile, and in order to bring about the closest relations possible between the new United Grand Lodge and the Grand lodges of Scotland and Ireland an International Commission was formed and began its deliberations June 27, 1814, continuing until July 2 following. As a result it was declared that "the three Grand Lodges were perfectly in unison in all the great and essential points of the Mystery and Craft, according to the immemorial traditions and uninterrupted usage of Ancient Masons;" eight resolutions, called the International Compact, were adopted.
The effect of all this re-organization on the ritual has been so well summarized by Bro. W.B. Hextall that I shall quote his paragraph in full from Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol. XXIII, page 304: (the reader should consult that entire volume)
"A conclusion to which I personally come, is that for many years after the Union-speaking approximately, until about 1825 a good deal of 'give and take' concerning ritual went on unofficially, in London as well as in the Provinces, and that our Craft ceremonies, as practised from 1830, and earlier, considerably deviated from those which were ascertained in the Lodge of Promulgation, 1809-11; worked in the Lodge of Reconciliation, 1813-16; and approved by Grand Lodge on 5th June, 1816. The material from which we have to draw inferences is slight, but at the same time cogent; and when (to name a few points only) we find duties originally assigned to the Senior Deacon transferred to his Junior colleague; the entrusting with the means of satisfactory proof leading to the second degree otherwise performed; and the admission of a member or visitor 'by proof of his having ascertained the degree in which the Lodge is opened from an inspection of the three great lights at the entrance' (Lodge of Promulgation minutes, January 5th, 1810) fallen into complete disuse; it is difficult to avoid realizing that, to a large extent, the subject of Craft working must have been placed in the melting-pot, and that quite apart from the means of instruction officially provided in 1813."
In order to assist brethren to find their way out of this welter Lodges of Instruction came into existence, some of which grew to be permanent institutions; it was as a result of the influence of these that the various "workings" came into use in England, "Emulation," "Stability," "Oxford," etc.
If one will take a sufficiently wide view of the history of English Freemasonry from 1717 until the Union had been everywhere accepted he will see that the whole period takes on the character of a grand transition, and that in this perspective the mere details and machinery of the Great Cleavage along with the subsequent official act of Union drop into second place as events, great in importance, but of the nature of incidentals. The change from Operative to Speculative Masonry officially made in 1717 was profound beyond our usual understanding of it; and such a change could be completed only after many years, much experiment, and a long evolution. In this view the great result of the Union was that it brought finally about the complete crystallization and solidification of Speculative Freemasonry, fixed its character for generations to come, established in the United Kingdom the firm principle of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction, and made possible the establishment inside the Craft of those Powers and Authorities which today prevent the dispersal of its energies and the division of its forces. Even until now that influence is at work; and it will continue at work until, out of its inevitable logic, a way will be found to unite and unify Freemasonry the world over, of which consummation we can all sincerely say, So Mote It Be!
SUPPLEMENTARY REFERENCES Mackey's
Encyclopedia (Revised Edition)
Ahiman Rezon, 37; Ancient, or Antient, or Atholl Masons, 55; Antiquity, Lodge of, 65; Book of Constitutions, 112; Christianization of Freemasonry, 148; Dermott, Laurence, 206; Grand Lodge, 306; Grand Master, 307; Innovations, 353; Ireland, 357; Lectures, History of the, 430; Preston, William, 579; Prichard, Samuel, 583; Ramsay, A. M., 607; Reconciliation. Lodge of, 611; Royal Arch Degree, 643; Schisms, 668; Symbolic Degrees, 752; United Grand Lodge of England, 815; York Grand Lodge, 867.
BOOKS
CONSULTED
Ahiman Rezon, all eds., Laurence Dermott. Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, V, 166; VI, 44, 65; VIII, 233; XI, 190, 202; XXIII, 37, 162, 215; XXIV, 268. Atholl Lodges, R.F. Gould. Book of Constitutions, edtd. by Entick. Book of Constitutions, edtd. by Noorthouck. Builders, The, Joseph Fort Newton. Century of Masonic Working, F.W. Golby. Concise History, R.F. Gould. Grand Lodge of England, A.F. Calvert. History of Freemasonry, Findel. History of Freemasonry, R.F. Gould. History of the Lodge of Edinburgh, Murray Lyon. Illustrated History of the Lodge of Improvement, Henry Sadler. Illustrations of Masonry, Wm. Preston. Mackey's Revised History of Freemasonry, R.I. Clegg. Masonic Facts and Fictions, Henry Sadler. Memorials of the Masonic Union, W.J. Hughan. Military Lodges, R.F. Gould. Minutes of the Grand Lodge of England, W.J. Songhurst, Ed. Notes on Lau. Dermott, W.M. Bywater. Origin of the English Rite, W.J. Hughan. Short Masonic History, Fred Armitage. Story of the Craft, Lionel Vibert.