Signs, tokens and words, by which the Masonic craft became differentiated from all other trades than builders, do not appear in the earlier forms. In time, however, this initiation was exclusively its own ; and in the Melrose manuscript 1581 A.D. (known to posterity by the transcript of 1674), reference is made to °Ye privilidge of ye compass, square, levell, and ye plum-rule.' The early records show that the lodge system was used from the first as a bond to preserve the art of building as a monopoly. The secret of the organization was then,— in contradistinction to all others,— °the way to build" ; and tyled lodges contributed best toward this end. But, in spite of every precaution, another body of operatives arose,— called °Cowans" by the regulars,— which in spite of its lack of prestige, not being in possession of °Old Charges* and the °mason's word,* contrived to prosper, eventually breaking down the monopoly and prepared the way for the "speculative* soci ety of modern times. The term "speculative* has reference to a class of members who were not operatives and had no intention of becom ing artisans, but were denominated "accepted* Masons. The admission of this element proved the wisdom of the fathers, and to it is probably due the permanency of the institution and its continuity to succeeding ages. By its influences the Masonic fraternity secured governmental favor and became "free of the guilds? that is, free of the restrictive laws, which even now, regulate the Friendly Societies" of the British Empire,— enjoying a liberty which di,1 not in here in the organization of exclusively operative masons who were not Free-Masons, the so-called "Cowans? (Free + Mason, originally written as two words, not mentioned prior to the 14th century). Just what proportion of the mem bership was speculative during the earlier or operative period unfortunately is not known, the first lodge record preserved being of a meet ing held July 1599," but of its mixed character there is no doubt. Old records, re cently discovered, and examined in the light of present-day research, have lcd Masonic writers to revise the usually accepted assertion that the cathedrals and other public edifices in Great Britain, erected during the Middle Ages, were planned by Church dignitaries. The opinion now obtains that the architects thereof were the Master Masons of that period,—the divisions among the builders of the operative era being apprentices, journeymen (Fellow Crafts), and Master Masons. Each man's work bore a dis tinguishing mark by which the piece could be identified, and the wage scale regulated.
The Masonic originated in London. By the dawn of the 18th century the decadence of the society had become so serious that four of the surviving lodges proceeded to a reorganization in 1717, and this movement is known in history as "The Revival.* These four lodges were probably joined by others, though the records do not exist. Two clergymen, James Anderson (b. Edinburgh, 5 Aug. 1684) and John Theophilus Desaguliers (b. France, 12 March 1683) became the architects and authors of the new regime. A distinguished gentleman named Anthony Sayer was installed as grand master. He was of the "speculative') and "accepted)) class. The Grand Lodge insti tuted was a governing body, and in no wise a successor of the "General Assemblies* of the operative or legendary period. To Dr. Ander
son was entrusted the duty of compiling the "general records and faithful traditions from the beginning of time,* and to enable him to do so all the available documents were collected for his use. These were afterward destroyed,—an irreparable loss. In 1723 the "New Constitu tions* were published, when it was discovered that Drs. Anderson and Desagnliers had com pletely changed the theory of the institution,— from Christian to the adoption of a universal creed based on the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man,— so as to admit men of all religions, nationalities and stations in life. These authors included likewise all that is now known of the transactions -of the craft from 1717 to 1722 A.D., when the official records com mence. The second edition of the "New Con stitutions* was published in 1738, with °New added, which became the basis of the Freemasonry of the present day. From 1717 the evolution of the society made rapid progress, both as to the increasing area of its operations, and in the multiplicity of its degrees. But the Masons of "the revival* and their immediate suc cessors did not long dwell together in unity. Those at York organized a "Grand Lodge of All England* in ins, and kept it alive for some 20 years. A reorganization took place in 1761, and the body ceased to exist in 1792, never having chartered lodges outside of Eng land. In 1751 a great schism occurred, whereby a part of the premier Grand Lodge withdrew and instituted a rival. In common parlance the latter body became known as "ancients? the former as °moderns,* a transposition which is firmly settled in history. A deputation from the Grand Lodge of All England, dated 29 March 1779, created still another body called the "Grand Lodge of England South of the River Trent? and this survived until 2 May 1790. The two rival Grand Lodges,— and °An cients,*— happily entered into a concordat on Saint John's Day, 27 Dec. 1813 am., constituting the present Umted Grand Lodge of England, declaring that the English Rite of Freemasonry "Consists of three degrees and no more, namely: those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch? Scotland enjoys the honor of "Mother Kil winning Lodge, No. 0,* universally recognized as the oldest in existence. Its records comprise a minute of 1599, and others ranging from 20 Dec. 1642 to 5 Dec. 1758, A.D., and these com munications were held in ICilwinning. Tradi tional history ascribes to the architects of the abbey of Kilwinning thepreeminence which inhered to the Masons of York, in England. A dozen other old lodges are of record, possessing fragmentary minutes and "Old Charges)* of rare Masonic value, but the Scottish Craftsmen did not follow the examples set by England and Ireland until Saint Andrew's Day, 30 Nov. 1736 A.D., when Baron William St. Clair of Roslin (Earl of Orkney and Caithness), was chosen Grand Master. The following year he was succeeded by George, the third and last Earl of Cromarty. It will be noted that in Scotland, as well as in England and Ireland, the craft was patronized by those of exalted civil rank and station, Scotland's "Masonic gem* is the aPrentice's Pillar,* stand ing in the chancel of Roslin Chapel, Edinburgh.