Free Masonry - The Masonic Trowel

136 ORIGIN OF FREE MASONRY.
ed to communicate information beneficial to the craft, as
do agricultural societies and mechanics' institutes at this
day.
Previous to 1717, there Was (I think it will appear) no
Free Masonry, but only Masonry ; neither speculative Masonry,
but only operative Masonry. But when other trades
and professions were admitted into the lodges, .Masonry
was only speculative to the newly accepted Masons, and
began to be spoken of as both operative and speculative.
Now it became Free Masonry, and passing as it has done
entirely out of the hands of operative Masons, into the
hands of speculative Masons, it is to them truly a mystery.
They know nothing about the setting mall, the ashler, and
the level, technical terms of operative Masonry. The
whole subject becomes to them, like the line of the poet:
" Rake, back, and toeth;"
a great secret—genuine Free Masonry.
This explanation of the origin of Free Masonry is easy
and natural, and is well supported by facts. If the fraternity
h^ve great doubts upon the subject, those doubts will
be much diminished by a perusal of the history of Masonry
since the beginning of the 18th century, as given by
Lawrie, and Preston, and Smith, all faithful Masonic writers,
who agree to state, that after 1790, Free Masonry passed
from the Grand Lodge of London to the numerous places
in the four quarters of the earth with which Great Britain
had a colonial or commercial intercourse : the name of the
Grand Master, the date of the warrant to a year, and the
place where it was sent, are particularly stated by each of
these Masonic historians :* and the fact goes far to prove
* These facts are also stated in the Encyclopedia Britannica, Art. Masonry
: an article furnished by Mr. Lawrie, Grand Secretary of the Grand
Lodge of Scotland.