Masonic jurisprudence and related references

(prepared by RN, October 2005 - updated Dec 05, July 06)

“He who decides a case without hearing the other side, though he decide
justly, cannot be considered just.” - Seneca.

“Four things belong to a Judge; to hear courteously, to answer wisely, to

consider soberly, and to decide impartially.” - Socrates.

“One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty councils. The thing to do is

to supply light and not heat.” - Woodrow Wilson

A Beginners Guide to Masonic Jurisprudence

by Winger, Mark [was G. Registrar of GL NZ in 1991]
Published in UNITED MASTERS LODGE No. 167, Monthly Lodge Notice, Sept 1991
online version at
http://www.themasonictrowel.com/Articles/Freemasonry/masonic_institution/a_beginners_guide_to_masonic_jurisprudence.htm

Grand Lodge of South Australia and Northern Territory publications

- Regulations
- Lodge Manual
- Preparing for Mastership
- Corporate and Strategic Plan [outlines GL Structure - also see
http://freemasonrysaust.org.au/governance.html ]

By-Laws [of your lodge]

Masonic jurisprudence - http://www.halpaus.net/2006/04/mm-april-10-2006-masonic-jurisprudence.html

Principles of Masonic Law

by Mackey, Albert G
[A treatise on the Constitutional Laws, Usages, and Landmarks of Freemasonry]
1856 edition available online at several sites
- http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/Mackey_law_fr.html
- http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12186

Masonic Jurisprudence - illustrated by Grand Lodge Decisions from the Date of the
Union
by John T. Lawrence (First edition 1908) (Second edition 1912)
(Third edition 1923 - revised and enlarged by Granville Grenfell, JS and White,
John)
[Series of digests with explanatory notes and references to the important appeals
determined by the Grand Lodge of England since 1813]

Masonic Jurisprudence in New South Wales

compiled from the Records of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales from 1888 to 1936
by Day, WR
(Second edition 1936)
(first edition 1922)

An Introduction to Masonic Jurisprudence and the Laws of Freemasonry

produced by United Grand Lodge of New South Wales, 1984

Mackey's Jurisprudence of Freemasonry

by: Albert G. Mackey
revised by Robert L Clegg
Publisher: Macoy Pub & Masonic Supply Co
available from Lewis Masonic - £15.95
[Coverage of written and unwritten laws of Freemasonry, especially the laws for
lodges by an authority on American lodges]
[The written and unwritten laws of Freemasonry. Covers the laws for Lodges,
Candidates, individuals, and Grand Lodges]

Digest of Scottish Masonic Jurisprudence

by Wallace-James, RE
Robert's Rules of Order - Masonic Edition
revised and edited by Poll, Michael R (2005)
ISBN 1-887560-07-6 [American publication]

Joske's law and procedure at meetings in Australia

by Joske, PE , Chappenden WJ and Magner, Ellis S
ISBN 455 21732 7 (ninth edition, 2001)

Guide for Meetings and Organisations

by Renton, NE (eighth edition 2005)
- Vol 1 - Guide for Voluntary Associations - ISBN 0455220751
- Vol 2 - Guide for Meetings - ISBN 0455220840
[Australian author - contents shown at
http://users.bigpond.net.au/renton/gmo8.htm ]

Rules of Debate
[abridged version for a Lions Club in Australia]
http://lionsdistrict201w2.mysouthwest.com.au/_content/documents/Rules%20of%20Debate.pdf
[this website contains other useful information at
http://lionsdistrict201w2.mysouthwest.com.au/Leadership%20&%20Training ]

Books by Greville Janner (British author)

- Janner's Complete Speechmaker (seventh edition - 2003 - ISBN 185418217X)
[a definitive source for anyone who has to give a speech, make a presentation or
chair a meeting]
- How to Win Meetings (1991)
- On Chairing (1989)
- On Meetings (1986)

Freemasonry in American Courts

by W. Irvine Wiest
published 1958 by Missouri Lodge of Research
[review by Alphonse Cerza in The Philalethes, February 1959; review in The
Philalethes, December 1958]
Contents
Introduction..v
I. Masonic Bodies ........1
1. Nature Thereof ........1
2. Right to Sue and Be Sued ........1
3. Right to Membership Therein .....2
4. Relinquishment or Loss of Membership .....6
5. Capacity to Take and Hold Property ....16
6. Rights of Members in Property ......22
a. In General ...........22
b. Upon Dissolution .....22
7. Rights of Lodge in Property .......22
a. In General ......22
b. Upon Sequestration of Lodge's Warrant ........24
c. Upon Secession ........25
d. Miscellaneous .........29
8. Right to Exclusive Use of name, Emblems, Badges and Insignia ........31
9. Judicial Review of Elections .........72
10. Powers of Master and Grand Master Mason 74
11. Liability for Injuries During Initiation ..........77
12. Embezzlement by Officers ..........77
13. Cases Arising Out of Ownership of Buildings .........79
II. Taxation of Masonic Bodies or Property ...........85
1. In General .................85
2. Cases Holding Them Exempt From Taxation ...........85
3. Cases Holding Them Not Exempt From Taxation .......91
4. Federal Tax Cases ...........105
III. Collateral Organizations ..107
1. Suits on Death Benefit Certificates and Insurance Policies ......107
2. Other Cases Involving Collateral Organizations ............111
IV. Collateral Cases ............................112
1. Libel and Slander ................112
2. Qualifications of Masonic Judges and Jurors ......113
V. Miscellaneous Cases ........................117
Acknowledgements ........125
Table of Cases ...............127
Table of Cases Arranged by States .....................140
Table of Abbreviations .................................150
Index .....155

The Courts and Freemasonry: Case Histories that Have or Could Affect Freemasonry.
by Cerza, Alphonse.
[Bro. Wilson's abstract: Answers to the questions of secrecy and religious ties for
Freemasonry delivered by learned Judges]
A Special Edition of Research Lodge No. 2 A. F. & A. M. of Iowa.
Highland Springs, Virginia: Anchor Communications, c 1986
Hard bound, 105 pages.
[Alphonse Cerza was a noted attorney, professor of law and respected Freemason.
Responses to those who belittle Freemasonry, written by judges, not by Freemasons]
available from Lewis Masonic - £12.95
[review by Wallace McLeod in The Royal Arch Mason, Spring 1991]

More About Masonry

by: H.L. Hayward
Publisher: Macoy Pub & Masonic Supply Co
available from Lewis Masonic - £8.50
[Masonic ethics and jurisprudence]

Institutes of Masonic Jurisprudence

Oliver, Dr George (1859) (? also 1874 ?)

Craft in the Law Courts

article by Hextall, W. B.
Ars Quatuor Coronatorum Vol 30 (1917)
[available in Grand Library]

American Freemasonry and the Courts

article by Cerza, A
Ars Quatuor Coronatorum Vol 98 (1985)

Some Aspects of International Masonic Law and Customs

article by Draffen, G
Ars Quatuor Coronatorum Vol 88 (1975)

Masonic Questions Answered by the Courts

by Cerza, A
Freemasonry and Civil Law
by Cerza, A

Freemasonry and its Jurisprudence - according to the Ancient charges and Landmarks
by Paton, Chalmers Izett (London, 1872)

Masonic Jurisprudence
by Pound, Roscoe (1916)
[Pound was a noted American Professor of Law at Harvard in the first half of the
20th Century]
available in Kessinger reprint edition ISBN 1564590488 (1997)

Lectures on Masonic Jurisprudence (1924)

by Pound, Roscoe
[contained in "Masonic Addresses and Writings" by Pound, Roscoe. Macoy 1953]

Familiar Treatise on the Principles and Practice of Masonic Jurisprudence

by Simonds, John W (1864)
[A Practical guide to the subject of Masonic law]

The Principles of Masonic Jurisprudence

by Simons, JW
Freemasonry & Its Etiquette
by Campbell-Everden, William P.
(Weathervane Books; New York, NY; 1978)
[Ready reference including early history and ritual work typical of a well governed
Lodge]

Masonic Parliamentary Law (1875)

by Mackey, Albert G

Masonic Parliamentary Law (1918)

by Whicher, J.

Authentics of Fundamental Law for Scottish Rite Masonry

by Henry B. Clausen
[review by A.C.F. Jackson in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, 1978]

Landmarks of Freemasonry
by Silas H. Sheperd (1924)
[Discusses how landmarks - judicial and moral laws - bind Masons together]

The Master's Assistant: a complete treatise on Freemasonry

by Delmar D. Darrah (1912)
reprint available from Kessinger
[Treatise on Freemasonry - history, organization, landmarks, laws, rules and
precedents]

Will of the Lodge

by Ashby, Richard L.
[Parliamentary law, or rules of order, as specifically used in Masonic lodges]

Masonic Manual (1813)

by Ashe, Jonathan
[Thirty 'arguments' to thoroughly acquaint the brother with the character of the
Society and its duties]

Digest of Masonic Law (1865)

by Chase, George W.
[being a complete code, regulations of Divisions, and opinions upon questions of
Masonic Jurisprudence]

Freemason's Dictionary and Manual of Law Concise

by Chase, George W.
[Dictionary of abbreviations, terms, as well as a complete manual of Masonic Law]

Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry (1907)

by Clymer, R. S.
[Its teachings rules, laws, and present usages which govern the order today]

Rule and Teach: A Practical Handbook of Masonic Law and Custom

by Edwards, Lewis (London, 1956)

The Law and Custom of Freemasonry

by Edwards, Lewis
[cites the sources and general authorities of this facet of Freemasonry]

Unwritten Laws of/in Freemasonry (1922)

by Hazlitt, PM

Masonic Law and Practice (1867)

by Lockwood, Luke A.
[Concise summary of essential principles; adopted by the Grand Lodge of Connecticut
as the basis for their code]

Masonic Trials and Michigan Digest: a Treatise upon the Law and Practice of Masonic
Trials, with Forms and Precedents
by Look, Henry M. (1869) (1902) online version (1869 ed) -
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa;idno=AEM6372
Masonic Trials
by Look, Henry M.
[reports and reviews of certain known Masonic trials]

Webb's Freemason's Monitor

by Morris, Rob
[Ritual and a synopsis of Masonic Law]

Masonic Law and Practice

by Lockwood, Luke A
[condensed arrangement with reprints of the Ancient Charges]

The Keystone of the Masonic Arch: A Commentary on the Universal Laws and Principles
of Ancient Freemasonry (1856)
by Scott, Charles.
reprint by Kessinger 1998

A Digest Of Masonic Jurisprudence. Especially Applicable To Canadian Lodges

by Robertson, Henry (Toronto 1889)

Some Principles of the Masonic Law

by B. Stuart Parker (PGM Manitoba) (1963)
[Theme Speech - The Inter-Provincial Conference of the Senior Officers of the Four
Western Canadian Jurisdictions]
available online at www.linshaw.ca/omtp/vol9no10.html

The Duty of the Master in the Government of a Masonic Lodge

A Lecture delivered at the Lodge of Instruction of The Victoria Lodge No.4 Dublin
(1857)
by Townsend, Dr John Fitzhenry, DGM of Ireland
online version http://www.linshaw.ca/omtp/vol7no3.html

The Master's Book

by Claudy, Carl H
pdf version online at http://www.vitruvian.org/papers/TheMastersBook.pdf

Hiram's Handbook - a Presiding Master's Ready Reference

by Adams, Wayne T (Maine, 1997)
http://www.mainemason.org/craftinfo/hiramhandbook.htm

Hirams Oasis online collection - jurisprudence and Masonic law

http://www.kena.org/hirams/jurisprudence_and_masonic_law.htm

Foundations of Masonic Law

by anon.
Masonic Short Talk Bulletin, Vol.12 March 1934
online version http://www.textfiles.com/magazines/STB/stb-1934-03.txt

Masonic Ethics
Levitt, Jack R
California Freemason Online
http://www.freemason.org/cfo/spring_2003/levitt_ethics.htm

The Old Charges of Freemasonry

by Haywood, HL (1923)
online version at http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/oldcharg.html

The Regius Manuscript

[manuscript dates from approx. 1390, first published by James O. Halliwell in 1840]
ISBN: 1-887560-10-6
[in it is contained the roots of the modern Master Mason's obligations and charges]
online version http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/regius.html

Charges of a Free-Mason, 1723 - from Anderson's Constitutions.

"Extracted from the Ancient Records of lodges beyond Sea, and of those in England,
Scotland, and Ireland, for the Use of the Lodges in London: to be Read at the
Making of New Brethren, or when the Master shall order it."
http://freemasonrysaust.org.au/ancientcharges.html
General Regulations of a Free Mason 1721
as found in Anderson's Constitutions 1723
http://freemasonrysaust.org.au/ancientregulations.html

Anderson's Constitutions of 1723

by Vibert, Lionel (1923)
[a scholarly appraisal of the 1723 Constitutions]
online version http://www.linshaw.ca/omtp/vol9no5.html

List of Antient Landmarks

as published in the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of South Australia 1885
[list included in the first edition only, superceded by Second edition 1893]
http://freemasonrysaust.org.au/antientlandmarks.html

The Landmarks of Freemasonry (2004)

by Jantz, Percy
recent online paper at http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/landmarks.html

My Obligation as a Freemason
by Chetty, V V
[1983 prizewimming essay from India about the nature of different Obligations]
online version http://www.linshaw.ca/omtp/vol9no4.html

Maine, Grand Lodge

- Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Maine (1820, as amended)
- Maine Masonic Text Book (1997 version)
- Guide for Master and Wardens (1977)
online versions at http://www.mainemason.org/craftinfo/index.htm