The laws which govern the institution of Freemasonry are of two kinds,
_unwritten_ and _written,_ and may in a manner be compared with the "lex
non scripta," or common law, and the "lex seripta," or statute law of
English and American jurists.

The "lex non scripta," or _unwritten law_ of Freemasonry is derived from
the traditions, usages and customs of the fraternity as they have existed
from the remotest antiquity, and as they are universally admitted by the
general consent of the members of the Order. In fact, we may apply to
these unwritten laws of Masonry the definition given by Blackstone of the
"leges non scriptæ" of the English constitution--that "their original
institution and authority are not set down in writing, as acts of
parliament are, but they receive their binding power, and the force of
laws, by long and immemorial usage and by their universal reception
throughout the kingdom." When, in the course of this work, I refer to
these unwritten laws as authority upon any point, I shall do so under the
appropriate designation of "ancient usage."

The "lex scripta," or written law of Masonry, is derived from a variety of
sources, and was framed at different periods. The following documents I
deem of sufficient authority to substantiate any principle, or to
determine any disputed question in masonic law.

1. The "Ancient Masonic charges, from a manuscript of the Lodge of
Antiquity," and said to have been written in the reign of James II.[1]

2. The regulations adopted at the General Assembly held in 1663, of which
the Earl of St. Albans was Grand Master.[2]

3. The interrogatories propounded to the Master of a lodge at the time of