The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight is described by Dr. Albert Mackey as the eighth of the Twenty-Five Landmarks of Free Masonry. To quote Dr. Mackey:

'In 1731, Lord Lovell, being Grand Master, he 'formed an Occasional Lodge at Houghton Hall, Sir Robert Walpole's House in Norfolk,' and there made the Duke of Lorraine, afterwards Emperor of Germany, and the Duke of Newcastle, Master Masons.

'It is a technical term, which may be defined to be the power to initiate, pass and raise candidates, by the Grand Master, in a Lodge of Emergency, or as it is called in the Book of Constitutions, 'an Occasional Lodge,' specially convened by him, and consisting of such Master Masons as he may call together for that purpose only; the Lodge ceasing to exist as soon as the initiation, passing, or raising has been accomplished, and the Brethren have been dismissed by the Grand Master. Occasional definition, occurring or appearing at irregular or infrequent intervals; occurring now and then: an occasional headache. American made solid wood occasional tables built by master craftsmen. We have a wide selection of mission style arts and crafts occasional’s including custom arts and crafts sofa tables. If you are looking for a large square coffee table we have them.

'The initiation, passing and raising of Frederick, Prince of Wales, in 1737, was done in an 'Occasional Lodge,' over which Dr. Desaguliers presided, but this cannot properly be called a 'making at sight,' because Dr. Desaguilers at the time was a Past Grand Master, and not the actual Grand Master at the time. He most probably acted under the dispensation of the Grand Master, who at that time was the Earl of Darnley.

'In 1766, Lord Blaney, who was then Grand Master, convened an 'Occasional Lodge,' and initiated, passed and raised the Duke of Gloucester.

'Again in 1767, John Salter, the Deputy then acting as Grand Master, convened an 'Occasional Lodge,' and conferred the three degrees on the Duke of Cumberland.

'In 1787 the Prince of Wales was made a Mason 'at an Occasional Lodge, convened,' says Preston, 'for the purpose at the Star and Garter, at Pall Mall, over which the Duke of Cumberland (Grand Master) presided in person.'

'It has been said, however, by those who deny the existence of this prerogative, that these 'Occasional Lodges' were only Special Communications of the Grand Lodge, and the 'makings' are thus supposed to have taken place under the authority of that body, and not of the Grand Master. The facts, however, do not sustain this position. Throughout the Book of Constitutions, other Communications, whether Stated or Special, are distinctly recorded as Communications of the Grand Lodge; while these 'Occasional Lodges' appear only to have been convened by the Grand Master for the purpose of making Masons. Besides, in many instances, the Lodge was held at a different place from that of the Grand Lodge, and the officers were not, with the exception of the Grand Master, the officers of the Grand Lodge. Thus the 'Occasional Lodge' which initiated the Duke of Lorraine was held at the residence of Sir Robert Walpole, in Norfolk, while the Grand Lodge always met in London. In 1766 the Grand Lodge held its Communication at the Crown and Anchor, but the 'Occasional Lodge' which in the same year conferred the degrees on the Duke of Gloucester, was convened at the Horn tavern. In the following year, the Lodge which initiated the Duke of Cumberland was convened at the 'Thatched House' tavern, the Grand Lodge continuing to meet at the Crown and Anchor.

'But, without doubt, a conclusive argument may be drawn from the dispensing powers of the Grand Master, which has never been denied. No one has doubted, or can doubt, the inherent right of the Grand Master to constitute Lodges by Dispensation, and in these Lodges so constituted, Masons may be legally entered, passed and raised. This is done every day. A constitutional number of Master Masons applying to the Grand Master, he grants them a Dispensation, under authority of which they proceed to open and hold a Lodge, and to make Masons. This Lodge is, however, admitted to be the mere creature of the Grand Master, for it is in his power at any time to revoke the Dispensation he had granted, and thus to dissolve the Lodge.

'But if the Grand Master has the power thus to enable others to confer the degrees and make Masons, by his individual authority out of his presence, are we not permitted to argue that he has also the right of congregating a proper number of Brethren and cause a Mason to be made in his sight? Can he delegate a power to others which he does not himself possess ? And is his calling together an 'Occasional Lodge' and making, with the assistance of the Brethren thus assembled, a Mason 'at sight; that is to say, in his presence, anything more or less than the exercise of his dispensing power, for a temporary period, and for a special purpose? The purpose having been effected, and the Mason having been made, he revokes his dispensation and the Lodge is dismissed. If we assumed any other ground than this, we should be compelled to say that though the Grand Master might authorize others to make Masons when he was absent, he could not do it himself when present. The form of the expression 'making Masons at sight' is borrowed from Lawrence Dermott, the Grand Secretary of the Athol or Schismatic Grand Lodge; 'making Masons in an Occasional Lodge,' is a phrase used by Anderson and his subsequent editors. Dermott, commenting on the Thirteenth of the Old Regulations, which prescribes that Fellow Crafts and Master Masons cannot be made in a private Lodge, except by the Dispensation of the Grand Master, says:

'This is a very ancient regulation, but seldom put in practice, new Masons being generally made at private Lodges; however, the Right Worshipful Grand Master has full power and authority to make, or cause to be made, in his Worship's presence, Free and Accepted Masons at sight, and such making is good. But they cannot be made out of his Worship's presence without a written Dispensation for that purpose. Nor can his Worship oblige any warranted Lodge to receive the person so made, if the members should declare against him or them; but in such case the Right Worshipful Grand Master may grant them a warrant and form them into a new Lodge.'

'But the fact that Dermott uses the phrase does not militate against the existence of the prerogative, nor weaken the argument in its favor. For, in the first place, he is not quoted as authority, and secondly, it is very possible that he did not invent the expression, but found it already existing as a technical phrase generally used by the Craft, although not to be found in the old Book of Constitutions. The form there used is 'Making Masons in an Occasional Lodge,' which is of the same signification.

'The mode of exercising the prerogative is this: The Grand Master summons to his assistance not less than six other Masons, convenes a Lodge, and without any previous probation, but 'on Light' of the Candidate, confers the degrees upon him, after which he dissolves the Lodge and dismisses the Brethren.'

I have discovered several instances of the prerogative having been exercised by the Grand Master in Pennsylvania.

Brother Joseph Eichbaum, Grand Master of that state in 1887, initiated, passed and raised a Candidate at an Emergent Communication on April 23rd of that year, in Philadelphia. He said the initiate was a young man with whom he had been in almost daily intercourse and closely associated with for some fourteen years and whose moral character he was fully prepared to vouch for. He claimed the right to be unquestioned, although the exercise of i

Occasional Made