How Long Will Masons Continue To Believe In Imaginary History?

evidence that Coxe troubled himself with Masonry at all , even in Now Jersey , where he resided j thus , a New Jersey Committee , in 1870 , reported as follows : — " Diligent research in the archives of the G . L . of England , and thorough inquiry for letters and papers bearing upon the subject among the descendants of Bro . Coxe , have failed to disclose any

testimony whatever of the exercise by him , or any ono acting under his authority , of the prerogatives contained in the Deputation . Upon this subject Bro . Clarke , G . S . of England , in a letter to our Historical Committee , says : — "' I cannot find any application from Bro . Coxe and others for

appointment for P . G . M . Bro . Coxe did not make any report of the appointment of a Deputy Grand Master or Wardens ; neither did he report the congregating of Masons into Lodges . He did not transmit any account of having constituted Lodges , and does not indeed appear to have established any . '"

Bro . Clarke indeed admits that in those days P . G . M . s . did not hurry themselves to report their doings to the G . L . of England , & c . Now , all that i 3 doubtless true ; but yet the Boston Lodge appeared in 1734 Lodge List , and a Georgia Lodge was mentioned in the 1735 List , or at least as having been constituted in 1735 . A South Carolina Lodge appeared on the English Lodge List a year or two later ;

so did a Virginia Lodge ; and as Bro . " PHILADEIIPIIOS agrees with me in discarding the authority of the Dublin editor of 1735 about No . 79 being a Philadelphia Lodge , I ask him , if a chartered Lodge existed in Philadelphia in 1730 or later , why it did not find its way into an English Lodge List the same as the other American Lodges above referred to ?

" Behaviour to a Strange Brother " is thus enjoined in Anderson ' s Constitution : — " You are cautiously to examine him in such method as prudence shall direct you , that you may not be imposed upon by an ignorant false pretender , whom you are to reject with contempt and derision ,

and beware of giving him any hints of knowledge . " Again : — " If any set or number of Masons shall take upon themselves to form a Lodge without the Grand Master ' s Warrant , the regular Lodges are not to countenance them . . . . but must treat them as rebels /"

It has always been my firm belief that somebody must have stolen something , before stealing was prohibited by law , and the same is the case with all other laws . When therefore I find Anderson cautioning the brethren in 1723 against false pretenders and illegal Lodges , I can reasonably assume that Masonic pretenders , and unchartered Lodges existed as early as 1723 , or even before . We find

that P . G . M . Sayers got into disgrace for visiting an illegal Lodge in London . In 1734 , Benjamin Franklin wrote to Henry Price that a Lodge at Philadelphia made Masons for a bowl of punch . And as Franklin was conscious that his own Lodge had no more right to make Masons than the Lodge above alluded to , he therefore wrote to Price : —

We think it our dafcy to Jay before yonr Lodge what we apprehend needful to be done for us , in order to promote and strengthen the interest of Masonry in this Province ( which seems to want the sanction of some authority , derived from home , to give the proceedings and determinations of our Lodge their due weight ) , to wit , a Deputation or Charter by the Right W . Mr . Price by virtue of his commission from Britain , " & c .

A similar self-constituted Lodge , that is , making Masons withouthaving a . Warrant , existed in Boston between 1752 and 1756 , and in Nova Scotia between 1751 and 1757 ; so there is no doubt of the fact that Masons could act against the laws in the Constitution , and who knows whether the Lodges in Pennsylvania were not organised by " false pretenders ? " I firmly believe that the Boston Lodge of 1752

was organized by sham Masons . Such was indeed tb . 9 opinion of the then Boston Masons , and the G . L . of Scotland , who granted that Lodge a Warrant in 1756 , never denied the illegitimacy of the founders of the said Boston Lodge ; but , on tho contrary , it admitted it , but claimed the right to legitimatize them—all which I do not deny . Bnt yet , we see that sham Masons did organise a Lodge , aud

why may not the G . L . and Lodges in 1732 in Philadelphia have also been organised by sham Masons ? _ Besides which , I beg to remind my opponents that Coxe ' s deputation differed from all other deputations in some respects . First , it limited his term of office to two years , from 24 th June 1730 ; and , second , after the expiration of tbe two years , the said deputation

authorised the brethren , " Who do now reside , or who may hereafter reside , in all or any of the said Provinces shall , and they are hereby empowered , overy other year , on the Feast of St . John the Baptist , to elect a Provincial Grand Master , who shall have the power of nominating his D . G . and Grand Wardens . And we do hereby empower

our said Provincial Grand Master , and tlie Grand Master , Deputy Grand Master , and Grand Wardens for the time being , for us and in our place and stead , to constitute the brethren ( Free and Accepted MasoDs ) now residing , or who shall hereafter reside , in those parts , into one or more regular Lodge or Lodges as he shall think fit , and as often as occasion shall require . "

Thus , Coxe ' s Grand Lodge or Grand Lodges , had he established any , would ( by virtue of his peculiar deputation ) have become independent of the Grand Lodge of England and of all f titnro English Grand Masters . Even the stipulation ( inserted in every Deputation I havo seen ) requiring the Provincial G . M . to send annually an account to the G . M . or D . G . M . of England , of the number of the Lodge ho

constituted , & c , was omitted from Coxe ' s deputation . Now , had a Lodge or Lodges been planted in Pennsylvania by Coxe he wonld doubtless have furnished it or them with a charter or charters . And had the Grand Lodge , established by Allen , Franklin and Co ., in 1732 , been a continuation of Coxe ' s G . L . or if it had derived its authority from Coxe ' s Deputation , Franklin would have possessed at least a copy of the said deputation . And if his Lodge had been

How Long Will Masons Continue To Believe In Imaginary History?

chartered by Coxe , and the Pennsylvania G . L . of 1732 had originated from Coxo ' s deputation , Franklin would never havo written to Price ( 28 th Nov . 1731 ) , " Wo think it our duty to lay before your Lodge what wo apprehend seems needful to be done for us ... . vjhich seems to want the sanction of some authority derived from home

.... to wit , a Deputation or Charter , " & o . The phrase , " seems to want the sanction of some authority , " proves conclusively that he had no authority whatever from Daniel Core or from any other source . Bros . Gould and Hughan made somo remarks upon the question at issue , which I shall comment upon in a future No . But as Bro .

Hughan has" raised a conundrum about " No . 79 , 1730 " ( which , according to the Old Style , may have really been any time before the 25 th of March , 1731 ) , Bro . Gould will favour mo greatly by printing from the MS . record in the G . L . archives , tho page containing the

names of members of No . 79 , including tho year when the Lodgo was constituted . This will demonstrate to tho reader that the information derived from Bro . Gould ' s series of Lodge Lists , about No . 79 having been from its origin an English Lodge , is confirmed by an original record in the archives of tho Grand Lodgo of England . BOSTON , 10 th December 1880 . ( To be continued . )

Our Charities—A Year's Work.

OUR CHARITIES—A YEAR'S WORK .

The year just conclnded has been particularly successful as regards the amount contributed to tbe three Masonic Charities , the total for the twelvemonths being no less than £ 49 , 762 lis 5 d , as compared with £ 44 , 731 9 s 3 d last

year , or an increase of £ 5 , 031 2 s 2 d . This year the Girls ' School heads the list with £ 17 , 787 10 s lid , the Benevolent coming next with £ 16 , 301 4 s lOd , while the Boys ' brings np the rear with £ 15 , 673 15 s 8 d . Subjoined are the actual figures and the sources from which the income is derived .

Royal Masonic Institution For Girls.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS .

£ s d Donations and Subscriptions ... ... 14 , 726 8 11 United Grand Lod ^ e ( Grant from ) .. 150 0 0 ' Supreme Grand Chapter do 10 10 0 Do . ( special vote ) ... 300 0 0

Dividends 1 , 245 0 0 Bentley Shaw Memorial ( West Yorkshire ) 1 , 050 0 0 - Musical Instruction „ . 183 5 6

Legacy 100 0 0 Interest on money deposited in Bank ... 17 10 0 Miscellaneous 4 16 6 .

£ 17 , 787 10 11

Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

£ s cl Donations and Subscriptions 13 , 200 8 6-United Grand Lodgo ( Grant from ) ... 800 0 0 Supreme Grand Chapter do 150 0 0

Do . ( special vote ) ... 300 0 0 \ , Dividends and Interest 1 , 732 16 4 ' Legacy 100 0 0

Miscellaneous 18 0 0 . . ' * — ¦ . i— >¦ m i 16 , 301 4 0

Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.

ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .

£ s d Donations and Subscriptions 14 , 318 8 5 United Grand Lodge ( Grant from ) ... 150 0 0 Supreme Grand Chapter do . ... ... 10 10 0

Do . ( special vote ) ... 300 0 0 Dividends 381 10 9 ' -, Purchased Admissions ... ... ... 357 0 0 Legacy 100 0 0

Music Fees 54 1 6 ; Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... 2 5 0 j 15 , 673 15 8