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Article GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS. ← Page 2 of 2 Article EAST WEST AND SOUTH. Page 1 of 2 Article EAST WEST AND SOUTH. Page 1 of 2 →
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Grand Lodge Of Massachusetts.
working and lectures of the third degree , and it was unanimously adopted . The Committee appointed to consider certain proposed amendments to Grand Constitutions then delivered their report , which was accepted . On the motion of R . W . John McClellan
five hundred dollars was voted for charitable purposes , to be disbursed by the Committee on Charity . The Committee on Bye-laws then presented their report on Bye-laws and amendments to Bye-laws , submitted by sundry Lodges ; that on Charters recommended the issue of Charters to the
Norfolk and Cochichewick Lodges ; that to which was referred the appeal of Bro . Albert F . Kelly against the ruling of the W . M . of John Cutler Lodge , recommended that the appeal be sustained , and the ruling of the W . M . be declared null and void , was accepted ; while the Committee on Masonic Insurance submitted that further
action on a certain petition that G . L . should take steps to protect the rights of individual brethren in connection with Life Assurance Associations , was inexpedient . M . W . G . M . Bassett , Kansas , having addressed a few words before retiring , Grand Lodge was shortly after closed in
ample form , at forty minutes past seven p . m ., W . Rev . J . Young Grand Chaplain offering up prayer . At the Special Communication held on 17 th Jnne , for the purpose of taking part in the public solemnisation of the hundreth anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill , and the death of
General Warren in that conflict , a considerable number of those already enumerated were present , the M . W . G . M . P . L . Everett , wearing the late General Warren ' s Masonic apron , and R . W . Winslow M . D . as D . G . M ., wearing that of the late
Marquis de Lafayette . After the procession was over , Grand Lodge , at the invitation of the Lodge of St . Andrew , returned to a building in Union Street , occupying the site of the Old Green Dragon Tavern , famous , a century since , as the place where Masonic Communications used to be
held . Here they met the officers and members of the De Molay and Richmond Commanderies of Knight Templars , but as we have already referred to this in the account given , a few weeks since , of the visit to Boston of the Richmond Commandery , we need not go into details a
second time . The special communication on 3 rd July was held to celebrate the anniversary of the day when General George Washington , under the old elm at Cambridge , assumed command of the colonial forces in the War of Independence . G . L . having been opened the G . M . shortly after
called it from labour to refreshment , and the brethren proceeded in carriages to Lyceum Hall , Cambridge , and there , as guests ' of the municipal authorities of the city , took part in the ceremony , and at the banquet which followed , in Memorial Hall , Harvard Lodge , under the presidency of the
Mayor , W . Bro . IsaacBradford , the toasts were—Washington , the United States , Massachusetts , the Thirteen Original States , the Army and Navy , and Grand Lodge of Massachusetts , towhichlasttheM . W . G . Mresponded in appropriate
terms , and with considerable eloquence . Other toasts followed , after which the brethren returned to the Masonic Temple , and Grand Lodge was closed in ample form at eight o ' clock p . m .
East West And South.
EAST WEST AND SOUTH .
BY A WAND ] ERING FREEMASON . III .
" 0 NLY . nine ounces and nine pennyweights , " said the v / Captain , in deep disgust , laying down the scales and
upsettin g his bottle of quicksilver : " haven't done such a bad week ' s work since I hel ped a Maori woman to pull peas at six shillings a day . No wonder Alfred wants to leave us . I'll give up the claim , and make over mv share to Jack ! " J
It was in the early days of New Zealand goldfields , before the great find in Otago . On the very day that great discovery dawned upon the Middle Island , I set sail from its shores in miserable ignorance . A month afterwards , forty thousand men landed at Port Chalmers .
There were five of us—the Captain , Scottie ( called after ms nationalit y ) , Baker ( called after his former trade ) , myself ( called "Alfred" upon abstract grounds which were never explained to me ) , and Jack , a runaway sailor boy whom we hired for his rations and £ 1 sterling a day : gigging for gold at Wai-kara-mumu , Massacre Bay , New
East West And South.
They were surface-diggings , discovered by the Captain , a first-rate prospector . The whole surface of the side of a hill was found to be pervaded with gold-dust . Our difficulty at the outset had beeu to get water-power in immediate proximity . A fine stream , the " Wai-kara-mmnn , " ran
round the base of fcho hill , but the labour of bringing the soil down to it would have been too great for our small party . When Scottie and I joined the Captain and Baker we found , high up in the hollow of a hill which rose behind ours , a deep rotten swamp , and saw at ' once the water-power
we wanted , if we could bring it to bear upon the golden soil . This I pronounced possible , and the work of engineering the same was delegated to me accordingly ! Whilst with rude extemporised instruments I was taking the levels and staking out the , tortuous course which should make the
precious water our auxiliary , my comrades were employed building a hut on the bank of the stream . All day long the stroke of the axe rang through the bush . Many an empty sardine-tin and broken beer-bottle was flung upon roots and boulders which had remained
untouched until the advent of the white man . The Ka-kas , * clinging sagely to the supplejacksf which overhung their native streamlet , ceased not to cackle their astonishment , and 'ere retiring to rest doubtless warned their night-watchmen , the Mawpawks , ! aud excited them
likewise to screaming indignation . All night long did the latter flit to and fro over our tent of blankets , permitting little sleep to me , at least . After a time when established as inhabitants , we became mutually accustomed and I seldom noticed their monotonous cry .
A capacious chimney of clay and boulders was erected at the end of our hut , beside the doorway ( door we had none ) , and a pile of faggots and brushwood stacked for future fuel . By that time we had commenced the hard work in the hills . Across the narrowest end of the
swamp , whore it just dipped between two saddles and struck rock , we builded bit by bit a solid dam . Through the centre of the latter we inserted a wooden conduit , closed by a trap . We then began cutting the " race " along the line traced by me . Two feet deep , on an average ,
and one foot wide , we made it , on a regular gradient winding round one hill , taking advantage of a saddle to cross to another , and so descending to the side of our claim . This done , we halted , after some days' hard close work , for " refreshment . "
This , by an unanimous vote , it was settled should be taken at the nearest " accommodation-house "j|—Takaka , some twenty miles off . Thither we journeyed , wading down the stream one bright morning , leaving poor Jack in charge of our dominions . I was glad of a change , as
I should be of a trip to the sea-side now , and of the prospect of some variety in food , after a long course of salt meat , damper and tea , with an occasional fish or Maori-cabbage
as a luxury . Especially I longed for fresh cows' milk ; my comrades were equally athirst for milk to their taste of another description : and this was my first introduction to that ideal of celestial bliss , the digger ' s " spree . "
No sooner had we entered the hospitable door of Miller , the highland proprietor of the solitary hostelry , than they began to imbibe , first with eagerness then with stead y determination , beer ( vile stuff ) , then brandy , whiskey , rum and gin ( viler in quality , if possible ) , with utter
impartiality . In two hours they were quarrelling , on the verge of a fight ; Miller plied them with fire-water the more assiduously , and within four hours Scottie and Baker subsided into blessed insensibility . Towards evening came in one Maurice , known to fame as " the lucky digger , " of
whose good fortune and of the piles he had made and dissipated I had often heard . He had come from prospecting on the " Anatoka , " ancl , with his usual luck , brought in his pocket about au ounce of gold , which he had scooped out of crevices with his knife . He let fall his swag , § and
came holding the little nuggets in his hand for us to see . After supper we helped mine host to bar his doors and shutters ; for a party of Maoris , headed by one " Tamati-Waka" ( Tommy Walker ) , were camped in the nei ghbourhood . A law recently passed forbade their being
sup-* Ka-ka , —a small green parrot . t Supplejack , —a tough creeper , looped and twined like a cord from bough to bxmgk and from tree to tree . % Mavvpawk , —a night owl , called after its peculiar cry , "More
pork . " || Accommodation-house , —inn and general stove . § Swag , —a burden slang by flux—withes across the back , usually consisting of a pair of scarlet blankets , a flannel shirt , a comb , a washing diah or prospecting pan and rations .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge Of Massachusetts.
working and lectures of the third degree , and it was unanimously adopted . The Committee appointed to consider certain proposed amendments to Grand Constitutions then delivered their report , which was accepted . On the motion of R . W . John McClellan
five hundred dollars was voted for charitable purposes , to be disbursed by the Committee on Charity . The Committee on Bye-laws then presented their report on Bye-laws and amendments to Bye-laws , submitted by sundry Lodges ; that on Charters recommended the issue of Charters to the
Norfolk and Cochichewick Lodges ; that to which was referred the appeal of Bro . Albert F . Kelly against the ruling of the W . M . of John Cutler Lodge , recommended that the appeal be sustained , and the ruling of the W . M . be declared null and void , was accepted ; while the Committee on Masonic Insurance submitted that further
action on a certain petition that G . L . should take steps to protect the rights of individual brethren in connection with Life Assurance Associations , was inexpedient . M . W . G . M . Bassett , Kansas , having addressed a few words before retiring , Grand Lodge was shortly after closed in
ample form , at forty minutes past seven p . m ., W . Rev . J . Young Grand Chaplain offering up prayer . At the Special Communication held on 17 th Jnne , for the purpose of taking part in the public solemnisation of the hundreth anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill , and the death of
General Warren in that conflict , a considerable number of those already enumerated were present , the M . W . G . M . P . L . Everett , wearing the late General Warren ' s Masonic apron , and R . W . Winslow M . D . as D . G . M ., wearing that of the late
Marquis de Lafayette . After the procession was over , Grand Lodge , at the invitation of the Lodge of St . Andrew , returned to a building in Union Street , occupying the site of the Old Green Dragon Tavern , famous , a century since , as the place where Masonic Communications used to be
held . Here they met the officers and members of the De Molay and Richmond Commanderies of Knight Templars , but as we have already referred to this in the account given , a few weeks since , of the visit to Boston of the Richmond Commandery , we need not go into details a
second time . The special communication on 3 rd July was held to celebrate the anniversary of the day when General George Washington , under the old elm at Cambridge , assumed command of the colonial forces in the War of Independence . G . L . having been opened the G . M . shortly after
called it from labour to refreshment , and the brethren proceeded in carriages to Lyceum Hall , Cambridge , and there , as guests ' of the municipal authorities of the city , took part in the ceremony , and at the banquet which followed , in Memorial Hall , Harvard Lodge , under the presidency of the
Mayor , W . Bro . IsaacBradford , the toasts were—Washington , the United States , Massachusetts , the Thirteen Original States , the Army and Navy , and Grand Lodge of Massachusetts , towhichlasttheM . W . G . Mresponded in appropriate
terms , and with considerable eloquence . Other toasts followed , after which the brethren returned to the Masonic Temple , and Grand Lodge was closed in ample form at eight o ' clock p . m .
East West And South.
EAST WEST AND SOUTH .
BY A WAND ] ERING FREEMASON . III .
" 0 NLY . nine ounces and nine pennyweights , " said the v / Captain , in deep disgust , laying down the scales and
upsettin g his bottle of quicksilver : " haven't done such a bad week ' s work since I hel ped a Maori woman to pull peas at six shillings a day . No wonder Alfred wants to leave us . I'll give up the claim , and make over mv share to Jack ! " J
It was in the early days of New Zealand goldfields , before the great find in Otago . On the very day that great discovery dawned upon the Middle Island , I set sail from its shores in miserable ignorance . A month afterwards , forty thousand men landed at Port Chalmers .
There were five of us—the Captain , Scottie ( called after ms nationalit y ) , Baker ( called after his former trade ) , myself ( called "Alfred" upon abstract grounds which were never explained to me ) , and Jack , a runaway sailor boy whom we hired for his rations and £ 1 sterling a day : gigging for gold at Wai-kara-mumu , Massacre Bay , New
East West And South.
They were surface-diggings , discovered by the Captain , a first-rate prospector . The whole surface of the side of a hill was found to be pervaded with gold-dust . Our difficulty at the outset had beeu to get water-power in immediate proximity . A fine stream , the " Wai-kara-mmnn , " ran
round the base of fcho hill , but the labour of bringing the soil down to it would have been too great for our small party . When Scottie and I joined the Captain and Baker we found , high up in the hollow of a hill which rose behind ours , a deep rotten swamp , and saw at ' once the water-power
we wanted , if we could bring it to bear upon the golden soil . This I pronounced possible , and the work of engineering the same was delegated to me accordingly ! Whilst with rude extemporised instruments I was taking the levels and staking out the , tortuous course which should make the
precious water our auxiliary , my comrades were employed building a hut on the bank of the stream . All day long the stroke of the axe rang through the bush . Many an empty sardine-tin and broken beer-bottle was flung upon roots and boulders which had remained
untouched until the advent of the white man . The Ka-kas , * clinging sagely to the supplejacksf which overhung their native streamlet , ceased not to cackle their astonishment , and 'ere retiring to rest doubtless warned their night-watchmen , the Mawpawks , ! aud excited them
likewise to screaming indignation . All night long did the latter flit to and fro over our tent of blankets , permitting little sleep to me , at least . After a time when established as inhabitants , we became mutually accustomed and I seldom noticed their monotonous cry .
A capacious chimney of clay and boulders was erected at the end of our hut , beside the doorway ( door we had none ) , and a pile of faggots and brushwood stacked for future fuel . By that time we had commenced the hard work in the hills . Across the narrowest end of the
swamp , whore it just dipped between two saddles and struck rock , we builded bit by bit a solid dam . Through the centre of the latter we inserted a wooden conduit , closed by a trap . We then began cutting the " race " along the line traced by me . Two feet deep , on an average ,
and one foot wide , we made it , on a regular gradient winding round one hill , taking advantage of a saddle to cross to another , and so descending to the side of our claim . This done , we halted , after some days' hard close work , for " refreshment . "
This , by an unanimous vote , it was settled should be taken at the nearest " accommodation-house "j|—Takaka , some twenty miles off . Thither we journeyed , wading down the stream one bright morning , leaving poor Jack in charge of our dominions . I was glad of a change , as
I should be of a trip to the sea-side now , and of the prospect of some variety in food , after a long course of salt meat , damper and tea , with an occasional fish or Maori-cabbage
as a luxury . Especially I longed for fresh cows' milk ; my comrades were equally athirst for milk to their taste of another description : and this was my first introduction to that ideal of celestial bliss , the digger ' s " spree . "
No sooner had we entered the hospitable door of Miller , the highland proprietor of the solitary hostelry , than they began to imbibe , first with eagerness then with stead y determination , beer ( vile stuff ) , then brandy , whiskey , rum and gin ( viler in quality , if possible ) , with utter
impartiality . In two hours they were quarrelling , on the verge of a fight ; Miller plied them with fire-water the more assiduously , and within four hours Scottie and Baker subsided into blessed insensibility . Towards evening came in one Maurice , known to fame as " the lucky digger , " of
whose good fortune and of the piles he had made and dissipated I had often heard . He had come from prospecting on the " Anatoka , " ancl , with his usual luck , brought in his pocket about au ounce of gold , which he had scooped out of crevices with his knife . He let fall his swag , § and
came holding the little nuggets in his hand for us to see . After supper we helped mine host to bar his doors and shutters ; for a party of Maoris , headed by one " Tamati-Waka" ( Tommy Walker ) , were camped in the nei ghbourhood . A law recently passed forbade their being
sup-* Ka-ka , —a small green parrot . t Supplejack , —a tough creeper , looped and twined like a cord from bough to bxmgk and from tree to tree . % Mavvpawk , —a night owl , called after its peculiar cry , "More
pork . " || Accommodation-house , —inn and general stove . § Swag , —a burden slang by flux—withes across the back , usually consisting of a pair of scarlet blankets , a flannel shirt , a comb , a washing diah or prospecting pan and rations .