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Article A GLIMPSE AT THE PAST. Page 1 of 1 Article SECRET SOCIETIES AND LICENSED PREMISES. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Glimpse At The Past.
A GLIMPSE AT THE PAST .
ON the 10 th inst . an interesting celebration took place in Brechin , when the new hall lately acquired by the St . Ninian ' s Lodge was consecrated by Bro . James Berry , Dundee , P . G . M . of Porfarshire , assisted by other Provincial Officers . Although only recently entering into their own habitation , the St . Ninian's Lodge has had a long and honoured record in the annals
of Masonry in the Ancient City . Commencing in 1714 the records of the Lodge , although not " so valuable as those of au earlier date , are still of an interesting and instructive character , dealing as many of them do with Masonry during the period when the simple ritual gradually gave place to the more elaborate
ceremonial that now marks the doings of the Order . During the last century the Lodge , so far as is known , had no regular place of meeting , but met for the transaction of business in sucli places as happened to suit the convenience of the Brethren , the earliest recorded meeting place ( 1734 ) being in the house bf
John Ockenhead , but as that name was very common in Brechin then it is impossible to locate the building . This want of proper accommodation seems to have been felt by the Brethren , for in 1795 the Lodge appointed eleven members of the Fraternity to look ouc for and purchase " heritable subjects
in the town of Brechin , and to acquire the same on as advantageous terms for the Lodge as possible , " with the object of converting them into a meeting place . Evidently the committee failed in their endeavours , for shortly afterwards arrangements were made for the Lodge to meet in private
houses . That arrangement continued in force till November 1790 , when it was agreed to meet in the Gardner Lodge , which was held in a cottage still standing opposite the Mechanics ' Institute . Here they remained till it was converted into a dwelling-house , since which time they have occupied several different halls .
The desire for a hall of their own , however , was not allowed to flag , and the matter was revived , with the result that in November 1895—exactly 100 years after the date of the appointment of the first committee—the Lodge entered into possession of their new hall . The building , which is in Lindsay
Lane , was originally a dwelling-house , and the members on acquiring it at once set to work to carry out the necessary alterations . Outside the building is of a very plain appearance , but internally it has been tastefully fitted up and decorated . Relying as they have done to a considerable extent on outside
help , the members have very wisely refrained from any extravagant expenditure ; but they have succeeded in converting it into a comfortable and commodious Lodge room , the walls of which are decorated with a number of old Masonic emblems , as
well as portraits of leading members of the Lodge , including one of Bro . Alexander Hampton , Barrow-in-Furness , one of the oldest members of the Lodge , who still continues , despite his removal , to take a deep interest in its affairs . — "Dundee Advertiser . "
The discussion in regard to which , in Masonic parlance , is the proper word to use in naming the last of the Great Lights in Masonry , has brought out a strongly divided opinion . Many of the old Masons who were taught to say " compass" hold tenaciously to its use , as they believe it to be the word originally used in Masonry . A younger class insist that the word should
be " compasses , " and , outside of its use in Masonry , they are supported by modern authorities . We are free to admit that the instrument referred to is not a compass , but a pair of compasses , and is so called by an engineer , carpenter , or any artisan of the present day . It is only in Masonry that we would give it the shorter and distinctively Masonic name , which has come down to us
with the landmarks and obligations of Masonry from its remotest antiquity . These antique words in Masonry are in harmony with its traditions , that date its origin prior to any established authority for the use of an English word . We were a civil engineer forty-four years ago , and followed our profession for sixteen years . We know the use of mathematical instruments , and have now in the drawer of the table on which
we are now writing a fine case of Swiss drawing instruments , that we have owned for over forty-four years . The compasses are there ( we call them dividers ) with the many other little instruments that we love so well . But when we saw this instrument , with the square and Bible on the altar of Masonry , and were informed that " Every well governed Lodge is
furnished with the Holy Bible , Square and Compass , " the name became inseparably associated with the Square and Bible , and there it will remain during our Masonic life and work . If it grates harshly on the ears of these later day Masons and they prefer to say " compasses , " they may do so and argue that they are right to their full heart ' s content . — " Masonic Advocate . "
Secret Societies And Licensed Premises.
SECRET SOCIETIES AND LICENSED PREMISES .
THE BRISTOL CONVICTION . IN the Queen ' s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice , on Monday , before Mr . Justice Gave and Mr . Justice Lawrance , sitting as a Divisional Court , the case of "Duncan v . Dovvding and others" came on for hearing . This case raised the question as to whether the police are entitled to demand admission to a room on licensed premises let to the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes for the purposes of their meetings .
Mr . Candy , Q . C ., and Mr . Maddison ( instructed by Messrs . J . Morley and S . A . Bailey , solicitors to the Order of Buffaloes ) appeared for Mr . Duncan , the appellant * , Mr . Yachell ( instructed by the Town Clerk of Bristol ) represented the respondents . Mr . Candy said the following case had been stated by the Recorder of Bristol for the opinion of the Court : — Upon an appeal by the above-named appellant against a conviction of the justices of the peace of the city and . county
of Bristol on the 20 th May 1896 , which said appeal came on for hearing at the general quarter sessions of the peace held in and for the said city and county of Bristol on the 30 th June 1896 , when , upon hearing counsel for both parties , the Court dismissed the said appeal subject to the opinion of the Queen's Bench Division of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice , upon the following case : —On the 20 th May 1896 , the justices sitting in petty sessions convicted the appellant , who is the keeper of a fully-licensed house known
by the sign of The Brandy Cask , Bond Street , Bristol , of an alleged offence under section 16 of the Licensing Act , 1874 ( 37 and 38 Vic , c . 49 ) , and on appeal to me at the quarter sessions of and for the city and county of Bristol , holden on the 27 th June 1896 , I affirmed the conviction . The following facts were proved . On the 23 rd of April 1896 , at 10 * 30 p . m ., Police-sergeant Dowding , one of the respondents on the appeal , while on duty with another constable in Bond Street , heard music and singing coming
from the said licensed premises . He thereupon entered upon the said licensed premises , passed through the bar , and at once proceeded upstairs to a room from which the singing and playing came . The said room was part of the said licensed premises , and was then in the occupation of a society known as the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes , having been let by the appellant to a Lodge or branch of the said society known as the Clarence and Colston Lodge , under an agreement of tenancy of the 17 th of March
1892 , for the exclusive occupation of the society on every Thursday evening at a rent of 13 s a quarter , and the society was conducting their business within . The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes is a society having branches in all parts of the world , and whose objects , principles , and rules are closely allied to those of Freemasonry , While-such business was being transacted intoxicating liquors were supplied by the appellant to members , but no one was permitted to enter the said room except members of the said
society , and they only upon the giving and receiving of a password and sign . It is the duty of a person called the " Tiler " to look through the aperture in the door , and if an approaching person cannot give the sign to refuse admission . The appellant had been for several years a member of the society , and at the time in question was engaged within the room upon the business of the same . The respondent having knocked at the door of the room , a slide was opened in a trap in the door from within , and a man in
charge of the door shook his head and closed the slide . Thereupon the respondent sent downstairs for the appellant , who shortly afterwards came out of the room , the door being closed behind him . The respondent said , " I want to visit this room , " and the appellant replied , " You can't ; it is a secret society—the Buffaloes , " and he added , when the respondent said , " Then you . refuse to admit us ? " "I can't let you in . I have nothing to do with it . " Respondent then said , " The room is licensed , " and the
appellant replied , " Yes ; but I can't let you in . " The appellant made no effort to let the respondent in . The respondent visited the licensed premises and demanded to enter the said room for tho purpose of preventing and detecting the violation ( if any ) of provisions of the Licensing Acts , 1872 and 1874 , which it was his duty to enforce . Upon the foregoing facts appellant ' s counsel contended that upon the true construction of the 16 th section of the Licensing Act of 1874 , when compared with the provisions of the 35 th section
of the Licensing Act of 1872 , which section was repealed by the later Act , the demand of the respondent to be admitted to the room in question was not a demand to enter upon the licensed premises within the meaning of section 16 of the Act of 1874 , and that consequenty the failure of the appellant to admit the respondent to that portion of the licensed premises was not an offence under the said section ; that the respondent did not demand admission to the said room for the purpose of preventing the
violation of any of the provisions of the Licensing Acts of 1872 and 1874 , which it was his duty to enforce ; that the said room being bona-fide let for private purposes , and not being under the control of the licence-holder at the time of the demand for admission of the respondent , the refusal or failure to admit was not a refusal or failure to admit within the meaning of section 16 of the Licensing Act of 1874 . Upon the facts as before stated , I hold that the appellant had , within the meaning of the said 16 th section
refused and failed to admit the respondent in the execution of his duty demanding to enter liconsed premises in pursuance of the said 16 th section . The questions for the opinion of the Court are whether I was right in holding , as I did , in coming to tho above decision— - ( 1 ) That the power of entry on licensed premises conferred on constables for the enforcement of the Licensing Acts- by section 16 of the Licensing Act of 1874 includes a right to demand admission to any room which is a part of the premises covered by
the licence after admission upon the licensed premises has been given by the licence-holder ; ( 2 ) that the occupation of the room by the society under the above-mentioned circumstances did not operate to take the said room out of the words " licensed premises , " in the meaning of the said 16 th section . If the Court shall be of opinion in the affirmative on both questions , then the order of the sessions is to be confirmed ; if in the negative , then the order is to be quashed . "
Mr . Candy , in support of the appeal , sard there were three statutes to which he had to direct their lordships' attention—namely , the Beer-house Act of 1834 , the Licensing Act of 1872 , and the Licensing Act of 1874 . Section 7 of the Act of 1834 ran as follows : — "It shall be lawful for all constables and officers of police , and they are hereby authorised and empowered , to enter into all houses which are or shall be licensed to sell beer or spirituous liquors to be consumed on the premises when and so often
as such constables and officers shall think proper , and if any person having such licence as aforesaid , or any servant or other person in his employment or by his direction , shall refuse to admit , or shall not admit such constable or officer of police into such house or upon such premises , such person having such licence shall for the first offence , " & c . Section 35 of the Act of 1872 provided that " a constable might at all times enter upon any licensed premises , examine every room or part of such premises , and take an account of all intoxicating liquor stored therein . " In order to make that section
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Glimpse At The Past.
A GLIMPSE AT THE PAST .
ON the 10 th inst . an interesting celebration took place in Brechin , when the new hall lately acquired by the St . Ninian ' s Lodge was consecrated by Bro . James Berry , Dundee , P . G . M . of Porfarshire , assisted by other Provincial Officers . Although only recently entering into their own habitation , the St . Ninian's Lodge has had a long and honoured record in the annals
of Masonry in the Ancient City . Commencing in 1714 the records of the Lodge , although not " so valuable as those of au earlier date , are still of an interesting and instructive character , dealing as many of them do with Masonry during the period when the simple ritual gradually gave place to the more elaborate
ceremonial that now marks the doings of the Order . During the last century the Lodge , so far as is known , had no regular place of meeting , but met for the transaction of business in sucli places as happened to suit the convenience of the Brethren , the earliest recorded meeting place ( 1734 ) being in the house bf
John Ockenhead , but as that name was very common in Brechin then it is impossible to locate the building . This want of proper accommodation seems to have been felt by the Brethren , for in 1795 the Lodge appointed eleven members of the Fraternity to look ouc for and purchase " heritable subjects
in the town of Brechin , and to acquire the same on as advantageous terms for the Lodge as possible , " with the object of converting them into a meeting place . Evidently the committee failed in their endeavours , for shortly afterwards arrangements were made for the Lodge to meet in private
houses . That arrangement continued in force till November 1790 , when it was agreed to meet in the Gardner Lodge , which was held in a cottage still standing opposite the Mechanics ' Institute . Here they remained till it was converted into a dwelling-house , since which time they have occupied several different halls .
The desire for a hall of their own , however , was not allowed to flag , and the matter was revived , with the result that in November 1895—exactly 100 years after the date of the appointment of the first committee—the Lodge entered into possession of their new hall . The building , which is in Lindsay
Lane , was originally a dwelling-house , and the members on acquiring it at once set to work to carry out the necessary alterations . Outside the building is of a very plain appearance , but internally it has been tastefully fitted up and decorated . Relying as they have done to a considerable extent on outside
help , the members have very wisely refrained from any extravagant expenditure ; but they have succeeded in converting it into a comfortable and commodious Lodge room , the walls of which are decorated with a number of old Masonic emblems , as
well as portraits of leading members of the Lodge , including one of Bro . Alexander Hampton , Barrow-in-Furness , one of the oldest members of the Lodge , who still continues , despite his removal , to take a deep interest in its affairs . — "Dundee Advertiser . "
The discussion in regard to which , in Masonic parlance , is the proper word to use in naming the last of the Great Lights in Masonry , has brought out a strongly divided opinion . Many of the old Masons who were taught to say " compass" hold tenaciously to its use , as they believe it to be the word originally used in Masonry . A younger class insist that the word should
be " compasses , " and , outside of its use in Masonry , they are supported by modern authorities . We are free to admit that the instrument referred to is not a compass , but a pair of compasses , and is so called by an engineer , carpenter , or any artisan of the present day . It is only in Masonry that we would give it the shorter and distinctively Masonic name , which has come down to us
with the landmarks and obligations of Masonry from its remotest antiquity . These antique words in Masonry are in harmony with its traditions , that date its origin prior to any established authority for the use of an English word . We were a civil engineer forty-four years ago , and followed our profession for sixteen years . We know the use of mathematical instruments , and have now in the drawer of the table on which
we are now writing a fine case of Swiss drawing instruments , that we have owned for over forty-four years . The compasses are there ( we call them dividers ) with the many other little instruments that we love so well . But when we saw this instrument , with the square and Bible on the altar of Masonry , and were informed that " Every well governed Lodge is
furnished with the Holy Bible , Square and Compass , " the name became inseparably associated with the Square and Bible , and there it will remain during our Masonic life and work . If it grates harshly on the ears of these later day Masons and they prefer to say " compasses , " they may do so and argue that they are right to their full heart ' s content . — " Masonic Advocate . "
Secret Societies And Licensed Premises.
SECRET SOCIETIES AND LICENSED PREMISES .
THE BRISTOL CONVICTION . IN the Queen ' s Bench Division of the High Court of Justice , on Monday , before Mr . Justice Gave and Mr . Justice Lawrance , sitting as a Divisional Court , the case of "Duncan v . Dovvding and others" came on for hearing . This case raised the question as to whether the police are entitled to demand admission to a room on licensed premises let to the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes for the purposes of their meetings .
Mr . Candy , Q . C ., and Mr . Maddison ( instructed by Messrs . J . Morley and S . A . Bailey , solicitors to the Order of Buffaloes ) appeared for Mr . Duncan , the appellant * , Mr . Yachell ( instructed by the Town Clerk of Bristol ) represented the respondents . Mr . Candy said the following case had been stated by the Recorder of Bristol for the opinion of the Court : — Upon an appeal by the above-named appellant against a conviction of the justices of the peace of the city and . county
of Bristol on the 20 th May 1896 , which said appeal came on for hearing at the general quarter sessions of the peace held in and for the said city and county of Bristol on the 30 th June 1896 , when , upon hearing counsel for both parties , the Court dismissed the said appeal subject to the opinion of the Queen's Bench Division of Her Majesty's High Court of Justice , upon the following case : —On the 20 th May 1896 , the justices sitting in petty sessions convicted the appellant , who is the keeper of a fully-licensed house known
by the sign of The Brandy Cask , Bond Street , Bristol , of an alleged offence under section 16 of the Licensing Act , 1874 ( 37 and 38 Vic , c . 49 ) , and on appeal to me at the quarter sessions of and for the city and county of Bristol , holden on the 27 th June 1896 , I affirmed the conviction . The following facts were proved . On the 23 rd of April 1896 , at 10 * 30 p . m ., Police-sergeant Dowding , one of the respondents on the appeal , while on duty with another constable in Bond Street , heard music and singing coming
from the said licensed premises . He thereupon entered upon the said licensed premises , passed through the bar , and at once proceeded upstairs to a room from which the singing and playing came . The said room was part of the said licensed premises , and was then in the occupation of a society known as the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes , having been let by the appellant to a Lodge or branch of the said society known as the Clarence and Colston Lodge , under an agreement of tenancy of the 17 th of March
1892 , for the exclusive occupation of the society on every Thursday evening at a rent of 13 s a quarter , and the society was conducting their business within . The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes is a society having branches in all parts of the world , and whose objects , principles , and rules are closely allied to those of Freemasonry , While-such business was being transacted intoxicating liquors were supplied by the appellant to members , but no one was permitted to enter the said room except members of the said
society , and they only upon the giving and receiving of a password and sign . It is the duty of a person called the " Tiler " to look through the aperture in the door , and if an approaching person cannot give the sign to refuse admission . The appellant had been for several years a member of the society , and at the time in question was engaged within the room upon the business of the same . The respondent having knocked at the door of the room , a slide was opened in a trap in the door from within , and a man in
charge of the door shook his head and closed the slide . Thereupon the respondent sent downstairs for the appellant , who shortly afterwards came out of the room , the door being closed behind him . The respondent said , " I want to visit this room , " and the appellant replied , " You can't ; it is a secret society—the Buffaloes , " and he added , when the respondent said , " Then you . refuse to admit us ? " "I can't let you in . I have nothing to do with it . " Respondent then said , " The room is licensed , " and the
appellant replied , " Yes ; but I can't let you in . " The appellant made no effort to let the respondent in . The respondent visited the licensed premises and demanded to enter the said room for tho purpose of preventing and detecting the violation ( if any ) of provisions of the Licensing Acts , 1872 and 1874 , which it was his duty to enforce . Upon the foregoing facts appellant ' s counsel contended that upon the true construction of the 16 th section of the Licensing Act of 1874 , when compared with the provisions of the 35 th section
of the Licensing Act of 1872 , which section was repealed by the later Act , the demand of the respondent to be admitted to the room in question was not a demand to enter upon the licensed premises within the meaning of section 16 of the Act of 1874 , and that consequenty the failure of the appellant to admit the respondent to that portion of the licensed premises was not an offence under the said section ; that the respondent did not demand admission to the said room for the purpose of preventing the
violation of any of the provisions of the Licensing Acts of 1872 and 1874 , which it was his duty to enforce ; that the said room being bona-fide let for private purposes , and not being under the control of the licence-holder at the time of the demand for admission of the respondent , the refusal or failure to admit was not a refusal or failure to admit within the meaning of section 16 of the Licensing Act of 1874 . Upon the facts as before stated , I hold that the appellant had , within the meaning of the said 16 th section
refused and failed to admit the respondent in the execution of his duty demanding to enter liconsed premises in pursuance of the said 16 th section . The questions for the opinion of the Court are whether I was right in holding , as I did , in coming to tho above decision— - ( 1 ) That the power of entry on licensed premises conferred on constables for the enforcement of the Licensing Acts- by section 16 of the Licensing Act of 1874 includes a right to demand admission to any room which is a part of the premises covered by
the licence after admission upon the licensed premises has been given by the licence-holder ; ( 2 ) that the occupation of the room by the society under the above-mentioned circumstances did not operate to take the said room out of the words " licensed premises , " in the meaning of the said 16 th section . If the Court shall be of opinion in the affirmative on both questions , then the order of the sessions is to be confirmed ; if in the negative , then the order is to be quashed . "
Mr . Candy , in support of the appeal , sard there were three statutes to which he had to direct their lordships' attention—namely , the Beer-house Act of 1834 , the Licensing Act of 1872 , and the Licensing Act of 1874 . Section 7 of the Act of 1834 ran as follows : — "It shall be lawful for all constables and officers of police , and they are hereby authorised and empowered , to enter into all houses which are or shall be licensed to sell beer or spirituous liquors to be consumed on the premises when and so often
as such constables and officers shall think proper , and if any person having such licence as aforesaid , or any servant or other person in his employment or by his direction , shall refuse to admit , or shall not admit such constable or officer of police into such house or upon such premises , such person having such licence shall for the first offence , " & c . Section 35 of the Act of 1872 provided that " a constable might at all times enter upon any licensed premises , examine every room or part of such premises , and take an account of all intoxicating liquor stored therein . " In order to make that section