Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge Jurisdiction And New South Wales.
the establishment of the new Grand Lodge , subject of course to the one just aud proper condition that those Lodges which elected to remain should be allowed to do so . The manner in which our Canadian eoutempoi'ary
continues its criticism is , with all due deference , not very far removed from the ridiculous . "If . " it says , " the ' Colonial ' Masonic officials of the Graud Lodges of England and Scotland iu New South Wales arc so confident that they have ' the ear of the Craft , ' and that there is no desire on
the part of their respective Lodges to unite with the Grand Lodge of New South Wales , why do they so persistently decline to have' a meeting , and courteously discuss the question with a Committee from the Grand Lodge , as was some time ago suggested by the M . W . Bro . the
Hon . James Squire Parwell , M . P ., Grand Master of that Grand Lodge ? The reason is obvious . They dare not . They hold their position now by a very uncertain tenure . " Has our contemporary never heard of the historic " three tailors of Toolev-street" who proclaimed themselves to be
" the people of England . " If it has not , then we may re gard the foregoing outburst of bravado as being innocently ridiculous ; but if it has , and possesses a modicum of common sense , then it ought to be in a position to understand why it is that "the ' Colonial' Masonic officials of the
Grand Lodges and England in New South Wales" —we do not know why that of the Grand Lodge of Ireland should have been ignored—are so mindful of the trust reposed in them as to prefer upholding the interests of the seventy and odd Lodges which prefer remaining true to
their old allegiance instead of bowing down aud worshipping the new Grand Lodge idol which thirteen malcontent Lodges have been pleased to set up—not in the interests of Freemasonry—but for the increase of their own glorification . The interests of the Craft are not advanced
anywhere by dissension , or by the petty few calling upon the overwhelming many to " stand and deliver . " If , as we have said before , a respectable majority—respectable , of course , in point of numbers—were desirous of setting up a Grand Lodge of their own , we do not doubt for a moment
that our Grand Lodge and those of Scotland and Ireland wonld , as they have done before , do all . in their power to help them , and would recognise the new body , as they have before now recognised other new bodies which have preferred independence to remaining in allegiance to the Grand Lodges to which they owe their Constitution .
It may well happen that some day or other New South Wales will have a Grand Lodge of its own , but to argue that thirteen Lodges have a right to dictate to and override the wishes of seventy Lodges , is , in familiar parlance ,
" coming it just a little too strong . " Hence , it is obviously erroneous to speak of the so-called new Grand Lodge as " the supreme governing body " of the Province , and of the vast majority of Lodges which remain under the Grand Lodges of England , Ireland , and Scotland as being
" the mere offshoots of a foreign Grand body . " Whence , may we ask , did the seceding Lodges spring , but from the said Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom ? They are quite as much " offshoots " as the seventy that remain , only the latter think they are more honoured by
continuing their connection with the three oldest Grand Lodges in the world , from which all other Grand Lodges have derived their being , while the former think they shall fare better by having a supreme governing body of their own . Our contemporary , however , must not be so silly as to expect
that England , Ireland , and Scotland will go out of their way to play the game of the seceders , or that they will be so dull to all sense of honour as to be negligent of the welfare of those Lodges which they have severally constituted iu New South Wales , and which , of their own free will and
pleasure , voluntarily maintain the old connection . It is fairly open to question whether " Masonry is more prosperous in those Colonies that have independent Grand
Lodges . " England alone has over a hundred Lodges in the East Indies , and they are sufficiently prosperous . If our contemporary doubts this , let it turn to the pages of the " Masonic Record of Western India . "
In the Province of Victoria , adjoining that of New South Wales , there are no less than seventy English Lodges , besides many that belong to the Irish and Scotch Constitutions . In our other Australian Colonies , and in New
Zealand , a similarly happy state of things prevails , and nowhere do we hear a word of dissatisfaction on the score of their connection with the Grand Lodges to which they belong . This being so , it is clear that we—speaking for
Grand Lodge Jurisdiction And New South Wales.
ourselves , whatever reasons may actuate other parties "are not engaged in " decrying Masonic independence and upholding Masonic subserviency—and , we would almost say , Masonic toadyism . " Our contemporary may not be ahlc to fully appreciate the meaning of the word " loyalty , "
but we should be unutterably disloyal if wo did not support th »> . « Lodges which have sought and obtained their warrants from our ilnvo Grand Lodges and are auxioua
to remain as they arc . If this desire of theirs is to be described as " subserviency" or " toadyism , " wo can only say we do not understand the meaning of those words .
We have already , in our present article , earned our critical remarks to a considerable length . What further we may have to say must , consequently , be deferred till another clay . Yet we cannot close these observations without suggesting that the following passage in the
article which has formed the subject of these comments is very far from being creditable either to its acumen or its theoretic love of the kindly principles of Masonry . Says the Canadian Craftsman ;— " District Grand Masters , being merely tbe appointed creatures of the home authority ,
do not reflect the sentiment of tbe Craft in their respective jurisdictions , and almost invariably are biassed in their opinions by the salaried officials of those District and Provincial Grand Lodges , who know full well that their
incomes will be cut off on the formation of a Sovereign Body . These are the reasons behind the throne that govern the ' reported ' opinions of such appointed Officers . " Could anything be in WOTSO form than this ill-considered outburst of bad temper ?
According to Le Monde Maqmnique , the number of Lodges holding under the independent Spanish Symbolic Grand Lodge is seventeen , namely , two in Seville , two in Madrid , two in Cadiz , six in Malaga , one in San . Fernando , one in Barcelona , one in Mataro , and two in the Canaries .
On the other hand , the Grand Orient of Spain , of which Bro . Romero Ortiz is the Grand Master , has , irrespective of superior bodies , no less than 172 Lodges and twenty , nine Chapters . Of the Lodges , seven meet in Seville , seven in Valencia , six in Barcelona , five in Carthagena ,
four in Madrid , and three in Mureift . In the Island of Cuba , under the control of a Provincial Grand Lodge , of which Bro . Jose Maria Beranger is the Grand Master , there are fifty-five Lodges and five Chapters , twenty-two of the former being located in Havana , six in Matanzas , and four in Santiago de Cuba .
We learn from the same source that Bro . Juan de Dios Arias was elected Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Mexico for a period of three years . The other principal
Officers are Bros , Arellano Senior Grand Warden , Castellanos Junior Grand Warden , Ignacio M . Altamirano Grand Orator , Ermilo Canton Grand Chancellor , and Enriquez Aragon Grand Secretary .
We gladly announce that the Masons of Bordeaux are preparing to offer a hearty welcome to all brethren -who may visit the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition which will be held there this summer , and is announced to be opened on the lst June proximo .
We gather from the report that was read at the last Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge ot Massachusetts , and is published in its Proceedings , that there were , on the 31 st August of last year , no leBs than 25 , 348 brethren in the jurisdiction . These are
arranged in nineteen Districts , each of which is presided over by a District Deputy Grand Master , and two Districts abroad , each comprising one Lodge , namely , those of Cnin and China . We learn further that during the year ending on the said 31 st August , 1 , 046 were initiated , 1 , 014 passed ,
960 raised , 312 rejected for degrees , 405 suspended , y « discharged from membership , 471 dimitted , and 275 doceased . There were 1 , 260 admitted and 146 reinstated , while 832 received Grand Lodge diplomas , and 85 Pa ?* stanu
Master ' s diplomas . Of the nineteen Districts No . I » highest in point of membership , with 2 , 090 brethren , and No . 9 lowest , with 792 . In the Chili District there are ^ members , and in the China District exactly half tna number .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge Jurisdiction And New South Wales.
the establishment of the new Grand Lodge , subject of course to the one just aud proper condition that those Lodges which elected to remain should be allowed to do so . The manner in which our Canadian eoutempoi'ary
continues its criticism is , with all due deference , not very far removed from the ridiculous . "If . " it says , " the ' Colonial ' Masonic officials of the Graud Lodges of England and Scotland iu New South Wales arc so confident that they have ' the ear of the Craft , ' and that there is no desire on
the part of their respective Lodges to unite with the Grand Lodge of New South Wales , why do they so persistently decline to have' a meeting , and courteously discuss the question with a Committee from the Grand Lodge , as was some time ago suggested by the M . W . Bro . the
Hon . James Squire Parwell , M . P ., Grand Master of that Grand Lodge ? The reason is obvious . They dare not . They hold their position now by a very uncertain tenure . " Has our contemporary never heard of the historic " three tailors of Toolev-street" who proclaimed themselves to be
" the people of England . " If it has not , then we may re gard the foregoing outburst of bravado as being innocently ridiculous ; but if it has , and possesses a modicum of common sense , then it ought to be in a position to understand why it is that "the ' Colonial' Masonic officials of the
Grand Lodges and England in New South Wales" —we do not know why that of the Grand Lodge of Ireland should have been ignored—are so mindful of the trust reposed in them as to prefer upholding the interests of the seventy and odd Lodges which prefer remaining true to
their old allegiance instead of bowing down aud worshipping the new Grand Lodge idol which thirteen malcontent Lodges have been pleased to set up—not in the interests of Freemasonry—but for the increase of their own glorification . The interests of the Craft are not advanced
anywhere by dissension , or by the petty few calling upon the overwhelming many to " stand and deliver . " If , as we have said before , a respectable majority—respectable , of course , in point of numbers—were desirous of setting up a Grand Lodge of their own , we do not doubt for a moment
that our Grand Lodge and those of Scotland and Ireland wonld , as they have done before , do all . in their power to help them , and would recognise the new body , as they have before now recognised other new bodies which have preferred independence to remaining in allegiance to the Grand Lodges to which they owe their Constitution .
It may well happen that some day or other New South Wales will have a Grand Lodge of its own , but to argue that thirteen Lodges have a right to dictate to and override the wishes of seventy Lodges , is , in familiar parlance ,
" coming it just a little too strong . " Hence , it is obviously erroneous to speak of the so-called new Grand Lodge as " the supreme governing body " of the Province , and of the vast majority of Lodges which remain under the Grand Lodges of England , Ireland , and Scotland as being
" the mere offshoots of a foreign Grand body . " Whence , may we ask , did the seceding Lodges spring , but from the said Grand Lodges of the United Kingdom ? They are quite as much " offshoots " as the seventy that remain , only the latter think they are more honoured by
continuing their connection with the three oldest Grand Lodges in the world , from which all other Grand Lodges have derived their being , while the former think they shall fare better by having a supreme governing body of their own . Our contemporary , however , must not be so silly as to expect
that England , Ireland , and Scotland will go out of their way to play the game of the seceders , or that they will be so dull to all sense of honour as to be negligent of the welfare of those Lodges which they have severally constituted iu New South Wales , and which , of their own free will and
pleasure , voluntarily maintain the old connection . It is fairly open to question whether " Masonry is more prosperous in those Colonies that have independent Grand
Lodges . " England alone has over a hundred Lodges in the East Indies , and they are sufficiently prosperous . If our contemporary doubts this , let it turn to the pages of the " Masonic Record of Western India . "
In the Province of Victoria , adjoining that of New South Wales , there are no less than seventy English Lodges , besides many that belong to the Irish and Scotch Constitutions . In our other Australian Colonies , and in New
Zealand , a similarly happy state of things prevails , and nowhere do we hear a word of dissatisfaction on the score of their connection with the Grand Lodges to which they belong . This being so , it is clear that we—speaking for
Grand Lodge Jurisdiction And New South Wales.
ourselves , whatever reasons may actuate other parties "are not engaged in " decrying Masonic independence and upholding Masonic subserviency—and , we would almost say , Masonic toadyism . " Our contemporary may not be ahlc to fully appreciate the meaning of the word " loyalty , "
but we should be unutterably disloyal if wo did not support th »> . « Lodges which have sought and obtained their warrants from our ilnvo Grand Lodges and are auxioua
to remain as they arc . If this desire of theirs is to be described as " subserviency" or " toadyism , " wo can only say we do not understand the meaning of those words .
We have already , in our present article , earned our critical remarks to a considerable length . What further we may have to say must , consequently , be deferred till another clay . Yet we cannot close these observations without suggesting that the following passage in the
article which has formed the subject of these comments is very far from being creditable either to its acumen or its theoretic love of the kindly principles of Masonry . Says the Canadian Craftsman ;— " District Grand Masters , being merely tbe appointed creatures of the home authority ,
do not reflect the sentiment of tbe Craft in their respective jurisdictions , and almost invariably are biassed in their opinions by the salaried officials of those District and Provincial Grand Lodges , who know full well that their
incomes will be cut off on the formation of a Sovereign Body . These are the reasons behind the throne that govern the ' reported ' opinions of such appointed Officers . " Could anything be in WOTSO form than this ill-considered outburst of bad temper ?
According to Le Monde Maqmnique , the number of Lodges holding under the independent Spanish Symbolic Grand Lodge is seventeen , namely , two in Seville , two in Madrid , two in Cadiz , six in Malaga , one in San . Fernando , one in Barcelona , one in Mataro , and two in the Canaries .
On the other hand , the Grand Orient of Spain , of which Bro . Romero Ortiz is the Grand Master , has , irrespective of superior bodies , no less than 172 Lodges and twenty , nine Chapters . Of the Lodges , seven meet in Seville , seven in Valencia , six in Barcelona , five in Carthagena ,
four in Madrid , and three in Mureift . In the Island of Cuba , under the control of a Provincial Grand Lodge , of which Bro . Jose Maria Beranger is the Grand Master , there are fifty-five Lodges and five Chapters , twenty-two of the former being located in Havana , six in Matanzas , and four in Santiago de Cuba .
We learn from the same source that Bro . Juan de Dios Arias was elected Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Mexico for a period of three years . The other principal
Officers are Bros , Arellano Senior Grand Warden , Castellanos Junior Grand Warden , Ignacio M . Altamirano Grand Orator , Ermilo Canton Grand Chancellor , and Enriquez Aragon Grand Secretary .
We gladly announce that the Masons of Bordeaux are preparing to offer a hearty welcome to all brethren -who may visit the Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition which will be held there this summer , and is announced to be opened on the lst June proximo .
We gather from the report that was read at the last Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge ot Massachusetts , and is published in its Proceedings , that there were , on the 31 st August of last year , no leBs than 25 , 348 brethren in the jurisdiction . These are
arranged in nineteen Districts , each of which is presided over by a District Deputy Grand Master , and two Districts abroad , each comprising one Lodge , namely , those of Cnin and China . We learn further that during the year ending on the said 31 st August , 1 , 046 were initiated , 1 , 014 passed ,
960 raised , 312 rejected for degrees , 405 suspended , y « discharged from membership , 471 dimitted , and 275 doceased . There were 1 , 260 admitted and 146 reinstated , while 832 received Grand Lodge diplomas , and 85 Pa ?* stanu
Master ' s diplomas . Of the nineteen Districts No . I » highest in point of membership , with 2 , 090 brethren , and No . 9 lowest , with 792 . In the Chili District there are ^ members , and in the China District exactly half tna number .