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The Growth Of Freemasonry.
THE GROWTH OF FREEMASONRY .
ONE does not have to be so very old in Freemasonry to remember the time when the Lodges on the Register of the Grand Lodge of England were but half as numerous as they are at present , it only being necessary to go back to 1871 to see the granting of the Warrant
for No . 1356 , while elsewhere in this issue we record the consecration of the Jubilee Masters Lodge , No . 2712 . Thus we see that during the last twenty-seven and a half years there have been additions to the English Register
averaging fifty Lodges per annum , while a glance at the accompanying table , which gives the actual increase year by year since 1858 , will show with what regularity the additions have taken place , not only during the period we have just spoken of , but for the whole term of forty years
included in the return : Year . Nos . of Lodges Warranter ! . No . for year . 1858 ... 733 to 770 inclusive ... 3 8 1859 •¦• 77 * ' 805 „ ... 35 i 860 ... 806 850 „ ... 45 1861 ... 851 903 „ ... 53 1862 ... 904 941 ,, ... 3 8 1863 ... 942 996 „ ... 55 1864 ... 997 IO 47 „ ... Si
1865 ... 1048 1088 ,, ... 41 1866 ... 1089 IX 4 >> 54 1867 ... 1143 1208 ,, ... 66 1868 ... 1209 1248 ,, ... 40 186 9 ... 1249 1299 ,, ... 51 1870 ... 1300 1344 ... 45
„ 1871 ... 1345 1388 „ ... 44 1872 ... 1389 1424 „ ... 36 1873 ... 1425 1477 „ ... 53 187 A . ... I AT 8 TCe 2 ' 7 . _ Cn
1875 .... 1528 1593 „ ... 66 1876 ... 1594 1662 ,, ... 6 9 1877 ... 1663 1735 „ ... 73 1878 ... 1736 1800 ... 6 *
,, 1879 * 8 oi 1853 „ ... 53 1880 ... 1854 l 8 9 >> 39 1881 ... 18 93 1953 „ ... 61 1882 ... 1954 1988 ... 35
„ 1883 I 989 2028 „ ... 40 188 4 ... 2029 2081 ,, ... 53 1885 ... 2082 2134 ,, ... 53 1886 ... 2135 2192 ,, ... 58 1887 . ... 2103 2240 ... 4 . 8
,, 1888 ... 2241 2297 ,, ... 57 188 9 2298 2343 „ ... 4 6 18 90 ... 2344 2388 „ ... 45 18 91 ... 238 9 2419 „ ... 31 18 92 ... 2420 2455 „ ... 36 18 93 ... 2456 249 8 ... 43
„ 1894 ... 2499 2538 „ ... 40 ^ 95 •¦• 2539 2590 „ ... 52 18 96 ... 2591 26 4 6 „ ... 56 18 97 ... 26 47 2685 „ ... . 39 Although we do not wish to say that the association
° f H . R . H . the Prince of Wales with Freemaso" ~ y has had little or no real effect on the growth of the Graft during the twenty-four years he has been at the head of the Order , it will be somewhat difficult , after studying the
The Growth Of Freemasonry.
figures we give above , to attach so very much importance as is often attempted to what His Royal Highness has done , by personal act or by creating enthusiasm , in causing the extension of the Order under the Grand Lodge of England
during the period of his Grand Mastership , for , as a matter of fact , the Order progressed at about the same rateguaged by the increase in number of Lodges—during the sixteen years immediately preceding the accession of the
Prince of Wales to the Masonic throne , as it has done since he has been at the head of affairs , the average on the first sixteen years being about 46 * 5 , and on the last twentyfour 50-3 , although in the former calculation it must be
borne in mmd we have taken the returns of 1858 upwards as they stand subsequent to the re-numbering of 1863 , which is sufficient to account for a fair portion of the difference .
It will be noticed from our figures above that there was a sudden rise following the installation of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master , the totals for 1875-6-7-8 being 66 , 69 , 73 and 65 respectively , showing an average of
68 * 25 per year for that period , but this was counterbalanced by three totals far below the average during the next five years , the total on the nine years being 501 , or an average of 55 * 6 .
Rapid as has been the growth in the number of Lodges during the forty years under review , we believe it is safe to say that during the whole of the period Grand Lodge has put a very strong check on the enthusiasm of Brethren
who desired to establish new Lodges , and the extension which has actually taken place is probably little more than half what it might have been had every petition that was sent into the Grand Master resulted in the granting of a new Warrant .
This is hardly the occasion on which to take into consideration the merits or demerits of the restrictive policy that has guided Grand Lodge in this respect , but there are few but will agree it is far better to have erred on
the side of extreme caution , than to have lowered the standard of Freemasonry by extending its Lodges indiscriminately , and thus opening the door for wholesale admissions into the Order . Before now we have questioned
the policy of Grand Lodge in refusing Warrants to bodies of Brethren well skilled in the noble science , and to all outward appearance fully qualified to take upon themselves all the responsibilities of starting a new Lodge , and even
now the action of the authorities in putting a veto on the expressed desire of bodies " of Brethren who petition for a Warrant is more than many of us can understand , but we can only imagine there is some system known to the
authorities of Grand Lodge upon which all such questions are decided , and while the Order continues to prosper in our midst , as it has done in recent years , there would be very few who would join in a movement to enforce a radical change in this direction .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Growth Of Freemasonry.
THE GROWTH OF FREEMASONRY .
ONE does not have to be so very old in Freemasonry to remember the time when the Lodges on the Register of the Grand Lodge of England were but half as numerous as they are at present , it only being necessary to go back to 1871 to see the granting of the Warrant
for No . 1356 , while elsewhere in this issue we record the consecration of the Jubilee Masters Lodge , No . 2712 . Thus we see that during the last twenty-seven and a half years there have been additions to the English Register
averaging fifty Lodges per annum , while a glance at the accompanying table , which gives the actual increase year by year since 1858 , will show with what regularity the additions have taken place , not only during the period we have just spoken of , but for the whole term of forty years
included in the return : Year . Nos . of Lodges Warranter ! . No . for year . 1858 ... 733 to 770 inclusive ... 3 8 1859 •¦• 77 * ' 805 „ ... 35 i 860 ... 806 850 „ ... 45 1861 ... 851 903 „ ... 53 1862 ... 904 941 ,, ... 3 8 1863 ... 942 996 „ ... 55 1864 ... 997 IO 47 „ ... Si
1865 ... 1048 1088 ,, ... 41 1866 ... 1089 IX 4 >> 54 1867 ... 1143 1208 ,, ... 66 1868 ... 1209 1248 ,, ... 40 186 9 ... 1249 1299 ,, ... 51 1870 ... 1300 1344 ... 45
„ 1871 ... 1345 1388 „ ... 44 1872 ... 1389 1424 „ ... 36 1873 ... 1425 1477 „ ... 53 187 A . ... I AT 8 TCe 2 ' 7 . _ Cn
1875 .... 1528 1593 „ ... 66 1876 ... 1594 1662 ,, ... 6 9 1877 ... 1663 1735 „ ... 73 1878 ... 1736 1800 ... 6 *
,, 1879 * 8 oi 1853 „ ... 53 1880 ... 1854 l 8 9 >> 39 1881 ... 18 93 1953 „ ... 61 1882 ... 1954 1988 ... 35
„ 1883 I 989 2028 „ ... 40 188 4 ... 2029 2081 ,, ... 53 1885 ... 2082 2134 ,, ... 53 1886 ... 2135 2192 ,, ... 58 1887 . ... 2103 2240 ... 4 . 8
,, 1888 ... 2241 2297 ,, ... 57 188 9 2298 2343 „ ... 4 6 18 90 ... 2344 2388 „ ... 45 18 91 ... 238 9 2419 „ ... 31 18 92 ... 2420 2455 „ ... 36 18 93 ... 2456 249 8 ... 43
„ 1894 ... 2499 2538 „ ... 40 ^ 95 •¦• 2539 2590 „ ... 52 18 96 ... 2591 26 4 6 „ ... 56 18 97 ... 26 47 2685 „ ... . 39 Although we do not wish to say that the association
° f H . R . H . the Prince of Wales with Freemaso" ~ y has had little or no real effect on the growth of the Graft during the twenty-four years he has been at the head of the Order , it will be somewhat difficult , after studying the
The Growth Of Freemasonry.
figures we give above , to attach so very much importance as is often attempted to what His Royal Highness has done , by personal act or by creating enthusiasm , in causing the extension of the Order under the Grand Lodge of England
during the period of his Grand Mastership , for , as a matter of fact , the Order progressed at about the same rateguaged by the increase in number of Lodges—during the sixteen years immediately preceding the accession of the
Prince of Wales to the Masonic throne , as it has done since he has been at the head of affairs , the average on the first sixteen years being about 46 * 5 , and on the last twentyfour 50-3 , although in the former calculation it must be
borne in mmd we have taken the returns of 1858 upwards as they stand subsequent to the re-numbering of 1863 , which is sufficient to account for a fair portion of the difference .
It will be noticed from our figures above that there was a sudden rise following the installation of the Prince of Wales as Grand Master , the totals for 1875-6-7-8 being 66 , 69 , 73 and 65 respectively , showing an average of
68 * 25 per year for that period , but this was counterbalanced by three totals far below the average during the next five years , the total on the nine years being 501 , or an average of 55 * 6 .
Rapid as has been the growth in the number of Lodges during the forty years under review , we believe it is safe to say that during the whole of the period Grand Lodge has put a very strong check on the enthusiasm of Brethren
who desired to establish new Lodges , and the extension which has actually taken place is probably little more than half what it might have been had every petition that was sent into the Grand Master resulted in the granting of a new Warrant .
This is hardly the occasion on which to take into consideration the merits or demerits of the restrictive policy that has guided Grand Lodge in this respect , but there are few but will agree it is far better to have erred on
the side of extreme caution , than to have lowered the standard of Freemasonry by extending its Lodges indiscriminately , and thus opening the door for wholesale admissions into the Order . Before now we have questioned
the policy of Grand Lodge in refusing Warrants to bodies of Brethren well skilled in the noble science , and to all outward appearance fully qualified to take upon themselves all the responsibilities of starting a new Lodge , and even
now the action of the authorities in putting a veto on the expressed desire of bodies " of Brethren who petition for a Warrant is more than many of us can understand , but we can only imagine there is some system known to the
authorities of Grand Lodge upon which all such questions are decided , and while the Order continues to prosper in our midst , as it has done in recent years , there would be very few who would join in a movement to enforce a radical change in this direction .