The Four Old Lodges.

THE FOUR OLD LODGES .

Bi : o . R , F . Gort . D . ( Continued from page 4 . ) § 17 .

I . —On tho 1 st of May 1777 , Lord Potro was succeeded by tho Duke of Manchester , during whose administration the tranquillity of the Society Avas interrupted by private dissensions . An unfortunate dispute having arisen among the members of tho Lodge of Antiquity , on acconnt of some proceedings of tlio brethren of thafc Lodgo on the Festival of St . John the Evangelist , after his Grace ' s election ,

tho complaint was introdnccd into the Grand Lodge , where it necnpicrt the attention of every Committee and Communication for twelve months . It originated from tho Master , Wardens , and somo of tho ¦ members , having , in conseqnenco of a resolution of tlio Lodgo , attended divine service at St . Dunstan ' s Chnrch in Fleet Street , in the clothing of tho Order , and walked back to the Mitro Tavern in

their regalia , without having obtained a dispensation for the purpose . The Graud Lodgo determined the measure to bo a violation of tho general regulations respecting pnblic processions . Varions opinions wero formed on tbo subject , and several brethren highly disgnsted . Another circumstance tended still farther to widen the breach . This Lodgo having expelled threo members for

misbehaviour , the Grand Lodge interfered , and Avithout proper investigation , ordered them to bo reinstated . With this order tho Lodge refused to comply , conceiving themselves competent judges in the choice of their own members . The privileges of the Lodge of Antiquity wero then set np iu opposition to tho SUPPOSED uncontrollable authority of tho Grand Lodgo ; and iu tho investigation of this

important point the original canso of dispute was totally forgotten . Matters were agitated to tho extreme on both sides ; resolutions wero precipitately entered into , and edicts inadvertently issued ; memorials and remonstrances wero presented . At last a rupture ensued . Tho Lodge of Antiquity supported its immemorial privileges ; appointed Committees to examine records ; applied to tho

old Lodgo in York City , and to the Lodges in Scotland and Ireland , for advice ; entered a protest against , and peremptorily refused to comply with , the resolutions of tho Grand Lodge ; discontinued the attendance of its Master aud Wardens at tho Committees of Charity and Quarterly Communications as its representatives ; published a Manifesto in its vindication ; notified its separation from the Grand

Lodge ; and avowed an alliance with tho Grand Lodge of all England held in tho City of York , and every Lodgo and Mason who wished to act iu conformity to tho original Constitutions . Tbo Grand Lodgo enforced its edicts , and extended protection to tho brethren whose cause it had espoused . Anathemas were issued , several Avorthy men in thoir absence expelled from tho Society for refusing to surrender

the property of the Lodge to threo persons who had been regularly expelled from it ; nnd printed letters wero circulated , with tho Grand Treasurer ' s accounts , highly derogatory to the dignity of the Society . This produced a schism , which subsisted for tho space of ten years . II . —To justify tho proceedings of tho Grand Lodge , the following resolution of tho Committee of Charity , hold in Feb . 1779 , was

printed and dispersed among the Lodges : — " Resolved—That every private Lodge derives its authority from the Grand Lodge , aud that no authority bufc the Grand Lodgo can withdraw or take away that power . That though tho majority of a Lodge may determine to quit tho Society tho constitution , or power of assembling remains with , and is vested in the rest of tho

members who may be desirous of continuing their allegiance ; and that if all tho members withdraw themselves , tho constitution is extinct , and tho authority reverts to tbo Grand Lodge . " III . —This resolution , it Avas argued might operate Avith respect to a Lodge Avhich derives its Constitution from tho Grand Lodge , but conld nofc apply to one which derived its authority from another

channel , long before tbe establishment of the Grand Lodge , and Avhich authority had been repeatedly admitted ancl acknowledged . ( ' ) Had it appeared upon record , thafc after tho establishment of the Grand Lodge this original authority had been surrendered , forfeited , or exchanged for a warrant from tlie Grand Lodge . ( 2 ) The Lodgo of Antiquity mnsfc have admitted tho resolution of the Grand Lodge in its full force .

But as 110 snch circumstance appeared npon record , tho members of tbo Lodgo of Antiquity wero justified in considering their immemorial constitution sacred , while thoy chose to exist as a Lodge and act in obedience to the ancient Constitutions .

The Four Old Lodges.

Considering tho subject in this point of view , ifc evidently appears that the resolutions of the Grand Lodge , could have no effect on the Lodgo of Antiqnity ; especially after the publication of the Manifesto avowing its separation . The members of thafc Lodgo Continued to meet regularly as heretofore , and to promote the laudable purposes of Masonry on their old independent foundation .

IV . —The Lodgo of Antiqnity , it was asserted , conld not bo dissolved , whilo the majority of its members kept together , and acted in conformity to tho original Constitution ; and no edict of tho Grand Lodge or its committees could deprive the members of that Lodgo of a right which had been admitted to be vested in themselves , collectively , from time immemorial ; a right which

had never been derived from , or ceded to , any Grand Lodgo whatever . To understand more clearly tho nature of that Constitution , by which tho Lodge of Antiquity is upheld , wo must havo recourse to the usage and customs which prevailed among Masons at the end of tho last , and beginning of tho present century . Tbe Fraternity then had a discretionary power to meet as Masons , in certain numbers ,

according to their degrees , with tho approbation of tho Master of the work where any public building Avas carrying on , as often as they found it necessary so to do ; and Avhen so mot , to receive into the Order brothers and fellows , and practise the rites of Masonry . The ideaof investing Masters and Wardens of Lodges in Grand Lodge assembled , or tho Grand Master himself , with a power to grant

Warrants of Constitution to certain brethren to meet as Masons , on the observance of certain conditions at certain houses , had no existence . The Fraternity , were nnder no such restrictions . The ancient charges wero tho only standard for tbe regulation of conduct , and no law was known in the Society which those charges did not inculcate . To the award of tho Fraternity at largo , in general meeting assem .

bled , onco or twice in a year , all brethren Avere subject , and tho authority of the Grand Master never extended beyond the bounds of thafc general meeting . Every private assembly or Lodgo was nnder tho direction of its particular Master , chosen for tho occasion whose authority terminated with tho mooting . (•¦) When a Lodge Avas fixed at any particular place for a certain timo , an attestation from

the brethren present , entered on record , Avas a snfficient proof of its regular constitution ; and this practice prevailed for many years after the revival of Masonry in the South of England . By this authority , which never proceeded from the Grand Lodgo , unfettered by any other restrictions than tho Constitutions of Masonry , the Lodge of Antiqnity has always been , and still continues to bo governed .

V . —[(*) And it is wen known to have been an invariable rule , long after tho establishment of tbo Grand Lodgo in London , on its present system , for the Grand Master , at his installation , solemnly to engage to observe the ancient Constitutions , ancl to preserve the ancient privileges , of tho Masons of England , as landmarks nofc to bo removed . From this state of tho caso , it must appear obvious that any

regulation of tho Society that is subversive o £ tho original Constitutions , must bean encroachment on tho ancient privileges of Masonry ; and however , it may operate with respect to Lodges which havo been consfcitnted in conformity to that regulation , it can never affect others which aro nofc Avarranted by their constitution to give it a sanction . " ]

VI . —While I havo endeavoured to explain the subject of this tiufor . innate dispute , I rejoice in the opportunity which tho proceedings of the grand feast in 1700 have afforded of promoting harmony , by restoring to the privileges of the Society all tho brethren of the Locige of Antiqnity Avho had been falsely accused and unjustly expelled in 1779 . By the operation of our professed principles , and throngh the

mediation of that true friend to genuine Masonry , "William Birch , Esq ., present Master of the Lodgo of Anticpiity , nnanimity has been happily restored , tho Manifesto published by that Lodgo in 1779 revoked , and tho Master and Wardens of that truly ancient Association , the first Lodgo under the English Constitution , havo resumed

their seats in Grand Lodgo as heretofore ; whilo the brethren who had received the sanction of the Society as nominal members of the Lodgo of Antiqnity during tho separation , havo been reunited Avith the original members of the real Lodgo , and all tho privileges of thafc venerable body now centre in one channel .

§ 18 . —Brother Preston , however , in tho foregoing narrative , omits to mention , thafc during the pendency of the secession , the Lodge of Antiquity , original INb . 1 , founded a separate Grand Lodge of its OAVU , under the title of the

" Grand Lodge ot England South ot tlio Trent . " Tnore boing in consequence , at such time , four Grand Lodges of England in contemporaneous existence , viz .: —(" ' ) 1 . The Grand Lodge of England ( Regular Grand Lodge ) , Established 1717 . 2 . The Grand Lodge of all England , York Masons / " )

1725 . 8 . The Grand Lodgo of England according * to tho Old Institutions ( " Secedors " ) , 1753 . 4 The Grand Locige of England South of the Trent ( ) ( Lodge of Antiquity , original No . 1 ) , 1778 .