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Article UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. ← Page 2 of 3 Article UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. Page 2 of 3 →
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United Grand Lodge Of England.
After the formal opening of Grand Lodge the minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 4 th March , and of Grand Festival of 29 th April , were read by the Grand Secretary , and confirmed . The Earl of LIMERICK announced that the M . W . G . M . had been pleased to nominate for the Board of General Purposes Bros . Thomas Fenn ( President ) , Sir Albert W . Woods ( Garter ) , JE . J . Mclntyre , Q-C ,
M . P ., Sir John B . Monckton , F . A . Philbrick , Q . C , Dr . Alfred Meadows , Jas . Ebenezer Saunders , John Anthony Rucker , Robert Grey , Major Chas . Harding , and Charles Hammerton , Grand Swd . Br . ; and for the Colonial Board Bros . John Anthony Rucker ( President ) , Major George Haldane ( Vice-President ) , H . D . Sandeman , Brackstone Baker . Brethren elected by Grand Lodge : Bros . John Laurence Mather , Sir Reginald Hanson , Sir Bruce Seton , Ralph Glutton , Thomas Charles Walls , William A . Dawson ,
Thomas Hastings Miller , Giovanni P . Festa , James Willing , jun ., Reginald St . Aubyn Roumieu , Charles Frederick Hogard , Edward F . Storr , Fredk . West , and Tom Drew Bear . There had been a number of brethren nominated for the Colonial Board not exceeding the number for election , and it was his duty therefore to declare that they were duly elected as members of the Colonial Board : Bros . Brett , Haldane , Maitland , Rivington , Robbins , Roe , and Whitmarsh .
Bro . HUGH HEUGH RIACH , P . M . 1118 , then proposed Bro . Stanley Harding as Grand Lodge Auditor , who had satisfactorily discharged his duties last year , and was for 10 years assistant to his father , who was Grand Lodge Auditor . He thought the brethren could not err if they continued the confidence in the son they so long reposed in the father . Lieut .-Col . HALDANE , P . M . 1615 , seconded the motion , which was put and carried unanimously .
The following brethren were elected on the Committee of Management for the Royal Masonic Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons ; Bros . Chas . Alexander Cottebrune , Thomas W . C . Bush , Alfred H . Tattershall , James Willing , jun ., John E . Dawson , Captain Alfred Durrant , James Boulton , William j . Murlis , Charles Dairy , and Thomas Mount Humphries .
The Report of the Board of Benevolence having been read and received , the following recommendations , moved by Bro . J . BRETT , and seconded by Bro . COTTEBRUNE , were confirmed : The widow of a brother of the St . Andrew ' s Lodge , No . 231 , London £ 75 o o The widow of a brother of the Wellington Lodge , No . 548 ,
Deptford 50 o o A brother of the Social Lodge , No . 93 , Norwich Co o o A brother of the Pattison Lodge , No . 913 , Plumstead ... ... 50 o o A brother of the St . John ' s Lodge , No . 673 , Liverpool ... ... 50 o o The following Report of the Board of General Purposes was taken as read , received , and ordered to be entered on the minutes :
To the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England . The Board of General Purposes beg to submit a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts , at the meeting of the Finance Committee , held on Friday , the 15 th day of May inst ., shewing a balance in the Bank of England of
£ 481803 . nd ., and in the hands of the Grand Secretary for petty cash _ £ ioo , and ior servants' wages . £ 100 , and balance of annual allowance for library £ \ i 17 s . 6 d . ( Signed ) THOMAS FENN , President . Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C , May 19 th , 1885 .
At a meeting of the Board held on Tuesday , the 19 th May , after the ordinary business had been disposed of , the following resolution was passed ,
. : The Members of the Board unanimously desire to express their sense of the ability and courtesy uniformly displayed on all occasions by the V . W . Bro . Thomas Fenn , as President of the Board of General Purposes . ( Signed ) RALPH CLUTTON , Vice-President .
The annual report of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , dated the 15 th May , 1885 , was laid before Grand Lodge . The next business was the consideration of an application from a Bod y styling itself "The Grand Lodge of South Australia , " stating that all the lodges and almost all the Masons in that Colony had united in forming an Independent Grand Lodge , and praying that it may therefore be recognized as such by the Grand Lodge of England .
Bro . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C , Grand Registrar , in introducing the subject , said in the important colo / iy ol South Australia , before the formation of the body referred to , there existed lodges of Masons holding , to the . number of 20 , their warrants from , and making their returns to , Grand Lodge of England . There were other and not so many lodges holding allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and others which , in their turn , held under
the Grand Lodge of Ireland . These lodges , or rather the brethren composing them , had , by movement which they made , virtually unanimously joined and agreed in constituting , and , as far as they were able to constitute , bringing their allegiance 10 a bod y formed within the limits of the colony , which they had styled "The Grand Lodge of South Australia . " In so doing , the brethren composing the lodges that held under our jurisdiction
had acted in a manner which showed that they thoroughly appreciated the po . ition ol this Grand Lodge , and the body which made the application for recognition expressed its willingness to preserve and recognise the rights of any lodge or brother that might still desire to maintain and hold allegiance to Grand Lodge of England ; and in other respects , so far as he was able to form an opinion from the papers which had been transmitted to the
Grand Secretary , the action of the brethren had been dictated by a thoroughly fraternal spirit . The majority of the brethren composing 19 of the 20 English lodges in South Australia had at the time of the application assented to and concurred in the establishment of the Grand Lodge of South Australia , and some time in the course of last month the brethren composing the 20 th lodge had also intimated their adhesion . Under those circumstanceshe
, could not do better than quote the words of his predecessor , Bro . Mclntyre : " If the lime should come when thc lodges of a district , and the Masons of a district , as a body , should ^ consider that they should form a separate Grand Lodge of their own , and it should be clear to United Grand Lodge of England that the lodges and the Masons unanimousl y desired it , we should be
inclined to give them the recognition which they desire . " And when a wish had been thus expressed , and a body thus formed , although so far as G . Lodge was concerned , for the moment the recognition was technically of an irregular body , yet he thought they should not be indisposed as a Grand Lodge to recognise them , although , in one sense , they regretted the severance of the tie . Hc might say that the brethren of the various lodges had
United Grand Lodge Of England.
not been unmindful ofthe past tie , nor were they inclined to disregard it , for one of the matters which they had asked the M . W . G . M . to grant them was that they might be allowed to retain , as a cherished memento of their former connection with the Grand Lodge of England , the warrants ori ginally granted to them by this Grand Lodge . Bearing also in mind that Grand Secretary , who had been in correspondence with the Grand Lod ges of
Scotland and Ireland on the subject , that they had recognised , or were prepared to recognise , the Grand Lodge of South Australia as a Sovereign bod y , but would be guided in a great measure by the action which the Grand Lod ge of England would take that evening , he had great pleasure in moving * ' That this Grand Lodge agrees to enter into fraternal relations with the Grand Lodgeof South Australia . "
Bro . the Rev . Canon PORTAL , G . C , said he had great pleasure in seconding the proposition which had been so ably put by the Grand Registrar . He thought it did the brethren of South Australia great credit that they wished to retain their Grand Lodge of England warrants as historical records , and it was also much to their credit that they had stated their willingness to acknowledge the indefeasible rights of any lodge which
might hold its allegiance to their Grand Lodge to retain it . That , no doubt , was a point on which the Grand Registrar would have b *_ en very firm if there was a necessity for it . Under the circumstances , no doubt Grand Lodge would be doing a very graceful and fraternal act in acknowled ging this new body , which had throughout behaved in a most courteous way towards the Grand Lodge of England .
A Brother , who said he was largely interested in South Australia , wished to know whether Tasmania was included in the present motion . Bro . PHILBRICK said " No , " it applied only to the South Australian , and not to the Tasmanian District . Tasmania was an entirel y independent instance .
The Earl of LIMERICK said before he put this motion to the vote he thought it would not be out of place , even in the presence of those senior to himself , to say a few words on this resolution , but not in any way as from the chair , endeavouring to forecast what the resolution of Grand Lod ge would be . Expressing an individual opinion , though an opinion which he thought was shared by a very large number of the brethren , Grand Lodge
could not he thought but acknowledge the friendly and fraternal spirit with which the body styling itself , as they must say at present , " The Grand Lodge of South Australia , " had approached this Grand Lod )_ e , they must recognise that their request might be said to have been a unanimous one ; they had not endeavoured—in fact , they had repudiated the idea—to enforce obedience on any lodges in that district which did not wish to join
them—they had repudiated that idea altogether . They had approached this Grand Lodge—he felt sure every brother present would think—in a most proper spirit . If Grand Lodge decided to accept this motion he felt sure we should have in South Australia a body of brethren who , although no longer directly subject to this Grand Lodge , would maintain and uphold the gi eat traditions of English Masonry . He thought it was not out of place to remember that our colonies , although in civil matters they possessed
local self government , had shown that they were ready to rally to the assistance of the mother country whenever they might be called upon to do so . ( Cheers . ) He was sure that that spirit would exist also in Freemasonry . He trusted , speaking individually , that this motion might be accepted unanimously , and that they might wish the Grand Lodge of South Australia " Hearty good wishes " and God speed , and that we might recognise in ita promising addition to the Grand Lodges of the world .
The motion was then put , and the Earl of LIMERICK said he thought , to use the language of parliament , it might be said it was carried " nemine contradicente . "
The announcement was received with loud cheers . Bro . PHILBRICK next introduced an appeal from the W . M . and brethren of the Victoria Lodge , No . 1831 , Ashfield , New South Wales , against a ruling of their District Grand Master forbidding the discussion in open lodge of a resolution proposed by Bro . Deakin , Junior Warden . The Grand Registrar , in explaining the circumstances , said that the resolution , the
discussion of which was forbidden , was as follows : " That , in the opinion of this lodge , it is desirable that amalgamation of all thc Masons in New South Wales should take place as speedily as possible , " and that resolution was followed by another— " That its terms be communicated to the District Grand Master '' - —and upon that being so communicated the District Grand Master directed the VV . M . of the lodge to take the notice from the agenda paper ,
and to prevent the motion being discussed in the lodge . Against thai direction the Master and brethren of the Victoria Lodge appealed . As he had read the motion , it must have struck every one who heard it that it did not seem a very dangerous one ; but from the papers which were sent from the District Grand Master and from the Master of the lodge , it appeared that motion was intended and designed to cover the discussion of a
question whether or not the lodge in question should renounce allegiance to Grand Lodge , and enter into submission to a body which had applied , and unsuccessfully applied , to Grand Lodge for recognition , which had created itself in New South Wales , and to which no very great bulk of brethren of the Craft had at present entered . The Grand Registrar then referred to the acknowledgment by a Master on being installed of the
ancient charges , and to the 204 th Article of the Book of Constitutions , which provided that a brother who had been concerned in making Masons in a lodge which was not a regular lodge , or who mig ht assist in forming a new lodge without the Grand Master ' s authority , should not be admitted as a member or as a visitor to any regular lodge , nor be entitled to any relief from the Fund of Benevolence , or to any Masonic
privilege , until he made due submission to Grand Lodge . That was an undoubted law of the Craft . He pointed out that Grand Lodge was not grudging in its recognition of a proper case , as Grand Lodge had just now proved . It was only too pleased to see the spread of Masonry in the colonies , and wished them hearty success in propagating the princip les ol
Masonry , and long might their career , thus auspiciously begun , go on , and long might the Grand Lodge of South Australia prosper ; but it was a very different thing indeed when a lodge got up a discussion for the joining of a body which Grand Lodge did not recognise . He considered the District Grand Master was quite right ; the discussion would not have promoted harmony in the lodge ; and he would move that the appeal be dismissed .
Bro . THOMAS FENN , P . G . D ., President of the Board of General Purposes , seconded the motion . The appeal was dismissed . The next business was the consideration of an appeal by a brother ol the Province of Middlesex against a ruling of Col . Sir Francis Burdett , Prov . G . M . of Middlesex , sustaining a sentence of exclusion passed by that lodge on the brother now appealing .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
United Grand Lodge Of England.
After the formal opening of Grand Lodge the minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 4 th March , and of Grand Festival of 29 th April , were read by the Grand Secretary , and confirmed . The Earl of LIMERICK announced that the M . W . G . M . had been pleased to nominate for the Board of General Purposes Bros . Thomas Fenn ( President ) , Sir Albert W . Woods ( Garter ) , JE . J . Mclntyre , Q-C ,
M . P ., Sir John B . Monckton , F . A . Philbrick , Q . C , Dr . Alfred Meadows , Jas . Ebenezer Saunders , John Anthony Rucker , Robert Grey , Major Chas . Harding , and Charles Hammerton , Grand Swd . Br . ; and for the Colonial Board Bros . John Anthony Rucker ( President ) , Major George Haldane ( Vice-President ) , H . D . Sandeman , Brackstone Baker . Brethren elected by Grand Lodge : Bros . John Laurence Mather , Sir Reginald Hanson , Sir Bruce Seton , Ralph Glutton , Thomas Charles Walls , William A . Dawson ,
Thomas Hastings Miller , Giovanni P . Festa , James Willing , jun ., Reginald St . Aubyn Roumieu , Charles Frederick Hogard , Edward F . Storr , Fredk . West , and Tom Drew Bear . There had been a number of brethren nominated for the Colonial Board not exceeding the number for election , and it was his duty therefore to declare that they were duly elected as members of the Colonial Board : Bros . Brett , Haldane , Maitland , Rivington , Robbins , Roe , and Whitmarsh .
Bro . HUGH HEUGH RIACH , P . M . 1118 , then proposed Bro . Stanley Harding as Grand Lodge Auditor , who had satisfactorily discharged his duties last year , and was for 10 years assistant to his father , who was Grand Lodge Auditor . He thought the brethren could not err if they continued the confidence in the son they so long reposed in the father . Lieut .-Col . HALDANE , P . M . 1615 , seconded the motion , which was put and carried unanimously .
The following brethren were elected on the Committee of Management for the Royal Masonic Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons ; Bros . Chas . Alexander Cottebrune , Thomas W . C . Bush , Alfred H . Tattershall , James Willing , jun ., John E . Dawson , Captain Alfred Durrant , James Boulton , William j . Murlis , Charles Dairy , and Thomas Mount Humphries .
The Report of the Board of Benevolence having been read and received , the following recommendations , moved by Bro . J . BRETT , and seconded by Bro . COTTEBRUNE , were confirmed : The widow of a brother of the St . Andrew ' s Lodge , No . 231 , London £ 75 o o The widow of a brother of the Wellington Lodge , No . 548 ,
Deptford 50 o o A brother of the Social Lodge , No . 93 , Norwich Co o o A brother of the Pattison Lodge , No . 913 , Plumstead ... ... 50 o o A brother of the St . John ' s Lodge , No . 673 , Liverpool ... ... 50 o o The following Report of the Board of General Purposes was taken as read , received , and ordered to be entered on the minutes :
To the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England . The Board of General Purposes beg to submit a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts , at the meeting of the Finance Committee , held on Friday , the 15 th day of May inst ., shewing a balance in the Bank of England of
£ 481803 . nd ., and in the hands of the Grand Secretary for petty cash _ £ ioo , and ior servants' wages . £ 100 , and balance of annual allowance for library £ \ i 17 s . 6 d . ( Signed ) THOMAS FENN , President . Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C , May 19 th , 1885 .
At a meeting of the Board held on Tuesday , the 19 th May , after the ordinary business had been disposed of , the following resolution was passed ,
. : The Members of the Board unanimously desire to express their sense of the ability and courtesy uniformly displayed on all occasions by the V . W . Bro . Thomas Fenn , as President of the Board of General Purposes . ( Signed ) RALPH CLUTTON , Vice-President .
The annual report of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons , dated the 15 th May , 1885 , was laid before Grand Lodge . The next business was the consideration of an application from a Bod y styling itself "The Grand Lodge of South Australia , " stating that all the lodges and almost all the Masons in that Colony had united in forming an Independent Grand Lodge , and praying that it may therefore be recognized as such by the Grand Lodge of England .
Bro . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C , Grand Registrar , in introducing the subject , said in the important colo / iy ol South Australia , before the formation of the body referred to , there existed lodges of Masons holding , to the . number of 20 , their warrants from , and making their returns to , Grand Lodge of England . There were other and not so many lodges holding allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Scotland , and others which , in their turn , held under
the Grand Lodge of Ireland . These lodges , or rather the brethren composing them , had , by movement which they made , virtually unanimously joined and agreed in constituting , and , as far as they were able to constitute , bringing their allegiance 10 a bod y formed within the limits of the colony , which they had styled "The Grand Lodge of South Australia . " In so doing , the brethren composing the lodges that held under our jurisdiction
had acted in a manner which showed that they thoroughly appreciated the po . ition ol this Grand Lodge , and the body which made the application for recognition expressed its willingness to preserve and recognise the rights of any lodge or brother that might still desire to maintain and hold allegiance to Grand Lodge of England ; and in other respects , so far as he was able to form an opinion from the papers which had been transmitted to the
Grand Secretary , the action of the brethren had been dictated by a thoroughly fraternal spirit . The majority of the brethren composing 19 of the 20 English lodges in South Australia had at the time of the application assented to and concurred in the establishment of the Grand Lodge of South Australia , and some time in the course of last month the brethren composing the 20 th lodge had also intimated their adhesion . Under those circumstanceshe
, could not do better than quote the words of his predecessor , Bro . Mclntyre : " If the lime should come when thc lodges of a district , and the Masons of a district , as a body , should ^ consider that they should form a separate Grand Lodge of their own , and it should be clear to United Grand Lodge of England that the lodges and the Masons unanimousl y desired it , we should be
inclined to give them the recognition which they desire . " And when a wish had been thus expressed , and a body thus formed , although so far as G . Lodge was concerned , for the moment the recognition was technically of an irregular body , yet he thought they should not be indisposed as a Grand Lodge to recognise them , although , in one sense , they regretted the severance of the tie . Hc might say that the brethren of the various lodges had
United Grand Lodge Of England.
not been unmindful ofthe past tie , nor were they inclined to disregard it , for one of the matters which they had asked the M . W . G . M . to grant them was that they might be allowed to retain , as a cherished memento of their former connection with the Grand Lodge of England , the warrants ori ginally granted to them by this Grand Lodge . Bearing also in mind that Grand Secretary , who had been in correspondence with the Grand Lod ges of
Scotland and Ireland on the subject , that they had recognised , or were prepared to recognise , the Grand Lodge of South Australia as a Sovereign bod y , but would be guided in a great measure by the action which the Grand Lod ge of England would take that evening , he had great pleasure in moving * ' That this Grand Lodge agrees to enter into fraternal relations with the Grand Lodgeof South Australia . "
Bro . the Rev . Canon PORTAL , G . C , said he had great pleasure in seconding the proposition which had been so ably put by the Grand Registrar . He thought it did the brethren of South Australia great credit that they wished to retain their Grand Lodge of England warrants as historical records , and it was also much to their credit that they had stated their willingness to acknowledge the indefeasible rights of any lodge which
might hold its allegiance to their Grand Lodge to retain it . That , no doubt , was a point on which the Grand Registrar would have b *_ en very firm if there was a necessity for it . Under the circumstances , no doubt Grand Lodge would be doing a very graceful and fraternal act in acknowled ging this new body , which had throughout behaved in a most courteous way towards the Grand Lodge of England .
A Brother , who said he was largely interested in South Australia , wished to know whether Tasmania was included in the present motion . Bro . PHILBRICK said " No , " it applied only to the South Australian , and not to the Tasmanian District . Tasmania was an entirel y independent instance .
The Earl of LIMERICK said before he put this motion to the vote he thought it would not be out of place , even in the presence of those senior to himself , to say a few words on this resolution , but not in any way as from the chair , endeavouring to forecast what the resolution of Grand Lod ge would be . Expressing an individual opinion , though an opinion which he thought was shared by a very large number of the brethren , Grand Lodge
could not he thought but acknowledge the friendly and fraternal spirit with which the body styling itself , as they must say at present , " The Grand Lodge of South Australia , " had approached this Grand Lod )_ e , they must recognise that their request might be said to have been a unanimous one ; they had not endeavoured—in fact , they had repudiated the idea—to enforce obedience on any lodges in that district which did not wish to join
them—they had repudiated that idea altogether . They had approached this Grand Lodge—he felt sure every brother present would think—in a most proper spirit . If Grand Lodge decided to accept this motion he felt sure we should have in South Australia a body of brethren who , although no longer directly subject to this Grand Lodge , would maintain and uphold the gi eat traditions of English Masonry . He thought it was not out of place to remember that our colonies , although in civil matters they possessed
local self government , had shown that they were ready to rally to the assistance of the mother country whenever they might be called upon to do so . ( Cheers . ) He was sure that that spirit would exist also in Freemasonry . He trusted , speaking individually , that this motion might be accepted unanimously , and that they might wish the Grand Lodge of South Australia " Hearty good wishes " and God speed , and that we might recognise in ita promising addition to the Grand Lodges of the world .
The motion was then put , and the Earl of LIMERICK said he thought , to use the language of parliament , it might be said it was carried " nemine contradicente . "
The announcement was received with loud cheers . Bro . PHILBRICK next introduced an appeal from the W . M . and brethren of the Victoria Lodge , No . 1831 , Ashfield , New South Wales , against a ruling of their District Grand Master forbidding the discussion in open lodge of a resolution proposed by Bro . Deakin , Junior Warden . The Grand Registrar , in explaining the circumstances , said that the resolution , the
discussion of which was forbidden , was as follows : " That , in the opinion of this lodge , it is desirable that amalgamation of all thc Masons in New South Wales should take place as speedily as possible , " and that resolution was followed by another— " That its terms be communicated to the District Grand Master '' - —and upon that being so communicated the District Grand Master directed the VV . M . of the lodge to take the notice from the agenda paper ,
and to prevent the motion being discussed in the lodge . Against thai direction the Master and brethren of the Victoria Lodge appealed . As he had read the motion , it must have struck every one who heard it that it did not seem a very dangerous one ; but from the papers which were sent from the District Grand Master and from the Master of the lodge , it appeared that motion was intended and designed to cover the discussion of a
question whether or not the lodge in question should renounce allegiance to Grand Lodge , and enter into submission to a body which had applied , and unsuccessfully applied , to Grand Lodge for recognition , which had created itself in New South Wales , and to which no very great bulk of brethren of the Craft had at present entered . The Grand Registrar then referred to the acknowledgment by a Master on being installed of the
ancient charges , and to the 204 th Article of the Book of Constitutions , which provided that a brother who had been concerned in making Masons in a lodge which was not a regular lodge , or who mig ht assist in forming a new lodge without the Grand Master ' s authority , should not be admitted as a member or as a visitor to any regular lodge , nor be entitled to any relief from the Fund of Benevolence , or to any Masonic
privilege , until he made due submission to Grand Lodge . That was an undoubted law of the Craft . He pointed out that Grand Lodge was not grudging in its recognition of a proper case , as Grand Lodge had just now proved . It was only too pleased to see the spread of Masonry in the colonies , and wished them hearty success in propagating the princip les ol
Masonry , and long might their career , thus auspiciously begun , go on , and long might the Grand Lodge of South Australia prosper ; but it was a very different thing indeed when a lodge got up a discussion for the joining of a body which Grand Lodge did not recognise . He considered the District Grand Master was quite right ; the discussion would not have promoted harmony in the lodge ; and he would move that the appeal be dismissed .
Bro . THOMAS FENN , P . G . D ., President of the Board of General Purposes , seconded the motion . The appeal was dismissed . The next business was the consideration of an appeal by a brother ol the Province of Middlesex against a ruling of Col . Sir Francis Burdett , Prov . G . M . of Middlesex , sustaining a sentence of exclusion passed by that lodge on the brother now appealing .