United Grand Lodge Of England .

•it such as he had also put before this Grand Lodge , Sir Robert Stout had brought a warrant purporting to establish a Masonic lodge , of which e was , and is , the first W . M ., holding under the Grand Orient of France . Bro . Sir Robert Stout took an exception to the fact that Grand Lodge of England had held , mse ' ves not to be in full Masonic union with the Grand Orient of France .

Unfortunately at the moment from causes the existence of which they all deplored Hat was true ; but if any brother within the sound of his ( Bro . Philbrick ' s ) voice ould reflect for one moment he would see it did not matter even where the body was irregular , which he was far from saying the Grand Orient was , although 11 ere mig ht be Masons in it professing doctrines to which English Masons never

ubscribed , but if it were irregular that did not in any way alter the case . If the lodge was the most regular lodge in the world , and in amity with the Grand Lodge of England , if it took on itself to establish a lodge of its own anywhere where - the Union Jack flew it would be guilty of a great Masonic mistake . In all cases he ventured to say the real and true sound doctrine was

the general rule that where the flag flies to take another jurisdiction into that territory was invasion . It was so in common sense , in general an ordinary matters , and according to French law , and he ventured to think the Masonic law in point of princip le did not differ . It was hardly worth while to quote principle in such a matter , but that was the accepted doctrine

of Grand Lodge in regard to the case of 1863 , when a case came before the Grand Master of the Supreme Conseil of France , which was another body , a supreme body in Masonry of France , and which had issued a warrant for Jersey , and a lodge had been established there under it , and its first Master was a brother under the Eng lish Constitution . He was summoned before Grand Lodge , and the

matter was fully gone into . His ( Bro . Philbrick's ) distinguished predecessor , the Grand Registrar ( Bro . Mclntyre ) , in advising Grand Lodge , very clearly laid down that the jurisdiction of Grand Lodge of England extended over the island of Jersey , and bringing in a warrant under the Grand Conseil of France was an invasion , that the brother was therefore s uspended from all his Masonic

privileges till he had made due submission to the Grand Master , and till the Grand Master was pleased to remove his suspension . He ( Bro . Philbrick ) did not think he need trouble Grand Lodge by dilating further in the matter . Bro . Sir Robert Stout was not an inexperienced Mason , he was one of us , he was initiated under our Constitution , he had occupied the chair in a lodge holding under the

District Grand Lodge of England , and had been appointed and was under the District Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland . Moreover , he had received the honours of Grand Lodge , having been appointed Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies . Being , therefore , an experienced Mason , his act had been a deliberate one , and he defended it , and said that Grand

Lodge was a Court of Appeal and not a Court of First Instance . He ( Bro . Philbrick ) would very much like to know how a District Grand Lodge in New Zealand or any other foreign part would interfere between Grand Lodge and an Officer of Grand Lodge . But apart from that , on principle this Grand Lodge had a jurisdiction , and a direct and absolute jurisdiction over every

brother who was a member of it—certainly over the Grand Officers , and itactuall y asserted that jurisdiction more than once , and in a very early period of United Grand Lodge of England , after the Union in the year 1816 , it did so , and in the case of a Bro . Bonner , the Grand Lodge resolved that he be deprived of his insignia as a Grand Officer and all the privileges arising therefrom .

Therefore both principles , Masonic precedent and Masonic law showed that Grand Lodge had a direct and primary jurisdiction over all those who were members of it , certainly over Grand Officers . Bro . Sir Robert Stout says further , and in a matter of this importance Grand Lodge would pardon him ( Bro . Philbrick ) for referring to what he said in his defence , for the Grand Lodge

ought to consider it fully—that Grand Lodge had no more concern with the matter than if he had joined the Odd Fellows , the Foresters , or the Buffaloes . Sir Robert Stout said Grand Lodge had no . concern in the matter , because the

Grand Orient of France was not a recognised Masonic body . Taking the question of invasion , he would put an analogy not entirely exact , but sufficient perhaps to convey his meaning . Suppose the case of an invasion of one country by another ; would it be any answer if the invaders , caught red handed , after

landing were to say they were not invaders , because they were not recognised as a regular enemy ? The answer would be— " We have endeavoured to stop you before your invasion was successful . " He thought Grand Lodge would say that the pleas put forward by Sir Robert Stout in the long letter which was read , and which they were able to followwere

, •ill such that they could make up their minds upon them . Personall y he felt the present was a case of great weight and extreme gravity with regard to Masonry . The knowledge and position of Sir Robert Stout , who was high in authorit y in a distant part of the globe , where above all his duty was to set an

example of and show loyal obedience to the Craft , rendered it a case of gravity . He considered , therefore , that Grand Lodge must feel that the complaint of the rand Master was a well founded one , and deal with it as a serious matter , and ne had therefore to propose that Grand Lodge , having carefully considered the report and the documents submitted to it by the Most Worshipful Grand Master

" = "" ive to the establishment b y Bro . Sir Robert Stout , P . A . G . D . C , and Deput y 'stnet Grand Master of Otago and Southland , New Zealand , of a lodge at Wellington in that province , under the Grand Orient of France , of which he is •ister , resolves that in the opinion of Grand Lodge the complaint against Bro . k ' d r ' ^ tout ! s we " Iounded , and his plea in extenuation cannot be accepted , an Grand Lod ge therefore adjudges him guilty of a grave Masonic offenceand

, ™ a p ° rdance with the precedent in the case of Brc . Bonner in 1816 hereb y JPnves Sir Robert Stout of his rank and status of Deputy District Grand Master . ran Lod ge is further of opinion that b y his action as herein stated Bro . Sir ert Stout has placed himself nndpr Hip nrnvicinn nf ArHrlp on . i ^ f 1 U R ™ b- ^ f

Dis nS . ItUtlons > and directs that this fact shall be brought under the notice of the ofbe ? r 3 nd Master and Grand Lodge of 0 ta g ° Southland with the view eing further dealt with by the District Grand Lodge according to Masonic law •wd he moved accordingly .

second ! MAS FENN ' President of the Board of General Purposes , said , in goiie " " t - motion > tnat Br 0 - Philbrick had in this serious matter very rightly compa ° '' ^ S ° me Iength ' but realIv the matter was comprised in a very small He coufj an < J l 4 W ° " 0 t be necessary for nim t 0 detain the brethren very long , vouch for the correctness of the precedents which had been quoted b y

United Grand Lodge Of England .

the Grand Registrar . The case of Bro . Bonner was not the only case in which Grand Lodge had dealt with a Masonic offence by a Grand Officer and deprived him of his rank . This power the Grand Lod ge had not delegated to District Grand Lodges or any subordinate authority . All that was proposed to do was to exercise this power and to leave all other matters to the District Grand Lodges and District Grand Masters . The Masonic offence was clearl y laid down in the

second precedent which had been put by the Grand Registrar . He distinctly recollected a very painful scene in that Grand Lodge . It was fixed on his mind , because it was the first time he ever saw a brother introduced into Grand Lodge in the humiliating position in which that brother was introduced between the two Deacons , deprived of his Masonic clothing , to appeal against his suspension . On that occasion the Grand Master in the chair very clearly laid down what the offence

was ; it was precisely the same as that of Bro . Stout , and the Grand Master there said that no foreign jurisdiction—that is , other jurisdictions than that of the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland—could be exercised , or any lodge established in any part of the Queen ' s dominions . There could be no doubt that New Zealand was part of the Queen ' s dominions ; and therefore any lodge established or attempted to be established there under another jurisdiction was an irregular lodge . Bro . Mclntyre on that occasion showed that according to

the ancient charges , a Master solemnly admitted that no new lodge could be formed without permission of the Grand Master or his Deputy , and that no countenance ought to be given to any irregular lodge or to any person initiated therein . Yet the brother there had proceeded to establish an irregular lodge by accepting the office of Master . The offence was precisely the same in this case , and it was clearly laid down to be a Masonic offence which Grand Lodge had the power to deal with in the way proposed . He begged to second the motion of the Grand Registrar .

Bro . BEACH said before he put this resolution he mi ght remark that Grand Lodge would look with leniency on a Masonic offence if it were not of an important character . No doubt a W . M . mi ght go beyond his authority by inadvertence ; a Provincial Grand Master might go beyond his authority in thinking he had a power , a dispensing power , which appertained onl y to the Grand Master ; but in such a case it would be an error through inadvertence , and he thought that

Grand Lodge would look with great favour upon a fault so committed . But the brethren were dealing with a much more serious matter than that ; they had a brother in high authority who should set an example to others , and yet from the clear information of the details they had received , Bro . Stout had no doubt transgressed and gone beyond all his proper authority , and committed a flagrant violation of his Masonic duties . That any one in authority , and entrusted with

authority under the Grand Lodge of England , should apply to a foreign jurisdiction to establish a new lodge , and then should put himself at its head , was indeed a grave dereliction of duty ; but that dereliction of duty was intensified and aggravated by the fact that the Masonic authority to which he applied was one with which the Grand Lodge of England had passed a resolution repudiating the

association . He need not advert to the causes which led to that ; they were stated by Bro . Sir Robert Stout in his own letter , in which he said they took a view of Masonic progress . Grand Lodge adhered to the ancient landmarks of the Order , and admitted no progress which was not based on the ancient landmarks . He need say no more than that he heartil y concurred with the resolution which he should have the honour now to put to Grand Lodge .

Grand Lodge having carefully considered the report and documents submitted to it by the M . W . Grand Master relative to the establishment by Bro . Sir Robert Stout , K . C . M . G ., Past Asst . G . D . of C , Deputy Grand Master of Otago and Southland , New Zealand , of a lodge in the town of Wellington in that colony , under a warrant from the Grand Orient of France , and of which lodge he is Master .

Resolved— 'That in the opinion of Grand Lodge the complaint against Bro . Sir Robert Stout is well founded , and his plea of justification cannot be accepted . Grand Lodge therefore adjudges him guilty of a grave Masonic offence , and in accordance with the precedent set in the case of Bro . Bonner in the year 1816 , hereby removes Bro . Sir Robert Stout from his rank and status as a Grand Officer of the Grand Lodge of England .

" Grand Lodge is further of opinion that by his action as herein stated Bro . Sir Robert Stout has placed himself under the provisions of Article 204 , Book of Constitutions , and directs that this fact shall be brought under the notice of the District Grand Master of Otago and Southland , with a view to the withdrawal of Sir Robert Stout's patent as Deputy Grand Master of that District , and to his being further dealt with by the District Grand Lodge according to Masonic law . "

Bro . J AIRD , W . M . 259 ; M . W . G . M . in the chair , I had the honour at the last meeting of Grand Lodge to nominate H . R . H . the Prince of Wales as Grand Master for the ensuing year , and this evening I have the further honour of proposing his election ; and knowing full well that it is unusual on these occasions to refer at any length to the merits of one who is known to all good Masons , and who is loved and respected by them all , and bearing out that feeling , I need only

refer to the recent ceremony at Reading , where the son of his Royal Highness took an honourable position in Berkshire . We have had noticed in the minutes to-night the letter from the Grand Master ' s brother , the Duke of Connaught , also showing the deep interest he takes in the Craft ; and many are also aware of the ceremony which in a few days will take place with one of our Charities , the Girls' School , and where H . R . H . the Prince of Wales would be with the Princess

of Wales to carry out a very important ceremony . These are only a few of the many reasons which have endeared the Prince of Wales to the Craft , not only in England but also throughout the world , and I am sure the pleasure we shall have to-night in re-electing him as Grand Master of Grand Lodge will be a pleasure that will be conveyed to the world at large . I therefore , M . W . G . M . in the chair , with the greatest pleasure move that his Royal Highness be elected as our M . W . G . M . for the ensuing year .

Bro . Sir GEORGE TAUBMAN GOLDNEV : M . W . G . M . in the chair , I have the honour of seconding on this occasion the annual resolution by which year by year English Freemasonry shows the great benefits which his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales has conferred , and is conferring , on Freemasonry . At the

same time I feel the duty is a very light one . Everything has been said b y Bro . Aird . I shall , therefore , not weaken what he has said by adding to it . I shall simply second the motion that his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales be reelected our Grand Master . Bro . BEACH : Brethren , I call upon you to carry it by acclamation .

The motion was carried , and Sir Albert Woods proclaimed the Prince of Wales duly elected . Bro . J GLASS , P . M . 453 , said that following his nomination at last Grand Lodge he now proposed Bro . George Everett , P . M . 177 , to be the Grand Treasurer for the year ensuing . He was sure Bro . Everett was so well known that the

brethren would accord him the honour . He was glad to find Bro . Everett was able to attend on this occasion though he was absent when he was nominated . Bro . RICHARD EVE , P . G . Treas ., seconded the motion , which was put and carried . The report of the Board of Benevolence for the last quarter , in which were recommendations for the following grants , was adopted .

The widow of a brother of the Lodge of Peace and Harmony , No . 199 , Dover £ 50 0 o The widow of a brother of the Commercial Lodge , No . 411 , Nottingham 50 o c A brother of the Upper Norwood Lodge , No . 1586 , Upper Norwood 50 0 o