United Grand Lodge.

Freemasons' Hall , London , 21 st May , 1872 . At the meeting of the Board held on Tuesday , the 21 st instant , after the ordinary business had been disposed of it was unanimously

Resolved— " That this Board cannot separate without offering to the President , the V . W . Bro . John Llewellyn Evans , their sincere thanks

not only for the undeviating courtesy and kindness which every member of the Board has received at his hands , but for the untiring zeal and attention which he has devoted to the

business of the Craft , and the ability and discretion with which he has at all times conducted the proceedings of the Board . " ( Signed ) J B . MONCKTON , FicerPresident .

To the report is subjoined a statement of the Grand Lodge Accounts at the last meeting of the Finance Committee , held on the 17 th May , 1872 , showing a balance in the hands of the

Grand Treasurer of , = £ 4 , 209 10 s . fA . and in the hands of the Grand Secretary for Petty Cash £ 75 . Bro . LI . Evans moved , and Bro . John B . Monckton seconded , the reception of this

Report . Bro . JohnM . Clabonaskedthe Grand Registrar what were the degrees or orders not recognised

by Grand Lodge , and referred to a paragraph in the Articles of Union , which declared and pronounced that there were three degrees and no more in pure and ancient Masonry .

The Grand Registrar said those were the only degrees acknowledged by the Lodge of Reconciliation that preceded the Union . Still it was stated on the face of the article that it was not

intended to prevent the lodges and chapters which had been in the habit of using and promulgating the degrees of chivalry from doing as they had done before . He was not himself a

member of any degree beyond the Royal Arch , and whether the Ancient and Accepted Rite was or was not an order of chivalry he could not say ; but

he had made inquiries among those who were members of that order , and as far as he could learn , it was considered an order of chivalry . He was not able to give a fuller answer .

After some discussion as to the mode of procedure on the question of the reception of the Report , Bro . C . Hutton Gregory recommended that a portion of the Report be not received , viz .,

" The Board however are clearly of opinion and submit to Grand Lodge that no cleik or other subordinate office in the employment of Grand Lodge should take a prominent part in any

degree or order not recognised by Grand Lodge . The Grand Registrar had indicated his belief that the body which was known as the Ancient and Accepted Rite , would be one of the bodies not

recognised by Grand Lodge , and if for no others , especially for this reason that it assumed the power to make Masons . That opinion was

based upon error . The Rules and Regulations of the Ancient and Accepted Rite . whieh he held in his hand , contained the following words , "This Council does not interfere with or

militate against the authority of the Grand Lodge governing the three symbolic degrees , hut distinctl y recognises such authority , admitting none to the higher degrees unless previously raised as Master Masons in some regularly con .

United Grand Lodge.

stituted Lodge . " Then the Articles of Union declared and pronounced pure and ancient Masonry to consist of three degrees and no more , but did not prevent any lodge or chapter

from holding meetings in any of the Degrees and Orders of Chivalry according to the constitution of the said orders . It did not say the Orders of Chivalry now practised by lodges and

chapters . Accepting the position Grand Registrar had taken , he ( Bro . Gregory ) would say what any Masons who were not members of the specified degrees , were not in a condition to speak as to

their being inimical or not , to Masonry . Masonry was a progressive science , and after the three ceremonies and the Royal Arch , whi ch we got by heart ; we even got tired of the

everlasting dinners . Some of us also went so far as to know by heart the beautiful lectures , which was the extreme height of knowledge in the Craft degrees . The inquiring mind wished to go

further , and instead of that further knowledge doing damage to Masonry , it helped to instruct a man , and to make him a better and worthier Mason . It was not for him to denounce others

of that proscribed body who might be present ; they were marked by social respectability , and he would warn the Board of General Purposes that in trying to stop the progress of knowledge

they would fail , for the denounced rites would go on in spite of their reprobation , and a schism would be created in Masonry . The proposition of the Board was self-condemned in the strongest

way ; it had the merit neither of courage nor consistency . It first said , " the Board are of opinion , and submit to Grand Lodge , that inasmuch as Grand Lodge has full control , not only over the

officials in its service , but over the whole Craft , and would undoubtedly exercise such control , should any member , whether official or otherwise , be proved to have taken part in any degree

or order denounced b y Grand Lodge , or inimical to its principles ; and inasmuch as the proposed resolution , if passed , would not add to the power and authority , either of Grand Lodge or of this

Board , such resolution is unnecessary , and the Boartl therefore do not recommend its adoption by Grand Lodge . " In this he ( Bro . Gregory ) agreed , but he disagreed with what followed . which

the Board itself had just said was unnecessary , and he should move as an amendment , that all which followed this sentence should be omitted . Bro . J . M . Gabon seconded the amendment ,

Grand Lodge had made two mistakes , Bro . Cooke ' s motion ought to have been negatived and it should not have been referred to the Board . He ( Bro . Clabon ) was a member

of the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and he considered he had ascended from pure Masonry to pure Masonry , and he wished the degree was acknowledged by Grand Lodge . It was a matter

of history that , until the Union of the Grand Lodges , all these Orders were followed by the Duke of Sussex , and at the present time , the Deputy Grand Master was a member . All that

they were now discussing was a miserable question of whether they should prevent any of the Grand Lodge clerks , who ,

although clerks , were still highly respectable men , joining the Ancient and Accepted Rite , when they left the Grand Secretary alone , and all the superior officers . It was quite rig ht , that the

United Grand Lodge.

clerks should not do anything in opposition or inimical to the principles of Masonry , but there was no reason why they should not join harmless Orders . He hoped the Board would give

up this clause , and have no more of these discussions upon the matter . If Grand Lodge adopted the last clause of the report , it would be derogatory to the clerks , and such a proceeding should not be tolerated .

Bro . Matthew Cooke would also move an amendment . The President of the Board still stuck to precisel y the same phraseology which was objectionable to him ( Bro . Cooke ) , and

which he objected to at last meeting . " The charges made by Bro . Cooke" was an inaccurate expression . It was within the recollection of Grand Lodge that he made no

charges at all , for lie was called up to answer and when he answered certain things , there came out a series of charges , indirectly , but not made by him , for he was answerable to the

Board . He was cited to the Board , and so far as that was concerned , he proved , on one point , what he asserted , except where the reticence of a brother whom lie could not commit ,

prevented light being thrown . He was the last man in Grand Lodge to say a word against an Order of Chivalry . He had in his pocket a diploma , printed by the Mother Council of the World . There was one thins the brethren did not seem

to understand ; there was a . great difference between the Ancient and Accepted Rite , and the old Templar Kadosh , and the series that were given as the Orders of Chivalry . It was the

ruling powers of the Rites that did not seem to be understood in Grand Lodge Certain people got a Rite up , or got hold of some disjointed pieces , and they formed them into a Rite , and

placed themselves at its head . There could be no doubt that many of the degrees used in this country before 1813 , had been floating about the country , but they had been under a Templar

jurisdiction ; almost everything was given under a Templar jurisdiction , and the consequence was that the Articles of Union spoke of the Orders of chivalry . That was a wide margin , which took

in all kinds of things ; and matters have now reached this point ; there was now a struggle whether the Templar or the Ancient and Accepted Rite , should be crushed . ( No , No . ) He

moved as an amendment , that the words " charges made by Bro . Cooke" should be expunged from the Report , or that the Report be rejected .

Bro . Bennoch quite approved of the exclusion of the words mentioned b yBro . Gregory from the Report , but he would go further , and would move in the event of Bro . Gregory ' s motion not

being carried , the expunging of all words after " inquire further into the matter . " Grand Lodge had no business to examine into the private movements of various Masonic bodies outside

themselves . There was a strong current in favour of other Rites , which Grand Lodge could not control , and to attempt to do so would be absurd and futile . Their policy was not to

interfere with the freedom of Masonry , and he had no business to inquire into these rites ; this had been settled before ; it was a waste of time , besides creating disunion to reopen it . Bro . Gregory said he would consent to with-