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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . ]
THE LAST LODGE OF BENEVOLENCE . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir , and Brother , — The three causes mentioned in last week ' s " Freemason " have no doubt a very great deal to do with the demand for so much relief being required ; but it seems to me , from what I have seen of Masonry , that there is
another and greater cause , which is the lodges being held at public-houses , and 1 am not the only brother who can see the great evil arising from this cause . H . R . H . the Prince of Wales is the Grand Master and head of the Order , but the number of publicans belonging to the Order is so great , that their power has a great influence over the brethren , and , speaking within bounds , I
should say that a considerable sum of the money spent by Masons on MasonryJ finds it's , ' way into their pockets , and it is this which gives them so much power . In my opinion it is through them so ^ many are brought into the Order that should not be allowed in , for a publican having a lodge in his house will recommend any one who may offer themselves , so long as they are good customers and drink
freely . Again , another great evil , when an initiate has been admitted , where is he to go for instruction but to a tavern ; in fact , there is nothing but that from his entry into the Order—to his craving for charity—and here again this is felt , as many of the brothers who apply for charity are tradesmen who enter Masonry when first rising in business , and if ambitious to rise in the Order they have to spend so much of their valuable time in the public-house instead
of attending to their business . Of course" men who have attained a good position , and can employ others to look after their affairs , can afford to spend their time as they like without feeling it , but not so with beginners in business . I know many brothers who spend much of their lime in public-houses ( where lodges are held ) on Masonic business , and so they must go on ( until lodge rooms be provided away from these places ) wilh habits which are the forerunner of the claims on the Lodge of j Benevolence . Yours truly , 1446 .
ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir , and Brother , I had almost arrived at the determination not to reply to the letter of Bro . Charles Pegler , but after reading your editoral comments thereon , it would seem ungracious not to do so . I write , however , with extreme distaste and
reluctance , for nothing to my mind is so painful and wearying as to be constantly on the defence of that which you know to be undeserving of censures . This feeling is intensified when you are conscious of pleading in the presence of prejudiced judges who have formed their opinions without fair enguiry , and who having once adopted certain views adhere , to them with pertinacity ,
refusing to admit evidence which is calculated to modify them . I write this without the least intention to cast any reflettiun upon any brother , or to find fault with the course which he may think it wise , in the exercise of his
discreliou , to pursue . The strongest impression on my mind is that of utter hopelessness in attempting to convince out critics that the standard they have fixed is one utterly at variance with all our traditions ( no matter of how modern an origin they may be ) . . To come to the point without further preface , it is very
evident that we have now two classes of contributors—the one contending , that cheapness is the true test of good management—the other maintaining that , while a prudent economy is by all means to be observed , there are other considerations of greater importance than those involved in the question , " At how low a rate can such and such results be produced , and how large a number can be done for a
given sum ? " This is the philosophy of " Dotheboys ' Hall , " which has never yet found favour in the charitable institutions connected with Freemasonry . The ruling motive or principle in the management of our schools during the period I have been associated with them—extending over twenty years—has been to treat the children as if they were members of . your own family , as in a sense ,
I hope understood by at least the large majority of Masons , they undoubtedly are—and to deprive the benefits they receive of everything that would imply an idea of charity . This has been successfully achieved , not without cost , 1 admit , and until I know to what extent similar notions prevail in other institutions , it is idle and fallacious to attempt analytical comparisons of expenditure .
If those who find their highest ' gratification in microscopically dissecting accounts , and in denouncing what they term extravagance , arc in earnest , why do they not give notice of , motion for the Quarterly Courts to the effect " that the present management of the Masonic schools is disapproved , and that the children therein shall be educated and maintained at a cost not exceeding £ — per head . We
shall then have a fair chance of arriving at the real feeling of the governors and subscribers by whose voluntary contributions the institutions are supported . From the time of the controversy now going on , an outsider would imagine that our Institutions are maintained by a poll tax , or by an enforced rate , instead ot by voluntary effort . I state with
confidence that hundreds of donations have been given entirely on account of the care and attention paid to health and comfort in our establishments , and have every reason to believe that many of our kindest friends and most liberal contributors would discontinue their assistance were we to adopt a cheeseparing policy of parsimony . Into the comparative expenditure for clothing raid pro-
Original Correspondence.
visions I decline to enter fully until I am in a position to ascertain the particulars of the quantity and quality of the former and of the diet regulating the latter in the various institutions of a somewhat kindred nature , though I will
quote the cost of these items in one or two schools . The cost is for Clothing . Provisions . Royal Medical Benevolent ... 718 3 17 12 9 Clergy Orphan ... ... ... 5 10 4 17 2 7 British Orphan 548 13 8 9
Average ... 6 4 5 16 1 4 Masonic Boys' School ... ... 711 7 1311 9 But let us turn to two other important items , and with reference to these I will quote from the reports of the above and other societies , because in school labours and office work there is closer affinity than in details such as the above , and because in respect of one of these items many unjust and undeserved strictures have been published .
vi u VI a u o . X w u ffi O Vi bo ¦ o a rt VI t v ' ha Ji 13 t /> " 3 o x : u 03
« o o PI (* : eo I 2 o M 00 ¦*(• co E ci -i h- -. N 3 I z f _ j . oo-. w-ir ri ^ I „• ?_ >* ' ¦ ; O £ (^ ^ - w v © - *• • a " er > w - -t S ui M ^ ° * " ° _ o * - — — C- * O -I 1 » f ^ — . ^ - N + B «! ' T , -d P i - cv w ; c X ¦ * \ o o el - ,- — ' —' a . j 2 ° " " ' " * _ . I- y , - n o 3 „• " £ < w "• 05 H 5 ¦ + " S' * - V C * - - CO « -. 1 - M I- * — M i j I VI « J i : ii ¦ 0 : ; o a § : : -5 £ B : : 5 s 11 J I £ o a . p . u rt _? O O 3 y <* w ^ o C — ^> J 3 -C p ! & -3 g I & J . -t $ o pi O S 3 > o
I -r I vo I co ^ c * o ~ w rrr CC V © o levo o O v © OO 0 00 —^ » o 'O " ° - - 1 ~ o ir , t CO CO tr m CO - 1- <¦> SC 00 " * " : " o : o f . " 5 co m g > 3 o ' c o t / 3 _ 2 S
I have abjured fractions , and have given our office expenses in two accounts , the smaller exclusive , the larger inclusive , of the £ 200 so " suspiciously " placed in another account , and which , from the special circumstances attending it I still contend ought not to form part of the ordinary charge . I regret not having obtained a larger number of reports ,
but the above will afford evidence that in our expenditure there is no such extravagance as to warrant the serious accusations brought against us . You very justly draw attention to the Report of the West Yorkshire Charity Committee issued in October , 1868 , and I hope its reproduction in your columns may not be without effect . The peculiar circumstances of our
position arc there put forcibly and fairly , and I contend that it is neither wise nor just to attempt the disparagement of an institution by contrasting it unfavourably with others with which no strict grounds of comparison exist . Our system has been the growth of ten years approval of numerous , distinguished , and influential members of the Craft , by whom , as well as by a large number of well-qualified judges belonging to the outer world , the
entire arrangements of the establishment at Wood Green have been awarded the highest praise and admiration . All that is now needed is the best possible middle class Education combined with good discipline , and this I conscientiously believe we are note in a fair way of securing . I ] am , dear Sir and Brother , yours faithfully and fraternally , I- ' liiiDEiticK BINCKES , Secretary . London , 6 th December , 187 c .
WHAT'S IN THE WIND NOW ? To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Is it true that some few brethren in West Yorkshire are preparing a scheme for a snug little berth for ' an
ex-Master of the Boys' School ? One should like to know . For just now some few brethren of that most distinguished province seem to be runr . ing-a-muck at our Metropolitan Educational Institutions . Yours fraternally , A YORKSIIIRL TYKE .
THE FORCE OF HABIT . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — How difficult it is for a man to lay aside his ordinary habits may be estimated any flay by carefully watching ourselves and those around us . Particular forms of speech or action become so ingrained in us , that no
Original Correspondence.
matter how inappropriate the time or place , we find it impossible to leave them off . An example or two will best explain this . Suppose a man , remarkable for the force rather than elegance of his diction , finds himself in the society of respectable chapel-going elderly ladies : how frequently he will have to beg their pardon for his want of appreciation of the conversational value of the letter " h , "
as compared with the monsyllable " damn ; " or suppose a gang of miners , listening to one of their fellows as wraptl y and rapturously as to the parson ( during a strike ) while he relates to them the historic encounter of " Brummy ; " how instinctively they all throw themselves into that elegant attitude known as " squatting on their haunches , " which
they have long accustomed themselves to down the pit , And if these things be so in their cases , and many similar ones in our own , hew can we wonder that a distinguished W . M . of a metropolitan lodge , who rose at a meeting ol the Criterion Building Society to second a proposition , should do so after saluting the chairman in the approved Masonic manner . A . L . H .
PROVINCIAL GRAND OFFICERS . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — A Provincial Grand Lodge , comprising three counties , and meeting alternately in the principal town of each county , passed , five years ago , the following reso . lution : —
" That at the annual election of P . G . Officers the Senior Warden retires , and the other officers to be promoted one step , so that the Inner Guard's place alone has to be filled up , and that by a brother from the three counties alternately . " This rule was duly entered in the minute book of the Provincial Grand Lodge , signed in due time by the R . W .
D . G . Master , and acted on with great success , without intermission or question as to its utility ; but it was not on the book of bye-laws ' , as we had nqt any printed since , nor was it reported to the Grand Lodge of the country for confirmation , as this was deemed unnecessary . At the last election , however , the members of the county where the election was held , without notice of any sort ,
without rescinding the above rule , proposed and elected members of their own county only to all the various offices from P . I . G . to P . S . W . Will you kindly inform mc whether this election is legal , or ought another election to take place , as there is considerable doubt whether the election , having taken place on the day appointed by the bye-laws , can be disturbed ? FAIK PLAY .
LONDON MASONIC CLUB . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — My attention has just been directed to a letter in one of your issues having reference to the above club . I beg to assure your correspondent that no time has been lost in securing suitable club premises , and I have every reason to hope that a few days will enable me officially to notify to those interested the situation and date of
opening . As I am not writing with the authority of the directors , I take this opportunity of saying that each of those brethren have spared neither time or trouble in looking after and promoting the undertaking .
The difficulty has been in obtaining premises and to know for what number to make provision , which would have been obviated by intending members sending in their names earlier . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , I OIIN A . LATIIUURV .
COLOURED MASONS IN THE UNITED STATES \
PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — In your issue of October 23 rd you have given your decision against the legality of the coloured Masons in the United States because their lodge was erased from the English list of lodges in 1813 . But I beg respectfully to
ask whether you can find in the history of Freemasonry , during the last century , any Grand Lodge that was formed on the Continent of Europe , or in America , which acted in a different manner from that of the African Lodge at Boston ? Thus , France received its first charter from England in 1724 , and within a dozen years the Ercnch
Lodge , or lodges , formed themselves into a Grand Lodge . And so it was with Holland ; and so it was with all the lodges on the American continent . In 1769 the Grand Lodge of Scotland sent a deputation to Dr . ( afterwards General ) Joseph Warren appointing him Prov . G . M . over a certain part of New England . Gen . Warren died on Bunker Hill in 1775 , and on March 8 th ,
1777 , the officers of this defunct Scotch Provincial Grand Lodge formed themselves into an . independent Grand Lodge by the name or title of " The Grand Lodge of Massachussets ; " and in 1792 the several lodges , which originally owed allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England , also formed themselves into an independent Grand Lodge , and then the two Grand Lodges united . It will be seen
that the coloured Masons of Boston followed the example set them by their white brothers at that period , for neither the Scotch , nor the English lodges in Boston , consulted their respective parent Grand Lodges as to whether they might or might not secede . There was even no formal notice sent to the Grand
Lodge of England that the Boston white Masons did secede ( vide letter of Wm . White below ) , and I frankly admit that in the light of Masonic law of to-day their unceremonious secession from their parent Grand Lodge was illegal ; yet , what was the practice at that time with American Grand Lodges ? We find , as wc have already said
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even as approving of the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but wc wish , in a spirit of fair play to all , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . —ED . ]
THE LAST LODGE OF BENEVOLENCE . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir , and Brother , — The three causes mentioned in last week ' s " Freemason " have no doubt a very great deal to do with the demand for so much relief being required ; but it seems to me , from what I have seen of Masonry , that there is
another and greater cause , which is the lodges being held at public-houses , and 1 am not the only brother who can see the great evil arising from this cause . H . R . H . the Prince of Wales is the Grand Master and head of the Order , but the number of publicans belonging to the Order is so great , that their power has a great influence over the brethren , and , speaking within bounds , I
should say that a considerable sum of the money spent by Masons on MasonryJ finds it's , ' way into their pockets , and it is this which gives them so much power . In my opinion it is through them so ^ many are brought into the Order that should not be allowed in , for a publican having a lodge in his house will recommend any one who may offer themselves , so long as they are good customers and drink
freely . Again , another great evil , when an initiate has been admitted , where is he to go for instruction but to a tavern ; in fact , there is nothing but that from his entry into the Order—to his craving for charity—and here again this is felt , as many of the brothers who apply for charity are tradesmen who enter Masonry when first rising in business , and if ambitious to rise in the Order they have to spend so much of their valuable time in the public-house instead
of attending to their business . Of course" men who have attained a good position , and can employ others to look after their affairs , can afford to spend their time as they like without feeling it , but not so with beginners in business . I know many brothers who spend much of their lime in public-houses ( where lodges are held ) on Masonic business , and so they must go on ( until lodge rooms be provided away from these places ) wilh habits which are the forerunner of the claims on the Lodge of j Benevolence . Yours truly , 1446 .
ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir , and Brother , I had almost arrived at the determination not to reply to the letter of Bro . Charles Pegler , but after reading your editoral comments thereon , it would seem ungracious not to do so . I write , however , with extreme distaste and
reluctance , for nothing to my mind is so painful and wearying as to be constantly on the defence of that which you know to be undeserving of censures . This feeling is intensified when you are conscious of pleading in the presence of prejudiced judges who have formed their opinions without fair enguiry , and who having once adopted certain views adhere , to them with pertinacity ,
refusing to admit evidence which is calculated to modify them . I write this without the least intention to cast any reflettiun upon any brother , or to find fault with the course which he may think it wise , in the exercise of his
discreliou , to pursue . The strongest impression on my mind is that of utter hopelessness in attempting to convince out critics that the standard they have fixed is one utterly at variance with all our traditions ( no matter of how modern an origin they may be ) . . To come to the point without further preface , it is very
evident that we have now two classes of contributors—the one contending , that cheapness is the true test of good management—the other maintaining that , while a prudent economy is by all means to be observed , there are other considerations of greater importance than those involved in the question , " At how low a rate can such and such results be produced , and how large a number can be done for a
given sum ? " This is the philosophy of " Dotheboys ' Hall , " which has never yet found favour in the charitable institutions connected with Freemasonry . The ruling motive or principle in the management of our schools during the period I have been associated with them—extending over twenty years—has been to treat the children as if they were members of . your own family , as in a sense ,
I hope understood by at least the large majority of Masons , they undoubtedly are—and to deprive the benefits they receive of everything that would imply an idea of charity . This has been successfully achieved , not without cost , 1 admit , and until I know to what extent similar notions prevail in other institutions , it is idle and fallacious to attempt analytical comparisons of expenditure .
If those who find their highest ' gratification in microscopically dissecting accounts , and in denouncing what they term extravagance , arc in earnest , why do they not give notice of , motion for the Quarterly Courts to the effect " that the present management of the Masonic schools is disapproved , and that the children therein shall be educated and maintained at a cost not exceeding £ — per head . We
shall then have a fair chance of arriving at the real feeling of the governors and subscribers by whose voluntary contributions the institutions are supported . From the time of the controversy now going on , an outsider would imagine that our Institutions are maintained by a poll tax , or by an enforced rate , instead ot by voluntary effort . I state with
confidence that hundreds of donations have been given entirely on account of the care and attention paid to health and comfort in our establishments , and have every reason to believe that many of our kindest friends and most liberal contributors would discontinue their assistance were we to adopt a cheeseparing policy of parsimony . Into the comparative expenditure for clothing raid pro-
Original Correspondence.
visions I decline to enter fully until I am in a position to ascertain the particulars of the quantity and quality of the former and of the diet regulating the latter in the various institutions of a somewhat kindred nature , though I will
quote the cost of these items in one or two schools . The cost is for Clothing . Provisions . Royal Medical Benevolent ... 718 3 17 12 9 Clergy Orphan ... ... ... 5 10 4 17 2 7 British Orphan 548 13 8 9
Average ... 6 4 5 16 1 4 Masonic Boys' School ... ... 711 7 1311 9 But let us turn to two other important items , and with reference to these I will quote from the reports of the above and other societies , because in school labours and office work there is closer affinity than in details such as the above , and because in respect of one of these items many unjust and undeserved strictures have been published .
vi u VI a u o . X w u ffi O Vi bo ¦ o a rt VI t v ' ha Ji 13 t /> " 3 o x : u 03
« o o PI (* : eo I 2 o M 00 ¦*(• co E ci -i h- -. N 3 I z f _ j . oo-. w-ir ri ^ I „• ?_ >* ' ¦ ; O £ (^ ^ - w v © - *• • a " er > w - -t S ui M ^ ° * " ° _ o * - — — C- * O -I 1 » f ^ — . ^ - N + B «! ' T , -d P i - cv w ; c X ¦ * \ o o el - ,- — ' —' a . j 2 ° " " ' " * _ . I- y , - n o 3 „• " £ < w "• 05 H 5 ¦ + " S' * - V C * - - CO « -. 1 - M I- * — M i j I VI « J i : ii ¦ 0 : ; o a § : : -5 £ B : : 5 s 11 J I £ o a . p . u rt _? O O 3 y <* w ^ o C — ^> J 3 -C p ! & -3 g I & J . -t $ o pi O S 3 > o
I -r I vo I co ^ c * o ~ w rrr CC V © o levo o O v © OO 0 00 —^ » o 'O " ° - - 1 ~ o ir , t CO CO tr m CO - 1- <¦> SC 00 " * " : " o : o f . " 5 co m g > 3 o ' c o t / 3 _ 2 S
I have abjured fractions , and have given our office expenses in two accounts , the smaller exclusive , the larger inclusive , of the £ 200 so " suspiciously " placed in another account , and which , from the special circumstances attending it I still contend ought not to form part of the ordinary charge . I regret not having obtained a larger number of reports ,
but the above will afford evidence that in our expenditure there is no such extravagance as to warrant the serious accusations brought against us . You very justly draw attention to the Report of the West Yorkshire Charity Committee issued in October , 1868 , and I hope its reproduction in your columns may not be without effect . The peculiar circumstances of our
position arc there put forcibly and fairly , and I contend that it is neither wise nor just to attempt the disparagement of an institution by contrasting it unfavourably with others with which no strict grounds of comparison exist . Our system has been the growth of ten years approval of numerous , distinguished , and influential members of the Craft , by whom , as well as by a large number of well-qualified judges belonging to the outer world , the
entire arrangements of the establishment at Wood Green have been awarded the highest praise and admiration . All that is now needed is the best possible middle class Education combined with good discipline , and this I conscientiously believe we are note in a fair way of securing . I ] am , dear Sir and Brother , yours faithfully and fraternally , I- ' liiiDEiticK BINCKES , Secretary . London , 6 th December , 187 c .
WHAT'S IN THE WIND NOW ? To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Is it true that some few brethren in West Yorkshire are preparing a scheme for a snug little berth for ' an
ex-Master of the Boys' School ? One should like to know . For just now some few brethren of that most distinguished province seem to be runr . ing-a-muck at our Metropolitan Educational Institutions . Yours fraternally , A YORKSIIIRL TYKE .
THE FORCE OF HABIT . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — How difficult it is for a man to lay aside his ordinary habits may be estimated any flay by carefully watching ourselves and those around us . Particular forms of speech or action become so ingrained in us , that no
Original Correspondence.
matter how inappropriate the time or place , we find it impossible to leave them off . An example or two will best explain this . Suppose a man , remarkable for the force rather than elegance of his diction , finds himself in the society of respectable chapel-going elderly ladies : how frequently he will have to beg their pardon for his want of appreciation of the conversational value of the letter " h , "
as compared with the monsyllable " damn ; " or suppose a gang of miners , listening to one of their fellows as wraptl y and rapturously as to the parson ( during a strike ) while he relates to them the historic encounter of " Brummy ; " how instinctively they all throw themselves into that elegant attitude known as " squatting on their haunches , " which
they have long accustomed themselves to down the pit , And if these things be so in their cases , and many similar ones in our own , hew can we wonder that a distinguished W . M . of a metropolitan lodge , who rose at a meeting ol the Criterion Building Society to second a proposition , should do so after saluting the chairman in the approved Masonic manner . A . L . H .
PROVINCIAL GRAND OFFICERS . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — A Provincial Grand Lodge , comprising three counties , and meeting alternately in the principal town of each county , passed , five years ago , the following reso . lution : —
" That at the annual election of P . G . Officers the Senior Warden retires , and the other officers to be promoted one step , so that the Inner Guard's place alone has to be filled up , and that by a brother from the three counties alternately . " This rule was duly entered in the minute book of the Provincial Grand Lodge , signed in due time by the R . W .
D . G . Master , and acted on with great success , without intermission or question as to its utility ; but it was not on the book of bye-laws ' , as we had nqt any printed since , nor was it reported to the Grand Lodge of the country for confirmation , as this was deemed unnecessary . At the last election , however , the members of the county where the election was held , without notice of any sort ,
without rescinding the above rule , proposed and elected members of their own county only to all the various offices from P . I . G . to P . S . W . Will you kindly inform mc whether this election is legal , or ought another election to take place , as there is considerable doubt whether the election , having taken place on the day appointed by the bye-laws , can be disturbed ? FAIK PLAY .
LONDON MASONIC CLUB . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — My attention has just been directed to a letter in one of your issues having reference to the above club . I beg to assure your correspondent that no time has been lost in securing suitable club premises , and I have every reason to hope that a few days will enable me officially to notify to those interested the situation and date of
opening . As I am not writing with the authority of the directors , I take this opportunity of saying that each of those brethren have spared neither time or trouble in looking after and promoting the undertaking .
The difficulty has been in obtaining premises and to know for what number to make provision , which would have been obviated by intending members sending in their names earlier . I am , dear Sir and Brother , yours fraternally , I OIIN A . LATIIUURV .
COLOURED MASONS IN THE UNITED STATES \
PRINCE HALL GRAND LODGE . To the Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — In your issue of October 23 rd you have given your decision against the legality of the coloured Masons in the United States because their lodge was erased from the English list of lodges in 1813 . But I beg respectfully to
ask whether you can find in the history of Freemasonry , during the last century , any Grand Lodge that was formed on the Continent of Europe , or in America , which acted in a different manner from that of the African Lodge at Boston ? Thus , France received its first charter from England in 1724 , and within a dozen years the Ercnch
Lodge , or lodges , formed themselves into a Grand Lodge . And so it was with Holland ; and so it was with all the lodges on the American continent . In 1769 the Grand Lodge of Scotland sent a deputation to Dr . ( afterwards General ) Joseph Warren appointing him Prov . G . M . over a certain part of New England . Gen . Warren died on Bunker Hill in 1775 , and on March 8 th ,
1777 , the officers of this defunct Scotch Provincial Grand Lodge formed themselves into an . independent Grand Lodge by the name or title of " The Grand Lodge of Massachussets ; " and in 1792 the several lodges , which originally owed allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England , also formed themselves into an independent Grand Lodge , and then the two Grand Lodges united . It will be seen
that the coloured Masons of Boston followed the example set them by their white brothers at that period , for neither the Scotch , nor the English lodges in Boston , consulted their respective parent Grand Lodges as to whether they might or might not secede . There was even no formal notice sent to the Grand
Lodge of England that the Boston white Masons did secede ( vide letter of Wm . White below ) , and I frankly admit that in the light of Masonic law of to-day their unceremonious secession from their parent Grand Lodge was illegal ; yet , what was the practice at that time with American Grand Lodges ? We find , as wc have already said