Ar00100

CONTENTS . LSADER— PAGE Early Freemasonry in Georgia , U . S . A . ... ... ... ... 5 S 5 Ancient and Accepted Rite ... ... ... ... « - ... 5 86 Provincial Grand Lodge of South Wales ... ... ... ... ? S 6

provincial Grand Lodge of Shropshire ... ... ... ... 586 Science , Art , and the Drama ... ... ... ... ... 5 S 7 Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire ... ... ... ... 588 The New Sheriffs ... ' ... ... ... ... ... 5 SS A Curious Warrant ... ... ... ... ... ... 5 S 9 The Relation of Art to Religion ... ... ... ... .., < rSg

M ASONIC NOTESProvincial Grand Lodge of South Wales ... ... ... ... 591 Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire ... ... ... 591 Province of West Lancashire ) ... ... ... ... ... 591 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 502 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 592

Bro . the Lord Mayor Elect ... ... ... ... ... 594 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 594 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 595 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 595 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls ( Quarterly Court and Election ) ... 59 6 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ,., ... 59 6 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... .,. 59 S

Early Freemasonry In Georgia, U.S.A.

EARLY FREEMASONRY IN GEORGIA , U . S . A .

Before giving the promised particulars relating to " A Curious Warrant , " on which Bro . SPETH invites information in Volume XIII ., Part 2 , of "Ars Quatuor Coronatorum , " and to which we referred in our recent article on that publication ,

we purpose saying a few words on the foundation of thc British Colony of Georgia , firstly because they cannot be otherwise than interesting , and secondly because they throw light on a passage in Grand Lodge minutes which we shall have occasion

to quote . It was not till the 9 th June , 1732 , that a charter was granted by GEORGE II . for the erection of the country within certain specified limits into the Province of Georgia , the name being chosen in honour of thc Sovereir / n who sanctioned the

establishment of the Colony , while its administration was placed for 21 years in thc hands of a corporation , "in trust for the poor . " At the head of the council was the fourth Earl of

SHAFTESBURY , but "its ' most celebrated member "—as we read in BANCROFT ' S " History of thc United States , " from which we have derived our information—was JAMES OGLETHORPE , a

member of the House of Commons , who some four years previousl y ljad invoked the aid of the British Parliament in behalf of the thousands of persons " immured in prison for the misfortune of poverty , " and who , on being appointed " a commissioner for inquiring into thc state of the jails in the

Kingdom , " persevered in » his benevolent purpose until at length he was successful in restoring " to light and freedom multitudes , who , by long confinement for debt , were strangers and hel pless in the country of their birth . " Nor was he content with obtaining their freedom . " For them and for persecuted

I ' l ' otestants , " writes BANCROFT , " he planned an asylum and a 111 w destiny in America , where former poverty would be no reproach , and where the simplicity of piety could indulge the s pmt of devotion without fear of persecution from men who hated the rebuke of its example . " So well was the scheme

received that " the benevolence of England was aroused ; the charities of an opulent and enlightened nation were to be concentrated on thc new plantation ; individual zeal was kindled in Jtslavour ; the Society for Propagating the Gospel in Forei — 1 ¦'

gn p J --r- » » — . * - > -ins sought to promote its interests ; and Parliament showed lls goodwill by at once contributing ten thousand pounds . " As or O GLETHORPE , he sailed at the head of abput 120 emigrants in

Early Freemasonry In Georgia, U.S.A.

November , 1732 , arrived off Charleston bar after a voyage of 57 days , and sailing directly for Port Royal , and having ascended the boundary river of Georgia , and selected a site for his principal town " on thc high bluff on which Savannah now

stands , " arrived with his people at the site chosen , and set about laying out the new town . Under his auspices the infant colony was soon established , but it is not necessary that we should trace its earl y development , or follow the fortunes of General

OGLETHORPE , of whose character and attributes BANCROFT speaks in the most glowing terms . What we have quoted will suffice to explain how and wh y it was that the establishment of this colony in Georgia should have been called attention to at the

meeting of our Grand Lodge held at the Devil Tavern on the 13 th December , 1733 . The following is the entry in the minutes , the Deputy who introduced the subject being Bro . THOMAS BATSON :

The Dep ) ' Grand Master Opened to the Lodge the affairs of Planting the new Colony in Georgia in America , & having sent an Account in Print of the Nature of such Plantation to all the Lodges Jt informed the Grand

Lodge That the Trustees had to Nathaniel Blackerby , Esq 1 " -. & to himself Commission under their Common Seal to collect the Charity of this Society towards enabling the Trustees to send distressed Brethren to Georgia , where they may be comfortably provided for .

Which being seconded by B - Rogers Holland , Esq . ( one of the said Trustees ) , who opened the Nature of the Settlement & by S William Keith Bart-. who was many Years Governor of Pensilvania , by D - Desaguliers , Lord Southwell , B - Blackerby , Sc many other very worthy Brethren , it was recommended accordingly .

The Dep ) ' Grand Master Sc B - Blackerby , Treasurer , informed the Grand Ledge . that they would wait upon the Noblemen Sc other Persons of Distinction who are Members of this Society for their contributions to the Charity of Georgia .

After reading this passage , in which it appears that the Dep , Grand Master appealed directl y to the members for funds to enable the Trustees " to send distressed Brethren to Georgia o where they may be comfortably provided for , " it seems only

natural that at no very distant date—more or less distant according as the circumstances of Georgia proved less or more favourable—¦ we should come across evidence of a deputation or warrant being granted by the Grand Master for the formation of a lodge

or lodges in thc newly-established Colony , and this is just what wc do find in the second or 1738 edition of Dr . ANDERSON ' " Constitutions , " in which among the Deputations granted b y Lord WEYMOUTH during his Grand Mastership , he includes

" another to Mr . ROGER LACY , Merchant , for Constituting a Lodge at SAVANNAH of Georgia in America . " This shows , at all events , that the portion of the recital in " A Curious Warrant , " which makes mention of a warrant having- been

granted by Lord WEYMOUTH in 1 735 is accurate save in one or two particulars , which , in our humble opinion , are of no great importance : ( 1 ) the " Deputation " is described as a " Warrant ; " and ( 2 ) Ihe brother to whom it was granted is stated to have

been "HUGH LACY" instead of "ROGER LACY . " WILLIAM PRESTON appears to have had no doubt upon the matter , for he states explicitly in his " Illustrations of Masonry "—Dr . OLIVER ' Edition , 1 S 61—that Lord WEYMOUTH issued warrants "to open

a new Lodge at Lisbon and another at Savannah in Georgia , " and PRESTON flourished as a Mason near enough to the date of issue to be accepted as an authority . Descending to our own

times we iind that FINDEL , in his "History of Freemasonry , " says , at p . 591 , "the lirst Warranted Lodge in Georgia was established in 1735 in Savannah . " The late Bro . the Rev . A . F . A . WOODFORD , in his article on " Georgia" in KENM . NG '