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Article PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND. ← Page 2 of 2 Article PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF LEICESTERSHIRE AND RUTLAND. Page 2 of 2 Article MASONIC HISTORY AND HISTORIANS. Page 1 of 2 →
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Provincial Grand Lodge Of Leicestershire And Rutland.
No . 279 ) , have expressed their sympathy with his widow in her bereavement by passing a vote of condolence , and in that expression this Committee must fully concur . " ( Signed ) G . TOLLER , Jun ., D . P . G . M ., - " Chairman . "
Some amount of discussion followed the reading of this report , the question of lodge quarterages receiving the greatest attention . It was urged that the same rule as applied in the case of Grand Lodge should guide Provincial Lodge , while others considered that Provincial dues were of
a different character . Eventually a proposition was put before Provincial Grand Lodge and carried , making it compulsory for the future for each lodge to remit dues for every member on its roll , whether his subscriptioi . had b een paid or otherwise . The subject of the Leicester Masonic Hall accommodation was ordered to stand over .
The followingis the Annual Report of the Provincial Charity Committee : — "The Committee , in presenting their Report , regret that for the first time for many years they have been unsuccessful in the election of the boy Roe , their candidate for the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , in October last . Their Secretary called lip all the votes owing to the Province , and also
borrowed 625 , these together with the current votes belonging to lodges and members of the Province , amounted to no less a number than 1472 , which in all former elections would have easily returned the boy for whom they were polled . They hope that at the next election , in April , he would be more successful , but may take this opportunity of expressing their hope that all the brethren in the Province will continue to assist them by sending their
voting papers directly the } ' receive them , to the Secretary # i the Committee , and they regret that , from the neglect of this , several votes were lost to the Province at the last election . The Province is now 625 Boys' votes in debt , and at least 300 more votes will be required to make the candidate safe in April next , it will therefore require strong and united action to carry on successfully their work . They may mention that they are working on terms
of mutual and friendly interchange with thc Provinces of Wilts , Somerset , Monmouth , North Wales , Derbyshire , and Lincolnshire . " The Committee do not forget that in n year ' s time a daughter of the late Bro . Weare will be eligible for the Girls' School , and towards her election they now hold 364 votes , and they sec ho reason to fear her failure on the first occasion of her candidature .
" The widow of the late Bro . Black , of the St . John ' s Lodge , 279 , applied to ihe Committee for her boy to be placed on the list of candidates for the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , but on enquiry being instituted they found with regret that he was not eligible under the rules of that Institution . They therefore voted the small sum of X 5 5 s . for her immediate wants .
" The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Masons and their Widows claims its turn for our support in the coming year , and thc Committee are glad to find that several names have been forwarded to them of brethren willing to serve as Provincial Steward . They have pleasure in recommending W . Bro . W . Carrick Crofts , of the Ferrers and Ivanhoe Lodge , P . P . GJ . W ., as Steward to represent the Province , and they have
voted the sum ol £ 10 ios . to be placed on his list for the Aged Masons . "Thc Committee further beg to state that their accounts havc been duly audited , and that a sum of ^ 30 Ss . gd . stands to their credh ; for the coming year . The Committee further beg to state that they cannot conclude without expressing their deep sense of obligation to Rev . Bro . W .
Langley for the very able manner in which he conducted the case of the boy Roe . For one small Province to poll such a number of votes as were recorded for him involves ( for the Secretary ) an expenditure of time and amount of correspondence , which can only be realised b y those who have themselves been engaged in similar undertakings . " ( Signed ) G . TOLLER , jun ., D . P . G . M . " 17 th November , 1 SS 1 . " "Chairman . "
Various other items of business having been disposed of , Provincial Grand Lodge was closed , as was also the Knights of Malta Craft Lodge , and the brethren sat down to banquet under the presidency of thc D . Prov . G . M ., who proposed thc customary toasts . Bro . Wright gave that of " Thc Provincial Grand Master , Right Hon . Earl Ferrers , " coupled with that of the Past Provincial Grand Master , Bro . W . Kelly , F . S . A ., F . R . H . S . & c
He felt thatall must regret the circumstances which prevented the attendance of the P . G . M . at the meeting that da )' , not that he was not well represented in his Deputy but because the Masons of the Province were proud of him at their head . They could but feel thc compliment his lordship conferred on the Province by allowing his name to be associated with Masonry in the district as lie did . With regard to Bro . Kelly , he was too well known in
the Province to need any remarks on the present occasion ; he was ever read y and able to carry out whatever Masonic duty might be required of him . Bro . TERRY proposed the toast of "The Deputy Prov . Grand Master and the Officers of the Provincial Grand Lodge . " This was a comprehensive toast , in giving which he was certain it would receive the attention it deserved . In the absence of the chief it
was necessary to have some brother lo take his place , and the selection , not unnaturally , fell upon the Deputy , who , in the case ot the Leicestershire brethren , was in every way fitted to the position . In the head of a Province it was not unfrcquent for the brethren to possess a brother with whom the } ' were really unacquainted , but in that of the Deputy such was not the case ; he was usually known personally to each of thc brethren , and knew most of them ; for this reason he could speak
from personal knowledge of the merits each possessed when called before him on any occasion , and could give that kindly greeting which could only arise from familiar intercourse . Such he ( Bro . Terr ) ' ) felt was the Deputy of the province of which he was that night a guest , and he was happy to have the opportunity of proposing his health . Of the officers of Grand Lodge generally , he could say little , except that he considered the way in which they had carried out the work of the lodge proved they were fully competent .
Bro . TOLLER , in reply , said the observations of Bro . Terry had really called him to a sense of his duty , and . shewn him that he really neglected the work of his office , for he must admit he was not so well acquainted with the several members of the province ' as Bro . Terry had led them to
think he should be . At the last meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge ( at Loughborough ) he had said he would visit every lodge of the district , and although he Jiad really carried out that promise , he felt he had hardly acquired that knowledge gk the brethren which he J should do . * $ |» Thc PROV . G . J . W . replied for the other offers . A
Provincial Grand Lodge Of Leicestershire And Rutland.
Bro . IOLLER next gave "The Masonic Charities . " He really looked upon this as the chief toast in a Masonic assembly . He referred to what the Province had done , and urged the members to support Bro . Crofts as Steward for the Benevolent Institution , pointing out that the district had hardly done as much for that Institution as he could have wished .
Bro . IERRY replied . He lelt that the old adage that gifts which were carelessly and profusely strewn were less appreciated than those which required hard getting might apply to the Masonic Institutions . The brethren of Leicestershire knew what it was to secure the election of a lad to the Boys' School , and the trouble it entailed made them . remember that Institution , but as regarded the Royal Masonic Benevolent
Institution they had secured its benefits for one of their old friends , and that too , without anything like the amount of exertion required in the other case ; and in consequence he felt they had not thought so much about the source from which the grant was derived . In any case , ' they had hitherto been less attentive and less generous to the Institution he represented . Now that they had a Steward going up to represent them he
hoped this would be changed . Their steward was a popular man , and , he trusted , would be generously supported throughout ihe district . -His advocacy came rather late , but he hoped that would make no difference . Bro . Terry concluded by remarking that it was the fathers of Masonry—the men who had in their days done the work required of them , and who had made Masonry what it at present was—for whom he and Bro . Crofts were pleading .
Bro . CROFTS also replied , and then the Chairman proposed "The Health of the Visitors , to which Bro . W . W . MORGAN , jun ., replied . "The W . M . of the Knights of Malta Lodge , " and "The Worshipful Masters and Wardens of the other Lodges in the Province " having each been honoured , the proceedings were brought to a conclusion .
Masonic History And Historians.
MASONIC HISTORY AND HISTORIANS .
BY MASONIC STUDENT . SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . '
There is a very important point in respect of Sir Christopher Wren , which is the Masonic silence about him until 1738 . There is no Masonic allusion to his connection with Freemasonry as G . M ., so- far as I know at present , before 1738 . There is a newspaper allusion in 1723 , terming him that " worthy
Freemason , " but neither in 1723 , nor in 1736 , does any allusion , that lam aware of , occur to him as a Freemason . " nominatim " until Anderson ' s fuller history in 1738 , and on his statements then , and those of the author of "Multa Faucis , " in 1763 , his Masonic Grand Mastership-rests ; so far ^ as we know on any evidence available up to the present . '"
1 believe , too , I am correct in stating that neither in 1723 do the Grand Lodge minutes mention his death or allude to him later in any way . And yet it is just possible that his connection with Freemasonry may have been exactly what has been so generall y held , I admit , on undoubted " sheepwalking . " The entry of Aubiey must be borne in mind , the ' traditions of thc " Lodge of Antiquity" must not be overlooked , and it is not beyond possibility that we have a representation of Sir Christopher Wren in Pine ' s trontispiece to the " Constitutions " of 1723 .
Something may yet " turn up " to prove the tradition in the main true . But further than this , on authentic evidence , we cannot go to-day ; and as Anderson only terms Sir Christopher Wren an "ingenious architect , " though he claims , or suggests , that Jaffies I ., Charles I ., Charles IL , William III ., Inigo Jones , Mr . Webb , and Nicholas Stone were all Masons and members of the Fraternity , does not say so for Sir Chrispopher Wren , unless , indeed , the phrase ot page no , " true Masonry was likewise restoredis intended to
, imply that Sir Christopher Wren belonged to the Craft . Anderson alluded in his later edition to the dissatisfaction of the Freemasons in 1717 , See , with Sir Christopher Wren on account of his neglect of the Order & c . ; and Dermott there dilates on the same subject in the edttion of 1764 , Ahiman Rezon p . xxvii , where he mentions , "inter alia , " - "Sir Christopher Wren , who , as Doctor Anderson says ( p . 28 , 29 ) , neglected the lodges . "
, And then he goes on , "the . Doctor ' s assertion is certainly true , and I will endeavour to do justice unto the memory of Sir Christopher by relating the true cause of such neglect . " He then goes on to tell us that thc " famous Sir Christopher Wren , knight & c , . . . President of the Royal Society , Grand Master of the most antient and honourable fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons
architect to the crown . . . was at the age of ninety displaced in favour of Mr . William Benson , who was made sovereign to the buildings , & c , " to His Majesty ,. King George the First . I need not go into this point further than to say that Dermott thus concludes : " Such usage , added to Sir Christopher ' s great age , was more than enough to make him decline all further assemblies . "
And again , " And the Master Masons then in London were so much disgusted at the treatment of their old and excellent Grand Master that they would not meet nor hold any communication under the sanction of his successor , Mr . Benson , so that the brethren were struck with a lethargy which seemed to threaten the London lodges with a final dissolution . " Several points " crop up " from this dissertation : - 1 . It is a great pity that Dermott did not give us the date of the last Grand Lodge held by Sir Christopher Wren before he " demitted "
2 . Dermott claims Benson as a member of thc Order ; at least his words seem to imply it . 3 . It is just possible lhat at Sir Chrisiopher Wren ' s advanced age some irregularities had crept in , as there are several small books extant having- a condition of complaint and controversy , in which he , ( Sir Christopher ) is himself mixed up , complaining both of "frauds" and "abuses " at St Paul's .
4 . But Dermott s statement denys itself . Anderson ' s assertion alludes lo no such feeling on the part of the London Freemason ' s , but simply one of neglect , and hence it appears to me the Masonic silence in the eighteenth century has arisen ; otherwise it seems inexplicable . 5 . When Anderson wrote , in 1738 , many living Freemasons must have
known the fact ; and he would hardl y have dared , I think , to make the statements he does respecting Sir Christopher had he not some authority from living " knowledge" to justify his assertions . rtgjft would have had a most effective reply by Pritchard and other antago-S ||>— " Vou have no right to claim Sir Christopher Wren as a member of HrelDrder , for we know that it was not so . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial Grand Lodge Of Leicestershire And Rutland.
No . 279 ) , have expressed their sympathy with his widow in her bereavement by passing a vote of condolence , and in that expression this Committee must fully concur . " ( Signed ) G . TOLLER , Jun ., D . P . G . M ., - " Chairman . "
Some amount of discussion followed the reading of this report , the question of lodge quarterages receiving the greatest attention . It was urged that the same rule as applied in the case of Grand Lodge should guide Provincial Lodge , while others considered that Provincial dues were of
a different character . Eventually a proposition was put before Provincial Grand Lodge and carried , making it compulsory for the future for each lodge to remit dues for every member on its roll , whether his subscriptioi . had b een paid or otherwise . The subject of the Leicester Masonic Hall accommodation was ordered to stand over .
The followingis the Annual Report of the Provincial Charity Committee : — "The Committee , in presenting their Report , regret that for the first time for many years they have been unsuccessful in the election of the boy Roe , their candidate for the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , in October last . Their Secretary called lip all the votes owing to the Province , and also
borrowed 625 , these together with the current votes belonging to lodges and members of the Province , amounted to no less a number than 1472 , which in all former elections would have easily returned the boy for whom they were polled . They hope that at the next election , in April , he would be more successful , but may take this opportunity of expressing their hope that all the brethren in the Province will continue to assist them by sending their
voting papers directly the } ' receive them , to the Secretary # i the Committee , and they regret that , from the neglect of this , several votes were lost to the Province at the last election . The Province is now 625 Boys' votes in debt , and at least 300 more votes will be required to make the candidate safe in April next , it will therefore require strong and united action to carry on successfully their work . They may mention that they are working on terms
of mutual and friendly interchange with thc Provinces of Wilts , Somerset , Monmouth , North Wales , Derbyshire , and Lincolnshire . " The Committee do not forget that in n year ' s time a daughter of the late Bro . Weare will be eligible for the Girls' School , and towards her election they now hold 364 votes , and they sec ho reason to fear her failure on the first occasion of her candidature .
" The widow of the late Bro . Black , of the St . John ' s Lodge , 279 , applied to ihe Committee for her boy to be placed on the list of candidates for the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , but on enquiry being instituted they found with regret that he was not eligible under the rules of that Institution . They therefore voted the small sum of X 5 5 s . for her immediate wants .
" The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Masons and their Widows claims its turn for our support in the coming year , and thc Committee are glad to find that several names have been forwarded to them of brethren willing to serve as Provincial Steward . They have pleasure in recommending W . Bro . W . Carrick Crofts , of the Ferrers and Ivanhoe Lodge , P . P . GJ . W ., as Steward to represent the Province , and they have
voted the sum ol £ 10 ios . to be placed on his list for the Aged Masons . "Thc Committee further beg to state that their accounts havc been duly audited , and that a sum of ^ 30 Ss . gd . stands to their credh ; for the coming year . The Committee further beg to state that they cannot conclude without expressing their deep sense of obligation to Rev . Bro . W .
Langley for the very able manner in which he conducted the case of the boy Roe . For one small Province to poll such a number of votes as were recorded for him involves ( for the Secretary ) an expenditure of time and amount of correspondence , which can only be realised b y those who have themselves been engaged in similar undertakings . " ( Signed ) G . TOLLER , jun ., D . P . G . M . " 17 th November , 1 SS 1 . " "Chairman . "
Various other items of business having been disposed of , Provincial Grand Lodge was closed , as was also the Knights of Malta Craft Lodge , and the brethren sat down to banquet under the presidency of thc D . Prov . G . M ., who proposed thc customary toasts . Bro . Wright gave that of " Thc Provincial Grand Master , Right Hon . Earl Ferrers , " coupled with that of the Past Provincial Grand Master , Bro . W . Kelly , F . S . A ., F . R . H . S . & c
He felt thatall must regret the circumstances which prevented the attendance of the P . G . M . at the meeting that da )' , not that he was not well represented in his Deputy but because the Masons of the Province were proud of him at their head . They could but feel thc compliment his lordship conferred on the Province by allowing his name to be associated with Masonry in the district as lie did . With regard to Bro . Kelly , he was too well known in
the Province to need any remarks on the present occasion ; he was ever read y and able to carry out whatever Masonic duty might be required of him . Bro . TERRY proposed the toast of "The Deputy Prov . Grand Master and the Officers of the Provincial Grand Lodge . " This was a comprehensive toast , in giving which he was certain it would receive the attention it deserved . In the absence of the chief it
was necessary to have some brother lo take his place , and the selection , not unnaturally , fell upon the Deputy , who , in the case ot the Leicestershire brethren , was in every way fitted to the position . In the head of a Province it was not unfrcquent for the brethren to possess a brother with whom the } ' were really unacquainted , but in that of the Deputy such was not the case ; he was usually known personally to each of thc brethren , and knew most of them ; for this reason he could speak
from personal knowledge of the merits each possessed when called before him on any occasion , and could give that kindly greeting which could only arise from familiar intercourse . Such he ( Bro . Terr ) ' ) felt was the Deputy of the province of which he was that night a guest , and he was happy to have the opportunity of proposing his health . Of the officers of Grand Lodge generally , he could say little , except that he considered the way in which they had carried out the work of the lodge proved they were fully competent .
Bro . TOLLER , in reply , said the observations of Bro . Terry had really called him to a sense of his duty , and . shewn him that he really neglected the work of his office , for he must admit he was not so well acquainted with the several members of the province ' as Bro . Terry had led them to
think he should be . At the last meeting of Provincial Grand Lodge ( at Loughborough ) he had said he would visit every lodge of the district , and although he Jiad really carried out that promise , he felt he had hardly acquired that knowledge gk the brethren which he J should do . * $ |» Thc PROV . G . J . W . replied for the other offers . A
Provincial Grand Lodge Of Leicestershire And Rutland.
Bro . IOLLER next gave "The Masonic Charities . " He really looked upon this as the chief toast in a Masonic assembly . He referred to what the Province had done , and urged the members to support Bro . Crofts as Steward for the Benevolent Institution , pointing out that the district had hardly done as much for that Institution as he could have wished .
Bro . IERRY replied . He lelt that the old adage that gifts which were carelessly and profusely strewn were less appreciated than those which required hard getting might apply to the Masonic Institutions . The brethren of Leicestershire knew what it was to secure the election of a lad to the Boys' School , and the trouble it entailed made them . remember that Institution , but as regarded the Royal Masonic Benevolent
Institution they had secured its benefits for one of their old friends , and that too , without anything like the amount of exertion required in the other case ; and in consequence he felt they had not thought so much about the source from which the grant was derived . In any case , ' they had hitherto been less attentive and less generous to the Institution he represented . Now that they had a Steward going up to represent them he
hoped this would be changed . Their steward was a popular man , and , he trusted , would be generously supported throughout ihe district . -His advocacy came rather late , but he hoped that would make no difference . Bro . Terry concluded by remarking that it was the fathers of Masonry—the men who had in their days done the work required of them , and who had made Masonry what it at present was—for whom he and Bro . Crofts were pleading .
Bro . CROFTS also replied , and then the Chairman proposed "The Health of the Visitors , to which Bro . W . W . MORGAN , jun ., replied . "The W . M . of the Knights of Malta Lodge , " and "The Worshipful Masters and Wardens of the other Lodges in the Province " having each been honoured , the proceedings were brought to a conclusion .
Masonic History And Historians.
MASONIC HISTORY AND HISTORIANS .
BY MASONIC STUDENT . SIR CHRISTOPHER WREN . '
There is a very important point in respect of Sir Christopher Wren , which is the Masonic silence about him until 1738 . There is no Masonic allusion to his connection with Freemasonry as G . M ., so- far as I know at present , before 1738 . There is a newspaper allusion in 1723 , terming him that " worthy
Freemason , " but neither in 1723 , nor in 1736 , does any allusion , that lam aware of , occur to him as a Freemason . " nominatim " until Anderson ' s fuller history in 1738 , and on his statements then , and those of the author of "Multa Faucis , " in 1763 , his Masonic Grand Mastership-rests ; so far ^ as we know on any evidence available up to the present . '"
1 believe , too , I am correct in stating that neither in 1723 do the Grand Lodge minutes mention his death or allude to him later in any way . And yet it is just possible that his connection with Freemasonry may have been exactly what has been so generall y held , I admit , on undoubted " sheepwalking . " The entry of Aubiey must be borne in mind , the ' traditions of thc " Lodge of Antiquity" must not be overlooked , and it is not beyond possibility that we have a representation of Sir Christopher Wren in Pine ' s trontispiece to the " Constitutions " of 1723 .
Something may yet " turn up " to prove the tradition in the main true . But further than this , on authentic evidence , we cannot go to-day ; and as Anderson only terms Sir Christopher Wren an "ingenious architect , " though he claims , or suggests , that Jaffies I ., Charles I ., Charles IL , William III ., Inigo Jones , Mr . Webb , and Nicholas Stone were all Masons and members of the Fraternity , does not say so for Sir Chrispopher Wren , unless , indeed , the phrase ot page no , " true Masonry was likewise restoredis intended to
, imply that Sir Christopher Wren belonged to the Craft . Anderson alluded in his later edition to the dissatisfaction of the Freemasons in 1717 , See , with Sir Christopher Wren on account of his neglect of the Order & c . ; and Dermott there dilates on the same subject in the edttion of 1764 , Ahiman Rezon p . xxvii , where he mentions , "inter alia , " - "Sir Christopher Wren , who , as Doctor Anderson says ( p . 28 , 29 ) , neglected the lodges . "
, And then he goes on , "the . Doctor ' s assertion is certainly true , and I will endeavour to do justice unto the memory of Sir Christopher by relating the true cause of such neglect . " He then goes on to tell us that thc " famous Sir Christopher Wren , knight & c , . . . President of the Royal Society , Grand Master of the most antient and honourable fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons
architect to the crown . . . was at the age of ninety displaced in favour of Mr . William Benson , who was made sovereign to the buildings , & c , " to His Majesty ,. King George the First . I need not go into this point further than to say that Dermott thus concludes : " Such usage , added to Sir Christopher ' s great age , was more than enough to make him decline all further assemblies . "
And again , " And the Master Masons then in London were so much disgusted at the treatment of their old and excellent Grand Master that they would not meet nor hold any communication under the sanction of his successor , Mr . Benson , so that the brethren were struck with a lethargy which seemed to threaten the London lodges with a final dissolution . " Several points " crop up " from this dissertation : - 1 . It is a great pity that Dermott did not give us the date of the last Grand Lodge held by Sir Christopher Wren before he " demitted "
2 . Dermott claims Benson as a member of thc Order ; at least his words seem to imply it . 3 . It is just possible lhat at Sir Chrisiopher Wren ' s advanced age some irregularities had crept in , as there are several small books extant having- a condition of complaint and controversy , in which he , ( Sir Christopher ) is himself mixed up , complaining both of "frauds" and "abuses " at St Paul's .
4 . But Dermott s statement denys itself . Anderson ' s assertion alludes lo no such feeling on the part of the London Freemason ' s , but simply one of neglect , and hence it appears to me the Masonic silence in the eighteenth century has arisen ; otherwise it seems inexplicable . 5 . When Anderson wrote , in 1738 , many living Freemasons must have
known the fact ; and he would hardl y have dared , I think , to make the statements he does respecting Sir Christopher had he not some authority from living " knowledge" to justify his assertions . rtgjft would have had a most effective reply by Pritchard and other antago-S ||>— " Vou have no right to claim Sir Christopher Wren as a member of HrelDrder , for we know that it was not so . "