Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
l . r . ADF . RS 4 ? Supreme Grand Chapter 411 Rovnl Masonic Institution for Girls 40 Consecration of the Suutluratc LoJ ;; e , No . mso 4 " Inauguration of a New Masonic Hall at ( latcshead 47
CoRRKSl'il \ nE \ CE" Honour to Whom Honour is Due . " ... co Master of Ceremonies 50 Ue \ icws ' . 50 Masonic Notes and ( hlcric-s 50 A Masonic Lecture 50 RKI' - IUTS or MASONIC
MKLIINOSPresentation to R . W . liro . W . Carlwrijjht , | . P ., !* - '•• Sec . Stairord > hire 4 S Mrs . G . irlield 4 ' ) Pali ol the l . odi ; c of 1 ' rnspciity , . No . dj 41 ) Callcrr I . od ;; e Hall 4 'I Annual . MasonicSocial Parlyat Manchester 4 , ) j Ancient and Accepted Rite 4 'l Kninhts Templar 40 j Allied Decrees 4 ' ) ' Ireland 4 'J !
| Craft . Masonry 51 Instruction 50 Royal Arch 57 Mark Masonry 57 Thelhealres ... ' tS Music ; S Science < S Art JS Masonic ami General Tidings 50 i . oiljje . Mec-timjs for Next Week do
Ar00101
OUR contemporary , the Canadian Craftsman , seems to us to lay far too much stress on Bro . GRAHAM ' S argument . incut exclusive sovereignty of Masonic jurisdiction , as he calls it , which he obtains from an entire misreading of one of the older regulations which is incorporated in our Hook of Constitutions . Wc almost wonder that our contemporary does not see that that
is a regulation " quoad" the Grand Lodge only , and docs not aflect the question of territorial jurisdiction , which in America has become , as they say , mixed up with exclusive sovcicignly . Originally , it simply was meant to act compulsorily on lodges like those of Swalwell , which did not acknowledge for some time the Grand Lodge of 1717 , anil were actually without
charters of any kind apparently . Now , of course , it is . 1 necessary accompaniment of Masonic legislation , inasmuch as it limits and delincs the right and status of those who claim to have seats in Grand Lodge on account of their lodge membership . It is , in fact , a regulation affecting both the membership and privileges of those who profess to form the Grand Lodge .
There are two lodges , and only two now , which are recognized by ihc Grand Lodge of England , acting horn immemorial constitution ; all the other lodges on its roll are duly warranted and registered , as , indeed , both the Lodge of Antiquity and Somerset House Lodge are registered on the list of the Grand Lodge , though thev act from immemorial usage . Hut this
law does not alTcct the question of territorial jurisdiction at all . Wc were quite astonished at our able Bro . GRAHAM deriving such an argument from words which deal with an entirely different state of affairs " and facts , and arc still more so at our contemporary endorsing such a straining of the QUEEN ' English .
* * THE question of territorial jurisdiction is , no doubt , a vcry difficult and delicate or . e , and which requires careful and judicious handlii g , but from first to last the action of the Knglish Grand Lodge has been both clear and consistent on the point . Originally , warrants and charters were sought for
from the English Grand Lodge in unoccupied countries , and gradually many of those bodies , which drew their life and birth from England , and England alone , declared themselves independent of their mother Grand Lodge . Some bodies , too , which were only private lodges , without any principle of representation or aggregation , equally declared themselves Grand Lodges , though ,
strictly speaking , they could hardly be , and arc not Grand Lodges except now by the user , so to say , of long sufferance . The old Roman Gild law applies here , " Tres faciunt Collegium , " and so three lodges , at the least , must constitute a Grand Lodge . In America some of the State Grand Lodges hail from Scotland , so that the uniform descent from the English Grand Lodge
i s not maintained in the United States . In England we once had two Grand Lodges in active operation , and , from one or other of them , all American and Canadian Grand Lodges come . There were also the recognized Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland . The York Grand Lodge never gave colonial or foreign warrants , as far as wc know ; and the famous
old Lodge of Antiquity , the Quondam-Grand Lodge south of the Trent , as an emanation of the G . L . of York , never got into working order , though it was formed . Wc wonder that Bro . GRAHAM and the Canadian Craftsman do not sec that the constitutions they refer to only relate to the internal government of Grand Lodge and its private lodges , and do not touch upon
jurisdictional questions . In . the last century neither the modern nor antient Grand Lodge ever denied , as far as we are aware , the' equity of their respective constitution of lodges and Provincial Grand Lodges , and as one by one in independent countries the Masonic bodies claimed to have a Masonic jurisdiction contemporary withthepolitical , the Grand Lodge of England has
wisely conceded the point . But in Canada the case is a little different . We were not aware that the province of Quebec claimed to be a sovereign state , like an American state , co-equal with every other ; and though , considering the expanse of country in the Canadas , we should not be surprised at the various governments with legislation asking for a Grand Lodge ,
Ar00102
yet it is quite clear that they do not stand , with due deference to them be it said , on the same ground as independent territorial jurisdictions , Supreme Sovereign Stales . It is , however , probably a needless question to raise ; the only thing we are concerned * with is the absolute " bona fides " of the Grand Lodge of England . Had the Grand Lodge of Oucbcc been
wise , and we feel sure that even now it is , their best policy , —if we were living in Quebec wc should ourselves urge it upon this Grand Lodge , — it would at once enter into a friendly concordat with the Grand Lodge of England , leaving it to time to settle the points as regards the English lodges in Oucbcc . The English mind is
essentially practic . il , as no one knows better than Bro . GRAHAM , and a " bargain ' s a bargain " is a popular and cherished Engli .-, h proverb . What was settled with the Grand Lodge of Canada cannot be unsettled by the Grand Lodge of Quebec , which was not a parly to the original compact . They took the position , by a well-known principle of equity , with ils obligations , and we
Ic . 'l convinced that they will probably expedite the object they have in view if they at once place themselves in friendly communication with the Grand Lodge of England , leaving ihe settlement of the controversy , as the GRAND SECRET \ RY has so wisely recommended them , alone to the elllux of lime ; any other course will speedily land them in serious and lasting difficulties .
IN England we shall all , as Craft Masons , fully recognize the position taken up b } ' Bro . Col . M , ui . / : oi > MOORE , as Grand Prior of the Templar organinization , acting under a patent of ILK . II . the GRVND MASTER of that distinguished body . It is quite clear that any so-called attempted formation of an independent body will be an illegal one by their laws and the laws of
C raft Masonry . We regret to note this tendency just now , as we always fear that these impatient movements emanate from a few restless , busy , self-estimating men , anxious for distinction and notoriety , the tinsel show of brief authority , forgetting tint nothing is so bad for society and the world as this repudiation of old established formula , this schism from lawfully constituted and supreme bodies .
A i WE were vcry glad a short time back to hear from a vcry able and distinguished brother from New Zealand that the large majority of the New Zealand brethren were loyal to their English Mother Grand Lodge , and were in no ways wishful to sever the links which bound them to the most
venerable and distinguished Masonic organization in existence . We have always regretted theexlrcnie facility with which both American and Canadian bodies have recognized the absolutely illegal formation in New South Wales , without carefully looking inlo the question ; and had they only kept before
them the points so lucidly set forth by our GRAND REGISTRAR in Grand Lodge , thai safe and careful adviser on all such topics of our Craft , they would have avoided falling inlo a mistake which sets at deliance all Masonic precedents , and affords a very wide loop-hole for clandestine Freemasonry .
* * OUR lodge reports , in various tones and tacts , week by week , after all admirably represent the passing temper of the times we live in of current English Freemasonry , and wc rejoice to note the uniform witness they ever bear to the harmonious feelings and zealous efforts of our ever loyal , sympathetic and charitable Craft .
IT seems that there is a little weekly professedly humorous paper , published at Bradford , in Yorkshire , called The Yorkshircman , and which has reached to its iSSth number , vol . xiii . It devotes its weekl y illustration , which it appears is not original , however , ( o the ridicule of the "Humbug of Freemasonry . " Wc cannot say honestly either that the
drawing itself represents a very high standard of .-esthetic art or a genial pen , and seems to us , on the contrary , vcry feeble and very absurd . It ridicules Freemasonry for want of charity to the widow . And this in a town where exists a certain lodge called the Lodge of Hope , among others , which is most noteworth y for its noble efforts for the Masonic
Charities and ( he " widows . Wc can recall the time when , with a band of good men and true , second to none as workers in Masonry and supporters of the Charities , the efforts of the Lodge of Hope were unceasing and their offerings most liberal , even striking . Many of these genial and hearty brethren are , alas , no longer to the fore , but some happily still remain who could a talc
unfold , if only they would , of ceaseless devotion and disinterested sacrifices for the best of all causes—Charily . It is astonishing to realize sometimes what an amount of ignorance still lingers in the mind of the foolish fanatic who attacks or depreciates Freemasonry . We should have thought that the return of / , 43 , ooo for our great metropolitan Masonic Charities
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
l . r . ADF . RS 4 ? Supreme Grand Chapter 411 Rovnl Masonic Institution for Girls 40 Consecration of the Suutluratc LoJ ;; e , No . mso 4 " Inauguration of a New Masonic Hall at ( latcshead 47
CoRRKSl'il \ nE \ CE" Honour to Whom Honour is Due . " ... co Master of Ceremonies 50 Ue \ icws ' . 50 Masonic Notes and ( hlcric-s 50 A Masonic Lecture 50 RKI' - IUTS or MASONIC
MKLIINOSPresentation to R . W . liro . W . Carlwrijjht , | . P ., !* - '•• Sec . Stairord > hire 4 S Mrs . G . irlield 4 ' ) Pali ol the l . odi ; c of 1 ' rnspciity , . No . dj 41 ) Callcrr I . od ;; e Hall 4 'I Annual . MasonicSocial Parlyat Manchester 4 , ) j Ancient and Accepted Rite 4 'l Kninhts Templar 40 j Allied Decrees 4 ' ) ' Ireland 4 'J !
| Craft . Masonry 51 Instruction 50 Royal Arch 57 Mark Masonry 57 Thelhealres ... ' tS Music ; S Science < S Art JS Masonic ami General Tidings 50 i . oiljje . Mec-timjs for Next Week do
Ar00101
OUR contemporary , the Canadian Craftsman , seems to us to lay far too much stress on Bro . GRAHAM ' S argument . incut exclusive sovereignty of Masonic jurisdiction , as he calls it , which he obtains from an entire misreading of one of the older regulations which is incorporated in our Hook of Constitutions . Wc almost wonder that our contemporary does not see that that
is a regulation " quoad" the Grand Lodge only , and docs not aflect the question of territorial jurisdiction , which in America has become , as they say , mixed up with exclusive sovcicignly . Originally , it simply was meant to act compulsorily on lodges like those of Swalwell , which did not acknowledge for some time the Grand Lodge of 1717 , anil were actually without
charters of any kind apparently . Now , of course , it is . 1 necessary accompaniment of Masonic legislation , inasmuch as it limits and delincs the right and status of those who claim to have seats in Grand Lodge on account of their lodge membership . It is , in fact , a regulation affecting both the membership and privileges of those who profess to form the Grand Lodge .
There are two lodges , and only two now , which are recognized by ihc Grand Lodge of England , acting horn immemorial constitution ; all the other lodges on its roll are duly warranted and registered , as , indeed , both the Lodge of Antiquity and Somerset House Lodge are registered on the list of the Grand Lodge , though thev act from immemorial usage . Hut this
law does not alTcct the question of territorial jurisdiction at all . Wc were quite astonished at our able Bro . GRAHAM deriving such an argument from words which deal with an entirely different state of affairs " and facts , and arc still more so at our contemporary endorsing such a straining of the QUEEN ' English .
* * THE question of territorial jurisdiction is , no doubt , a vcry difficult and delicate or . e , and which requires careful and judicious handlii g , but from first to last the action of the Knglish Grand Lodge has been both clear and consistent on the point . Originally , warrants and charters were sought for
from the English Grand Lodge in unoccupied countries , and gradually many of those bodies , which drew their life and birth from England , and England alone , declared themselves independent of their mother Grand Lodge . Some bodies , too , which were only private lodges , without any principle of representation or aggregation , equally declared themselves Grand Lodges , though ,
strictly speaking , they could hardly be , and arc not Grand Lodges except now by the user , so to say , of long sufferance . The old Roman Gild law applies here , " Tres faciunt Collegium , " and so three lodges , at the least , must constitute a Grand Lodge . In America some of the State Grand Lodges hail from Scotland , so that the uniform descent from the English Grand Lodge
i s not maintained in the United States . In England we once had two Grand Lodges in active operation , and , from one or other of them , all American and Canadian Grand Lodges come . There were also the recognized Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland . The York Grand Lodge never gave colonial or foreign warrants , as far as wc know ; and the famous
old Lodge of Antiquity , the Quondam-Grand Lodge south of the Trent , as an emanation of the G . L . of York , never got into working order , though it was formed . Wc wonder that Bro . GRAHAM and the Canadian Craftsman do not sec that the constitutions they refer to only relate to the internal government of Grand Lodge and its private lodges , and do not touch upon
jurisdictional questions . In . the last century neither the modern nor antient Grand Lodge ever denied , as far as we are aware , the' equity of their respective constitution of lodges and Provincial Grand Lodges , and as one by one in independent countries the Masonic bodies claimed to have a Masonic jurisdiction contemporary withthepolitical , the Grand Lodge of England has
wisely conceded the point . But in Canada the case is a little different . We were not aware that the province of Quebec claimed to be a sovereign state , like an American state , co-equal with every other ; and though , considering the expanse of country in the Canadas , we should not be surprised at the various governments with legislation asking for a Grand Lodge ,
Ar00102
yet it is quite clear that they do not stand , with due deference to them be it said , on the same ground as independent territorial jurisdictions , Supreme Sovereign Stales . It is , however , probably a needless question to raise ; the only thing we are concerned * with is the absolute " bona fides " of the Grand Lodge of England . Had the Grand Lodge of Oucbcc been
wise , and we feel sure that even now it is , their best policy , —if we were living in Quebec wc should ourselves urge it upon this Grand Lodge , — it would at once enter into a friendly concordat with the Grand Lodge of England , leaving it to time to settle the points as regards the English lodges in Oucbcc . The English mind is
essentially practic . il , as no one knows better than Bro . GRAHAM , and a " bargain ' s a bargain " is a popular and cherished Engli .-, h proverb . What was settled with the Grand Lodge of Canada cannot be unsettled by the Grand Lodge of Quebec , which was not a parly to the original compact . They took the position , by a well-known principle of equity , with ils obligations , and we
Ic . 'l convinced that they will probably expedite the object they have in view if they at once place themselves in friendly communication with the Grand Lodge of England , leaving ihe settlement of the controversy , as the GRAND SECRET \ RY has so wisely recommended them , alone to the elllux of lime ; any other course will speedily land them in serious and lasting difficulties .
IN England we shall all , as Craft Masons , fully recognize the position taken up b } ' Bro . Col . M , ui . / : oi > MOORE , as Grand Prior of the Templar organinization , acting under a patent of ILK . II . the GRVND MASTER of that distinguished body . It is quite clear that any so-called attempted formation of an independent body will be an illegal one by their laws and the laws of
C raft Masonry . We regret to note this tendency just now , as we always fear that these impatient movements emanate from a few restless , busy , self-estimating men , anxious for distinction and notoriety , the tinsel show of brief authority , forgetting tint nothing is so bad for society and the world as this repudiation of old established formula , this schism from lawfully constituted and supreme bodies .
A i WE were vcry glad a short time back to hear from a vcry able and distinguished brother from New Zealand that the large majority of the New Zealand brethren were loyal to their English Mother Grand Lodge , and were in no ways wishful to sever the links which bound them to the most
venerable and distinguished Masonic organization in existence . We have always regretted theexlrcnie facility with which both American and Canadian bodies have recognized the absolutely illegal formation in New South Wales , without carefully looking inlo the question ; and had they only kept before
them the points so lucidly set forth by our GRAND REGISTRAR in Grand Lodge , thai safe and careful adviser on all such topics of our Craft , they would have avoided falling inlo a mistake which sets at deliance all Masonic precedents , and affords a very wide loop-hole for clandestine Freemasonry .
* * OUR lodge reports , in various tones and tacts , week by week , after all admirably represent the passing temper of the times we live in of current English Freemasonry , and wc rejoice to note the uniform witness they ever bear to the harmonious feelings and zealous efforts of our ever loyal , sympathetic and charitable Craft .
IT seems that there is a little weekly professedly humorous paper , published at Bradford , in Yorkshire , called The Yorkshircman , and which has reached to its iSSth number , vol . xiii . It devotes its weekl y illustration , which it appears is not original , however , ( o the ridicule of the "Humbug of Freemasonry . " Wc cannot say honestly either that the
drawing itself represents a very high standard of .-esthetic art or a genial pen , and seems to us , on the contrary , vcry feeble and very absurd . It ridicules Freemasonry for want of charity to the widow . And this in a town where exists a certain lodge called the Lodge of Hope , among others , which is most noteworth y for its noble efforts for the Masonic
Charities and ( he " widows . Wc can recall the time when , with a band of good men and true , second to none as workers in Masonry and supporters of the Charities , the efforts of the Lodge of Hope were unceasing and their offerings most liberal , even striking . Many of these genial and hearty brethren are , alas , no longer to the fore , but some happily still remain who could a talc
unfold , if only they would , of ceaseless devotion and disinterested sacrifices for the best of all causes—Charily . It is astonishing to realize sometimes what an amount of ignorance still lingers in the mind of the foolish fanatic who attacks or depreciates Freemasonry . We should have thought that the return of / , 43 , ooo for our great metropolitan Masonic Charities