Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Histo Ry Of The Emulation Lod Ge Of Improvement , No . 256.——(Continued).
"The Grand Lodge concurring in the Opinion thus delivered by the M . W . Grand Master , requested His Royal Highness to permit the same to stand recorded on the minutes of this day's proceedings , to yvhich His Royal Highness acceded . "
THE EARL OF EUSTON , PROV . GRAND MASTKR , NORTHS A HUNTS , Chairman of Ihe Frf / iral in ISSi ) . The decision given by the Duke of Sussex seems to have ansyvered fairly yvell doyvn to the present time , and it will explain why the Stability Lodge of Instruction Lectures
have since been considered as orthodox as those of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . It will doubtless be remembered that Bro . Fenn , in what he described as his " retractation , " delivered at the Festival in 18 93 , stated that the Lectures complained of as being
worked at various Lodges of Instruction by Broadfoot and his disciples without authority , yvere arranged by Dr . Hemming and Broadfoot himself , and that Dr . Hemming had nothing whatever to do with the Emulation Lectures . In support of this statement and to put the matter beyond the shadow of a doubt , yve may here remark that in his
examination before the Board of General Purposes , Broadfoot , in reply to the question , "Did you learn the Lecture in a Lodge ? " said : " I heard it in a Lodge at Hampton Court , and learned it from the Brother yvho then worked it . " Noyv the only Lodge at Hampton Court at tin ' s period yvas
the Lodge of Harmony , of which Dr . Hemming yvas a member and for several years Master . One of the yvitnesses stated that Broadfool's Lectures contained certain clauses in the different Sections . We will noyv return to the old minute book of the Lodge of Perseverance , already referred to as having been presented to the " Emulation " in 1880 .
This Lodge yvas established on the 26 th of January , 1818 , and appears to have been formed chielly for the purpose of working the Lectures , as , according to tradition , yvas the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . The only ceremony mentioned in the By-Laws is that of Initiation , yvhich yvas to be worked on the Second Monday in Ihe month . A probable
reason being that the brethren generally yvere not snfficiently acquainted yvith the neyv mode of working the ceremonies sanctioned b y Grand Lodge only eighteen months previously , as to enable them to make the ceremonial yvork a part of their regular programme .
On the 31 st of March , 1818 , Peter Gilkes visited the Lodge and yvas elected a member of it . At this meeting "The Lodge was opened in the three Degrees , and the Ceremony of Raising to the 3 rd Degree most ably gone through . " This being the lirst occasion on yvhich either of
the ceremonies had been rehearsed in the Lodge , a reasonable inference yvould be that if Gilkes did not actually do the yvork it yvas clone under his direction , although the Master ' s Chair yvas filled b y a celebrated Past Master of that period , viz ., Edward Whittington , a member of the Lodge of Unions and several other well-kiunvn lodges , one of the chief
promoters of this Lodge of Instruction and subsequently a Founder of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , yvhose Masonic attainments are said to have been scarcel y inferior to those of Peter Gilkes himself . At the next meeting on the 7 th of April , the ceremony of
Initiation yvas yvorked , Bro . Whittington in the Chair . On the 20 th of April , 1819 , the Lodge was visited and joined by Bro . James McEvoy of No . 287 , one of the defendants in the case of Wheeler and others against Broadfoot , Satterley and McEvoy , tyvo months later . On
the 18 th of May , 1819 , the Lodge yvas joined by Bro . Charles Keyvley , one of the complainants in the aforesaid case . Bro . McEvoy appears to have onl y attended one meeting after his election , viz ., on the 25 th of May , yvhen he yvas appointed J . W . for the ensuing meeting in October , the Lodge having agreed to close during the Summer months .
On the 5 th of October the Lodge yvas opened and the lirst and third Lectures are said to have been " ably yvorked . " Br . McEvoy yvas not present , but , at the close of the work , Bro . Symons , of the Percy Lodge , "proposed that the Lectures , as herelojore worked in this Lodge , be continued , which was duly seconded by Br . Wilson ( a founder of the ' Emulation ' ) , and
unanimously approved . " This incident seems to suggest that an attempt had been made to introduce Lectures not as "heretofore yvorked in this Lodge , " and that in consequence of the action of the Board of General Purposes during the recess , or of some other influence , the brethren had decided
to revert to the older system . On the 21 st of March , 1820 , another of the complainants against Broadfoot , in the person of John Murphy , of No . 287 , formerly of No . 100 , joined the Lodge of Instruction . Peter Gilkes yvas present at tyvo meetings in 1818 , at
one in 1820 , and at three in 1821 . On the 3 rd of May in the year last named , it yvas proposed by Bro . Wilson , and seconded by Bro . Crease , " Thai ( he Ancient Lectures , and the Ceremonies of Initiation , Passing and Raising , as confirm'd b y the Grand L . odge of England , be strictly adhered lo in this
Lodge , which was put and carried unanimously . " The proceedings of 130 meetings are brielly recorded in this book , at only thirteen of which yvere either of the three ceremonies rehearsed . The Masters yvere elected and the Wardens
appointed for the term of one month , so that from the beginning of the book in 1818 to the ending on the 25 th of September , 1821 , only thirteen brethren are named as having occupied the Master ' s chair at the weekly meetings , nine of whom subsequently joined the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , and of this number six yvere Founders of that
Lodge , thus forming a strong chain of connection betyveen the tyvo Lodges . We consider that nothing further need here be said on this subject , it being quite out of the range of possibilities that these hard headed old veterans would have consented to any change in their mode of working either of Ceremonies or Lectures except at the bidding of
some lawfully constituted authority . For hoyv long a period the Lectures as noyv yvorked at the " Emulation " have been in vogue it is impossible to state definitely , but yve have every reason for believing that they are almost identical yvith the Lectures yvorked in the Perseverance Lodge of Instruction , yvhich yvere described as "Anlient" in 1821 , and they certainly bear a striking resemblance to Lectures knoyvn to have been in use about
179 8 . In a report of a meeting of the Stability Lodge of Instruction , held on the 28 th of April , 18 37 , on the occasion of a Presentation to Bro . Peter Thomson , Broadfoot ' s successor in the Preceptorship of that Lodge , yvhen the first Lecture yvas yvorked , the writer says , " It should be observed
that the Lectures , although differing in language from yvhat are usually delivered in the Grand Steyvards ' , and at the Master Masons Lodge of Instruction in Charlotte Street
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Histo Ry Of The Emulation Lod Ge Of Improvement , No . 256.——(Continued).
"The Grand Lodge concurring in the Opinion thus delivered by the M . W . Grand Master , requested His Royal Highness to permit the same to stand recorded on the minutes of this day's proceedings , to yvhich His Royal Highness acceded . "
THE EARL OF EUSTON , PROV . GRAND MASTKR , NORTHS A HUNTS , Chairman of Ihe Frf / iral in ISSi ) . The decision given by the Duke of Sussex seems to have ansyvered fairly yvell doyvn to the present time , and it will explain why the Stability Lodge of Instruction Lectures
have since been considered as orthodox as those of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . It will doubtless be remembered that Bro . Fenn , in what he described as his " retractation , " delivered at the Festival in 18 93 , stated that the Lectures complained of as being
worked at various Lodges of Instruction by Broadfoot and his disciples without authority , yvere arranged by Dr . Hemming and Broadfoot himself , and that Dr . Hemming had nothing whatever to do with the Emulation Lectures . In support of this statement and to put the matter beyond the shadow of a doubt , yve may here remark that in his
examination before the Board of General Purposes , Broadfoot , in reply to the question , "Did you learn the Lecture in a Lodge ? " said : " I heard it in a Lodge at Hampton Court , and learned it from the Brother yvho then worked it . " Noyv the only Lodge at Hampton Court at tin ' s period yvas
the Lodge of Harmony , of which Dr . Hemming yvas a member and for several years Master . One of the yvitnesses stated that Broadfool's Lectures contained certain clauses in the different Sections . We will noyv return to the old minute book of the Lodge of Perseverance , already referred to as having been presented to the " Emulation " in 1880 .
This Lodge yvas established on the 26 th of January , 1818 , and appears to have been formed chielly for the purpose of working the Lectures , as , according to tradition , yvas the Emulation Lodge of Improvement . The only ceremony mentioned in the By-Laws is that of Initiation , yvhich yvas to be worked on the Second Monday in Ihe month . A probable
reason being that the brethren generally yvere not snfficiently acquainted yvith the neyv mode of working the ceremonies sanctioned b y Grand Lodge only eighteen months previously , as to enable them to make the ceremonial yvork a part of their regular programme .
On the 31 st of March , 1818 , Peter Gilkes visited the Lodge and yvas elected a member of it . At this meeting "The Lodge was opened in the three Degrees , and the Ceremony of Raising to the 3 rd Degree most ably gone through . " This being the lirst occasion on yvhich either of
the ceremonies had been rehearsed in the Lodge , a reasonable inference yvould be that if Gilkes did not actually do the yvork it yvas clone under his direction , although the Master ' s Chair yvas filled b y a celebrated Past Master of that period , viz ., Edward Whittington , a member of the Lodge of Unions and several other well-kiunvn lodges , one of the chief
promoters of this Lodge of Instruction and subsequently a Founder of the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , yvhose Masonic attainments are said to have been scarcel y inferior to those of Peter Gilkes himself . At the next meeting on the 7 th of April , the ceremony of
Initiation yvas yvorked , Bro . Whittington in the Chair . On the 20 th of April , 1819 , the Lodge was visited and joined by Bro . James McEvoy of No . 287 , one of the defendants in the case of Wheeler and others against Broadfoot , Satterley and McEvoy , tyvo months later . On
the 18 th of May , 1819 , the Lodge yvas joined by Bro . Charles Keyvley , one of the complainants in the aforesaid case . Bro . McEvoy appears to have onl y attended one meeting after his election , viz ., on the 25 th of May , yvhen he yvas appointed J . W . for the ensuing meeting in October , the Lodge having agreed to close during the Summer months .
On the 5 th of October the Lodge yvas opened and the lirst and third Lectures are said to have been " ably yvorked . " Br . McEvoy yvas not present , but , at the close of the work , Bro . Symons , of the Percy Lodge , "proposed that the Lectures , as herelojore worked in this Lodge , be continued , which was duly seconded by Br . Wilson ( a founder of the ' Emulation ' ) , and
unanimously approved . " This incident seems to suggest that an attempt had been made to introduce Lectures not as "heretofore yvorked in this Lodge , " and that in consequence of the action of the Board of General Purposes during the recess , or of some other influence , the brethren had decided
to revert to the older system . On the 21 st of March , 1820 , another of the complainants against Broadfoot , in the person of John Murphy , of No . 287 , formerly of No . 100 , joined the Lodge of Instruction . Peter Gilkes yvas present at tyvo meetings in 1818 , at
one in 1820 , and at three in 1821 . On the 3 rd of May in the year last named , it yvas proposed by Bro . Wilson , and seconded by Bro . Crease , " Thai ( he Ancient Lectures , and the Ceremonies of Initiation , Passing and Raising , as confirm'd b y the Grand L . odge of England , be strictly adhered lo in this
Lodge , which was put and carried unanimously . " The proceedings of 130 meetings are brielly recorded in this book , at only thirteen of which yvere either of the three ceremonies rehearsed . The Masters yvere elected and the Wardens
appointed for the term of one month , so that from the beginning of the book in 1818 to the ending on the 25 th of September , 1821 , only thirteen brethren are named as having occupied the Master ' s chair at the weekly meetings , nine of whom subsequently joined the Emulation Lodge of Improvement , and of this number six yvere Founders of that
Lodge , thus forming a strong chain of connection betyveen the tyvo Lodges . We consider that nothing further need here be said on this subject , it being quite out of the range of possibilities that these hard headed old veterans would have consented to any change in their mode of working either of Ceremonies or Lectures except at the bidding of
some lawfully constituted authority . For hoyv long a period the Lectures as noyv yvorked at the " Emulation " have been in vogue it is impossible to state definitely , but yve have every reason for believing that they are almost identical yvith the Lectures yvorked in the Perseverance Lodge of Instruction , yvhich yvere described as "Anlient" in 1821 , and they certainly bear a striking resemblance to Lectures knoyvn to have been in use about
179 8 . In a report of a meeting of the Stability Lodge of Instruction , held on the 28 th of April , 18 37 , on the occasion of a Presentation to Bro . Peter Thomson , Broadfoot ' s successor in the Preceptorship of that Lodge , yvhen the first Lecture yvas yvorked , the writer says , " It should be observed
that the Lectures , although differing in language from yvhat are usually delivered in the Grand Steyvards ' , and at the Master Masons Lodge of Instruction in Charlotte Street