Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Dr. John Pollen, B.A., Ll.D., Past Grand Master Depute, A.S. J. J. Bombay.
Dr . John Pollen , B . A ., LL . D ., Past Grand Master Depute , A . S . J . J . Bombay .
THAT Freemasonry claims among its votaries many of the most eminent men in almost every rank and calling , and in every clime , is a truism that has never been questioned . In India , where one might well avoid any extraneous call upon rest and leisure on account of climatic
disadvantages , a large percentage of men endowed with administrative powers , occupied with scientific or professional pursuits , or employed in other ways , all having for their end the public weal , manage to draw upon their private hours to a considerable extent in favour of Freemasonry .
The subject of this brief memoir , Bro . Dr . John Pollen , whose portrait we give in this issue , is pre-eminently one who " in his time has played many parts . " But , perhaps , outside his own legitimate calling , the Craft managed to secure the lion's share of his attention , and the success and
popularity of the Order under the Scottish Constitution in India during the past few years are in the chief owing to his labours .
BBO . DR . JOHN POLLUX , DEPUTY GRAND MASTER OP SCOTLAND . Dr . Pollen is an Irishman by birth , Kingstown the place , the date Sth June , 18 4 8 . He was educated at Stockpooles , or more familiarly speaking " Kingstown House School " and
Trinity College , Dublin , of which university he is a Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Laws . He passed into the Indian Civil Service in 186 9 , coming out first on the list , being one of three brothers who entered the same calling , the others being Dr . Arthur Pollen , late Judge of Poona , and Mr . Fred
Pollen , Collector and Magistrate of Buland Shahn , N . W . P . He was appointed to the Bombay Presidency , where he has served throughout the greater part of his long and meritorious service . He first attracted notice during the Bengal famine of 1874 , in which , at Dinagepur in Bengal , he was employed
on special duty , receiving the thanks of the Government for his services , and a special commendation from Sir Richard Temple . From this time to the end of his career he was noted for hard and useful work , and whether on special duty to demarcate boundaries of territory ( no unimportant matter ) ,
to safeguard the rights of the hill tribes of Khandesh , or participating in a scheme for the destruction of tigers , which in that district had caused great havoc among the poor people , the thoroughness characteristic to his nature was ever apparent .
During the Bombay famine of 1878 he was again to the fore , but it may here be remarked , his views , like those of his eminent colleague , Sir James Campbell , were not always in concord with the policy of the Powers of the day , a fact
that neither attempted to conceal . In 1880 he was appointed to act as Under Secretary in the I . and R . Departments , and during the next few years held , at respective dates , the posts of Assistant Commissioner and Branch Inspector-General of Stamps , Sindhi translator to Government , Collector of
Hydrebad and Political Agent of Thar and Parkar , Collector of Salt Revenue , Collector of the Panch Mahals , Political Agent Revva Kanthoo , & c . Owing to a block in the Service , due to over-recruitment and miscalculation , he did not reach the rank of Permanent Collector until 1892 , or attain that of
Commissioner until eight years later , although belonging to the same year as the present Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal , Sir Andrew Fraser , and Mr . Gabriel Stokes , of Madras . It is more than probable , however , that had his retirement been deferred he would have succeeded to a seat in the Council
of Bombay . His selection from the official ranks of all India to accompany the representative political guests home at the Coronation is still fresh to the minds of all . For this he received a special despatch of thanks from the Secretary of State , and was honoured by the King-Emperor with the
distinction of a CLE . Before passing on to his Masonic career we must briefly allude to his acknowledged proficiency as a linguist , in which he , probably , surpasses all contemporaries . Among the languages he has mastered are Baluchi , Sindhi , Hindustani ,
Marathi and Russian . . In the latter he qualified as an interpreter in 1891 . The Volunteer Service attracted his attention in 1881 , when he joined as a private , from which grade he eventually rose to be a Lieutenant-Colonel , receiving the V . D . in due course .
As a Freemason he counts some twenty-two years eminently useful service . He saw the light in " Union , " No . 7 67 ( E . G . ) , Karachi , in 1881 , of which lodge he became Worshipful Master in 1883-4 . In 1886 he was made Junior Grand Deacon of Bombay , and two years after received the office of Junior Grand Warden at the hands of the Duke of
Connaught , then District Grand Master . During the rule of H . E . Lord Sandhurst , he , with that brother , was exalted to the Royal Arch at Government House , and subsequently , in the same company , was advanced to the Mark Degree in Lodge " Holmesdale-in-the-East . " He was appointed Deputy
District Grand Mark Master , an office he still holds , under Sir Lawrence Jenkins . In Scottish Freemasonry he has ruled in the chair of " Perseverance , " No . 33 8 , and held the appointment of Depute Grand Master of all Scottish
Freemasonry in India from 18 99 , under Bros , the Lords Sandhurst and Northcote , in which position he has probably clone more useful work than any other brother who ever held the office . This appointment invariably carries with it the lion ' s share of hard work and responsibility , more especially when the Grand Mastership devolves upon a brother in the
exalted position of Governor of the Presidency , who , on account of the many official calls upon his time , is naturally unable to devote much practical attention to the details of the Order . Dr . Pollen ' s genial and urbane disposition , combined with his exceptional administrative qualitieseminently
, fitted him for the post , and perfect as his several successors may prove themselves , it will be a long time before the reputation he gained for himself as Depute Grand Master will be forgotten .
In the extraneous Degrees of the Order he has filled the offices of M . W . S . in the 18 —the Rose Croix of Heredom , succeeding the Hon . Mr . Justice Parsons in the appointment , and that of Intendant-General of the Military Order of Rome and Red Cross of Constantine . Bro . Pollen's retirement from official service was
somewhat unexpected and universally regretted by a very large circle , which comprised friends and colleagues in every grade of society .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Dr. John Pollen, B.A., Ll.D., Past Grand Master Depute, A.S. J. J. Bombay.
Dr . John Pollen , B . A ., LL . D ., Past Grand Master Depute , A . S . J . J . Bombay .
THAT Freemasonry claims among its votaries many of the most eminent men in almost every rank and calling , and in every clime , is a truism that has never been questioned . In India , where one might well avoid any extraneous call upon rest and leisure on account of climatic
disadvantages , a large percentage of men endowed with administrative powers , occupied with scientific or professional pursuits , or employed in other ways , all having for their end the public weal , manage to draw upon their private hours to a considerable extent in favour of Freemasonry .
The subject of this brief memoir , Bro . Dr . John Pollen , whose portrait we give in this issue , is pre-eminently one who " in his time has played many parts . " But , perhaps , outside his own legitimate calling , the Craft managed to secure the lion's share of his attention , and the success and
popularity of the Order under the Scottish Constitution in India during the past few years are in the chief owing to his labours .
BBO . DR . JOHN POLLUX , DEPUTY GRAND MASTER OP SCOTLAND . Dr . Pollen is an Irishman by birth , Kingstown the place , the date Sth June , 18 4 8 . He was educated at Stockpooles , or more familiarly speaking " Kingstown House School " and
Trinity College , Dublin , of which university he is a Bachelor of Arts and Doctor of Laws . He passed into the Indian Civil Service in 186 9 , coming out first on the list , being one of three brothers who entered the same calling , the others being Dr . Arthur Pollen , late Judge of Poona , and Mr . Fred
Pollen , Collector and Magistrate of Buland Shahn , N . W . P . He was appointed to the Bombay Presidency , where he has served throughout the greater part of his long and meritorious service . He first attracted notice during the Bengal famine of 1874 , in which , at Dinagepur in Bengal , he was employed
on special duty , receiving the thanks of the Government for his services , and a special commendation from Sir Richard Temple . From this time to the end of his career he was noted for hard and useful work , and whether on special duty to demarcate boundaries of territory ( no unimportant matter ) ,
to safeguard the rights of the hill tribes of Khandesh , or participating in a scheme for the destruction of tigers , which in that district had caused great havoc among the poor people , the thoroughness characteristic to his nature was ever apparent .
During the Bombay famine of 1878 he was again to the fore , but it may here be remarked , his views , like those of his eminent colleague , Sir James Campbell , were not always in concord with the policy of the Powers of the day , a fact
that neither attempted to conceal . In 1880 he was appointed to act as Under Secretary in the I . and R . Departments , and during the next few years held , at respective dates , the posts of Assistant Commissioner and Branch Inspector-General of Stamps , Sindhi translator to Government , Collector of
Hydrebad and Political Agent of Thar and Parkar , Collector of Salt Revenue , Collector of the Panch Mahals , Political Agent Revva Kanthoo , & c . Owing to a block in the Service , due to over-recruitment and miscalculation , he did not reach the rank of Permanent Collector until 1892 , or attain that of
Commissioner until eight years later , although belonging to the same year as the present Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal , Sir Andrew Fraser , and Mr . Gabriel Stokes , of Madras . It is more than probable , however , that had his retirement been deferred he would have succeeded to a seat in the Council
of Bombay . His selection from the official ranks of all India to accompany the representative political guests home at the Coronation is still fresh to the minds of all . For this he received a special despatch of thanks from the Secretary of State , and was honoured by the King-Emperor with the
distinction of a CLE . Before passing on to his Masonic career we must briefly allude to his acknowledged proficiency as a linguist , in which he , probably , surpasses all contemporaries . Among the languages he has mastered are Baluchi , Sindhi , Hindustani ,
Marathi and Russian . . In the latter he qualified as an interpreter in 1891 . The Volunteer Service attracted his attention in 1881 , when he joined as a private , from which grade he eventually rose to be a Lieutenant-Colonel , receiving the V . D . in due course .
As a Freemason he counts some twenty-two years eminently useful service . He saw the light in " Union , " No . 7 67 ( E . G . ) , Karachi , in 1881 , of which lodge he became Worshipful Master in 1883-4 . In 1886 he was made Junior Grand Deacon of Bombay , and two years after received the office of Junior Grand Warden at the hands of the Duke of
Connaught , then District Grand Master . During the rule of H . E . Lord Sandhurst , he , with that brother , was exalted to the Royal Arch at Government House , and subsequently , in the same company , was advanced to the Mark Degree in Lodge " Holmesdale-in-the-East . " He was appointed Deputy
District Grand Mark Master , an office he still holds , under Sir Lawrence Jenkins . In Scottish Freemasonry he has ruled in the chair of " Perseverance , " No . 33 8 , and held the appointment of Depute Grand Master of all Scottish
Freemasonry in India from 18 99 , under Bros , the Lords Sandhurst and Northcote , in which position he has probably clone more useful work than any other brother who ever held the office . This appointment invariably carries with it the lion ' s share of hard work and responsibility , more especially when the Grand Mastership devolves upon a brother in the
exalted position of Governor of the Presidency , who , on account of the many official calls upon his time , is naturally unable to devote much practical attention to the details of the Order . Dr . Pollen ' s genial and urbane disposition , combined with his exceptional administrative qualitieseminently
, fitted him for the post , and perfect as his several successors may prove themselves , it will be a long time before the reputation he gained for himself as Depute Grand Master will be forgotten .
In the extraneous Degrees of the Order he has filled the offices of M . W . S . in the 18 —the Rose Croix of Heredom , succeeding the Hon . Mr . Justice Parsons in the appointment , and that of Intendant-General of the Military Order of Rome and Red Cross of Constantine . Bro . Pollen's retirement from official service was
somewhat unexpected and universally regretted by a very large circle , which comprised friends and colleagues in every grade of society .