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Article THE MASONIC MIRROR. ¦ r " . ¦ ← Page 4 of 9 →
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The Masonic Mirror. ¦ R " . ¦
relief of the inconveniences existing in Canada was made known to you in March last ; that ^ hose ste 23 S included , in spirit and in fact , the granting to the Canadian Masons everything which they prayed for , except independence of their mother Grand Lodge ; and when I learn ,-as I ' now do , that , with this knowledge in full View ,, thirty-four .. Lodges agree in September following to throw off their allegiance , I cannot do otherwise than come to the conclusion that there are , and have been from the commencement , other and internal causes of dissension amongst
our Canadian Brethren , which have , more than the inconveniences and delay arising on this side of the water , led to the separation of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West , and the complication of difficulties in which the Brethren of that province are now involved . It appears to me , that concessions , which were acknowledged to be ample , could not be " too la te , " when made many months before the separation took place . 3 rd . The movement towards independence — which commenced so early as 1852 , before those circumstances had occurred , which , it has been alleged ^
brought it into existence—did not , I have reason to believe , originate with the English Lodges ; and I have good grounds for believing that , even up to the present time , but very few Lodges holding under the Grand Lodge of England have given their adhesion to the so-called Independent Grand Lodge . Be that , however , as it may , it is clear now , from the documents laid before me , that ,, besides those who have not wavered from , or who have returned to , their allegiance , no less a number than thirty-four Lodges , constituting together a very large majority of all the Lodges existing in the provinces , could hardly be said to be driven by a small minority into a secession from the parent body .
4 th .- I have read with regret and pain the details of the proceedings of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West in September last . I know of no Letters emanating from authority in this country , nor of any words of mine which , by possibility , could be construed into justifying , far less recommending , the proceedings which it is stated then took place . I regret that any one should have been so ill advised as to write such letters , or that any Brethren in Canada should have been deceived by them . I regret also that the expressions used by me should have been so much misunderstood , the term " rebellious " seeming to give offence .
I stated , " that I applied that term to Brethren who had thrown off their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England , and that without returning the warrants they held under it ; and I thought that Grand Lodge would agree with me that I did not unjustly apply that term . " I recommended no course of action then ; I give no opinion now ; but thus much I may say , that I see a wide distinction between the breaking up of a Lodge and the surrender of its warrant by the free will of the Brethren composing it , and the subsequent formation of new Lodges under another authority , and the formation of an independent and antagonistic
jurisdiction by those who are still the holders of the warrants of that Grand Lodge whose authority they are determined to subvert , whilst they are yet under a solemn vow to support , uphold , and maintain it . I have read with astonishment , not unmingled with indignation , the following words , said to have been uttered by the Prov . G . M .: — " The Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West having now declared its independence , I , as the representative of the M . W . G . M . of England , nowdirect and require that every Master or delegate holding any warrant of a Lodge from the Grand Lodge of England do now return the same to me . in accordance
with the suggestion of the G . M . of England , contained in his address to the Grand Lodge on the 4 th of March last . " I am bound to say that in thus ( and in my name ) directing and requiring Brethren to surrender their warrants , the Prov . G . M . not only assumed a power which I , as Grand Master , had no authority either to exercise myself or delegate " to him , but which is directly opposed to the very essence and spirit of the Constitutions .
5 th . Enclosing a memorial from the Lodges of the district of Quebec , you suggest that I should consider the propriety , or otherwise , of appointing a Prov . G . M . to preside over only three Lodges . The Lodges in the district of Quebec are the wane in number as they were during the time when you presided over them . Kcniaining faithful in their allegiance , and having signified their wish to have a Prov . G . M ; appointed as your . successor , in accordance with the proposition made
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Masonic Mirror. ¦ R " . ¦
relief of the inconveniences existing in Canada was made known to you in March last ; that ^ hose ste 23 S included , in spirit and in fact , the granting to the Canadian Masons everything which they prayed for , except independence of their mother Grand Lodge ; and when I learn ,-as I ' now do , that , with this knowledge in full View ,, thirty-four .. Lodges agree in September following to throw off their allegiance , I cannot do otherwise than come to the conclusion that there are , and have been from the commencement , other and internal causes of dissension amongst
our Canadian Brethren , which have , more than the inconveniences and delay arising on this side of the water , led to the separation of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West , and the complication of difficulties in which the Brethren of that province are now involved . It appears to me , that concessions , which were acknowledged to be ample , could not be " too la te , " when made many months before the separation took place . 3 rd . The movement towards independence — which commenced so early as 1852 , before those circumstances had occurred , which , it has been alleged ^
brought it into existence—did not , I have reason to believe , originate with the English Lodges ; and I have good grounds for believing that , even up to the present time , but very few Lodges holding under the Grand Lodge of England have given their adhesion to the so-called Independent Grand Lodge . Be that , however , as it may , it is clear now , from the documents laid before me , that ,, besides those who have not wavered from , or who have returned to , their allegiance , no less a number than thirty-four Lodges , constituting together a very large majority of all the Lodges existing in the provinces , could hardly be said to be driven by a small minority into a secession from the parent body .
4 th .- I have read with regret and pain the details of the proceedings of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West in September last . I know of no Letters emanating from authority in this country , nor of any words of mine which , by possibility , could be construed into justifying , far less recommending , the proceedings which it is stated then took place . I regret that any one should have been so ill advised as to write such letters , or that any Brethren in Canada should have been deceived by them . I regret also that the expressions used by me should have been so much misunderstood , the term " rebellious " seeming to give offence .
I stated , " that I applied that term to Brethren who had thrown off their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England , and that without returning the warrants they held under it ; and I thought that Grand Lodge would agree with me that I did not unjustly apply that term . " I recommended no course of action then ; I give no opinion now ; but thus much I may say , that I see a wide distinction between the breaking up of a Lodge and the surrender of its warrant by the free will of the Brethren composing it , and the subsequent formation of new Lodges under another authority , and the formation of an independent and antagonistic
jurisdiction by those who are still the holders of the warrants of that Grand Lodge whose authority they are determined to subvert , whilst they are yet under a solemn vow to support , uphold , and maintain it . I have read with astonishment , not unmingled with indignation , the following words , said to have been uttered by the Prov . G . M .: — " The Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West having now declared its independence , I , as the representative of the M . W . G . M . of England , nowdirect and require that every Master or delegate holding any warrant of a Lodge from the Grand Lodge of England do now return the same to me . in accordance
with the suggestion of the G . M . of England , contained in his address to the Grand Lodge on the 4 th of March last . " I am bound to say that in thus ( and in my name ) directing and requiring Brethren to surrender their warrants , the Prov . G . M . not only assumed a power which I , as Grand Master , had no authority either to exercise myself or delegate " to him , but which is directly opposed to the very essence and spirit of the Constitutions .
5 th . Enclosing a memorial from the Lodges of the district of Quebec , you suggest that I should consider the propriety , or otherwise , of appointing a Prov . G . M . to preside over only three Lodges . The Lodges in the district of Quebec are the wane in number as they were during the time when you presided over them . Kcniaining faithful in their allegiance , and having signified their wish to have a Prov . G . M ; appointed as your . successor , in accordance with the proposition made