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Article GOEEESPOIDENCE. y ← Page 5 of 8 →
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Goeeespoidence. Y
the others adhered faithfully to their Masonic allegiance ; and not for many years after did they effect any change in their relation to their parent bodies , with whom a mutual recognition of authority and submission subsisted . And , indeed , the Duke of Athole , Grand Master of " Ancient Freemasons of England , " granted a charter , dated London , the 5 th of September , 1781 , to the Masons of New York , to constitute a Provincial Grand Lodge , five years after the American
declaration of independence , and two years before its recognition by Great Britain , which worked subordinate to the Grand Lodge from whence it emanated till 1787 . And in one of the states , viz ., Vermont , the Prov . G . M . for Lower Canada , the R . W . John Johnston , constituted a Lodge so late as 1791 , of which Thomas Chittenden , then governor of the state , was the first Master ; this Lodge—the Dorchester Lodge of Vergennes , —with four other Lodges originating from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts , organized the present Grand Lodge of Vermont .
So much for the formation of Grand Lodges on this continent . Thus does Freemasonry , unaffected by the revolutions of empires , the change of dynasties and rulers , pursue the even tenour of her way , true to her principles , and inflexibly bent on promoting peace and good-will among men . But let us turn to Britain itself , and see how the Grand Lodges there were formed . The Grand Lodge in the city of York exercised supreme sway from a very early date ; and it was not until 1717 that the present Grand Lodge of England came into existence . Did the four Lodges by which it was organized
consider it necessary to obtain the consent of the Grand Lodge in York , under whose jurisdiction they were , and whose G . M ., recognized as G . M . of the Masons of England , was at that very time a resident of London , and did not pay the debt of nature till 17 * 23 ? The Grand Lodge of Scotland was organized as a modern Grand Lodge in 1736 , by the resignation of the hereditary G . M . ; did they ask permission from the Grand Lodge of England to form a Grand Lodge , although the countries had been united under the same sovereign many years before ? Did
the Grand Lodge of Ireland , on its establishment in 1730 , ask permission of the Grand Lodge of England to form a Grand Lodge to preside over another part of the empire ? And in proof that each of the above Grand Lodges were recognized by the Grand Lodge of England , hear what the Book of Constitutions , published by its authority in 1738 , says : — " All these foreign Lodges [ having given a list of Prov . G . Ms , appointed for various places abroad ] are under the patronage of
our Grand Master of England , ; but the old Lodge of York city , and the Lodges of Scotland , Ireland , France , and Italy , affecting independency , are under their own Grand Masters , though they have the same constitutions , " & c . & c . And in 1792 it was unanimously agreed in Grand Lodge to endeavour to effect a union of the various Grand Lodges in the empire , which unfortunately was not accomplished .
I think I have made my point perfectly clear that the Lodges in Ganada , owing to their distances from the parent bodies , and the conflicting jurisdiction of several Grand Lodges , even had they no other cause of complaint , have as much right , and far more necessity , to form a Grand Lodge than had either Scotland or Ireland . The beginning of Grand Lodges , as we understand those institutions in our days , was established at the London meeting of the four Lodges , 1715-17 . Ireland followed the path made by them and chose for its first G . M . a Brother who had been the previous year G . M . of the Grand Lodge of England .
Masonry had existed in Scotland for centuries , but not till the 30 th of November , 1736—St . Anclrew ' s-day—did the Lodges in that country assemble to organize as a common body , and choose their own G . M . And in this they had the advantage over their English Brethren , in having had the assent of the G . M . of the Masons of Scotland in forming their Grand Lodge .
There is another matter on which I will only just say a word or two : the alleged irregularity of the installation of the G . M . of the Ancient Grand Lodge of Canada , the ceremony having been performed by a Prov . G . M , If this was so far wrong as some people say , and so contrary to Masonic usage , there was at least a very good precedent for it . At the meeting of the four Lodges in London , VOL . IV . 2 K
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Goeeespoidence. Y
the others adhered faithfully to their Masonic allegiance ; and not for many years after did they effect any change in their relation to their parent bodies , with whom a mutual recognition of authority and submission subsisted . And , indeed , the Duke of Athole , Grand Master of " Ancient Freemasons of England , " granted a charter , dated London , the 5 th of September , 1781 , to the Masons of New York , to constitute a Provincial Grand Lodge , five years after the American
declaration of independence , and two years before its recognition by Great Britain , which worked subordinate to the Grand Lodge from whence it emanated till 1787 . And in one of the states , viz ., Vermont , the Prov . G . M . for Lower Canada , the R . W . John Johnston , constituted a Lodge so late as 1791 , of which Thomas Chittenden , then governor of the state , was the first Master ; this Lodge—the Dorchester Lodge of Vergennes , —with four other Lodges originating from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts , organized the present Grand Lodge of Vermont .
So much for the formation of Grand Lodges on this continent . Thus does Freemasonry , unaffected by the revolutions of empires , the change of dynasties and rulers , pursue the even tenour of her way , true to her principles , and inflexibly bent on promoting peace and good-will among men . But let us turn to Britain itself , and see how the Grand Lodges there were formed . The Grand Lodge in the city of York exercised supreme sway from a very early date ; and it was not until 1717 that the present Grand Lodge of England came into existence . Did the four Lodges by which it was organized
consider it necessary to obtain the consent of the Grand Lodge in York , under whose jurisdiction they were , and whose G . M ., recognized as G . M . of the Masons of England , was at that very time a resident of London , and did not pay the debt of nature till 17 * 23 ? The Grand Lodge of Scotland was organized as a modern Grand Lodge in 1736 , by the resignation of the hereditary G . M . ; did they ask permission from the Grand Lodge of England to form a Grand Lodge , although the countries had been united under the same sovereign many years before ? Did
the Grand Lodge of Ireland , on its establishment in 1730 , ask permission of the Grand Lodge of England to form a Grand Lodge to preside over another part of the empire ? And in proof that each of the above Grand Lodges were recognized by the Grand Lodge of England , hear what the Book of Constitutions , published by its authority in 1738 , says : — " All these foreign Lodges [ having given a list of Prov . G . Ms , appointed for various places abroad ] are under the patronage of
our Grand Master of England , ; but the old Lodge of York city , and the Lodges of Scotland , Ireland , France , and Italy , affecting independency , are under their own Grand Masters , though they have the same constitutions , " & c . & c . And in 1792 it was unanimously agreed in Grand Lodge to endeavour to effect a union of the various Grand Lodges in the empire , which unfortunately was not accomplished .
I think I have made my point perfectly clear that the Lodges in Ganada , owing to their distances from the parent bodies , and the conflicting jurisdiction of several Grand Lodges , even had they no other cause of complaint , have as much right , and far more necessity , to form a Grand Lodge than had either Scotland or Ireland . The beginning of Grand Lodges , as we understand those institutions in our days , was established at the London meeting of the four Lodges , 1715-17 . Ireland followed the path made by them and chose for its first G . M . a Brother who had been the previous year G . M . of the Grand Lodge of England .
Masonry had existed in Scotland for centuries , but not till the 30 th of November , 1736—St . Anclrew ' s-day—did the Lodges in that country assemble to organize as a common body , and choose their own G . M . And in this they had the advantage over their English Brethren , in having had the assent of the G . M . of the Masons of Scotland in forming their Grand Lodge .
There is another matter on which I will only just say a word or two : the alleged irregularity of the installation of the G . M . of the Ancient Grand Lodge of Canada , the ceremony having been performed by a Prov . G . M , If this was so far wrong as some people say , and so contrary to Masonic usage , there was at least a very good precedent for it . At the meeting of the four Lodges in London , VOL . IV . 2 K