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Article THE CANADIAN MOVEMENT. ← Page 8 of 11 →
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The Canadian Movement.
New York , at tfye hands of her strong and great men , chose to confine her Masonic sympathies to her own side of the St . Lawrence . " Not thus did the Masonry of the Empire State reason when she formed her own independent Grand Lodge . She did not rely upon the ' implied or express consent of England , ' nor seek the sanction of any Provincial Grand Lodge which bad chartered local Lodges in her territory ; nor did she then understand that rebellion and independencew'ere synonymous terms . She then felt the ability to
stand up and walk in her own legitimate inherent strength ; she threw the crutches of English dependence in England ' s face , and marched on triumphantly to her own high and glorious Masonic destiny . When I assert this , I do it upon the authority contended for by the legitimate Grand Lodge of New York , which has always claimed that ' in 1785 it adopted a new constitution , and thereby threw off all allegiance to the parent body . V Unless this be true , I see no escap the position contended for by the revolutionary Grand Lodge of that state , which I understand to holdy 'that , down to 1849 , the Grand Lodge of New York continued to be Provincial to the Grand Lodge of England . '
< f Before the declared independence of the Grand Lodge of New York , by the alleged action of 1785 , that grand body had , for several years , been independent de facto . Her pro vincial Charter required her to make returns of her proceedings to the Grand Lodge of England , and allow appeals to be taken thereto . But from and after September , 1777 / she made no returns , and suffered no appeals to be taken ; styled herself the Grand Lodge of New York , and not the Provincial Grand Lodge , and claimed the independent title of jfe
Right Worshipful , the latter being the title of all Provincial Grand Lodges . For the term of about eight years , then , she acted independently , without declaring herself so , and her action , during that interregnum between dependence and undeclared independence , she has always claimed to have been correct and legitimate , and the Masonic world has not denied it . Upon principle , however , it would be difficult to find any thing as irregular as all this in any of the acts and doings of the forty-one Lodges of Canada .
" Missouri , in refusing to acknowledge the independent Grand Lodge of Canada , offers no argument but the first impressions of her Grand Master , acquiesced in , apparently p > ro forma , by a Committee . The decision of Virginia , I only know by a statement in the Freemason ' s Magazine of Boston . I have not yet seen her proceedings ; but if the Grand Lodge of that venerable old state is perfectly satisfied with the facts and arguments on which her own independence was established , it is not easy to understand her want of appreciation of those which exist as to the independent Grand Lodge of Canada .
"I have read the Report of the Committee on this subject , adoj ) ted by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts ; and considering the names it bears , and the history of the formation of the Grand Lodge of that ancient Commonwealth , I have been more than surprised at some of its positions . " The . Report begins with the expression of a great deal of sympathy , and expresses the opinion that an independent organization is essential to the effective
and proper working of the Order , in the opinion of the entire Craft in Canada ; but professes to find well-tried principles' in the way of recognition , and then states the question at issue to be , ' whether it is consistent , with the recognized laws or customs of Ereemasonry , for any Lodges under a particular jurisdiction , to secede from the parent body without its consent , and to form , of their own authority , a new body , having an independent existence and independent powers . '
" Although the question might have been stated with greater fairness , I do not object to it , as thus expressed . And I feel no difficulty in saying , that if the consistency of such action is denied , Massachusetts herself has no legitimate Grand-L / odge whatever . She asked no ' consent to c secede' from the parent body , ' by
either of her Provincial Grand Lodges . Roth on the 2 nd day of January , 1783 , when the old Massachusetts Grand Lodge assembled , after an entire suspension of eight years ; and in August , 1785 ^ when her Saint John ' s Grand Lodge met , after a suspension of more than twelve years—wo find no such idea dreamed of , so far as she has seen fit to disclose her history to the Masonic world . The Grand Master of one of her Grand Lodges lay in his shroud of glory under the King's
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Canadian Movement.
New York , at tfye hands of her strong and great men , chose to confine her Masonic sympathies to her own side of the St . Lawrence . " Not thus did the Masonry of the Empire State reason when she formed her own independent Grand Lodge . She did not rely upon the ' implied or express consent of England , ' nor seek the sanction of any Provincial Grand Lodge which bad chartered local Lodges in her territory ; nor did she then understand that rebellion and independencew'ere synonymous terms . She then felt the ability to
stand up and walk in her own legitimate inherent strength ; she threw the crutches of English dependence in England ' s face , and marched on triumphantly to her own high and glorious Masonic destiny . When I assert this , I do it upon the authority contended for by the legitimate Grand Lodge of New York , which has always claimed that ' in 1785 it adopted a new constitution , and thereby threw off all allegiance to the parent body . V Unless this be true , I see no escap the position contended for by the revolutionary Grand Lodge of that state , which I understand to holdy 'that , down to 1849 , the Grand Lodge of New York continued to be Provincial to the Grand Lodge of England . '
< f Before the declared independence of the Grand Lodge of New York , by the alleged action of 1785 , that grand body had , for several years , been independent de facto . Her pro vincial Charter required her to make returns of her proceedings to the Grand Lodge of England , and allow appeals to be taken thereto . But from and after September , 1777 / she made no returns , and suffered no appeals to be taken ; styled herself the Grand Lodge of New York , and not the Provincial Grand Lodge , and claimed the independent title of jfe
Right Worshipful , the latter being the title of all Provincial Grand Lodges . For the term of about eight years , then , she acted independently , without declaring herself so , and her action , during that interregnum between dependence and undeclared independence , she has always claimed to have been correct and legitimate , and the Masonic world has not denied it . Upon principle , however , it would be difficult to find any thing as irregular as all this in any of the acts and doings of the forty-one Lodges of Canada .
" Missouri , in refusing to acknowledge the independent Grand Lodge of Canada , offers no argument but the first impressions of her Grand Master , acquiesced in , apparently p > ro forma , by a Committee . The decision of Virginia , I only know by a statement in the Freemason ' s Magazine of Boston . I have not yet seen her proceedings ; but if the Grand Lodge of that venerable old state is perfectly satisfied with the facts and arguments on which her own independence was established , it is not easy to understand her want of appreciation of those which exist as to the independent Grand Lodge of Canada .
"I have read the Report of the Committee on this subject , adoj ) ted by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts ; and considering the names it bears , and the history of the formation of the Grand Lodge of that ancient Commonwealth , I have been more than surprised at some of its positions . " The . Report begins with the expression of a great deal of sympathy , and expresses the opinion that an independent organization is essential to the effective
and proper working of the Order , in the opinion of the entire Craft in Canada ; but professes to find well-tried principles' in the way of recognition , and then states the question at issue to be , ' whether it is consistent , with the recognized laws or customs of Ereemasonry , for any Lodges under a particular jurisdiction , to secede from the parent body without its consent , and to form , of their own authority , a new body , having an independent existence and independent powers . '
" Although the question might have been stated with greater fairness , I do not object to it , as thus expressed . And I feel no difficulty in saying , that if the consistency of such action is denied , Massachusetts herself has no legitimate Grand-L / odge whatever . She asked no ' consent to c secede' from the parent body , ' by
either of her Provincial Grand Lodges . Roth on the 2 nd day of January , 1783 , when the old Massachusetts Grand Lodge assembled , after an entire suspension of eight years ; and in August , 1785 ^ when her Saint John ' s Grand Lodge met , after a suspension of more than twelve years—wo find no such idea dreamed of , so far as she has seen fit to disclose her history to the Masonic world . The Grand Master of one of her Grand Lodges lay in his shroud of glory under the King's