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Article THE CANADAS. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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The Canadas.
distant when for the sake of " unity" of feeling we must lose the Australian Lodges also . Bro . Harington expresses his regret that the independent authority of the " Antient Grand Lodge of Canada " has not been recognized , but it certainly would have appeared most strange to us if it had been , for its formation was subsequent to that of the Independent Grand Lodge , and apparently in antagonism with
it . We are glad , however , to hear that a union between the two Canadian Grand Lodges may be expected to take place at no distant date , when , as we have before stated , they will be in a proper position to ask' for recognition by the Grand Lodge of England . Bro . Harington asserts , and not without some show of reason , that the concessions of the Most Worshipful Grand Master to the wishes of the Canadian Brethren were not only unnecessarily delayed , but that they were not so ample as they might have been , saying : —
" You were ever careful not to embarrass any successor you might have , and the proposed plan , although binding on you , would not be upon him ; and it might happen , therefore , that the evil day w as only retarded for a season . "
The writer next proceeds to refer to the unfortunate delays which occurred in taking the Canadian affairs into consideration , even after they were prominently brought before Grand Lodge—delays which most singularly contrast with the new-born zeal for hasty decisions as evidenced in the recent resolutions relative to Tasmania—and
then proceeds to criticize that portion of the Most Worshipful Grand Master ' s statements in Grand Lodge , in which he said that no party had a right to demand the warrants of any Lodges to be delivered up : —¦ " Your Lordship says , that you 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 , who are still the holders of the warrants of that Grand Lodge whose authority they are determined to subvert , & c . My Lord , and M . W . Brother , the Lodges could not first be broken up , and the
warrants surrendered , or a Grand Lodge could not have been constituted , for it is Lodges ^ not Brethren , who form the component parts of a Grand Lodge . Your Lordship likewise says , that the Pro v . G . M . not only assumed a power as your representative , which you had no authority to exercise yourself , but acted in direct opposition to the constitutions . What do the constitutions
say?"' If a Lodge be dissolved , the warrant shall be delivered up to the Grand Master , ' & c . —Art , * Private Lodges / s . 27 . " If all the members of a Lodge withdraw , the warrant becomes extinct /—s . 30 . " I would therefore ask your Lordship , who was the proper officer to
require the surrender of the warrants of the Lodges , upon their formally declaring that they withdrew from under the jurisdiction of England , or , in other words , dissolved themselves , as far as their charters were concerned , and received in lieu thereof dispensations from their own local head ? Surely , the Prov . G . M . was bound to call for them , for the purpose of complying with the constitutions , and restoring them to you , the-G . M ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Canadas.
distant when for the sake of " unity" of feeling we must lose the Australian Lodges also . Bro . Harington expresses his regret that the independent authority of the " Antient Grand Lodge of Canada " has not been recognized , but it certainly would have appeared most strange to us if it had been , for its formation was subsequent to that of the Independent Grand Lodge , and apparently in antagonism with
it . We are glad , however , to hear that a union between the two Canadian Grand Lodges may be expected to take place at no distant date , when , as we have before stated , they will be in a proper position to ask' for recognition by the Grand Lodge of England . Bro . Harington asserts , and not without some show of reason , that the concessions of the Most Worshipful Grand Master to the wishes of the Canadian Brethren were not only unnecessarily delayed , but that they were not so ample as they might have been , saying : —
" You were ever careful not to embarrass any successor you might have , and the proposed plan , although binding on you , would not be upon him ; and it might happen , therefore , that the evil day w as only retarded for a season . "
The writer next proceeds to refer to the unfortunate delays which occurred in taking the Canadian affairs into consideration , even after they were prominently brought before Grand Lodge—delays which most singularly contrast with the new-born zeal for hasty decisions as evidenced in the recent resolutions relative to Tasmania—and
then proceeds to criticize that portion of the Most Worshipful Grand Master ' s statements in Grand Lodge , in which he said that no party had a right to demand the warrants of any Lodges to be delivered up : —¦ " Your Lordship says , that you 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 , who are still the holders of the warrants of that Grand Lodge whose authority they are determined to subvert , & c . My Lord , and M . W . Brother , the Lodges could not first be broken up , and the
warrants surrendered , or a Grand Lodge could not have been constituted , for it is Lodges ^ not Brethren , who form the component parts of a Grand Lodge . Your Lordship likewise says , that the Pro v . G . M . not only assumed a power as your representative , which you had no authority to exercise yourself , but acted in direct opposition to the constitutions . What do the constitutions
say?"' If a Lodge be dissolved , the warrant shall be delivered up to the Grand Master , ' & c . —Art , * Private Lodges / s . 27 . " If all the members of a Lodge withdraw , the warrant becomes extinct /—s . 30 . " I would therefore ask your Lordship , who was the proper officer to
require the surrender of the warrants of the Lodges , upon their formally declaring that they withdrew from under the jurisdiction of England , or , in other words , dissolved themselves , as far as their charters were concerned , and received in lieu thereof dispensations from their own local head ? Surely , the Prov . G . M . was bound to call for them , for the purpose of complying with the constitutions , and restoring them to you , the-G . M ,