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Article MASONIC AFFAIES IN CANADA. ← Page 2 of 11 →
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Masonic Affaies In Canada.
consequence in the preservation of the s unity of English Ereemasonry . ' Your Lordship must acknowledge that for many years past they have only been regarged in a pecuniary light , that is , the annual revenue derived from them has kept them from nearly entire oblivion . As for a voice at the fountain head , that has never been thought of , and ' money' and { obedience * have been the principal results derived from their connexion with the Grand Lodge of Great Britain and
Ireland . Your Lordship will also , I am sure , acknowledge that they have been parcelled out between three sovereign authorities , in a way that must , sooner or later , lead to confusion , and a necessity for the establishment of one local head . I know that Canada has called the attention of England to the equal sovereignty of Scotland and Ireland , and that the adoption of some plan has been asked for , by which no separate Lodges should be constituted by one part of the empire , without the concurrence of the other two ; but the subject has never yet been deemed of sufficient importance to attract attention or elicit a reply , and the
result has been , that when individual Brethren have become dissatisfied , or fancied themselves aggrieved , they have been accustomed to retire from their Lodges , and either become joining members of another , hailing from a different source , or have applied for warrants , which have never been refused . Eor instance , —English Masons have procured charters from the Grand Lodge of Scotland and Ireland , without either of the latter bodies deeming it at all requisite to appeal to England for proofs of good standing or any other essential ; and in this loose manner a standard of independence ( for it may surely be classed as such )
has been set up for many years . This irregularity could only be rectified by a sovereign Grand Lodge on the spot . Another important particular , I wish to draw your Lordship ' s attention to , is , that a large proportion of the Brethren here are native Canadians ; who , as such , have none of the old recollections and sympathies to bind them ; but , on the contrary , and it is natural , are imbued with a love of their native soil and institutions , and deem it derogatory to be ruled by extraneous power—from connection with which they derive no apparent
advan-• fncro m -inrVirkon nvnnoQ / ltiiA'o fl- » c * -tT T- » ottc » nr \ vool vnina—^ . TXTif \\ wrlrxinn if . id i . c * r \ flift . nppa tage—in whose proceedings they have no real voice—with which it is ten chances to one if they ever have any personal communication—and for which , as I shall endeavour to show your lordship before I conclude this letter , they have been gradually compelled to feel less and less respect . There are likewise many Brethren , who are citizens of the United States of America , who have settled in Canada for their own private interests , but who have no particular liking for England in any way . I have alluded to the foregoing points , because they are
uppermost in my mind , and I think them of paramount importance as a prelude to my replying to your lordship ' s communication in detail . I have to beg your indulgence for the length of this letter , —but I find it impossible to do justice to the subject at issue , unless I bring before your notice every thing that bears upon it , to compress which would be to mislead your lordship . I deeply regret that our recognition has not been effected by the documents already sent home , and the evidence which they afford that the " Antient Grand Lodge of Canada " certainly
has not been actuated by factious or ambitious motives , ( as has been hinted , ) but by a " stern necessity , " in adopting the course it has . I hope the Grand Lodge of England will yet see the matter in that light . There is no necessity for me to trouble your lordship with a repetition of the ' grievances' under which the entire Canadian Craft has laboured , for they have been fully and formally specified in the memorial already sent homo by the late Prov . Grand Lodge of Upper
Canada : but to enable vou to refer to them . I I have annendeel a coov of that Canada ; but to enable you to refer to them , have appended a copy of that memorial to this communication . I take it for granted that a copy of your lordship ' s letter to me is filed in the Grand Secretary ' s ofnee for the information oi Grand Lodge . " "With reference therefore to paragraph 2 of that letter , I must again express
my conviction , that had the concessions proposed by your Lordship in March last , been propounded in September , 18 / 56 ( that is , , six months earlier than they were ) , the present condition of'freemasonry in Canada might have been prevented . II you will be so good as to refer to the Memorial ( page 5 ) , you will find that the half year , suffered to elapse without notice , was pregnant with events , bearing direct and unmistakable issue upon ( independence . ' The Craft here had nothing
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Affaies In Canada.
consequence in the preservation of the s unity of English Ereemasonry . ' Your Lordship must acknowledge that for many years past they have only been regarged in a pecuniary light , that is , the annual revenue derived from them has kept them from nearly entire oblivion . As for a voice at the fountain head , that has never been thought of , and ' money' and { obedience * have been the principal results derived from their connexion with the Grand Lodge of Great Britain and
Ireland . Your Lordship will also , I am sure , acknowledge that they have been parcelled out between three sovereign authorities , in a way that must , sooner or later , lead to confusion , and a necessity for the establishment of one local head . I know that Canada has called the attention of England to the equal sovereignty of Scotland and Ireland , and that the adoption of some plan has been asked for , by which no separate Lodges should be constituted by one part of the empire , without the concurrence of the other two ; but the subject has never yet been deemed of sufficient importance to attract attention or elicit a reply , and the
result has been , that when individual Brethren have become dissatisfied , or fancied themselves aggrieved , they have been accustomed to retire from their Lodges , and either become joining members of another , hailing from a different source , or have applied for warrants , which have never been refused . Eor instance , —English Masons have procured charters from the Grand Lodge of Scotland and Ireland , without either of the latter bodies deeming it at all requisite to appeal to England for proofs of good standing or any other essential ; and in this loose manner a standard of independence ( for it may surely be classed as such )
has been set up for many years . This irregularity could only be rectified by a sovereign Grand Lodge on the spot . Another important particular , I wish to draw your Lordship ' s attention to , is , that a large proportion of the Brethren here are native Canadians ; who , as such , have none of the old recollections and sympathies to bind them ; but , on the contrary , and it is natural , are imbued with a love of their native soil and institutions , and deem it derogatory to be ruled by extraneous power—from connection with which they derive no apparent
advan-• fncro m -inrVirkon nvnnoQ / ltiiA'o fl- » c * -tT T- » ottc » nr \ vool vnina—^ . TXTif \\ wrlrxinn if . id i . c * r \ flift . nppa tage—in whose proceedings they have no real voice—with which it is ten chances to one if they ever have any personal communication—and for which , as I shall endeavour to show your lordship before I conclude this letter , they have been gradually compelled to feel less and less respect . There are likewise many Brethren , who are citizens of the United States of America , who have settled in Canada for their own private interests , but who have no particular liking for England in any way . I have alluded to the foregoing points , because they are
uppermost in my mind , and I think them of paramount importance as a prelude to my replying to your lordship ' s communication in detail . I have to beg your indulgence for the length of this letter , —but I find it impossible to do justice to the subject at issue , unless I bring before your notice every thing that bears upon it , to compress which would be to mislead your lordship . I deeply regret that our recognition has not been effected by the documents already sent home , and the evidence which they afford that the " Antient Grand Lodge of Canada " certainly
has not been actuated by factious or ambitious motives , ( as has been hinted , ) but by a " stern necessity , " in adopting the course it has . I hope the Grand Lodge of England will yet see the matter in that light . There is no necessity for me to trouble your lordship with a repetition of the ' grievances' under which the entire Canadian Craft has laboured , for they have been fully and formally specified in the memorial already sent homo by the late Prov . Grand Lodge of Upper
Canada : but to enable vou to refer to them . I I have annendeel a coov of that Canada ; but to enable you to refer to them , have appended a copy of that memorial to this communication . I take it for granted that a copy of your lordship ' s letter to me is filed in the Grand Secretary ' s ofnee for the information oi Grand Lodge . " "With reference therefore to paragraph 2 of that letter , I must again express
my conviction , that had the concessions proposed by your Lordship in March last , been propounded in September , 18 / 56 ( that is , , six months earlier than they were ) , the present condition of'freemasonry in Canada might have been prevented . II you will be so good as to refer to the Memorial ( page 5 ) , you will find that the half year , suffered to elapse without notice , was pregnant with events , bearing direct and unmistakable issue upon ( independence . ' The Craft here had nothing