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Article MASONIC AFFAIES IN CANADA. ← Page 5 of 11 →
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Masonic Affaies In Canada.
bear witness to his anxiety to act rightly . I am of course open to conviction , and we are all liable to error , but I believe I should have followed the same course , and so I told Sir Allan . Your lordship says , that you see a wide distinction between the breaking np of a Lodge , and the surrender of its warrant by the freewill 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 h olders 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 Prov . Grand Master 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 dispensation from their own local head ? Surely the Prov . Grand Master was bound to call
for them , for the purpose of complying with the constitutions , and restoring them to you , the Grand Master Sir Allan MacNab , in common with the Brethren at large , could only understand by your lordship ' s addresses to the Grand Lodge of England , that after a declaration of independence , the retention of your warrants specially constituted an act of rebellion , —and it was with direct allusion to your lordships own words , that the Prov . Grand Master addressed the meeting as he did . Upon referring to the Prov . Grand Lodge proceedings , you will observe , that in the concluding address praying for recognition , the surrender of those charters is specially
mentioned , and their return asked for , that they might be cherished as mementos of the original source from whence we derived our masonic existence , and which we regarded with warm affection , although we felt that self-government , from various causes , was imperative . The Prov . Grand Master used no compulsion ; but he had to exercise his discretion , and in the absence of any advice or directions from the fountain head , although the contemplated movement was known in London , the course he pursued was certainly the most straightforward one , and , under the circumstances , more in accordance with the constitutions , as quoted
above , than any other method would have been , —and I know that no Brother felt more acutely the painful position in which we were all placed than Sir Allan MacNab . My lord , it seems a paradox , that the " , ' Independent Grand Lodge ' should be denounced for withholding the English warrants , and the ' Antient Grand Lodge of Canada ' for surrendering them . "Paragraph 5 , of your ^ lordship ' s communication , bears reference to Quebec , and the appointment of my successor ; and I have of course nothing further to say than again to express my sense of the kind courtesy evinced by you when
accepting my resignation of my high and honourable offices . I will only remind your lordship that , although you feel bound to appoint another Prov . Grand Master without loss of time for that district , the nominationof a Prov . Grand Superintendent for Canada West has been urged upon you , time after time , without success . The English Lodges are certainly the same in number as when I was appointed ; but brethren are wavering , and have been so for some time—passing events have greatly unsettled them . There is a Scotch , and also an Irish Lodge at Quebec
now , and the latter was organized by English Masons for the open and express purpose of being free from English rule ; and at this time many . Brethren arc subscribing members of all three portions of the empire , and are therefore tolerably independent when they choose . Quebec and Montreal arc jealous of each other , and both are so of Upper Canada . Your lordship will not probably , under such circumstances , be disposed to place implicit trust in any deep-rooted affection for English Masonic rule . I think , as 1 once before stated to you , that it is now a question of time only .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Affaies In Canada.
bear witness to his anxiety to act rightly . I am of course open to conviction , and we are all liable to error , but I believe I should have followed the same course , and so I told Sir Allan . Your lordship says , that you see a wide distinction between the breaking np of a Lodge , and the surrender of its warrant by the freewill 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 h olders 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 Prov . Grand Master 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 dispensation from their own local head ? Surely the Prov . Grand Master was bound to call
for them , for the purpose of complying with the constitutions , and restoring them to you , the Grand Master Sir Allan MacNab , in common with the Brethren at large , could only understand by your lordship ' s addresses to the Grand Lodge of England , that after a declaration of independence , the retention of your warrants specially constituted an act of rebellion , —and it was with direct allusion to your lordships own words , that the Prov . Grand Master addressed the meeting as he did . Upon referring to the Prov . Grand Lodge proceedings , you will observe , that in the concluding address praying for recognition , the surrender of those charters is specially
mentioned , and their return asked for , that they might be cherished as mementos of the original source from whence we derived our masonic existence , and which we regarded with warm affection , although we felt that self-government , from various causes , was imperative . The Prov . Grand Master used no compulsion ; but he had to exercise his discretion , and in the absence of any advice or directions from the fountain head , although the contemplated movement was known in London , the course he pursued was certainly the most straightforward one , and , under the circumstances , more in accordance with the constitutions , as quoted
above , than any other method would have been , —and I know that no Brother felt more acutely the painful position in which we were all placed than Sir Allan MacNab . My lord , it seems a paradox , that the " , ' Independent Grand Lodge ' should be denounced for withholding the English warrants , and the ' Antient Grand Lodge of Canada ' for surrendering them . "Paragraph 5 , of your ^ lordship ' s communication , bears reference to Quebec , and the appointment of my successor ; and I have of course nothing further to say than again to express my sense of the kind courtesy evinced by you when
accepting my resignation of my high and honourable offices . I will only remind your lordship that , although you feel bound to appoint another Prov . Grand Master without loss of time for that district , the nominationof a Prov . Grand Superintendent for Canada West has been urged upon you , time after time , without success . The English Lodges are certainly the same in number as when I was appointed ; but brethren are wavering , and have been so for some time—passing events have greatly unsettled them . There is a Scotch , and also an Irish Lodge at Quebec
now , and the latter was organized by English Masons for the open and express purpose of being free from English rule ; and at this time many . Brethren arc subscribing members of all three portions of the empire , and are therefore tolerably independent when they choose . Quebec and Montreal arc jealous of each other , and both are so of Upper Canada . Your lordship will not probably , under such circumstances , be disposed to place implicit trust in any deep-rooted affection for English Masonic rule . I think , as 1 once before stated to you , that it is now a question of time only .