Masonry In St. Thomas's.

MASONRY IN ST . THOMAS'S .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MAY 5 , 1860 . THE NEW GRAND OEEICERS . AVE hope next week to be enabled to publish a notice of tlie Masonic standing and services of the new Grand Officers .

IN the report of the Colonial Board , presented at . the last meeting' of Grand Lodge , appeared the following passages : — " The Colonial Board beg to report that in the latter part of last year it came to their knowledge that serious differences existed amongst the members of the Harmonic Lodge , No . 458 , St . Thomas ' s ; complaints were , at the same time , preferred by the AVorshiful Master of the Lod on the one handagainst

p ge , , some of the members for refractory behaviour ; and on the other , by members of the Lodge against the AVorshipful Master for having closed the Lodge , and put a stop to the meetings thereof . " The Board being of opinion that it would scarcely be possible to properly investigate the case through the medium of correspondence , aucl , moreover , that great loss of time would of necessity be incurred before replies coulcl be received on points on

which the Board required further information to enable them to deal with the case as a whole , and , acting on a suggestion thrown out by some of the Past Masters of No . 458 , they respectfully requested the M . W . Grand Master to direct Bro . Daniel Hart , Prov . Grand Master for Trinidad ( who hacl expressed his willingness to undertake the investigation ) , to inquire into , ancl , if possibleadjust the differences in the Harmonic Lod .

, ge " The Board have now the satisfaction to report to Grand Lodge that a communication has been received from , the R . AV . Bro . Hart , from ivhich it appears that , although on his arrival at St . Thomas ' s he found party feeling raging amongst the brethren to an extent that not only threw a gloom over the affairs of the Lodgo , but , through acts committed , tended to compromise the character of our institution itself in the eyes of the uninitiated ;'

yet , after several meetings with the members of the Lodge , No . 458 , he , Bro . Hart , was able to report that all differences hacl been happily settled , and peace and harmony restored . The Board are sure that Grand Lodge will be of opinion that great credit is due to the R . AV . Bro . Hart for his exertions in this matter , and for the judgment he has shown in thus bringing to a satisfactory conclusion differences that appeared at one time likely to break up the Harmonic Lodge altogether . "

Until the appearance of the above report , ive venture to assert that there were not half a dozen members in the whole

Craft , apart from , those in the island , the Colonial Board , and the officials in the Grand Secretary ' s Oflice , that knew anything of differences existing at St . Thomas ' s ; nor is the report sufficiently explicit to inform them of the nature of those differences . How far under the eireumstaiic . es it was

judicious for the Colonial Board to publish such a report , we had , from what we knew ofthe case , our doubts at the time , unless they hacl some stronger assurances than those of Bro . Hart , "that all differences had been happily settled ancl peace and harmony restored . " That such unfortunately is nofc tho ease , we have now evidence before tis—if , indeed , the breach has not been so widened as to leave little hope of the Lodge

again working in harmony . In order that the Craft may understand the nature of the differences existing between the brethren of St . Thomas ' s , we will , as succinctly as possible , state how they have arisen . About three or four years since , the Harmonic Lodge , which hacl been for some time almost in abeyancewas resuscitated

, under the mastership of an old Past Master , who wehave reason to know was well acquainted with his Masonic duties . In due time he was succeeded by another brother of less experience , and from that moment everything - - q-ipears to have gone wrong , there being repeated differences of opinion between the Worshi pful Master and his Past Masters ancl some other members

of the Lodge . Added to this a candidate was blackballedwhether fairly or not is of little consequence—and from that instant a spirit of discord entered the Lodge ; the Master refused to hold meetings of the Lodge on the stated days fixed by the by-laws ; laid it down as law that a candidate having once been blackballed , could not again be proposed

Masonry In St. Thomas's.

in the same Lodge ( a reading of the Constitutions from which we must differ ); ancl afterwards , ifc is affirmed , gave to a blackballed candidate a certificate that he had been duly elected . Finding that all chance of an amicable settlement of their disputes at an end , the brethren appealed to the authorities at

home , and it was suggested hy themselves that the matter should be referred to the arbitration of Bro . Hart , the Prov . Grand Master for Trinidad ; a course which was sanctioned by the Colonial Board and the Grancl Master . Bro . Hart undertook the duty—went to St . Thomas ' s—and the brethren of the Lodge agreed to abide by his decision . Indeed

, if we mistake not , they went so far as to petition the M . AV . Grancl Master that Bro . Hart should be appointed Prov . Grand Master of their island—a petition which some of the brethren are now trying to set aside . Bro . Hart certainly appears to have entered upon the duties entrusted to him with great determination , if not with great discretion ;

and though he may be a just judge , he certainly can scarcely be counted as a merciful one , for he appears to have inflicted fines and suspensions from Masonic privileges , right ancl left , without regard to any personal considerations . And here comes the difficulty : the fines were paid , the suspended brethren did nofc at the time protestand Bro . Hart wrote

, home that all matters in dispute were settled and harmony restored . But it was not so — the brethren suspended having taken time to consider the matter have appealed from the decision of Bro . Hart to the authorities afc home , and the matter" will , we ]) resume , be brought before Grand Lodge at the quarterly communication in June . But how Grand

Lodge can interfere in the matter we are certainly at a loss to perceive '; the brethren themselves chose the person to adjudicate upon their differences—they bound themselves to abide by his decision—and are therefore evidently placed out of court in any appeal they may make ; and however severe the sentences , they are bound to abide by them . It is certainly most unfortunatehoweverthat Bro . Hart

, , has decided that the WM . has a right to close his Lodge when , he thinks fit , and prevent it meeting on its accustomed daysa ruling which is opposed to the Constitutions , and also to a decision ofthe Board of General Purposes so late as December lasfc , in a case which occurred in this country , when , according to their report jiresented to Grand Lodge , fchey informed

" the W . M . that it is his bounden duty to cause the Lodge to be regularly summoned for meeting on the several days fixed by the by-laws . " Again , he has decided that a candidate once blackballed cannot be again proposed in the same Lodge—a decision for which we can find no authority , unless the by-laws of any j ^ ' & cular Lodge should so declare . And we can conceive cases where a candidate may be blackballed for want of sufficient knowledge of him—whom it mi ght

afterwards be found desirable to admit into the Craft , ancl . to whom great injustice might be done , in places where there is not more than one Lodge existing , were he altogether excluded from the Order . These decisions of Bro . Hart it is clear cannot be allowed to stand ; but they in no way affect the main question of the

brethren having agreed to abide by his decision in respect of their differences , from which , however , they now appeal . How far that ap ] ieal can be at all entertained we have grave doubts ; but if Grand Lodge ap ] iroves of the course pursued by Bro . Hart in suspending so many brethren , we trust it will at least urge upon him the necessity in the conduct of

business to temper justice with mercy . We have received a long letter relative to the unfortunate dispute to which we have alluded , signed " Justitia , " which , though coming from a well known and highly respected correspondent , we are compelled to decline publishing as being far too personal for our columns , and as likely to tend more to add fuel to the fire and increase the differences between the brethren than to the restoration of that harmony which ifc is so desirable should exist in every Masonic assembly .