Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Scotland.
He is not therefore lost , but gone before—gone , we trust , to that ever bright Grand Lodgo above , there to receive the right hand of fellowship from , and to be welcomed by , many a worthy brother who has also " gone before . " A committee was appointed to draw up the said address . The Treasurer read his financial statement for the past year , which showed that the lodge , funds were higher than ever they were , As the Treasurer was now retiring from office , after two
years' service , Bro . Buchan proposed that an acknowledment of liis services be engrossed on parchment and given to him , which was unanimously agreed to . A committee was appointed to look after the getting up of lectures . After which the R . W . M . caltal the attention of the brethren to a lotter beaded "An 811 th Anniversary , " which appeared iu the Glasgow North British Daily Hail , Wednesday , December 30 th , 1 S 6 S , and which he read to them , viz .:
—"A ^ Slliix ANNIVERSARY . "To the Editor of the North British Daily Hail . " Sir , —I observed in to-day ' s Mail a report of , the Slllh anniversaiy of the Ledge of Glasgow St John , 3 lis ., ' but was sorry to find no reason given for such high-claimed antiquity ; however , this was uot ttie fivnlfc of yovtr lepovter , toy seeing this event advertisednnd knowing it was to come off on the
, 25 th , I attended said ' 811 th anniversary' in hopes to receive ' more light' upon the connection cf so venerable an anniversary with the veritable history of Glasgow , but was disappointed . nll allusions to the foundation upon which this claim rests being carefully avoided . "The first thing that drew my attention on entering the dining hall was a banner suspended behind and above the chair of
the R . AV . M . I had previously observed the same banner suspended in the City Hall , viz ., at the Masonic festival on the 18 th inst ., when it had inscribed on it 'The Lodge of Glasgow St John , 3 lis ., chartered by William the Lion , ' but now the last sentence in the interim had somehowgotitself transmogrified into ' chartered by Malcolm the Third ! ' All honour to the individual whoever he may be , who caused this change to be
made ; for it is upon this foundation , ' chartered by Malcolm the Third , ' that this lodge claims to hold its ' 811 th anniversary , ' which therefore carries its history so far back as A . D . 1057 . But somehow tho question forces itself up before us—Is thw really true ? A \ as ' the Lodge of Glasgow St John' really ' chartered by Malcolm tho Third , A . D . 1057 ? ' To both of which questions , as a student of the early history of Glasgow , and also of maonry therein , I answer—No . Neither can any one in Glasgow , from the most learned professor in its college to tho child who is just entering upon the mysteries of A B C , produce
the least shadow of a substantial proof for any such assertion . The fact is , and ( as a member of the body which makes tbe claim to such absurd fonndatiouless antiquity ) I feel hound to admit it , the thing is a hoax ; and we may as well all confess , now as again , that we have been fairly hoaxed by a piece of oldlooking parchment containing writing of a young-looking or quite modern style—which parchment is said to have been discovered about 60 and was then palmed off upon us
years ago , as—and wc seem to have been quite ready to believe it to be —a real lona fide charter from Malcolm the Third , and this too while ( supposing it to be genuine , which it is not ) there is not a , single word about Malcolm 'the Third' in it . If it were not for the modern character of the writing , it might perhaps , with some seeming show of reason , be held up as a charter from Malcolm the Fourthor William the Lion ; but to any one who
, would try to pass off this document as a charter from Malcolm the Third , I would unhesitatingly say it is a forgery . Such is the opinion of Professor Cosmo Innes : such is the opinion stated by Mr . AA m . Hill , writer , Ingram Street , who has considerable knowledge of charters ; such also was the opinion of the late Profossor G . A . AValker Arnott , LL . D ., who shortly liefore his death ( on which see Daily Mail , June 18 , 186 s )
spontaneously expressed himself on the subject . " I have reasons for believing I probably know the name of the individual who wrote said pseudo charter , as I therefore consider , only about 60 years ago , and it is only since then this claim to such foolish antiquity has arisen . "There are also u few historical remarks which also prove the absurdity of this pseudo Malcolm the Third , 1057 , charter , e . g .: —Onwards from about the era of St Mung-o for about 500 years , until the reign of Alexander the First 1107-1121 , the history of Glasgow is blank ; hut David , upon the death of his
brother Edgar , 1107 , succeeding- to the earldom of Cambria , soon after set about restoring the formerly renowed see , about which so little was then properly known , that in order to gather up all existing fragments of its history into a whole , David summoned an assize of all the old men of the district , aud after hearing their statements and evidence he acted accordingly . This surely , even of itself shows the absurdity of this pseudo charter statement that ' the Glasgow Incorporation of Allisons and Lodwere
ge founded in 1057 at the building of the Cathedral then going on ., For if as stated , a Cathedral had really been building between 1057 and 1107 , where was the necessity for Prince David taking the course above referred to in order to get at the history of the see ? The fact is there was no Cathedral building at Glasgow in 1057 , and the following remark of the late Mr . Joseph Iiobertson in ' Scottish Abbeys and Cathedrals' also to
goes prove this : — "The ancient cemetery , with its tall cross of stone and its girdle of old trees , seems to have been nearly all of St Kentigern—his relics excepted—that remained at Glasgow when Bishop John laid the foundation of n new Cathedral / A . D . 1123 .
W ith this last blow I now cease the knocking down process in regard to what all students of the history of Glasgow must now consider it , viz ., the foolish and childish pseudo antiquity of the Lodge of Glasgow St John ; and would , on something more like a real historical foundation , make a feu-remarks . The old see having been restored by Prince David , we find a new Cathedral being built in 1123 , which was consecrated in 1136 in the presence of David , who was now King . This is a fact which will stand looking into . I would therefore merely hint that if the Lodge of Glasgow St John could build upon this 1123 Cathedral , the structure would stand—being founded upon a rock .
"Further , allowing other brethren if they chose to date from the foundations of Holy-rood Abbey in 112 S , Melrose Abbey in 1136 , or as the Kilwinning brethren claim from the building of their old Auhey , which they say was founded in 1140 (?); yet , onr 1123 date precedes them nil . AA ' e have then the 1190 charter from William the Lion to the ' Fraternitatem quam ad ejus ( the Cathedral ' s ) constrnctionem Iocelinus constituit ; ' and , thanks to the Incorporation of Masons ( not to ourselves ) we
, have a lodge minute of date 1613 still preserved ; also the signatures of our representatives to the 162 S RosYm charter ; also other mutters of more recent date . Therefore , from the above it may he seen that when next St John's day comes , if we say ' 745 th anniversary' ( referring to the above 1123 event ) , it would be nearer the truth . One thing is certain , that , consistently , with our principles as Masons , we are in honour bound
from henceforth to discard all further attemps to impose upon the public our unwarrantable 1057 date . AA e bad better do this before even schoolboys begin to jeer at us . "Wemight imitate tho Pisan philosophers , or , if we were able , follow the example of the inquisition in the case of Galileo ; but facts are facts , and in the end the upshot would also be ' E pur so muove '—it is a forgery for all that . " "AV . P . B . " " December 20 , 1868 . "
Having finished reading the lotter , the R . A \ . M . turned to Bro . Bneliau , observing , that owing to the initials appended to said letter , he asked him if bo was the author ? Bro . Ruchan said a similar letter to this appeared in the FUEEMASONS ' MAGAZIEE of June 20 th , 1868 , with his name to it , of which he was the author ; but as to who was the writer of tbe one now read he declined just in the meantime to say . The R . AV . M . therefore proposed that a committee be appointed to
find out who was the author , so that such steps might be taken against him as might prevent , if possible , similar writing in future , as this letter contained serious statements affecting the lodge ; which proposition was seconded by the S . W .
Bro . Ramsay , P . M ., thereupon said he had come up to-night with the intention of moving a vote of censure against Bro . Buchan , if he had acknowledged himself to be the author of this lotter . He also went on to say , that Bro . Buchan began writing about tbe history of tho lodge of bis own accord , and began it , too , by upholding the alleged antiquity of tbe lodge ; but now he had turned round and was dead against them . Bro . Ramsay then admitted that it was he who ordered
" Chartered by William the Lion" to be taken off the banner , and "Chartered by Malcolm the Third" to be put on , and added , " though there had been a thousand AYilliam the Lions on it , I wouid have taken them all off . I received the lodge
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Scotland.
He is not therefore lost , but gone before—gone , we trust , to that ever bright Grand Lodgo above , there to receive the right hand of fellowship from , and to be welcomed by , many a worthy brother who has also " gone before . " A committee was appointed to draw up the said address . The Treasurer read his financial statement for the past year , which showed that the lodge , funds were higher than ever they were , As the Treasurer was now retiring from office , after two
years' service , Bro . Buchan proposed that an acknowledment of liis services be engrossed on parchment and given to him , which was unanimously agreed to . A committee was appointed to look after the getting up of lectures . After which the R . W . M . caltal the attention of the brethren to a lotter beaded "An 811 th Anniversary , " which appeared iu the Glasgow North British Daily Hail , Wednesday , December 30 th , 1 S 6 S , and which he read to them , viz .:
—"A ^ Slliix ANNIVERSARY . "To the Editor of the North British Daily Hail . " Sir , —I observed in to-day ' s Mail a report of , the Slllh anniversaiy of the Ledge of Glasgow St John , 3 lis ., ' but was sorry to find no reason given for such high-claimed antiquity ; however , this was uot ttie fivnlfc of yovtr lepovter , toy seeing this event advertisednnd knowing it was to come off on the
, 25 th , I attended said ' 811 th anniversary' in hopes to receive ' more light' upon the connection cf so venerable an anniversary with the veritable history of Glasgow , but was disappointed . nll allusions to the foundation upon which this claim rests being carefully avoided . "The first thing that drew my attention on entering the dining hall was a banner suspended behind and above the chair of
the R . AV . M . I had previously observed the same banner suspended in the City Hall , viz ., at the Masonic festival on the 18 th inst ., when it had inscribed on it 'The Lodge of Glasgow St John , 3 lis ., chartered by William the Lion , ' but now the last sentence in the interim had somehowgotitself transmogrified into ' chartered by Malcolm the Third ! ' All honour to the individual whoever he may be , who caused this change to be
made ; for it is upon this foundation , ' chartered by Malcolm the Third , ' that this lodge claims to hold its ' 811 th anniversary , ' which therefore carries its history so far back as A . D . 1057 . But somehow tho question forces itself up before us—Is thw really true ? A \ as ' the Lodge of Glasgow St John' really ' chartered by Malcolm tho Third , A . D . 1057 ? ' To both of which questions , as a student of the early history of Glasgow , and also of maonry therein , I answer—No . Neither can any one in Glasgow , from the most learned professor in its college to tho child who is just entering upon the mysteries of A B C , produce
the least shadow of a substantial proof for any such assertion . The fact is , and ( as a member of the body which makes tbe claim to such absurd fonndatiouless antiquity ) I feel hound to admit it , the thing is a hoax ; and we may as well all confess , now as again , that we have been fairly hoaxed by a piece of oldlooking parchment containing writing of a young-looking or quite modern style—which parchment is said to have been discovered about 60 and was then palmed off upon us
years ago , as—and wc seem to have been quite ready to believe it to be —a real lona fide charter from Malcolm the Third , and this too while ( supposing it to be genuine , which it is not ) there is not a , single word about Malcolm 'the Third' in it . If it were not for the modern character of the writing , it might perhaps , with some seeming show of reason , be held up as a charter from Malcolm the Fourthor William the Lion ; but to any one who
, would try to pass off this document as a charter from Malcolm the Third , I would unhesitatingly say it is a forgery . Such is the opinion of Professor Cosmo Innes : such is the opinion stated by Mr . AA m . Hill , writer , Ingram Street , who has considerable knowledge of charters ; such also was the opinion of the late Profossor G . A . AValker Arnott , LL . D ., who shortly liefore his death ( on which see Daily Mail , June 18 , 186 s )
spontaneously expressed himself on the subject . " I have reasons for believing I probably know the name of the individual who wrote said pseudo charter , as I therefore consider , only about 60 years ago , and it is only since then this claim to such foolish antiquity has arisen . "There are also u few historical remarks which also prove the absurdity of this pseudo Malcolm the Third , 1057 , charter , e . g .: —Onwards from about the era of St Mung-o for about 500 years , until the reign of Alexander the First 1107-1121 , the history of Glasgow is blank ; hut David , upon the death of his
brother Edgar , 1107 , succeeding- to the earldom of Cambria , soon after set about restoring the formerly renowed see , about which so little was then properly known , that in order to gather up all existing fragments of its history into a whole , David summoned an assize of all the old men of the district , aud after hearing their statements and evidence he acted accordingly . This surely , even of itself shows the absurdity of this pseudo charter statement that ' the Glasgow Incorporation of Allisons and Lodwere
ge founded in 1057 at the building of the Cathedral then going on ., For if as stated , a Cathedral had really been building between 1057 and 1107 , where was the necessity for Prince David taking the course above referred to in order to get at the history of the see ? The fact is there was no Cathedral building at Glasgow in 1057 , and the following remark of the late Mr . Joseph Iiobertson in ' Scottish Abbeys and Cathedrals' also to
goes prove this : — "The ancient cemetery , with its tall cross of stone and its girdle of old trees , seems to have been nearly all of St Kentigern—his relics excepted—that remained at Glasgow when Bishop John laid the foundation of n new Cathedral / A . D . 1123 .
W ith this last blow I now cease the knocking down process in regard to what all students of the history of Glasgow must now consider it , viz ., the foolish and childish pseudo antiquity of the Lodge of Glasgow St John ; and would , on something more like a real historical foundation , make a feu-remarks . The old see having been restored by Prince David , we find a new Cathedral being built in 1123 , which was consecrated in 1136 in the presence of David , who was now King . This is a fact which will stand looking into . I would therefore merely hint that if the Lodge of Glasgow St John could build upon this 1123 Cathedral , the structure would stand—being founded upon a rock .
"Further , allowing other brethren if they chose to date from the foundations of Holy-rood Abbey in 112 S , Melrose Abbey in 1136 , or as the Kilwinning brethren claim from the building of their old Auhey , which they say was founded in 1140 (?); yet , onr 1123 date precedes them nil . AA ' e have then the 1190 charter from William the Lion to the ' Fraternitatem quam ad ejus ( the Cathedral ' s ) constrnctionem Iocelinus constituit ; ' and , thanks to the Incorporation of Masons ( not to ourselves ) we
, have a lodge minute of date 1613 still preserved ; also the signatures of our representatives to the 162 S RosYm charter ; also other mutters of more recent date . Therefore , from the above it may he seen that when next St John's day comes , if we say ' 745 th anniversary' ( referring to the above 1123 event ) , it would be nearer the truth . One thing is certain , that , consistently , with our principles as Masons , we are in honour bound
from henceforth to discard all further attemps to impose upon the public our unwarrantable 1057 date . AA e bad better do this before even schoolboys begin to jeer at us . "Wemight imitate tho Pisan philosophers , or , if we were able , follow the example of the inquisition in the case of Galileo ; but facts are facts , and in the end the upshot would also be ' E pur so muove '—it is a forgery for all that . " "AV . P . B . " " December 20 , 1868 . "
Having finished reading the lotter , the R . A \ . M . turned to Bro . Bneliau , observing , that owing to the initials appended to said letter , he asked him if bo was the author ? Bro . Ruchan said a similar letter to this appeared in the FUEEMASONS ' MAGAZIEE of June 20 th , 1868 , with his name to it , of which he was the author ; but as to who was the writer of tbe one now read he declined just in the meantime to say . The R . AV . M . therefore proposed that a committee be appointed to
find out who was the author , so that such steps might be taken against him as might prevent , if possible , similar writing in future , as this letter contained serious statements affecting the lodge ; which proposition was seconded by the S . W .
Bro . Ramsay , P . M ., thereupon said he had come up to-night with the intention of moving a vote of censure against Bro . Buchan , if he had acknowledged himself to be the author of this lotter . He also went on to say , that Bro . Buchan began writing about tbe history of tho lodge of bis own accord , and began it , too , by upholding the alleged antiquity of tbe lodge ; but now he had turned round and was dead against them . Bro . Ramsay then admitted that it was he who ordered
" Chartered by William the Lion" to be taken off the banner , and "Chartered by Malcolm the Third" to be put on , and added , " though there had been a thousand AYilliam the Lions on it , I wouid have taken them all off . I received the lodge