Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
India.
sion of my words contained in it ; for I did not say , as is alleged , that "the Eastern Chair was unoccupied , " but that it had ceased to exist on the 27 th January last , and I maintain that I was right , for the former P . G . Master of Western India , R . W . Bro . H . D . Cartwright had resigned his office upwards of a year ( I might say upwards of two years ) before that date , and the Grand Lodge of Scotland had not appointed any one to succeed him ; therefore by Article X . Cap . XIII . of the Laws of that
Grand Lodge the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India had ceased to exist ; hut the Eastern Chair above referred to , was one of the component parts of that Provincial Grand Lodge , therefore it had also ceased to exist . 9 . I admit that as long as the Eastern Chair existecL-R . W . Bro . G . R . Ballingall occupied it by virtue of his office of Depute P . G . Master , but he could not occupy it after ifc had ceased to exist , that is to say , after the expiration of a year from the date
of R . AV . Bro . H . D . Carfcwri ght's resignation ; and as that period had elapsed before the 27 th January last , ifc is quite clear that he did not occupy it on that date . 10 . The resolution under notice however alleges that R . AV . Bro . G . R . Ballingall did occupy that non-exi 3 tent chair , because some one ( we are not told who ) asked him to take the office of Depute P . G . Master permanently , that is to say , the operation of the law above quoted was suspended bthe said
y request ; but as the laws of the Grand Lodge of Scotland nowhere provide for any suspension of the said law , I maintain that it would not have been suspended even by the W . M , the Grand Master of Scotland himself having asked R . W . Bro . G . R . Ballingall to take not merely the office of Depute P . G . Master , hut tbe office of P . G . Master permanently ; neither could such a request constitute R . W . Bro . G . It . ' Ballingall P . G . Masterfor by Article I . Cap . XIII . of the said lawsP . G .
, , Masters under Scotland can be appointed by Special Commission from the Grand Lodge of Scotland alone . It would , therefore , have been much better if the Provincial Grand Lodge of AVestern India had answered , instead of mystifying itself about R . AV . Bro . G . Ballingall and the requests made to him . 11 . The publication , however , by the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge of the proceedings of the 30 th May last , referred to in the 6 th paragraph of this letter , renders the discourtesy
of not answering your queries of little moment as regards the question at issue , for therein R . W . Bro . G . R . Ballingall is reported to have admitted , that since the resignation of R . W . Bro . H . D . Cartwright , no Commission had been received appointing any one P . G . Master of Western India under Scotland . 12 . The only point that remains to be noticed iu the said resolution is the indelicate and preposterous demand of an apology from me;—indelicate , because with reference to the charge of
having opened one letter and detained another intended for the Secretary of the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge , I had already , in my letter of the 13 th July last , done all that any Mason or gentleman could expect from another , namely , expressed my regret for the inadvertent opening of the first , and the unavoidable detention of the latter;—and preposterous , because , as regards my letter of the 27 th January last to the Secretary' of Lodge " Hope , " Kurrachee , it is a demand from
me of an apology for having told the truth . 13 . Under these circumstances I not only decline to make the apology required of me in the said resolution , but I demand an apology from the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge for having made the Unmasonic charges contained in their Secretary ' s letter of the 22 nd June last , and an unqualified retraction of them . I also demand a similar apology and retraction from the present legally constituted Provincial Grand Lod of
ge AVestern India , they having adopted those charges as their own , and I require them to expunge from their records all mention of them . 14 . I also demand an apology for the indelicate and indecent haste with which those Unmasonic charges were published to the world , firstly hy their being openly spoken of in Bombay ; secondly , by a copy of them being sent to every lodge working
under Scotland in the province of Western India ; and thirdly , by their publication in the Indian Freemasons' Friend , and in the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE , without my reply , which the Provincial Grand Master of Bombay under England had officially pronounced full and satisfactory . 15 . I further demand an apology for the disrespectful and Unmasonic conduct of the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge in repudiating me as a Mason by styling me " this Mr . Judge" in a letter to Lodge " Hope , " Kurrachee , of which letter , I am glad to hear , the present P . G . Blaster of AVestern India was
so greatly ashamed , that he refused to allow ifc to be produced at the meeting of his Provincial Grand Lodge on the 26 th September last , when called for by AV . Bro . Morris , one of its members . 16 . I also require that the same publicity be given to the above required apologies and retractions as was given to the Unmasonic charges made against me , namely , by their being immediately transmitted to every lodge working under
Scotland in the province of Western India , and to the Indian Freemasons' Friend and the FREEMASONS' MAUAZINE , for publication therein . 17 . I also beg to call attention to the fact , that though great expedition was used in publishing to the world the Unmasonic charges made against me , great delay occurred in giving me an opportunity of replying to them , aud when my reply was made ,
a period of upwards of ten weeks was allowed to elapse before it was submitted to the brethren in whose presence the charges had been made , and a further period of three weeks was allowed to elapse before the resolution under notice was communicated to you , so that the poison was allowed to work for four months before the antidote was applied , and even then , as above shown , an attempt was made to nullify its efficacy . IS . I deeply regret to see so highly respectable a bodof
y Masons as the present Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India , occupying tho false position in which they have been placed by the Unmasonic acts of those who have misled and deceived them , and I sincerely hope they will soon extricate themselves from it .
19 . As I do not belong to any lodge working under the Grand Lodge of Scotland , I am unable to appeal direct to that Grand Lodge ; I am , therefore , compelled to trouble the R . W . P . G . Master and District Grand Lodge of Bombay with this unpleasant matter , and to request that they will take such steps as to them may seem proper , to induce the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland to do themselves justice by doing justice to me . The justice , however , to be of use , must
be prompt , in order to counteract , before ifc is too late , fche injury done to me by the publication of the charges . If , however , the R . W . P . G . Master aud District Grand Lodge of Bombay fail in their endeavours ( though I have too high an opinion of the members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland to anticipate a failure after they have been aroused to a sense of the wrong that has been done ) , I trust they will lose no time in laying the whole case before
the M . W . the Grand Master and Grand Lodge of England , with a request that they will lay the matter before the M . W . the Grand Master and Grand Lodge of Scotland , with such remarks as they may deem proper . I remain , dear and V . W . Sir aud Brother , Yours fraternally , ( Signed ) G . S . JUDGE , Deputy P . G . Master of Bombay and its Territories .
Resolutions unanimously passed at a Half-yearly Communication of the District Graud Lodge of Bombay and its Territories under England , held on AVednesday , the 2 nd December , 1863 . 1 . That this District Grand Lodge considers the resolution of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland communicated in its Secretary's letter of the 17 th October
last to be written in an Unmasonic , unfriendly , and discourteous spirit , and to contain matter calculated to destroy that unity which ought to exist amongst Freemasons ; and ifc strongly condemns the application of ex parte statements prejudicial to its Deputy Provincial Grand Master ll . W . Bro . G . S . Judge whilst the matter was- under discussion and unconfirmed in Lodge ; this District Grand Lodge also entirely
approves of the letters of its Deputy Provincial Grand Master R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge of the 13 fch July and 25 th November last , * and considers he has entirely exonerated himself from blame , and it concurs with him in maintaining' that no Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland existed in the early part of this year . 2 . That if the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland do not within three weeks after this resolution is communicated to them make the reparation demanded by R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge in his letter of the 25 th November last , the whole correspondence , together with these resolutions ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
India.
sion of my words contained in it ; for I did not say , as is alleged , that "the Eastern Chair was unoccupied , " but that it had ceased to exist on the 27 th January last , and I maintain that I was right , for the former P . G . Master of Western India , R . W . Bro . H . D . Cartwright had resigned his office upwards of a year ( I might say upwards of two years ) before that date , and the Grand Lodge of Scotland had not appointed any one to succeed him ; therefore by Article X . Cap . XIII . of the Laws of that
Grand Lodge the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India had ceased to exist ; hut the Eastern Chair above referred to , was one of the component parts of that Provincial Grand Lodge , therefore it had also ceased to exist . 9 . I admit that as long as the Eastern Chair existecL-R . W . Bro . G . R . Ballingall occupied it by virtue of his office of Depute P . G . Master , but he could not occupy it after ifc had ceased to exist , that is to say , after the expiration of a year from the date
of R . AV . Bro . H . D . Carfcwri ght's resignation ; and as that period had elapsed before the 27 th January last , ifc is quite clear that he did not occupy it on that date . 10 . The resolution under notice however alleges that R . AV . Bro . G . R . Ballingall did occupy that non-exi 3 tent chair , because some one ( we are not told who ) asked him to take the office of Depute P . G . Master permanently , that is to say , the operation of the law above quoted was suspended bthe said
y request ; but as the laws of the Grand Lodge of Scotland nowhere provide for any suspension of the said law , I maintain that it would not have been suspended even by the W . M , the Grand Master of Scotland himself having asked R . W . Bro . G . R . Ballingall to take not merely the office of Depute P . G . Master , hut tbe office of P . G . Master permanently ; neither could such a request constitute R . W . Bro . G . It . ' Ballingall P . G . Masterfor by Article I . Cap . XIII . of the said lawsP . G .
, , Masters under Scotland can be appointed by Special Commission from the Grand Lodge of Scotland alone . It would , therefore , have been much better if the Provincial Grand Lodge of AVestern India had answered , instead of mystifying itself about R . AV . Bro . G . Ballingall and the requests made to him . 11 . The publication , however , by the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge of the proceedings of the 30 th May last , referred to in the 6 th paragraph of this letter , renders the discourtesy
of not answering your queries of little moment as regards the question at issue , for therein R . W . Bro . G . R . Ballingall is reported to have admitted , that since the resignation of R . W . Bro . H . D . Cartwright , no Commission had been received appointing any one P . G . Master of Western India under Scotland . 12 . The only point that remains to be noticed iu the said resolution is the indelicate and preposterous demand of an apology from me;—indelicate , because with reference to the charge of
having opened one letter and detained another intended for the Secretary of the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge , I had already , in my letter of the 13 th July last , done all that any Mason or gentleman could expect from another , namely , expressed my regret for the inadvertent opening of the first , and the unavoidable detention of the latter;—and preposterous , because , as regards my letter of the 27 th January last to the Secretary' of Lodge " Hope , " Kurrachee , it is a demand from
me of an apology for having told the truth . 13 . Under these circumstances I not only decline to make the apology required of me in the said resolution , but I demand an apology from the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge for having made the Unmasonic charges contained in their Secretary ' s letter of the 22 nd June last , and an unqualified retraction of them . I also demand a similar apology and retraction from the present legally constituted Provincial Grand Lod of
ge AVestern India , they having adopted those charges as their own , and I require them to expunge from their records all mention of them . 14 . I also demand an apology for the indelicate and indecent haste with which those Unmasonic charges were published to the world , firstly hy their being openly spoken of in Bombay ; secondly , by a copy of them being sent to every lodge working
under Scotland in the province of Western India ; and thirdly , by their publication in the Indian Freemasons' Friend , and in the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE , without my reply , which the Provincial Grand Master of Bombay under England had officially pronounced full and satisfactory . 15 . I further demand an apology for the disrespectful and Unmasonic conduct of the soi-disant Provincial Grand Lodge in repudiating me as a Mason by styling me " this Mr . Judge" in a letter to Lodge " Hope , " Kurrachee , of which letter , I am glad to hear , the present P . G . Blaster of AVestern India was
so greatly ashamed , that he refused to allow ifc to be produced at the meeting of his Provincial Grand Lodge on the 26 th September last , when called for by AV . Bro . Morris , one of its members . 16 . I also require that the same publicity be given to the above required apologies and retractions as was given to the Unmasonic charges made against me , namely , by their being immediately transmitted to every lodge working under
Scotland in the province of Western India , and to the Indian Freemasons' Friend and the FREEMASONS' MAUAZINE , for publication therein . 17 . I also beg to call attention to the fact , that though great expedition was used in publishing to the world the Unmasonic charges made against me , great delay occurred in giving me an opportunity of replying to them , aud when my reply was made ,
a period of upwards of ten weeks was allowed to elapse before it was submitted to the brethren in whose presence the charges had been made , and a further period of three weeks was allowed to elapse before the resolution under notice was communicated to you , so that the poison was allowed to work for four months before the antidote was applied , and even then , as above shown , an attempt was made to nullify its efficacy . IS . I deeply regret to see so highly respectable a bodof
y Masons as the present Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India , occupying tho false position in which they have been placed by the Unmasonic acts of those who have misled and deceived them , and I sincerely hope they will soon extricate themselves from it .
19 . As I do not belong to any lodge working under the Grand Lodge of Scotland , I am unable to appeal direct to that Grand Lodge ; I am , therefore , compelled to trouble the R . W . P . G . Master and District Grand Lodge of Bombay with this unpleasant matter , and to request that they will take such steps as to them may seem proper , to induce the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland to do themselves justice by doing justice to me . The justice , however , to be of use , must
be prompt , in order to counteract , before ifc is too late , fche injury done to me by the publication of the charges . If , however , the R . W . P . G . Master aud District Grand Lodge of Bombay fail in their endeavours ( though I have too high an opinion of the members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland to anticipate a failure after they have been aroused to a sense of the wrong that has been done ) , I trust they will lose no time in laying the whole case before
the M . W . the Grand Master and Grand Lodge of England , with a request that they will lay the matter before the M . W . the Grand Master and Grand Lodge of Scotland , with such remarks as they may deem proper . I remain , dear and V . W . Sir aud Brother , Yours fraternally , ( Signed ) G . S . JUDGE , Deputy P . G . Master of Bombay and its Territories .
Resolutions unanimously passed at a Half-yearly Communication of the District Graud Lodge of Bombay and its Territories under England , held on AVednesday , the 2 nd December , 1863 . 1 . That this District Grand Lodge considers the resolution of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland communicated in its Secretary's letter of the 17 th October
last to be written in an Unmasonic , unfriendly , and discourteous spirit , and to contain matter calculated to destroy that unity which ought to exist amongst Freemasons ; and ifc strongly condemns the application of ex parte statements prejudicial to its Deputy Provincial Grand Master ll . W . Bro . G . S . Judge whilst the matter was- under discussion and unconfirmed in Lodge ; this District Grand Lodge also entirely
approves of the letters of its Deputy Provincial Grand Master R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge of the 13 fch July and 25 th November last , * and considers he has entirely exonerated himself from blame , and it concurs with him in maintaining' that no Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland existed in the early part of this year . 2 . That if the Provincial Grand Lodge of Western India under Scotland do not within three weeks after this resolution is communicated to them make the reparation demanded by R . W . Bro . G . S . Judge in his letter of the 25 th November last , the whole correspondence , together with these resolutions ,