
Note: This material was scanned into text files for the sole purpose of
convenient electronic research. This material is NOT intended as a
reproduction of the original volumes. However close the material is to
becoming a reproduced work, it should ONLY be regarded as a textual
reference. Scanned at Phoenixmasonry by Ralph W. Omholt, PM in May 2007.
GOULD'S HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY
THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
VOLUME IV
CHAPTER ONE
FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND - ALBERTA - BRITISH COLUMBIA
MANITOBA - MARITIME PROVINCES -
NEWFOUNDLAND - ONTARIO - QUEBEC
SASKATCHEWAN
CHAPTER TWO
FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO
CHAPTER THREE
FREEMASONRY IN CENTRAL AMERICA
BRITISH HONDURAS - COSTA RICA - GUATEMALA
- HONDURAS - PANAMA
NICARAGUA - SAN SALVADOR - SPANISH
HONDURAS
CHAPTER FOUR
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES
CUBA - HAITI AND SANTO DOMINGO - JAMAICA -
PUERTO RICO - THE
VIRGIN ISLANDS - THE LESSER ANTILLES, OR
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS - THE
LUCAYAS, OR BAHAMA ISLANDS - THE
BERMUDAS, OR SOMERS ISLANDS
CHAPTER FIVE
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA
VENEZUELA - COLOMBIA, FORMERLY NEW GRANADA
ECUADOR - PERU - BOLIVIA - ARGENTINE
REPUBLIC, OR
CONFEDERACY OF LA PLATA - PARAGUAY -
URUGUAY - BRAZIL
- BRITISH GUIANA - DUTCH GUIANA, OR
SURINAM - FRENCH
GUIANA, OR CAYENNE - CHILI
CHAPTER SIX
FREEMASONRY IN ASIA - CHINA - JAPAN - PERSIA -
THE EASTERN
ARCHIPELAGO - SUMATRA - PALESTINE
CHAPTER SEVEN
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON - BENGAL -
MADRAS -
BOMBAY - CEYLON
CHAPTER EIGHT
FREEMASONRY IN AFRICA - SOUTH AFRICA -
WEST
COAST OF AFRICA - EGYPT - TUNIS - SOUTH
AFRICAN ISLANDS
CHAPTER NINE
FREEMASONRY IN AUSTRALASIA - SOUTH
AUSTRALIA - NEW SOUTH WALES - VICTORIA -
NEW ZEALAND TASMANIA
WESTERN AUSTRALIA -QUEENSLAND
CHAPTER TEN
SEA AND FIELD LODGES
CHAPTER ELEVEN
THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE MARK DEGREE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN THE ROYAL ORDER OF SCOTLAND
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
OTHER RITES AND SMALLER GROUPS - SOCIETAS
ROSICRUCIANA - THE
PRIESTLY ORDER OF THE TEMPLE - ORDER OF
THE SECRET MONITOR -
OTHER MASONIC ORGANIZATIONS - NEGRO
MASONRY IN THE UNITED
STATES
ILLUSTRATIONS VOLUME
IV R.‑. W.‑. Brother Colonel William Jarvis, First Provincial Grand Master of
the Provincial Grand Lodge of Upper Canada Frontispiece PACING PAGE Bow River
Lodge, Calgary 2 Twenty‑fifth Anniversary of the Grand Lodge of Alberta 2
Masonic Temple, Calgary 4 Masonic Temple at Edmonton, Alberta 6 Old Hudson's
Bay Block House at Nanaimo 10 Masonic Hall, Barkerville, British Columbia 16
Old Fort Garry, Winnipeg 20 Hon. Edward Cornwallis, Governor of Nova Scotia,
1749‑1753 28 Petition for the First Lodge of Halifax, 1750 34 Old Clock Tower
and Harbor, Halifax, Nova Scotia 3 8 H. R. H. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent 40 A
Certificate of 1807 of the Lodge of Harmony, Placentia, Newfoundland 64
Masonic Temple, St. John's, Newfoundland 66 The Bay at Kingston in 1838 72
Chairs Presented by H. R. H. the Duke of Kent 92 The Masonic Temple, Regina,
Saskatchewan 96 The Masonic Temple, Gouan, Saskatchewan 98 ''The West," Gouan,
Saskatchewan 98 The Masonic Temple, Port Lemon, Costa Rica 120 Entrance to
Masonic Temple, Port Lemon 120 Masonic Lodge at Sagua la Grande, Cuba 126 A
Certificate, Port au Prince, Haiti 130 Masonic Temple at Kingston, Jamaica 138
Masonic Temple, Ponce, Puerto Rico 142 Xl ILLUSTRATIONS PACING PAGE Masonic
Temple, Bridgetown, Barbados 148 Masonic Temple, St. George's, Bermuda 152.
Simon Bolivar 156
Regalia Worn by Bolivar 158 Masonic Temple, Buenos Aires 170 The Caves of
Solomon 196 Masonic Grand Lodge, Madras, South India 2‑16 Curious Masonic
Apron, Johannesburg, South Africa 2‑2.8 The First Masonic Temple in Egypt, at
Port Said 2‑34 The Ordeal of the Egyptian Initiation 2‑36 Reception of the
Thirty‑third Degree of the Scottish Rite 310 Warrant for Massachusetts College
page 315 Statesmen and Patriots, Members of the Masonic Fraternity William J.
Bryan, Edmund Burke, Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, Oliver Ellsworth,
Alexander Hamilton, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Henry Laurens, Edward Livingston,
Robert R. Livingston, William Pinkney, and Edmund Randolph At end of volume
GOULD'S HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD VOLUME IV A HISTORY OF
FREEMASONRY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD VOL. IV CHAPTER I FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION
OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND ALBERTA CANON S. H. MIDDLETON A VENTURE,
exploration, commercial enterprise, empire‑building and missionary endeavour
all played their several parts in bringing Freemasonry to the Province of
Alberta. The early traders, Northwest Mounted Police and others, meeting as
they ofttimes did around the camp‑fire, trading‑post, and barrack square, made
themselves known to each other by sign, token, or symbol.
In the late '7o's and
the early '8o's the frontier post of Edmonton was already famous as a meeting
place for all sorts and conditions of men. That some were members of the Craft
was obvious, for in 1882 a Lodge, under the caption of Saskatchewan, No. 17,
was organised and received its Charter from the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. This
was subsequently surrendered about the year 18go. Meanwhile, the Masonic urge
for a Lodge and official recognition was strongly felt in Calgary, where in
May 1883 a notice was issued calling upon all Masons there to meet in Bro.
George Murdock's store, which was then situated on the east bank of Elbow
River. Although the meeting was held, as had been planned, only five Masons
were present. They were: Bro. George Murdock, Bro. E. Nelson Brown, Bro. A.
McNeil, Bro. George Monilaws, and Bro. D. C. Robinson. Although Bro. James
Walker and Bro. John Walker had hoped also to attend, they were unable to do
so. At this meeting the Brethren expressed the unanimous opinion that the time
was not opportune for the formation of a Lodge; there being no suitable
meeting place available; that the population was too scattered; and that there
was not yet a sufficient number of Masons in Calgary to warrant such a
venture.
After a few months,
however, with the advent of the railway, people began to arrive in greater
numbers. On August 15, 1883, the Canadian Pacific Railway track was laid
through the site of what is now the city of Calgary. A few days z FREEMASONRY
IN THE DOMINION later the first freight train arrived, bringing with it the
first printing plant of what was to become The Calgary Herald. The initial
issue of that paper carried a notice calling upon all Masons interested in the
formation of a Masonic Lodge to meet in George Murdock's shack, east of the
Elbow River. A photograph of this Masonically historic building is still
preserved in the archives of Bow River Lodge, No. i. To the surprise of all, a
large number of Masons assembled. R. W. Bro. Dr. N. J. Lindsay, at that time
District Deputy Grand Master for No. i. (Essex) District of the Grand Lodge of
Canada, was elected Chairman, R. W. Bra. George Murdock, Secretary. From then
on meetings were held regularly every Friday night, an attendance Register was
kept, and Minutes of all proceedings were recorded. No Masonic Work was done
and no examinations were made, however, until the Petition for a Dispensation
was about to be signed. This Petition was forwarded to the Grand Lodge of
British Columbia.
After waiting for a
period of from six to seven weeks for a reply, the Petitioners then sent a
second application, this time to the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. A favourable
reply was received from both Grand Lodges about the same time. Communications
between Calgary and British Columbia at that time had to go from Calgary to
Winnipeg, from there to Omaha, thence to San Francisco, and from that seaport
to Victoria three times weekly. Under such troublesome conditions of transit,
it was therefore considered advisable to accept the Dispensation offered by
the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. Accordingly, the Dispensation was received on
January 12, 1884, and the first meeting held on January 28 of that year.
R. W. Bro. Dr. N. J.
Lindsay was designated first Worshipful Master. Subsequently he attended a
meeting of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, held in Winnipeg on February ii, at
which Communication he was elected junior Grand Warden. At that meeting a
Charter was granted to Bow River Lodge, at Calgary, recorded as No. 28 on the
Register of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. On the Grand Register of Alberta this
Lodge is now known as Bow River Lodge, No. 1. At the same Communication of
the; Grand Lodge of Manitoba in 1884, Charters were also granted to Lodges at
Regina and at Moosomin. These three newly Chartered Lodges, together with the
Lodges at Edmonton and Prince Albert, might legally have formed a Grand Lodge
for the Northwest Territories, which at that time comprised the Districts of
Saskatchewan, Assiniboia, and Alberta, all of which were ruled by one
territorial government. But even at that date it was considered probable that
Provincial formations were not far distant, and it was recognised that a
Territorial Grand Lodge might eventually be broken by the ultimate division of
the Territories into Provinces. It was accordingly decided to leave the matter
in abeyance. The events which later transpired proved that those early Masons
had been right, the three Districts which then formed the Northwest
Territories have since been divided into two Provinces, Alberta and
Saskatchewan, the District of Assiniboia having been absorbed by the latter.
Until the formation
of the Grand Lodges of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Grand Lodge of Manitoba
claimed jurisdiction over all the Northwest Terri‑ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND
3 tories, although the first Masonic Constitution of the Territories declared
that the Grand Lodge was formed in and for the Province of Manitoba. The
Constitution also provided that in the absence of the Grand Master the Officer
next in rank should assume the duties of that Office. In 1893, Dr. Goggin, of
Winnipeg, was elected Grand Master, and Thomas Tweed of Medicine Hat, in what
was then the District of Assiniboia, was elected Deputy Grand Master.
During that year, Dr.
Goggin was appointed Superintendent of Education for the Northwest
Territories; thereupon he removed to the capital city, Regina. This
circumstance occasioned a peculiar situation. The Grand Master had left the
jurisdiction, and the Deputy who had been elected lived outside the Province.
To add further to this anomalous position, the Grand Lodge had decided to hold
the Communication of 1894 at Banff, Alberta. Finally, to overcome the
difficulty, an amendment to the Constitution was proposed, whereby the Grand
Lodge of Manitoba would add the Northwest Territories to its jurisdiction,
thus making it the largest Masonic Jurisdiction in America and the only Grand
Lodge ever to extend its boundaries after being once Constituted. Although the
proposal was at first opposed, it finally passed.
The political changes
which culminated in the division of the old Northwest Territories into the
Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, on September 1, 19o5, also precipitated
the division of Manitoba Grand Lodge. Hitherto, though it had long been
considered by many Brethren that the large number of Masonic Lodges in the
Canadian Northwest, and their separation by hundreds of miles from the central
authority, demanded a change, the spirit of loyalty to Manitoba had proved so
strong that nothing short of absolute necessity could change it. This
necessity arose, however, when Alberta became an autonomous Province. The
event had been more or less anticipated and in consequence thereof, on March
21, 19o5, Wor. Bro. the Rev. G. H. Hogbin, then Master of Bow River Lodge,
with Bro. Dr. George Macdonald as Secretary, received a letter from W. Bro.
Kealy, who was then Master of Medicine Hat Lodge, suggesting that a Petition
be made to the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, requesting recognition as a Grand
Body, at their next annual meeting in June.
The Lodges in the
Territory that was assumed to be Alberta were circularised to meet in Calgary
on May 24. At that meeting, nine Lodges were represented by a total of
twenty‑nine Delegates. After prolonged discussion, however, it was decided to
postpone definite action, since the Autonomy Bill had not yet been passed, and
might possibly become a law on the following July 1. Nevertheless, the whole
matter of the formation of a Grand Lodge was discussed, and a Committee
composed of Bro. Dr. Lindsay, Bro. Thomas Tweed, and Bro. E. N. Brown was
appointed to consider the question of procedure. At that time Bro. Dr. Lindsay
was the First Worshipful Master of Bow River Lodge, and Bro. E. N. Brown was
also a Master of Bow River Lodge, while Bro. Tweed was Past Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. The latter would undoubtedly have been chosen as
first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alberta had it not been for his
deeply regretted death. Consequently, the meeting was adjourned until July 6,
when only eight Lodges were represented. As the Au‑ 4 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION tonomy Bill was still being debated in Parliament, it was decided to
adjourn the meeting again, until one month after the Autonomy Bill came into
force. This Act was passed, some time previous to, and became effective on,
September i, i9o5, and the adjourned meeting called for October I2, on which
day the Grand Lodge of Alberta came into being. At that time there were
eighteen Lodges in the Province of Alberta and seventeen of these were
represented by seventy‑nine Delegates, who were responsible for forming and
constituting Grand Lodge by adopting the following resolution: " TO THE
BRETHREN WHERE'ER SCATTERED O'ER LAND AND SEA " Whereas it has been made to
appear by many Brethren of the Ancient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons
in the newly formed Province of Alberta, Canada, that it is most expedient and
desirable for the proper government of the Craft that a Grand Lodge of Masons
shall be formed in the said Province of Alberta.
BE IT KNOWN, That at
a convention held in the City of Calgary in the said Province on the i2th. of
October, Anno Lucis, S9os, in the sixth year of the reign of His Majesty King
Edward VII, for the purpose of taking into considera tion a proposition from
the Medicine Hat Lodge No. 31, A. F. & A. M. (Grand Register of Manitoba) with
this object in view, it was unanimously enacted as follows Whereas, it is the
unanimous opinion of the Masonic Lodges of Alberta that a Grand Lodge shall be
formed for the said Province, it is hereby RESOLVED, That the Delegates now
assembled shall, and do hereby constitute themselves as a true and lawful
Grand Lodge for the Province of Alberta, under the Ancient Landmarks existing
from time immemorial, to which adhesion is hereby given. The formation of the
said Grand Lodge of Alberta being sanctioned by the Most Worshipful Grand
Lodge of Manitoba, under whose jurisdiction the said Lodges have been
constituted.
Such is the direct
statement, pregnant with thought, wisdom and understanding, regarding the
genesis of the Grand Lodge of Alberta, A. F. and A. M. Proclamation was then
made by the Grand Director of Ceremonies In the Name and by the Authority of
the "Ancient Charges and Constitutions of Masonry " and the proceedings of a
Convention duly called in accordance with the same‑I now proclaim this Grand
Lodge by the name of " THE MOST WORSHIPFUL THE GRAND LODGE OF ALBERTA,
ANCIENT, FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS " duly formed and constituted.
The first election of
Grand Lodge Officers, which took place immediately thereafter, resulted as
follows R. W. Bro. Dr. George Macdonald (28), Grand Master. R. W. Bro. H. C.
Taylor (3), Deputy Grand Master. R. W. Bro. T. F. English (66), Senior Grand
Warden.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 5 R. W. Bro. O. W. Kealy (31), unior Grand Warden.
R. W. Bro. J. T.
Macdonald (6;~, District Deputy Grand Master. i. R. W. Bro. C. E. Smyth (31),
District Deputy Grand Master. z. R. W. Bro. A. R. Dickson (83), District
Deputy Grand Master. 3. R. W. Bro. E. N. Brown (z8), Grand Treasurer.
R. W. Bro. J. J.
Dunlop (78), Grand Secretary. R. W. Bro. J. Hinchliffe (73), Grand Registrar.
R. W. Bro. Rev. J. S.
Chivers (4I), Grand Chaplain. Bro. J. Finch (6o), Grand Tyler.
The following
appointments were made by the M. W. Grand Master: R. W. Bro. M. J. Macleod
(65), Senior Grand Deacon. R. W. Bro. R. Patterson (37), junior Grand Deacon.
V. W. Bro. C. H. S.
Wade (78), Grand Director of Ceremonies. V. W. Bro. G. Murdock (z8), Grand
Organist.
W. Bro. H. W. Evans
(4z), Grand Steward. W. Bro. S. J. Currie (58), Grand Steward. W. Bro. F. J.
Bennett (76), Grand Steward. W. Bro. A. M. Kay (85), Grand Steward.
R. W. Bro. Rev. G. H.
Hogbin (z8), Grand Pursuivant.
The election of
Officers over and appointments made, Most Worshipful Bro. W. G. Scott, Grand
Master of Manitoba, then assumed the Chair, the Grand Lodge being in Ample
form, assisted by Most Worshipful Bro. E. A. Braithwaite, Past Grand Master of
Manitoba, he proceeded with the Installation of the Most Worshipful the Grand
Master of Alberta and the other Grand Officers. At the close of that ceremony,
M. W. Bro. Dr. George Macdonald, Grand Master of Alberta, thanked the
assembled Delegates for the great honour they had conferred by electing him to
be the first Grand Master of the Craft in the Province. He also expressed
appreciation to the M. W. the Grand Master of Manitoba and to the Brethren of
the Mother Grand Lodge for their Fraternal support and presence at the
inaugural meeting. A resolution was then moved by V. W. Bro. C. H. Stuart‑Wade
and R. W. Bro. J. Hinchliffe to confer the rank of Past Grand Master in the
Jurisdiction of Alberta upon M. W. Bro. W. G. Scott, Grand Master of Manitoba,
and M. W. Bro. E. A. Braithwaite, Past Grand Master of Manitoba.
During the meeting an
application for Dispensation to form a new Lodge was presented by a number of
Brethren from High River, with the request that its name be chosen by the
Grand Lodge. The Application was granted and it was decided that the Lodge
should be called Cornerstone Lodge. On the receipt of its Charter the
following year, Cornerstone Lodge became Lodge No. i9 on the Register of the
Grand Lodge of Alberta.
The first Annual
Communication of the Grand Lodge of Alberta was held in Medicine Hat on
Tuesday, February zo, 19o6. During his address, the M. W.
6 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION the Grand Master, Dr. George Macdonald, gave voice to the following
sentiments The Grand Lodge of Alberta, A.F. and A.M. is at last a Body in
effect and recognised by our Mother Grand Lodge and the fraternity as a
trustworthy offspring, capable of ruling and governing, and, we hope and
trust, capable of adding generously to the wealth of our Masonic teachings. As
far back as the year 1888 several of our Brethren were looking forward to the
dawn of this our Grand Masonic Body, and some of them are still s~ ared to
join with us in welcoming the existence of a new star in the Masonic
fiprmament. May it soon in its symbolic teachings reach its zenith,
paralleling the brilliancy of the mid‑day sun, and may it long continue so,
and though at times its brightness may dim as fleeting clouds obscure its
lustre, may it ever resume its brilliant path and never find a setting.
During this first
Annual Meeting of the Grand Lodge, a special Committee on Benevolence was
appointed by the M. W. Grand Master to consider ways and means to establish a
Masonic Home and School. M. W. Bro. Kealy was elected Grand Master, and R. W.
Bro. Rev. George Hogbin, Deputy Grand Master. An interesting sidelight on the
history of the Grand Lodge at this stage is shown by the following statement
made by M. W. Bro. James Ovas, the revered Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge
of Manitoba, in his Freemasonry in the Province of Manitoba: At the Annual
Communication of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, Held in June 19o6, Fraternal
recognition was extended with the most kindly greetings and the wish that
success and prosperity would attend them, to the first daughter Grand Lodge of
this Grand Body, the Grand Lodge of Alberta.
It was decided to
have an authoritative system of " Work " in the jurisdiction. Accordingly,
during the 1907 Annual Communication the Special Committee on Ritual made the
following recommendation Resolved, That this Grand Lodge recognises and
authorises for use in subordinate Lodges either of the methods of conducting
the Work usually spoken of as the " Canadian Work " or the "Ancient York Work
" according to the rituals hereafter issued by it.
This proposal
received unanimous support, and from that date until the present both Rites, "
Canadian " (Emulation) and "Ancient York " (WebbPreston), have been officially
recognised throughout the jurisdiction.
Benevolence has
always been a cardinal virtue in Alberta. To prove that the Founders were
thoroughly imbued with true Masonic principles and traditions, we may point to
the Report made to the Grand Lodge in 19o6 by a special Committee regarding
the establishment of a Masonic Home. Just as the bursting of the " South Sea
Bubble " had aroused our ancient Brethren of England to alleviate the distress
caused by it, so were the Masons of Alberta eager to help others in distress.
The San Francisco disaster of 1907 and the Hillcrest, Alberta, OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 7 mine tragedy of four years later, which almost wiped out the
Officers of Sentinel Lodge, No. 26, weighed upon the Brethren with such
overwhelming force that they felt a great need for a benevolent fund. In fact,
the mine disaster was probably more responsible than any other cause for the
beginning of the present Benevolent Fund. From the inauguration of the Grand
Lodge to the year 1915 four Benevolent Funds were established, each dealing
with a specific necessity, as the occasion demanded. Then, in 1919, these four
funds were amalgamated. In order to meet the increasing demands made upon its
resources, the Grand Lodge in 192o adopted a yet more definite policy towards
enlarging the Capital Benevolent Fund by assessing its members on a per capita
basis. Ten years later the amount paid to beneficiaries had been trebled, thus
indicating the wisdom of that enactment. Moreover, the policy of administering
benevolence has always been one of serious reflection in Alberta. This was
forcibly expressed by the Chairman of the Benevolence Committee in his Reports
of 1925 and 1927. In these he said in part: From a review of the Proceedings
of foreign jurisdictions we learn that many of them take ride, and justly so,
in the expensive and comfortable homes they have created for their unfortunate
members. Your Committee are, however, of the opinion that our system, for the
present at least, is better for us.
Our beneficiaries are
left in their homes, when practicable, so that the families may be kept
together and the children under their parents' care and interest. Those
unattached are residing with relatives or in families of Masons to whom the
money paid for their lodging is acceptable, and the unfortunates in this way
escape the stigma of pauperism, and their opportunities for becoming again
independent are greater, should they be restored to health. A feeling of
confident self‑respect is at all times preserved, and due care is exercised
that the recipient of our bounty is not humiliated in any way. Your Committee
feel we are working the right way with the right kind of policy, by which the
cost of administering the fund is reduced to a minimum, where every dollar is
working, and, if not being used for benevolence, is earning interest against
the inevitable rainy days which will come. In doing this, in assisting to do
this, Masonry in the Province of Alberta has more than justified its
existence, and as the years go by, with increasing numbers, greater
responsibilities will be ours and we have no doubt if we fulfil our duties,
the Masons of those future years will assuredly fulfil theirs.
During the stress of
the Great War, Masonry in Alberta responded nobly to the cause. At least ten
per cent of her membership joined the colors, and the Lodges as a whole
contributed generously to the Patriotic Fund, which was created in 1915. The
Work of the Lodges, however, was seriously impeded, owing to the absence of so
many leaders overseas. In many cases the Lodges became so depleted that the
older members resumed Office, as an expediency, and to reciprocate for the
heroic endeavours of their younger Brethren at the front.
Hostilities ceased,
and a feeling was developed that the advent of peace would somehow, in some
way, clear away the wreckage of the past; that hence‑ 8 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION forth the pathways of life would be straight and simple; that every
man would have equal opportunity and equal share in the best things of life.
At this time an abnormal influx into all the Lodges took place. The men who
sought admittance were representative citisens from legislative halls, from
hospital boards and school boards, from churches and civic enterprises, in
short, from every walk of life. To meet the need of these new members,
Charters were granted, Masonic Halls were dedicated, and Temples were erected
throughout the length and breadth of the jurisdiction. At no time before in
its history had it been possible for Masonry to play so great a part in
moulding public opinion and in exerting an influence for good upon the body
politic. It was here that the teachings of the Craft were sublimated. Perhaps
their splendid influence in this field is responsible for the maintenance of
the unique and high prestige of the Fraternity throughout the Province in
general.
Among the Brethren
connected with the Grand Lodge were two of outstanding merit. One of these was
M. W. Bro. Dr. George Macdonald, the first Grand Master, who subsequently held
the position of Grand Secretary for ten years during the early days of
formative policy. The other was M. W. Bro. S. Y. Taylor, who was Grand Master
in 1915 and Grand Secretary during the period from 1917 to 192.8. Bro. Taylor
was still Grand Secretary at the time of his death in March 192‑8. Of this
esteemed Brother it has been justly said: A fine scholarship enabled him to
apply with telling force the supremely spiritual values of our Masonic
idealism. In consequence of his untiring zeal and efforts in the exposition of
these ideals there was developed a high moral tone throughout the whole Craft
in this jurisdiction which will remain as a fitting and enduring monument to
his memory.
On Saturday, October
11, 1931, a Special Communication of the Grand Lodge to celebrate the
twenty‑fifth anniversary of its founding was held in Calgary. Twelve Past
Grand Masters, Representatives of four neighbouring Grand jurisdictions, and
several hundred Brethren from all parts of western Canada were in attendance.
At this unique meeting the first Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Dr. George
Macdonald, received a stirring ovation as he rose to address the gathering.
The Grand Master, M. W. Bro. Dr. S. N. Sneddon, addressed the Brethren as
follows I must, on behalf of myself and the Grand Lodge of Alberta here
assembled, express our deep sense of the honour accorded to this Grand Lodge
by the presence here to‑day of the distinguished Representatives of the Grand
Lodges of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, who are here as our
guests to celebrate our twenty‑fifth Anniversary. This is an historic
occasion, and from the large attendance from distant points in the province, I
think that feature of this gathering is uppermost in our minds: but to me our
meeting here to‑day should be more in the nature of an act of homage and
honour to those who after all are really responsible for this great occasion.
I am referring to those members who had the courage and foresight to form a
Grand Lodge in what was then OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND sparsely settled
country, of whose possibilities little was actually proved, whose development
had scarcely begun, communication was difficult, and the Lodges to which these
members belonged were widely scattered.
I venture to say that
if the spirit of the pioneer can be transmitted to this splendid gathering, we
need have no fear either for the future prosperity of our Order in Alberta or
for the future of this great Province.
At the formation in
1905 there were 18 Lodges with 12o5 members. Thirty years later there are 157
Lodges with 12,576 members. Benevolence has always been a cardinal virtue with
Alberta, and this is strongly emphasised at the present, with its century mark
of beneficiaries receiving assistance. During this time a Library of no mean
order has been gradually established, which greatly facilitates the spread of
Masonic education. In addition to this a system of holding Annual District
Meetings has been evolved, at which the Grand Lodge Officers attend and impart
first‑hand information. The Grand Lodge of Alberta is comparatively young, yet
withal lusty and strong, and bids fair for an expanding and greater future.
BRITISH COLUMBIA R.
L. REID N 1858 a veritable city of shacks clustered about the big fort of the
Hudson's Bay Company on the southern end of Vancouver Island. There it had
grown up almost in a single night, as did Jonah's gourd. It already had a
little weekly newspaper, however, and in the issue of July io the following
item appeared: The members of the Ancient Order of F. & A. Masons in good
standing are invited to meet on Monday July 12th at 7 o'clock P.M., in
Southgate & Mitchell's new store, upstairs. The object of the meeting is to
consider matters connected with the permanent interests of the order in
Victoria.
The meeting so
convened was attended by seven Masons who drafted a Petition to the Grand
Lodge of England asking for a Charter for a Lodge in their new city. So far as
we have any record, this was the beginning of Freemasonry in British Columbia.
The Colony of
Vancouver Island was formed in 1849, and by 1856 it had been granted a
representative assembly. But until 1858 the settlement had very few
inhabitants aside from officers and employees of the Hudson's Bay Company,
which had made Victoria its headquarters on the Pacific coast. The mainlandNew
Caledonia as it was then called‑had no organised government until November 1g,
1858, when it became the Colony of British Columbia.
News went abroad in
1857 that gold had been discovered in the sands of the 10 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Fraser River and the following year thousands of goldseekers came in
search of the New Eldorado. Since it was necessary to pass through Victoria in
order to reach the mines, the little village so far from the busy world was
immediately transformed from a quiet trading‑post into a noisy, bustling
metropolis. Vancouver Island and British Columbia were united under the name
of the latter in 11866, and five years later this territory became one of the
Provinces of the Dominion of Canada.
Once, in 11859,
before any regular Lodge had been Constituted, an " Occasional " Lodge was
held. It did not come exactly within the meaning of the term as defined by
Mackey, for it was not called by a Grand Master; but it did come within the
Century Dictionary's definition of " occasional," in that it was " called
forth, produced, or used on some special occasion or event." The " special
occasion " of this " Occasional " Lodge was the funeral of a Mason. Early in
September of that year, S. J. Hazeltine, chief engineer of the Hudson's .Bay
Company's steamer Labouchere, died in the city hospital at Victoria. Since he
was a Freemason, the resident Brethren decided to honour his memory by a
Masonic funeral. An advertisement in The British Colonist, a local newspaper,
called a meeting of Masons to take place at the Royal Hotel on September 7. A
large number of Masons responded. Several California Masons able to vouch for
one another formed the nucleus of the assemblage and examined others who
claimed the Master's rank. This done, they exercised their ancient prerogative
and formed themselves into a Lodge. Having chosen Bro. John T. Damon as Acting
Worshipful Master, and Bro. B. F. Moses as Secretary pro tempore, they made
arrangements for the funeral Rite. Next day they again assembled, donned white
gloves, and aprons made for the occasion by a tentmaker on Yates Street,
formed a procession, and marched to the hospital, and thence to the cemetery,
where they interred the body of their departed Brother with due Masonic
honours. Following that, they closed the Lodge in due form.
The Grand Lodge of
England was ready to grant the Charter asked for in 11858, but technicalities
delayed its issuance. The reason commonly assigned for this delay is that the
Charter sent out proved to be defective and in consequence had to be returned
to London for correction. The probable reason, however, to some extent
supported by credible information, is that the application was defective in
form, and that it had to be returned for amendment before a Charter could be
granted. However this may be, it was not until March i86o, that the Brethren
in Victoria received their Charter. Further delay was occasioned at the time
by the necessity for obtaining and fitting up a suitable Lodge room and for
acquiring necessary furniture and fittings.
Not until August 28,
1186o, was Victoria Lodge, No. 11o85 E. R. ready to begin work. On that date
the premier Lodge of British Columbia was duly Constituted on the second floor
of the Hibben and Carswell Building at the south west corner of Yates and
Langley streets. The ceremony, which included the Installation of the first
Officers, was performed by Robert Burnaby, Past Master of Lodge, No. 6611 E.
R., of Surrey, England, a prominent merchant of the little From a photograph
by Underwood and Underwood.
Old Hudson's Bay
Block House at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, B. C.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 11 city. He was assisted by H. Aquilar, R. N., commander of the
gunboat Grappler, then lying in Esquimalt harbour, a few miles from
Victoria,who was Past Master of Good Report Lodge, No. 159 E. R. The new Lodge
numbered eleven Charter members. During 186o nine Masons became members by
affiliation, including W.‑. Bro. Burnaby himself. John Malowansky, a Russian
news agent and tobacconist, was the first person to be made a Mason in the
Jurisdiction by Initiation. This popular young man soon rose to be J. D. of
the Lodge, but some five years later he left for the Cariboo gold fields and
in 1866 he went to Kamchatka for the Alaska Commercial Company. In 1875 Bro.
Malowansky took his demit in order to join a Russian Lodge in Petropavlovsky.
No word was ever afterwards received from him. In 1931 Victoria Lodge had 420
members on its Roll. One of its traditions is that the Grand Master for the
time being shall Install its Officers. On only one or two occasions since the
organisation of the Grand Lodge has this failed to take place.
The example set by
Victoria was soon followed by New Westminster, then capital of the Colony of
British Columbia. In 186o the Masons there applied to the Grand Lodge of
England for a Charter. It was granted, and in December 1861, Union Lodge, No.
12o1 E. R. was duly Constituted.
The Lodges at
Victoria and New Westminster used the English Ritual. This was unfamiliar to
many Masons who had come from the United States where a different Ritual was
in use. Consequently, some of the American Masons residing at Victoria, who
wished to use the Work to which they were accustomed, applied to the Grand
Lodge of Washington Territory for a Charter in 1861. Victoria Lodge protested
that since the Colony of Vancouver Island was British, no Masonic Body other
than the Grand Lodges of the mother country had any right to grant either a
Warrant or a Dispensation for a Masonic Lodge in the Jurisdiction. It was
further declared that any Lodge so established would be treated as
clandestine. Foreseeing the difficulties which might arise if their Petition
were successful, the applicants withdrew it, and joined by some other Masons
they applied to the Grand Lodge of Scotland for a Charter for Vancouver Lodge,
No. 421 S. R.
Nine Lodges had been
Chartered in the two colonies by 1871. The Grand Lodge of England had
established Victoria Lodge, No. 1o85, later .re‑numbered 783, and British
Columbia Lodge, No. 1187, at Victoria; Union Lodge, No. 12oi, later
re‑numbered 899, at New Westminster; and Nanaimo Lodge, No. logo, at Nanaimo.
Besides Vancouver Lodge, No. 421, the Grand Lodge of Scotland had authorised
Cariboo Lodge, No. 469, at Barkerville; Caledonia Lodge, No. 478, at Nanaimo;
Mount Hermon Lodge, No. 491, at Hastings, now part of the City of Vancouver.
At Victoria it also established Quadra Lodge, which should have been numbered
5o8, but which was still under Dispensation when the Grand Lodge of British
Columbia was established. In May 1867, the Grand Lodge of Scotland appointed
Dr. Israel Wood Powell, a prominent physician of Victoria, as Provincial Grand
Master, and in December 1867 the Grand Lodge of England appointed Robert
Burnaby of the same place as District Grand Master.
11 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION As the number of Lodges increased, the advisability of forming an
independent Grand Lodge was much discussed by members of the Craft. There was
every reason against the existence of two organisations in a country having
such a small population. Consequently, Dr. Powell and Mr. Burnaby, close
personal friends, were anxious to see the Craft united. In December 1868 a
meeting was held by Vancouver Lodge, No. 411 S. R., at which a number of
visitors from other Lodges were present. At that meeting members introduced a
series of resolutions reciting the condition of Freemasonry in the Colony, the
desirability of forming a Grand Lodge of British Columbia, and the advantages
to be secured by doing so. These resolutions were again considered at a
meeting held on January 2, 1869. At that time they were adopted and forwarded
to the other Lodges for consideration: All the Scottish Lodges, except
Caledonia Lodge, No. 478, at Nanaimo, approved them. Except Victoria Lodge,
No. io85, the English Lodges disapproved them. The resolutions were then
transmitted to the Grand Lodges in England and Scotland. The latter made no
reply, but the Secretary of the English Grand Lodge acknowledged the receipt
of the resolutions and expressed his regret that the Brethren in British
Columbia should " take any step which might lessen their own influence. As a
District Grand Lodge of the Grand Lodge of England, the Brethren in Vancouver
Island enjoy a far more influential position than they could possibly do if
they formed themselves into an independent Grand Lodge, whose paucity of
numbers would simply render it ridiculous." Undismayed, Vancouver Lodge, No.
411 S. R., went on with its work. It submitted its plan to the Grand Lodges in
Canada and the United States in order to ascertain what reception the proposed
Grand Lodge might expect. The result was so encouraging that, at a meeting on
January 18, 1871, it was able to announce that all the Grand Lodges to which
it had submitted its plan had signified their approval.
Various proceedings
resulted in the meeting of a Committee from Vancouver Lodge, No. 411 S. R.
They met with other members on March 18, 1871, to elect a Grand Master and
other Officers and to declare a Grand Lodge of British Columbia duly formed.
M.‑. W.‑. Bro. Elwood Evans, Past Grand Master of Washington Territory, was
invited to Install the Officers of the new Grand Lodge on March Zo, and he
accepted the invitation. Notice of the proposed Installation was given to
District Grand Master Burnaby of the English Lodges only one hour before the
Installation was to take place; he put in a written protest. District Grand
Secretary Thomas Shotbolt attended; protested orally; then took off his apron
and retired. What happened after he left the Lodge is not known, but the
Installation did not proceed and for the time the matter was dropped. Later,
R.‑. W.‑. Bro. Powell, and R.‑. W.‑. Bro. Burnaby had a conference about the
affair with the result that they agreed to submit the matter to the vote of
the Brethren of the various Lodges. This was then done. It resulted in polling
194 votes in favor of the proposal, and 28 votes against it.
Since the majority in
favor of establishing an independent Grand Lodge was OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 13 so large, a meeting to be held in Victoria was called for
October Zi, 1871, to form a Grand Lodge of British Columbia. All the Lodges in
the Province, except Union Lodge, No. 899, at New Westminster, sent
Representatives. The Grand Lodge of British Columbia was duly formed, M.‑.
W.‑. Bro. Israel Wood Powell being elected as first Grand Master and M.'. W.‑.
Bro. Robert Burnaby being given the rank of Past Grand Master. All Lodges
within the Jurisdiction, except Union Lodge, No. 899, surrendered their
Charters to receive others granted by the new Grand Lodge. Their respective
numbers on the Grand Lodge Roll were as follows: Victoria Lodge, No. i;
Vancouver Lodge, No. 2; Nanaimo Lodge, No. 3 ; Cariboo Lodge, No. 4; British
Columbia Lodge, No. S ; Caledonia Lodge, No. 6; Mount Hermon Lodge, No. 7;
Quadra Lodge, No. 8.
The absence of Union
Lodge, No. 899, from the Convention, and its failure on that account to
receive the number on the Grand Lodge Roll to which it was entitled by reason
of its seniority‑No. 2‑was due to the determined opposition of Hon. Henry
Holbrook, of New Westminster. He took the stand taken by the Secretary of the
Grand Lodge of England, namely, that the organisation of a Grand Lodge having
such a small number of Lodges was ridiculous. In 1872, however, this Lodge saw
the light, surrendered its Charter, and became Union Lodge, No. 9, B. C. R.
By the close of 1872
all other Grand Lodges in Canada and all those in the United States, except
that of Indiana, which awaited " the action of the Grand Lodge of England in
the matter," had recognised the new Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge of England
gave full recognition and a kind and fraternal greeting in 1874. The Grand
Lodge of Scotland granted conditional recognition in 1880, but reserved the
right to Charter Lodges in British Columbia if it saw fit. This action was
followed by unconditional recognition, granted in 1883. Indiana recognised the
Grand Lodge of British Columbia in 1881.
From 1870 to 1880
British Columbia was not prosperous. The output of gold from the mines of the
Cariboo diminished year by year. The proposed transcontinental railway that
was to connect the Province with her eastern sisters was still a matter of
negotiation and exploration. Business of the region was nearly at a
standstill, and many who had come there during the Cariboo gold excitement of
the 6o's were now leaving. As the population decreased, the number of Lodges
did likewise. Nanaimo, the coal‑mining town on Vancouver Island, first felt
the strain. Since two Lodges were more than it could maintain, in 1873 Nanaimo
Lodge, No. 3, and Caledonia Lodge, No. 6, united as Ashlar Lodge, No. 3.
Victoria presently discovered that it could not support four Lodges, and in
1877 Victoria Lodge, No. 1, and British Columbia Lodge, No. S, united under
the name of Victoria‑Columbia Lodge, No. 1. That year Vancouver Lodge No. 2,
and Quadra Lodge, No. 8, united under the name of Vancouver and Quadra Lodge,
No. 2. The decrease in the number of Lodges went no further and when the
construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway caused a revival of business,
applications for Charters began to come in. In 1881, residents of Yale, at
that time a centre of construction at the Pacific Coast end of the railway,
though 14 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION now only a name and a memory, asked for
the Charter of a Lodge to be known as Cascade Lodge, No. io. Owing to fires in
the town and to changes in railway construction plans, the application was
withdrawn within the year and before the Charter was granted. Five years later
a Charter was granted to Kamloops Lodge, No. 1o. In 1887 a Charter was granted
to Mountain Lodge, No. ii, at Donald, though this Lodge, with the population
of the town itself, later removed to Golden, on the Columbia River. In 1888
Cascade Lodge, No. iz., at Vancouver, and Spallumcheen Lodge, No. 13, at
Lansdowne (now Armstrong), were Instituted. Since that time the Grand Lodge of
British Columbia, whose mere nine Lodges were likely to make it appear "
ridiculous " to the Masonic world, according to the Grand Secretary of the
Grand Lodge of England, has steadily grown. In 1931 it comprised 115 Lodges
having a membership of 15,577 It early became the custom of the Grand Master
for the time being to nominate Brethren of standing to visit Lodges and report
to him. In 1888 this course of action received the official approval of the
Grand Lodge and the Province was divided into four districts: District, No. 1,
Vancouver Island; District, No. z., New Westminster; District, No. 3, Yale‑Kootenay;
and District, No. 4, Cariboo. In 1931 there were eighteen such districts with
a District Deputy Grand Master for each.
The Grand Lodge of
British Columbia has never officially used any set form of Ritual. In his
address at the first meeting of the Grand Lodge M.‑. W.‑. Bro. Powell pointed
out that ... our Grand Lodge is formed by the Union of the English and
Scottish crafts of the Province, each of whom are wedded and are partial to,
their own particular work. Hence, under any and all circumstances, Lodges
taking part in the formation of this Grand Lodge, should have full permission
to continue the work they now practise so long as they desire to do so. But I
would even go further, and for the present at least ... allow any Lodge that
may hereafter be formed, to choose and adopt either ritual at present
practised in the Province.
This matter was again
considered in Grand Lodge in 1893 and it was then decided that Lodges might
select either the English Work, as exemplified by Victoria‑Columbia Lodge, No.
i ; the Scottish Work, really the American Work, as exemplified by Ashlar
Lodge, No. 3 ; or the Canadian Work, as exemplified by Cascade Lodge, No. 12.
The latter, which is that form of English Work used by the Grand Lodge of
Canada in Ontario since 1868, should properly be called the Ontario Work.
Though the English
Work generally used in British Columbia is the Emulation Work, two Lodges use
the Oxford Ritual and one, the Revised Ritual. Another Lodge, Southern Cross
Lodge, No. 44, whose first Master was R.‑. W.‑. Bro. J. J. Miller, at one time
prominent in Masonic circles of New South Wales, uses the Canadian Work with
some of the modifications of the Ritual accepted in that part of the British
Empire where the Lodge's first Master formerly resided.
Union Lodge, No. 9,
of New Westminster, having been originally Chartered OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 15 by the Grand Lodge of England, at first used the English
Ritual. Since, however, a majority of the members were better acquainted with
the Scotch, or American, Work, that form was adopted in 1877. It is said that
W.,. Bro. William Stewart, who had been Initiated in Scotland during the early
part of the nineteenth century and at different times a member of Union Lodge,
No. 9, and of Ashlar Lodge, No. 3, first gave the name " Scotch " to the
American form of the Ritual. He probably did so because all Lodges which had
been Chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland used it.
Cariboo Lodge, which
was No. 469 on the Register of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and is now No. 4
B. C. R., merits special mention here. It was the outlying Lodge of all early
Lodges. So far out was it, indeed, that a trip of 540 miles had to be made in
order to reach it. One had to go seventy‑five miles by steamer from Victoria
to New Westminster. Another seventy‑five miles by river steamer took one to
Yale, the head of navigation on the Fraser River. From there to Barkerville
was a stagecoach trip of 390 miles. The journey required so much time and was
so difficult to make that Provincial Grand Master Powell never visited the
Lodge. When it received its Charter it began to function without assistance
from any but its own members. No Provincial Grand Master or Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of British Columbia ever visited this Lodge until Grand Master
William Downie made the trip to Barkerville in 1892.
It was no small
community which at that time existed in the heart of the Cariboo Mountains.
Gold was the magnet that drew men there. From the mountain streams of that
region more than seventy million dollars' worth of precious metal was taken.
In the mid‑6o's, so it is claimed, Barkerville had a larger population than
any other place on the Pacific coast except San Francisco. Even in 1872, when
the population of the Province had greatly decreased, Cariboo Lodge, No. 469,
was the second largest Lodge on the Register.
Headed by W.‑. M.‑.
Jonathan Nutt, a zealous Mason who on account of his service to Freemasonry
was given the rank of Past Senior Grand Warden in 1877, Cariboo Lodge, No.
469, got under way, bought a lot, and built a Masonic Hall. Its membership
increased rapidly. Nationality or religious faith was no obstacle to
membership, for Swedes, Jews, French‑Canadians, Italians, and others were to
be found among its members. During its early years the Lodge was financially
prosperous. On September 16, 1868, however, just as the prosperity of Cariboo
was beginning to decline, a disastrous fire burnt the whole town of
Barkerville to the ground. Only one building escaped destruction. The Masonic
Hall was destroyed but the Records of the Lodge were saved. The Lodge
immediately began to rebuild its quarters, and on February 2‑o, 1869, it met
in a new Hall that it still uses. Despite generous donations from outside
sources, the Lodge had difficulty in financing the erection of its new Hall.
Mining claims were being worked out and the population was dwindling. After a
time, however, the Lodge overcame all its difficulties.
In those early days
Barkerville was by no means a peaceful village, as no prosperous mining town
far removed from civilisation could be. Because of a 16 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION clever ruse to which members of Cariboo Lodge, No. 469, resorted, we
are led to believe that some residents of the settlement, when in their cups,
tried to find out what Masons really do in Lodge. In order to prevent any
illicit seeker after truth from succeeding in his quest, some resourceful
brain suggested an ingenious " silent " or " mechanical " Tyler when the new
Hall was built. The stairs to the Lodge room were hinged in the middle. By
means of a mechanical contrivance the lower part of the stairway could be
raised and held suspended in mid‑air while the Brethren were at Labour.
Besides this interesting piece of handiwork massive and handsome furniture was
also made and carved by early members of the Lodge.
The Jurisdiction of
the Grand Lodge of British Columbia is not confined to the Province alone but
also includes the Yukon Territory. The Grand Lodge of Manitoba, whose
jurisdiction extended over the whole of the Northwest Terri tories of Canada
before the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were formed, originally
constituted Lodges in Dawson and White Horse. It proved more convenient,
however, for those Lodges to communicate with British Columbia than with
Manitoba. With the consent and approval of their Mother Grand Lodge, the
Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia was extended to include
Yukon Territory and in 1907 those Lodges became No. 45 and No. 46,
respectively, on the Register of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia.
As has been the case
in other jurisdictions, the Grand Lodge of British Columbia has had to deal
with clandestine Bodies. In 1914 a Representative of the so‑called American
Masonic Federation was prosecuted and heavily fined for his illegal acts.
Since that time there has been no other trouble.
In 1921 this Grand
Lodge celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in fitting style. Representatives
from many other Grand Lodges‑England, Canada, and the United States‑were in
attendance. Many of the pioneers in the Craft who were present were fittingly
introduced to members of the Grand Lodge. Addresses made by the visitors in
the Lodge and by the speakers at the anniversary banquet were worthy of the
occasion and of the reputation of the Ancient Craft.
As the years go on
the Grand Lodge of British Columbia prospers and increases. Many of the Lodges
are, of course, in the larger centres of population, but many others, not less
worthy of mention, are in settlements tucked away among far‑off mountain
mining camps, or along shores of the great inlets that deeply pierce our long
seafront. Others are in lumber towns and in the hamlets of agricultural
districts. All are working out the great principles of Freemasonry with
interest and profit to themselves and with benefit to the communities in which
they carry on.
The benevolent and
charitable work of the Fraternity is by no means neglected in the jurisdiction
of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia. From that September day in 1859 when
the Masons of Victoria gathered together to inter the body of Bro. S. J.
Hazeltine according to Masonic custom, up to the present, those duties have
been carried on unceasingly. Charity has unstintedly been extended to those in
need. Among the earliest records of Cariboo Lodge, No. 4, OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 17 far up in the Cariboo Mountains, is the casual mention of a
Committee that was appointed to inquire into the case of Bro. Miserve, of
Mount Moriah Lodge, Washington Territory.. While digging for gold along
Mosquito Creek, he had fallen into bad health, so the report said. Yearly
Records of the Lodges in this jurisdiction show large sums expended for
relief. A benevolent fund, begun in 1872, has been built up by the Grand Lodge
from the donations of individuals and constituent Lodges. In 1931 this fund
amounted to $326,849.69. Income from it is used to supplement charities of the
various Lodges where necessary. In both Vancouver and Victoria, a Masonic
service bureau is maintained by the local Lodges. These bureaus look after and
assist Masons and their dependents from other jurisdictions while they sojourn
here. During the Great War a special relief fund was raised for the assistance
of soldier Brethren and their families. This fund was of special value in
those troublous times. All such work is carried on quietly, in true Masonic
fashion. Few persons know either the extent of Masonic bounty or the names of
those who are succoured.
Though British
Columbia may not have among its members of the Craft those who are
world‑famous, nevertheless many pioneers of the Province who took leading
parts in laying the foundations of our Commonwealth were faith ful disciples
of the Square and Compasses. Many leaders of bench, bar and church,
distinguished business men, and members of the press have been among our
members. In the early days, J. J. Southgate, a well‑known merchant, inserted
in The Victoria Gazette the advertisement set out in the first paragraph of
this article and so initiated the Masonic organisation that has become what it
is to‑day. The splendid services to Freemasonry of M.‑.W.‑. Bro. Robert
Burnaby, a merchant, and M.'. W.‑. Bro. Israel W. Powell, a medical
practitioner, have been in part described earlier in this article. Another
distinguished Mason of British Columbia, a man or probity and profound
learning, was John Foster McCreight, Deputy Grand Master in 1871, afterwards a
judge of the Supreme Court of the Province. Among the well‑known journalists
were Amor de Cosmos and David W. Higgins, both at one time residents of
Victoria and both men of outstanding ability. The former, regarded by many as
a somewhat eccentric person, had his earlier name, W. A. Smith, changed to
that given here by an Act of the California Legislature while a member of that
body in 1854. De Cosmos was editor of The British Colonist, of Victoria; a
member of the Provincial Legislature; and one of the leaders in the movement
that resulted in bringing about the union of the two colonies and the
subsequent admission of the Province into the Canadian Confederation. He was
also a member of the Canadian House of Commons for some years. David W.
Higgins was also an editor of The British Colonist. He published two volumes
containing stories of early life in British Columbia. These books, The Mystic
Spring and The Passing of a Race, are rather fact than fiction. Though long
out of print and now scarce, they are still much sought after and eagerly
read. Hon. Henry Holbrook, father of Union Lodge, No. 899, at New Westminster,
was for many years one of the most influential men in the political life of
the mainland colony.
18 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Major William Downie was another early Mason of British Columbia who
can not be forgotten. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, and brought up in Ayr, he was
one of those men who have an itching foot, one of those who heard " The
Whisper " sung by Kipling Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind
the RangesSomething lost behind the ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go! Upon
the discovery of gold in the North, he came to British Columbia in 1858. For
several years he explored the coast for Governor Douglas, a fellow Scotsman.
He visited the Queen Charlotte Islands, passed up the Skeena River to the
Fraser, then back to the coast. From 1861 to 1873 he mined in various parts of
the Cariboo Country. As late as 1886, at the request of Hon. John Robson, then
finance minister in the government of British Columbia, he visited Granite
Creek, in the Similkameen District, and later reported on the region. He was
in Panama and Costa Rica in 1874 and 1875, and at one time he was on the Yukon
River in Alaska. Bro. Downie was the first person Initiated into Vancouver
Lodge, No. 2, of Victoria. He became a member of that Lodge in 1862. In his
application he gave his occupation as " major and miner." The Records of the
Lodge show that he visited it nearly every winter, but never in summer. Thirty
years after becoming a Mason at Victoria, Bro. Downie affiliated with Ashlar
Lodge, No. 3, at Nanaimo. He died there in 1894 at the age of seventy‑four
years.
In later years many
leading men of the Province have been zealous members of the Craft. There have
been Representatives on the bench of the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of
the Province, and the county courts. Many clergymen have taken part in our
work, among them His Grace, Archbishop A. U. DePencier, of the Anglican Church
in British Columbia. Rev. E. D. McLaren and Rev. C. Ensor Sharp have been
Grand Masters. Among the men prominent in political life who also occupied the
position of Grand Master were Hon. Simeon Duck, E. Crow Baker, M.P.,
Ex‑Premier W. J. Bowser, and J. H. Schofield, M.L.A. Among the journalists was
F. J. Burd, of The Vancouver Province. Among the medical men were Dr. R. E.
Walker and Dr. Douglas Corsan. Among the railroad men were Lacey B. Johnson
and William Downie, founder of Cascade Lodge, No. 12, at Vancouver (not the
Major William Downie mentioned above). Among members who were leaders in
business life were A. R. Milne, Angus McKeown, R. B. McMicking, Alexander
Charleston, Frank Bowser, H. H. Watson, E. E. Chipman, H. N. Rich, John M.
Rudd, William Henderson, James Stark, W. C. Ditmars, John Shaw, and W. S.
Terry. David Wilson, E. B. Paul, and S. J. Willis, superintendent of education
for the Province in 1931, were among the educators that were Grand Masters.
It is a matter of
great pride to the Masons of British Columbia that the OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 19 present Grand Secretary, Dr. W. A. DeWolf‑Smith, is numbered
among our prominent Masons. During his thirty years of Office, first as Grand
Historian and later as Grand Secretary, Dr. DeWolf‑Smith has been a tower of
strength to the Officers and members of the Craft. In carrying out his duties
as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Correspondence he has become well
known in all jurisdictions as an erudite Masonic scholar and a brilliant and
witty writer.
MANITOBA JAMES A.
OVAS HE first Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons to organise in what is
now the Province of Manitoba was authorised by M.‑. W.‑. A. T. C. Pierson,
'Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, under a Dispensation dated
September 13, 1863. It reached Canada by way of Pembina, Dakota Territory, and
Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, in what was then known as the Red River Settlement
in the Canadian Northwest. In his address to the Grand Lodge of Minnesota at
the eleventh Annual Communication held at St. Paul on October 2], 1863, M..
W.‑.Bro. Pierson, Grand Master of Minnesota, made the following statement:
"About the middle of last month I received an Application signed by W.‑.Bro.
C. W. Nash, Bro. J. L. Armington, Bro. A. T. Chamblin, Bro. Charles H. Mix,
and eight others, who were en route for Pembina, Dakota Territory, for a
Dispensation authorising them to open and Work a Lodge. Pembina is the most
northern point in the territory of the United States, a great central point
where concentrates a large amount of emigration and of travel between the two
oceans. The want of a Lodge at that place has been long felt and often
expressed; and as the Brethren named were active, well informed, and discreet
Masons, the first two, former Masters, and the latter, Wardens of Lodges
within this jurisdiction, and as they expected to remain in that hyperborean
region for at least two years, I granted a Dispensation to establish a Lodge
at Pembina." Prior to holding the first meeting, it was discovered, however,
that no name had been given the Lodge in the Dispensation. " How it was
settled," says M.‑.W.‑.Bro. William G. Scott, Past Grand Master of the Grand
Lodge of Manitoba, in his article " Early Masonry in Manitoba," " I will leave
Bro. Nash to describe." The following description was then given " I wrote to
the Grand Master calling his attention to the omission, and took occasion to
suggest what I thought would be a proper and very appropriate name, and in
case it met with his approval to so advise me and direct that I insert it in
the Dispensation. The name that was suggested met with his cordial approval
and was thus named. It came about in this way: It was at night that I was
writing the Grand Master, and going out of my quarters I observed the grandest
display above me that it was ever my pleasure to Zo FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION behold. I never witnessed such grandeur of this character before, and
I never expect to again. It was an exhibition of Northern Lights. The
celestial globe was grand and beautiful in the extreme, and for a long time my
eyes feasted upon the sight with delight. It was witnessed by many in our
cantonment. On returning to my quarters to complete my letter to the Grand
Master, I narrated the circumstances; hence the name, Northern Light Lodge,
was given." The Lodge held its first meeting about the middle of January 1864.
During the few months that it remained active in Pembina, several residents of
Fort Garry and the vicinity made applications for membership, were accepted,
and received the Three Degrees of Freemasonry. Among those who became members
at that time were Bro. A. G. B. Bannatyne, Bro. W. B. Hall, and Bro. William
Inkster. Then, in the early part of that year, application was made to
M.‑.W.‑.Bro. Pierson, Grand Master of Minnesota, for a continuance of the
Dispensation and for authority to transfer it to Fort Garry. This request was
granted. In his address to the Grand Lodge at the twelfth Annual Communication
held in St. Paul on October 12, 1864, the M.'. W.‑. the Grand Master reported
as follows: " I also renewed the Dispensation of Northern Light Lodge,
removing it to the Red River Settlement." The first meeting of the Lodge in
Fort Garry was held on November 8, 1864, in a room over the trading‑house of
Bro. A. G. B. Bannatyne. In a letter to the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, written
in 1895, W.‑.Bro. Schultz described that meeting in the following words And a
novelty it was, indeed, in this country at that time! It was spoken of far and
wide, and the descriptions, which did not decrease in detail or increase in
accuracy, as to what was done therein were listened to with much curiosity,
and in some cases, with awesome wonder, which was enhanced by the jocoseness
of Bro. Bannatyne's clerks, who spoke knowingly of the whereabouts and
propulsive propensities of the goat, and who pointed out from the room below
(to wit, the trading‑house), exactly in what part of the upstairs room the
W.‑. M.‑. hung his hat while the Lodge was at Work. The Lodge Room itself was
made as tasteful as the circumstances of that day would admit, and it may
interest the curious to know the exact cost of some of its furniture, as given
in a memorandum which I happen to have near me, in the sterling money of the
day, namely: tables, &/19/6; inner door, 15/; altar, 19/6; wall‑paper, 39/, 24
black beads, 1 /6; 24 white beads, i /; loo copies of the by‑laws, 40 /. And
it may be inferred that the Craft were not always at Work, for I find the
following on the same list: 15 tin plates, 15 iron tablespoons, 15 teaspoons,
12 cups and saucers, 1 tin pan, 4 cans of pickled oysters, 1 pound of butter,
1 pound of coffee, and 2 pounds of sugar. This would seem to show that there
were intervals for refreshment. The jewels were borrowed ones from the Pembina
Lodge; they were used until the following January, the Lodge having commenced
Work in November 1864. They were then replaced by finer ones from Chicago,
through the good offices of N. W. Kittson.
W.‑. Bro. John
Schultz was the first Worshipful Master; Bro. A. G. B. Bannatyne was Senior
Warden, and Bro. William Inkster was junior Warden.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 21 The three principal Officers mentioned above remained in their
respective Offices until December 23, 1867, when Bro. A. G. B. Bannatyne was
elected Master; Bro. Thomas Bunn, Senicr Warden and Bro. Juhn Bunn, Junior
Warden. I am unable, however, to find any record of their Installation.
The Dispensation was
continued year by year by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, until the year 1867;
then a Charter was granted and the Lodge was registered as No. 68. At that
time the Committee on Lodges, U. D. reported as follows: " From Northern Light
Lodge U. D., located at Fort Garry, no late Returns or Records have been
received. In this the Committee deem it proper to present the following facts:
Fort Garry is situated on the northern confines of the State, several hundred
miles from St. Paul, and far outside the usual mail or transportation
facilities, the mails being carried by dog trains through the intervening
wilderness, at long intervals and often lost in transit. Transportation is
mostly confined to the spring months. These facts may reasonably account for
the non‑representation of the Lodge and the non‑receipt of the Records and
Receipts of the Lodge. The Lodge was originally organised under letters of
Dispensation granted in 1863 to our present M.‑.W.‑.Grand Master and others by
Grand Master Bro. A. T. C. Pierson, and has been continued by Dispensation of
successive Grand Masters to the present time. It would seem that now the time
has arrived when the Lodge should be relieved from its anomalous position. The
Committee have had the fullest assurance from responsible sources that the
Brethren comprising Northern Light Lodge, U. D. are men of excellent
character, of good Masonic attainments, and of undoubted ability to carry on
the Work of the Order. After considering these facts they have arrived at the
conclusion that it is wrong to make the remote position and consequently
inability of these Brethren to communicate with the Grand Lodge at its Annual
Communication a reason for depriving them, of the benefit of a Charter. They
therefore recommend that a Charter be granted to them, to be issued as soon as
they have made their Returns to, and settled their accounts with, the Grand
Secretary, to the satisfaction of the Grand Master." The Lodge was never
constituted under the Charter, however, for during the troublesome times of
1868‑1869, the members became so scattered that it eventually ceased to exist.
In his address at the Annual Communication in 1869, M.'. W .'.Bro. C. W. Nash,
Grand Master, made the following reference to this Lodge: " The Lodges which
were Chartered at the last Grand Communication have all been properly
constituted and the Officers installed, either in person or by proxy, except
in the case of Northern Light Lodge, No. 68 located at Fort Garry, British
America. The Charter of this Lodge remains in the possession of the Right
Worshipful Grand Secretary. The great distance of Fort Garry from an organised
Lodge has rendered it impracticable to constitute the Lodge and install its
Officers." At the same Sessions, R.‑. W.‑. Bro. William S. Combs, Grand
Secretary, also reported as follows: " The Charter issued by the Grand Lodge
to Northern Light Lodge, No. 68, at its Session in 1867, has not 22
FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION been called for by the proper Officers. I
anticipate, however, that the same will be attended to very soon, as I have
been in correspondence with the Brethren at Fort Garry." Thus the pioneer
Lodge of the great Canadian Northwest, which during the four years of its
activity had added to its membership the foremost men of the settlement,
terminated its existence.
On November 21, 1870,
a Dispensation was issued by M .'. W.‑. Bro. Alexander A. Stevenson, Grand
Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada, to Bro. Robert S. Patterson, Worshipful
Master; Bro. Norman J. Dingman, Senior Warden, Bro. William N. Kennedy, Junior
Warden, and six others, to form and hold a Lodge which was designated as
Winnipeg Lodge but which, by permission of the Grand Lodge, afterwards changed
its name to Prince Rupert's Lodge. The Lodge was located in Winnipeg, Province
of Manitoba. It was Instituted on December 1o, 1870, and its Charter was
granted on July 13, of the next year. At that time the Lodge was regularly
constituted and consecrated as Prince Rupert's Lodge, No. 240 G. R. C., and
the Officers were Installed. As Senior Warden, Bro. William N. Kennedy
succeeded Bro. Norman J. Dingman, who had removed from the jurisdiction, and
Matthew Coyne succeeded Bro. William N. Keenedy as junior Warden.
On January 4, 1871, a
Dispensation was issued by M:. W .'. Bro. Alexander A. Stevenson, Grand Master
of the Grand Lodge of Canada, to Bro. John Frazer, Worshipful Master; George
Black, Senior Warden; Thomas Bunn, Junior War den, and four others, to form
and hold a Lodge to be designated as Manitoba Lodge, at Lower Fort Garry, in
the Province of Manitoba. The name of this Lodge also was afterwards changed,
by permission of the Grand Lodge, to Lisgar Lodge. The Lodge was Instituted on
February Zo, 1871, a Charter was granted on the following July 13, and the
Lodge was regularly constituted and consecrated as Lisgar Lodge, No. 244 G. R.
C. Then the Officers were Installed. Bro. George Black succeeded Bro. John
Frazer as Worshipful Master, Bro. Thomas Bunn succeeded Bro. George Black as
Senior Warden, and William J. Piton succeeded Bro. Thomas Bunn as junior
Warden. Permission for the removal of the Lodge from Lower Fort Garry to
Selkirk, Manitoba, was subsequently granted.
On April 19, 1871, a
Dispensation was also issued by M.'. W.'. Bro. Alexander A. Stevenson, Grand
Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada, to Bro. Frederick Y. Bradley, Worshipful
Master, Bro. W. N. Drew, Senior Warden, Bro. James G. Milen, Junior Warden,
and six others, to form and hold a Lodge to be designated as International
Lodge, at North Pembina in the Province of Manitoba. This Lodge was never
Instituted, however, but when the Dispensation was issued to Emerson Lodge,
No. 6, in 1876 Bro. Bradley was named Master.
On September 19,
1872, a Dispensation was issued by M .'. W.‑. Bro. William M. Wilson, Grand
Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada, to Bro. James Henderson, Worshipful
Master, Bro. Arthur H. Holland, Senior Warden, Bro. Walter F. Hyman, Junior
Warden, and six others, to form and hold a Lodge OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND z3
to be designated as Ancient Landmark Lodge, at Winnipeg, in the Province of
Manitoba. This Lodge was Instituted on December 16, 1872, a Charter was
granted on July 9, 1873, the Lodge was regularly constituted and consecrated
as Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 288 G. R. C., and its Officers were Installed.
After that no other
Lodges were Instituted until 1875, but during that year a far more important
step was decided upon, for it was then that the formation of the Grand Lodge
of Manitoba was planned. The preliminary steps toward that goal were taken on
April 28, 1875, when the following circular was issued: To the Worshipful
Masters, Past Masters, Wardens, Officers, and other Brethren of the several
Lodges of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in the Province of
Manitoba:‑Brethren, at an influential meeting of the Brethren hailing from the
different constitutionally Chartered Lodges of the Province, held in the City
of Winnipeg, on the twenty‑eighth day of April, A. D. 1875, it was, after
mature deliberation, unanimously resolved that a circular be forwarded to all
the Lodges in this Province, requesting them to be duly represented at a
Convention to be held in the Masonic Hall, in the City of Winnipeg, on
Wednesday, the twelfth day of May, 1875, at three o'clock P.M., for the
purpose of taking into consideration the present state of Masonry in this
Province, and to proceed, if decided, to the formation of a Grand Lodge for
the Province of Manitoba.
No doubt this
undertaking was entered into with much misgiving on the part of many Masons.
For 3 Lodges, having a combined membership of only 21o, to sever their
connection with such a strong organisation as the Grand Lodge of Canada in
order to undertake the direction of the affairs of a Grand Lodge in a new
country sparsely settled, must have seemed to many a stupendous undertaking.
But their action in this matter serves to show the character of the men who
carried the project out to a successful issue. There is no finer
accomplishment known to mankind than to gain the honour and respect accorded
to those who rise above adverse and obscure conditions, and win. From the
Proceedings of the Convention held on May 12, 1875, I quote the following
resolutions, all of which were carried unanimously: Resolved, That we, the
Representatives of the three Warranted Lodges being all the Lodges in this
Province, in Convention assembled, Resolve, That " The Most Worshipful the
Grand Lodge of Manitoba, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons " be, and is hereby,
formed upon the Ancient Charges and Constitution of Masonry.
Resolved, That in
severing our connection from the Grand Lodge of Canada we desire to express
our most profound gratitude to that venerable Body for the kind consideration
and attention they have always displayed towards us, both as Lodges and
individually, and we most ardently desire that the same parental feeling may
always be entertained towards us by our mother Grand Lodge, our connection
with which we will remember with the greatest pride and affection.
2‑4 FREEMASONRY IN
THE DOMINION Resolved, That the Lodges in the Province be numbered on the
Grand Register according to their seniority, viz: Prince Rupert's Lodge to be
No. i, Lisgar Lodge to be No. 2, Ancient Landmark Lodge to be No. 3.
Resolved, That a
Committee of three be appointed to assist the M.. W.. Grand Master in
preparing the address to sister Grand Lodges, and that R... W... Bro. James
Henderson, Grand Senior Warden, R.‑. W.‑. Bro. John Kennedy, Grand Treasurer,
and R.‑. W.‑. Bro. the Reverend Canon O'Meara, Grand Chaplain, be that
Committee.
Then in his address
before the Grand Lodge at its first Annual Communication held on June 14,
1876, M.‑. W.‑. Bro. W. C. Clarke, Grand Master, made the following approving
statement: " the usual address to the sister Lodges was sent to all the Grand
Bodies on the American continent, that to the European Grand Bodies being
deferred till after this Communication, and I am happy to inform this Grand
Lodge that in no single case has any fault been found with the
constitutionality of our proceedure, but that in some instances I have been
congratulated on behalf of the framers of the Grand Lodge by high Masonic
authorities on the entire correctness of the steps which have been taken and
the result attained. It is my pleasing duty to congratulate you upon the
marked success which has so far attended your efforts in the interest of the
royal Craft." The mother Grand Lodge of Canada was first to extend Fraternal
intercourse with the newly‑formed Grand Lodge of Manitoba, under date of July
14, 1875. As the region became settled, other Lodges were formed in the dif
ferent towns throughout the Province and throughout the Northwest Territories,
the Grand Lodge of Manitoba having extended its Jurisdiction over the
Districts of Alberta, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan, and the Yukon Territory. By
October 12, i9o5, there were 104 Lodges on the Grand Register, and there was a
total membership of 5725. On that date 18 Lodges of the Province of Alberta
met at Calgary and formed the Grand Lodge of Alberta. M.‑. W.. Bro. William G.
Scott, Grand Master, who was present to Install the Officers of the new Grand
Lodge, was elected an Honorary Past Grand Master. At the Annual Communication
of the Grand Lodge, held in Winnipeg on June 13, 19o6, Fraternal recognition
was extended, together with the most kindly greetings and the wish that
success and prosperity would attend the new Grand Lodge, the first daughter
Grand Lodge of the Grand Body of Manitoba. Then, on August 9, 19o6, 29 Lodges
of the Province of Saskatchewan met at Regina and there formed the Grand Lodge
of Saskatchewan, the second daughter Grand Lodge. At that meeting, M.''. W.‑.
Bro. John McKechnie, Grand Master, and M.‑. W.‑. Bro. James A. Ovas, Past
Grand Master and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba, who were
present to Install the Officers of the new Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan, were
elected Honorary Past Grand Masters. At the Annual Communication of the Grand
Lodge of Manitoba, held in Winnipeg on June 12, 1907, Fraternal recognition
was also extended to the new Grand OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 25 Lodge of
Saskatchewan and the same good wishes were expressed for its future well‑being
as had been extended to its sister Grand Lodge of Alberta. At this
Communication, Yukon Lodge, No. 79, of Dawson City, and White Horse Lodge, No.
81, of White Horse, in the Yukon Territory, applied to the Grand Lodge of
Manitoba for permission to surrender their Charters and to be allowed to apply
to the Grand Lodge of British Columbia for affiliation. The principal reason
advanced for wating to make the change was stated as follows: " The Province
of British Columbia is adjacent and contiguous to the Yukon Territory and
bound to it by Commercial and other relations which cause continual
intercourse between the residents of both Districts." Upon its receipt, this
Petition was duly considered by the Board of General Purposes, and upon their
recommendation it was granted by the Grand Lodge of Manitoba.
No history of Masonry
in western Canada would be complete without an account of the life of M.‑. W
.'. Bro. James A. Ovas. This faithful and distin guished Mason was born near
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on July Zo, 18 He was Initiated in Manito Lodge of
Collingwood, Ontario, in 1877, and shortly afterwards he turned his steps to
the Great West at that time little known. For some years his business
activities were centered in Souris, Manitoba, and in Rapid City. In both
places his name appears in the local Masonic histories as an active member, an
Officer, and a Worshipful Master. On June 13, 1900) the Grand Lodge of
Manitoba elected him to be Grand Secretary, and on June 11, 1934, he was
re‑elected for the thirty‑fifth consecutive term.
Bro. Ovas's interest
in Masonic lore and activities has taken him into practically every branch of
Masonic organisation. He was elected Grand Master of Manitoba in 18go. He
reached the Thirty‑third Degree of Scottish Rite Masonry in October, 191o. To
enumerate all the other Offices and memberships which he has held would occupy
more space than is permitted in this brief review.
Among the honours
which have been showered upon Bro. Ovas, one is represented by a Certificate
which hangs framed above his desk in the Masonic Temple. It proclaims M.‑.
W.‑. Bro. James A. Ovas to be a Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of
England. Combining as it does his wide Fraternal interests and friendships and
his fervent loyalty to the land of his forefathers, of all his honours this
one is most treasured.
When Bro. Ovas was
Grand Master, and later when he was elected to be Grand Secretary, his
jurisdiction was the largest in area in the world. It extended from Ontario
westward to the Rocky Mountains, and from the United States boundary northward
to the limits of life. To‑day three Grand Lodges cover this territory. Of them
all, Manitoba is numerically smallest. Bro. Ovas remains an inspiring figure,
linking the pioneer past with the present, and projecting into a future whose
horizon is limited only by his eighty‑one years, an influence and broad‑minded
brotherhood which can never know decay. Passed away March 9, 1935.
END PAGE 25 26
FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION MARITIME PROVINCES REGINALD V. HARRIS* HE
territory commonly known as the Maritime Provinces of Canada, which comprises
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, is to‑day under the
jurisdiction of three Grand Lodges. Never theless, until some sixty years ago,
the Masonic histories of those three jurisdictions were more or less closely
interwoven, and it seems advisable therefore, at least in the earlier pages of
this article, to consider as a single unit the entire territory now covered by
the three jurisdictions.
The reader is
doubtless familiar with the chief facts of the early history of the Maritime
Provinces‑the early voyages and explorations of DeMonts and Champlain, and of
other adventurers and colonisers; the founding of the first settlement at Port
Royal, now Annapolis Royal, in 1604, and the numerous sieges of that place;
the period of the French regime, which ended in Nova Scotia in 1710, fifty
years before its termination in 1759‑176o; the two sieges of the great French
stronghold of Louisbourg, the one in 1745 and the other in 1758; the founding
of Halifax in 1749; the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755; the establishment
of representative government in 1758; the period of the American War for
Independence and the coming to Canada of the Loyalists in the period between
1775 and 1785; the setting off of the Provinces of New Brunswick, Prince
Edward Island, and Cape Breton; the struggle for responsible government; the
Confederation of most of British North America into the Dominion of Canada in
1867; and the subsequent economic and political development of the country to
its present status. The story is intensely interesting, as all readers of
Parkman, Murdock, and other capable historians can testify. Interesting though
the complete history be, this article must, nevertheless, be confined only to
the story of Freemasonry in the Maritime Provinces, a story which covers
approximately two hundred years. Although some writers claim to have
discovered evidence of Masonic activity dating back still farther, their
alleged evidence is only inferred from known facts, or is based only on
tradition. In fact, fiction and false hypotheses account for much of it.
In any history of the
Craft in the Maritime Provinces, reference must first be made to the so‑called
Annapolis Royal " Masonic Stone of 16o6. In 1827 the eminent geologist, Dr.
Charles T. Jackson, of Boston, discovered a flat slab of trap rock on the
shores of Annapolis Basin, In Nova Scotia. This stone which bore the Masonic
Square and Compasses together with the date 16o6, was given to the Honourable
Justice T. C. Haliburton, distinguished author of Sam Slick the Clock Maker.
Then, about 1887 it was turned over by justice Haliburton's son to the
Canadian Institue, in Toronto, for the purpose of being * In the reparation of
the following article on Freemasonry in the Maritime Provinces, the writer
gratefully ackowledges the he p and co‑operation of M.'. W:. Bro. James Vroom,
Past Grand Master of New Brunswick, since deceased, and M::W..Bro. George W.
Wakeford, Prince Edward Island.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 27 inserted, with the inscription exposed, in the wall of the
Institute's building. Unfortunately, however, some of the workmen stupidly
plastered the Stone over and embedded it in the wall of the building! It has
since been completely lost. Although it would seem that the Stone once marked
the grave of some early Brethren, exhaustive investigation by the writer leads
him to believe that the Stone originally marked the grave of either a mason or
stone‑cutter, or possibly of a carpenter, who died at Annapolis Royal, then
called Port Royal, on November 14, 16o6, and that it was in no way connected
with a Speculative Mason.
After the destruction
of Port Royal by Argall of Virginia in 1614, the refugee inhabitants returned
to the settlement, rebuilt their homes, and continued there until the advent
of Sir William Alexander of Menstrie and his Scotch Colony, about 1628.
Alexander had become the proprietor and grantee of the Colony under a patent
from King James I (James VI of Scotland) in 1621. His powers and privileges
were, therefore, virtually regal over the territory now comprising the
Maritime Provinces and parts of what is now known as the State of Maine in the
United States and of Quebec in present day Canada. This vast territory was
designated Nova Scotia in the patent. Associated with Sir William in this ''
undertaking were Sir Alexander Strachan of Thornton, Sir Anthony Alexander and
his son, and William, Earl Marshall. After exploratory expeditions and j
financial difficulties which threatened to destroy the venture, Sir William
sent { out his son, also known as Sir William, with four vessels and
seventy‑two set tlers. In the spring of 1628 these men took possession of the
old French fort. After two years of struggle, Sir William the Younger returned
to Scotland, leaving Sir George Home (or Horne) in charge of the Colony. But
the Scotch j rule of the Colony was destined to be short lived. With the Peace
of St. Germain en‑Laye, made in 1632, the whole of Nova Scotia was restored to
France, and a majority of Alexander's settlers returned to Scotland, though
some joined the Puritan Colony at Boston, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and
others settled in the French settlement at La Havre, in Nova Scotia. As
partial compensation for his losses, the elder Sir William was created
Viscount Stirling and Viscount Canada. His son thereupon assumed the honorary
title of Lord Alexander.
This bit of history
is given by way of introduction to the statement that in the Minutes of the
Lodge of Edinburgh is found a Record which states that on " the 3rd day of
Joulay, 1634," Lord Alexander the Younger, Sir Alexander Strachan, and Sir
Anthony Alexander, who was at the time " Master of the Work " to Charles I,
were " admitet felowe off the Craft." Inasmuch as no other Record of Lord
Alexander's Masonic career has been found, it has been suggested that he may
have been Initiated into the Craft during his stay in his Nova Scotia Colony.
As the reader may
know, the Records of Freemasonry in Scotland show that the Speculative element
was introduced into the Lodges of that country at a somewhat earlier date than
it was into the English Lodges, and it would, of course, be equally possible
for a Lodge to have existed in the Scotch Colony as to have existed in
Scotland itself. Other than what has been stated here, s s a i 28 FREEMASONRY
IN THE DOMINION however, the theory of Lord Alexander's Initiation in Nova
Scotia has nothing to support it. It is dismissed by most trustworthy writers
as being mythical. It is unnecessary here to follow the fortunes of the
settlement at Port Royal through the vicissitudes of the next hundred years.
Nevertheless, it should be recalled that the main events of the century were
the capture of the fortress by Colonel Sedgewick, in 1654; its cession to
France by the Treaty of Breda, in 1667; its capture by Sir William Phips in
16go; the various other sieges of it from time to time, both before and after
its capture by Colonel Nicholson in 171o, at which time it was renamed
Annapolis Royal; and its cession to Britain by France according to the terms
of the Peace of Utrecht in 1713.
Although it is
unlikely that Freemasonry existed among the French or English settlers in the
Colony during this early period, there are some who argue that it did. There
is in the library of the Grand Lodge of Massachu setts a work entitled Ahiman
Rezon: A Concise of Account of the Rise and Progress of Freemasonry in the
Province of Nova Scotia from the First Settlement of It to This Present
Time‑1786, in which the following statement is made: "From Europe the Royal
Art crossed the Atlantic with the first emigrants and settled in various parts
of America. It is said to have been known in Nova Scotia while that region was
in the hands of the French. This statement could not have been based upon
knowledge of the " Masonic Stone " of 16o6, or upon the theory regarding Lord
Alexander's Initiation, however, for the " Masonic Stone " was not discovered
until 1827, and the evidence of Alexander's membership was not made public
until long after 1786, the year in which the statement was published. In fact,
research has so far failed to corroborate the statement that Freemasonry was
known among the French settlers. It is not impossible, however, that
generations may discover and bring to light evidence to support the
supposition of the author of Ahiman Rezon.
In this same work, it
is also stated that " it is certain that as soon as the English took
possession ` of the Colony ' they took care to encourage this charitable
institution (Freemasonry)." Just what " certain " evidence in support of this
statement existed in 1786 is not known, but there is a sort of corroboration
in a statement of M.'. W.‑. Bro. Major‑General J. Wimburn Laurie, Grand Master
of Nova Scotia. In his address to the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia in 1884, Bro.
Laurie referred to the receipt of a photographic copy of the Ledger of St.
John's Lodge, at Philadelphia, dated 1731, which had been sent to him as
evidence that the Lodge at Philadelphia was the first Masonic Lodge to be
organised in America during the Colonial period. But we know that Bro. Laurie
was not completely convinced by the evidence, for in the same address he went
on to say that " from circumstances that have come to my knowledge, I believe
it to be quite within the bounds of possibility that evidence will in due time
be forthcoming that a Masonic Lodge regularly met and transacted Masonic
business at a much earlier date than 1731 in our own Province. I have been for
some time promised the documents by a gentleman who is not a member of the
Craft, and I trust his disinterested efforts to obtain OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 2.9 them will be successful. I may be disappointed either in
obtaining the documents or in their authenticity, so I hesitate to say more."
Bro. Laurie had previously made a similar statement when addressing the Grand
Lodge of Massachusetts in 1883. At that time he stated that " certain
antiquarians " had " recently discovered what they. were inclined to believe
were the vestiges of a Masonic Lodge which had existed in Nova Scotia very
early in the eighteenth century." In any case, any Masonic activity in Nova
Scotia prior to 1731 must have been either at Annapolis Royal, then the
capital, or at Canso, a good‑sized settlement, especially during the fishing
season when as many as 2.000 New Englanders made it the base of operations.
Since the population of Canso was not permanent, however, the social life
there was meager in comparison with that of Annapolis Royal. Furthermore,
since the military detachment at Canso was a detail from Philipps' Regiment,
which was quartered at Annapolis Royal, we strongly incline to the belief that
any Lodge which may have existed in Nova Scotia prior to 1731 was located at
Annapolis Royal and not at Caiiso.
From its capture in
1710, until 17So and afterwards, the closest sort of intercourse, military,
civil, commercial, and social, existed between Annapolis Royal and Boston. The
Council of the Province of Nova Scotia was composed almost entirely of Boston
men, and it is a curious fact that all those men from Boston were closely
identified with King's Chapel, where tradition says a Lodge was held about
172.0 or 172.1. With all these facts in mind, and after making exhaustive
investigation, the writer believes that there was a Masonic Lodge, or at least
Masonic activity, at Annapolis Royal between 1720 and 172.6, and that this
activity ceased some time between 1726 and 1738. In the latter year a Lodge
was established there by Major Erasmus James Philipps, who was one of the
soldiers of Philipp's Regiment.
This regiment, known
later as the 40th Foot of the British Army, was organised at Annapolis Royal
in 1717 with the governor, Colonel Richard Philipps, as its commanding
officer. Major Erasmus James Philipps, a nephew of Governor Richard Philipps,
was made a Mason in Boston, Massachusetts, while he, together with William
Sheriff, Dr. William Skene, and Colonel Otho Hamilton, was in Boston to serve
as one of the Commissioners chosen to establish the boundaries of
Massachusetts Bay and Rhode Island. The Records of " The First Lodge of Boston
" show that the date of Bro. Philipps' Initiation was November 14, 1737. At
that time Bro. William Sheriff also affiliated with the Boston Lodge. Since
Sheriff had been a resident of Annapolis Royal continuously from 1716 until
1737, it is evident that he must have been made a Mason in that place.
In The Boston Gazette
of March 13, 1738, a notice states that Henry Price, of the Boston Lodge, had
appointed Major Philipps to be Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia. On the
occasion of his next visit to Boston, in April 1739, Philipps' name is
accompanied by that title in the Minutes of St. John's Lodge there. On
returning to Annapolis in June 1738, Philipps took with him 30 FREEMASONRY IN
THE DOMINION a Deputation from Henry Price empowering him to form a Lodge at
Annapolis Royal. The Record says that " Mr. Price granted a Deputation at Ye
Petition of sundry Brethren at Annapolis in Nova Scotia to hold a Lodge
there." This statement leads us to believe that the Petition was undoubtedly
signed not only by Philipps and Sheriff, but also by Colonel Otho Hamilton,
who had resided continuously at Annapolis Royal from 1717, and by Dr. William
Skene, a resident there since 1715. These facts establish the existence of
Masonic activity in Annapolis Royal prior to 172‑7, when Philipps joined the
little garrison there. The Lodge established in 1738 was in reality a Military
Lodge attached to Philipps' Regiment. Therefore, when the regiment left the
town in 1758 to participate in the second siege of Louisbourg, the Lodge left
with it. This Lodge is frequently referred to in the Proceedings of the St.
John's Grand Lodge, of Boston, between the years 1738 and 1767. Soon after
leaving Annapolis Royal, the regiment participated in the siege of Quebec in
1759, and in the capture of Montreal in 176o. Although we know little about
the Lodge's activities, we do know that it became dormant before 181o, for in
that year the Brethren, then engaged in the Peninsular War in Spain, applied
for an Irish Warrant. This was granted as No. 2‑04. Later, in 182‑1, while the
regiment was stationed in Ireland, Masonic members of it applied for a second
Warrant. This Warrant, issued as No. 2‑84, was surrendered in 1858. The
regiment, now known as the South Lancashire Regiment, has seen gallant service
in every part of the world; it is notably distinguished for its part in the
Great War.
By the Treaty of
Utrecht, made in 1713, it was provided that, with the exception of Cape
Breton, all Nova Scotia should be ceded to Great Britain. The French at once
took possession of the island and renamed it Isle Royale. Then they removed a
number of families from Placentia, Newfoundland, which had been ceded to Great
Britain, to Havre a 1'Anglais, which they renamed Louisbourg. Immediately
afterwards they set about to fortify Louisbourg. For the next twenty‑five
years or more, the French spent huge sums of money on fortifications, thus
rendering the fortress there one of the most inaccessible strongholds in the
world. In the opinion of military strategists of the day, the natural position
of the fortress, strengthened as it was by all the arts and devices of
military science, made it well‑nigh impregnable and justified its title‑" The
Dunkirk of America." During the period of construction a great deal of
commerce developed among the French and English colonists. To feed the great
army of builders and to transport the vast supplies of building materials
required was no small task, for supplies were imported from French Canada, the
Island of St. John, now Prince Edward Island, the French West Indies, and from
Boston and other New England settlements.
It is significant
that at about this time the Register of the Grand Lodge of England records
that the Earl of Darnley, Grand Master, appointed Captain Robert Comyno (or
Comins) to be Provincial Grand Master for Cape Breton and Louisbourg. The
entry in the Register is repeated under date of 1738, with the additional
words, " excepting such places where a Provincial Grand Master is OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND 31 already appointed." Comins was one of the New England
traders, and since at that time there were no Masonic Lodges among the French
in Cape Breton, the appointment must have been made with a view to benefiting
the hundreds of New Englanders who frequented both Louisbourg and Canso, at
which latter place at least a nucleus for a Masonic meeting existed among the
officers of Philipps' Regiment.
On March 18, 1744,
France declared war against Great Britain, and word was immediately sent to
Louisbourg by a fast sailing vessel. At once the French governor fitted out an
expedition for the purpose of capturing Canso. The ex pedition was successful,
and Canso surrendered to the French forces on May 24, 1744. Among the vessels
engaged in this expedition was one commanded by Lewis Doloboratz (or Delabraz),
who had charge of its ninety‑four men. After the capture of Canso, Doloboratz
then cruised along the coast of New England, searching for evidence of the
enemy's commerce. In course of time he encountered Captain Edward Tyng, in the
Prince of Orange, Massachusetts' first man‑of‑war. After a spirited running
fight which lasted from nine o'clock one morning until two o'clock the
following morning, Tyng overhauled the French vessel, compelled Commander
Doloboratz to lower his colours, and brought ship and crew into Boston as a
prize of war. While there, Doloboratz was allowed a great deal of liberty, and
on October io, 1744, Bro. Henry Price proposed him as a candidate for Masonry
in the " First Lodge of Boston. " On that occasion, Bro. Price " acquainted
the Lodge " that Doloboratz was " a gentleman, who, being a prisoner of war,
was thereby reduced, but as he might be serviceable (when at home) to any
Brother whom Providence might cast in his way, it was desired he might be
excused the expense of his making, provided each Brother would contribute his
cloathing, which the Rt. Worsh'1 Mas'r was pleas'd to put to vote when it was
carried in affirmative by Dispensation from the Rt. W. Master & Warder. Upon
acct. of his leaving the Province very soon, he was ballotted in, introduced,
& made a Mason in due form. Bro. P. Pelham moved that the Sec'r grant Bro.
Delabraz a letter of recommendation. " The French raid on Canso and their
attack against Annapolis aroused the most intense feeling against France in
the New England colonies, where the accounts, brought by traders and other
travellers, had already caused no small amount of alarm. Believing that
Louisbourg would be made the base of operations again the British colonies in
America in the coming war, the New Englanders at once adopted the bold course
of making an effort to reduce the great stronghold. For this purpose a force
of some 4300 men was raised in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and
Connecticut. This force was then placed under the command of Colonel William
Pepperell, who was to undertake the enterprise in co‑operation with a British
squadron under the command of Commodore Warren. Among the officers in the New
England forces was a surprisingly large number of Freemasons, several of whom
were to win distinction in the Craft later on.
32‑ FREEMASONRY IN
THE DOMINION The transports left New England in March and gathered at Canso,
the place of rendezvous. There the troops were drilled, and a junction was
made with the squadron under Warren. Then on April 29 the British forces left
Canso, and the next day they landed some few miles from the city of Louisbourg.
In attempting to prevent the landing, the French sent a small detachment under
the command of Anthony de la Boularderie, son of the grantee of Boularderie
Island, in the Bras d'or Lakes, Cape Breton, and a former lieutenant in the
regiment of Richelieu. Boularderie had taken part in the Canso expedition in
May 1744, and upon hearing of this British attack on Louisbourg, he had
offered his services to Governor Duchambon. The French party, hopelessly
outnumbered by some ten to one, soon lost six members. After exchanging a few
shots, they turned and fled, leaving behind them, besides their dead, some six
or seven prisoners, including Boularderie, and several wounded.
The sequel to this
little sortie by the French is to be found in the Minute Book of St. John's
Lodge, of Boston. The gallant officer and his comrades, being prisoners of
war, were removed in due time to Boston, where they were allowed considerable
liberty, and where they made a good impression on the authorities and the
people in general. It is not surprising, then, that on August 14, 1745,
Anthony de la Boularderie and Peter Philip Charles St. Paul, another French
prisoner of war, were made Masons in St. John's Lodge. This fact is stated in
the Record of the Lodge in the following words: " Wednesday, August: 14th
1745, being Lodge Night, Bro. Price propos'd Mr. P. S. S. Paul and Bro.
Audibert propos'd Mr. Anton: D. Laboulerdree as Candidates & were Ballotted
in, and by reason the Candidates were but sojourners they were made Masons in
due form." Subsequently, Bro. Boularderie was sent to France with a
certificate stating that he had behaved like a gentleman and had been of great
service to the other prisoners of war placed in his charge. This certificate
had been signed and sealed on September 2, 1745, by various distinguished
citizens of Boston, among whom were members of the governor's council, and
Benjamin Pemberton, its secretary.
During the next three
years the British kept nearly 4000 troops in the garrison at Louisbourg.
Although the New Englanders were gradually relieved of military duty, their
places were taken by British regiments of regular sol diers. Fuller's Regiment
(29th), three companies of Franpton's (30th), Regiment with Lodge No. 85
(Irish Registry), and Warburton's (45th) Regiment arrived in 1746. At about
the same time, two other regiments, Shirley's (50th) and Pepperell's (66th),
were raised in the American colonies. But the Peace of Aix‑la‑Chapelle, signed
in October, 1748, ceded Louisbourg and Cape Breton to France. Consequently, in
July, 1749, Shirley's and Pepperell's regiments were disbanded, and Hopson's
(29th) and Warburton's (45th) were transferred to the new British settlement
of Halifax.
During this
disturbing period from 1745 to 1749, Freemasonry was undoubtedly active at
Louisbourg. For example, it was during this time that the appointment of
Captain Robert Comins as Provincial Grand Master for Cape OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 33 Breton and Louisbourg was renewed by Lord Cranstoun, Grand
Master of England. Furthermore, on January 14, 1747, Comins affiliated with
the " First Lodge of Boston," also known as " St. John's Lodge." Among the New
England forces there were also scores of Masons, among them Captain Henry
Sherburne and Captain Joseph Sherburne, of the New Hampshire forces; David
Wooster and Nathan Whiting, of the Connecticut forces; and Richard Gridley,
Estes Hatch, Benjamin Ives, John Osborne, and Joshua Loring, of the
Massachusetts regiments.
During this early
period Placentia, in Newfoundland, was garrisoned by a detachment of the 40th
Regiment from Annapolis Royal. It is significant that on December 24, 1746, "
at the Petition of Sundry Brethren residing at in Newfoundland," the Grand
Master of Massachusetts, Thomas Oxnard, '` granted a Constitution for a Lodge
to be held there." For the next twentyone years the name of the Lodge appears
in the Records of the St. John's Grand Lodge of Boston, as having been " not
represented " at meetings of the Grand Lodge.
In 1749 the British
Government resolved upon the establishment of a British settlement in Nova
Scotia. Several thousand families, under the leadership of Hon. Edward
Cornwallis, were therefore settled on Chebucto Bay, and the present city of
Halifax was laid out. Cornwallis had already been the founder of a Masonic
Lodge among the soldiers of the Zoth Foot Regiment. This Lodge was afterwards
known as Minden Lodge, having been named after the battle of that name in
which the regiment had played a conspicuous part. It was in this Lodge that
Major‑General James Wolfe, the hero of Louisbourg and Quebec, is believed to
have been made a Mason. Early in 1750, Cornwallis and a number of other
Brethren applied to the St. John's Grand Lodge at Boston for a Deputation.
They were, however, referred to Erasmus James Philipps, Provincial Grand
Master, and to him they next presented their Petition. A copy of that
Petition, in the handwriting of Philipps, is now to be found in the Archives
of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
The Lodge, known as
the First Lodge of Halifax, was organised on July 19, 1750, when " Lord
Colville and a number of Navy Gentlemen were Entered Apprentices of the
Lodge.'' Later, Lord Colville received his other Degrees in St. John's Lodge,
of Boston. After that he was for several years closely identified with Boston
Masonry, at one time becoming Deputy Grand Master there. Cornwallis, the first
Master of the First Lodge of Halifax, was succeeded in 1752 by Governor
Charles Lawrence, who presided until his death in 1760. In March, 1751, a
second Lodge was formed at Halifax, but it was probably short lived, for we
find no record of it in the Proceedings of either the Grand Lodge of England
or of the St. John's Grand Lodge of Boston.
In 1757 the Brethren
of Halifax, all members of the " First Lodge " and all owing allegiance to
Modern principles, Petitioned and received from the Ancient Grand Lodge of
England, a Provincial Grand Lodge Warrant. This Warrant, No. 65, was the first
of its kind ever issued by the Ancients. At the 34 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION
same time, Warrants were also received for two subordinate Lodges. These were
numbered 66 and 67. The Grand Lodge, thus Warranted, functioned under the
leadership of Philipps, who served as Provincial Grand Master until his death
in 176o, and then under the leadership of the Hon. Jonathan Belcher, chief
justice, until his death in 1776. On receipt of these Warrants, in 1758, the "
First Lodge," which had been founded by Cornwallis, was divided into three
Lodges. Two of these Lodges Worked under the new Warrants‑No. 66 of the
Ancients of England (No. z on the Provincial Register), and No. 67 of the
Ancients of England (No. 3 on the Provincial Register), and Warrant No. 4 on
the Provincial Register. Two other Warrants‑No. 5 issued (before 1768) and No.
6 (issued in 1769)‑were granted to Lodges in the 59th and 64th Regiments while
they were stationed at Halifax. In 1768, Lodge No. 4 and Lodge No. 5 were
registered on the Ancient English Register as Lodge No. 155 and Lodge No. 156,
respectively. Lodge No. 4, part of the original " First Lodge," has continued
uninterruptedly to the present time and is now known as St. Andrew's Lodge,
No. i, on the Grand Register of Nova Scotia, the oldest Lodge not only in
Canada but also in the British Empire overseas.
In 1758 the British
Government again resolved to reduce Louisbourg in Cape Breton. For that
purpose a large fleet of transports, conveying military forces under
Major‑General Amherst and Major‑General Wolfe, was assembled at Halifax. The
siege lasted from June 2 to July 26, when the French forces surrendered and
the stronghold passed forever into the possession of the British. The troops
engaged in this memorable siege were the 1st, 15th, 17th, ZZd, 28th, 35th
4oth, 45th, 47th, 48th, and 58th Foot Regiments; two battalions of the Royal
American (both) Regiment, and Fraser's (78th) Highlanders. Of those regiments,
all but four are known to have had Lodges attached to them at the time of the
siege. It is also known that within a short time after the siege, Lodges were
also attached to the four exceptions.
In passing it should
be noted that the Lodge attached to the 1st Foot Regiment, Lodge No. 11, was
the first Military Lodge ever established. It remained in existence until
1847. It is also interesting that Lodge No. 74, at tached to the Zd battalion
of this regiment while at Louisbourg, later wintered at Albany, New York, and
while there " granted a Deputation " to form the Lodge which is now listed as
Lodge No. 3 on the New York Registry.
The Lodge in the ZZd
Regiment, while wintering at Louisbourg, Worked under an Irish Warrant. This
Warrant, we are told, " was lost the following year in the Mississippi." Then,
in 176o, the regiment was stationed at Crown Point, New York. Shortly
afterwards the Brethren applied for a Scottish Warrant under the title of
Moriah Lodge, No. 132. In 1782 the ZZd Regiment was stationed at New York City
and there united on December 5 of that year, the Lodge attached to it with
eight other Lodges to form the Grand Lodge of New York.
The Warrant for the
Lodge in the 28th Regiment was granted on November 13, 1758, by Colonel
Richard Gridley, Junior Grand Warden of the St. John's OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 35 Grand Lodge of Boston, and a member of the British
expeditionary forces. In the following year the regiment and its Lodge were at
Quebec.
Immediately after the
surrender of Louisbourg, Lord Rollo, himself a distinguished and enthusiastic
Scottish Freemason, was sent in command of a force to take St. John's Island,
now known as Prince Edward Island. There is good ground for believing that
Lord Rollo's soldiers may have conferred Masonic honours during their sojourn
on the island.
In the course of its
long history as a garrison city, Halifax has been visited by nearly every
regiment of the British Army. Furthermore, from 1749 to 1800, Lodges
flourished in practically all the many regiments which visited the city.
From a Masonic point
of view, the period of the American War for Independence, from 1775 to 1785,
was an especially active era in Halifax. At that time many of the Lodges
Worked under Irish Warrants. For example, the Lodge attached to the 46th Foot
Regiment, No. 227, Working under an Irish Warrant, was established in 1752.
Known as the Lodge of Social and Military Virtues, it was located at Halifax
in 1757 and 1758, during which time it is recorded as having been " very
active, doing good and effective Work, while associated with the Brethren
throughout the Province." From this Lodge the presentday Lodge of Antiquity,
No. 1, of Montreal, claims descent.
Lodge No. 58,
attached to the 14th Foot Regiment, and Lodge 322, attached to the 29th Foot
Regiment, were in Halifax from 1765 to 1768. Proceeding thence to Boston, the
regiments later took part in that unfortunate affair known as the Boston
Massacre. Notwithstanding the intense excitement prevailing in Boston at the
time, the members of those two Lodges seem to have fraternized with the Boston
Brethren and actually to have assisted them in organising a Provincial Grand
Lodge under Scottish authority.
Lodge No. 136,
attached to the 17th Regiment, was at Annapolis Royal from 1756 to 1758,
whence it proceeded to Louisbourg, and later to Quebec, where it took part in
the capture of that city in 1759. The next year it was lo cated at Montreal.
On returning to England, the Lodge, under the title of Unity Lodge, took a new
Warrant, which was registered as No. 169. At that time the Lodge's other two
Warrants were reported as having been lost through " the Hazardous Enterprises
in which they (the Lodge's members) had been engaged." As a matter of fact,
one of those earlier Warrants, together with the Lodge jewels, funds, and
Records, and the baggage of the regiment, had been captured by the Americans
in 1777, while they were being transferred by sea from New York to
Philadelphia. Soon afterwards the Brethren had applied for, and obtained, from
the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, another Warrant, No. 18. The Lodge
actually'continued on the Roll of the Pennsylvania Grand Lodge throughout the
remainder of the war. In 1779, during the fighting at Stony Point, this
Warrant was also captured. Later, however, it was returned by General Parsons,
of the American Army, under a flag of truce. It was also accompanied by a
fraternal letter. The regiment served throughout the war until peace was
declared in 1783. At that time it removed to Shelburne, 3 6 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Nova Scotia, then only a garrison town. There it remained until 1786.
To‑day there are in the archives of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia a number of
letters which were exchanged between the Brethren of that Military Lodge and
the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, all of the most friendly and fraternal
nature.
Many of those early
Military Lodges, especially those possessing Irish Warrants, conferred many of
the higher Degrees, the variety of the Degree being limited only by the
Lodge's knowledge of the ceremonies connected with it. Chief among the Degrees
were those of the Royal Arch and of the Knights Templar. The earliest record
of the former's having been conferred in Halifax dates back to 1760, which
makes it one of the earliest on the American continent. Besides, there is good
ground for believing that the Degree was conferred in Halifax at even an
earlier date, perhaps as early as 1757, and probably even before that. In fact
the 14th, 29th, and 64th Regiments were stationed at Halifax during the period
from 1765 to 1768 before their transfer to Boston, where in 1769, they
organised St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter, and where in the same year they
conferred the Royal Arch and the Knights Templar Degrees. This is usually
regarded as being the first time the former Degree was ever conferred anywhere
in the world. Undoubtedly the regimental Lodges conferred the Excellent,
Super‑Excellent, Royal Arch, and Knights Templar Degrees in Halifax during the
period of their stay there.
We may be sure that
the candidates on whom those Degrees were conferred continued the Work, for
there are in existence today the Minutes and Records of meetings of a Royal
Arch Chapter at Halifax, dating from 1780 to the present. This Chapter is now
known as Royal Union Chapter No. 1. There are also Minutes and Records of the
meeting of a Knights Templar Encampment, dating from September, 1782 to 1806.
This Encampment was revived in 1839, and is still working. Now known as
Antiquity Preceptory, it is probably the oldest Preceptory outside the British
Isles. In fact, if it is antedated at all, it is antedated only by the Baldwyn
Encampment of Bristol, England, the earliest reference to which goes back to
January 25, 1772. Halifax also possesses the earliest Records of the Mark
Degree on this continent; these date back to 1780.
On the death of the
Hon. Jonathan Belcher, Provincial Grand Master, in 1776, the Provincial Grand
Lodge became dormant, leaving St. Andrew's Lodge, then Ancients Lodge, No.
155, and a Modern Lodge, which had succeeded Lodge No. 2 on the Provincial
Registry, the only Lodges in the Province. The latter died out about 1781,
owing largely to aggressiveness of the rival Lodge, which had assumed the
authority of a Grand Lodge.
In 1780 through the
efforts of this remaining Lodge, and with the assistance of Loyalist Brethren
who had recently arrived from New England and New York, St. John's Lodge, now
Lodge No. 2 on the Grand Register of Nova Scotia, was established. Shortly
afterwards St. John's Lodge received a Warrant from the Ancients‑Warrant No.
211. Later, this Lodge, acting jointly with St. Andrew's Lodge, granted a
Dispensation for Union Lodge, an offshoot of St. Andrew's. Beginning in 1781,
these three Lodges held Quarterly Communica‑ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 37
tions for the welfare of the Craft in the Province. The beginnings of Masonry
in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, at that time forming part of Nova
Scotia, were originally derived from this Body and its constituent Lodges.
In 1778, because of
an attack which had been made on the settlement on St. John's Island in 1775
by American privateers, the British authorities sent four provincial, or
independent, companies of infantry from New York to Charlottetown, under the
command of Major Timothy Hierlihy. Among the officers and men of those
companies were a number of Freemasons, and in May 1781 a Petition was
presented to St. Andrew's and St. John's Lodges, in Halifax, praying for a
Dispensation for a Lodge in the corps, to be known as St. George's Lodge. This
Lodge, the first on the island, was most active until October 1783 when the
corps was transfrred to Halifax and merged with the Royal Nova Scotia
Regiment. The Lodge was then disbanded. Its Records are now preserved in the
archives of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia.
On January 21, 1782,
St. Andrew's and St. John's Lodges issued a Dispensation to form Virgin Lodge
" in Major Anthony Farrington's Company in the Fourth Battalion of His
Majesty's Royal Regiment of Artillery." The Lodge Worked under this
Dispensation until October 1784, when it was granted a Warrant by the
newly‑formed Provincial Grand Lodge. It was then registered as No. 2, and its
name was changed to Artillery Lodge. Sixteen years later the original name was
resumed by authority of the Grand Lodge. To‑day this Body is Lodge No. 3 on
the Grand Register of Nova Scotia.
Later in the same
year a Dispensation was also granted by the Lodges forming a Quarterly
Communication for a Lodge to be formed in the 82d Regiment, known as the Duke
of Hamilton's. Later, in 1783, its‑ return from par ticipation in the War for
American Independence, the regiment was disbanded at Halifax and the men were
settled at Pictou Landing. It is interesting to know that prior to the
issuance of the Dispensation for Thistle Lodge, Captain John Moore of the 82d
Regiment was made a Mason in St. John's Lodge, No. 211. Captain Moore had
greatly distinguished himself in the Penobscot expedition of 1781. In later
life he became " the finest trainer of men the British Army has ever known."
He died in i8o9 in the masterly retreat on Corunna during the Peninsular War
in Spain. As a result of the Loyalist emigration from New York in 1783 the
Province of New Brunswick was the next year set off from Nova Scotia. This was
followed by the incorporation of the city of St. John in 1785. The first trace
of Masonic activity in New Brunswick dates from 1783. On January 29 of that
year the Provincial Grand Lodge of New York granted a Warrant to Samuel Ryerse
and others to form a Lodge to be known as St. George's Lodge, No. 2, in the 3d
Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers, also known as DeLancey's Regiment
because it was commanded by Colonel James DeLancey. The Rev. William Walter,
Grand Master of New York, was chaplain of this regiment. When the regiment was
disbanded in that year many of its members settled along the St John River,
either at, or near, Maugerville. Here the Brethren continued their Work under
their New York Warrant until OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 39 and Virginia; such
relations were also established with the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland.
The first project undertaken by this Provincial Grand Lodge was the erection
of a building for its own accommodation and for the accommodation of the local
Lodges which up to then had met in various taverns. Progress was slow at
first, but finally, in 18oo, H.R.H., Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Provincial
Grand Master for Lower Canada, laid the cornerstone of the new building on the
site still occupied by the Craft's Temple. As a memento of this occasion, a
punch‑bowl, emblazoned with the arms of the ' Ancients," was presented by the
Prince to St. Andrew's Lodge. This punchbowl is still preserved as one of the
valuable treasures of the Provincial Grand Lodge. At this celebration the two
Lodges in the Prince's Regiment, the Royal Fusiliers, took part in the
procession. From then on. St. John's Day, in June, was invariably celebrated
with a Grand Lodge procession to historic St. Paul's Church, while St. John's
Day, in December, was marked by the Installation of Lodge Officers and a Grand
Lodge banquet. Participation of the Craft in the public celebrations of the
time are frequently noted in the Minutes of the Provincial Grand Lodge. Among
the events celebrated were the victories of Lord Nelson at Copenhagen, at the
Nile, and at Trafalgar; the laying of the corner‑stone of the Province House
in 1811, and of Dalhousie College in 1820; and the completion of the
Shubenacadie Canal in 1826.
During the
forty‑five‑year period of this Provincial Grand Lodge's existence, only six
men held the Office of Provincial Grand Master. John George Pyke, who served
in 1784 and 1785 and again from 1811 to 1820, was one of the original settlers
of Halifax. He represented the city many years in the Legislature and also
served as its police magistrate. He was made a Mason in the " First Lodge."
His apron, which he wore as Provincial Grand Master, now hangs in the Grand
Lodge Museum. The Hon. John Parr, who served from 1786 to 1891, had been
governor of Nova Scotia from 1782 to 1786. Later, from 1786 to 1791, he was
lieutenant‑governor of Nova Scotia. The Hon. Richard Bulkeley, who served from
1792 to 18oo, was aide‑de‑camp to Governor Cornwallis in 1749, secretary of
the Province from 1759 to 1793; and judge in admiralty and master of the
rolls. He died in 18oo at the age of eighty‑three years. Dr. Duncan Clark who
succeeded him, and served during 18oi, was a prominent physician of his day,
and a member of a literary group which included the Duke of Kent and other
social leaders of Halifax. Sir John Wentworth, Bart , Provincial Grand Master
from 1802 to 1810, was born at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1737. Several
years after graduating from Harvard, he became governor of New Hampshire, an
office which he held from 1767 to 1776. He succeeded the Hon. John Parr as
lieutenant‑governor of Nova Scotia, and served from 1792 to 1808. John Albro,
Provincial Grand Master from 1820 to 1839, was a prominent Halifax merchant.
He held the highest Office in the Provincial Grand Lodge for nineteen years.
He also represented Halifax in the Legislature from 1818 to 1822.
Many of the Lodges
forming the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia have exerted 40 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION an important influence on the Craft. Reference has already been made
to several of them. St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 155, successor to the First Lodge
of Halifax which was established in 175o, and is now known as Lodge No. 1,
Grand Register of Nova Scotia, is the Mother Lodge of Masonry in the Maritime
Provinces. During the middle years of the eighteenth century it took a leading
part in the Grand Lodge's activities, contributed generously to the project of
erecting the Masonic Hall, and had the support of the leading merchants of the
town. St. John's Lodge, No. 211, now Lodge No. z, Grand Register of Nova
Scotia, had on its Rolls a brilliant list of distinguished names, chiefly
military, naval, and professional. This Lodge vied with St. Andrew's Lodge in
taking a prominent part in the Grand Lodge affairs. Union Lodge, No. i,
Provincial Register of Nova Scotia, was recruited from the naval officers of
the warships which frequently visited Halifax. It never exerted any marked
influence on Masonic affairs, and finally encountered such difficulties that
it became dormant about 1835. Virgin Lodge, later Artillery Lodge, No. 2, and
now Virgin Lodge, No. 3, on the Grand Register of Nova Scotia, was originally
established in the Royal Artillery in 1782, but almost immediately thereafter
it became a civilian Lodge. Throughout this Lodge's long history, its
membership Roll is equally as distinguished as is that of St. John's Lodge,
No. 2.
Other Halifax Lodges
of this period were Cornwallis Lodge, No. 15, which was established in 1786
and ceased Working in 18o2‑ Royal Navy Lodge, No. 18, which existed between
1787 and 1804, and provided a Masonic Home for numerous men; Royal Nova Scotia
Regiment Lodge, No. 24, which existed between 1793 and 18o2 and was composed
of officers of the regiment belonging to the leading families of the town. Sir
John Wentworth, the commanding officer of the regiment, acted as Worshipful
Master. The disbanding of the regiment, however, terminated the Lodge's
career; Trinity Lodge, No. 30, which was established in 1803 and closed its
Lights in 181o; and Royal Standard Lodge, No. 39, which was organised in 1815
in the 9th Battalion of the Royal Artillery, and has continued to the present
day. It is composed principally of military and naval men. This Lodge has held
an English Warrant since 1829. Its members, like those of St. Andrew's Lodge,
No. i, enjoy the distinction of being entitled to wear the Centennial Jewel of
the Grand Lodge of England. Royal Standard Lodge, No. 39, and St. Andrew's
Lodge, No. 1, are, indeed, the only two Lodges in the New World to hold that
honour.
Freemasonry in Sydney
was organised in 1786 under the Warrant for Sydney Lodge, No. 16. This Lodge
lasted until 1798, when owing to dissension within the Lodge, the Grand Lodge
withdrew the Warrant. Two years later, however, the Grand Lodge issued a new
Warrant for Harmony Lodge, No. 28. This new Lodge was composed of part of the
membership of the older Lodge. Then, in 18oo, the rival portion of the old
Lodge also obtained an English Warrant and formed a Lodge known as Cape Breton
Lodge, No. 326. In 1818 Harmony Lodge, No. 28, joined its rival, and the
merged Lodge continued active until 1830. Then followed a period of dormancy
which lasted OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 41 thirteen years, at the end of which
time the Lodge was revived and an English Warrant applied for. This Warrant
was granted under the name of the St. Andrew's Lodge of Cape Breton, and was
registered as No. 732.. The Lodge is now Lodge No. 7 on the Grand Register of
Nova Scotia.
Another present‑day
Lodge which dates from this period is St. George's Lodge, No. 2.o, of
Wolfville, organised at Cornwallis, in 1784, as Lodge No. i 1. Still another
Lodge of this period was New Caledonia Lodge, No. 35, estab lished at Pictou
in 18io. This Lodge can be traced until 1838, when it seems to have become
dormant. Then, in 1849, it was revived, and at that time it received an
English Warrant registered as No. 82.6. It is now Lodge No. 11 on the Grand
Register of Nova Scotia. Unity Lodge, No. 44, established at Lunenburg in
182.1, has also continued to the present day. Now known as Lodge No. 4 on the
Grand Register of Nova Scotia, it is one of the most influential Lodges in the
Province.
During the period
from 1781 to 1790, the city of Shelburne, formed by Loyalists from New York,
was the centre of a good deal of Masonic activity. During that time several
New York Lodges were virtually transplanted to the new settlement, and there
they continued their Work under Nova Scotia Warrants. Among these was Parr
Lodge, No. 3, which was Instituted by the Rev. William Walter, Provincial
Grand Master of New York in 1784. It was composed largely of members of Lodge
No. 169, of New York. In spite of the later decline of Shelburne, the Lodge
continued to Work until 18og. Likewise, Lodge No. 4, also of Shelburne, was
composed of members of Lodge No. 169, of New York. Because of local
dissension, this Lodge was never Instituted, however. Almost equally short
lived was Solomon Lodge, No. 5, which was organised in New York in 1783 under
the " sanction " of Lodge No. 2.12. This Lodge later Worked at Shelburne from
1784 to 1786. The history of Hiram Lodge, No. 1o, likewise located at
Shelburne, is very different, for it had a long and noteworthy record and
outlived all difficulties until 182‑9. Since Shelburne was at that time also a
garrison town, Military Lodges were at Work there from time to time. Chief
among the Military Lodges active there were those attached to the 6th and 17th
Regiments. None of the Military Lodges has survived to the present day.
In 1794 the Grand
Lodge considered the Petition of Brethren residing in the town of Boston, in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, " praying for a Warrant " to form a new
Lodge to be named the Melchesideck Lodge," to meet at the Green Dragon Tavern.
The Grand Lodge, however, felt unable to comply with that request " for good
and substantial reasons." Three years later an application was also received
from Brethren in St. George's, Bermuda. Again the Grand Lodge felt obliged to
decline, but in this case it agreed to recommend the Petition to the Grand
Lodge of England (Ancients). As a result, the Lodge was Warranted as St.
George's Lodge, No. 307. In 181o this Lodge, the oldest in the Bermuda
Islands, was removed to Hamilton, Bermuda. There it still flourishes under the
name of Atlantic‑Phocnix Lodge, No. 22‑4, E. C.
42 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Other Lodges on the Provincial Grand Register of Nova Scotia, all of
which have lapsed, were: Digby Lodge, No. 6, at Digby, established in 1784 and
continuing till 1829; Temple Lodge, No. 7, at Guysboro, also established in
1784, by William Campbell, afterwards Sir William Campbell, chief justice of
Upper Canada, and lasting till 1832; Hiram's Lodge, No. 8, of Sheet Harbor,
which continued from 1784 to 1797; Chester Lodge, No. 9, of Chester, from 1784
to 1809; Concord Lodge, No. 12, of Fort Cumberland, 1785 and 1786; Windsor
Lodge, No. 13, of Windsor, from 1785 to 1795; Walmsley Lodge, No. 14, of
Pictou, from 1785 to 1794; Union Lodge, No. 2o, of Sissiboo, now Weymouth,
from 1790 to 1793; Annapolis Royal Lodge, No. 25, of Annapolis Royal, from
1795 to 1827; Hibernia Lodge, No. 27, of Liverpool, from 1798 to 1817; and
Wentworth Lodge, No. 32; of Yarmouth, from 1805 to 1818. Into this group of
Lodges also falls Royal Welsh Fusiliers Lodge, No. 33, which was attached to
the 23d Foot Regiment while it was quartered in Nova Scotia in 1808. The Lodge
was also active while the corps was stationed at St. John, New Brunswick. In
1810 the regiment returned to Halifax, whence it later embarked for Portugal.
Still other Lodges of this group were Newport Lodge, No. 36, later Sussex
Lodge, No. 834 and finally Lodge No. 563, of Newport, Nova Scotia, from 1812
to 1834; Musquodoboit Lodge, No. 40, of Musquodoboit, from 1815 to 1826;
Regent Lodge, No. 41, at Dorchester, now Antigonish, from 1816 to 1834; Fort
Edward Lodge, No. 45, of Windosr, from 1821 to 1831; and Moira Lodge, No. 47,
of Rawdon, from 1823 to 1831, an offshoot of Newport Lodge, No. 36.
Still other Lodges
which were established early in the nineteenth century, only to lapse later,
were Colchester Union Lodge, No. 48, of Truro, which was Instituted in 1823
and continued until 1831, when it was suspended by the Grand Lodge for
non‑payment of Grand Lodge dues and failure to make Returns; Concord Lodge,
No. 49, of Barrington, from 1823 to 1829; Cumberland Harmony Lodge, No. 51, of
Amherst, which was established in 1822 and continued until 1831. Then, through
inability to pay the fees for the English Warrant issued at that time, it was
suspended. This Lodge seems, however, to have been revived for a short period
about the year 1839; and Royal Albion Lodge, No. 53, a Military Lodge
established in 1826 in the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. The battalion
was stationed at St. John and at Halifax until 1836, when it was transferred
to England. Oxfordshire Light Infantry Lodge, No. 54, also a Military Lodge,
was Instituted in 1826 in the 52d Regiment, now the 2d Battalion of the 43d
Monmouthshire Regiment. This Lodge was especially active until the departure
of the regiment from Halifax in 1831. The Lodge seems to have continued its
Work until 1862. St. Mary's Lodge, No. 55, of Digby, from 1827 to 1862, was
the successor to Digby Lodge, No. 6, mentioned above. Rising Sun Lodge, No.
56, at Great Village and Londonderry, was organised in 1827 but was suspended
in 1831 " for neglect to make returns." All these Lodges did good Work in
their day. They prepared the way for the revival of Masonry in the Province
following the depression of the OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 43 period from 1825
to 1840. The few which managed somehow to continue existence after 1829 met
only infrequently, their numbers dwindled almost to the vanishing point, and
only the heroic efforts of men whose names are now mostly forgotten kept the
Light burring. The story of the revival is an intensely interesting one.
As has already been
stated, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia originally exercised
jurisdiction over Prince Edward Island. After the removal of the Independent
Companies from Charlottetown to Halifax in 1782, how ever, we find no trace of
Masonic activity until 1790. In that year a Petition was presented to the
Provincial Grand Lodge by the Hon. Peter Stewart, chief justice, the Hon.
Thomas Desbrisay, late lieutenant‑governor, and others " for a Warrant to form
a Lodge." Although their efforts were encouraged, it was not until 1797 that
any real progress was made. In that year St. John's Lodge, No. 26, was
Chartered with Dr. Ebenezer Nicholson acting as first Worshipful Master. The
first Initiate was Lieutenant‑Governor Edmund Fanning, a Loyalist judge of the
Supreme Court of New York, and colonel of the " King's American Regiment." The
Lodge still has a Bible presented to it by him in 1797. This Lodge is the
Mother Lodge of " the Island Province," having received English Warrant No.
833 in 1829. It is now Lodge No. 1 on the Registry of the Grand Lodge of
Prince Edward Island. Sussex Lodge, No. 821, an offshoot of St. John's Lodge,
was Warranted by the Grand Lodge of England in 1828 but ceased to Work in
1837. Some reference has already been made respecting Masonic activity in New
Brunswick during the years 1783 and 1784. The story is here resumed. Hiram
Lodge, No. 17, of St. John, to which reference has been made before, was
composed in part of former members of the famous Lodge No. 169, of New York.
The Rev. John Beardsley and Elias Hardy were its most active leaders. After
they withdrew the Lodge fell into other hands, and trouble developed over
certain civil charges brought against the employer of the Master of the Lodge.
The Lodge evidently thought that the Master should have shielded his
wrong‑doing employer, who had been dismissed from the civil service as the
result of the charges against him. Accordingly, the Lodge deposed the Master "
for violating his Masonic obligation " ! After due investigation, however, the
Grand Lodge ordered his reinstatement, and demanded an apology, but the Lodge
refused to rescind its action. As a result, the Grand Lodge, in 1796, recalled
the Lodge's Warrant and expelled its twenty‑two members for " apostacy. " This
Lodge had a Royal Arch Chapter attached to it and Working under its Warrant.
Although not on the
Provincial Register, reference should here be made to a Lodge established at
Fredericton, New Brunswick, in 1789. Among the officials of the new government
set up at Fredericton, the capital of the new , Province, were Masons whose
associations and inclinations led them to favour the Moderns. Through the
agency of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec, those Brethren obtained a
Warrant dated April 2, 1789, for New Brunswick Lodge, No. 541. All its members
were Loyalists, the first Master being the 44 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION Hon.
Daniel Bliss, chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1792 the Lodge
was renumbered as Lodge No. 45o. This Lodge, which did not long continue its
Labours, was the only one ever Warranted in New Brunswick by the Premier, or
Modern, Grand Lodge of England. St. George's Lodge, No. 19, on the Provincial
Register of Nova Scotia, located at Maugerville, has already been referred to.
It was composed of prominent Loyalists residing along the St. John River. The
Lodge was active until about 181o and possibly later. It conferred the Mark
and Royal Arch Degrees as well as the Craft Degrees. Sion Lodge, No. 21,
Warranted at Kingston, New Brunswick, in 1792, was removed in 1799 to Sussex
Vale. Its history can be traced to the year 1829. It seems to have met
occasionally between that date and 185o, at which time it resumed activity. In
1863 the Lodge obtained a new Warrant from the Grand Lodge of England, by
which it was known as Zion Lodge. In 1868 this Warrant was exchanged for a new
one issued by the newly‑organised Grand Lodge of New Brunswick. At that time,
by a curious coincidence, the Lodge was registered as No. 21. To‑day the Lodge
is active and flourishing. Solomon's Lodge, No. 22, of Fredericton, was an
offshoot of St. George's Lodge, No. 19, and was active from 1792 until 1829.
Mount Moriah Royal Arch Chapter was attached to this Lodge. Hiram York Lodge,
No. 23, also of Fredericton, established in 1793, was virtually a Military
Lodge, being composed largely of officers in the King's New Brunswick
Regiment. On the removal of the regiment to St. John in i8oo, the Lodge ceased
Working. St. John's Lodge, No. 29, of St. John, New Brunswick, was formed in
18oi and has continued to the present day. It has exerted a dominant influence
on the development of the Craft in New Brunswick. Its full history was written
by Bro. W. F. Bunting in 1895. It is now Lodge No. 2, on the Grand Register of
New Brunswick. Midian Lodge, No. 31, was formed at Kingston in 18o5 to replace
Sion Lodge, which had removed in 1799 to Sussex Vale. The Lodge was active
until 1841. Then followed five years of inactivity, after which the Brethren
obtained an English Warrant, No. 770. From then on the Lodge continued to meet
at Kingston until 1859, when it removed to Clifton. In 1867 it exchanged its
English Warrant for a New Brunswick Charter and became known as the Midian
Lodge, No. 9. It has been dormant since about 189o. Orphan's Friend Lodge, No.
34, at St. Stephen, the next Lodge Warranted in New Brunswick, had an
interesting origin. At the close of the American War for Independence, a
company of New Englanders known as the Cape Ann Association settled on the
banks of the St. Croix River on a tract of land reserved for them. In 18og the
Masonic Brethren among them Petitioned the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for a
Warrant, and were referred to the Grand Lodge at Halifax. Their Warrant, No.
34, was granted, and Oliver Shead, Deputy District Grand Master for the
Eastern section of the District of Maine, was deputed to hold a Session of the
Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia and to Institute the new Lodge. Orphan's Friend
Lodge, No. 34, had a most active history, and its members lived harmoniously
throughout the troublous times of 1812‑1815. The Lodge ceased Work, however,
in 1825.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 45 Eastern Star Lodge, No. 37, of St. Andrew's, New Brunswick,
was Warranted in 1812. Recent discoveries in the archives of the Grand Lodge
of Nova Scotia indicate that the notorious William Morgan, whose so‑called
disappear ance in 1826 nearly wrecked Freemasonry in the United States and
Canada, was made a Mason in this Lodge in 1815. The Lodge itself became
extinct in 1833, probably owing to the anti‑Masonic agitation which followed
the alleged murder of its disreputable Initiate. Union Lodge, No. 38, the
third Lodge to be Constituted in St. John, began its existence in 1814 and
Worked in close harmony with St. John's Lodge. It continued its activities
until 1831, when it became extinct, undoubtedly as a result of the " Morgan
excitement " and the demands of the Grand Lodge of England. Fortitude Lodge,
No. 42, at Miramichi, established in 1818, had only a brief existence because
of financial troubles. It ceased Work in 1824. St. Lawrence Lodge, No. 43, of
Richibucto, which lasted from i82o to 1828, had a similar experience. Morning
Star Lodge, No. 46, of Woodstock, in existence from 182o to 1830, included
among its members many residents of Houlton, Maine, and met occasionally in
that town. Monument Lodge, at Houlton, is said to have been an offshoot of
Morning Star Lodge. The withdrawal of many members of the latter is said to
have been one of the causes of its dormancy. Golden Rule Lodge, No. 50, of
Hopewell, was established in 1823 and continued until 1831. When the Grand
Lodge of England required all Provincial Lodges to exchange their Warrants for
English Warrants, Golden Rule Lodge declined to do so, evidently hoping for
the establishment of an independent Grand Lodge in New Brunswick. It continued
to Work under its Nova Scotia Warrant until 1833, when it was forced to close
through the stress of the prevailing anti‑Masonic excitement. Albion Lodge,
No. 52, the fifteenth and last Lodge to be established in New Brunswick by the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, was Warranted in 1825. In 1829 it
obtained an English Warrant under which it continued to Work until 1868. At
that time it became Lodge No. 1, on the Grand Register of Nova Scotia.
All these Lodges have
an interesting history of their own, and the Masonic Labours of most of them
left an impress upon the history of the Craft in the Province. The prevailing
anti‑Masonic agitation of the decade from 1830 to 1840 accounted for the
decline of the majority of them. All were at the disadvantage of being at a
great distance from the guiding hand of the Grand Lodge, a circumstance which
contributed in no small way to the difficulty of existence. Few continued into
the new era of 1829‑1868.
In 1797 the Grand
Lodge of Nova Scotia decided that because of the inconvenience of
administering Masonic affairs in New Brunswick, a Deputy Grand Master should
be appointed for that Province. The resolution was not acted upon, however,
for twenty years. During that interval the Grand Lodge constantly had the
advice in all matters of William Campbell, Provincial District Grand Master of
St. John, a former resident of Halifax. In 1817 the Hon. Thomas Wetmore, who
was attorney‑general of New Brunswick from 1809 to 1828, was appointed
District Grand Master. In 1826 Benjamin Lester Peters was 46 FREEMASONRY IN
THE DOMINION appointed Deputy District Grand Master for St. John and St.
Andrew's. In 182.8 representatives of the Lodges in New Brunswick met to
consider the propriety of forming a Provincial Grand Lodge. After difficulty
in finding a Provincial Grand Master, and because of the demands of the Grand
Lodge of England noted below, the effort to establish independence failed the
following year.
The formation of the
United Grand Lodge of England in 1814, by the union of the two rival Grand
Lodges of England, was the beginning of long years of correspondence which, in
182.9, terminated the existence of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia
and left it virtually an independent Body. The demand of the Grand Lodge of
England that registration fees be paid to it by all members of Lodges in Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, that all Lodges exchange
their Nova Scotia Warrants for English Warrants, paying for the exchange a fee
of five guineas, and that the Provincial Grand Master be appointed by the
Grand Master of England, coupled with the effects of the prevailing
anti‑Masonic agitation and the depression following the close of the
Napoleonic wars, forced numerous Lodges to surrender their Warrants and close
their Great Lights. In fact, only a small number of Lodges were left in the
three Provinces to continue under the new regime.
Under a Patent dated
April 2, 1829, from H. R. H. Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex and Grand
Master of England, John Albro convened and formally organised the third
Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. This Grand Lodge, organised on November
4, 1829, was destined to continue for the next forty years. The names of the
Lodges which continued to Work under the new regime are listed on the
following page. In the majority of cases, there was little or no activity
apparent. Lodges whose names are followed by the word Erased became dormant
early in the period, probably about 1832.
During the period
from 1830 to 1837, Masonic affairs in the Province were at low ebb. With the
exception of electing and appointing Officers and receiving Lodge Returns,
little business was transacted by the Grand Lodge. Usually four Lodges in
Halifax participated in the Grand Lodge meetings. Sometimes, however, an
occasional transient Military Lodge joined the four permanent Lodges. Then, in
1837, a brighter outlook prevailed. A revival of fraternal relations with the
Grand Lodges of the United States took place. These relations had been
interrupted during the anti‑Masonic excitement. " A Humble and Loyal Address "
was presented to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, on the occasion of her accession
and coronation. About that time, too, the Deputy Grand Master, the Hon.
Alexander Keith, undertook to visit the Lodges in the Province. That visit had
much to do with reviving the Craft there. Furthermore, it was largely through
Bro. Keith's efforts that Albion Lodge, No. 692., was established at New
Glasgow in 1838.
In 1839 Grand Master
Albro died, and the Duke of Sussex, Grand Master, appointed the Hon. Alexander
Keith to be his successor. To Bro. Keith more than any other Craftsman was due
the revival of the Fraternity in the Maritime Provinces. For twenty‑nine years
he held the position of Provincial Grand OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 47 Master.
From the day of his appointment he was untiring in his efforts to further the
interests of the Craft in his jurisdiction. Some idea of Grand Master Keith's
activity and energy may be gathered from the Record of new Lodges established
in Nova Scotia during his regime. They were as follows: Royal Sussex Lodge,
No. 704, of Halifax, established in 1841; St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 732, of
Sydney, Cape Breton Island, was revived in 1844; Zetland Lodge, No. 821, of
Liverpool, established in 1847; Hiram Lodge, No. 868, of Yarmouth, LODGE PLACE
OLD NUMBER 1829 1832 1 1863 St. Andrew's Lodge....... . St. John's
Lodge.......... Union Lodge.............. Virgin Lodge............. Temple
Lodge............. Hiram Lodge............. St. George's Lodge........ St.
John's Lodge.......... Sussex Lodge.............. Royal Standard Lodge.....
Unity Lodge.............. Fort Edward Lodge........ Moira Lodge..............
Colchester Union Lodge. .. Cumberland Harmony..... Albion Lodge..............
Royal Albion Lodge....... St. Mary's Lodge.......... Rising Sun
Lodge..........
Halifax................... Halifax.................. Halifax..................
Halifax.................. Guysboro................ Shelburne................
Cornwallis ............... Charlottetown, P. E. I.... Newport ................
Halifax.................. Lunenburg....... :....... Windsor..:..............
Rawdon................. Truro................... Amherst................. St.
John, N. B............ Halifax.................. Digby....................
Londonderry.............
ISS 2II I 2 7 Io 11
26 36 39 44 45 47 48 51 5253 SS 56 188 265 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 835 836
837 838 839 840 841 842 843 844 137 118 187 161 557 Erased 558 396 559 ~
Erased 56o Erased 561 849 562 1397 563 Erased 564 1 398 565 399 566 Erased 567
Erased 568 Erased 569 Erased 570 400 571 Erased 572 Erased 573 Erased
established in 1848; New Caledonian Lodge, No. 826, of Pictou, revived in
1849; Keith Lodge, No. 911, of Hillsburgh, now Bear River, established in
1851; Acadia Lodge, No. 888, of Pugwash, established in 1853; Union Lodge, No.
994, of Halifax, established in 1855 and composed of Negro Masons; St.
George's Lodge, No. 561, of Cornwallis, which had been dormant since 1832, but
was revived at Lower Horton in 1858 as Lodge No. 1151; Keith Lodge, No. 1172,
of Albion Mines, now Stellarton, established in 186o; Westport Lodge, No.
1225, of Westport, established in 1861; Welsford Lodge, No. 1226, of Windsor,
established in 1861; Widow's Friend Lodge, No. 1255, of Weymouth, established
in 1861; Scotia Lodge, No. 1263, of Canning, also established in 1861; Prince
of Wales Lodge, No. 1266, of Milton, established in 1861; Annapolis Royal
Lodge, No. 1047, of Annapolis Royal, established in 1862; Thistle Lodge, No. i
io9, of Block House, Cow Bay, now Port Morian, established in 1865 ; Cobequid
Lodge, No. 119o, of Truro, established in 1867; Tyrian Youth Lodge, No. 1234,
of Glace Bay, also established in 1867; and Rothsay Lodge, No. 1245, of
Bridgetown, 48 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION established in 1868. In short, a
total of twenty Lodges, all but four of which survive to the present day, and
one other of which, Mariner's Lodge, of Granville, has amalgamated with
Annapolis Royal Lodge, were established during Grand Master Keith's term of
Office. In 1846, Hon. Alexander Keith was advised that his jurisdiction had
been enlarged to include New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and
Newfoundland. Reference is made elsewhere to the great influence which the
indefatigable Grand Master exerted in this additional territory.
The Grand Lodge of
Scotland invaded Nova Scotia in 1827, when Thistle Lodge, an offshoot of
Virgin Lodge, No. 2, was Warranted as Lodge No. 322. The Grand Lodge of Nova
Scotia refused to have any intercourse with this Lodge and treated it as
though it were clandestine. The Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia resented the
invasion of its jurisdiction. In 1839 the members of Thistle Lodge, No. 322,
organised St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter under the Supreme Grand Chapter of
Scotland, and revived the dormant Knights Templar Encampment with a Scottish
Warrant. The Encampment then became known as St. John's Priory.
In 1844 the Grand
Master of Scotland appointed the Hon. J. Leander Starr, then junior Grand
Warden of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, to be Provincial Grand
Master of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Bro. Starr
thereupon resigned his Office in the Provincial Grand Lodge, which protested
his appointment, though nothing came of the objection. During his Provincial
Grand Mastership, Acadia Lodge, No. 345, Register of Scotland, was organised
at Dartmouth. Shortly afterward, in response to the invitation of the Hon.
Alexander Keith, Provincial Grand Master, the Masters and Brethren of Thistle
Lodge, No. 322, and Acadia Lodge, No. 345, were present at a meeting of the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Thenceforth, harmony and cooperation
existed. Soon after that Bro. Starr resigned, and the Grand Master of Scotland
took the unusual course of appointing the Hon. Alexander Keith, then
Provincial Grand Master under the English authority, to act also as Provincial
Grand Master under the Scottish authority.
In 1848 Burns.Lodge,
now Lodge, No. io, on the Grand Register of Nova Scotia, was Warranted, and on
May 17, 1849, a Provincial Grand Lodge was convened and formally organised
with the Hon. Alexander Keith acting as its head. This was the first and only
Provincial Grand Lodge of Scotland ever formed in Canada. Another noteworthy
fact is that, from 1846 to 1866, Provincial Grand Master Keith also served as
Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia under English authority.
In 1851 " C," the
Deputy Master of Thistle Lodge, No. 322, then Senior Grand Warden of the
Provincial Grand Lodge, joined with " F," the Deputy Grand Master, in
circulating a letter criticising the Provincial Grand Master for granting a
Warrant under English authority for Union Mark Lodge. At the next Provincial
Grand Lodge meeting the Provincial Grand Master withdrew the commissions of "
C " and " F," as Senior Grand Warden and Deputy Grand OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 49 Master, respectively, and appointed others in their places.
Bro. " C " and Bro. " F " then tried to interfere with the proceedings, and
for some time they refused to relinquish their Regalia. Before the next
meeting, Bro. " C '' even purloined the Warrant and Jewels of Thistle Lodge,
No. 32‑2‑. The Provincial Grand Master then declared the Warrant of the Lodge
to be suspended, and issued his Dispensation to the Brethren to continue their
meetings and to adopt the name Keith Lodge. In due course the Brethren
received a Charter from Scotland Registered there as No. 365. Keith Lodge
continued as an influential Lodge, and in 1866 took a leading part in forming
the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. To‑day it is Lodge No. 17, on the Grand
Register of Nova Scotia. Dating from 182‑7, it is " the oldest Lodge of
Scottish origin in the British Empire overseas." In 1851, Athole Lodge, No.
361, Register of Scotland, was established as an offshoot of Acadia Lodge, No.
345, which shortly afterwards returned its Warrant. Other Lodges Warranted
under Scottish authority during this period were as follows: Royal Albert
Lodge, No. 379, at North Sydney, established in 1857; Virgin Lodge, later
Davies Lodge, No. 425, at Wilmot, established in 1859; Scotia Lodge, No. 411,
at Halifax, established in 186o; Concord Lodge, at Clarke's Harbor,
established in 1861; Albert Lodge, at Shelburne, established in 1862; Scotia
Lodge, No. 43o, at Yarmouth, established in 1863; Eldorado Lodge, No. 434, at
Wine Harbor, established in 1865; Queens Lodge, at Shelbrooke, established in
1864; St. Marks' Lodge, at Baddeck, established in 1865; and Acadia Lodge, of
Bridgewater, established in 1865‑a total of ten Lodges, of which two have
since amalgamated with other Lodges, and one of which has surrendered its
Charter.
During this period
the greatest harmony and co‑operation existed between the Lodges under the two
jurisdictions. In 185o, on the occasion of the centenary of the founding of
the " First Lodge " in Halifax, a joint Grand Lodge was convened by the
Provincial Grand Master, and the corner‑stone of an addition to the Masonic
Hall was laid. This ceremony was followed by a Grand Lodge banquet. Similar
ceremonies marked the laying of the corner‑stones of the City Market in 18 and
the Hospital for the Insane in 1855. Joint Masonic ceremonies of the Lodges
were a feature of the opening of the Industrial Exhibition in 1854, the
unveiling of the monument to Captain Parker and Major Welsford, two Brethren
killed in the Crimean War, and the visit of the Prince of Wales, who later
became King Edward VII, in 186o. In 1865 the two Provincial Grand Lodges
joined in congratulating their chief upon having presided over English Masonry
in the Province for a quarter of a century.
Despite much
progress, a large exercise of Masonic charity, and a great deal of pleasant
fraternal intercourse, the growth and energies of the Craft in Nova Scotia
were greatly hampered by inexplicable official neglect on the part of the
Grand Lodges of England and Scotland, to whom all Masons in the Province then
paid homage. This neglect existed for many years. Letters and communications
of all sorts were either unanswered or dealt with so tardily that the 50
FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION replies were useless. Remittances were
unacknowledged, and Warrants and Diplomas urgently required were not issued.
In short, all business matters were neglected, and the existence of the Craft
in Nova Scotia was practically ignored. Then, in December 1861, Bro. Robert D.
Clarke made a motion in the Provincial Grand Lodge, requesting the appointment
of a Committee to inquire into the present state of Masonry in the Province.
At the same time the Provincial Grand Lodge under Scottish authority was "
invited to unite in such inquiry." The report of the joint Committee, adopted
by both Provincial Grand Lodges, favored an independent Grand Lodge. This
report was forwarded to the Grand Lodges at London and Edinburgh, where it
received no encouragement.
During the next few
years the Canadian Brethren remonstrated, vigorously enough at times, against
this state of affairs. Then finally, in 1865, they sent a Delegation to lay
their grievances before the Grand Lodge of Scotland. But even this action
brought no satisfactory result. It is little wonder, then, that as a last
resort to rehabilitate the dignity and substantial status of Masons subject to
that Grand Lodge, the Brethren in the Province finally asserted their
independence by forming the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. After preliminary
meetings and regular procedure, this action was taken on Tuesday, February lo,
1866, at the Freemasons Hall in Halifax. Grand Lodge Officers were elected,
and on March zo, they were Installed. The new Body consisted of ten
subordinate Lodges, which had until then been under Scottish authority. These
Lodges were as follows: Burns Lodge, Athole Lodge, Keith Lodge, and Scotia
Lodge, all of Halifax; Virgin Lodge, of Wilmot; Albert Lodge, of Shelburne;
Eldorado Lodge, of Wine Harbor; Concord Lodge, of Barrington; St. Mark's
Lodge, of Baddeck; and Queens Lodge, of Sherbrooke, to which was soon added
the newly‑organised Lodge of St. Mark, of Halifax. Dr. William H. Davies was
the first Grand Master, and Charles J. MacDonald was Grand Secretary. In June
1866, those Officers, together with others, were re‑elected for the ensuing
Masonic year. The Grand Officers so elected were Installed by Most Worshipful
Col. W. Mercer Wilson, Past Grand Master of Canada.
During the next
twelve months excellent progress was made by the new Grand Lodge. At the
Communication held in June 1867, the Secretary reported that a number of
Lodges under the new jurisdiction was then seventeen, an in crease of six.
Official recognition had come from most of the Grand Lodges in America, as
well as from several other Grand Lodges in other parts of the world. It was
also reported that members of the local Lodges under English jurisdiction were
beginning to show interest in the new organisation. The six new Lodges were
Ophir Lodge, of Tangier; Eureka Lodge, of Sheet Harbor; Acadia Lodge, of
Amherst; Truro Lodge, of Truro; Harmony Lodge, of Barrington; and W. H. Davies
Lodge, of Wilmot. At the Quarterly Communication held on December 1867, Scotia
Lodge, of Yarmouth, was added to the Roll.
At an Emergent
Meeting of Grand Lodge held on May 15, 1868, a Communication was received from
the District Grand Lodge under English authority, requesting that a Committee
be appointed by the new Grand Lodge of Nova OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 51
Scotia to confer with it regarding a union of the two Bodies. Although this
conference took place, nothing definite resulted at the time. R.‑. W.‑.
Stephen R. Sircom was elected Grand Master in June 1868. During that year the
following Lodges were added to the Roll: Royal Albert Lodge, of North Sydney,
Solomon Lodge, of Hawkesbury, Acadia Lodge, of Bridgewater, Philadelphia
Lodge, of Barrington, Poyntz Lodge, of Hantsport, Widow's Son Lodge, of River
Philip, Orient Lodge, of Richmond, Western Star Lodge, of Westville, and
Eastern Star Lodge, of Dartmouth. Union with the Lodges governed by the
District Grand Lodge of England continued to be the burning question, however,
and finally the time for action arrived. An Emergent Meeting of the Grand
Lodge of Nova Scotia was therefore held on January 8, 1869. At that time a
proposal to this end was approved and submitted to a Committee of the English
Lodges. With one exception, Royal Standard Lodge, No. 398, of Halifax, still
(1935) under the English Constitution, the proposal was accepted by all the
English Lodges.
The happy
consummation of these efforts took place in the Masonic Hall on June 23, 1869,
when 'the Officers and members of the District Grand Lodge were formally
admitted into the membership of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Union, peace,
and harmony reigned supreme. On that occasion several most eminent Brethren
from Canada and New Brunswick were present. One of these, M.'. W.‑. Bro.
Colonel A. A. Stevenson, of Montreal, took the Grand East during the election
and Installation of new Officers; R.'. W.‑. the Hon. Alexander Keith, the most
honoured man in the jurisdiction, was unanimously elected Grand Master and
Installed with the other Officers on the morning of June 24. After this
ceremony the Craft formed in Grand Lodge procession and marched in state to
St. Paul's Church, where an eloquent and appropriate sermon was preached by
the Grand Chaplain, the Rev. Dr. D. C. Moore. This happy union brought the
strength of the Craft up to fifty‑two Lodges. Of those, after due revision of
the seniority list and numbers, St. Andrew's Lodge, of Halifax, became No. i,
and Harmony Lodge, of Aylesford, No. 52. The total membership was slightly
over Zooo. Since 1869 there has been a steady growth, both numerically and
financially. The number of Lodges is now (1935) 82, and the membership is
io,ooo. Most of the Lodges own their own buildings and are in a sound
financial condition.
On August 31, 1875,
the corner‑stone of a new Freemasons' Hall at Halifax was laid with great
ceremony and full Masonic Rites. Its occupation and use in the following year
was another and most important step in the path of progress. In 1925 this Hall
was rebuilt and enlarged as a fine modern structure valued at over a quarter
of a million dollars. It is now the home of the Grand Lodge Masonic library
and museum, of the ten Lodges of the City of Halifax, two Royal Arch Chapters,
Antiquity Preceptory of Knights Templar, three Scottish Rite Bodies, Chebucto
Council, No. 4, of the Cryptic Rite, a Provincial Grand Lodge of the Royal
Order of Scotland, and Philae Temple of the Mystic Shrine.
The duty of charity
and the pleasure of benevolence have not been overlooked by this Grand Lodge.
In 19o8 it opened at Windsor a Home‑bright and 52 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION
comfortable in all respects‑for the aged and distressed Masons and their wives
or widows. Though this involved a heavy financial outlay, the Craft has nobly
met all claims and expenses, and by the maintenance of this Home has relieved
distress and made bright and happy the declining days of many worthy Brethren
and their dependents. In 1930 splendid additions to the buildings were made.
The Masonic museum
and library at Halifax contain many books, thousands of priceless documents,
,Jewels, Regalia, and other mementos bearing not only on the history of the
Craft in the Maritime Provinces and Newfoundland, but also on the history of
it in the older portions of Canada and the United States. During the past ten
years steady progress in classifying this material, with a view to publishing
an authoritative history of Freemasonry in the Maritime Provinces. During
these latter years the onerous task of directing the Craft has been in able
hands, and its steady advance has been largely due to the energy and wisdom
shown by the various Grand Masters of the ,Jurisdiction. A list of those who
have filled that high Office in this jurisdiction is given below. Names of
members who are deceased are marked with an asterisk.
*Dr. W. H.
Davies.............................................. 1866‑1867 *S. R.Sircom...................................................
1868 *Honourable Alexander Keith ....................................
1869‑‑1873 *Major‑General J. W. Laurie.....................................
1874‑1879 *A. H. Crowe.................................................. 1880
*William Taylor................................................ 1881
*Major‑General J. W. Laurie..................................... 1882‑1885 *L.Johnstone..................................................1886‑1887
*Reverend D. C. Moore.......................................... 1888‑1889
*Colonel C. J. Macdonald........................................ 1890‑1891 *Honourable
D. C. Fraser........................................ 1892‑1893 *W. F. MacCoy,
Q. C........................................... 1894‑1895 *J. W. Ruhland..................................................
1896 *Honourable T. B. Flint, K. C....................................
1897‑1899 *T. A. Cossman................................................. 19oo
*Dr. Thos. Trenaman............................................ 1901 *L. B.
Archibald................................................ 1902 *Honourable Wm.
Rose......................................... 1903 Charles R. Smith, K.
C......................................... 1904‑1908 *William Marshall Black
........................................ 1909‑1910 *A. J.
Wolff.................................................... 1911 *William M.
Christie, K. C...................................... 1912‑1914 Don F.
Fraser.................................................1915‑1917 *John
Hay...................................................... 1918 George D.
Macdougall......................................... 1919‑1920 *J. Murray
Lawson............................................. 1921 J. H.
Winfield.................................................1922‑1924 A. J.
Davis....................................................1925‑1926 J. C.
Mackay..................................................1927‑1928 M. L.
Fraser..................................................1929‑1931 OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND 53 Among the many distinguished names on the Rolls of the
Craft in Nova Scotia that have not already been mentioned, are those of
Major‑General Paul Mascareno, colonel of the 40th Regiment and
lieutenant‑governor from 1740 to 1749 Major‑General John Bradstreet, later the
captor of Fort Frontenac; the Hon. Edward Cornwallis, founder of Halifax and
governor from 174.9 to 1572.; Admiral Lord Colville, the first Initiate in the
" First Lodge," of Halifax, later " Deputy Grand Master of North America;"
General Charles Lawrence, who served in Flanders, the West Indies, and at
Louisbourg, and was governor of Nova Scotia from 1754 to 1760; Sir William
Campbell, first attorney‑general of the Province of Cape Breton and later
Chief Justice of Upper Canada; MajorGeneral John Despard, Commandant in Cape
Breton about the year 18oo; RearAdmiral Robert Murray, Commander‑in‑Chief on
the Halifax Station; the Hon. Richard John Uniacke, founder of the Charitable
Irish Society and attorney‑general of the Province from 1797 to 1830; and his
son, a judge of the Supreme Court from 1830 to 1834; Sir Brenton Halliburton,
chief justice of Nova Scotia from 183 3 to 1860; Robert Field, one of the most
eminent portrait painters of his time; the Right Rev. Robert Stanser, D.D.,
second Bishop of Nova Scotia from 18 c6 to 182.4; Major F. A. Thesiger, of the
Rifle Brigade, afterwards Baron Chelmsford, and Commander‑in‑Chief in the Zulu
War; Vice‑Admiral Sir Houston Stewart, K.C.B., Admiral of the Fleet in 1872‑;
the Hon. James MacDonald, minister of justice from 1878 to 1881 and chief
justice of Nova Scotia from 1881 to 1904; Sir Charles J. Townshend, chief
justice from 1907 to 1915; Sir Stanford Flemming, one of the greatest men in
Canadian history; Sir John Eardley Wilmot Inglis, probably the greatest
military genius in Canadian history and hero of the Relief of Lucknow; Sir
Robert Weatherbe, justice of the Supreme Court from 1878 to 1905 and chief
justice from 1905 to 1907; Major‑General J. W. Laurie, Grand Master from 1874
to 1879, and again from 1882 to 1885; Sir Edward A. Inglefield, Admiral of the
North American Station in 1879; the Hon. D. C. Fraser, lieutenant‑governor of
Nova Scotia from 1906 to 1910 and a justice of the Supreme Court from 1904 to
1906; Sir Frederick W. Borden, minister of militia and defence; and Sir Robert
L. Borden, wartime Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 192.0. Scores of
other names might be added‑illustrious in the annals of the Province and of
Canada and distinguished in military, naval, legal, judicial, religious,
political, and commercial life.
We have already
referred to the fact that the Royal Arch and Knights Templar Degrees were
conferred in Halifax as early as the period between 1760 and 1770; that the
present‑day Royal Union Chapter, No. 1, dates from 1780, that our Records of
the Mark Degree date from the same year, and that an organised Knights Templar
Encampment was formed in 1782. Under the English and Irish systems, each Craft
Lodge conferred the Mark Degree, and nearly all enjoyed the privilege of
forming a Royal Arch Chapter. In our archives are scores of Royal Arch and
Knights Templar Certificates of the period from 1780 to 1830. In fact, the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia promoted a knowledge of the Royal Arch
and Mark Degrees everywhere throughout its jurisdiction.
54 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION In Halifax, Royal Union Chapter, then known as the General Royal Arch
Chapter, Working under the Warrant of St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 155 (also known
variously as No. 188 and No. 137), functioned for all the Craft Lodges. The
Knights Templar Body became dormant about 181o. In New Brunswick, Carleton
Royal Arch Chapter began Work in i8o5 under the Warrant of St. John's Lodge,
No. 29. Then, in 1815, it transferred its allegiance to Union Lodge, No‑ 38.
Six years later it obtained a Warrant No‑ 47, from the Supreme Grand Chapter
of Scotland. It Worked under that Warrant until 1887. In 1826 a Grand Chapter
was formed in New Brunswick under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Nova
Scotia. It continued for a few years. Then came the decade of stress from 1827
to 1837, when the Craft in the Maritime Provinces suffered severely, and Royal
Arch Masonry became inactive everywhere.
In 1839, as has
already been stated, the Brethren of Thistle Lodge, No‑ 322 (Register of
Scotland), of Halifax, formed St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter, No. 55, and
revived the dormant Knights Templar Encampment under the name of St. John's
Priory, No. 47. This was also under Scottish authority. New life was then
injected into the rival Chapter which was Working under the Warrant of St.
Andrew's, No. 118 (Register of England). In 1863, Alexandra Chapter loo
(Register of Scotland), was formed in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Then followed Shannon Chapter, No. 579 (Register of England), at St. John's
Newfoundland, in 1864; Union Chapter, No. 1o8 (Register of Scotland), at
Yarmouth, in 1865; St. John's Chapter, No. 130 (Register of Scotland), at
Pictou, in 1869; and Hiram Chapter, No‑ 33, on the Register of Canada, founded
in August 1869, at Goldenville.
On October 14, 1869,
Hiram Chapter, No‑ 33, together with Royal Union Chapter, Halifax Chapter, and
St. Andrew's Chapter, No. 5 5 (Register of Scotland), united to form the Grand
Chapter of Nova Scotia, with the Hon. Alex ander Keith, acting as Grand High
Priest. Between 1875 and 1878, the other four Chapters came in and four others
were formed, thus making a total of eleven Chapters.
To‑day there are 22
Royal Arch Chapters, all bearing allegiance to the Grand Chapter of Nova
Scotia, and aggregating about 26oo members. The Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia
exercises jurisdiction over that Province as well as over Prince Edward
Island, which has three Chapters, and over Newfoundland, which has one,
Shannon Chapter. The Ritual of Royal Arch Work adopted in 1869 and still in
use in all subordinate Chapters is similar to that in use in the United
States, wherever the Grand Chapter has jurisdiction over the Mark, Past, Most
Excellent, and Royal Arch Degrees.
The Order of High
Priesthood was formed at a Convention held on June 17, 1870, at which time the
Hon. Alexander Keith was elected first President of the Grand Council of the
Order. The Order remained independent until 1889, when the Grand Chapter
assumed control of it. Until 1922 the Degree was optional. In that year,
however, the Grand Chapter legislated to make the Degree compulsory for all
High Priests, within three months after election to that Office.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 55 St. John's Priory, No. 47, which was formed in 1839, continued
to be active until 1854, when it became dormant. In 1858, however, it was
revived under an English Warrant. It was then known as Nova Scotia Encampment,
No. 58 (Register of England). The Hon. Alexander Keith acted as Eminent
Commander. Then, in 1870, a Provincial Grand Priory was constituted for Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland under the Grand
Conclave of England and Wales. This Grand Lodge also had the Hon. Alexander
Keith as Provincial Grand Commander. On the death of Bro. Keith in 1873, the
territory was claimed by Colonel W. J. B. MacLeod Moore, who had previously
been granted a Patent as Grand Prior of the Dominion of Canada. This claim was
conceded by the Grand Conclave of England, which two years later authorised
the formation of a National Grand Priory of Canada. In 1876 the Nova Scotia
Encampment became Nova Scotia Preceptory, No. 5, on the Roll of that Body. On
the establishment of the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada in 1885, a new
Warrant was issued bearing the former number.
Since 1885, other
Preceptories have been formed. These are as follows: Malta Preceptory, No. 27,
at Truro, established in 1885, through the efforts of Sir Knight L. B.
Archibald, Past Grand Master, Past Grand High Priest, and Supreme Grand Master
of the Knights Templar of Canada in 19o9 and 191o; Yarmouth Preceptory, No.
31, at Yarmouth, founded in 1892; Prince Edward Preceptory, No. 35, at
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, established in 1895; Cape Breton
Preceptory, No. 43, at Sydney, founded in 19o5; Beausejour Preceptory, No. 57,
at Amherst, established in 1911; and Champlain Preceptory, No. 71, at
Bridgetown, established in 1928.
At a meeting held in
1923, the year 1782 was recognised by the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada as
being the date of the origin of Nova Scotia Preceptory, No. 5, and as a
memorial of this, its members were authorised to wear a distinctive gold‑star
decoration. In 1929 the name of the Preceptory was changed to Antiquity
Preceptory. With the possible exception of Baldwyn Encampment, at Bristol,
England, this is the oldest Knights Templar Body in existence.
Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island form a District under the Sovereign Great Priory of
Canada, having at this time (1935) a Provincial Grand Prior supervising seven
Preceptories. Newfoundland, also under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign Great
Priory, has no Knights Templar Body. The Orders conferred are the Red Cross,
Knight Templar (three sections), Mediterranean Pass, and Knight of Malta, all
in accordance with the Canadian Ritual.
Keith Rose Croix
Chapter of the Scottish Rite was organised in Nova Scotia in 1870, under a
Patent from Illustrious Bro. Robert Marshall, Thirty‑third Degree,
Inspector‑General for New Brunswick under the Supreme Council of England and
Wales. In 1872 this Chapter was under the authority of the Grand Council of
the Thirty‑third Degree for the Maritime Provinces, formed in that year at St.
John. Then, in 1874, it was under the jurisdiction of the independent Supreme
Council of Canada. Until then the English Ritual was in use.
56 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION In 1877, a Lodge of Perfection was organised under the name of
Victoria Lodge of Perfection. A Warrant for this Body was granted in 1867.
Nova Scotia Consistory was constituted in 1884. Royal Oak Lodge of Perfection
was active at Kentville from 1889 to 1892, and Cumberland Lodge of Perfection
at Amherst from 189o to 1894. In addition to supervising the activities of the
three Bodies mentioned, the Illustrious Deputy for Nova Scotia, Illustrious
Bro. J. H. Winfield, Provincial Grand Master, exercises jurisdiction over
Albert Edward Lodge of Perfection, at Summerside, Prince Edward Island.
In 1926 a Provincial
Grand Lodge of the Royal Order of Scotland was formed, with Illustrious Bro.
J. H. Winfield acting as Provincial Grand Master. This Grand Lodge has
jurisdiction over Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. Its
membership, numbering fifteen in 1931, is restricted to Consistory members of
the Scottish Rite who have rendered noteworthy service to Masonry in the
Jurisdiction.
The Ancient Accepted
Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine is represented in Nova Scotia, in Prince
Edward Island, and in Newfoundland, by Philae Temple, at Halifax, which was
formed in 1911. It now (1935) numbers nearly 5oo members.
In March 1858, the
Grand Lodge of Scotland invaded Prince Edward Island, and Victoria Lodge, No.
383, was Warranted at Charlottetown. This Lodge is now Lodge No. 2, on the
Register of Prince Edward Island. At about the same time, other Lodges were
called into being under the xgis of the Grand Lodge of England. They were as
follows: King Hiram Lodge, No. 1123, of St. Eleanor's, Warranted on June 4,
186o; St. George's Lodge, No. 1168, of Georgetown, Warranted on June 4, 1861;
Alexandra Lodge, No. 983, of Port Hill, Warranted on August 28, 1863; Mount
Lebanon Lodge, No. 984, of Summerside, Warranted on September 2, 1863; Zetland
Lodge, No. 12oo, at Alberton, Warranted on November 6, 1867; and True
Brothers' Lodge, No. 1251, at Tryon, Warranted on January 28, 1869. During
this period the Island Colony was under the jurisdiction of the Hon. Alexander
Keith, Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia, of English authority. Bro.
Keith also held a similar position under the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova
Scotia, of the Scottish authority.
In 1869, on the
establishment of the present Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, the Marquis of Ripon,
Grand Master of England, appointed Adam Murray as District Grand Master for
Prince Edward Island. Four years later, June 23 and 24, 1875, Delegates
representing the eight above‑mentioned Lodges met at Charlottetown, organised
the Grand Lodge of Prince Edward Island, and elected the Hon. John Yeo as
Grand Master. Bro. Yeo served from then till 1888. He was Installed by the
Hon. John V. Ellis, Grand Master of New Brunswick. The Constitution of the
Grand Lodge of New Brunswick was adopted mutatis mutandis. At that time the
total membership of the eight Lodges in the Jurisdiction was 496. Since 1875,
1o new Lodges have been Chartered, 2 have surrendered their Charters, and 2
others have been amalgamated, leaving 15 Lodges on the Rolls. These fifteen
Lodges report a total membership of 125o.
OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 57 Several of the founders of St. George's Lodge, which was
established in 1781, and of St. John's Lodge, No. 26, established in 1797,
were Royal Arch Masons, and there is some evidence that the Royal Arch and
Mark Degrees were conferred prior to the year 1839. Alexandra Chapter, No. loo,
of Charlottetown, was Chartered by the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland on
December 16, 1863. It joined the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia in 1878, as
Chapter No. 1i, on the latter's Registry. Prince Edward Chapter, No. 12, at
Summerside, was Chartered on June 2, 1885, by the Grand Chapter of Nova
Scotia. In 19o6 was removed to Kensington, where it has since remained. Mount
Akron Chapter, No. Zo, at Montague, Prince Edward Island, was Chartered on
June 8, 192o, by the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia.
Prince Edward Island
has been represented in the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia by the following
Grand High Priests: An asterisk stands before the names of those Brethren who
are deceased. Years of tenure, and number of the Chapter with which each
Brother was affiliated stand in parentheses. (1889‑189o) George W. Wakeford
(No. 1 i); (1895)* Simon W. Crabbe (No. 1 i); (1897)* D. Darrach (No. 12);
(1915) Walter P. Doull (No. 11); (1922) Edward T. Carbonell (No. 11); (193o)
Laughlin M. MacKinnon (No. Zo).
Kensington Council,
No. 11, of Royal and Select Masters, Supreme Grand Council of the Maritime
Provinces, was Chartered in 1899, but has not functioned for many years.
Prince Edward Preceptory, of Charlottetown, was estab lished under a
Dispensation from the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada, dated November 12,
1895. It was established principally through the efforts of Dr. Roderick
MacNeill. The Institution of the Chapter was at the hands of Sir Knight J. B.
Nixon, of Toronto, and others. Warrant No. 35 was granted to the Chapter on
September 6, 1896.
The Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite was also established in the same year through the
efforts of Dr. Roderick MacNeill, Thirty‑third Degree, who was appointed a
Deputy for the Province. On September 23, 1896, Albert Edward Lodge of
Perfection was Constituted at Charlottetown by Illustrious Bro. John A.
Watson, Thirty‑second Degree, of St. John, who acted as Special Deputy under a
Dispensation from Most Puissant Sovereign Grand Commander J. W. Murton. The
Warrant of this Lodge was dated August 1o, 1896. This Body was transferred to
Summerside in 1926. At present, Keith Rose Croix Chapter and Nova Scotia
Consistory, both of Halifax, and the Illustrious Deputy for Nova Scotia,
exercise jurisdiction over Prince Edward Island.
From 1829 to 1855
there was in New Brunswick no resident authority over the Lodges under the
English Constitution. All business had to be done by correspondence with the
Provincial Grand Lodge at Halifax. Then, in 1855, at the suggestion of the
Hon. Alexander Keith, the W.‑. M.‑. of Albion Lodge invited the various Lodges
of the Province which were Working under English authority, to appoint a
Committee for the purpose of selecting and recommending some worthy Brother to
be appointed Deputy District Grand Master for New Brunswick. The Lodges in the
Province at this time were as follows: Albion Lodge, 5 8 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION No. 570, at St. John; St. John's Lodge, No. 632., at St. John's;
Sussex Lodge, No. 705, at Dorchester; St. Mark's Lodge, No. 759, at St.
Andrew's; Solomon's Lodge, No. 764, at Fredericton; Carleton Union Lodge, No.
767, at Carleton; Midian Lodge, No. 770, at Kingston; Union of Portland Lodge,
No. 78o, at St. John; Woodstock Lodge, No. 811, at Woodstock; Union Lodge, No.
866, at Milltown; St. George Lodge, No. 912., at St. George; Corinthian Lodge,
No. 918, at Hampton; and Keith Lodge, No. 92‑7, at Moncton.
Ten of these thirteen
Lodges convened on August 15, 1855, and unanimously recommended Alexander
Balloch, Past Master of Union Lodge of Portland. Bro. Balloch was duly
appointed by a Patent dated September 9, 1855, and was In stalled into Office
at Halifax on the following October 1o. Shortly afterwards, a Deputy
Provincial Grand Lodge for New Brunswick was organised, Officers were elected
and appointed, and a Code of rules and regulations was adopted for its
government. Quarterly meetings were held each year on the first Wednesday of
March, June, September, and December.
After four years in
this position of being subordinate to Nova Scotia, the New Brunswick Lodges
expressed a desire to form a Provincial Grand Lodge of their own. This
suggestion was supported by the Provincial Grand Master and was acceded to by
the Earl of Zetland, Grand Master of England, who by a Patent dated July 4,
1859, appointed Alexander Balloch to be Provincial Grand Master of New
Brunswick. The new Provincial Grand Master was Installed into Office by the
Hon. Alexander Keith, at St. John, on October 3, 1859.
During Bro. Balloch's
tenure of Office, five new Lodges were added to the Roll of Lodges under
English Register. These were as follows: Alley Lodge, No. 962, at Upper Mills,
St. Stephen; Howard Lodge, No. 966, at Hillsborough; Northumberland Lodge, No.
1003, at Newcastle; Miramichi Lodge, No. 1077, at Chatham; and Salisbury
Lodge, No. iiio, at Salisbury. In addition to these, Brunswick Lodge, at
Moncton, Worked two years under a Dispensation. A Warrant for Queen's Lodge,
No. 932, of Gagetown, was also issued, but the Lodge was never constituted
under it.
In 1866, owing to the
failure of Bro. Balloch's health, Bro. Robert T. Clinch was appointed
Provincial Grand Master to succeed him. Bro. Clinch was Installed into Office
by the Hon. Alexander Keith, at St. John, on September 5, 1866.
The British North
America Act confederating the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec,
and Ontario as the Dominion of Canada came into force on July 1, 1867. As a
result, the movement for the formation of indepen dent Grand Lodges in Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, which had been started some years
previously, received considerable impetus. On August 16, 1867, a meeting of
Delegates from the Lodges in St. John resolved to summon a Convention of
Representatives from the twenty‑six Lodges of the Province which were on the
English, Scottish, and Irish Registers. At this Convention, held on October
1o, 1867, fourteen of the nineteen Lodges present declared themselves ready to
form the M .'. W.‑. Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND
59 Accepted Masons of New Brunswick. Bro. R. T. Clinch was elected Grand
Master, but since he had at that time not yet resigned his Office as District
Grand Master, he declined the Office. Bro. B. Lester Peters was then
unanimously‑elected as Grand Master, and his Installation took place on
January 22, 1868. Within a comparatively short time all the Lodges in the
Province adhered to the new movement, a result that may be attributed to the
wisdom and tact of the first Grand Master.
A few of the
distinguished names connected with the Craft in New Brunswick since the
formation of the Grand Lodge in 1867 are as follows: the Hon. William
Wedderburn, member and speaker of the Legislature, provincial secre tary,
judge of the county court, and Grand Master from 1870 to 1872; the Hon. John
V. Ellis, publisher and journalist, senator, Sovereign Grand Commander of the
Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite in Canada, Grand Master from 1872 to 1875
and again from 1884 to 1887; the Hon. Robert Marshall, Grand Master from 1878
to 1881, member of Parliament, Grand Master of the Cryptic Rite in 1867, and a
founder of Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in
Canada; William F. Bunting, first Grand Secretary from 1867 to 1882, author of
a history of Freemasonry in New Brunswick which was published in 1895, and
Grand Master in 1883 and 1884; Dr. Thomas Walker, Grand Master from 1889 to
1894 and again in 1897 and 1898; and His Honor J. Gordon Forbes, judge of the
county court and Grand Master in 1899 and i90o.
The Grand Lodge of
New Brunswick consists to‑day of about 6ooo Masons organised in 43 Lodges.
In 1850, the Rev.
Jerome Alley, D.D., of St. Andrew's, was appointed Provincial Grand
Superintendent of English Royal Arch Masonry in the Province. In 1856, he
formed a Provincial Grand Chapter at St. Andrew's. At that time there was but
one English Chapter in the Province, St. Mark's Chapter, at St. Andrew's. The
Rev. Dr. Alley died in 1861, whereupon the Provincial Grand Chapter's
existence came to an end. Then, in 1877, St. Mark's Chapter transferred to the
Grand Chapter of Canada. It ceased Work, however, about 1890.
In 1849 Alexander
Balloch was appointed Provincial Grand Superintendent of Scottish Royal Arch
Masonry in New Brunswick. He held the Office until 1859, when he resigned. No
new appointment was then made. The Chapters under Scottish authority formed
prior to 1869 were as follows: Charleston Chapter, No. 47, which has already
been mentioned; Fredericton Chapter, No. 77, at Fredericton, formed in 1857;
Union Chapter, at Carleton, formed in 1859; Corinthian Chapter, No. 85, at
Hampton, formed in 1859; Mount Lebanon Chapter, at Chatham, formed in 1864;
and St. Stephen Chapter, No. 125, at St. Stephen, formed in 1868. Corinthian
Chapter, No. 85, ceased Work in 1863.
In addition to the
English and Scottish, two other Royal Arch jurisdictions were represented.
These were those of Ireland and of Canada. The former was represented by three
Chapters. Of the three, Hibernian Chapter, organised in 1834 and attached to
Hibernian Lodge, No. 318, of St. Andrew's, was organised in 1830 and ceased
Working in 1862. Sussex Chapter, No. 327, of St. Stephen, 6o FREEMASONRY IN
THE DOMINION was Constituted in 1851, and surrendered in 1864. Hibernian
Chapter, No. 301, was Constituted at St. John in 1858. In 1864 it changed its
name to New Brunswick Chapter of Canada, becoming Chapter No. io on the
Canadian Registry. The Grand Chapter of Canada was also represented by
Botsford Chapter, No. 39, of Moncton, which was formed in 1870, and by
Woodstock Chapter, No. 89, of Woodstock.
Upon the formation of
the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia in 1869, the various Royal Arch Chapters in
New Brunswick continued their allegiance to the Grand Chapters of England,
Scotland, Ireland, and Canada, and it was not until 1887 that The Grand Royal
Arch Chapter of New Brunswick was formed. In that year there were seven
Chapters in the Province. These were as follows Carleton (Register of
Scotland), at St. John, Chapter No. 1; Fredericton (Register of Scotland), at
Fredericton, Chapter No. z; New Brunswick (Register of Canada), at St. John,
Chapter No. 3 ; Union (Register of Scotland), at Carleton, Chapter No. 4; St.
Stephen (Register of Scotland), at St. Stephen, Chapter No. 5; Botsford
(Register of Canada), at Moncton, Chapter No. 6; and Woodstock (Register of
Canada), at Woodstock, Chapter No. 7. These Chapters formed the Grand Chapter
of New Brunswick, with B. Lester Peters, Provincial Grand Master, acting as
first Grand Principal.
Mt. Lebanon Chapter,
of Chatham, remained out of the new organisation for some years, but is now
Chapter No. 5, of New Brunswick. Chapter No. 3 has dropped out, and Chapters
No. 5, No. 6, and No. 7 are now Chapters No. 6, No. 7, and No. 8,
respectively. Chapters at Sussex, Edmundston, and Campbellton have since been
Chartered, making 1o (in 1935) Chapters on the Roll. The total membership
numbers about 16oo.
Cryptic Masonry in
New Brunswick was propagated as early as 1828. In 1867, three Councils were
formed in St. John, and a Grand Council was formed, having Illustrious
Companion Robert Marshall acting as Most Puissant Grand Master, under
authority from the Grand Council of Maine. From this new Council, Cryptic
Masonry in Canada originated. St. John is now the headquarters of the Grand
Council for the Jurisdiction of Eastern Canada, which comprises Quebec and the
Maritime Provinces.
Knight Templarism in
New Brunswick seems to have begun with the formation of Hibernian Encampment,
No. 318, at St. Andrew's, under a Warrant from the Supreme Grand Encampment of
Ireland. This Encampment ceased Working in 186o. In 1856 the Encampment of St.
John, No. 48, was established at St. John under Dispensation from the Grand
Priory of Scotland. A second Encampment, known as that of Union de Molay,
under English authority, was established at St. John in 1868. In 1915, these
two Bodies were merged under the name of St. John de Molay Preceptory, No. 3A,
on the Roll of the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada. Other Knight Templar
Bodies in the Province are as follows: Ivanhoe Encampment, No. 36, at Moncton,
established in 1895; Woodstock Encampment, No. 41, at Woodstock, established
in 1904; Fredericton Encampment, No. so, at Fredericton, established in 19o8;
and Trinity Encamp‑ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 61 ment, No. 67, at Campbellton,
established in 1924. St. Stephen Encampment, formed in 1872 at St. Stephen,
remains under the Grand Conclave of Scotland. A Provincial Grand Lodge of the
Royal Order of Scotland was established in 186o, but in recent years it has
become inactive, as has also Moore Conclave, No. 1, of the Order of Rome and
Constantine, which was Constituted in 1869. The Scottish Rite was introduced
in 187o by the organisation of Moore Chapter, Rose Croix, at St. John, under
Warrant from the Supreme Council of England and Wales. In 1871, New Brunswick
Sovereign Chapter, Rose Croix, and New Brunswick Council and Consistory of
Kadosh‑Thirty Degrees‑were constituted at Saint John under Scottish authority.
In 1872, the English Supreme Council Constituted Harington Sovereign
Consistory‑Thirty‑second Degreeand a Grand Council‑Thirty‑third Degree‑for the
Maritime Provinces. After the organisation of the Supreme Council for Canada
in 1874, the several rival Bodies entered into negotiations which resulted in
reorganisation. New Brunswick Consistory and Harington Sovereign Chapter of
Rose Croix then took the place of the existing Bodies. In 1878 St. John Lodge
of Perfection was added. To this day all three Bodies continue under the
Supreme Council of Canada. Luxor Temple of the Ancient and Accepted Order of
Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at St. John, is the only Shrine Body in the
Province.
We have now sketched
the history of the Craft in the Maritime Provinces for approximately two
hundred years. The Fraternity in this, the cradle of Freemasonry in Canada,
has advanced steadily throughout all that long stretch of time, and even in
the face of difficulties. With the exception of one county in Nova Scotia,
there are to‑day Lodges in every section of the Maritime Provinces.
Furthermore, there is a steady yearly increase in membership. So long as
freedom and good government exist, Freemasonry will exercise its benign
influence on men's minds and will lead them to higher thoughts, nobler deeds,
and greater achievements. Men do not know, nor will they ever know, the great
good that has been accomplished by the plain, simple lessons of our
Fraternity. And that great good is still being accomplished. While withdrawing
ourselves from the gaze of the active world‑asking nothing of its favors,
being independent of its powers and opinions‑Masonry lives as a law and a
power within itself. This law and this power have directed and preserved it
for ages. Yet, still, under the moral and civil law of the country in which it
exists, obedient to that civil and moral law, Freemasonry will continue to
fulfill its mission so long as the world exists‑so long as Christianity
prevails as its best form of government.
The immense and
growing army of Freemasons should be ever ready or should be made ready to
promote international friendship and world order as the only hope of saving
our civilisation from complete destruction. If not ready to do that, then
Freemasons should be made ready to do so. Inculcating into Masonic hearts a
greater love of the Fraternity as an international brotherhood is the first
step in that direction.
All Freemasons do
well ever to keep in mind the wise saying of Dermott: " To cultivate and
establish the true system of Ancient Masonry, Unity, and 62 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Brotherly Love, is the only point in view." Dermott's prophetic
vision saw this unity and brotherly love extending to men of every race and
language, to men of every class and calling. He saw the possibility of
Freemasonry's serving as the disruptor of all barriers of class and creed and
color, as the cement of the Brotherhood of Man.
NEWFOUNDLAND REGINALD
V. HARRIS* HE history of Newfoundland is of great interest, for it dates back
to the earliest days of American discovery. In 1497 John Cabot, sailing from
Bristol, England, appears to have made landfall at what is now known as
Bonavista, Newfoundland. He claimed the country for King Henry VII of England.
Three years later, Gaspar Corte‑Real discovered and named Conception Bay and
Portugal Cove. In recognition of his achievement he was soon afterwards
appointed Portuguese governor of Terra Nova. During the first half of the
sixteenth century an extensive and lucrative fishing industry was developed in
the region by English, Portuguese, Spanish, Basque, and French fishermen.
Later attempts at colonisation by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, John Guy, and Lord
Baltimore are the picturesque incidents which mark the history of Newfoundland
between 1583 and 1632. Still later, in 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht ceded the
region to England. Nevertheless, the treaty also reserved to the French
certain fishing rights on the western and northern coasts, which were for many
years a source of international trouble. In fact, it was not until 1728 that a
settled form of government was established in Newfoundland, under Captain
Henry Osborne, and even then progress continued to be slow until the period of
the wars between England and France following the French Revolution. At that
time, development of the fishing industry brought great prosperity to the
Colony. Then, in 1832, representative government was established, and
provision was made for education. Responsible government was inaugurated in
1855. Newfoundland did not join the confederation known as the Dominion of
Canada, which was formed in 1867 by other colonies of British North America.
The earliest record
of the practise of Masonry in Newfoundland is found in the Records of St.
John's Grand Lodge, of Boston, under date of December 24, 1746. There appears
the statement that " at the Petition of Sundry Brethren residing at in
Newfoundland, our Rt. Worshipful Grand Master (Thomas Oxnard) granted a
Constitution for a Lodge to be held there and appointed the Rt. Worshipful Mr.
to be their first Master." From then on, for the next twenty‑one years, we
have no record of the " Lodge in Newfoundland " except * In the preparation of
the following article on Freemasonry in Newfoundland, the writer gratefully
acknowledges the help and co‑operation of V..W..Bro. W. J. Edgar, District
Grand Secretary, District Grand Lodge of Newfoundland, English jurisdiction OF
CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 63 that which states that the Lodge was " not
represented " at meetings of the Grand Lodge at Boston. Under date of July 25,
1766, however, a second Lodge, designated as St. John's Newfoundland Lodge, is
listed in the Records of that Grand Lodge.
It is the writer's
opinion, though this does not accord with local tradition, that the first
Lodge was a Military Lodge held in the garrison at Placentia, where for many
years a detachment of Philipps' Regiment was stationed. Masonry was
undoubtedly active in the regiment at that time, for it is known that all the
officers commanding at Placentia during the period bewteen 1746 and 1758 were
members of the Craft.
On March 24, 1774,
the Athole Grand Lodge of England Warranted St. John's Lodge, No. 186, at St.
John's, Newfoundland. The Lodge met at the London Tavern there, and its first
Officers were Thomas Todridge, Worship ful Master; Thomas Murphy, Senior
Warden; and Peter Snyder, Junior Warden. Later at the union of the rival Grand
Lodges of England, this Lodge was renumbered Lodge No. 226, and still later,
in 1832, as Lodge No. 159. In the latter year, however, its Regalia and
Records were destroyed by fire, and the Lodge ceased Work, although its name
was not erased from the English Register until 1859.
On December 27, 1785,
Lodge No. 213 (Ancients), established on July 3, 1781, in the Fourth Battalion
of the Royal Artillery while the battalion was quartered in New York, granted
a Dispensation for a Lodge to Brethren in Major Huddleston's Company at St.
John's, Newfoundland. In December 1782, Lodge No. 213 had taken an active part
in the formation of the Grand Lodge of New York, and at that time had been
voted the special privilege of " trimming their Masonic hangings with gold in
conformity with the uniform of their regiment." Part of the regiment was
transferred to Newfoundland shortly after Great Britain acknowledged the
independence of the United States. Later, the whole regiment was transferred
to Woolwich, England. Then, in 1790, the regiment was transferred still
another time, this time to Quebec. There, in course of time, the Lodge became
permanent. It is now known as Albion Lodge, No. 2, G. R. Q. Of its Masonic
activity during its stay in Newfoundland, very little is known except the few
facts that can be gleaned from correspondence and returns found in the
archives of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia.
In 1784 the Premier
Grand Lodge of England Warranted the Lodge of Placentia, No. 455 (Moderns).
This Lodge was renumbered in 1792 as Lodge No. 367. Its name was erased from
the Register, however, in 1813. On April 30, 1785, the same authority
Warranted another Lodge in Newfoundland, this one at Harbor Grace, Conception
Bay. It was known as Lodge, No. 470 (Moderns). This Lodge was renumbered in
1792 as Lodge No. 381. Its name was also erased from the Register in 1813.
Whether or not these Lodges continued their Work for any lengthy period is a
matter of doubt.
In 1788 the rival
Grand Lodge of England renewed its interest in Newfoundland and Warranted
three Lodges in the Colony: The first of these was 64 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Lodge No. 247, at St. John's, Warranted on March 31. In 1804 this
Lodge was named Benevolent Lodge. Then in 1813, at the time of the union of
the rival Grand Lodges of England, it was renumbered as Lodge No. 312. In
1832it was again renumbered as Lodge No. ZZo; its name was erased in 1853.
Lodge No. 249 was also Warranted on March 31, 1788, at St. John's. This Lodge
lapsed about 1804. Lodge of Harmony, No. Z5o, was Warranted at Placentia on
May 2, 1788. A Certificate or demit, issued by this Lodge to Francis Bradshaw,
under date of August 7, 1807, still exists. It is signed by Daniel Hodgson,
Worshipful Master, Joshua Blackburn, Senior Warden, and Edward Larkin, Junior
Warden and Secretary. The Lodge met in the building which had been used as
officers' quarters while Placentia was occupied by the French, and later
tenanted by the Bradshaw family. Francis Bradshaw was surgeon to H. R. H. the
Duke of Clarence, afterwards King William IV. Tradition says that during his
stay at Placentia the Duke was also a member of the Lodge there. At that time
he presented a silver communion service to the church at Placentia. This is
now in the possession of the Anglican Cathedral at St. John's. Although the
Lodge was renumbered in 1814 as Lodge No. 317, it probably lapsed about 1810.
Its name was erased from the Register in 1815.
As has been shown
then, at the time of the union of the rival Grand Lodges of England,
Freemasonry in Newfoundland was represented by only two Lodges: St. John's
Lodge, No. 186, later renumbered as Lodge No. 226, and Benevolent Lodge, No.
247, later renumbered as Lodge No. 312, both of Ancient origin and both
located at St. John's. Shortly after the union, however, a new start was made.
On September 21, 1817, Union Lodge, No. 698 was Warranted at Trinity,
Conception Bay. This Lodge was renumbered in 1832 as Lodge No. 451, but in
1859, its name was also erased from the Register. The jewels of this Lodge are
now preserved in the Masonic Temple at St. John's. Seven years later, on
November 15, 1824, Freemasonry was revived at Harbor Grace, when the Lodge of
Order and Harmony was Warranted. It, too, was short lived, however, and its
name was erased in 1832. The period from 1832 to 1848 is virtually a blank in
the Masonic history of Newfoundland: In the former year, St. John's Lodge, No.
226, ceased Working, and it is doubtful whether Benevolent Lodge, No. 312, at
St. John's, and Union Lodge, No. 451, at Trinity, continued their Labours.
Neither record of their Work nor tradition of it has come down to us, but it
is certain that by 1848 Masonic activity had ceased in Newfoundland.
Nevertheless, in
1846, the jurisdiction of the Hon. Alexander Keith, Provincial Grand Master of
Nova Scotia, was enlarged to include New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and
Newfoundland. Immediately thereafter Bro. Keith addressed himself to the task
of reorganising and reviving the Craft throughout the large territory assigned
to him. Fortunately, his efforts were everywhere successful.
On October 3, 1848, a
notice appeared in The Morning Post, edited by William J. Ward and published
at St. John's, stating that a letter had been received from the Grand Lodge of
Nova Scotia relative to the re‑establishment of a Masonic OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 65 Lodge in St. John's, and asking all Master Masons favourable
to such action to meet on the following evening. On October 31 the same paper
announced that a Dispensation for a new Lodge had been received from the Hon.
Alexander Keith. On the following November 29, the St. John's Lodge was
Consecrated at the Albert Terrace. Although no details of the ceremony have
come down to us, we do know that the first principal Officers of the Lodge
were: Samuel G. Archibald, Master; William Jenkins, Senior Warden; John
Stuart, Junior Warden; D. J. Henderson, Treasurer; and William J. Ward,
Secretary.
The Lodge Worked
under its Dispensation until 185o, when a Petition for a Charter was
recommended by the Hon. Alexander Keith, Provincial Grand Master, and was
forwarded to the Grand Lodge of England. The Petition was granted, and a
Charter numbered 844 was issued on June 5, 185o. This Charter is still in use
by the Lodge although it was renumbered in 1863 as No. 579The Charter bears an
endorsement, stating that " a Dispensation for holding the Saint John's Lodge,
having been granted by the Provincial Grand Master bearing date the , the
Proceedings of the said Lodge from that date are accordingly ratified." St.
John's Lodge, the senior Lodge in Newfoundland, has had a long and highly
interesting history. Its Rolls contain many notable names, among them, that of
Oliver Goldsmith, who served as Worshipful Master in 1849, while in
Newfoundland as an officer in the British Army. Still other famous members of
this Lodge were the Right Hon. Sir William V. Whiteway, P.C., K.C.M.G, first
Worshipful Master of Avalon Lodge, second District Grand Master from 1878 to
1908, and for many years Prime Minister of the Colony; Patrick Tasker,
Worshipful Master in 1853, 1856, and 1857, and Deputy Provincial Grand Master
from 1858 to 186o; Captain Alphonse Duchesne, of the French steamship Vesta, a
Chevalier of the French Legion of Honour; the Hon. James Shannon Clift, second
Deputy Provincial Grand Master from 186o to 1869, and first District Grand
Master from 1861 to 1877; Sir Terence O'Brien, governor of Newfoundland and
Past Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of England, who accepted honorary
membership in the Lodge in 18go; the Hon. Moses Monroe, founder of the Masonic
Mutual Insurance Company, an active and enthusiastic Craftsman; the Hon. James
A. Clift, K.B., C.B.E., third District Grand Master from 1908 to 1923; and Sir
John R. Bennett, K.B.E., fourth District Grand Master, who was appointed in
1923.
In 1853 Dr. Elisha
Kent Kane, in command of the American expedition in search of Sir John
Franklin, the lost Arctic explorer, and his gallant men, were welcomed and
entertained by the Lodge. At that time Dr. Kane was presented with a silk
flag. Copies of the address made in his honour and of Dr. Kane's reply are
preserved in the archives of Kane Lodge, No. 454, of New York City.
In January 1861, as a
memorial of the esteem felt by the Craft for their late Brother, Patrick
Tasker, Deputy Provincial Grand Master, St. John's Lodge established a fund "
for the purpose of educating the children of de‑ 66 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION ceased Brethren who had been in full communion with this Lodge." The
scope of the object of the fund was later so enlarged as to permit the
co‑operation of other Lodges, and to‑day the Tasker Memorial Fund is the proud
heritage of not only the Lodges in St. John's, but also of other Newfoundland
Lodges outside the city. The fund has a splendid record of service, hundreds
of children having been helped through its agency.
In November 19o8, the
Lodge celebrated its sixtieth anniversary with a service of Thanksgiving held
in the Congregational Church, followed by a meeting of the Lodge and a banquet
at the Osborne House. Then, in 1923, the Lodge celebrated its seventy‑fifth
anniversary, at which time it was honoured with a visit by Lord Ampthill, Pro
Grand Master of England; Sir John Ferguson, Grand Treasurer;
Lieutenant‑Colonel H. Hamilton Wedderburn, P.D.G.D.C.; A. E. Carlyle,
P.A.G.D.C.; James H. Winfield, Grand Master of Nova Scotia; and J. C. Jones,
Grand Secretary, all of whom were at that time made honorary members. On
November 29 a banquet was given, and on December 2 a service of Thanksgiving
was held at St. John's Cathedral.
In 1858 the Hon.
Alexander Keith, Provincial Grand Master, granted a Dispensation to form a
second Lodge at St. John's, to be called Avalon Lodge. Sir William V. Whiteway,
who with several other members of St. John's Lodge became its founders, was
named its first Master. Subsequently, a Charter for the new Lodge was issued
under date of January 28, 1859. It was entered on the Register as Lodge No.
1078, but in 1863 it was assigned No. 776, its present number. Avalon Lodge
has co‑operated with its sister Lodges in providing the Tasker Educational
Fund and in every other worthy undertaking.
On June 24, 1858, it
was announced that the Hon. Alexander Keith, Provincial Grand Master, had
appointed Patrick Tasker to be Deputy Provincial Grand Master, and on August
6, Bro. Tasker was duly Installed. Avalon Lodge was organised during his term
of Office.
In 186o, H. R. H. the
Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward VII, visited Newfoundland. At his
official landing, the Masonic Body of Newfoundland, consisting of St. John's
Lodge and Avalon Lodge, was given the post of honour, and the Deputy
Provincial Grand Master made an address of welcome on its behalf. On November
2, i86o, Bro. Tasker, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, died at the early
age of thirty‑seven. Thereupon, St. John's Lodge and Avalon Lodge nominated
Bro. James S. Clift to the vacant Office, and on June 24, 1861, he was duly
Installed.
In 1869 a
Dispensation was granted for the formation of Hiram Lodge, at Burin, and on
September 7 of that year a Charter was granted by the Grand Lodge of England.
The Lodge was entered on the Register as No. 1281.
In 1866 the Grand
Lodge of Scotland invaded Newfoundland, and Tasker Lodge, No. 454, Warranted
by that Grand Body, was established at St. John's. This Lodge has exerted a
dominant influence in the development and extension of Scottish Freemasonry in
Newfoundland. Largely through its energies and those of District Grand Masters
serving under Scottish authority, the follow‑ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 67
ing Lodges have since been Warranted: Harbor Grace Lodge, No. 476, at Harbor
Grace; Carbonear Lodge, No. 1043, at Carbonear; Northcliffe Lodge, No. 1086,
at Grand Falls; MacKay Lodge, No. 1129, at Bay Roberts; St. Andrew's Lodge,
No. 1139, at St. John's; and Heart's Content Lodge, No. 1275, at Hearts'
Content. Among the Lodges under the English authority and those under Scottish
authority the utmost cordiality and co‑operation have always existed. The
following Brethren have served as Masters under the Scottish authority: the
Hon. A. M. Mackay, James Gordon, John Cowan, C. R. Duder, and the Hon. Sir
Tasker Cook, the present incumbent.
Upon the formation of
the present Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia, in 1869, the English Lodges in
Newfoundland, that is, St. John's Lodge, Avalon Lodge, and Hiram Lodge, were
without a District Grand Master. Consequently on June 3, 1870, a memorial was
forwarded to the Grand Lodge of England, praying that Newfoundland be made a
District, with the Hon. James Shannon Clift acting as its first District Grand
Master. This Petition was granted and Bro. Clift was appointed to the Office
on August 29, 1870. Then, in the following May, a District Grand Lodge was
formally organised, and its Officers were appointed and Invested. At the same
meeting preliminary steps were taken for the formation of the present
Benevolent Fund. The first Lodge formed under the new regime was Victoria
Lodge, at Fortune Bay, which was Chartered on November 27, 1871, as Lodge No.
1378. Later, on December 13, 1876, a second Lodge was established at Grand
Bank, under the name of Fidelity Lodge, No. 1659.
In 1876 an effort was
made to establish a Grand Lodge of Newfoundland, the leaders in the movement
being Bro. A. J. W. McNeily and the Hon. Moses Monroe. Delegates from St.
John's Lodge, Avalon Lodge, and Victoria Lodge, all Working under the District
Grand Lodge, and from Tasker Lodge and Harbor Grace Lodge Working under the
Scottish Constitution, met in conference and reported favourably. The report
was then adopted by all the Lodges and later was presented to the Grand Lodge
of England by the Hon. William V. Whiteway, who happened to be visiting the
motherland at that time, but it was not approved, for the advisors of the
Grand Master felt that the time was inopportune and the District too weak
successfully to support the dignity of a Grand Lodge. As a consequence, the
proposals were dropped and they have not since been revived.
On the death of the
Hon. James S. Clift, in 1877, the District Grand Lodge nominated the Hon.
William V. Whiteway to succeed him as District Grand Master. In May 1878, Bro.
Whiteway was appointed, his Installation taking place on the following June
12.
In 1880 the Masonic
Mutual Insurance Company was formed, the Hon. Moses Monroe, its first
President, being the prime mover in its establishment. Through its Work it has
been of great benefit to its members.
On April 22, 1881,
Notre Dame Lodge, No. 1907, at Bett's Cove, was Chartered by the Grand Lodge
of England. Five years later the Lodge was trans‑ 68 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION ferred to Little Bay, where it is still active. A new Temple was
dedicated at Little Bay in September 1931.
On June 1i, 1885, a
new era in the Masonic history of Newfoundland was inaugurated. On that day
the corner‑stone of the first Masonic Temple in St. John's was laid with
fitting Rites. The ceremony was performed by the Dis trict Grand Master, the
Hon. Sir William V. Whiteway, who was assisted by the Provincial Grand Master,
the Hon. A. M. Mackay. Six months later, on December 29, the Temple was
dedicated to Freemasonry. Here in 1887 the jubilee of Queen Victoria was
fittingly celebrated. The celebration concluded on August 9, with a Grand
Masonic ball, at which H. R. H., the Prince of Monaco was a guest. Here, too,
in October 1889 Twillingate Lodge, No. 2364, at Twillingate, was Consecrated
by the District Grand Master, Sir William V. Whiteway. Three years later, the
great fire which swept away half the city of St. John's destroyed the
beautiful Temple and with it many valuable Records which can never be
replaced. This necessitated the building of a new Temple. On August 23, 1894,
therefore, the corner‑stone of the present Temple was laid, the Lodges Working
under both the English and the Scottish Constitutitions taking part. This
second Temple was formally dedicated on St. George's Day, April 23, 1897.
At a joint meeting of
St. John's Lodge and Avalon Lodge, held on November Zo, 19oo, the Right Hon.
Sir William V. Whiteway, who had completed fifty years of Masonic Work, was
memorialised with an address and presented with a golden loving cup.
In 1903 a meeting of
the city Lodges was held to welcome the Deputy District Grand Master's
Association of Massachusetts, which paid a visit to Newfoundland at that time.
In 19o8 on the death
of the Right Hon. Sir William V. Whiteway, the Hon. James A. Clift, K.C., was
appointed District Grand Master. He was Installed in May i909. During his term
of Officeäwhich lasted from 1909 to 1923, three Lodges were added to the Roll,
and the membership was more than doubled. The three Lodges were Whiteway
Lodge, No. 3541, at St. John's, Botwood Lodge, No. 3542, at Botwood, and Clift
Lodge, No. 3694, at Bell Island.
In July 1914, H.R.H.
the Duke of Connaught, Grand Master of England, visited St. John's and
attended a meeting of the District Grand Lodge. On that occasion addresses
were presented by both District Grand Lodges. His Royal Highness also visited
Botwood Lodge, at Botwood. Connaught Hall, later erected by that Lodge, was so
named by permission of the Grand Master. The part played by Newfoundland
members of the Craft during the Great War was a very real and practical one.
The call for volunteers found a ready response among the Brethren, and the
farewell meetings for the departing soldier Brethren were inspiring occasions
long remembered by those who took part. During that struggle the Craft
undertook the support of ten cots in the Newfoundland and Freemasons' Ward in
the hospital at Southport, England, OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 69 and
contributed generously to many other patriotic appeals and undertakings. In
1923 upon the death of James A. Clift, K.C.C.B.E., John R. Bennett was
appointed to succeed him as District Grand Master. Bro. Bennett was Installed
by the Right Hon. Lord Ampthill, M.‑.W.'. Provincial Grand Master of England,
who in company with other distinguished English Brethren paid a visit to St.
John's on July 1o, of that year. In 1926 the dignity of Knight of the British
Empire (K.B.E.) was conferred upon the District Grand Master. It was in 1926
under the regime of Sir John Bennett, that Corner Brook Lodge, No. 4832, at
Corner Brook, was established.
Clift Lodge, at Bell
Island, and Botwood Lodge, at Botwood, own their own Lodge buildings. In July
1927, the Grand Chapter of Nova Scotia held its Annual Convocation at St.
John's, the home of Shannon Chapter, No. 9 which is under its jurisdiction.
The District of
Newfoundland is the only one under the United Grand Lodge of England that has
had the honour and privilege to welcome both the M.‑.W.‑.the Grand Master and
the M.‑.W.‑.the Pro Grand Master of England.
The year 1923 is
memorable in Newfoundland Masonry, for it marks the first occasion on which a
Grand Officer (the M.‑. W.‑. the Pro Grand Master) crossed the ocean to
perform the ceremony of Installing a District Grand Master.
In May 1931, the
Scottish Constitutions of Newfoundland were honoured by a visit from the Grand
Secretary of Scotland, R.‑. W.‑. Bro. Thomas G. Winning.
To‑day (1935), the
Craft of Newfoundland is organised in eighteen Lodges, eleven of which are
under the District Grand Lodge (English Constitution), with Sir John Bennett
as District Grand Master; and the remaining seven of which are under the
District Grand Lodge (Scottish Constitution), of which Sir Tasker Cook is
District Grand Master. The total membership of all these Lodges is
approximately Zooo Masons. Between the two jurisdictions there is the closest
co‑operation. Both unite in supporting Shannon Royal Arch Chapter, No. 9, G.R.
of Nova Scotia, the Tasker Educational Fund, and all other relief and
patriotic funds and undertakings. The two jurisdictions vie with each other in
service and good works only.
ONTARIO WALTER S.
HERRINGTON HE history of Freemasonry in Ontario naturally resolves itself into
several periods corresponding more or less with the political changes of the
Province. The one did not always follow closely upon the heel of the other,
yet we find that every change in the political status of the country, as a
rule, sooner or later manifested itself in the Constitution of our Order.
70 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION During the French regime up to the fall of Quebec in 1759, there were
no Lodges in any part of the Province: in fact, there were no white men within
its present boundaries except the garrisons and traders in and about the
trading posts along the line of travel to the hunting grounds west of the
Great Lakes. Our next period extends from the taking over of Quebec by the
British in 1759 to the division of the Province into Upper and Lower Canada in
1792. It must be remembered that the Quebec Act of 1774 extended the
boundaries of that Province to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and included a
great deal of territory now forming a part of the United States and of the ten
Lodges Warranted during this period four were located at points beyond the
present limits of our Province. Most of these Lodges were originally what we
might term Military Lodges, the members of which were chosen from the
regiments stationed at the various posts. It is true that after the Treaty of
Paris following the revolution there was a great influx of United Empire
Loyalists among whom were many Freemasons sincerely devoted to the Craft, but
they were too busy hewing out their homes in the forest to devote much time to
organising themselves into Lodges. Of these ten Lodges three were Warranted by
the Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec, one by the Provincial Grand Lodge of New
York, five by the Grand Lodge of England and one by the Provincial Grand Lodge
of Lower Canada. They were scattered over a vast extent of territory, the two
extremes being over 5oo miles apart and up to 1792 no attempt had been made to
bring them under one central authority.
Although the United
States Empire Loyalists had by their sacrifices in the British cause justly
earned their title, it must not be supposed that they were contented with
their lot simply because they were once more under the British flag. The
Quebec Act among its other terms guaranteed to the French subjects the free
exercise of their language and religion and the preservation of the French
Civil Code. While it was regarded by them as their Magna Charta, it found
little favour with the Loyalists. To remedy this and other grievances the
Constitution Act was passed in 1791 dividing the Province into Upper and Lower
Canada and giving a separate Legislative Assembly to each. John Graves Simcoe
was the first lieutenant‑governor of Upper Canada which afterwards became the
Province of Ontario and with his arrival in 1792 there was ushered in a new
era of Freemasonry. He was accompanied by one William Jarvis who in addition
to his appointment as Secretary to His Excellency had previous to his sailing
for Canada been Constituted by the Athol Grand Lodge of England Provincial
Grand Master of Upper Canada. The Grand Lodge recognising the political
separation into two Provinces treated them as separated also in their Masonic
jurisdiction and under the same date, the 7th of March 1792, appointed H. R.
H. Prince Edward, afterwards the Duke of Kent and father of Queen Victoria,
Provincial Grand Master of Lower Canada. While the two offices were created at
the same time, the authority granted to the respective incumbents differed in
one respect. The prince was authorised to issue Warrants to Lodges, but R. W.
Bro. Jarvis was simply given power to grant Dis‑ OF CANADA AND NEVvrvul,,_.__
pensations. The Grand Lodge reserved to itself the authority to issue the
Warrants in Upper Canada. The latter disregarded the restriction placed upon
him and much confusion resulted therefrom in after years. He could scarcely be
said to possess any superior qualifications for the Office, as his appointment
followed one month after his Initiation. He does not appear to have been very
deeply impressed with the responsibility assumed by him in accepting the
position as he made no effort to organise his Provincial Grand Lodge until
July 1795. Five Lodges responded to the summons and the necessary Officers
were regularly elected and Installed.
The seat of the
government was changed in 1797 from Niagara to York, now the city of Toronto,
and the Provincial Grand Master changed his residence accordingly. Up to that
time he was so engrossed in his duties as secretary to Governor Simcoe that he
paid very little attention to the affairs of Grand Lodge which were carried on
by a number of zealous Brethren at Niagara who deeply resented the removal to
York of the Charter and Jewels of Grand Lodge. In the absence of the
Provincial Grand Master and the Warrant and Jewels the Brethren at Niagara
continued to function as best they could and all efforts to induce R. W. Bro.
Jarvis to attend the meetings or return the Warrant and jewels to Niagara were
of no avail. Finally a peremptory demand was made upon him in i8oi to attend a
meeting at Niagara called for the purpose of putting the affairs of Grand
Lodge in order accompanied with a warning that in the event of his failing to
attend he would be deposed from office and a successor elected in his stead.
There was of course no constitutional authority for such a high‑handed
proceeding but the Brethren were driven to desperation and were prepared to
take matters in their own hands regardless of the consequences. He ignored the
threat and in December i8oz the rebellious Brethren, true to their promise,
formed a schismatic Gran d Lodge, elected a Grand Master of their own, and
immediately set to work t o extend their field of operations by issuing
Warrants to new Lodges. R. W. Bro. Jarvis was finally goaded into action and
summoned a meeting of the Lodges at York in February 1804. The object of the
meeting was to stamp out the seditious movement at Niagara.
Of the eighteen
regular Lodges in the jurisdiction only eight sent Delegates to York. All of
these were quite outspoken in their loyalty to the Provincial Grand Master and
declared war against the Naigara Brethren and summoned them to appear at York
to answer for their alleged un‑Masonic conduct. This was the beginning of a
long and bitter strife culminating in a feeling far removed from the true
spirit of Freemasonry, which continued until the death of the Provincial Grand
Master in 1817. The jurisdiction was thus divided into two factions both
animated by the best of intentions and at this distance it is difficult to
place upon either of them the responsibility for the unfortunate position in
which they found themselves. The marvel is that any of the Lodges survived the
test to which they were subjected. Each Body denounced the other in letters
and Petitions to the Grand 72 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION Lodge of England
with the result that R. W. Bro. Jarvis received a severe reprimand, but this
had little effect upon him. He continued his indifferent attitude towards the
Craft and called no further meeting of the Grand Lodge until 1811. At this
meeting very little was done beyond denouncing the Niagara Brethren. The
latter Body held regular Communications, took an active interest in the Lodges
recognising its authority, kept up a correspondence with the Grand Lodge at
London, which neither rebuked them for presuming to arrogate to themselves the
authority of the Provincial Grand Lodge nor acknowledged their right to do so.
The war of 1812‑15 put the finishing touch upon the efforts of the Provincial
Grand Lodge to maintain some semblance of organisation and also seriously
interferred with the operations of the schismatic Body at Niagara. The
Provincial Grand Master died on the 13th of August 1817 and with him passed
the last hope of reviving Freemasonry through the organisation that he had
brought into being.
The Niagara Brethren
took full advantage of the opportunity that presented itself to extend their
influence and with renewed energy sought to win over the Lodges which up to
that time had declined to recognise them. Al though they had, after the death
of R. W. Bro. Jarvis secured the original Warrant appointing him Provincial
Grand Master the majority of the Lodges, while recognising the zeal and good
intentions of the rebellious Brethren felt that their position was
unconstitutional and untenable. It was in this crisis that the Brethren at the
other end of Lake Ontario conceived the idea of inviting all the Lodges to a
Conference in order to devise some means of placing the Provincial Grand Lodge
upon a sound basis and establishing harmony throughout the entire
jurisdiction. In fact the plan was set on foot before the death of the
Provincial Grand Master by the Brethren of Addington Lodge at the village of
Bath, but the meeting was not convened until two weeks after his death. This
meeting resulted in bringing into being what is known in our Masonic
chronicles as the Kingston Convention. Without arrogating to themselves the
title of a Grand Lodge or designating their Officers by the regular Masonic
appellations, the Lodges participating in the movement performed all the
functions of a Grand Lodge, infused new life into the Lodges which had lain
dormant for a number of years, and actually formed seven new Lodges. For five
years they kept the Masonic fires burning and during this period used every
effort to induce the United Grand Lodge of England to appoint a new Provincial
Grand Master. They were frustrated in their efforts through the opposition of
the Niagara organisation and the apparent inability of the English officials
to understand the actual state of affairs in the Province. This confusion in
England was largely due to the neglect of R. W. Bro. Jarvis to make the
necessary returns during his term of Office. To the Kingston Convention
Freemasons in Canada owe a great deal. But for the untiring efforts of the few
zealous Brethren who devised the organisation and so successfully managed its
affairs the Craft would have become a hopeless wreck. Their efforts were
ultimately crowned with success, and there was great OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 73 rejoicing in June 1822 when notice was received from the Grand
Lodge of England of the appointment of Simon McGillivray as Provincial Grand
Master. The choice of the new incumbent of the Throne was a happy one. He was
a shrewd business man, a genial companion and an ardent lover of the Craft. He
was a nephew of Simon McTavish, famous in the fur‑trading operations of the
North West Company. He had visited Canada as a mere boy in 18oo and ten years
later became a partner in the company and became so proficient in the business
that he was eventually chosen to negotiate the fusion between the North West
Company and the Hudson's Bay Company. He was peculiarly fitted for the task in
hand if he could have found it convenient to devote his time to the duties of
his Office. He could be firm without appearing to be autocratic and persuasive
without loss of dignity. As it was he brought order out of chaos and
reconciled the opposing factions, including the Niagara Brethren, who for
eighteen years had maintained their own schismatic Grand Lodge. His first
report to the Grand Lodge of England showed Dispensations granted to twenty
Lodges, and a hopeful prospect of bringing the remaining sixteen within the
fold, Unfortunately his business interests called him out of the country for
long intervals and he was obliged to entrust the guidance of Grand Lodge to
deputies who failed to rise to the occasion. While a few individual Lodges
manifested a deep interest in Masonry during the eighteen years that he
presided over the destiny of the Craft, yet throughout the Province there was
after the first few years a gradual decline in the activities of many others.
No small portion of this lack of interest may be attributed to the unfortunate
Morgan incident. Simon McGillivray died in i84o and Freemasonry in the
Province was once more without a head. By a strange coincidence there was
another political change in our history, but the two events are in no way
related to each other. Matters had not been going well in either Upper or
Lower Canada. They each had many grievances which culminated in open rebellion
in both Provinces in 1837. After a thorough investigation by Lord Durham a
solution of the difficulties was sought by adopting his recommendation of a
union of the two Provinces, which was effected by the British Parliament in
the same year that Freemasonry in Upper Canada for the second time was set
adrift. For four years the Grand Lodge of England took no steps to fill the
vacancy and the selection, when made, fell upon a man who had not yet received
his Master's Degree. In the meantime the Brethren in the eastern part of the
Province broke out in open revolt. In 1842 R. W. Bro. Ziba M. Phillips, of
Brockville, by virtue of his rank as Past Deputy Provincial Grand Master, an
honour conferred upon him by McGillivray twenty years before, took it upon
himself to call a meeting of Delegates from all the Lodges to take into
consideration the state of the Craft and the necessity of forming a permanent
Provincial Grand Lodge. Only four Lodges responded to the summons. The outcome
of the meeting was the forwarding of a Petition to the Grand Master in England
praying that the Hon. Robert Baldwin Sullivan be appointed Provincial Grand
Master. No reply to the Petition was received. Undeterred by this cold recep‑
74 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION lion of their prayer the Brethren in response
to another invitation from R. W. Bro. Phillips met again in 1843 and went
through the form of organising an independent body. The Grand Lodge of Free
Masons, Canada West, had elected Bro. Phillips Grand Master. For eleven years
this Body continued to function but its sphere of influence was limited to a
small portion of the eastern part of the Province. Sir Allan Napier McNab was
the first Canadian to be appointed Provincial Grand Master by the Grand Lodge
of England. Although he received his Warrant in 1844, for some reason known
only to himself, he did not disclose the fact until the following year when
his Mother Lodge in conjunction with other Lodges was on the eve of
petitioning England to appoint W. Bro. T. J. Ridout. A happy compromise was
effected by reorganising the Provincial Grand Lodge on the 9th of August,
1845, with Sir Allan in the Grand East supported by Bro. Ridout as Deputy
Provincial Grand Master.
With the advent of
this, the Third Provincial Grand Lodge, the spirit of Freemasonry received a
new impetus and there was every indication that the Jursidiction was entering
upon an era of prosperity it had never before attained. By 1852 there were no
less than thirty‑four Lodges affiliated with the new Grand Lodge, which held
its regular semi‑annual Communications and led an active existence in striking
contrast with the former provincial bodies. The otherwise clear Masonic
firmament was marred by only two clouds. The one was the spurious Grand Lodge,
still presided over by R. W. Bro. Phillips, which, however, was losing its
influence and was doomed to an early extinction. The other was of a more
serious nature. There was a growing feeling that the Provincial Grand Lodge
should be permitted to elect its own Grand Master and to have absolute control
of the working and operation of the Craft within its jurisdiction‑the United
Grand Lodge of England still retaining and exercising a superior and governing
power. This state of feeling was brought about by the delays in forwarding
Certificates and Warrants, and the absorption of the surplus funds of the
Canadian Lodges for the benevolent purposes of the Mother Grand Lodge, which
was at the same time sending to our shores many emigrants who, sooner or
later, became a charge upon the Masons here. At the meeting held in June 1852
the first step was taken which eventually led to the creation of our
independent Grand Lodge. A notice of motion was given that at the next regular
meeting a resolution would be introduced that the Grand Lodge of England be
memorialised to permit the Provincial Grand Lodge to exercise control over the
affairs of Masonry in this Province.
Accordingly, at the
next meeting a Committee was appointed to draft a Petition which in due course
was presented for adoption in the following May. It was couched in the most
friendly terms and while it professed the most " fraternal feelings of
gratitude and respect and esteem " for the United Grand Lodge of England it
made it quite clear that it was the desire, and, we might read between the
lines, the determination of the Provincial Grand Lodge to elect its own Grand
Master and to have control of its own affairs subject to the governing power
of the United Grand Lodge. Six months OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 75 elapsed
and no reply had been received to the Petition. At the meeting in October 1853
the Canadian Brethren went one step further. A notice of motion was given that
at the meeting in the following May a resolution would be presented calling
for the forwarding of a Petition for power to establish an independent Grand
Lodge. In the meantime it was learned that there had been some delay in
forwarding the first Petition, so no further action was taken at that time
further than the forwarding of a letter to the Grand Master in which the
complaints of the Provincial Grand Lodge were clearly set forth. Meetings were
held in October 1854 and May and July 1855 and still no satisfaction had been
obtained from the mother country. At the July meeting an attempt was made to
submit a resolution calling for the formation of an independent Grand Lodge,
but the Deputy Grand Master ruled it out of order. A large number of Delegates
resented this action and after adjournment called an informal meeting and
unanimously passed a resolution that a meeting be called for the loth of
October in Hamilton to take into consideration the advisability of
establishing an independent Grand Lodge of Canada.
Forty‑four Delegates
assembled at the appointed time and place representing Lodges all the way from
Montreal to Windsor, for it will be observed that the resolution embraced
Lower as well as Uppper Canada. It was a very anxious time for all concerned.
In the hearts of all there was a strong attachment to the Old Country. The
efforts to establish in Canada any stable form of government had not up to
that time been very successful. There was a tendency to lean heavily upon the
motherland, to look to her for support and guidance, to place implicit
confidence in her counsels and that same dependent attitude largely prevailed
in matters Masonic. On the other hand, they felt that their grievances were
real and that the only remedy was complete independence. After the usual
preliminaries a resolution to that effect was presented and met with only one
dissenting vote. William Mercer Wilson, judge of the County Court of Norfolk,
was elected the first Grand Maste rof the Grand Lodge of Canada. To him
Freemasonry in Canada owes more than to any other man. His scholarly
attainments, amiable disposition, exemplary life, gentlemanly instincts and
judicial training peculiarly qualified him for the position. He was at the
outset confronted with two very difficult problems, viz. to secure recognition
by the other Grand jurisdictions including the Grand Lodge of England, and
what promised to be a much more difficult one, to reconcile and bring within
the fold those Lodges that had not approved the step that had been taken.
Matters were not
moving very smoothly at this time with the Provincial Grand Lodge, M. W. Bro.
Wilson had approached it with a view of union of the Grand Lodges but a
deadlock ensued. Negotiations with the Grand Lodge of England had proven
unsatisfactory. The only alternative that remained was to form another
independent Grand Lodge of Canada which was accordingly done. This brought
about the undesirable condition of two independent Grand Lodges assuming
concurrent jurisdiction over the same territory, a condition tantamount to a
declaration of war by the new Grand Lodge. It was 76 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION in this crisis that M. W. Bro. Wilson displayed his consummate skill
and diplomacy. Although the two Grand Bodies hurled invectives at each other
he did not despair of effecting a union, as he realised and bent all his
energies towards convincing both belligerents that Freemasonry could not
thrive in such an atmosphere. In this endeavour he had an able assistant in
the person of R. W. Bro. J. D. Harington, Provincial Grand Master of Quebec
and Three Rivers, a member of the Provincial Grand Lodge and, after the union,
Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada for four consecutive years.
Committees were appointed by the respective Grand Lodges, conferences were
held under the guidance of these two distinguished Brethren and a basis of
union was finally reached satisfactory to both parties. The union was
consummated on 14th of July 1858. It was at this gathering that M. W. Bro.
Wilson, whose memory is honoured and revered throughout the entire
jurisdiction, presented in his address his conception of the essential
qualifications of a Master of a Lodge. We tender no apology for presenting it
in full, as he himself was a living exemplication of the ideal Master.
" To become the model
Master of a Lodge should be the ambition of every Brother: and to discharge
with efficiency and zeal the duties of that important Office should be his
most anxious desire. These duties are not confined to the mere repetition of a
few phrases, learned by rote, but he should be enabled to instruct the Craft,
not only as to the meaning and origin of our ceremonies, but also to explain
to them the philosophy which is veiled in its allegories and illustrated by
its symbols. He should be able, also, to convince his Brethren, that all
science and all art, legitimately directed, are but lines that radiate towards
the great ` I AM,' that the sciences are the media by which we are led to
contemplate the goodness, greatness, wisdom and power of the Great Architect
of the Universe: and that the arts are the modes we have developed of
expressing our sense and admiration of the wondrous glories of an Almighty
Father which are scattered around us. The Master of a Lodge should also, in
his life and in his conversation, be a model for his Brethren to admire and
imitate, and should himself practise virtues which he inculcates within its
walls. He should be punctual and methodical in all things, and, both by his
character and conduct, command the respect, the esteem, and good will of all
men for, as the Master is supreme in his Lodge, and distinguished by his
position in the Craft, so should he also be distinguished as the possessor of
an irreproachable character, a dignified demeanour, an expanded intellect, and
a liberal education. Happy and prosperous must those Lodges be which are
governed by such men!‑Their time of meeting is looked forward to by the
Brethren with the most pleasing anticipations. Prompt at the hour, every
Brother is at his station, and the Work is carried on with pleasure and
profit. The Worshipful Master who presides over his Lodge with ability,
firmness, and decision for without force of character there can be no force of
impression, whose manner is courteous yet dignified: whose decisions are
consonant with reason and Masonic law: and who dispenses light and information
among the Craft, will ever OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 77 be regarded by his
Brethren as one who is entitled to their highest respect and their most
fraternal regard." The union of the two Grand Lodges of Canada having been
happily effected there was still wanting recognition by the Grand Lodge of
England. Although there had been some heated correspondence over the action of
the Canadian Brethren, there was never a time when they lost their respect and
reverence for the Mother Grand Lodge. Nearly all of the other Grand
jurisdictions had gladly extended recognition and it was quite apparent that
the Grand Lodge of England could not consistently decline much longer to
extend fraternal greetings. The main difficulty was the desire of the English
Grand Lodge to protect a few Lodges it had Warranted, and which had not
affiliated with the Canadian Grand Lodge. To M. W. Bro. Wilson is due the
credit of bringing about a settlement of this problem. On the first of June
1859 an agreement was reached acknowledging the jurisdiction of the Grand
Lodge of Canada, but reserving the rights and privileges of private Lodges and
individuals still holding firm in their allegiance to the Grand Lodge of
England. It was further provided that no more Warrants for new Lodges in any
part of Canada would be granted by the English Grand Lodge.
M. W. Bro. Wilson
ruled the destinies of the Grand Lodge for the first five years of its
existence. After this period he was re‑elected from time to time, serving in
all ten years in the Grand East. When he first assumed Office there were 41
Lodges owing allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Canada. When he surrendered his
gavel at the end of his first term of five years there were 136 holding
Warrants and two Working under Dispensations. He had piloted the Craft through
threatening storms and treacherous waters and brought it safely into port. It
was with a heart filled with emotion and gratitude to the Great Architect of
the Universe that he used the following words in his valedictory address in
186o " To God and to Him alone, are we indebted for the peace, happiness and
prosperity which has attended our efforts and blessed our labours. With
gratified hearts and due solemnity, we do therefore earnestly entreat our
heavenly Father to continue to us His protection, blessing and guidance." That
prayer has been answered in full measure. Complications have arisen and
difficulties have presented themselves, but all these problems have been
solved and at no time since that prayer was uttered has Freemasonry in the
Province of Ontario sustained any serious injury from internal dissensions or
strained relations with foreign jurisdictions. The total membership at that
time was 3664 but by a steady growth the number has increased to about 116,ooo
at the present time.
The question of
benevolence must sooner or later force itself to the front in every
jurisdiction and the Grand Lodge of Canada was not exempt from this perplexing
problem of caring for the indigent Brethren and their dependents. In a moment
of excessive optimism Grand Lodge committed itself in 1861 to a scheme for the
erection of an asylum for the aged and indigent Masons. It 78 FREEMASONRY IN
THE DOMINION was proposed to raise $io,ooo by voluntary subscription which as
soon as raised was to be supplemented by another $io,ooo from the general
funds. For forty years the question was kept dangling before Grand Lodge.
Committees were appointed from time to time to report upon the feasibility of
the scheme and although the fund with accumulated interest had passed the $io,ooo
mark by 1884 Grand Lodge could not see its way clear to undertake the erection
of the building. As early as 1867 M. W. Bro. Wilson, who was again the
occupant of the Throne expressed himself as decidedly opposed to the
undertaking.
In commenting upon
the attitude of those who were at the time receiving assistance from their
respective Lodges or from Grand Lodge he said: " I am convinced that very few
of them, if any, would accept your bounty if coupled with the condition that
before they could become the recipients of it, they must become the inmates of
a Masonic asylum." This was the keynote of the objections presented every time
the question was brought forward. It remained for the Committee of Audit and
Finance to devise in igoo an ingenious method of disposing of the money which
at that time amounted to over $16,ooo, by getting Grand Lodge to adopt its
report which gave expression to the opinion that unless Grand Lodge at its
next Annual Session otherwise ordered, the Asylum Fund should merge into the
General Fund. No action was taken at the next meeting so the merger was
automatically effected. Had the subject been introduced it is quite possible
that the result might have been different. Entirely apart from any sums
expended by individual Masons and constituent Lodges, Grand Lodge paid out
during the past year, 1934, in benevolence the sum of $i22,149.oo, and this
annual expenditure is likely to increase in the future. The fund is
administered very satisfactorily by a Committee of Benevolence assisted in the
larger centres by Boards oú Relief. The question of a Masonic Home was again
introduced in 192‑2, and a Committee was appointed to enquire into the
desirability of establishing one. After a thorough enquiry extending over two
years the Committee reported that they did not consider it advisable or
practicable to entertain the proposal to build a hospital, home or school.
On the first of July
1867 our Province underwent another political change followed very quickly by
a demand for a change in the jurisdiction of our Grand Lodge. On that date
Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia and New Bruns wick were united under one
federal government with a local legislative assembly for each Province. Lower
Canada resumed its former name as the Province of Quebec while Upper Canada
entered the federation as the Province of Ontario .
In the month of
October 1869 after some unpleasant preliminaries a Convention of Delegates
from the Quebec Lodges went through the form of organising an independent
Grand Lodge for that Province. The reason assigned was that Quebec and Ontario
had become separate Provinces and should be separate Masonic Jurisdictions.
Owing to some alleged irregularities or what we might charitably term
misunderstandings between the leaders of the move‑ 8o FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION its reports are very rarely rejected or amended. The Board, of
course, has no power to suspend or amend the Constitution and can act
independently in only such matters as it is given power to do by Grand Lodge.
The Deputy Grand Master is ex‑officio President of the Board and presides at
its meetings.
Our Ritual is
modelled after that of the United Grand Lodge of England. There are a few
verbal changes but the casual observer would not be able to detect any
difference. Our first Grand Masters spent many anxious moments in their
endeavours to overcome the lack of uniformity in the Work. Slight inaccuracies
would creep in at one part or another of the ceremonies. These might have been
produced through a defective memory or a failure to grasp a correct rendering
of the part. For the past quarter of a century very little difficulty has been
experienced along this line. Each of the thirty‑four District Deputy Grand
Masters is expected, during his term of office, which is for one year only, to
visit every Lodge in his District, and to see that every Officer is proficient
in his Work. For over twenty‑five years a veteran Grand Master, a recognised
authority upon the Ritual, has taken the District Deputy Grand Masters in hand
immediately after their election and thoroughly instructed them in the duties
of their Office and in the secret Work. This course, extending over a period
of years, has produced a remarkable uniformity throughout every part of the
jurisdiction. No levity of any kind is tolerated in conferring the Degrees,
but on the contrary every effort is put forward to impress upon the candidate
that he is embarking upon a serious undertaking, and that he will be expected
to observe faithfully the lessons presented to him for his consideration.
Grand Lodge has been
deeply concerned in recent years over the question of Masonic Education. There
was a conviction that the newly‑Initiated candidates were not receiving the
attention that they had a right to expect from the Lodge. In the course of the
ceremonies they were repeatedly enjoined to pursue certain courses of study,
but nothing was done to guide them in their pursuit of knowledge, with the
result that in many instances the members became discouraged, indifferent and
irregular in their attendance, with the inevitable suspension for non‑payment
of dues. The question of seeking a remedy for this unfortunate state of
affairs was first brought to the attention of Grand Lodge by M. W. Bro. Martin
at the Annual Communication in 192‑9. His appeal received a sympathetic
hearing, and a Committee was appointed to investigate the whole matter and to
report at the next Annual meeting. The Committee entered energetically upon
their duties, but finding the task assigned to them much more complicated than
was anticipated they were not in a position to report until 1931‑ In view of
the fact that fewer applications for membership were being received the time
seemed particularly opportune for devoting some of the spare time to Masonic
Education. To secure uniformity of procedure steps were taken to prepare
manuals of instruction. These have now been completed for the first and second
Degrees. The Committee is now one of the standing Committees of Grand Lodge,
and to it is committed the full control through‑ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 81
out the entire jurisdiction. Competent instructors have been appointed in
every District. Each Lodge is expected to introduce some educational topic in
the programme of at least two meetings each year. Lectures are delivered or
papers read, followed by a question drawer and discussion of the subject
brought before the Brethren. The result has been most gratifying. The members
have displayed an eagerness to acquire more knowledge of the history of the
Craft and its mysteries and symbolism. The attendance at the regular meetings
has been increased and a keener interest is manifested in all the proceedings
of the Lodge. While the system is still in an experimental stage the consensus
of opinion is that it will eventually be put upon a permanent basis, and will
go a long way towards solving the vexed problem of the too‑prevailing lack of
interest in the proceedings of the Lodge.
Selected statistics
covering the entire period from the formation of our Grand Lodge to the
present time showing the number of Lodges, membership, finances, and
benevolent work are shown on the following pages.
QUEBEC W. W.
WILLIAMSON HE ancient city of Quebec, crowded with historical interest and
romance from the day of its foundation up to the very present, and from within
whose walls came those hardy explorers who were so largely instrumental in
opening up a new world, possesses a peculiar interest for the Masonic
Fraternity for the northern half of the North American continent. It was there
that the first governing body of Freemasonry was created in Canada,
immediately after the capture of the city by General Wolfe.
From time to time
various claims have been advanced that some form of Masonry had been brought
over from France long before the fall of Quebec. While we are not in position
to disprove those claims, at the same time we can confidently assert that
there is no existing proof that such was the case. In support of these claims,
attention has been drawn to the finding in Quebec, in the year 1784, of a
Cross of St. John of Jerusalem. On it was sculptured a Templar's shield having
the shape of a keystone. The cross bore the date 1647. It is more than likely,
however, that the Knights Hospitaller of Malta, or some similar organisation,
once maintained the establishments in both Quebec and Montreal, and that this
cross may have come from the ruins of one of their asylums. The cross has been
preserved and is now embedded in the gateway that leads to the principal
entrance of the Chateau Frontenac.
At the outset it may
be stated that so soon as civilian Lodges had been established in Quebec, the
French Canadians of that day formed a good part of the membership. They were
apparently very enthusiastic in spreading Masonry over the then known portions
of the region. Indeed on important occasions 82 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION
YEAR NUMBER OF LODGES MEMBERSHIP REVENUE AMOUNT SPENT FOR BENEVOLENCE 1856 41
1,179 L93 /5 1857 1858 1859 49 113 123 1,581 3,042 3,341 b54/II/2 $1,381.00
4093 i86o 140 3,664 3,947 $75 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 151
154 158 164 172 172 184 195 209 3,993 4,368 4,750 5,249 5,792 6,380 7,000
8,o22 8,797 5,466.oo 4,182.00 4,881.oo 5,o68.oo 5,695.00 6,65o.oo 6,92‑3‑00
8,02‑3‑00 8,612.oo 15.00 30.00 150.00 495 ‑00 33000 401.00 46o.oo 9io.0o
1,245.00 1870 229 9,99, 9,683 2, I9o 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878
1879 253 281 297 276 288 303 319 324 334 10,500 12,168 13)750 14,530 15,934
16,719 17,220 17,418 17,587 9793 10,346.oo 11,698.oo 13,532.00 14,070.00
14,130.00 17,013.00 16,945 16,570‑00 3,481.00 4, Ioo.oo 4,870‑00 4,64o.oo
5,6o5.oo 5,925.00 6,o66.oo 7,42‑5.00 g,18o.oo 188o 340 17,474 I5,46o 6.870
1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 189o 189i 1892 1893 1894 346 347
349 350 356 357 357 355 354 354 348 347 348 349 17,635 17,967 18,442 18,9II
18,983 1925 6 19,450 19,740 19,818 20,499 2‑o,892 2‑1,42.8 22,o64 2‑2,530
21,499‑00 16,gI3.OO 18,044.00 16,478.oo 16,742.00 16,482.oo 15,604.00 18,673
‑00 17,007.00 18,4o8.oo 19,477‑00 19,796.oo 21,522.00 18,991.oo I I , o80. oo
8,710.00 9,370.00 9,000.00 9,800.00 9,26o.oo 9,625.oo 9,840.00 9,770‑00
9,61o.oo 5,070‑00 7,07500 8,085.00 9)500.00 OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 83 YEAR
NUMBER OF LODGES MEMBERSHIP REVENUE AMOUNT SPENT FOR BENEVOLENCE 1895 1896
1897 1898 1899 Igoo 1901 1902 1903 1904 11905 Igo6 1907 Igo8 11909 1910 IgII
1912 19113 1914 1915 IgI6 11917 1818 1919 1920 1921 1922192‑3 192‑4 1925 1926
1927 1928 192.9 11930 1931 19321933 11934 351 357 360 361 361 362 362 372375
383 391 395 397 406 411 413 4113 421 432442445 449 453 458 472 486 501 527 537
538 545 555 559 563 564 567 568 568 568 568 22,705 23,351 23,398 23,996 24,957
25,922 26,939 28,421 30,485 32,708 34,965 37,728 39,795 41,180 43,908 46,40
48,394 50,721 53,699 56,787 58,983 61,062 63,477 66,457 72,029 8o,92o 84,285
91,879 98,036 Io2,o96 105,339 107,676 1110, 549 112,401 114,237 115,981
116,998 116,166 II3,II8 108,887 18,710.00 20,215.00 2o,828.oo 19,798‑00
21,040.00 22,413.00 2‑3,499‑00 25,3411.00 26,724.00 30,263.00 33,01111.00
34,377‑00 37,359.00 38,954‑00 37,446.oo 4I,362.oo 42.,383‑00 43,1144‑00
44,696.oo 47,241.00 47,233‑00 46, 5 6o.oo 65,799‑00 85,34000 95,116o.oo
114,330.00 143,508.00 139,718.oo 1137,794.00 141,43400 143,768.oo 143,74100
153,723.00 153,59200 1155,543‑00 163,142.00 173,482..oo 16g,304‑00 161,419.00
I5o,868.oo 8,570‑00 9,830.00 8,46o.oo Io,0oo.00 10,150.00 io,6oo.oo 11,340.00
II,565.oo I1,88o.oo 12.,905.00 13,94000 22.,I10.00 20,150.00 23, I66.oo
26,372‑00 2.6,774‑00 30,1195 .00 311,89700 33,835 33,7o8.oo 34,745 36,o7o.oo
36,48500 38,705 40,130.00 51,030.00 66,577‑00 78,410.00 102,275.00 I07,86o.oo
103,005.00 100, 500.00 Io7, Ioo.OO 111,803.00 105,370.00 117,075.00 117,86i.oo
119,025.00 122,149.00 Masonic services were held in Roman Catholic churches,
This interest of the French Canadians was maintained for nearly a century, or
until the decade from 1860 to 1870. At that time they withdrew from membership
for reasons best known to themselves.
84 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION During the last century and up to the present time, many ardent
Masonic historians have made increasing efforts to delve into the past, and
though they have added many valuable and indisputable facts to our knowledge
of Masonic history in Canada, there are still many links in the chain still
missing. Many of these are believed to exist in some form or other, although
they are at the moment hidden from view. The Province of Quebec is no
exception to this almost universal condition. Perhaps no more striking
instance of the recovery of valuable Masonic documents is recorded than the
recent discovery of the original Minute Book of the first Grand Lodge of
Canada, which had lain in darkness for over a century and a half. Found in a
village hundreds of miles from any Masonic centre, it had apparently remained
all these years in the possession of the descendants of some noted Mason of
the eighteenth century. Happily it was brought to light some ten years ago.
The discovery of this
precious Record enables us to correct errors made in former Masonic histories
of the jurisdiction of Quebec. It can be considered as an authoritative guide
to our Masonic past. The writer has been able to verify all the contents of
the book by examining the Records in the library of the Grand Lodge of
England. As may be readily surmised, the Minute Book is hand‑written, and is
partly a Minute Book and partly a Correspondence Record. From it we learn that
soon after the fall of Quebec, on September 113, 1759, the members of the
Military Lodges, thinking that they would doubtless be stationed in Quebec for
quite a length of time, felt the necessity of having some form of supervision,
since there were at the time so many Masonic Warrants in possession of the
various regiments stationed in or about Quebec. With that love for law and
order which has always characterised the Anglo‑Saxon, a meeting of a few of
the Military Lodges was therefore called. This resulted in the creation of the
Grand Lodge of Canada. Because of the importance of that meeting, the Minutes
of it are given here. They are as follows Quebec on the 28th day of November
11759 and of Masonry 5759, which was as soon as convenient after the Surrender
of this place to His Britannic Majesty's Arms.
The masters and
wardens of the following Lodges, viz: No. 1192 in the 47th Regiment, No. 2118
in the 48th Regiment, No. 245 in the 115th Regiment, Dispensation 1136 in the
43rd Regiment, Dispensation 1195 in the Artillery, all of the Registery of
Ireland, and No. 11, of Louisbourg warrant: Mett in form at 6 o'clock in the
evening when it was consulted and agreed upon, as there were so many Lodges in
this Garrison, That one of the brethren present of the Greatest Skill and
Merritt shou'd take u on him the Name of GRAND MASTER from the Authority of
the above Loges untill such time as a favourable opportunity shou'd offer for
obtaining a proper sanction from the Right Worshipful and Right Honourable the
Grand Master of England and in consequence thereof our True and faithful
Brother Mr. John Price Guinnitt Lieutenant in his Majesty's 47th Regiment was
unanimously and to the Great satisfaction of the whole fraternity assembled
Proclaimed GRAND MASTER for the En‑ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 85 suing year,
when being properly installed in the chair he chose our worthy Brother Thomas
Augustus Span Esq. Captain in the 28th Regiment his Deputy who was thereupon
proclaimed as such, and Brothers Huntingford and Prenti.es were Chosen Senior
& Junior Grand Wardens and Brother Paxton Grand Secretary.
Thus the first Grand
Lodge of Canada was launched in good faith and the constituent Lodges at once
proceeded to build up a permanent and representative organisation which has
continued uninterruptedly to the present time.
The first Grand
Master did not retain his Office more than six months, for we find that on
June 24, 176o, Bro. Simon Fraser, Colonel of the 78th Regiment, was elected
Grand Master and that again on November 24 of the same year, Bro. Augustus
Span was elected. Thus we discover that that early Lodge had the unique
experience of having three Grand Masters in less than one year! On December
27, 1761, Lieutenant Milburne West was elected Grand Master and then on
October 30, 1762, he was re‑elected. At the latter Communication a Bro. Walker
produced a Warrant from the Grand Master of England empowering him to form and
hold a Lodge by the name of Merchants Lodge, No. i. The Grand Lodge of
England, not having been advised of the creation of the Grand Lodge of Canada,
was quite justified in its action. The confusion which naturally arose brought
the fact very forcibly before the local Grand Lodge that it had not been
authorised by either of the existing Grand Bodies to erect a governing Body in
Canada. At this Assembly seven Lodges were present, and it was immediately
decided to appoint a Committee to obtain the sanction of the Grand Lodge of
England to convene and hold a Grand Lodge in the city of Quebec.
Accordingly the
Committee lost no time in preparing a Petition an exact copy of which follows
To the Right Worshipfull and Right Honourable Grand Master and Right
Worshipfull the Grand Wardens of True & accepted Masons of England etc., etc,
etc., The Memorial of the Masters and Wardens of the several Lodges at present
meeting residing in Canada, formed into a Grand Lodge, Humbly sheweth; That
your Memorialists having nothing more at heart than the Good and well‑being of
the Royal Art, having thought it proper (agreeable to these our Sentiments) to
transmitt unto you the enclosed Exact and faithfull abstract of our
proceedings under the above appellation.
We beg leave also to
acquaint you that we should not have been this long neglectfull of
Transmitting our proceedings, but that we had reason to hope as many Worthy
Brothers, particularly Brother Dunkerly of His Majesty's ship the Van Guard,
and our late Right Worshipfull Guinnett who so long ago as the year 176o left
this place for England, promised to recommend our case to your consideration,
but not having the satisfaction of hearing from you by either of them, we take
this method of acquainting you that altho' we have been thus convened and done
all that in us lay for the benefit of our particular 86 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Lodges & the Good and well being of Masonry in General, we should
think our roceedings more on the square and agreeable to the Rules of the
ancient Craft if we acted under your Immediate Sanction and sublime
Instruction.
And shou'd your
Superior Wisdom Disaprove of our prior proceedings we flatter ourselves that
that Charity which is inherent in every Masons breast (and so particularly
shines in yours) will attribute it not to want of Respect for your Honourable
Body, but to our particular zeal for the Good of the Craft which must have
Greatly Suffer'd in this distant part of the world but for the methods we took
upon us to transact.
For these reasons we
have confided in our Worthy Brother Collins to present this our Memorial and
to accompany it with Twenty pounds as a small token of our Respect for you and
our Distress'd Brethren, hoping you will excuse our not Enlarging it at
present, having had frequent opportunities of Extending our Charitable
Collections not only to Distress'd Brethren and poor Widows of Brethren who
have fallen in the fields of Battle but even to relieve the distresses and
miserys of some hundreds of poor miserable Canadians During the Course of a
long and Severe Winter, so that our present fund will not admitt of it, but we
trust we shall have future opportunities of continuing our Respects.
Requesting you will
take our situation under your mature consideration and answer our petition as
in your Superior Wisdom you shall deem meet.
And should it be the
case that we shou'd merritt your approbation and be found worthy your
particular sanction, we beg leave to recommend our true and faithfull Brother
Milburne West (Lieut. in His Majesty's 47th Regiment) at present acting as our
Grand Master to your notice to be by you appointed as Provincial Grand Master
for the Conquered Country of Canada under your Sanction and protection, shou'd
you think him and us worthy that honour, with such power as to you may seem
requisite, such as Granting Warrants & nominating a Successor should he
unluckily be removed from us.
And your Memorialists
as in duty Quebec, 8th November bound shall ever pray, &c, &c. &c. 762.
Accompanying this
Petition was a list of the Lodges under the supervision of the Grand Lodge.
The list consisted wholly of fourteen Military Lodges, only eight of which
were then sojourning in Canada. The total membership numbered about iso.
It may here be noted
that at the meeting held in October 1762, the submission of a Warrant to
establish Merchants Lodge, No. 1 was the start of the first civilian Lodge in
Canada, and that the Warrant was promptly recognised as such. The only
modification made was changing from No. 1 to No. 9 on the Register of the
local Grand Lodge.
It may also be noted
that in the foregoing letter the name of Bro. Dunckerley is mentioned. The
activities of that eminent Brother in later years are fully dealt with in Bro.
Sadler's valuable Work, Thomas Dunckerley: His Life, Labours, and Letters,
published in 1891. Attention is here called to the reference in the above
letter merely to show that as far back as 1762 Bro. Dunckerley was a OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND 87 Mason of some importance. Indeed, a letter from Bro.
Gawler to the Grand Lodge of England under date of February 9, 1769,
explaining in detail the situation in Canada, states, " and Brother Dunckerley
of His Majesty's ship Vanguard, who was possessed with a power from the Grand
Lodge of England to Inspect into the State of the Craft wheresoever he might
go honoured them with his approbation of their Proceedings and Installed
Brother Fraser in his high office." The Bro. Gawler who wrote this letter was
a member of a Military Lodge at the time of the capture of Quebec. Later he
took up his residence in England. He was a man of much literary merit, as a
reading of his interesting letters will prove.
The Petitioning
letter was duly received in England, and on May S, 1764, Lord Ferrers signed a
Deputation in favour of Bro. West. Meantime, however, Bro. West had returned
to England. The Deputation was forwarded to him at his English address, but he
never acknowledged the receipt of it, nor did he ever return to Canada. Thus
the much‑expected confirmation was again delayed. Then, under date of June z3,
1763, the Provincial Grand Secretary advised the Grand Secretary of England
that Bro. West had never returned to Canada, and that since he had never sent
any communication to his Brethren in Canada, they therefore Petitioned the
Grand Master of England for a Deputation in favour of Bro. John Collins who
had been carrying on the duties of the Office of Provincial Grand Master.
Thanks to the
assistance of Bro. Gawler, who proved an excellent medium for the adjustment
of all the difficulties encountered in England by the Canadian Brethren,
another Deputation was forwarded to Canada, but it, too, was des tined never
to arrive. Under date of October 14, 1766, the Grand Secretary of England
advised his Canadian Brethren as follows: " we were greatly chagrined at our
being Disappointed therein by their being lost in coming up to this town from
Cape Torment in the ship's Pinnace." It was not very clear whether the words "
their being lost " referred only to the papers or whether it meant that the
passengers, too, had been lost. But a subsequent letter to the Brother who was
commissioned to make still another request to the Grand Lodge of England made
it certain that not only was the Deputation lost but also the Brethren, who
happened to be on board the pinnace referred to. Part of that letter made the
following statement: " . . . as they fear the former one is lost with their
unfortunate Brethren that were Drown'd in Coming up here last spring." Bro.
Gawler then saw to it that another Deputation was at last sent forward on
March 18, 1768, and so that phase of a troublesome question was finally
settled definitely. It was found, however, that even when the Deputation did
at last arrive, it did not give the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada the right
to elect its own Grand Master, a privilege which the members ardently desired,
since all previous Grand Masters had been drawn from Military Lodges. The
uncertainty of their place of residence of military Masonic Grand Officers
made it necessary for the Provincial Grand Lodge to have such power unless it
was able to appoint a civilian to the Office. The question was then submitted
to 88 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION the Grand Lodge of England, and the Grand
Master of that Grand Body pointed out quite firmly and courteously that the
Office of Provincial Grand Master was not elective, and that his appointment
was one of the prerogatives of the Grand Master and was effective only during
his pleasure or until his death. The Grand Master of England also stated that
he was not agreeable to surrendering his power.
During these early
years, nothing had been heard of the Masons at Montreal, if such there were,
although the city had capitulated in 176o. Nevertheless, on December 11, 1767,
a Communication was received from a Bro. Antill. It drew attention to the
neglected members of the Craft in Montreal, and stated that there were many
Brethren there who were aimlessly drifting along because they had no
recognised head to lead them. This communication brought forth an immediate
response, and Bro. Antill was appointed Deputy Provincial Grand Master with
full power to organise the Fraternity in Montreal. The outcome seems to have
been the starting of two Lodges, one of which, No. 374 on the Register of the
Grand Lodge of England, still exists.
At about this time
one or two minor difficulties also arose. One of them questioned the right of
the Provincial Grand Master to Warrant new Lodges. Another questioned his
power to authorise Lodges to dispense with certain regulations in connection
with the admission of members. When an amicable submission of these questions
was made to the Grand Master of England, he fully sustained the Provincial
Grand Master in his decisions. Following this, nothing else of importance
occurred during the next few years, except the production of a Warrant from a
Grand Body in France authorising Bro. Pierre Gamlin to open Lodges in the
Province of Canada. The Warrant was never used, but it seems that Bro. Gamlin
was taken in as a member and later was deputed, with other Brethren to form a
Lodge in Detroit. This incident gave considerable colour to the claim made
that " Masonry was practiced in Quebec under authority of a governing body of
France long before the capitulation of that City." It is recorded that in 1777
only five Lodges were then in obedience to the Provincial Grand Lodge. This
was most likely caused by the Military Lodges having left the locality and the
coming of the American War for Independence, with the consequent slowing down
of activities. Soon after the departure of the American colonial troops from
Canadian cities, however, the Craft again became fairly active, new Lodges
were instituted, and the old ones revived their interest.
The arrival in Quebec
of H.R.H. Prince Edward, later Duke of Kent and the father of Queen Victoria,
who had been made an honorary Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England
(Moderns) in August 1791 aroused much in terest in Masonic circles. This
interest became pronounced when the Prince received a Deputation (Commission)
from the Grand Lodge of England (Ancients), appointing him Provincial Grand
Master of Canada.
How he became "
healed " from the Moderns to the Ancients is not re‑ OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 89 corded, but the change had great consequences. Only a few of
the Lodges in Canada had been Chartered by the Ancients; most of them were of
Modern origin. Nevertheless the influence of a Prince of the royal blood was
sufficient to cause those Lodges of Modern origin to be healed from the Modern
to the Ancient Register, and at the time of the amalgamation of the two rival
English Grand Lodges in 1813 not one Canadian Lodge remained under the Modern
Register. This is all the more remarkable when one considers that the Prince
was resident in Quebec only until January 1794, when his regiment, the 7th
Fusiliers, of which he was the commanding officer, was ordered to the West
Indies, thus removing him from the active duties of his Masonic Office after a
little more than three years.
But the Prince's
absence from the jurisdiction did not prevent the Provincial Grand Lodge from
" electing " him every year up to and including 181o. Then, in 1811, the Hon.
Claude Denechau was '' elected," apparently without any authority from the
Grand Master of England. This " election " was notable in that it chose the
first civilian to hold the Office of Grand Master. It was the outcome of a
great deal of discontent at not having a Grand Master on the spot to govern
the Craft.
In 18o9, fifty years
after the Provincial Grand Lodge was organised, considerable progress had been
made, perhaps the most important change having been the gradual displacement
of army and naval Lodges by civilian Lodges. At the close of 18o9 there were
twenty Lodges under the jurisdiction of Quebec. Of those, only seven were
attached to the military. Fifty years before all Canadian Lodges had been
attached to the various regiments, and were, therefore, Military Lodges.
From 1812. to 1814
Masonic peace and harmony were again disturbed by the second war between the
United States and England, and although Masonic progress was not thereby
seriously impeded, yet Masonry did feel the effects of the many invasions to
which Canada was subjected at that time. After the close of this war, and
after the final victory of the British at Waterloo, in 1815, Canada settled
down to developing its resources. This attracted a large number of immigrants
from the Old World, most of them British. As a result, the Craft benefited
largely by this peaceful invasion.
After waiting for a
number of years to secure a confirmation of the appointment of judge Denechau,
who had been carrying on the duties of Provincial Grand Master, a Deputation
was issued in his favour on January 3, 182o. This gave him authority only over
the Territory of Quebec and Three Rivers, and thus divided the Province into
two Districts. This division was not effective, however, until 1823, when the
District of Montreal and William Henry was Constituted, with Bro. William
McGillvray as its first Provincial Grand Master. This division was inevitable
because of the growing number of Lodges in and around Montreal and the
inconvenience of their being so far away from the seat of government.
The year in which
judge Denechau's Deputation was received, 182o, saw go FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION eighteen civilian Lodges under his jurisdiction. In addition there
was one Military Lodge. It may be noted that the original Deputation granted
to judge Denechau is now in possession of the Grand Lodge of Quebec. It was
discovered in Quebec some few years ago. There it had reposed in darkness for
more than a century. It is signed by Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, and
is also signed by the two joint Grand Secretaries, Bro. White and Bro. Harper.
It is in as good condition as on the day when it was written; not a blemish
mars its surface! After 182.o, much material progress was made, the only
disturbing element having been the " Morgan affair " which so effectually
disrupted the Craft in the Eastern part of the United States. Because of the
proximity of Canadian border Lodges to the seat of trouble, the anti‑Masonic
agitation had some deterring influence upon Masonic life in Canada.
Fortunately, however, it was not particularly felt in the Province of Quebec.
Indeed, several new Lodges were instituted there during that unsettled period,
among them the present Lodge of St. George, No. 1o, which was Warranted in
182.9 and has prospered ever since.
Continued accessions
to the population of Quebec for the next twenty‑five years brought in their
train a corresponding increase in the number of Lodges and a great increase of
membership. Nevertheless, it was not until the decade from 185o to i86o, that
anything of particular note occurred. Then commenced the agitation for a Grand
Lodge of Canada, brought about especially because of grave complaints of
neglect on the part of the Grand Lodge of England. Delays in Canadian affairs
were caused, of course, by the region's being so far distant from the seat of
government, and by the lack of speedy communication in those days. Too, the
Canadian Lodges claimed that they were not only contributing to the upkeep of
their Provincial Grand Bodies (Scottish and Irish Lodges were at this time
governed by their own Provincial Grand Lodges), but also to the funds of the
mother Grand Bodies without enjoying any compensatory advantages. The
agitation culminated in a Convention that was held in the city of Hamilton,
Ontario, on October 1o, 1855, in which considerably fewer than half the Lodges
of Canada took part. Only forty‑one Lodges were represented, of which twelve
were from Quebec. After much deliberation, the Grand Lodge of Canada was
founded. At once it proceeded to obtain recognition from other Grand Bodies.
In this it was only partially successful.
This rather bold step
met with vigorous opposition from the Lodges that had not been represented,
and particularly from the Grand Lodge of England, which denied the charges
that had been brought against it. Much bitterness ensued. The majority of the
Canadian Lodges remained true to their Mother Grand Bodies for quite a length
of time, but finally, in 1857, a Committee of seven Brethren was appointed to
meet a like Committee from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Canada West. They met
on August 5, 1857, and considered the question of union, but since they could
not agree on some essentials, they separated with the understanding that they
would report to their respective Grand Bodies.
In September 1857,
the Provincial Grand Lodge dissolved and at once de‑ OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 91 clared itself to be the " Ancient Grand Lodge of Ancient Free
and Accepted Masons of Canada." As may be imagined this action did not tend to
promote any union of the Brethren. Nevertheless, the negotiations for union
were continued by both sides, and finally, on July 14, 1858, the long‑expected
union occurred. Thus all differences between the rival Grand Lodges
disappeared and much rejoicing resulted.
Not all the Lodges of
Quebec took part in the establishment of either of these Grand Bodies. Some
remained loyal to their Provincial Grand Lodge, and during the next nine years
nothing of importance arose to change conditions. Then, in 1867, the Masonic
serenity of Canada was disturbed by the political change of that year, which
brought into existence the Dominion of Canada. Since this event brought forth
a strong feeling that independent Masonic jurisdictions ought to be
coterminous with the boundaries of the various Provinces, the Masons of the
Province of Quebec carried into execution this praiseworthy idea. On October
2.o, 1869, therefore, the Representatives of an unstated number of Lodges met
and formally declared the Grand Lodge of Quebec to be duly Constituted. For
some unknown reason, the Lodges represented at that meeting were not listed in
the first Annual Report, but we do know that there were Representatives of
twenty‑eight Lodges present at the meeting held in 1870. At the time of the
institution of the Grand Lodge of Quebec, there were fortyfour Lodges in the
Province. Thus more than half of them threw in their lot with the newly
erected Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge of Canada bitterly opposed the formation
of an independent Body in Quebec. This seems to have been a strange attitude,
when one recalls that that Lodge had been bitterly opposed when it took
similar steps in 1855. So strong was its disapproval that its meeting of 1873
was held in Montreal, four years after the formation of the Grand Lodge of
Quebec! After five years of somewhat acrimonious dispute, wiser counsels
prevailed, and in 1874, twenty‑five of the Lodges under the Grand Lodge of
Canada came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Quebec, and it was
not until 1881, that the three Scotch Lodges became obedient to the Grand
Lodge of Quebec. This left the three English Lodges still owing allegiance to
their Mother Grand Lodge of England.
Following events of
1874, nothing was then left to hinder the peaceful progress of the Grand Lodge
of Quebec. In fact, the only disturbing episode was the attempt to bring into
the fold the three English Lodges. This brought about an unfortunate edict of
non‑recognition between the respective Grand Bodies, but it was of short
duration and harmony has since characterised their relations. Slowly but
surely the Masonic structure in Quebec was erected, new Lodges being opened
all over the Province, particularly in Montreal. This satisfactory progress
continued up to the time of the Great War, when 600 members served under the
flag for right and justice. Of that number, nearly ioo never returned.
Immediately following
the close of the war, the jurisdiction of Quebec, like 92 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION many others, received a great accession of members. Many new Lodges
were Constituted, and places until then almost unheard of made requests for
Lodges, so that in ten years' time, the number of new Lodges increased 4o per
cent. This very satisfactory progress has since continued. This brings our
account of Freemasonry in Quebec down to the year of Grace 1934. During the
past four years this jurisdiction has experienced a loss in membership in
common with all the Grand Bodies on the North American Continent although not
serious enough to shake the confidence of the members in the continued
progress of the Craft. The loss covering the period named is slightly over 5
per cent and already there is seen a turn for the better. Although we have
endeavoured to record authentic matters as distinctly as possible, there are
many interesting events which we have necessarily had to omit.
Arising out of the
unselfish efforts of those military pioneers of the latter days of 1759, there
has been established a stable and ever increasing circle of Masonic influence
in the Province of Quebec. This has been accomplished not withstanding the
many difficulties encountered at various periods, each set‑back having been
only the prelude to greater achievements. This fact may be better emphasised
by giving a brief statement of the actual progress that has been made. When
the Grand Lodge of Quebec was founded in 1869, the total membership was about
135o. At present, it numbers nearly 16,ooo members, represented by ninety‑five
Lodges, ninety‑three of which are constituents of the Grand Lodge of Quebec
and two of which still remain under the xgis of the Mother Grand Lodge of the
world.
Having thus far dealt
with Symbolic Masonry in Quebec, it is fitting to say that all the legitimate
branches of Masonry have progressed with equal success in the Province. It is
difficult to determine when the Royal Arch Degree was first Worked separate
from the Symbolic Degrees, but the Minutes of St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 2, of
Quebec City, record that at the funeral of Bro. F. Anderson, held away back in
1783, the pallbearers were " six Royal Arch Masons in Regalia." Too, many
references are made to the Work of the Royal Arch before the end of the
eighteenth century, all of them in some wayconnected with the Master Mason's
Degree. On April 17, 1821, a Royal Arch Chapter was opened at Stanstead. After
some lapses, this became Golden Rule Chapter, No. I, which is still in
existence.
An interesting item
of news to Royal Arch Masons, and indirectly to all members of Symbolic
Lodges, has been brought to light by the discovery of old Minute Books which
apparently were furnished by the Grand Lodge of England to all Lodges and
which contained a full set of Rules and Regulations. These books were set in
curious but attractive type, and seem to have been hand‑made. Space was left
for showing dues, the date of meetings, and so on. Also bound in these books
is a circular, the heading of which is as follows RULES AND REGULATIONS/ for
the/ INTRODUCTION to and GOVERNMENT / Of the/ HOLY ROYAL ARCH CHAPTERS/ under
the protection and support by/ THE OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 93 ANCIENT GRAND
LODGE OF ENGLAND/ made at several times. / Revised and corrected at a General
Grand Chapter held at the/ CROWN and ANCHOR TAVERN In the STRAND, LONDON,
October 1st, 5794 / CONFIRMED IN GRAND LODGE, DECEMBER 3, 1794.
As indicated by the
heading, this circular gives full and concise instructions regarding the
formation of Chapters and the granting of admissions to them. It is of
interest to members of the Craft because it contains a form which each appli
cant for the Royal Arch Degree was required to obtain from his Symbolic Lodge.
This form was to show that the unanimous consent of all the applicant's
Brethren was necessary before he could be Exalted! This document had to be
certified and signed by the Worshipful Master, the two Wardens, and the
Secretary. The circular thus shows that in those early days the Grand Chapter
was under complete subjection to the Grand Lodge.
All the Chapters in
Canada were under the government of the Grand Chapters of the motherland until
the time was ripe for exercising supreme power. This was realised in the
Province of Quebec on December 12, 1876, when seven Chapters met and organised
the Grand Chapter of Quebec.
The Order of Knights
Templar as exemplified in Canada came to us from the Great Priory of England
and Wales, a Provincial Grand Conclave having been organised in Kingston,
Ontario, on October 9, 1855. In 1868 the name was changed to the " Grand
Priory of Canada," and again in 1876 it was changed, this time becoming the "
National Great Priory of Canada." On July 8, 1884, the Provincial Bodies
ceased to exist, and a supreme organisation was established under the name of
the " Sovereign Great Priory of Canada." This is the present title. In Quebec
there are four Preceptor.ies, with a membership of about a thousand.
The Ancient Accepted
Scottish Rite for Canada was established as a Supreme Body on October 16,
1874, after some years of obedience to the Sovereign Body of England and
Wales. It was found that their rules and regulations were totally unfitted to
the work in Canada; in fact, that they amounted almost to prohibition. Hence
the Canadians asked and were graciously granted permission to organise a
Sovereign Body for Canada. There are now two Rose Croix Chapters and one
Consistory in the Province of Quebec, each having a substantial membership.
The Cryptic Rite of
Masonry has long been in evidence in Quebec, mostly however, as a side Degree
to the Royal Arch. It was so considered until 1867, when the governing Body of
Maine granted the necessary power to the Com panions of the Maritime Provinces
to erect a Supreme Grand Council of the Cryptic Rite there. This then assumed
jurisdiction over the Province of Quebec. It was not until igo1, however, that
those Degrees made formal entry into the Masonic life of Quebec. Then a
Council was Chartered. There are two Councils in the Province, having about
Soo members. The controlling Body is known as the " Supreme Grand Council of
the Eastern Jurisdiction of Canada, Royal and Select Masters." 94 FREEMASONRY
IN THE DOMINION Thus, briefly, have all the recognised Bodies of the Craft
built on the Symbolic Body been dealt with, so far as the jurisdiction of
Quebec is concerned. In closing this history, it may be pointed out that the
more epoch‑making events treated were as follows: The start of Masonry in
1759; the advent of the Duke of Kent in 1791; the granting of Provincial
authority to a French‑Canadian in 182o' the establishment of the first
independent Grand Lodge in 1855; and the general establishment of independent
Grand Lodges in all the Provinces, following the creation of the Dominion of
Canada in 1867.
SASKATCHEWAN REVEREND
GEORGE H. GLOVER N its origin, Saskatchewan Masonry,is closely related to that
of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba and the Grand Lodge of Canada. The early
settlers of Manitoba gradually spread westward along the Saskatchewan River to
wards Prince Albert. This was in the days of hunting and early settlement.
Since many of those settlers came from the region now known as the Province of
Manitoba, their Masonic affiliations naturally were with Lodges there. Thus we
can look upon the Grand Lodge of Manitoba as our Masonic Mother, although it
is, in turn, linked with the Grand Lodge of Canada.
On May 2_o, 1864, a
Dispensation was granted by the Grand Master of Minnesota for the Institution
of a Lodge in the Red River Settlement. The first meeting of this Lodge was
held at Winnipeg on November 6, 1864, the principal Chairs being filled by Sir
John Schultz, Hon. A. G. B. Bannantyne, and William Inkster. This Lodge, known
as Northern Light Lodge, was held under its Dispensation from the Grand Lodge
of Minnesota for more than four years. Then, owing to political changes and
other changed conditions in the Red River Settlement, and owing to the
existence of doubts on the part of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota as to the
propriety of its claim to jurisdiction, the Dispensation was recalled and this
pioneer Lodge ceased to exist. It had never acquired the status of a
Constituted Lodge.
After the Northern
Light Lodge passed out of existence there was no Lodge of Freemasonry in the
Red River Settlement until 1870. Then a Petition was sent to the Grand Lodge
of Canada, which resulted in the granting of a Dispen sation to Winnipeg Lodge
in the town of Winnipeg, at that time a village of fifty buildings, by actual
count, located just outside the palisades of old Fort Garry. This Dispensation
was received and entered upon on December io, 1870. As the Riel Rebellion of
1869 and 187o had by this time been put down, a new era of prosperity and
expansion began in this section of Manitoba and the West. For several reasons,
Western communities, especially those along the Saskatchewan River, sprang
into existence, and settlement both for hunting and agriculture rapidly
developed. In the course of this development many Masons who found OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND 95 themselves scattered about in what we should now call
Northeastern Saskatchewan still looked to the East for their Masonic
affiliations. Winnipeg Lodge afterwards had its name changed to Prince Rupert
Lodge. In 1871 it was duly Constituted on the Grand Register of the Grand
Lodge of Canada as Prince Rupert Lodge, No. 244. It must be borne in mind,
however, that the term "Grand Lodge of Canada " then referred only to the
Grand Lodge having jurisdiction over what is now known as the Province of
Ontario. This is still the case. The term "Grand Lodge of Canada " does not
relate to a Grand Lodge having jurisdiction over the entire Dominion. Prince
Rupert Lodge, No. 244, though not the pioneer Lodge of Manitoba, was the first
regularly Chartered Lodge in that Province. It may be recorded as the first
legally Constituted Masonic authority in Manitoba, and, incidentally, in the
Province of Saskatchewan.
In 1871 a Manitoban
Lodge, now known as Lisgar Lodge, was organised at Lower Fort Garry (Selkirk),
and in December 1872, Ancient Land Mark Lodge was Instituted in Winnipeg.
These two Lodges, together with Prince Rupert Lodge, No. 244, Worked under the
Grand Lodge of Canada until 1875. On May 12 of that year they formed
themselves into the Grand Lodge of Manitoba and so became the supreme Masonic
authority over a vast territory extending from the western boundary of the
Province of Ontario to the eastern boundary of the Province of British
Columbia. All the territory included within those confines lay north of the
international boundary line. Except for a short period of dispute in 1878, the
Grand Lodge of Manitoba continued its exercise of Masonic authority without
opposition. Meanwhile the great West rapidly became the home of thousands of
settlers.
Among those settlers
were hundreds of Masons. As they gathered at certain points, they soon began
to be interested in the formation of local Lodges where they might enjoy the
privilege of fraternal relationships. In the territory west of Manitoba the
first Masonic centre to organise into a Lodge was at Prince Albert. Within the
territory now known as the Province of Saskatchewan it had the honour of being
the premier Lodge in point of age. It is known as Kinistino Lodge. The
Institution of this Lodge in 1879 marked the beginning of Freemasonry in the
Province. Consequently the Lodge merits prominence from the point of view of
both history and Masonic interest. The Dispensation for Kinistino Lodge was
issued by the Grand Lodge of Canada on May 22, 1879. It was not received and
acted upon, however, until October 13, five months later, owing to
difficulties of transportation. The only means of communication with the
outside world at that time was by ox‑cart, pony‑cart, or stagecoach, to
Winnipeg, some 700 miles distant. Since a Grand Lodge was in existence in
Winnipeg at the time, one would think that the Petition would have been made
to that Grand Body. Because of lack of harmony in Manitoba at that particular
time, however, the Prince Albert Brethren thought it advisable to offer their
allegiance to the older and more stable Grand Lodge of Canada. It seems that
in those days demarkation of jurisdiction was not very closely observed, so
the request for a Dispensation as Kinistino Lodge, No. 381 GRC, was accepted.
The 96 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINION Lodge Worked until the latter part of 188o
under this Dispensation. The date of the Institution of this Lodge, October
13, 1879, is of historic importance to the Saskatchewan Masons as having been
the natal day of Freemasonry within the territory. The number of Brethren who
were responsible for the event was small, but their indefatigable exertions in
the face of great difficulties entitles them to an important place in our
annals and to high honour in our memories. Major Charles F. Young was
Worshipful Master; John McKenzie was Senior Warden; George Ridley Duck was
junior Warden.
The question of
separation from the Grand Lodge of Canada with a view to affiliating with the
Grand Lodge of Manitoba was raised on April 6, 188o, with the result that on
September 3 of that year the following motion was made by Bro. Duck, recorded
in the Minutes, and later acted upon: WHEREAS, Difficulties have arisen with
the Grand Lodge of Canada in consequence of the distance we are from our
Mother Grand Lodge, and WHEREAS, The Grand Lodge of Manitoba, in whose
District we are, privately recommends that we affiliate with the Grand Lodge
of Manitoba, therefore be it Resolved, That we enter into correspondence with
the Grand Secretary, with the object of withdrawing from the Grand Lodge of
Canada and affiliating with the Grand Lodge of Manitoba.
As a result of
negotiations with the two Grand Secretaries, the question was brought to a
solution. Kinistino Lodge, No. 381 GRC, located at Prince Albert, met for the
last time as a constituent of the Grand Lodge of Canada on April 21, 1882. On
November 3 of that year it held its first Communication under Dispensation
from the Grand Lodge of Manitoba. Thus the territory now known as the Province
of Saskatchewan was definitely merged into the jurisdiction of the Mother
Grand Lodge of Manitoba.
The completion of the
Canadian Pacific Railroad and the consequent great influx of settlers and
establishment of towns created a condition favorable to the Institution of
many new Lodges. During the first few years following the open ing of that
railroad, Lodges sprang up in many places, and especially throughout the
southern part of the Province. On March 6, 1883, Wascana Lodge was Instituted
at Regina, Assiniboia District; in due course it was Chartered as Lodge No.
23. On October 9 of the same year, Moose Jaw Lodge, No. 26, was Instituted.
The following Lodges were also Instituted on the dates mentioned: Qu'Appelle
Valley Lodge, No. 32, at Fort Qu'Appelle, on September 24, 1886; Indian Head
Lodge, No. 33, at Indian Head, on April 3, 1886; Qu'Appelle Lodge, No. 34, at
Fort Qu'Appelle, on April 12, 1886; Moosomin Lodge, No. 35, On April 21, 1886;
Ashler Lodge, No. 47, at Whitewood, on July 16, i89o; Maple Leaf Lodge, No.
56, at Maple Creek, on July io, 1893; Evening Star Lodge, at Grenfell, on
October io, 1893; Northwest Mounted Police Lodge, No. 61, at Regina, on
September 5, 1894; Yorkton Lodge, No. 69, on July 4, 1899; Duck OF CANADA AND
NEWFOUNDLAND 97 Lake Lodge, No. 72, on July 27, 1899; Sintaluta Lodge, No. 8o,
on February 4, 1go2; Amity Lodge, No. 88, at Carnduff, in 1903; Saskatchewan
Lodge, No. 89, at Saskatoon, on January 2, 1904; Carlyle Lodge, No. g1, at
Carlyle, on April 17, 1904; Melfort Lodge, No. 95, at Melfort, on January 28,
1905; Battle Lodge, No. 96, at Battleford, on November 15, 1904; Weyburn
Lodge, No. 103, at Weyburn, on May 9, 19o5; Arcola Lodge, No. 1o5, at Arcola,
on July 18, 1905; Brittania Lodge, No. 1o6, at Lloydminster, on October 30,
19o5; Wolsley Lodge, No. 107, at Wolsley, on November 27, 19o5. The following
Lodges were under Dispensation in 19o5 and 1go6: Estevan Lodge, Swift Current
Lodge, Alameda Lodge, Hanley Lodge, and Heward Lodge.
It must be remembered
that on July 1, 19o5, the Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were formed,
thus organising into the two Provinces the old Districts of Assiniboia,
Athabasca, and Alberta, together with considerable other territory to the
north. This change of political administration naturally led Masons to the
thought of organising the Masonic jurisdictions with the same boundaries as
those of the Provinces. To Wascana Lodge, then No. 23 GRM, goes the honour of
having first acted upon this principle. The following telegram was sent on May
1, i9o6, to Kinistino Lodge, No. 16, of Prince Albert: Wascana Lodge has
unanimously decided, after serious consideration, that the time has arrived to
form a Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan. Number of lodges, twenty; membership,
about one thousand. Desire that you, being the oldest Lodge in jurisdiction,
call Convention at some central point at earliest possible date so that action
may be taken before June meeting of Grand Lodge. Please advise.
This telegram
resulted in calling a Convention to be held at Prince Albert on May 25, 19o6.
At that Convention W.‑.Bro. W. M. Martin, of Wascana Lodge, No. 23, made the
following motion. It was seconded by R.‑. W.‑. Bro. McLennan, and heartily
carried.
Resolved, That in the
opinion of this meeting, the time has arrived that, for the benefit of
Masonry, we should form a Grand Lodge in the Province of Saskatchewan. And
that said Grand Lodge shall have full control over all Lodges within the
Province. And be it further Resolved, That we appoint a deputation to wait on
the Grand Lodge of Manitoba at its next meeting, to lay the matter before said
Grand Lodge. And be it further Resolved, That this deputation have power to
add to its numbers.
The Committee
appointed to bring the matter before the Grand Lodge of Manitoba consisted of
R.‑.W.‑., now M.‑.W.‑.Bros. W. B. Tate and William Fawcett. In the following
June the Committee presented the case to the Grand Lodge of Manitoba and
received the consent of that Body to proceed in the organisation of a
Provincial Jurisdiction for the Province of Saskatchewan.
98 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION Accordingly, a Convention of the Representatives of the Masonic
Lodges of the Province of Saskatchewan was called to be held in the Masonic
Hall at Regina, on August 9, 1go6. Of the twenty‑nine Lodges within the
Province, twenty‑one were represented by their officials and four by proxies.
At this Session all details necessary to complete the organisation were
carried out. A Constitution based on that of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba was
adopted. The first Grand Master was M.‑. W . . Bro. H. H. Campkin; the Deputy
Grand Master was M.‑. W .'. Bro. C. O. Davidson. This Grand Lodge of
Saskatchewan began with goo members. Instead of the Grand Lodge of Manitoba
insisting that monies be paid to it, it very liberally made an allowance of a
thousand dollars from its own funds to those of the Grand Lodge of
Saskatchewan.
The first Annual
Communication of the Saskatchewan Grand Lodge was held at Prince Albert on
June 18, 1907. The Body reached its majority in 1927, and the Communication of
that year is regarded as its coming of age. For many years after the
organisation of this jurisdiction a tremendous settlement of this new Province
took place. New railroads and new towns sprang up as though overnight.
Settlers from the East, from across the sea, and from the South, gathered
here. Railway stations became villages, and villages became towns. Those were
days of happy expansion and tremendous faith. Along with other institutions,
Masonry had a rapid and harmonious period of growth. In 1879, Kinistino Lodge
organised with 9 members. In 1906, the Grand Lodge organised with some goo
members and 29 particular Lodges, while on February 28, 1930 there was a
membership of 14,867 and a total of 196 particular Lodges. Through all this
period there had been a state of healthy growth and development. Harmony had
been evident throughout, no schism had ever taken place, and no forward step
had ever to be retraced.
Four outstanding
phases in the development of Masonry in the Province of Saskatchewan are
worthy of particular mention. The first is the development of the
Constitution. At the inception of the Grand Jurisdiction, Saskatchewan
naturally accepted the Constitution of Manitoba without notable change, and
then followed it with few variations until 1912. At the Annual Communication
of that year, a Committee was named to revise the Constitution. That Committee
took to its task seriously. In 1913 it reported to a special Communication,
and as a result we obtained the basis of the present Constitution.
The second important
matter in the development of the Saskatchewan Grand Lodge has been the growth
of the Benevolent Fund. When the Saskatchewan Grand Lodge became independent
in 1go6, it received from the Grand jurisdic tion of Manitoba $looo in lieu of
the payment of funds to that Body by the various Lodges within the boundaries
of the Saskatchewan jurisdiction, as has been explained. This money was at
once placed in a savings account as the nucleus of a Benevolent Fund. Amid the
rush of doing other things, however, this aspect of the work was left in
abeyance. In 1gio, though, the members became concerned about the lack of
growth, for in the Proceedings of 1gio the following statement appears: " Our
Benevolent Fund does not grow as rapidly as OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 99 we
should like to see it. Now is our time to build a up strong fund for future
contingencies." Later, trustees for this fund were appointed and a definite
campaign was started with the aim of putting the fund on a sound financial
basis. This great campaign received splendid response. Many Lodges far
exceeded their allocations. Each Lodge and each Brother was given special
opportunity to contribute toward this worthy cause. A statement in the report
of 1918 sets forth the interest taken in augmenting the fund. The report of
192.9 tells that the fund had already been increased to the sum of $2.54,645.
Though the fund is still (1931) growing, demands made upon it are rapidly
increasing, so it will need to be further increased in order to meet future
needs. The Masons of Saskatchewan cannot ever too highly appreciate the
benevolent phase of our work, and it is to be hoped that every member, new and
old, will be kept in touch with so worthy a movement, and that the fund will
be constantly augmented.
The third outstanding
phase of Masonic development in Saskatchewan was the development of the
Masonic scholarship movement. This idea originated with Dr. Weir, M.‑. W.‑.
Grand Master. It was generally believed that the Fra ternity should do
something that would be beneficial in moulding into a high standard of
Canadian citisenship those people who came from other lands to make
Saskatchewan their home. The Fraternity recognised the importance of the
public school in unifying citisenship and establishing ideals. Accordingly, it
was felt that if teachers of high moral standing, fine training, and splendid
ability could be sent out to teach in districts of predominately foreign
citisenship, their influence would have a lasting effect. A fund was raised by
voluntary contribution, and this was used for paying the expenses of selected
students who entered upon the normal school courses. In return for the
assistance, the students promised to teach for a year at least in new Canadian
settlements. Their only obligation was to teach the true ideals of Canadian
citisenship well. Such students were asked to give a report upon the work
done, but they were not obliged to do so. Results of this scholarship work
have been highly satisfactory and in many instances the object of the movement
has been attained. One striking result of the scholarship movement was the
work done by Robert England, M.C., who has investigated the problem of
immigration. His book entitled Central European Immigration into Canada, is a
splendid treatment of this vital Canadian problem.
The fourth phase of
the development of Saskatchewan Masonry is that of Masonic education and
research. This has been continued with growing interest for several years.
Each year a Provincial Masonic Committee is appointed, whose duty it is to
prepare a course for the season and send a monthly outline to each Lodge
within the jurisdiction. This work has created an increase of interest among
the Lodges, and has deepened a knowledge of the Fraternity among the members.
Though histories
always stop, history itself keeps moving ever onward. And with the growth of
our Province, Masonry will make an ever‑increasing contribution. The Masonic
Fraternity stands for unity, for understanding, for 100 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION mutual confidence, and for brotherhood. It is just these qualities
that a growing country needs. Saskatchewan Masonry has, therefore, a real
opportunity. One can readily foresee in what ways the Masonic Fraternity will
make its mark in the upbuilding of a greater and fairer Dominion.
THE GRAND CHAPTER OF
ROYAL ARCH MASONS OF SASKATCHEWAN Wascana Chapter, No. 121, took the
initiative in forming the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Saskatchewan.
After much corresponding, an informal meeting of the Chapters concerned was
called to take place in Regina on June 21, 1922, at the time when the Session
of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons was being held.
Forty‑seven members signed the Register, and after a luncheon provided by
Wascana Chapter, the Companions proceeded with their business. Companion J. C.
Moore, First Principal of Wascana Chapter, No. 121, was elected Chairman, and
R.‑. E.‑. Companion F. B. Reilly was chosen to be Scribe. After the purpose of
the gathering had been stated by the Chairman, the following motion was made
by two members: " Resolved, That a committee of six be appointed, two from
each District in Saskatchewan, with a view to looking into the advisability of
forming a Grand Chapter, and if, in the opinion of the committee, it is
practicable, that they take the necessary steps." The following members formed
the proposed Committee: Bro. F. B. Reilly (Chairman) Bro. J. O. Clarke, Bro.
W. J. Smith, Bro. G. A. Turner, Bro. W. R. Redington, and Bro. C. A. Needham.
After much corresponding, the Committee concluded that the time was opportune
for the formation of a Grand Chapter, and at once they sent out the necessary
Petitions. These were duly signed by the First Principal and by Scribe E of
twenty Chapters. Later they were presented to the Grand Chapter of Canada at
its sixty‑fifth Annual Convocation, held in Toronto from February 28 to March
1, 1923. The Grand Chapter granted the request and asked that the M.‑. E.‑.
Grand Z personally convey fraternal regards to this newly organised Grand
Body.
For the purpose of
the first election, each Chapter was granted three votes. It was agreed that,
should any Chapter find it impossible to be represented by its Officers or
Past Principal, then any member of the Chapter might give the vote and act as
proxy if duly authorised to do so. In accordance with the call of the
Committee, the first Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of
Saskatchewan was held in the Masonic Temple at Regina on June 12, 1923. Among
those present were many who are still active in Capitular service. At about
ten o'clock in the morning on that day, the Chapter was called to order.
Acting upon a motion made by M.‑. E.,. Companion A. S. Gorrell and E.‑.
Companion J. C. Underhill, M.‑.E.‑.Companion R. H. Spencer, Grand Z of the
Grand Chapter of Canada, was placed in the Chair, and R.‑. E.‑. Companion F.
B. Reilly was made Grand Scribe pro tempore. M.'. E.‑. Companion Spencer then
stated that the purpose of the Convocation was to form a Grand Chapter of OF
CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND 101 Royal Arch Masons in the Province of Saskatchewan,
according to permission granted by the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of
Canada. Accordingly it was moved by M .'. E.‑. Companion A. S. Gorrell,
seconded by R.‑. E... Companion C. A. Smith, and Resolved, That the Royal Arch
Masons of the Province of Saskatchewan do now form and establish the Grand
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Saskatchewan, and that the Constitution,
usages, and ceremonials of the Grand Chapter of Canada be adopted pro tempore
with such modifications and adjustments as are necessary for the convenience
of the said Grand Chapter of Saskatchewan.
The first Officers
were then duly elected. After the Installation, happy felicitations regarding
this historic occasion were given and received. Then the Grand Chapter closed
at four o'clock in the afternoon of that day to begin its first year of
fraternal activities.
The first Annual
Convocation of the Grand Chapter was held in the Masonic Temple at Saskatoon
on February 2o, 1924. The address of the Grand Z revealed a membership of
2522, a net increase of 35 members for the year just passed. Actual admissions
and restorations totalled 174. The Committee appointed to investigate the
condition of Capitulary Masonry reported a healthy state, and an increase of
three Chapters during the year. Grand Scribe E's report showed that the former
Charters had been cancelled and returned to the Chapters. Meanwhile, a
Dispensation had been issued to each Chapter. New Charters were ready and a
new Seal had been provided for each. A Crest and a Seal for the Grand Chapter
of Saskatchewan had also been adopted. Since all forms and office supplies had
already been provided, the equipment was nearly complete. At this Convocation
the six Grand Superintendents gave splendid reports that showed great
progress.
The second Annual
Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Saskatchewan was held
in the Masonic Temple at Moose jaw on February 18, 1925. Reports submitted at
this meeting showed that three new Chapters were under Dispensation. Those
were Acacia Chapter, at Lancer, Kincaid Chapter, at Kincaid, and Cypress
Chapter, at Gull Lake. The financial report of the year showed a substantial
balance on hand. There had been a notable increase in membership and complete
harmony had prevailed.
The third Annual
Convocation of the Grand Chapter was held in the Masonic Temple at Weyburn on
February 17, 1926. The report given at that time showed that four Chapters had
been Constituted during the preceding year. Those four consisted of Sheba
Chapter, at Kamsack, and the three that had been under Dispensation the year
before. At this meeting the Grand Scribe told of a slight decline in
membership due to the prevailing financial depression. At the time he
suggested that some sort of study course be devised for the purpose of
developing interest and holding members.
The fourth Annual
Convocation of the Grand Chapter was held in Regina on io2 FREEMASONRY IN THE
DOMINION February 16, 1927. His Worship, Mayor McAra, extended the welcome of
the city. M.‑. W .'. Bro. W. J. Smith, Grand Master; M.‑. W.‑. Bro. W. B.
Tate, Past Grand Master and Grand Secretary, and M.‑. W.‑. Bro. Gilbert Swain,
Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan, were welcomed and
felicitated by the Grand Chapter. The annual report submitted at this meeting
showed a substantial net increase in membership and a good bank balance. There
were many signs of healthy growth throughout the entire jurisdiction.
On November io, 1927,
a special Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of
Saskatchewan was held in the Masonic Temple at Regina to receive M .'. E.‑.
the Right Hon. the Earl of Cassillis, First Grand Principal of the Supreme
Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland. On that day 104 Grand Officers, Officers
and Companions, signed the Register. The Grand Chapter conferred upon the
distinguished guest honorary life membership in the Grand Chapter of
Saskatchewan. At the banquet following the Earl of Cassillis spoke on "
Masonry in Many Lands." At the fifth Annual Convocation, held in the Masonic
Temple at Saskatoon, on February 29, 1928, the Executive Committee which had
met on November io, 1927, adopted an important recommendation made by the
Custodians of the Work. The recommendation provided for the adoption of the
new Ritual that had recently been issued by the Mother Grand Chapter of
Canada. It did, however, also provide for certain minor changes to be made in
that Ritual. The Grand Chapter of Saskatchewan was instructed to obtain a
supply of the Rituals and to distribute them. At this meeting a net gain in
membership was reported for the preceding year, and regret was expressed that
so many suspensions had been recorded.
The sixth Annual
Convocation was held in the Masonic Temple at Regina on February 2o, 1929. At
this time an increase of membership was again made known, and it was reported
that the Work was continuing in a healthy and prosperous fashion. Only a few
days before the opening of this sixth Annual Convocation, on January 21, to be
exact, Prince of Wales Chapter of Regina was Instituted under Dispensation. It
was Constituted on the following October 11.
The seventh Annual
Convocation was held in the Masonic Temple at Moose jaw on February 26, 1930.
The Sessions were marked by harmony and good fellowship and by an intense
interest in the progress of the institution.
The eighth Annual
Convocation convened in the Masonic Temple at Saskatoon on February 18, 1931.
Reports read at the time showed satisfactory progress and a membership
increase greater than that of the previous year. In spite of financial
difficulties generally existent throughout the country, a favorable bank
balance was reported.
The Jurisdiction of
the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the Province of Saskatchewan is
divided into five Districts. District No. 1 embraces six Chapters; District
No. 2, five Chapters; District No. 3, five Chapters; District No. 4, six
Chapters; District No. S, five Chapters. In 1931 the Grand Chapter OF CANADA
AND NEWFOUNDLAND 103 had a membership of 2663, which indeed indicated a
gradual and consistent increase from the date of the Institution of the Body
in 1923. During 1931 M .'. E .'. Companion His Honor Judge H. M. P. de Roche
was Installed as Grand Z for the period 1931‑1932. R.'. E.'. Companion F. B.
Reilly continued to serve efficiently in the Office of Grand Scribe E.
At the time of
writing this brief account there seems to be no doubt that in the future
harmony and progress will prevail in this Grand Body. With the coming years
the increased power of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of the Province
of Saskatchewan will make it even a mightier influence for good not alone
within the confines of the Province, but also throughout the vast extent of
the whole Dominion.
CHAPTER II
FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO HE so‑called " Scottish Rite " was introduced into
Mexico‑then the principal colony of Spain‑by civil and military officers of
the Monarchy during the year 1813. After this, Lodges were erected by the
Grand Lodge of Louisiana at Vera Cruz and Campeachy in 1816 and 1817
respectively and the example thus set was followed by the Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania, under which body a Lodge was established at Alvarado in 1824. A
period of confusion next ensued, during which Masonry and politics were
interwoven so closely as to render quite hopeless any attempt at their
separate treatment.
Soon the entire
population of the country became divided into two factions, the Escoceses and
the Yorkinos. The former, who represented the aristocracy, were in favour of
moderate measures, under a central government, or a constitutional monarchy.
The latter were the advocates of republican institutions and the expulsion of
the " old " or native Spaniards.
The Escoceses‑originally
the " Scots Masons "‑numbered among their members all who, under the ancient
regime, had titles of nobility; the Catholic clergy, without exception; many
military officers ; together with all the native Spaniards of every class.
The republican party,
according to one set of writers, viewing with dismay the progress of their
opponents, resolved " to fight the devil with his own fire " and, therefore,
organized a rival faction, on which they bestowed the name of Yorkinos, the
members of which were supposed to be adherents of the York Rite. It was in
18zo that Apodaca endeavoured to overthrow the Constitution of Mexico and
Bancroft, in his History of Mexico, says that the resolve was hastened by his
knowledge of the influence Freemasonry was already exercising in Mexico. There
were but few Masons in the country before the coming of the expeditionary
forces and these had preserved strict secrecy from dread of the Inquisition.
(The first to bring them together was the oidor of Mexico, Felipe Martinez de
Aragon. The chief Masons were Fausto de Ahuyar, the mineralogist, two
Franciscans and a few others, all of them Spaniards, who belonged to the
Order). The Field and nearly all the Company Officers of those troops, as well
as of the navy, were members of the Order and it was whispered that Apodaca
was one of them, though this was not divulged. He was, however, sure that
Masons had effected the Revolution in Spain and feared that those in the army
of Mexico had been directed to promote one in the Colony. The instructions
received from the Court were therefore rigidly carried out.
io6 FREEMASONRY IN
MEXICO Shortly after the coronation of Iturbide in 1822 the Freemasons joined
with the Republicans in the furtherance of the latter's plans and, according
to Bancroft (op. cit., vol. iv, p. 793), were engaged in secret intrigues with
Iturbide's generals and the influence in the Lodges over the military members
was preponderating.
Mackey informs us
that authority was obtained in 1825 from the Grand Lodge of New York for the
establishment of three Lodges in the city of Mexico. These Lodges, according
to the same writer, were formed into a Grand Lodge of the York Rite by Joel R.
Poinsett (American Minister), a former Grand Master of South Carolina.
Bancroft, commenting on this, says About this time a number of political clubs
which wielded great influence began to be organized under the name and forms
of Masonic Lodges of the York Rite. Their creation has been ascribed to
Poinsett, the American Minister (Zavala pronounces it a pure invention of the
aristocrats and of some European agents, who meddled with Mexican affairs much
more than Poinsett ever did. After five Lodges had been organized Poinsett was
requested to procure a Charter. This step and the installation of the Grand
Lodge was all the part Poinsett ever took in the matter. That author declares
besides that he, Zavala, was invited to join a Lodge and did so without any
political design), but the real founder was the clergyman, Jose Maria Alpuche,
rector of a parish in Tabasco and senator from that state. (He is represented
as a restless spirit, a sort of Danton, without his brains. In the senate he
worried the ministry with questions and bitter reproaches. To his political
opponents he gave no rest and they, in their turn, gave him a bad character.
His death was sudden.) To Poinsett also was attributed the formation of a plan
to do away with the somewhat aristocratic character of the government, which
was still influenced by the old families, the clergy and the army and of
replacing it, not with a pure democracy, but of introducing a class of men who
were merely ambitious office‑hunters, less respectably connected. Alaman has
fathered on Poinsett this absurd charge. He would also have us believe that
the president had been assured by members of the Scottish Rite Lodges, that
though they had opposed his candidacy, they cheerfully bowed to his authority,
in which assurance he placed no faith. (For information on origin, political
principles and action of the Escoceses party, from 1813 to 1826, see Afora,
Pap. Sueltos, I, pp. xii‑xiv.) In these Scottish Lodges were affiliated
Barragan [Mexican general, sometime acting president], Negrete, Echavarii,
Guerrero [Mexican soldier who displaced Pedraza as president in 1828],
Filisola and other prominent generals and colonels, besides many regular and
secular priests and civilians of social and political standing. Several
deputies and the minister Estava had been officers of such Lodges and seceded
to join the new Societies. After the overthrow of Iturbide [Mexican
revolutionist and emperor], due in a great measure to the action of the
Ancient Rite Lodges, it is true that many of their members forsook them to
join the York Lodges, but the Escoceses still had for a time much influence
with the government and congress. Later, however, the desertion became so
general and simultaneous that some Scottish Lodges held meetings with the
object of placing themselves with their archives under the new Order, leaving
the Scottish sect or party with the assertion that they could no longer be
affiliated with a society that wished to restore the monarchy. Gomez Pedraza
[elected president of Mexico FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO 107 i8z8] retired from the
old society without joining the new one, but said that the Escoceses desired a
foreign dynasty. Victoria [president of Mexico 1825‑1828], Estava and Alpuche
at once saw that if a society bearing the name of federal could be formed, it
would counteract the labours and plans of the Escoceses. The president wanted
the support of such an organization, but did not foresee that the pretensions
of a popular society knew no limit. (Copious information in Cor. Fed. Mex.
1826, Nov. i and Dec. 4 ; Gomez PedraZa, Alanif. 32‑3 ; Monteros, Esp. de Jos.
Inf. Masones ; Bustamante, VoZ de la Patria, ii, no. 15, 8 ; Mex. Informe
Prim. Sac., 22., 25 ; PaZ. Doloroso Rec. A!Ztecas, 4‑5 ; Mora, Obras Sueltes,
i, xiv, xvi ; Suarez y Navarro, Hist. Mj. io.) It is said that he had never
been partial to secret societies and particularly abhorred the logias
escoceses, because of the men belonging to them, particularly his rival
Nicolas Bravo; and that he now lamented having patronized the logiasyorkinos,
as the government had been belittled by them. Some attempts were made in the
congress, weakly supported by minister Espinosa, to prohibit secret societies
; but nothing was then accomplished.
The two Societies
were now like two armies, facing one another in battle array. Such was the
origin of the Yorkino Lodges or, rather, clubs (Minister Esteva was the Grand
Master and Arizpe, Master, of one of the Lodges. General Bravo was Grand
Master of the logias escoceses) whose sudden development and increased power
soon awed their authors and whose subsequent divisions gave a bloody victory
to their foes, the old Escoceses. At the elections towards the end of 1826,
the Yorkinos were victorious in the Federal District‑the municipal authorities
of which possessed great interest‑in the State of Mexico, of which Lorenzo de
Zavala was elected governor in March 1827 and in most of the States. The
important city of Vera Cruz, however, went against them. Both these societies
were strongly represented in the press.
However established,
the so‑called York Rite, or, in other words, pure English Masonry, flourished
and, towards the end of 182.6, there were 2s Lodges, with a membership of
about 7oo. The Escoceses, or Scots Masons, finding their Lodges deserted,
regarded the Yorkinos as renegades and traitors and, with a view to
counterbalance the fast‑increasing power of the latter, they formed the
Novenarios, a kind of militia, which derived its name from a regulation
requiring each member to enlist nine additional adherents. These ingratiated
themselves with the clergy, who, after having been the most embittered enemies
of the Craft in past years, now joined the Escoceses almost in a body. The
name Novenarios was assumed because each member of the Grand Consistory had to
catechize nine men and bring them into the society ; each of these nine had to
procure nine others and so on. The members of the Escoceses party also bore
the names of Hombres de bien, chequetas, borbonistas, aristocratas, defensores
de la constitucion (Bancroft, op. cit., vol. v, p. 37).
The Yorkinos,
becoming aware of these proceedings, tried to outdo their rivals by recruiting
their own Lodges upon the plan of receiving all applicants without
distinction, provided they belonged to the federal, i.e. the patriotic party.
Thus, the system of Masonry very soon degenerated into a mere party question
and, at last, all the adherents of one side styled themselves Escoceses and of
the other 108 FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO side, Yorkinos. In 1828 the two parties
resorted to open warfare, with a view to deciding the question at issue by the
sword and the civil war then commenced lasted for more than a generation. At
the conclusion of one of the battles in this civil war, Alaman (Hilt. 11‑1 j.,
v. 837) alleges that he saw the communication signed by Guerrero, as Grand
Master and Colonel Mejia, as Secretary, of the Yorkino Grand Lodge, to the
Lodges in the United States, wherein he detailed the triumph, not as that of
the government against rebels, but as that of one Masonic sect against its
rivals.
Somewhere about this
time, whilst Dr. Vincente Guerrero‑Grand Master under the York Rite‑was
President of the Republic, a law was enacted by which all Masonic Lodges were
closed. The Yorkinos obeyed their Grand Master and discontinued their
meetings. The Escoceses went on working, but some of their most influential
Lodges were suppressed and the members banished. Subsequently all native
Spaniards were expelled from Mexican territory.
This internecine
strife seriously affected the Fraternity in general and gave birth, during the
darkest hours of the struggle for supremacy, to an organization called the
Mexican National Rite, formed by Masons and composed of distinguished men, but
containing innovations and principles so antagonistic to Masonic usage and
doctrine, that it was never accorded recognition, even in Mexico, by any
Masonic body of acknowledged legality.
This new school of
Masonry was established by nine Brethren of both Rites, who had belonged to
the highest grade of either system, in 183o. To guard against the intrusion of
unworthy members and the revival of political antagonism, they resolved to
create a Rite which should be national, in the sense of not depending upon any
foreign Grand Lodge for its Constitution and to obviate by safeguards and
precautions of an elaborate character, the dangers to be apprehended from the
reception of either Escoceses or Yorkinos.
The Mexican National
Rite consisted of nine Degrees, which, omitting the first three, were‑4░,
Approved Master (equal to the 15 ░
" Scots ") ; S ░,
Knight of the Secret (equal to the 18░
" Scots ") ; 6░,
Knight of the Mexican Eagle ; 7░,
Perfect Architect (or Templar) ; 8░,
Grand judge ; and 9░,
Grand Inspector General. All these Degrees had their equivalents in the grades
of the A. and A.R. 33░.
With the " St. John's " (or purely Craft) Degrees certain special signs were
associated, which, however, were not required from foreigners unless they had
acted as auxiliaries in any of the party contests.
A Grand Orient,
composed of members of the 9░,
was supreme in matters of dogma or ritual. There was also an administrative
body or National Grand Lodge, whose members were elective and met in the
metropolis. The Provincial Grand Lodges had their seats in the State capitals
and were formed by the " three lights " of at least five St. John's Lodges.
But, although still
preserving a nominal existence, the several Grand Bodies, owing to political
convulsions, were virtually dormant for many years after 1833. A Lodge‑St.
Jean d'Ulloa‑was constituted at Vera Cruz, by the Supreme Council FREEMASONRY
IN MEXICO log of France, in 1843 ; and another‑Les Ecossais des Deux Mondes‑at
the city of Mexico, by the Grand Orient of the same country, in 1845.
The Mexican National
Rite appears to have somewhat recovered from its torpor in 1863. At that date
we find in the metropolis a National Grand Lodge with six working Lodges,
though of these one‑belonging to the A. and A.R. was constituted by the Grand
Lodge of New Granada and consisted chiefly of foreigners; in Toluca a
Provincial Grand Lodge with five Lodges; in Vera Cruz and Guadalajara two
Lodges each; and in five other cities single Lodges.
In i 86o a Supreme
Council was established in the City of Mexico by authority of the Supreme
Council of the A. and A.R., U.S.A. Southern jurisdiction, of which Albert Pike
was the Sovereign Grand Commander, which claimed jurisdiction over the three
Craft Degrees. Shortly afterwards there was a secession when the Supreme Grand
Orient of the Scottish Rite was organized, which confined itself to the three
Degrees and claimed to be the supreme authority in Symbolical Masonry in the
republic, a claim not recognized by the Supreme Council. Some of the Lodges of
each section amalgamated and formed Grand Lodges in a number of the districts,
with the result that there were Grand Lodges of the Federal District, Jalisco,
Vera Cruz, Oaxaca, Vicente Guerrero, Lower California, Morelos, Tlaxcala,
Aguas Calientes and others, all claiming to be sovereign Masonic bodies, some
of which were recognized by a few of the American Grand Lodges.
After this came the
invasion of Mexican territory by a foreign foe, the establishment of the
Maximilian Empire, its overthrow and, finally, the war of reform. In vol. ii
of the Authors' Lodge Transactions, the late Hamon le Strange, Provincial
Grand Master for Norfolk, 1898‑ig2o, relates how, when he was attache to H.M.
Legation in Mexico in 1865‑6, he became a joining member of a Spanish Lodge,
named the Union Fraternal, which had for its Master a German‑American, named
Lohse. This Lodge was working " under the Grand Orient [presumably the A. and
A.R.] of the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A." and, at the annual banquet
held on June 24, 1865, which he attended, two children were baptized in open
Lodge, which ceremony gave them a right ever after to the fraternal protection
of the Lodge. Hamon le Strange then goes on to say A meeting was held a few
days later to consider the question of forming an independent Grand Lodge for
the whole of Mexico and of splitting up Union Fraternal into three Lodges, to
work respectively in the Spanish, French and German languages. Action was
promptly taken ; Union Fraternal, working in Spanish, became No, i of the new
jurisdiction and I was present at the consecration, on July i, of a French
Lodge, denominated Les Emules de Hiram, No. 2 ; and, on July 3, of a Lodge
working in German and called Eintracht (Unanimity), No. 3. As there were fewer
German‑speaking Brethren than French or Spanish, I joined Eintracht and was
immediately elected Treasurer thereof, probably because a member of the
British Legation was looked upon as unlikely to run away with the bag. The
office was no sinecure, as I had to collect a silver dollar from each Brother
at each monthly meeting and to keep the amount; we had no bank 110 FREEMASONRY
IN MEXICO account and there were no bank‑notes and little gold in Mexico in
those days, so the mere carrying home of, say, thirty or forty dollars a
meeting made a heavy pocketful, Our meetings took place under somewhat
different conditions to those which prevail in London. They were usually held
at 8 p.m., i.e. after dark, as in Mexico, even at midsummer, it is never light
after 7 p.m. The streets, despite the French garrison, were not over‑safe from
chances of casual robbers and everyone going out at night carried a revolver
and walked up the centre of the roadway, so as not to be rushed unawares. Our
meeting‑place was a large disused convent, of which there were many in the
city, as the monks had been turned out of their possessions ! in some previous
revolution of the Republic. The Emperor Maximilian, who was a Liberal at heart
and well disposed towards Freemasonry, had granted to the Craft the use of an
unoccupied convent, approached by a single massive door from the street and
containing three large courtyards, one behind the other. A porter gave
admission after scrutinizing one through a hole and you then had to walk
through the three courts, lighted only by the moon, to a staircase at the
extreme end. Ascending this, a door, guarded efficiently by a Tyler, gave
admission to a fairsized ante‑room, the principal furniture in which consisted
of a large table, on which each Brother, on entering, deposited his loaded
revolver. There was no dinner, nor any sort of refreshments, at the monthly
meetings, except at the Annual Festival of St. John's Day in Summer. After
Lodge was closed we walked off in twos and threes to see each other safely
home.
Meanwhile the Grand
Lodge oú the Yorkinos had ceased to exist and the Scots Rite, which by this
time had become divested of its political colouring, had erected‑December 27,
1865‑a Supreme Council 33░
This is the date which has generally been given and accepted, but, according
to Hamon le Strange (op. cit., p. 81), it is incorrect. Perhaps it will be
better to give his story in detail In July [1865] a Portuguese Brother,
Sefihor Manuel B. da Cunha Reis by name, arrived in Mexico as a Deputation
from the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of the Southern
Jurisdiction of the United States, for the purpose of forming an independent
Supreme Council for Mexico and, as I already possessed the 3 oth Degree, he
officially invited me to take the 3 3
░
and to become a member of the new Supreme Council. With the object of helping
the Craft I accepted the offer, in ignorance of the fact that by taking a
higher Degree under a foreign juris diction I was violating the regulations of
our own Supreme Council. On my return to live in England some years later, I
reported the facts to our Council and was informed that they could not
recognize me as a member of the 3 3
░
; however, they placed the words " 33' of Mexico " after my name in the
official register and, shortly afterwards, promoted me by successive steps to
the 33░
of the English Jurisdiction.
The first meeting of
the Mexican Supreme Council was held on August 9 and I was entrusted with the
formation and working of a Rose Croix Chapter under it., I got up the Ritual
in Spanish and worked the Chapter for nearly a year, under some difficulties
as to language, as in all Masonic work the real second person, with
FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO III which I was by no means familiar, was made use of in
place of the usual third person invariably employed in colloquial talk. The
utmost courtesy was always shown to me by ignoring my mistakes and
shortcomings.
His Majesty the
Emperor had been invited to become Grand Master, but he sent his private
secretary to a meeting of the Supreme Council, held on August 3, 1865, to say
that he must decline being Grand Master so long as the Roman question remained
unsettled. He thanked us for the offer and sent $loo to each of the three
Lodges in the capital.
During the winter of
that year several meetings of the Council were held, at which an elaborate
code of General Statutes for the Government oú the Craft was worked out. I was
appointed to the office of Grand Chancellor (Guarda‑Sellos) and my name as
such appears at the foot of the printed copy of the Estatutos Generales which
was published in Mexico on June 24, 1866.
It may be that
December 27, 1865, was the date on which these General Statutes were adopted,
which would explain the discrepancy.
In 1868 this General
Council joined, or was absorbed by, the Supreme Council of i 860 and, in the
same year, the amalgamated body effected a fusion with the National Grand
Lodge‑one of whose highest officials at the time was Benito Juarez, President
of the Republic. The latter union, however, was not of a thorough nature, but
rather assumed the features of a friendly pact, as it left each Rite
independent of the other with regard to ritual and internal government. In
1870 the National Rite numbered thirty‑two Lodges and the Ancient and Accepted
Rite twenty‑four.
It would seem as if
the authority of Juarez alone held these Rites together, since at his death in
1872‑although he was succeeded as President by his chief follower, Sebastian
Lerdo de Tejeda, also a prominent Freemason‑dissensions arose and they fell
asunder, Alfredo Chavero becoming Grand Master of the Grand Orient and Jose
Maria Mateos of the National Grand Lodge. In 1876 a Lodge of Germans left the
Grand Orient and joined the National Grand Lodge, but in the following year,
with the consent of the latter, affiliated with the Grand Lodge of
Hamburg‑under which body there was also in 1886 another Lodge at work in Vera
Cruz.
So far as evidence is
forthcoming, upon the re‑establishment of peace and order in Mexico, the
Lodges under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council throughout the Republic
organized State Grand Lodges. A Central Grand Lodge was established in the
capital, with jurisdiction over them and, though the Supreme Council made no
formal abdication of its authority over Symbolism, this was interfered with
very little, save by the Central Grand Lodge. In 1883 there were the following
State Grand Lodges :‑Vera Cruz and Jalisco, each with seven Lodges; Puebla,
Yucatan and Guanajuato, with six; and Morelos and Tlaxcala, with five; thus
making a total of seven Grand and forty‑two subordinate Lodges, exclusive of
the Central Grand Lodge and the metropolitan Lodges.
It will be seen that
at this period there existed at Vera Cruz a State Grand 112. FREEMASONRY IN
MEXICO Lodge, but from the fact that it was subordinate to the Central Grand
Lodge, it was not deemed by the Grand Lodge of Colon to exercise legitimate
authority over Symbolism in that State. Indeed, the whole of Mexico was
regarded by the lastnamed body as "unoccupied territory" and it therefore
proceeded to charter three Lodges, which, in January 1883, formed themselves,
at the city of Vera Cruz, into the Mexican Independent Symbolic Grand Lodge.
Two of the Lodges
taking part in this movement had originally held Mexican Warrants, but, having
quarrelled with their superiors, solicited and obtained Charters from the
Grand Lodge of Colon (afterwards Colon and Cuba), shortly after which the
third Lodge was formed and then, finally, the Grand Lodge, although the
Supreme Council of Mexico had formally protested against the invasion of its
territory. Indeed the step thus taken by their former superiors appears rather
to have accelerated the action of the three Lodges, as in the record of their
proceedings it is stated, " that they hasten to constitute themselves into an
Independent Grand Lodge, pending the protest of the Supreme Council of Mexico,
to relieve their friend and mother, the Grand Lodge of Colon, from any further
unpleasant complications 1 " The Supreme Council of Mexico, in a Balustre
numbered XXX and dated April 25, 1883, renounced its jurisdiction over the
Symbolical Degrees and promulgated a variety of regulations with regard to
Grand and subordinate Lodges. This threw the Craft into the utmost confusion
and might have ended in the destruction of the greater number of Mexican
Lodges, or, at least, in the establishment of some half dozen Grand Bodies,
all claiming supremacy, had it not been for the skill and address of Carlos
Pacheco, who succeeded Alfredo Chavero as Sovereign Grand Commander 33'.
The former Balustre
was revoked and by a new one (XXXII), dated May 27, 1883, the Supreme Council
renounced, in favour of the State Grand Lodges then existing, or which might
afterwards be formed, the jurisdiction over Symbolism conferred upon it by the
Constitutions of the A. and A.R. 33░.
The transmission of powers was to take effect from June 24 then ensuing. The
Lodges having no Grand Lodge were to remain under the jurisdiction of the
Grand Lodge nearest to them, or the oldest if two were equi‑distant, until
they organized their own in accordance with Masonic usage and precedent. The
Lodges of the Federal District, however, were directed to form and inaugurate
their Grand Lodge on June 15 then following. Balustre XXXII was signed (inter
alios) by Carlos Pacheco, Mariano Escobedo, Alfredo Chavero and Porfirio Diaz.
On June 25, 1883,
twelve Lodges at the capital, all belonging to the Scottish Rite, met and
established the Grand Lodge of the Federal District (or city) of Mexico, with
Porfirio Diaz as the first Grand Master. The event was announced to the
Masonic world in two circulars, the first of which is in Spanish‑an immense
document of 18o pages ! The second is in English and its only noticeable
feature is a declaration that the American system of State Grand Lodges, each
with exclusive jurisdiction, has been adopted. Grand Lodges were afterwards
established on the FEEEMASONRY IN MEXICO 113 same plan‑i.e. in conformity with
the edict of the Supreme Council, as promulgated in Balustre XXXII‑in the
States of Vera Cruz, Tlaxcala, Morelos, Puebla Campeachy and Lower California.
The complications, however, already existing in the Republic, were still
further increased in 1882 by the action of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, in
granting a Charter to the Toltec Lodge, in the city of Mexico, which had been
provisionally established at the close of the previous year under a
dispensation from the Grand Master.
On December 24, 1889,
a treaty was made, by virtue of which the Supreme Council relinquished all
claim of jurisdiction over the first three Degrees, whilst the Supreme Grand
Orient of the Scottish Rite and several of the State Grand Lodges went out of
existence, in order that they might reorganize under one supreme governing
body. This took place at a grand assembly of representatives or Deputies from
nearly all the state and subordinate Lodges in the republic, held, after due
notice, in the City of Mexico, on February 5, i8go. The Convention remained in
session for ten days and the formation of the Grand Symbolical Dieta of the
United States of Mexico was the result, the office of " Most Respectable Grand
Master " being filled by General Porfirio Diaz, President of the Republic;
that of Grand Secretary General by Dr. Emilio G. Canton, Clerk of the Supreme
Court of the United States of Mexico. On June 1o following, the General
Constitution of the Gran Dieta was adopted and promulgated, to be composed of
one Deputy from each State Grand Lodge and one from each subordinate Lodge.
All Charters for subordinate Lodges were to be issued by the Gran Dieta. In
every State there was to be a State Grand Lodge, consisting of five delegates
from each subordinate Lodge within its jurisdiction Fifteen Grand Lodges and
125 private Lodges assisted in the formation of the Gran Dieta. The only
exception from the usage of the Scottish Rite was Toltec Lodge, No. 5 Zo, in
the city of Mexico, chartered, as stated, in 1882, by the Grand Lodge of
Missouri.
On December 27, 18go,
the Supreme Council 330 issued a decree creating a new body for the government
of Symbolic Masonry, to be known as the Grand Symbolical Scottish Diet of the
Republic of Mexico, which body came into existence in February 18g1.
By the Treaty of
Monterey, signed at the Mexican city of that name on October 26, 1801, by G.
W. Tyler, Grand Master of Texas and Porfirio Diaz, Grand Master of Mexico,
each recognized the other as the only supreme and exclu sive Masonic power in
their several districts respectively, conditionally on the treaty being
submitted to the members of the two contracting Grand bodies and it was agreed
that, upon ratification, representatives would be exchanged. Such approval was
immediately forthcoming, though afterwards regretted. Protests against the
formation and recognition of the Gran Dieta were published by the Mexican
National Rite, formed in 1825, of which Francisco P. Gochicoa,
Postmaster‑General, was the head, the members of which were nearly all
officials in the post‑office ; the Reformed Scottish Rite, instituted in 1871,
of which Joaquin Pefia was the Sovereign Grand Commander; and the Grand Lodge
of the Federal FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO District, of which Benito Juarez, son of
the great Juarez, Mexican president, was Grand Master.
Richard E. Chism, who
was Master of the Toltec Lodge, to which reference has already been made, at
the time of the formation of the Gran Dieta, published a pamphlet entitled An
Inside View of Alexican Alasonry, in which he stated that the organization of
the Gran Dieta was not the outcome of any Convocation or Convention of Masons,
but was brought into being by the Supreme Council of the A. and A. Rite and,
therefore, could not claim jurisdiction over Masonic units belonging to the
York Rite. Immediately upon its formation, however, the Gran Dieta had claimed
jurisdiction over everything which called itself Masonic, even to the Rite of
Memphis. Toltec Lodge stood aloof from the Gran Dieta, but was afterwards
compelled to join it, in consequence of the action of the Grand Lodge of
Missouri, to which it owed allegiance, which coerced it into the action by
withdrawing its Charter as it " considered it unwise to continue the exercise
of Masonic authority in Mexico." Toltec Lodge is now No. i on the roster of
the York Grand Lodge, to be mentioned later.
With three exceptions
all the Lodges transferred their allegiance to the Gran Dieta, which was
constituted by i zz out of the 125 Lodges in the republic. One of the first
acts of the Gran Dieta was to provide for the initiation of women and to issue
Charters for female Lodges, but, in the Report on Foreign Correspondence by T.
S. Parvin in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Iowa for 1896, it was
stated that the Gran Dieta had repealed the law under which women were
authorized to be made Freemasons and the Charters of women Lodges were
withdrawn under pressure from American Freemasons. This step was taken at a
session of the Gran Dieta Simbolica held on August 24, 1895, when it was
decreed that all Charters for these Lodges should be withdrawn, that no
recognition of women as Freemasons should be continued and that the Holy Bible
and the Square and Compasses should be placed on all Masonic altars of the
Symbolical Lodges in the republic of Mexico. This step was hastened by the
formation on June 24, 1895, of the Grand Lodge Valle de Mexico, No. i of the
Federal District of Mexico, in the presence of several women, said to be
members of female Masonic Lodges. This action caused the withdrawal of Anahuac
Lodge, No. 141, which made a protest to the Gran Dieta, which, accordingly,
suspended the Grand Lodge Valle de Mexico, along with several members who had
committed the irregularities.
The Gran Dieta,
however, was not received generally with favour in the Grand Lodges of the
United States of America and its recognition by the Grand Lodges of New York
and Texas was very generally condemned by the Reporters on Cor respondence in
several American jurisdictions. In 1894, Dr. Joseph Robbins, Past Grand
Master, making his Correspondence Report to the Grand Lodge of Illinois, said
The most startling event of the year is the recognition by the Grand Lodge of
New York of the Gran Dieta Simbolica of Mexico, in the face of disclosures
FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO 115 as to what passes for Masonry in that republic,
that, to say the least, have yet far from having been wholly discredited by
proof and which, if true, ought to ensure the repudiation of the body or
congregation of which they are found to be true, not only by the Grand Lodge
of New York, but even by the most careless and least informed Grand Lodges. In
our review of New York we called attention to one of these disclosures
only‑the admission of women to the Lodges owing allegiance to one of the
constituents of the Mexican Gran Dieta, the Grand Lodge Valle de Mexico. We
there referred to 11 Clio," the Master of Lodge No. 27, who, Brother Chism
says (to the Grand Secretary of Missouri) is in private life Dr. Matilda
Montoya, the only female physician ever accredited by a Mexican college.
The other two women
appointed to office in that Grand Lodge were 11 Caliope," who was Mrs. De
Kleinhaus, mother‑in‑law of Emilio G. Canton, the Grand Secretary of the Gran
Dieta and 11 Amonia," who was the wife of the Grand Secretary.
The York Grand Lodge
of Mexico, which is the only Mexican Masonic body in fraternal communications
with the Grand Lodge of England, originated in October 1823, also as the Grand
Lodge Valle de Mexico. It started as a York Rite Grand body, but afterwards
changed into Scottish Rite. In 1911 it reverted to the York Rite and the name
was then changed to the York Grand Lodge of Mexico. There were a few members
who objected to the change and they remained behind and formed an independent
Grand Lodge, retaining the old name. According to the latest returns, the York
Grand Lodge of Mexico consists of thirteen Lodges with 907 members. A document
sent out in June 1934 announces the formation of the Mexican Masonic Council,
with member Grand Lodges as follows Gran Logia Benito Juarez Apdo. Num. 87
Torre6n, Coah. Gran Logia Indep. Cosmos Apdo. Num. 171 Chihuahua, Chih. Gran
Logia del Estado de Chiapas Apdo. Num. 7o Tapachula, Chis.
Gran Logia del Estado
de Nuevo Leon Apdo. Num. 309 Monterrey, N. L. Gran Logia de Tamaulipas Apdo.
Num. 419 Tampico, Tamps.
Gran Logia Occidental
Mexicana Apdo. Num. 9 Guadalajara, Jal. Gran Logia El Potosi Apdo. Num. 265
San Luis Potosi, S. L. P. Gran Logia Unida Mexicana Apdo. Num. 56 Veracruz,
Ver. Gran Logia Oriental Peninsular Apdo. Num. 61 Merida, Yuc. Gran Logia
Valle de Mexico Apdo. Num. io Mexico, D. F. Gran Logia Guadalupe Victoria Apdo.
Num. 1o8 Durango, Dgo. Gran Logia Restauracion Apdo. Num. 26 Villahermosa,
Tab. Gran Logia Campeche Apdo. Num. 17 Campeche, Camp.
ADMITTED
PROVISIONALLY Gran Logia del Distrito Norte de la Baja California Apdo. Num.
81 Ensenada, B. C.
ADMISSION INCOMPLETE
Gran Logia del Pacifico Apdo. Num. Zo Guaymas, Son.
Gran Logia del Estado
de Oaxaca Apdo. Num. 1o Oaxaca, Oax.
116 FREEMASONRY IN
MEXICO Of these there are several concerning which but little is known.
Requests for information produced the following: The Grand Lodge of Coahuila,
" Benito Juarez," was founded in Saltillo, Coahuila, in 18go, under the
auspices and jurisdiction of the " Gran Dieta Simbolica " of the United States
of Mexico.
In 1896, Worshipful
Brother Dr. Lorenzo Cantu was elected Grand Master and the residence of the
Grand Lodge was transferred to Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, Coahuila. It worked with
regularity as an integral part of the " Grand Dieta Simbolica " until July 1,
19oi, when, upon the receipt of a circular announcing the dissolution of that
Grand Body, it assumed its independence and sovereignty in the State of
Coahuila, pledging itself to uphold the Ancient Charges and Landmarks as laid
down by Dr. Anderson, in 172‑1, and acknowledging the complete independence of
the Symbolic Degrees.
This Grand Lodge
shows a list of 31 Lodges with 12‑76 members in 1935Grand Lodge La Oriental
Peninsular of the State of Yucatan was formed from three Lodges working under
the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge Unida Mexicana of Vera Cruz, in the year
1913. It was organised to exercise jurisdiction over the State of Yucatan,
Campeche and Quitana Roo. It is the only Grand Lodge operating in this
territory. It has adopted the British standards. Its statement is as follows
II. Since the date of its Constitution this Grand Lodge has been the only
Governing Masonic Body in the territory that was granted to her, and her
authority has not been nor is at present divided with any other Grand Lodge or
Supreme Council.
III. That the Laws of
this Grand Lodge are formed in strict compliance of the Ancient uses of the
Fraternity approved at Stationers Hall, London, England, on June 2‑q., 172‑1,
the main parts being: a. Acknowledgement of a belief in God. b. That it makes
Masons of men only. c. Secrecy.
d. The Symbolism of
Operative Masonry.
e. The division of
Symbolic Masonry in three Degrees, universally known. f. The legend of the
Third Degree and ways of recognition, which are unchangeable.
g. Controversial
politics and sectarian religion strictly excluded from all activities under
its auspices.
b. The Book of the
Sacred Law shall always be open while a Lodge is working.
i. That it will not
try to interfere in the territory of another Grand Body.
Grand Lodge El Potosi
of the State of San Luis Potosi was established in the year 1896. It covers
the territory of the State of San Luis Potosi and had its headquarters in the
city of San Luis Potosi.
The Grand Lodge El
Potosi works strictly in conformity with the standards of the Grand Lodge of
North Carolina. Like many of its sister Mexican Grand FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO
117 Lodges, it has felt that the Masonry of the United States frowns upon
things Mexican, and for that reason it has refrained from begging any American
Grand Lodge to extend recognition; the Spanish‑speaking Masonic world has been
driven to a self‑contained isolation to a great extent by the attitude of the
English‑speaking Grand Lodges, who neither cared anything about them nor knew
anything about them.
Bro. Juarez tells us
then when his Grand Lodge received a copy of Past Grand Master Peter T.
Wilson's address to the Conference of Grand Masters, in Spanish, the document
created widespread interest and seemed to mark the be ginning of a new era of
good feeling. It is desired that he shall express to our Grand Lodge the
sincere thanks of the Grand Lodge El Potosi in us, and the hope that this may
be the beginning of the best of fraternal relations.
This Grand Lodge
Works the three Degrees, using the Ritual of the Scottish Rite which is the
same that is used in practically all of Latin‑America; it requires the Volume
of the Sacred Law on its Altars and a profession of faith in a Diety. It is
sovereign and independent and shares its jurisdiction with none other.
The following is from
the report of the Committee on the Grand Lodge Del Pacifico The chairman made
a trip to Mexico for the particular purpose of examining into the merits of
the application for recognition of the Grand Lodge of the Pacific and visited
several of the cities where are located subordinate Lodges of that Grand
Lodge. He had the privilege of inspecting several Lodge rooms and of meeting
officers and members of a majority of the Lodges. He also conferred with the
Grand Master Octavio A. Serrano, Past Grand Master R. H. Fernando F. Dworak,
and other officers of the Grand Lodge. His impression was most favourable. He
found those Masons with whom he came in contact to be mostly men of prominence
and standing in their respective communities and his inquiries and
observations induced him to believe that they were good Masons and that they
were loyal to the tenets of our profession and were doing a splendid work in
their jurisdictions. At Nogales, Hermosillo, Mazatlan, Los Machis, Navajoa,
Culiacan and Cuidad Obregon he found Americans who had been raised in the
United States and had cast their lot with the Masons of the Grand Lodge of the
Pacific and without exception the expressions of, these Masons were
commendatory of the work and the spirit of their Mexican brethren and their
lodges. There is a strong American spirit on the west coast of Mexico and the
influence of the American Masons there is evident.
The Grand Lodge of
the Pacific confines its authority to the states of Sonora and Sinaloa and the
central district of Lower Cafifornia. It exercises its right and authority
over the three degrees of symbolic Masonry only. It requires of its initiates
a belief in God and the immortality of the soul and displays the Great Light
upon its altars. In 1923 the Grand Master Dworak represented to this Grand
Lodge that the then newly created Grand Lodge of the Pacific had no treaty or
other connection with the Supreme Council of Mexico, nor any other Masonic
body, but that it was sovereign and absolutely independent. The application
for recognition has been before us from that time until this and the same
representations have been repeatedly made to us.
118 FREEMASONRY IN
MEXICO We find that the Grand Lodge of the Pacific has 14 Lodges with more
than 1400 members, and that all of the Lodges in its territory are of its
obedience except a Lodge at Cananea, which is a subordinate of the York Grand
Lodge of Mexico. Recognition of the Grand Lodge of the Pacific has been
deferred until this time because the York Grand Lodge of Mexico, with which we
are in amity and concord, claims exclusive jurisdiction throughout the
Republic of Mexico and we were not disposed to take any action that might be
objectionable to that Grand Lodge. It appeared to your committee that the only
reason for denying the application for recognition would be an objection from
the York Grand Lodge and that otherwise the Grand Lodge of the Pacific was
justly entitled to our fraternal regard and recognition. With this in mind, we
asked the Grand Master of the York Grand Lodge to give us a frank statement of
his disposition in this matter, assuring him of our desire to work in full
harmony and accord with the York Grand Lodge of Mexico and its members. We
have now a reply to our inquiry made by the Grand Master through Bro. M. A.
Loeby, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the York Grand Lodge,
in which we are advised that it cannot and will not embarrass or hurt York
Grand Lodge for the Grand Lodge of California to enter into fraternal
relationship with the Grand Lodge of the Pacific.
In 1926, the United
Grand Lodge of Mexico at Vera Cruz sent out a request for recognition in which
the following history, description and declarations occur: We have at all
times and places tried to render obedience to those ideals notwithstanding the
numerous difficulties and obstacles we have met with from the year 1883 in
which our Masonic life began, as a body named " Gran Logia Simb6lica
Independiente " (Symbolic and Independent Grand Lodge of Veracruz), with a
regular jurisdiction upon the whole territory of the Mexican Republic and
adjacent islands in both oceans, according to the cession made in our favour
of the said territory by the Very Respectful Grand Lodge of Colon and that of
Cuba; and at the same time, by the resignation of the Supreme Council in the
city of Mexico to its pretensions to govern all the Masonic Lodges in this
country.
In order you may have
a clear and wide knowledge as to the origin, organisation and rights
concerning our Grand Lodge we beg to send you herewith two enclosures or
copies, one of the recognition granted to us as far as legitimacy and
regularity correspond, by the Grand Lodge of Cuba, and another of the treaty
by means of which the Supreme Council in Mexico resigned what they called
their rights, recognised and agreed to cultivate and maintain a perpetual
friendship with our Grand Lodge, being this also recognised by the Grand
Lodges of the States of Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska and
District of Columbia in the United States of America, and by those of
Edinburgh (Scotland), Manitoba and Nova Scotia (Canada), New South Wales and
Victoria (Australia) and some more English and Spanish speaking lodges.
It is our duty to
clear up that, notwithstanding that the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge
embraced the territorial extension mentioned above, it willingly engaged
itself, as it has done, to grant the territory of the various federal states
of this country to the Grand Lodges which might be established in a regular
FREEMASONRY IN MEXICO 119 form and transmitting them the necessary
jurisdiction, so they could practise there complete authority as sovereign
powers in their respective territories, with the reservation for this Grand
Lodge of the right to recover its whole personality upon the granted
territories whenever one of those Grand Lodges might abdicate or divide its
sovereignty in favour of another power.
The Gran Logia Unida
Mexicana admits within its circle only free and honourable men (this is why it
emphatically rejects as an irregular body any lodge which accepts women within
itself).
We do recognise the
existence of God, and our doors are completely closed for those who do not
keep the same thought in their mind; and all the lodges pertaining to our
control are instructed to keep open upon the altar the Sacred Book of the
Divine Law. It exercises the secret, the Symbolism of the Operative Masonry,
the division of the Symbolic Masonry into three degrees and the custom of
reading the third one. Its aims are charities and the intellectual and moral
education without accepting, at any rate, whatever sectarian controversy
either political or religious.
Mr. Oliver Day Street
in 1922 reported to the Grand Lodge of Alabama as follows Early in January
1882, the Grand Lodge of Colon and the Island of Cuba chartered three Symbolic
Lodges at Vera Cruz. On January 28, 1883, these three lodges formed a Grand
Lodge at Vera Cruz under the name of the Independent Symbolic Mexican Grand
Lodge, claiming jurisdiction over Symbolic Masonry throughout the Republic. So
far as we can ascertain its organisation was in strict accord with the rules
for the erection of an independent Grand Lodge of Ancient Craft Masonry.
FREEMASONRY IN
CENTRAL AMERICA 121 Four conclusions were agreed upon: the formulation of a
definite programme of Masonic studies to be participated in by all the
Brethren (i) for a clear understanding of the meaning of the Symbolic Degrees;
(z) the desirability or undesirability of continuing or reducing the number of
Lodges in the Capital and at Quezaltenango ; (3) the reorganization of the
finances of the Craft in Guatemala. Much good is expected to result from an
intensive discussion of the three problems. Two Lodges‑Garibaldi, No. i z, at
Retalhuleu and Progreso, No. 14, at Coatepeque‑were deprived of their Charters
because of internal difficulties.
A new Lodge was
instituted (U.‑. D.‑.) at San Felipe under the title of Ideal Orientacion and
is working most satisfactorily. The Lodge Estralla de Oriente (Star of the
East) was constituted in December 1928, at Asuncion Mita, in the Department of
Jutiapa and is reported to be working under favourable auspices and excellent
condition, thanks to the enthusiasm of its members and their determination to
adhere strictly to the laws of the Craft. Tenidas blancas (public meetings)
were held by the several Lodges in a spirit of broad toleration and with
carefully prepared programmes of entertainment and information to let the
cultured public get a clearer conception of the character and altruistic
purposes of the Fraternity. Grand Lodge organized three similar meetings: One
in celebration of the annual patriotic festival on September 15‑1a Fiesta de
la Patria ; the second in celebration of the twenty‑fifth anniversary of the
establishment of the Grand Lodge of Guatemala, the third in memory of
the,Brethren who have " travelled to the Eternal East, . . . preceding us in
the completion of human destiny." These meetings, too, have been of
inestimable value as a means for dispelling doubts and misconceptions and
diffusing the principles of Freemasonry for the good of the country and the
world at large.
With reference to the
Fiesta de la Patria the Grand Master issued a decree calling upon the Lodges
to arrange annually, on either the fourteenth or fifteenth of September, a
dignified celebration of the anniversary of the Independence of Central
America, so as to record and exalt the patriotism of the Masons of Guatemala,
demonstrating their love of their country and their constant solicitude for
her prosperity.
The Grand Lodge of
Guatemala is recognised as regular by an impressive list of British and
American Grand Lodges.
HONDURAS There is in
Honduras a Grand Lodge, recognized by several of the American jurisdictions,
which, according to the latest return, has six Lodges, composed in membership
of native Honduranians, almost every Lodge having among its members some of
the best minds of the Republic. There are also in Honduras four Lodges
chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, viz. Tela, No. i 196, at Tela ;
Ceiba., No. 1266, at La Ceiba ; Puerta Castilla, NO. 1793, at Puerto Castilla
; and Cortes, No. 1315, at Puerto Cortes.
122 FREEMASONRY IN
CENTRAL AMERICA On May 15, 19zz, representatives of the three Lodges in
Honduras then existing‑Iqualidad, No. i, at Tegucigalpa; Eureka, No. z, at San
Pedro Sula ; and Augustin Disdier, No. 3, at La Ceiba‑all then subordinate to
the Supreme Council of Central America at Guatemala, met in consultation at
Tegucigalpa to take preliminary steps towards the formation of an Independent
Grand Lodge of Symbolic Masonry. It was resolved to found such a body and
Fredrico C. Canales was appointed Grand Master and Ernesto Fiallos V as Grand
Secretary. Notice was given the Supreme Council of the resolution thus passed
and that body rendered the necessary assistance by releasing the three Lodges
from all obedience to it. On July 9 of the same year the Sovereign Symbolic
Grand Lodge of the State of Honduras of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
was duly formed and constituted. This body demands a declaration of belief in
the Supreme Being and the Bible is displayed on the altars of the Lodges.
The Lodges under the
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Scotland are composed entirely of
English‑speaking people, most of whom are Americans. The Lodges under the
Grand Lodge of Honduras work in the language of the country.
Its standards are
substantially those of the Grand Lodges of New York, North Carolina,
Massachusetts, and others. It is recognised by Alabama, Arkansas, California,
Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Cuba, Costa Rica, Panama.
PANAMA A very good
historical account of Freemasonry in what is now the Republic of Panama,
presented by judge Oliver D. Street to the Grand Lodge of Alabama in 1922, is
reproduced herewith This republic was a part of Colombia until November 3,
1903, when it declared its independence and set up a government of its own. It
was promptly recognised by the leading nations of the world, due no doubt to
the chaotic conditions in Colombia and the desire of the world to see the
Panama Canal constructed. The republic is 430 miles long and 118 miles at its
widest point, its area being 32,38o square miles. The population is about
one‑half million and exhibits various degrees of admixture of Indian, Negro
and Spanish blood. Of course, the relatively small pure white element is the
predominating influence.
Apparently the first
Masonic Lodge in Panama was " Union Lodge," at Panama City, founded by the
Grand Lodge of Texas in 1850. It probably became dormant about 1852. In 1866,
Massachusetts established at Panama ' Isthmus Lodge '' which continued to work
till i88o when it surrendered its charter. It is probable that these two
Lodges left little impress upon the people of Panama as their membership
consisted chiefly of sojourners.
There is little doubt
that the present Masonry of Panama owes its existence in the first instance to
the Supreme Council of Colombia (formerly New Granada, at Cartagena), though
by 1903, it had become completely disorganized. When about 1907 the process of
reorganization began it was necessary on account of the unfriendly political
relations then existing between Panama and Colombia for the Masons of Panama
to apply to the Supreme Council of Venezuela, at FREEMASONRY IN CENTRAL
AMERICA 123 Caracas, for a charter. Between 1907 and 1913, six Lodges were
chartered by Venezuela in Panama.
The Grand Lodge of
Panama was formed by these six Lodges and one Lodge chartered by the Supreme
Council of Colombia, at Cartagena, on August i9, 1916. Its jurisdiction
extends throughout the Republic with the exception of the Canal Zone. It may
not establish Lodges in this Zone but may receive the petitions of citizens of
the Re ublic of Panama residing or doing business in the Zone. It has been
recognize by the Masonic powers of the world generally. Latest statistics
(192o) credit it with 6 Lodges and Soo members.
NICARAGUA In 1932‑
the Grand Lodge of Nicaragua sent out the following account of itself, signed
by T. F. Guliener, Grand Master, and Antonio Ortega B., Grand Secretary: With
the object of having our foreign relation as completely as possible to fulfil
the purposes of our Great Fraternity we hereby apply for official recognition
from your Grand Lodge.
For your guidance we
are submitting you the following information: I. The Grand Lodge of Nicaragua
occupies exclusively its territorial jurisdiction and was lawfully formed on
27th November, 1907, by the following Lodges Progreso, No. I, Managua. Luz,
No. 2, Leon. Estrella Meridional, No. 3, Rivas.
Furthermore the
following lodges have been Chartered: Isis, No. 4, Matagalpa. Veteranos, No.
5, Managua. Diriangen, No. 6, Leon.
2. It is a
responsible independent self‑governing organization with sole undisputed and
exclusive authority over all symbolic Lodges in Nicaragua. Is not in any sense
subject to nor dividing its authority with any Supreme Council nor any other
Power claiming ritualistic or other supervision or control. Its legal standing
has been recognized by the Nicaraguan Government.
3. Its membership is
composed of men exclusively and do not entertain any Masonic relation with
mixed lodges or bodies admitting women into their fellowship.
4. It adheres in
principle to the Ancient Landmarks, traditions, customs and usages of the
Craft, as set forth in the Constitutions adopted by the Grand Lodge of England
in 1723.
S . The Grand Lodge
of Nicaragua meet in particular the following essentials: I. Acknowledgement
of a belief in God the father of all men. 2. Belief in immortality.
3. Presence of the
Three Great Lights of Masonry in the lodges while at work, chief among them
the Sacred Book of the Divine Law.
SAN SALVADOR Masonry
obtained a footing and the Craft flourished for a time in this State, but in
1882 the Lodges were closed and the members dispersed. In that year, 124
FREEMASONRY IN CENTRAL AMERICA however, some zealous Masons, supported by the
then President of the Republic‑Rafael Zaldivar‑succeeded in reuniting the
scattered Brethren and founding a Lodge. Excelsior, No. 17, was established by
Charter of the Grand Orient of Central America (Costa Rica), at San Salvador,
the capital, March 5, 1882 and, a little later, another Lodge‑No. 18, Caridad
y Constancia‑under the same sanction, at Tecla, a neighbouring town.
SPANISH HONDURAS We
obtain from the report prepared for the Grand Lodge of Alabama in 1922 by Hon.
Oliver D. Street, the following account of Freemasonry in the Republic of
Honduras This state is only a little smaller than Guatemala, but its
population is only about one‑fourth as large. Those of pure European blood are
very small in number, the mestizos (mixed Indian and Spanish) and the
full‑blooded Indians con stituting the great bulk of the population. As a rule
the people are industrious. Of course the prevailing religion is Roman
Catholicism but no religion is supported by the state and religious freedom is
secured by the constitution.
As late as June Io,
1922, there were only three Lodges of Masons in Honduras, namely, ' Igualidad
" No. 1 at Tegucigalpa; '' Eureka " No. 2, at San Pedro Sula; and " Augustin
Disdier " No. 3, at LaCeiba, all subordinates of the Supreme Council of
Central America at Guatemala. On May 15, 1922, representatives of the Lodges
met in convention at Tegucigalpa to take preliminary steps towards forming an
independent Grand Lodge of Symbolic Masonry. It was at once resolved to found
such body and the election of officers was proceeded with, resulting in the
election of Fredrico C. Canales as Grand Master and Ernesto Fiallos V. as
Grand Secretary. Notice was at once communicated to the Supreme Council of
Central America of their action, and on the loth day of June that supreme body
released these Lodges from all allegiance to it in order to facilitate them in
their plans.
On July 9, 1922, the
" Sovereign Symbolic Grand Lodge of the State of Honduras of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite '' was solemnly constituted. We have been furnished
with a full set of documents relating to the formation of this Grand Lodge.
From them we learn that all official connection between the Lodges of Symbolic
Masonry and the " higher " bodies of the Scottish Rite is completely severed;
that this Grand Lodge is an independent, selfgoverning body owing no
allegiance to any other body or system; that this Grand Lodge practices and
controls only the first three degrees and that the Supreme Council of Central
America has surrendered claim over these degrees within the Republic of
Honduras; that all the Lodges in Honduras participated in the formation of
this Grand Lodge and that it is formed ' in conformity ' to the laws which
govern our Institution." We are unable to detect irregularity whatever in the
formation of this Grand Lodge except (if it be an irregularity) that it is
Scottish Rite origin. A declaration of a belief in Deity is exacted and the
Bible is displayed on the altar of the Lodges.
CHAPTER IV
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES BY the expression West Indies is understood the
large group of islands lying east of Central and north of South America. Of
these the nothernmost are the Bahamas or Lucayos‑a long archipelago.
South‑west of them stretches the vast island of Cuba, the most important of
the whole group as well as the principal member of the Greater Antilles,
within which are also comprised Jamaica, Hayti, Porto Rico and several smaller
islands.
East of Porto Rico
begin the Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbee Islands, by navigators
again subdivided into the two groups of the Windward (or South Caribbees) and
Leeward (or North Caribbees) Islands, so‑called in accordance with the
direction in which they lie with regard to the prevailing easterly trade wind.
With a single important exception all these islands belong to European
nations, being shared between Great Britain, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, France
and Spain. The solitary exception is Hayti, which is divided into two
independent native states. Some few also of the Leeward group belong to the
South American Republic of Venezuela.
Much confusion has
arisen from the same name being given to different islands and from the same
island having different names. Thus, there are Barbadoes and Barbudo, whilst
the Saintes (three of the Caribbee Islands) were at one time called Barbata.
St. Christopher is commonly termed St. Kitts ; Porto Rico was formerly known
as San Juan‑the proximity of the latter to St. John naturally introducing a
new element of uncertainty. Then we have Cariacou, one of the Grenadines and
Cura~oa. The Bahamas were likewise the Lucayos. Hispaniola, San Domingo and
Hayti are all appellations for one island, while San Domingo is also the name
of the principal city in the Spanish part of it. Two islands arc called
Anguila ; there is a New as well as an Old Providence‑and the latter was also
known as St. Catherine. The island of Samana occasionally comes in conflict
with the peninsula of the same name in Hispaniola. Three islands in the West
Indies were called Santa Cruz and the same name is borne by a group.in the
South Pacific and by the capital of the Canaries. There is Tortuga and the
Tortugas and the following very puzzling names of towns : Basseterre, the
capital both of Guadeloupe and St. Kitts; St. Pierre, a town in Martinique,
also in Reunion (or Bourbon) ; St. Louis, common to Guadeloupe and Senegal;
St. Denis, a town in France, as well as the capital of Reunion; Port Louis, a
seaport of France and the capital of the Mauritius; St. George, the name of
towns in Grenada and Bermuda; and, lastly, Santiago, the most familiar title
of all, which occurs not 17‑5 i26 FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES only in Old
and New Spain (Hispaniola), the Cape Verde Islands, Cuba and Jamaica, but is
also met with both in Central and South America.
It will be seen,
therefore, that a study of the Masonic history of the West Indies is beset
with a new class of difficulties, differing materially from those which have
been already encountered in the previous researches. A great part of the
information is contained in old Calendars where the name of a town or an
island is, as often as not, given without any real approach to exactitude.
Less uncertainty prevails, as we gradually sail down the river of time, but
even when approaching our own times, the references to Lodges in foreign parts
(en pays strangers) under Continental jurisdictions, by the most discursive of
writers, are, in too many instances, both vague and misleading.
CUBA Le Temple des
Vertus Theologales, or Las Virtude1
Teologales, No. 103 ‑with the notorious Joseph Cerneau as first Master‑was
chartered at Havana by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, December 17, 1804.
During the progress of the Negro Revolution, three Lodges originally
constituted in Hispaniola‑Reunion des Ceeurs (French), Concorde and
Perseverance (Pennsylvanian) ‑were reorganized at Santiago de Cuba in 1805‑6.
Again dispersed in 1808, many of the members removed to New Orleans in 1809,
where‑October 7, 1810 ‑the two Lodges first named amalgamated, as No. 117
(Concord), under the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, by which body a Charter‑No.
118, Perseverance ‑was also granted the same day to certain petitioners, "
chiefly refugees from San Domingo and Cuba." Other Lodges were erected under
the same sanction ‑Nos. 157, 161 111 1818 ; 166, 167 111 1819 ; and (at
Santiago de Cuba) 175 in 1820 and 181 111 1822. All, however, but the last two
had died out by 1822 and, in 1826, the Charters of Nos. 175 and 181 were
revoked, because the Lodges had failed to meet for more than a year. The
privilege of warranting Lodges on the island was next assumed by the Grand
Lodges of Louisiana and South Carolina, under the former of which bodies
sprang up Nos. 7, 1815, 11 and 14, 1818 ; and, under the latter, Nos. 5o‑La
Constancia, 1818 and 52‑La Amenidad, 1819. Then followed the Grand Orient of
France with a Lodge and consistory (32░),
1819 ; and two further Lodges‑La Constante Sophie and L'Humanite (at Saint
Yago, ? Santiago de Cuba), 1821. In the year last named a circular was
received by the Grand Lodge of South Carolina from the Grand Lodge of Ancient
Freemasons in Havana, stating that a Grand Lodge had been organized there, to
which Lodge La Amenidad requested permission to transfer its allegiance. A
favourable answer was of course returned, but the Grand Lodge of South
Carolina retained on its roll La Constancia for a few years, when the Warrant
was surrendered by the members " in consequence of the religious and political
persecutions to which they were subjected." For many years Masonry languished
in the " Pearl of the Antilles," its votaries FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES
127 practising their rites in secret, but not daring to indulge in any overt
acts, which might entail not only expulsion from the country, but also
confiscation of their property. At length, however, a faint revival set in and
a Warrant was granted, November 117, 18 5 9, by the Grand Lodge of South
Carolina to St. Andrew's Lodge, No. 93, " for the purpose of establishing,
with two other Lodges (Albert Pike and Josiah H. Drummond concur in the belief
that these were Spanish Lodges, i.e. holding Warrants from some Peninsula
authority) already existing on the island, a Grand Lodge," which was
accomplished on December 5 of the same year.
An independent Grand
Lodge of Colon was thus established at Santiago de Cuba and‑December 27, i 8 5
9‑a Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Rite 33░
was founded in the same city by Andres Cassard, under the sanction of the
Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A., "for the Masonic
Jurisdiction of Cuba and other unoccupied West India Islands." At this time,
it must be recollected, the practice of assembling as Freemasons was forbidden
by the Spanish laws, which laws, moreover, though destined to become‑after the
dethronement of Queen Isabella (i868)‑innocuous in the Peninsula, remained for
a long time in full force in Cuba.
Several, indeed, of
the Captains General and other officers who ruled the island were Masons and,
therefore, from time to time the Craft was tolerated, but its members being
always compelled to work to a great extent in the dark, found it necessary to
observe the most inviolable secrecy, even to shield themselves under " Masonic
names," lest by the discovery of their own, they might incur the most grievous
penalties. Among the names given in an official report dated August 6, 1873,
of the officers of the Supreme Council of Colon are " Bismark " and " Josaphat,"
but a paragraph states‑" the real names of the officers you will find in the
enclosed slip, they are not stated here, to prevent their being divulged
should this communication come to print " (New England Freemason, February
1874, p. 8o). For the same reason the Supreme Council and the Grand Lodge,
which soon after united in forming a Grand Orient, found a convenient title
for the amalgamated body in the name of Colon‑the Spanish for Columbus‑it
being desired above all things to conceal from the public ken the seat of the
" Grand East " of the Society.
At the formation of
the Grand Orient of Colon, a Constitution published at Naples in 1820, was
adopted as that of the new organization. By this the Supreme Council
necessarily became a, section of the Grand Orient. In 1865 a new Constitution
was promulgated. The Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council
became‑ex officio‑Grand Master of the Grand Orient, but the Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge was still required to submit himself for election. All
Charters for Lodges were issued by the Grand Lodge, but had to be confirmed
and vised by the Supreme Council. According to Lecerff, however‑" in Naples a
Grand Orient was founded, which in 1830 [not 182o] enacted its Constitution
and By‑laws, entitling the book General Statutes of the Scottish Bite ; these
came to America and happened to come to hand of (sic) Brother Andres Cassard,
128 FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES the propagator of Masonry in South and
Central America ; in establishing Masonry in those countries, he gave the
General Statutes as the universal laws of Masonry and the Grand Orient system
with the allegiance of all to the thirty‑third Degree was provided for therein
" (Proceedings Grand Lodge of Cuba, 1870.
In 1867 the Grand
Lodge promulgated a Constitution of its own, in which, while recognizing its
continued membership of the Grand Orient, it claimed the exclusive power to
enact its own By‑laws, issue Charters, constitute and regulate Lodges. Their
right to do this was denied by the Supreme Council. In 1868 ‑September 3o‑the
Grand Lodge suspended its Constitution until a meeting took place of the Grand
Orient, convoked for November 3o. But before that time the revolution broke
out and Freemasons, being regarded by the Spanish government as
revolutionists, the Grand Orient could not meet. The Grand Lodge, so far as it
was possible, resumed labour. But the times were unpropitious. In the winter
of 1869, at Santiago de Cuba, by order of Gonzales Bret, an officer of the
government, eighteen persons were seized without warrant and immediately shot,
without a trial, for being Freemasons‑one of them the Grand Master of
Colon‑and many others were arrested and committed to prison for the same
offence.
The number of Cuban
Lodges, which, in 1868, was about thirty, had fallen in 1870 to about seven
and, in the latter year, the Supreme Council organized a Provincial Mother
Lodge at Havana, against which the Grand Lodge very naturally protested. The
Warrant to this Mother Lodge was soon after recalled, but the dispute between
the Supreme Council and the Grand Lodge continued. In 1873‑April ii‑the Grand
Lodge resumed work openly and, in the following year, entered into a compact
with the Supreme Council, whereby it was agreed that the former should have
exclusive jurisdiction over Symbolic Masonry, with the sole right of
chartering Lodges and that it should establish a Provincial Mother Lodge
(instituted in April and dissolved in July 1875) in the western section of the
island to govern the Lodges there, but in submission to the laws of the Grand
Lodge. After this compact it is contended that the Grand Lodge, though still
nominally a section in the Grand Orient, had full jurisdiction over Symbolical
Masonry. Nevertheless, it is quite clear that there was a divided authority
and, apparently, great Masonic confusion on the island.
The Grand Lodge of
Colon held five meetings in August 1876, on the last of which‑August z6‑it
declared itself free from all other authority, a sovereign body, with full and
unlimited powers over its subordinates.
This action, however,
was accelerated by an event which had taken place on August i, when the
representatives of nine chartered Lodges (six chartered before and three after
1865), together with four under dispensation from the two Provincial Mother
Lodges, met at Havana and formed the Grand Lodge of Cuba. This body from the
very first kept itself free from the blighting influence of the (so‑called)
High Degrees, which it willingly consented‑December 31, 1876‑should be ruled
in Cuba by the Grand Orient of Spain. In a circular of September 4, 1876, the
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES 12.9 Grand Lodge of Colon claimed to have on
its register 36 Lodges and 8,ooo members ; whilst its newly formed rival, the
Grand Lodge of Cuba, in 1877, possessed an apparent following of 17 Lodges. In
the latter year‑June 3‑a second Grand Lodge of Colon (or Columbus) at Havana
was added to the two existing Craft Grand bodies.
Thus we find three
organizations, each claiming to be the regular Grand Lodge. From a circular of
the Grand Lodge of Cuba, we learn that, in 1879, the three Lodges which formed
the Grand Lodge of Colon at Santiago de Cuba in 1859 and four others, adhered
to that body; but that the remaining Lodges‑excepting those under the Grand
Lodge of Cuba‑were subject to the control of the Grand Lodge of Colon at
Havana. To local jealousies must be attributed this multiplication of Grand
Lodges. The representatives of some of the Havana Lodges seceded from the old
(or original) Grand Lodge of Colon at Santiago de Cuba, met as the Grand Lodge
and decreed its removal to Havana.
Eventually, however,
the Grand Lodges of Colon (at Havana) and Cuba formally united, and‑March 28,
188o‑the Grand Master of one body became Grand Master and the Grand Master of
the other body Deputy Grand Master. The title assumed by the new organization
was the United Grand Lodge of Colon and the Island of Cuba and it entered upon
its career with a roll of 5 7 Lodges and between 5,ooo and 6,ooo Masons. The
Lodges under the original Grand Lodge of Colon at Santiago de Cuba remained
true to their allegiance.
In 1885, the number
of Lodges under the United Grand Lodge had apparently increased to 82, with
Provincial Grand Lodges at Santiago de Cuba and Porto Rico ; but from the
official List of 1886, there were then only 58 Lodges in all upon the roll. Of
these, 30 were at the capital, or in its vicinity, and 28 in other parts. It
is possible that further schisms may have disturbed the peace of Cuban
Masonry; and it is somewhat remarkable that the Provincial Grand Lodge of
Porto Rico‑with the 14 subordinate Lodges on that island, shown in sundry
Calendars for 1886‑wholly disappeared in the later official List.
To‑day there are in
Cuba 186 Lodges with 13,178 members, a net gain during the year of 349. Order
has been brought into quarters where temporary differences had produced
dissension. Honesty and business‑like administration of finances is insisted
on and a special commission appointed to look after this matter and supply
standard models for book‑keeping transactions and the keeping of Minutes.
Discipline is upheld with a firm hand. The Grand Master (Antonio Iraizoz de
Villar) holds that it is better to have fewer Lodges and fewer members than
men who cannot or will not submit to Masonic law and co‑operate to maintain
the high reputation which Cuban Masonry has won after years of struggle
against attacks and misinterpretations by opponents outside of the Lodges, A
Commission is to be created to act as a Supreme Court of Masonic justice; this
will be composed of magistrates of established prestige and authority.
During igzg a number
of new Temples were dedicated and a uniformed National Masonic Band was
formed. The Government has conceded to Grand 130 FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST
INDIES Lodge a valuable piece of property in the city of Havana, in
recognition of its help in providing a school for children and a public
library. A Masonic Temple (Palacio de la Masoneria) will be built on this
property, which will be the headquarters of Grand Lodge. The property was
obtained through the influence of Dr. Antonio Bosch, who is not a Mason.
One Lodge helps to
maintain a dental dispensary for children in the city of Camaguey. Another
gave an ambulance to a hospital. ú687 were sent to Porto Rico for relief in
the devastated regions there; 16,171 pairs of shoes were given to an equal
number of children, enabling them to attend school. This undertaking is known
as El Zapato Escolar. It was founded on January 6, 19zo, the day which
commemorates the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem. La Misericordia (the National
Masonic Home) has, at present, 180 residents.
This Grand Lodge
appears to be recognised practically universally among Masonic Grand Lodges,
the Grand Lodge of South Australia being the only one whose statement of
fraternal relations with it appears not to have been found.
HAYTI AND SANTO
DOMINGO This island is divided into the republics of Hayti in the west and San
(or Santo) Domingo in the east. It was originally a Spanish possession, but
the western portion was ceded in 1697 to the French, under whom it prospered
rapidly and, in 1789, contained 793 sugar plantations, 3,117 coffee
plantations, 789 cotton plantations and 18z establishments for making rum,
besides other minor factories and workshops.
But the conflicting
diversity of race and monopoly of political power by the whites, led to a
rupture on the outbreak of the Revolution in the mother country. After fierce
revolts of the mulattoes and negroes and inroads of the English and Spanish,
all the inhabitants of the colony were declared free and equal in 1793, the
command of the army being given to Toussaint l'Ouverture, who expelled the
hostile intruders and restored peace to the island.
English troops
arrived in Hayti from Jamaica in 1793 and, afterwards, were poured into the
country; but they came to die. The 8znd Foot, numbering 880 men, lost all but
50 in ten weeks. Another regiment, in the same time, lost 700 men out of 1,ooo
; and it is stated that the 96th Foot perished to a man (Bryan Edwards,
History of the Vest Indies, vol. iii, p. 411). Major‑General Sir Adam
Williamson (Provincial Grand Master for Jamaica under the Grand Lodge of
England‑Moderns‑1793‑8), who succeeded the Earl of Eflingham (Acting Grand
Master of England, under the Duke of Cumberland, 1782‑9) as Governor of
Jamaica, ultimately followed the troops sent from that island, with the title
of Governor‑General of San Domingo. At the close of 1798, however, when the
colony was evacuated, millions of treasure had been wasted, twenty thousand a
soldiers and sailors had perished, whilst there never had been any reasonable
prospect of conquering the island. The loss of the English has been estimated
at 45,000 men and twenty millions sterling.
FREEMASONRY IN THE
WEST INDIES 131 The Spanish territory was ceded to France in 1795, but
Napoleon attempted to re‑establish slavery in 18oi and the inhabitants shook
off the French yoke in 1803, San Domingo in that year declaring itself an
independent republic. A period of confusion then ensued, there being no fewer
than five distinctive governments upon the island in 18io. The whole of it
passed again under a single republic, that of Hayti, in 1822, but, in 1844,
the Dominicans reasserted their independency and the two districts have since
remained separate. The territory comprised within the republic of San Domingo
was ceded to Spain in 1861, but again declared free by an act of the Cortes,
March 3, 1865.
Of the later
condition of San Domingo, Hazard, a traveller, gave a deplorable account. The
fertile plains were untilled ; the rich mines unworked. There was not a plough
in the whole island; and the only steam engine ever set up was destroyed by
the Spaniards in 1865.
In the republic of
Hayti, on the western side of this beautiful island, the state of things was
even worse than in the eastern or Dominican part. All traces of the old French
civilization vanished. There were no manufactures and the government was
bankrupt; the towns were in ruins and the men spent their time in idleness,
living on the industry of the women.
Two Lodges‑St. Jean
de Jerusalem Ecossaise and Concorde‑were formed on the island, under the
Grande Loge Anglaise de France in 1749. Others soon followed‑Freres Reunis,
1763 ; Amitie Indissoluble, 1765 ; Verite, 1767; Freres Choisis, 1772 ; and a
Provincial Grand Lodge‑under the Grand Orient‑October 1, 1778. These were
doubtless established on French territory, in the district now known as Hayti,
though the term San Domingo is alone used in the lists.
The remaining Lodges,
constituted under French authority prior to the Revolution were‑L'Unanimite,
Petit Goave, 1774; Les Freres Zeles, Cavaillon, 1775 ; Raison Perfectionnee,
Petit Tron, 1779 ; Reunion Desiree, Port au Prince, 1783 ; Choix des Hommes,
Jacmel, 1784 and Freres Discrets, Cayes, 1785 (Nos.
292, 291, 456, 466,
521 and 591).
Besides the Degrees
of the Craft, the Rite of Perfection had been introduced into the island by
Stephen Morin in 1761 and, doubtless, continued to be worked until swept
away‑like all other vestiges of French domination‑by the great political
cataclysm, in which that remarkable personage is himself believed to have
perished. We have seen that during the closing years of the eighteenth century
Hispaniola had become the headquarters of the newly invented American Rite,
called‑but without any valid reason‑the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite 330
and that, on the expulsion of the French colonists, the Rite in question had
been introduced into France. Both De Grasse‑Tilly and Hacquet‑who so far
anticipated him as to be first in the field with the revived Rite of
Perfection‑the former a planter, the latter a notary, were residents in the
French (or western) side of San Domingo, i.e. on the part now known as Hayti.
The Dominican, or to
speak with precision, the Haytian Lodges, which had served as the basis of the
Rite, in most cases closed their doors during the political 132 FREEMASONRY IN
THE WEST INDIES troubles and Freemasonry, which was strictly confined to the
white inhabitants, became almost, if not quite, extinct.
A Warrant was granted
from Pennsylvania, in 1786, on the,application of " a Lodge held at Cape
Frangois, directed to General Washington as Grand Master of all America." A
second Lodge, under the same jurisdiction, was established at Port au Prince
in 1789, which continued to meet regularly throughout the political
convulsions of 1791 and, at the close of 1798 (as related in the Proceedings
of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania), " after having been obliged by reason of
the disturbances in the island, their Lodge being burnt, etc., to suspend
their Masonic operations, had again begun and were carrying on their works."
In 1793‑December 4‑sundry French Brethren, " driven from the island of San
Domingo," were granted a dispensation by the Grand Lodge of New York to meet
as a Lodge in that city for the period of six months. This, which was named La
Tendre Amitie Franco‑Americaine, surrendered its acting Warrant, June 4, 1794;
but the money and papers of the Lodge were delivered‑by order of the Grand
Lodge‑to L'Unite Americaine, which took its place, May 19, 1795, The latter
received a regular Charter in 1797, becoming No. i z on the roll and, in the
same year, was concerned in a series of irregularities which are not without
interest in the present inquiry. From internal bickerings dissensions had
arisen in the Lodge, it decided to return the New York Warrant and revert "to
the authority of their natural Grand Lodge of France." Accordingly, a French
Lodge L'Union Fran5aise was established in New York, December 6, by Huet
Lachelle, a Deputy Grand Master under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of
France and Provincial Grand Master for San Domingo. L'Unite Americaine after
this made submission, was accorded grace, but split into two parts, one
remaining the old Lodge, the other becoming L'Union Frangaise, No. 14 on the
roll of New York. With the subsequent history of these bodies we are not
concerned ; it will suffice to have learnt from authority that a large number
of Haytian Brethren found an asylum in New York; also, that the Provincial
Grand Master of San Domingo and four of his Grand Officers were included in
the number of these refugees.
In 18oz, owing to the
arrival of 30,000 veteran French troops, the negro forces of Toussaint
1'Ouverture were compelled to retire to the mountains and the survivors of the
colonists who had fled to different countries returned in great numbers, but
in 1803 were for the second time expelled. Meanwhile, however, the Grand Lodge
of Pennsylvania had extended its jurisdiction in Hayti. Several Lodges were
erected as follows : Nos. 46, Cape Fran5ois, February 3, 1786; 47, Union of
Franco‑American Hearts, Port au Prince, December 18, 1789; 87, Freres Reunis,
the Cape, December 15, 18oo ; 88, Concorde, St. Marc, May 4, 1801‑reinstated
September 15, 1806‑surrendered September 4, 18og ; 89, Freres Sincerement
Reunis, Cayes, May 4, 1801 ; 95, Humilite, Luse a Veau, December 6, 180z ; 97,
Parfaite Harmonie, San Domingo, September 5, 1803 ; 98, Perseverance, Abricots,
September 5, 1803‑reinstated March zi, 1808‑finally vacated October
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES 133 27, 18io ; 99, Temple du Bonheur, Arcapaye,
December 5, 1803. All the above, except No. 46 (extinct in 1790), were erased
(or " vacated ") April 7, 1 806 and those only reinstated which are
specifically mentioned. Nos. 95 and 97‑9 were established in the first
instance by the Provincial Grand Lodge of San Domingo.
A Provincial Grand
Lodge of San Domingo was established January 9, 1802. This was vacated
(apparently in error) April 7, but reinstated September 15, 1806 and the
jurisdiction extended to the island of Cuba‑whither, with two of his Lodges,
the Provincial Grand Master had retired.
In 1806, in the
portion of Hayti ruled by President Pethion, some of the French Lodges revived
and negotiations were set on foot by one Trichet, which resulted in the
erection of two Lodges under the (older) Grand Lodge of England in 1909, La
Loge de l'Amitie des Freres, Reunis and La Loge de 1'Heureuse Reunion. This
was followed up by the appointment of a Provincial Grand Master‑John Goff‑in
1811 and by the formation of two further English Lodges in 1817, Loge La
Reunion des Ceeurs and Loge Parfaite Sincerite des Coeurs Reunis. All four
were erased in 1824. Meanwhile the efforts of the Grand Orient of France to
obtain the upper hand were frustrated by the action of the Government.
About the same
time‑1810‑in that part of the island under the sway of the Emperor Henry I,
there was also a revival and a vast number of so‑called Degrees, with pompous
and unmeaning titles, were introduced by a charlatan named D'Obernay, which
were accepted with avidity at the Imperial Court. After this came a pause,
owing to the political convulsions which disturbed the peace of the island. In
both of the existing Republics‑mulatto and black‑one revolution seems to have
followed another, the only variation being the wars that from time to time
broke out between the two States. But, after the establishment of a single
Government (1822), the English Provincial Grand Lodge was transformed‑May 23,
1823‑into an independent Grand Lodge of Hayti, with President Boyer as patron,
with his Prime Munster, General Ingignac, as Grand Master. The Constitutions
were settled January 24, 1824 and the Grand Lodge was established on precisely
the same basis as the United Grand Lodge of England. For many years the Craft
prospered and pursued the even tenor of its way, until about 1830, when a
certain St. Lambert, an envoy of the Supreme Council of France, began to stir
up strife by again attempting to propagate the High Degrees.
Five Lodges in all
were erected under the authority of the Ancient and Accepted Rite ; whilst the
rival French jurisdiction, that of the Grand Orient, has only warranted a
single Lodge on the island during the last century. This, Les Mages du
Tropique, was established at Cayes in 1831 and has long since disappeared from
the roll of the Grand Orient, though as an Areopagus distinguished by an
identical title, meeting at the same place, was shown in the Tableau Des
Ateliers, Supreme Council of France, from which it is natural to suppose that
there must have been a transfer of allegiance.
In 1836 the Grand
Lodge, with a view to terminating the confusion which 134 FREEMASONRY IN THE
WEST INDIES prevailed, transformed itself into a Grand Orient. This
alteration, of course, involved the institution of a Supreme Council 33',
which duly claimed the allegiance of all fluctuating bodies under the
obedience of any branch of the Ancient and Accepted Rite.
In 1843, owing to an
insurrection of the blacks, Boyer‑the mulatto President ‑was displaced. A few
years of turmoil then ensued and the Craft once more languished. In 1845 a new
envoy of the French Supreme Council, Fresnel, having obtained the protection
of President Santana, almost overthrew the National Grand Orient, but was
himself ultimately expelled for political intrigue. After his departure the
Grand Orient of Hayti revived, entered into a compact with the Grand Orient of
France and, in 18 51, ruled over no fewer than thirty‑one Lodges, besides
forty‑nine associations of Masons which met under varied titles for the
communication of the so‑called High Degrees.
In 1844‑February
2‑7‑total separation from Hayti was declared by the Dominicans and the eastern
(or Spanish) portion of the island formed itself into the republic of San
Domingo. In 1861, as already related, it once more placed itself under the
government of Spain. A revolt, however, broke out in 1863 and Spain finally
relinquished its changeful child.
A Grand Orient of San
Domingo was organized at the capital of the same name December 11, 18 5 8. The
Lodges taking part in this proceeding were originally warranted, 1830‑4, by
the Grand Orient of Hayti (Port au Prince), at the time when the whole island
was under an undivided rule. Falling, however, into a state of somnolency
during the wars, 1844‑7, they were suppressed, or erased, in 1849. The Grand
Orient of San Domingo, thus formed by these resuscitated Lodges, appears never
to have had more than some half‑dozen daughters on its roll.
During the reunion
with Spain, 1861‑5, Masonry either died out or was practised in secr‑‑t, but a
Grand Lodge of the Dominican Republic was organized ‑January 2‑6, 1865‑under
Benito Perez as Grand Master. This was followed ‑October 2z‑by a Supreme
Council for the High Degrees and the two bodies united‑January 1, 1866‑in
re‑establishing a National Grand Orient.
In January 1867
Thomas Bobadilla presided over the Grand Orient, with Castro as Deputy Grand
Master; whilst the Lodges were ten in number, with a total membership of about
2‑,ooo. In 192‑8, the Dominican National Grand Lodge sent out the following
This, our Great Lodge, was established the year 1858, and actually cultivates
good friendly relations with a great majority of the Great Lodges of the
world.
The lodges under our
obedience are eighteen, distributed in the principal cities of this country,
working regularly and according to our rules. They practice the Scottish Rite
and our legislation is as progressive as that of other Grand Lodges.
Our Grand Lodge in
its decisions is independent from the High Philosophic FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST
INDIES 735 Bodies, with which we hold brotherly relations. We take heed not to
admit in our relationship any Lodge or Masonic Body that may not have been
acknowledged as regular, and in order to admit Brothers from foreign
countries, we require the presentation of documents that may prove that they
are Masons in good standing.
We only initiate in
our lodges free men, with at least an average education, good habits and
religious feelings, being an indispensable condition, belief in God, Great
Architect of the Universe and regulator of all things.
Our by‑laws are
severe in their provisions for punishment, and whenever judging a Brother, we
want justice to shine, making punishment certain when necessary, the only way
to keep the prestige and good reputation of our Order.
We have before us
many documents of different sorts concerning the Grand Orient of Hayti. First
is an article in the Bulletin of the International Office for Masonic
Intercourse, for January 1907. The article is by Dathan de St. Cyr, Grand
Representative of Hayti to the Grand Orient of France. He states that
Freemasonry was started in Hayti at the time of the proclamation of the
independence of Hayti in 1804, but made only slow progress. It seems at almost
all times to have been closely associated with the political powers. Thus it
is stated that the approval of the President of the Republic of Hayti,
Alexandre Petion, was given to a project to have Haytian Masonry obtain " the
patronage of the Grand Lodge of England " through a man who was going on a
mission " to the Cabinet of St. James "; and that he " succeeded in obtaining
the favour." Soon afterwards two more Lodges were Constituted, and an "
English Provincial Grand Lodge for Hayti " was created.
Then came the wars
between Napoleon and England. Communication with England was very slow and
difficult. Masonry in Hayti was not flourishing. The principal members
resolved to issue a Masonic Declaration of Independence in Hayti, it is
stated, which was done on January 25, 182‑4. The Grand Orient was thus formed.
This Grand Orient was accompanied by the Degrees of Past Master, Royal Arch, "
R. C.," whatever that means, and of the " Templ. Kadosch." This was called the
Haytian Rite, and lasted about ten years. Then there is in the Record the
statement that to end the schism, the Grand Orient of Hayti " resolved to
concentrate within its bosom the regular exercise of the Scottish Rite." A
Supreme Council was formed in 1835‑36, and continued with little incident that
we can discover until 1886, doing good work.
It was in 1886 that
the next schism took place. There was the Grand Orient of Hayti and there was
the National Grand Orient of Hayti. Good Masons lost interest, and it is
stated that the Institution " was, perhaps, about to disappear," when a fusion
occurred, and a single organisation for all was effected on July 9, 1899, with
" the very illustrious Bro. F. R. Luxembourg Cauvin as Grand Master." The
documents agree that the " Head of the State is ex officio the grand protector
of Haytian Masonry." 136 FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES For more than a decade
after the fusion, the Grand Orient grew after its own way, with some elements
of weakness which it could not control. The Foreign Correspondence Report of
New York for 192‑7 states that " there has been considerable confusion during
the past two or three years. Many complaints reached the office of our
Committee." This same book tells of the election of J. Lelio Joseph as Grand
Master and Grand Commander for a three‑year period beginning in January 1927.
He is described as " a young man who has been very active in Masonic
affairs‑and has won the respect of the Grand Lodge and of American Masons in
Hayti.
The Report has this
to say about Haytian Masonry in the 192‑8 report of his Grand Lodge 19 Lodges.
About L,ooo members.
Since M.‑. W .'. Bro.
J. Lelio Joseph became Grand Master remarkable progress has been made towards
the elimination of elements that have been detrimental to the Craft for many
years. The younger element has come to follow the Grand Master as an effective
leader who will abolish abuses and enforce Masonic discipline fearlessly. As a
result of the change there has been more or less confusion, caused by
disreputable elements seeking to get back into power by spreading
dissatisfaction with the existing regime. All of this was brought out at the
Annual meeting of July and August, without any mincing of words. All through
the report is recognizable the strong hand at the helm of the Craft. The
fundamental principles of Masonry are firmly insisted upon. Violation of the
laws of morality and honest dealings are severely arraigned.
The Grand Master in
reporting on the work of the year 1926‑2‑7, in his address at the
Communication, reviews briefly the history of the difficulties which had been
accumulating. He says that for more than a quarter of a cen tury the vital
principles of Freemasonry had been disregarded more or less and certainly had
not been applied as they should be to the detailed affairs. As a result
Haytian National Masonry of these latter times presented a disheartening
spectacle. He traces the origin of the trouble back to the schism of
1886‑1889, when the Lodges were invaded by men incapable of ever comprehending
the mysteries of Masonry, ever being an easy prey to intriguing and
concupiscent self‑seekers. These men worked their way into official positions
to the disgust of the better element who lost interest, withdrew or at least
took no further active interest in the affairs of the Craft. Merchandising of
all sorts of side degrees added another difficulty. " The Temple of Masonry
was made a trafficking and recruiting centre," the Grand Master declares. Men
were made Masons without any regard to law and procedure. Anyone who paid the
price could find someone to initiate him and enter him as a member of a Lodge.
The condition was limited to the capital City, and there the disorder produced
anarchy. The Lodges outside adhered firmly to the laws and the best
traditions.
After this very
severe arraignment, the Grand Master goes on to point out how a new condition
was worked out at last. He says that a new generation has come to the fore.
Young men, inspired by the ideas of Masonry which they had heard exhibited in
oratory and then seen trodden down in practice, began to look into the history
of the Craft and learned of what the Craft was doing FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST
INDIES 137 elsewhere. They began to dream of a re‑establishment of sound
discipline and a renewal of the splendor which once hung around the name of
Masonry in the Island. They saw the standard of the Craft in the hands of
indifferent guides; they decided to see it in more worthy keeping. So, on
December 12‑, 192‑6, they appeared in force at Grand Lodge and seized the
government. Since then they have been working together with the Grand Master
for the renewal and progress of Masonry. The moral reform was pushed with the
same determination as the improvement of the material conditions. " We
proceeded with kindness," says the Grand Master, " but when the case required
it we did not hesitate to take disciplinary measures, even the most severe."
That this was needed is evident from the general change of atmosphere in the
Masonic life of the jurisdiction.
JAMAICA No
documentary evidence has yet been found to show that Freemasonry existed in
Jamaica, in a regularly organized condition, before April 14, 1739, when the
Mother Lodge of Kingston was warranted as No. i8z by the Grand Lodge of
England. It did not adopt that name until 1766 and it ceased to meet in 1796,
although it was retained on the register until the union of the two Grand
Lodges in 1813. It, however, paid no dues to Grand Lodge after 1791. The
island of Antigua appears to have had the precedence of Jamaica by more than
two years, but no other colony in the West Indies can claim priority oú
introduction, whilst Jamaica received the light of Freemasonry before
Switzerland, Frankfort, Denmark, Rotterdam, or Amsterdam. In 1742 the Port
Royal Lodge, No. 193, was established at Port Royal and continued working
until 1770, being erased in 1772. It is probable that the number of Freemasons
in Jamaica at that period was much larger than might be inferred from these
particulars, as there were io,ooo white people resident on the island in 1741,
while, in the same year, the harbour of Port Royal was crowded with
twenty‑nine line of battleships and a large number of frigates, sloops and
transports, containing in all 15,000 sailors and 1z,ooo soldiers. On a
previous expedition sent out under Admiral Hozier it is related that within a
couple of years two admirals, ten captains, fifty lieutenants and four
thousand men had perished.
According to the
Constitutions of 1756 (P. 333), between 1742 and 1744 Ballard Beckford, George
Hynde and Alexander Marriott Crawford were appointed Provincial Grand Masters
for Jamaica, but there are no means of determining the exact dates of their
appointments. The Masonic Year Book gives the year 174z for each.
On April 29, 1746, a
Lodge, No. 208, was constituted at St. Iago de la Vega (now Spanish Town), but
it did not appear in the Lists until 1751 and it was erased in 1773. St.
Mary's Lodge, No. gig, was established at Port Maria on February 17, 1757. It
was off the List from 1773 to 1778, but reappeared in 1779, for the first time
with its name. It made its last payment to Grand Lodge in 1900 and was 138
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES erased at the Union in 1813. In October 177 1
four Lodges appear to have been established at Kingston : the first, known as
the Junior Lodge, No. 418, ceased to meet in 1796; the second, the Lodge of
Harmony, was erased in 1813 ; the third, the Lodge of St. Tames, received a
Warrant of Confirmation on November 23, 1808, but also was erased in 1813 ;
and the fourth, the Lodge of Union, No. 421, met at St. James and was struck
off the register at the same time. On April 23, 1773, two Lodges were
established at Kingston ; one, the Union, the other, the Beaufort, both being
erased on November zo, 1782. Green Island Lodge and the Lodge of Lucea, the
latter bearing the number 485, were founded in 1775 ; both were erased in
1813. The latter also bore the name of Hanover Lodge. The Sociable Lodge, No.
486 and the Union Lodge, No. 487, which met at Savannala‑Mar, were also
founded at the same time, the first being erased on November zo, 1782, and the
second in 1813. Apparently in those days the custom was to issue certificates
in manuscripts for each of the three Degrees. In The Freemason of August zo,
1881, W. F. Lamonby reproduced a copy of one of such certificates, which he
had seen. It was written on a half‑sheet of foolscap, at the head of which
were pen‑and‑ink sketches of the square and compasses in the centre, with a
plumb rule and level on either side. The certificate read as follows From the
East, where shines ye Great Light. Lux ex Tenebris.
These are to certify
that Simon Miller was made an Enter'd Apprentice in the Union Lodge, at
Savannah La Mar, in the Island of Jamaica. We, therefore, pray all respectable
Brethren to receive our dear Brother Simon Miller in his respectable Qualitys
and to entertain him in everything relative to them. We promise to have the
same regard to those who shall present themselves to our Lodge, furnished with
proper and Authentic Titles. To which we have subscribed our names and affixed
our seal, this 19th day of the month Sevan of the year 7775, of the
Restoration 2305, and of the Vulgar Era the 17th day of June, 1775, (Seal)
WILLIAM HENRY RICKETTS, MR. JOSEPH WILLIAMS, SENIOR WN. JAS. ROB. TOMLINSON,
JUNIOR WN. JAMES BAIN, P.MR.
Lamonby adds that the
second certificate, recording the Second and Third Degrees, is also very
interesting, but it so happens that those stages were acquired in another part
of the globe and at a long interval of twenty‑eight years.
La Loge les Freres
Reunis, No. 638, was founded in 1813 and continued in the Lists until 1832.
In succession to A.
M. Crawford, the following Provincial Grand Masters appear to have been
appointed by the Grand Lodge of England‑Thomas M. Perkins (appointed " for the
Mosquito Shore "), 1761 ; William Winter, 1770 ; FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST
INDIES 139 Jasper Hall, 1772; Sir Peter Parker, 1778 ; and Adam Williamson,
1793.
The Atholl Grand
Lodge was not unrepresented in Jamaica. On October 1, 1763, it issued a
Warrant for a Lodge to meet at Old Harbour, which was numbered 121. This is
all that is known of it and Lane, in Masonic Records, thinks that probably it
did not pay for its Constitution, as there is a note " Six Guineas was due to
Dermott, G.S." It was, however, retained in each of the Lists in Ahiman ReZon,
for 1804, 1807 and 1813, as " Old Harbour, Kingston, Jamaica." On October 22,
1772, the Atholl Masons also established a Lodge at Green Island, numbered
177, of which there are no records after November 1773, although it is
continued in Ahiman ReZon for 1804, 1807, and 1813. At neither of these places
had any Lodge been established by the original Grand Lodge, but in 1775 it
established the Green Island Lodge, No. 483, which the Atholl Masons looked
upon as an invasion of their jurisdiction. They, therefore, regarded
themselves as being at liberty to constitute Lodges where others already
existed under the original Grand Lodge, which they had not done heretofore.
Accordingly, on February 7, 1786, an Atholl Warrant was issued for a Lodge to
meet at Kingston, numbered 233, which dropped off the Jamaica Roll before
1795, alts ough it was mentioned in Ahiman ReZon for 1804, 1807, and 1813.
Another Lodge‑also called Unionwas founded in 1789 as No. 257, which ceased to
meet about 1816. The Artillery Lodge, No. 262, was formed on August z8, 1790,
in connexion with the Royal Train of Artillery at Port Royal, which lapsed
about 1805 ; and, on May io, 1794, the Antients warranted the Royal Lodge, No.
283, at Kingston, which is still in existence under the same name, as No. 207.
In February 1795, also the Lodge of Amity, No. z88, was warranted by the
Atholl Masons to meet at Kingston. On December 12, 1797, the Friendly Lodge,
an offshoot of the Union Lodge, No. 257, was constituted under the Atholl
Grand Lodge. It now bears the number 239, given to it in 1863. Returns and
other documents showing the existence of the Friendly Lodge before the date of
its Engraved Warrant of 18og‑to which reference is made below‑were discovered
by E. X. Leon in the Grand Secretary's Office in June 1889.
In 18o6 the Atholl
Masons, finding themselves sufficiently numerous, petitioned their Grand
Master, John, fourth Duke of Atholl, for a Provincial Grand Master and, in
response to their petition, Dr. (afterwards Sir) Michael Benignus Clare was
duly appointed. So soon as this Provincial Grand Lodge was formed, many of the
Lodges under the mother Grand Lodge ceased to work, whilst others accepted
Provincial numbers under it. Sir Michael Clare continued his office after the
Union, receiving his patent of confirmation in 1816. He retained the office
until 1831, when he resigned and returned to England, where he passed away in
the following year. At the time of the Union it was discovered that almost
all, if not, indeed, all of the Lodges chartered by the original Grand Lodge,
had fallen into abeyance, whilst the Atholl Lodges were nearly all in working
order. At least nineteen Lodges were ranged under the Provincial banner within
a few years 140 FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES of 18o6. The first Lodge to be
warranted after the establishment of the Provincial Grand Lodge was the
Friendly, No. 342, Kingston, the Warrant being dated January 31, i8o9. This is
still in existence as No. 239. It was followed by nine others, which were
quickly established in various parts of the island.
In 176o the Lodge of
St. Andrew, No. ioz, was chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, which Lodge
remained on the Roll until 1816, though it was probably inactive for a great
number of years prior to that date. Jamaica is first mentioned in the records
of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, when a Provincial Grand Master appears to have
been appointed by that body.
With regard to
Ireland, Crossle and Lepper, in their History of the Grand Lodge of Ireland
(vol. i, p. 243), state Jamaica was responsible for the issue of four Warrants
: No. 456 (1767) ; No. 699 (1789) ; No. 733 (1791) ; No. 738 (1791). Barbadoes
had No. 62z in 1783 and No. 649 in 18oo. Martinique was granted No. 69o in
18oi. The fact may be recalled that in those days the town of Cork was the
usual last port of call for British vessels bound to the West Indies and it
was only natural that one or two Irish Warrants should find their way across
the Atlantic together with the salted beef and whiskey which, from the days of
Raleigh onwards, had formed no inconsiderable portion of the cargo of ships
outward bound from our southern forts.
At the present time
the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Ireland is unrepresented on the island
of Jamaica.
In 1782, of all our
former possessions in the West Indies, Jamaica, Barbadoes and Antigua alone
remained Jamaica would next have fallen had it not been for the victory of
Lord Rodney over the Count de Grasse on April 1z of that year. In that case
the later Masonic history of Jamaica would have formed a part of that of the
Grand Orient of France. The whole of the battering cannon and artillery
intended for the attack on the island was on board the ships then captured.
Thomas, third Earl of Effingham, Pro or Acting Grand Master of England from
178z to 1789, resigned that appointment when given the office of Governor of
Jamaica. He arrived in the colony in 179o, but died on November i 9 of the
same year. The mortality among all ranks at that time was very heavy. From
Commissary Sayer's regimental returns we learn that, of 19,675 soldiers
sent.by England to the West Indies in 1796, before March 18oz no fewer than
17,173 died of complaints incidental to the climate.
In 1817 the Grand
Orient of France issued Charters to the French refugees in Kingston to erect
three Chapters or Consistories. The first was called the Sublime Lodge and
conferred the so‑called " Ineffable Degrees " ; the second was a Council of
Princes of Jerusalem, and the third was a Grand Council of the 33'But, says H.
J. Burger, in the Handbook of Jamaica, issued in 1881 the members of these
bodies soon wearied of these diversions and, becoming FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST
INDIES 141 desirous of working legitimate Masonry, applied, in 1818, to the
United Grand Lodge of England for a warrant to open La Loge La Benignite. The
result was that the so‑called High Degrees rapidly declined, yet, as no more
refugees arrived from Haiti and La Benignite worked always in French, this
Lodge lingered out a questionable existence till 18zg, when it finally
collapsed.
There is no mention
of a Lodge of this name in Lane's Masonic Records.
On December 9, 1818,
according to the Proceedings of the United Grand Lodge of England, the Board
of General Purposes, as the result of letters received from the Grand Lodge of
Ireland and from the Provincial Grand Master for Jamaica relative to some
proceedings in that island, recommended that a deputation from the two Grand
Lodges should be appointed to confer on the subject, i.e. that certain
regulations common to the Grand Lodges of England and Ireland should be
established for the government of the Lodges abroad and in military corps; and
that the Grand Lodge of Scotland should be invited to join in the conference.
On March 3, 18 i g, the Board reported the receipt of a letter from the Grand
Lodge of Ireland and the matter was left in the hands of the Grand Master, the
Duke of Sussex.
The year 1833
witnessed the passing of the Act for the Abolition of Slavery, which, says H.
J. Burger (op. cit.), affected very considerably the progress of Freemasonry.
Active members who
entertained the opinion that a terrible financial catastrophe had overtaken
both the agricultural and commercial interests of the country, hastened away
to other fields of enterprise and left the Lodges there to languish.
Few or no new Lodges
were constituted, whilst several old ones, such as the Seville, Concord, St.
Elizabeth, Cornwall and Union, of Falmouth, closed their doors ; nor did any
reaction set in until about the end of 1844, when a number of Colombian
patriots, who had taken refuge in Kingston, opened a Lodge under a Charter
from the Grand Lodge of Carthagena to work Symbolic Masonry in that city. As
this proceeding was, however, in violation of Masonic international law, those
Brethren were informed that they and their initiates would not be recognized
in the island and they were advised to apply for a Warrant from England to
legalize their work. On this advice they acted and, as they were recommended
by the other Lodges in Kingston, a Warrant was obtained from the United Grand
Lodge for the Union et Concordia Lodge, No. 754.
This Lodge, which was
warranted on May 20, 1845 and consecrated on July 28 of the same year,
continued working until 1868, although it was not erased until September 21,
1885.
In 1843 the Rev. W.
P. Burton was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Jamaica by the Grand Lodge
of Scotland, but, as in the parallel cases of Colonel Young in the West Indies
and Dr. Burnes in the East Indies, he at first held the office in partibus
infidelium. To‑day there are five Lodges in the Scottish Provincial 14z
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES Grand Lodge of Jamaica. The zeal of Scottish
Masons, says Burger, provoked a laudable spirit of emulation amongst the
English Freemasons, and this new‑born zeal was first manifested by a desire to
work the Higher Degrees. The old Royal Lodge began by reopening their
long‑dormant Royal Arch Chapter and this was the signal for the other English
Lodges in Kingston to do the same, if they possessed Charters and, if not, to
apply for them.
The appointment by
the Grand Lodge of Scotland of a Provincial Grand Master led the English
Brethren to emulate them and seek to revive their dormant Provincial (or
District) Grand Lodge. They petitioned for the appointment of the Hon. Robert
Hamilton, M.D., in that capacity. He was a wealthy landed proprietor and a
very zealous member of the Craft. On November 5, 1858, he was appointed
District Grand Master for East Jamaica and the Lodges north of Kingston, who
had declined to subscribe to the petition because of their distance from
Kingston, were permitted to continue in direct communication with the United
Grand Lodge in London. Dr. Hamilton passed away in 188o, but his successor,
Lieutenant‑Colonel John Charles Macglashan, was not appointed until 1886. His
successors have been Sir Henry Arthur Blake, Surgeon‑General the Hon. Charles
Benjamin Mosse, William Duff, the Hon. Sir John Pringle and the Hon. Henry
Isaac Close Brown. At the present time the English District of Jamaica has
thirteen Lodges and four Royal Arch Chapters.
Poxro Rico The chief
authority for statements regarding Porto Rico is Fred D. Flagle, who has made
a close study of the conditions in that country and contributed an article to
the Freevnason's Chronicle on the subject in September 1q22.
The early history of
Freemasonry in Porto Rico is closely connected with similar movements in Cuba
and it is known that the first Lodge in Cuba was organized in 1804, under the
Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
In 1751, Ferdinand VI
had placed the death penalty on Freemasons, because he considered them
dangerous to the government. Joseph Buonaparte reestablished Masonry, but
Ferdinand VII again prohibited it and, in 1824, death was made the penalty of
belonging to a Masonic Lodge.
The oldest‑known
Masonic document in Porto Rico is a letter constituting a Chapter of Rose
Croix, under the name of Minerva, in San German, dated April io, 1824. This
Chapter was established under the auspices of the Southern Juris diction of
the United States, located at Charleston, which, later, chartered the Grand
Lodge of Cuba, in 1859. The establishment of this Chapter indicates that there
were members of similar Chapters in Porto Rico before this date, but exact
data in regard to these Chapters is lacking.
The decree of
Ferdinand VII, in 18z4, doubtless stopped Masonic work in Porto Rico, as it
did in Cuba. It was not until 18 5 8 or 18 5 9 that Masonry was FREEMASONRY IN
THE WEST INDIES 1143 revived. At about that time the Grand National Orient of
the Republic of Venezuela created a Lodge in Pueblo Viejo, which, afterwards,
was transferred to San Juan. All the members were Master Masons and the Master
was a member of the eighteenth Degree. This Lodge was named Borinquen and held
its meetings in a building which was located in front of the Cathedral of San
Juan. It was fronted by two columns and from this it has been asserted that it
was built for Masonic purposes. At the same time other Lodges were working in
the island under letters from the Grand Lodge of Cuba but, as the Masonic
records date back only to 11884, when the Grand Lodge of Porto Rico was
established, at Mayaguez, it is impossible to say how many there were. There
is still in existence one Lodge, Estrella de Luquillo, which was active at
that time, having been chartered March 2.1, 1867.
Suspicion was
directed toward the Masons at the time of the Revolution of Lares and, though
it was never proved that they had any part in that affair, persecution
continued to follow them. Don Jose Perez Moris, writing of the revolution of
Lares, has the following to say regarding the Masons Although the
revolutionary bands have been represented as being Masons, we have no
knowledge that there is any reasonable connexion between them. However, as it
is difficult for the profane to distinguish between them, it would be wise not
to permit Masonic Loges to work in the West Indies, especially since the signs
used by both the conspirators and the Masons in making themselves known to
each other are very similar.
In 1871, the Spanish
Masonic authorities decided to introduce Masonry into Porto Rico, though, as
already shown, it had previously existed there since the beginning of the
century. As a matter of fact, Senor Coll y Toste affirms that Lodges existed
there as early as 18o5. This agrees with the idea previously expressed that,
in order to establish a Chapter of Rose Croix in San German, in 1824, Symbolic
Lodges must previously have existed on the island.
In the Ritual of the
Master Mason, which was approved by the Supreme Council of the 33░
of the Grand Orient of Spain, occurs the following: Various Porto Rican
Brethren, who had been initiated in Madrid, in the Lodge Puritanos, under the
jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of Spain, introduced Masonry into the island
of Porto Rico in 1871.
As a matter of fact,
in that year, under the direction of Don Manuel de Mendoza, the Grand Delegate
of the National Orient of Spain, various Lodges were established in the
island, one of these being the Aurora Lodge of Ponce, which sus pended its
labours in 1874 and, later, reorganized, incorporating under the United Grand
Lodge of Cuba, which had legal Masonic authority in Porto Rico at the time,
since the Lodges founded under other auspices had disappeared.
144 The Freemasons of
the Spanish Orient have argued much over their jurisdiction in Porto Rico, but
their own documents show that, when the National Grand Orient of Spain (at
that time the Grand Orient of Spain did not exist), founded Lodges in Porto
Rico, it was in 1871 and that Masonic Lodges had already existed there for
more than fifty years.
Coll y Toste, in the
work already cited, states FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES Masonry gave good
services in Porto Rico in 185 z, also in 1850.
Although he does not
state the nature of those services, it is known that the Lodges, at that time,
as well as later, helped to unite men who had become separated on account of
political opinions and provided means of defence and protection for those who
were being persecuted by the government, who would have fallen into the hands
of the authorities and died in prison if it had not been for this assistance.
Although the fact
that the Grand Orient National of Spain had instituted Lodges in Porto Rico
and that a large number of Spaniards had joined, should have removed the cloud
of suspicion on the part of the government, this was not the case, for
persecutions increased from day to day; the Freemasons in the island could not
work openly, but had to hold their Lodge meetings in secret places, generally
in the country ; even thus, they did not escape entirely the persecutions of
the authorities.
At that time there
existed a Lodge in Mayaguez, named Conciliation, which worked under the Grand
Orient of Spain. The meetings of this body were held in the house of Don Pedro
Tolosa, a man whom no one could accuse of conspiring against the government.
Among the members who were accustomed to gather there were Don Antonio
Aramburn, a man of progressive and liberal ideas, who was Master of the Lodge;
Dr. Claudio Frederico Block, of Danish lineage, an enthusiastic Mason and a
strong supporter of the Spanish government ; and others. One night, on leaving
the Lodge, they found the chief of police and twenty‑five men stationed around
the place. The fact that a majority of them were Spanish and above suspicion,
saved the situation, because the police did not dare to arrest anyone. In San
German a Lodge named Prudencia, No. z8, was in session in April 1874, in a
private house. It was the moment for the initiation of the candidate in the
mysteries of Masonry, when a knocking was heard at the door, the civil guard
entered and arrested those present, who were sentenced to terms of
imprisonment. Some of the prominent Freemasons of the island undertook the
defence of their Brethren and their pleas were published later in the Paris
newspaper, Le Courrier de 1'Europe, though no newspaper in Porto Rico dared to
print them. This Paris publication began a campaign in favour of the
imprisoned Freemasons and interested English Freemasons in the matter. No
fewer than 1,7oo English Lodges sent petitions to Lord Beaconsfield, who,
using his influence and that of English FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES 145
Masons, succeeded in having the prisoners set free. As a sign of their
gratitude, the Freemasons presented the editor of Le Courrier with a gold
watch suitably inscribed.
In the meantime
Lodges were also established in other parts of the island which had more or
less the same experiences and difficulties as those already mentioned. One of
the best‑known Freemasons of that period was Don Aristides Simon Pietri, of
Ponce, who was several times elected Master of Aurora Lodge and reorganized
that Lodge under the Grand Lodge of Cuba. He was the first to publish any \Iasonic
literature in Porto Rico ; in 1873, he published a work covering the first
three Degrees, together with the funeral and baptismal ceremonies and the
explanation of the origin of the symbols of those Degrees. He also published,
in 1885, a book entitled Historical Resume of Ancient and Modern Freemasonry.
By 1868, several
other Lodges had been organized and were working. The attitude of the
government had changed somewhat by this time and it is said that Lodges had
even met in the governor's palace. The political changes of 1874‑5, however,
caused the suspension of all Masonic work in the island.
On October 11, 1884,
on the initiative of Santiago R. Palmer, the Provisional Grand Lodge of Porto
Rico was established by authorization of the Grand Lodge of Cuba, ten Lodges
joining in the formation. In the following year it became a sovereign. Grand
Lodge, mainly through the efforts of Palmer, in the face of tremendous
difficulties. It was strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and the
civil authorities. The members were said to have revolutionary tendencies and
were refused Christian burial at death. Eventually Palmer was arrested and
imprisoned in El Morro and it was not until the Prince of Wales (afterwards
Edward VII) and other prominent European Masons interested themselves that
tranquillity was restored and the Freemasons could meet without danger of
arrest. In 1888 the Ley de Asociaciones was published, when the various
Masonic Lodges registered themselves as legal societies. This law, however,
gave the mayors of the various towns the right to attend the meetings of any
of these societies thus registered, Masonic Lodges included and, although
advantage was not generally taken of the permission‑notwithstanding it was
emphasized by a government order‑except by Mayors who were Freemasons, many of
the Lodges closed their doors in consequence. A general stoppage of Masonic
work was ordered by the Grand Lodge on December 27, 1896, until April z, 1899,
when work was resumed and Palmer was re‑elected Grand Master for the fifth
time and remained in office until 19o6, when he passed away and Antonio
Cordero was appointed in his stead. Since that date Freemasonry in Porto Rico
has gone from strength to strength and the latest return states that there are
nearly forty Lodges on the island. A belief in God is demanded from all
candidates and the Bible'is displayed on the altars.
THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
This name is given to an extensive group of small islands lying between Porto
Rico and the Lesser Antilles‑Tortola, Virgin Gorda, St. Thomas, St. John, 146
FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES Santa Cruz (or Sainte Croix), and Culebra‑which
has an area of only ten square miles. The islands changed hands very
frequently up to 1815, when their political position was defined.
TORTOLA AND VIRGIN
GORDA.‑‑Lodges were established in these islands by the Antients in 176o and
1763 and by the original or legitimate Grand Lodge of England‑in 1765. Each of
the three Lodges was continued in the Lists until the Union (1813), when they
one and all disappeared.
SANTA CRUZ, Or ST.
CROIX. A Lodge on this island, dating from 1756, obtained a temporary footing
on the English roll in the Engraved List for 1758, as No. 224 and, ten years
later, was advanced to a higher niche corresponding with its actual seniority,
as No. 216. This was afterwards (in 1781) described as the Lodge of St. George
and is shown in the Lists until 1814, but it apparently became subject to
Danish jurisdiction in 1776 and died out in 1788. John Ryan was appointed
Provincial Grand Master under England in 1777, but no English Charter has
since been granted to the Masons in Santa Cruz, though a Scottish
Lodge‑Eureka, No. 6o5‑was erected at Christianstadt in 1877, but has since
been erased.
ST. THOMAS. ‑A
dispensation " to hold a Lodge for six months " was granted for this island,
by the Grand Master of Pennsylvania, in 1792. Next comes La Concorde, borne on
the register of the Grand Lodge of Denmark, 1798‑1823, but whether of Danish
or English origin there is no evidence to show. The Harmonic Lodge, No. 7o8,
still in existence as No. 3 5 6, was founded by the Grand Lodge of England in
1818. After this, in the year. 1855, came Les Cceurs Sinceres, No. 141, under
the Supreme Council for France. Not content, however, with these two
jurisdictions, some Masons on the island requested Andrew Cassard of New York
to procure them a Warrant from the Supreme Council for the United States,
Southern jurisdiction, but, at his suggestion, they eventually applied to the
Grand Lodge of Colon‑at Santiago de Cuba‑and were constituted as a Lodge‑Star
in the East under the authority of that body by Cassard u1 1871. But the
Supreme Council for Colon claimed that as the Grand Orient had not met, the
Grand Lodge was still " in recess " and, in 1872, passed a formal decree
censuring Cassard for his action at St. Thomas. In the same year the members
of Star in the East applied, though without success, to the Grand Master of
South Carolina for a Dispensation to enable them to continue their labours,
alleging that the other Lodges on the island would not recognize them, on the
pretext that the Grand Lodge of Colon was not known to be in existence. In
1873, however, they were more fortunate, as a Charter and not merely a
temporary Dispensation was granted them by the Grand Lodge of Louisiana‑from
which body the circumstance of a prior application having been made to the
Grand Master of South Carolina had been carefully withheld. But the
petitioners were in no better position than before, for they were neither
recognized nor allowed to visit by the other Lodges of St. Thomas and the
Warrant which had been so imprudently granted by the Grand Lodge of Louisiana
was at once withdrawn when the actual circumstances of the case were brought
to the notice of that body.
FREEMASONRY IN THE
WEST INDIES 147 THE LESSER ANTILLES, OR CARIBBEE ISLANDS ANTIGUA.‑The earliest
Lodges in the West Indies were established in this island, which is the most
important of the Leeward group. No fewer than three holding English Warrants
were in existence in 1739 and a fourth is said to have been established in the
previous year by the authority of the Provincial Grand Master for New England.
A little later the Freemasons in the colony built a large hall for their
meetings and applied to the Grand Lodge of England for permission to style one
of their Lodges (No. 192), the Great Lodge at St. John's in Antigua, which
favour was granted to them in April 1744.
The Leeward Islands
were constituted a Province under England in 1738 and, under Scotland, in
1769. The first Scottish Lodge in the Lesser Antilles was erected in the
latter year at St. Kitts, by which name the Province was designated in 1786.
But in 1792, the old title‑Leeward Caribbee Islands‑was restored, again
altered in 1837 on the appointment of Dr. Stephenson of Grenada, to be
Provincial Grand Master of the Province comprehending the Caribbee Islands.
Lieut.‑General James Adolphus Oughton was appointed Lieut.‑Governor of
Antigua, December 18, 1772, but the presence on the island of a former Grand
Master of Scotland was destitute of any Masonic result, as the earliest
Scottish Lodge in the colony was not established until 1787. The only Lodges
since erected are the two now existing, both of which are on the roll of the
Grand Lodge of England, No. 492, St. John's and No. z8zq, Caribbee.
The following extract
from a long‑forgotten work will show the exceptional difficulties against
which the European residents in the West Indies had to contend and may serve
to excite surprise‑not that more Lodges were not constituted, but that any
survived at all in the pestilential climate where the Lodge work had to be
carried on. According to this authority The 68th regiment was sent to Antigua
in 1805, with its ranks sadly reduced by the climate. It had arrived in the
West Indies about five years before, with two battalions each 1,zo0 strong ;
and I have understood from their officers that they had buried in those five
years 2,400 men and 68 officers‑the regiment had, of course, received repeated
drafts of men from England during that period (Lieut.Colonel J. Leech, Rough
Sketches of the Life of an Old Soldier, 183 I, p. 18).
BARBADOES.‑Masonry
was early established in this the chief of the Windward Islands and the
residence of the Governor‑General of the group. It was constituted a Masonic
Province in 174o and, in the same year, the first of a long series of Lodges
under the Grand Lodge of England came into existence. None of these, however,
was carried forward on the Union roll in 1814, though oneNo. 186, St.
Michael's Lodge‑was, a few years later, restored to the List, but again left
out at the next change of numbers (1832), to be a second time restored (1841)
and finally erased, March 5, 1862. It is singular that the first five Lodges
established in Barbadoes bore saintly appellatives.
148 FREEMASONRY IN
THE WEST INDIES Three Lodges were warranted in the colony by the Grand Lodge
of Ireland in the eighteenth century and there was a Provincial Grand Lodge in
existence in 1804, but this having become a lapsed jurisdiction, its further
consideration may be dispensed with.
The Atholl or Antient
Masons obtained a footing on the island in 1790 and a Lodge constituted in
that year still exists. Three others were afterwards erected but, though
carried forward at the Union, were dropped out at the change of numbers in
1832.
The Grand Lodge of
Scotland is now represented in the colony by three Lodges, the first‑Scotia,
No. 340‑chartered in 1799 ; the others being Thistle, No. 1014 and St. John's,
1062. , CURA~OA.‑Lodges under the Grand Lodge of Holland appear to have been
established on the island in 1757, 1773 and 1787‑L'Amiti6, L'Union and De
Vergenoeging. In 1807 it was taken by the English, but restored to the Dutch
in 1815. During the British occupation, Nos. 346, Union and 627, Content and
British Union, were warranted in 1810 and 1811 by the Atholl and Original
Grand Lodges of England respectively. Both were carried forward at the Union,
but are now extinct, the latter not surviving the closing up of numbers in
1832, the former being struck off the roll, March 5, 1862. The close
resemblance between the names of the early Dutch and English Lodges might
almost suggest that in some instances there was a divided or dual allegiance.
DOMINICA.‑The Lodge
of Good Friends was formed at Roseau by the Grand Lodge of England in 1773. In
the same year a Warrant was granted (though not issued) for the Colony by the
Atholl Masons and, in 1785, a second, under which a Lodge was constituted,
also at the capital, Roseau. But neither of the bodies thus established
survived the union of the two societies, which is not to be wondered at when
it is remembered that the island was captured by the French in 1778, restored
to England in 1783, again surrendered to France in 18oz and finally received
back as a British possession in 1814. A revival took place in 1823, when the
Lodge of Chosen Friends, No. 777, was established, which remained on the roll
until swept away‑in company with eighty‑eight other foreign or colonial
Lodges‑by order of the Grand Lodge of England, March 5, 1862.
GRENADA.‑In
1763‑October 8‑Brigadier‑General Robert Melville was appointed Governor of
Dominica. Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vincent and Tobago were included in his
government‑a new one‑which was styled that of Grenada. This officer received
three patents as Provincial Grand Master(I) for Guadeloupe‑when
Lieutenant‑Governor of Fort Royal on that island, Lieut.‑Colonel 38th Foot,
1759‑6z ; (z) for the Caribbee and Windward Islands, 1764; and (3) for
Grenada, 1780. The year following Melville's appointment to this new
government, Lodges were formed on the island by the Grand Lodges of England
and France. Three in all were constituted under the former, two under the
latter jurisdiction in the last century; `vhilst the Atholl Masons, who were
five years later in obtaining a footing in the colony, chartered one military
and two stationary Lodges within the same period.
FREEMASONRY IN THE
WEST INDIES 1149 None of the English Lodges was carried forward at the Union
and the next evidence of Masonic activity is presented by the erection of an
Irish LodgeNo. 252‑in i8i9, which, however, surrendered its Warrant in 11825,
another of later constitution‑No. 224, formed 1848‑has also ceased to work.
Scotland was next in
the field (11820) and four Lodges have been warranted under that jurisdiction,
the three latest of which are in existence at this day. A year later (11821)
the Masonry of England was again represented and, shortly after wards, by a
second Lodge, but both the bodies thus constituted are now extinct, G. G.
Munro was appointed Provincial Grand Master under the same sanction in 11825
and Felix Palmer in 11831.
The latest foreign
jurisdiction by which the colony was invaded would appear to have been that of
the Grand Orient of France, if by Grenade we are to understand Grenada, where
a Lodge‑La Bienfaisance‑was established December 211, 1828.
GUADELOUPE.‑In this,
the chief West Indian possession of France and its dependency Marie‑Galante,
the following Lodges are shown in the lists as having been constituted by the
Grand Lodge or Grand Orient of France: Antigua, 11766 ; La Vraie Fraternite
(Marie‑Galante) and St. Jean d'Ecosse, 11768 ; La Bonne Amitie and L'Humanite,
1770; St. Louis de la Concorde, 1772; La Paix, 1784; Les Philalethes [under a
Warrant from the Mother Lodge of the Scots Philosophic Rite], 18o6; L'Amenite,
1807; La Fraternite (Marie‑Galante), 1829; Les Desciples d'Hiram, 11835 ; and
Les Elus D'Occident, 11862. The Lodges still existing are shown in italics,
the two of earliest date being at Pointe‑a‑Pitre, the remaining one at Basse‑Terre.
Although Guadeloupe
was in the hands of the English, 11759‑63, again occupied by them in 118113
and 11815 this‑as already related‑was attended by no other Masonic result than
the grant of a Provincial Patent to Lieut.‑Colonel Melville, one of the
officers of the British garrison, 11759‑62.
MARTINIQUE.‑Masonry,
in this magnificent island, appears to have been introduced almost as early as
in France itself. Thus, by the Grand Orient, or by the several Grand Bodies
which preceded it, we find there were chartered‑La Parfaite Union, 11738; St.
Pierre des Freres Unis, 1176o; La Tendre Fraternite, 11765 ; La Sinc6rite des
Coeurs, 1777; Les Freres Choisis, 17811 ; Le Zele et la Bienfaisance, La
Parfaite Amitie and La Paix (au Marin), 1786.
From 1794 to 118o2
and, again, 118og‑115, the island was in the possession of the English. During
the first period a Lodge was established under the Grand Lodge of Ireland‑No.
69o, in I8oi ; and, during the second, another under the Antients‑No. 359,
Lodge of Chosen Friends, 11813. The former of these was transferred to
Trinidad, 18 11 and cancelled 1858. The latter, which bore the last number
issued by the Antients, was carried forward on the Union roll, but died out
before the year 11832.
The later Lodges
constituted by the Grand Orient of France were L'Harmonie, 11803 ; Les Freres
Choisis, 1814; La Concorde, I82o ; and La Bienfaisance, 118211.
150 FREEMASONRY IN
THE WEST INDIES MONTSERRAT AND Nevis.‑Although the earliest Lodges in the West
Indies sprang up with a luxuriant growth in Antigua, to Montserrat belongs the
distinction of having been constituted the first Masonic Province either in
the Greater or the Lesser Antilles. This occurred in 1737 during the
administration of the Earl of Darnley ; and, thirty years later, December z,
1767, a Provincial Grand Lodge for Montserrat and Nevis‑No. 151‑was set up by
the Atholl (or Antient) Masons. Up to this time, however, there appears to
have been no Lodge on either island; but in 1777 one was erected‑No. 507‑at
Nevis by the original Grand Lodge of England; whilst the Evangelists' Lodge,
established at Antigua in 1753, shifted its place of meeting to Montserrat
shortly before 178o. These two Lodges were continued in the Lists of the older
Society until the Union, when they disappeared and, apparently, no others have
since been in existence in either island.
ST. BARTHOLOMEW.‑A
Lodge‑Sudermania‑under the Grand Lodge of Sweden, existed on this island from
1797 to I8zo.
ST. CHRISTOPHER, or
ST. KITTS.‑Four Lodges were warranted in this colony by the Grand Lodge of
England in the eighteenth century. The first in 1739, the last in 1768. The
latter did not survive the change of numbers in 1770, but all the other Lodges
were carried forward until the Union and one‑the Clarence, originally No.
zo6‑only disappeared at the renumbering in 183z, though a Lodge of the same
name was warranted on the island in the following year‑which lived until
1865‑and may have been a revival. A Provincial Grand Master was appointed,
January z7, 1798, a second, the Hon. John Garnett, November z3, 18o8.
A Scottish Lodge was
erected on the island in 1769, others in 1786 and 1791. These are now extinct
; also a fourth, No. 407, Mount of Olives, 1835. During the years 1786‑92 the
island was the seat of the Scottish West Indian Province.
ST. EusTATIUS.‑Masonry
in this island appears to have increased pari passu with its material
prosperity. Three English and four Dutch Lodges were at work during the
eighteenth century, the earliest of the former having been erected in 1747, of
the latter in 1757. Edward Galliard was appointed Provincial Grand Master of
St. Eustatius and the Dutch Caribbee islands by the Grand Lodge of England in
1754‑5 ; and R. H. de Plessis held a similar commission‑extending over St.
Eustatius, Saba and St. Martin‑under the Grand Lodge of Holland in 1777.
The settlement was
taken by the British, February 3, 1781. All the merchandise and stores were
confiscated, the naval and military commanders‑Admiral Rodney and General
Vaughan‑considering it their duty " to seize for the public use, all the
effects of an island inhabited by rebellious Americans and their agents,
disaffected British factors, who, for base and lucrative motives, were the
great supporters of the American rebellion." At. that time, except for warlike
stores, St. Eustatius had become one of the greatest auctions that ever was
opened in the universe. " Invitation was given," says Southey " and protection
offered to purchasers of all nations and of all sorts " (History of the West
Indies, vol. ii, PP. 484, 492).
The English Lodges
continued to appear in the Lists until the Union, but FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST
INDIES 151 were probably extinct for many years before that period. In 1813,
it must be added, a Lodge‑No. 30‑was established in the settlement by the
Atholl Grand Lodge, but this, like the others, failed to secure a place on the
Union roll.
At the general peace
the island was finally ceded to Holland and some of the Dutch Lodges survived
until within recent memory. It is possible, also, that others may have been
established, of which no record has been preserved. At present there are no
Lodges on the island.
ST. LuciA.‑Two
Lodges, Le Choix Reuni and L'Harmonie Fraternelle, were established by the
Grand Orient of France in 1784. In 1814 the island was ceded to England, under
whose sanction a Lodge‑No. 76z‑was formed in 1845 and erased in 186z.
ST. MARTIN.‑There are
at present no Lodges either in the settlements of the French or the Dutch,
between whom the island is divided; but one was formerly in existence‑Unie,
No. 3, under the Grand Lodge of the Netherlandsconstituted in 18oo.
ST. VINCENT.‑An Irish
Warrant‑No. 733‑was granted to some Brethren in this dependency in 18o6, which
was surrendered in 1824. Two Lodges were afterwards established by the Grand
Lodge of England, but are now extinct.
TOBAGO.‑A Scottish
Lodge‑No. 488‑was erected at Scarborough, the capital, in 1868.
TRINIDAD.‑A Charter
was granted‑No. 77, Les Freres Unis‑by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in
1798, to some Brethren at Port D'Espagne, who had formerly been members of a
Lodge at St. Lucia, under a Warrant from France. After this, in 1811, No. 69o,
under the Grand Lodge of Ireland, was transferred from Martinique to Trinidad,
but passed out of existence in 1858. Scottish Masonry obtained a footing in
1813 and there are now five Lodges in all under that jurisdiction, which form
the present Province. The first English Lodge on the island had its origin in
1831. This was followed by four other Warrants from the oldest of Grand Bodies
and four Lodges are in existence at this day, viz. Royal Philanthropic, No.
405, that founded in 1831 ; Royal Prince of Wales, No. 867, founded in 1861 ;
Royal Connaught, No. 3266, founded in 1907; and St. Andrew, No. 3963, founded
in icgig. In 19z3 a handsome Masonic Temple was built in Alexandra Street, St.
Clair, Port of Spain, for the Royal Prince of Wales Lodge, on a site presented
by George Frederick Huggins, Master of the Lodge in 19oz and again in 1923.
There are no English Royal Arch Chapters in Trinidad, but there are three
under the Scottish Constitution. The first Royal Chapter in Trinidad was
warranted in 1804 by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, which then exercised
powers over Royal Arch Masonry. The second Chapter was founded in 1814, by the
Royal Grand Conclave of Scotland, under H.R.H. the Duke of Kent. The third was
started in 18zz and was known as the Jerusalem Royal Arch Chapter. It was
working in 1836, but there are no records of movements later than this. The
previous foundations have also ceased to exist. There was formerly a Chapter
attached to the Royal Philanthropic Lodge, No. 405, under the 15 Z FREEMASONRY
IN THE WEST INDIES English Constitution, but it had ceased functioning in
1876. Another was formed in connexion with the Royal Prince of Wales's Lodge.
No. 867, in x875, was dormant for thirteen years, revived in 1896 and finally
ceased to function in 19o4. The Chapters at work to‑dayunder the Scottish
Constitution are Trinidad Kilwinning, No. 126, established in 1868, dormant
twice, for seven and twelve years respectively, but revived in 19o6, since
which time it has been in active operation; Harmony, No. x84, established in
188o, which also was dormant for eight years in three periods ; the King's,
No. 34, is the largest numerically and the most vigorous and active Chapter in
the island; and Unity, No. 61o, which is in a large measure identified with
the Brethren of Lodge Arima, No. 899, Scottish Constitution.
Trinidad became a
Province under the Grand Lodge of England in 186o, but ceased to be one in
1876.
THE LUCAYAS, OR
BAHAMA ISLANDS The Masonic history of this group begins with the appointment
of Governor John Tinkler as Provincial Grand Master in 175z, who was succeeded
by James Bradford in 1759. But they had apparently no Lodges to control,
neither do we hear of any having been established either before or after under
the jurisdiction of which they were the representatives, viz. the Grand Lodge
of England.
In 1785, however, a
Warrant for the Bahamas‑No. zz8‑was issued by the Atholl Grand Lodge of
England. The Lodge thus established died out before the Union, but a
second‑No. z4z‑under the same jurisdiction, established at Nassau, New
Providence, in 1787, survived the closing up of numbers in 1814, though its
vitality was exhausted before the repetition of that process in 1831.
A Scottish Lodge was
erected at Turk's Island in 1803, now extinct, but other were formed in New
Providence and Inagua in 18og and 1856 respectively. Lodges under the United
Grand Lodge of England were established at Nassau, x837 (still in existence as
the Royal Victoria, No. 443) ; at Grand Turk, x855 (now Turk's Island Forth,
No. 647) ; and at Harbour Island in 1869, no longer in existence. The first
and last of these formed part of the District of the Bahamas and places
adjacent, formed in 175z, but this District is no longer in working and the
first two Lodges are responsible directly to the United Grand Lodge of
England.
THE BERMUDAS, OR
SOMERS ISLANDS This group, like the Bahamas, was provided with a Provincial
Grand Master long before there were Lodges for him to supervise. Alured Popple
received a patent as such from Lord Strathmore in 1744 and William Popple was
similarly commissioned during the administration of the Earl of Aberdour
(1758‑6z). The first Lodge under the older (English) sanction was formed in
1761 and the second in 17c92. Five years later (1797) the Antients gained a
footing and, in 18oi, possessed like their rivals, two Lodges. At the Union,
however, the former succumbed FREEMASONRY IN THE WEST INDIES 153 to destiny,
whilst the latter were carried forward and still survive. The Lodge founded in
1797, is known now as the Atlantic Phcmix, No. 224‑it has a Royal Arch Chapter
attached; that founded in 18oi, also under the Antients, is working as the
Prince Alfred, No. 233‑ In 18 i g, Loyalty Lodge, No. 712 (now 358) was
founded and, in i88o, Broad Arrow, No. 18go, thus making a total of four,
which report direct to the Grand Lodge of England, as the succession of
Provincial Grand Masters ceased with the appointment of William Popple in
1758‑62. In 1928, however, a Grand Inspector was appointed, so that in all
probability Bermuda may, again, become a District.
Lodge St. George‑No.
266 (now No. Zoo)‑under the Grand Lodge of Scotland was erected in 1797 and
the Bermudas became a Scottish Province in 18o3. This was followed, however,
by no increase of Lodges until 1885, when a Warrant was issued to No. 726
(Lodge Civil and Military), which, with St. George, forms the thirty‑fourth
Province on the roll of Scotland, though there is now no Provincial or
District Grand Master.
Three Irish Lodges
have been established at St. George's Island: No. 220 in 1856 (Warrant
surrendered in 186o) ; No. 224 in 1867, still in existence ; and No. 2ocg in
1881 (no longer on the register). There are two now working at Hamilton,
Bermuda; No. 123, founded in 19o8 and No. 58o, founded in 1924.
CHAPTER V FREEMASONRY
IN SOUTH AMERICA jHE Minutes of the Grand Lodge of England inform us, that
Randolph Tooke, Provincial Grand Master for South America, was present at a
meeting of that body held April 17, 173 5. Of that worthy nothing further is
known beyond the bare fact that, in 1731, his name appears on the roll of
Lodge No. icy, at the Queen's Arms, Newgate Street, London, of which two
persons holding similar appointments‑Richard Hull and Ralph Farwinter together
with Sir William Keith, Ex‑Governor of Pennsylvania and Benjamin Cole,
afterwards Engraver to the Society, were also members.
The next Provincial
Grand Master who received an English patent empowering him to exercise Masonic
jurisdiction over any part of South America, was Colonel James Hamilton, who
was placed at the head of the Province of Colombia in 1824. Political changes
of subsequent years left their mark on the nomenclature of the existing States
of the continent. New Granada, like all the adjacent portions of the New
World, was for some centuries a colony of Spain. Upon the assertion of their
independence by the Provinces of Spanish America, in the early part of the
last century, it formed, with Ecuador and Venezuela, the Republic of Colombia.
In 1831, each of the three States became autonomous and, in 1857, New Granada
assumed the title of the United States of Colombia. The other parties,
however, to the Federal Union, which was dissolved in 1831‑Ecuador and
Venezuela‑adhered to their original appellations. This it is necessary to bear
in mind, because whilst a Scottish, as well as an English, Masonic Province of
Colombia was created during the existence of the earlier republic of that
name, the two Lodges under these jurisdictions were established at Angostura
in Venezuela. The first Provincial Grand Master under Scotland, Don Jose
Gabriel Nunez, the date of whose appointment is not recorded, was
succeeded‑May 6, 185o‑by Senor Florentino Grillet and, on February 3, 1851,
the designation of the Province was changed from Colombia to that of Guayana
in Venezuela.
The evidence,
therefore, so far as it extends, points to Venezuela, rather than New Granada,
as having been the centre of Masonic activity‑at least, in the first
instance‑while they were both component parts of the (older) Republic of
Colombia.
There was in
existence a Grand Orient of Colombia at Bogota in New Granada, shortly after
the time when the two Lodges were established at Angostura, under British
Warrants. The exact date of formation of this body it is not easy to deter
mine. One of the two Grand Orients of what was formerly New Granada, but is
now Colombia, which meets at Bogota, claims 1827 as its year of origin; while
154 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 155 there is independent evidence of the
exercise of authority in Peru, by a Grand Orient of Colombia at Bogota, in 18
z5. On the whole, the explanation which seems the most reasonable is, that the
Grand Orient of 1827, was preceded by a Supreme Council, armed with, or at all
events, exercising, the same authority as the hydraheaded organization of
later date.
VENEZUELA It was in
1865 there was formed the National Grand Orient of Venezuela. Judge Street
quotes Gould as saying in 1886 that " The Grand Orient is divided into a Grand
Lodge, Grand Chapter, Grand Consistory, and a Supreme Council, each having its
own chief and possessing entire authority over its own Degrees." In 1916 the
Grand Orient voluntarily dissolved, there being formed from it a Scottish Rite
Supreme Council, as well as a Grand Lodge of Symbolic Masonry, which called
itself " The Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela." Each proclaimed
itself completely independent and autonomous in its own part of the Masonry of
Venezuela. It is expressly declared by agreement between the bodies that " The
Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela is the Supreme Masonic authority
of Symbolic Masonry in Venezuela," being made up of Delegates elected by the
Lodges.
In 192.1, possibly
remembering the withdrawal of certain Lodges from the Grand Lodge in two
separated sections to form organisations of their own, the Scottish Rite
Supreme Council promulgated, as a part of its decrees, the following The Grand
Lodge of the United States of Venezuela governs independently, as it has
heretofore done, the first three degrees, or, in other words, the Symbolic
Order of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite: and, therefore, it exer cises
the prerogatives which Article 19 of the present Constitution concedes to it
as well as the powers and dignities inherent in its high Masonic authority,
without the Supreme Council or any of the bodies of its dependence having any
right to interfere in its deliberations.
While there is a
close tie of friendship between Grand Lodge and Supreme Council, we do not
believe, and indeed there is no reason for believing, that there is any
insincerity in the decree quoted above.
The Lodges which
withdrew formed a "sovereign Grand Lodge '' of " Free and Accepted Masons of
Venezuela," at Caracas, with seven Lodges; and the next year, 1919, three more
formed the " Symbolic Grand Lodge of the East." Both of these are independent
of the Scottish Rite.
Judge Street makes
the following illuminating comment on the history of Masonry in Venezuela:
This Grand Lodge is entirely independent and works only the first three 156
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA degrees. It exacts a belief in Deity and requires
the display of the Bible on the altar.
This Grand Lodge and
the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Venezuela, above,
recognise each other and are in fraternal correspondence. It does not however,
recognise the Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela, claiming that the
latter is under the domination of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite.
At first blush, these
eruptions in the Masonry of Venezuela appear discouraging, but after more
mature consideration we conclude that they are manifestations of a desire and
purpose on the part of the Masons of that country to liberate Blue or Symbolic
Masonry from the dominion of the Scottish Rite. All North American Masons
should be in sympathy with these movements, as we know how very beneficial
such separation and independence have proved to both Rites wherever they have
been put into full operation.
It must be remembered
that Venezuela, like our own country, is composed of a number of States, in
either one of which theoretically, under Masonic law, there might be a
separate Grand Lodge. The presence of three separate Grand Lodges in that
country does not involve a violation of the wholesome doctrine of exclusive
territorial jurisdiction. On the whole we consider the outlook for independent
Symbolic Masonry in Venezuela as rather favorable, though we are not prepared
to recommend recognition at this time.
The following is the
basis of recognition of the Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela by
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (From Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, I92I, p: 438) M.‑. W.‑. Melvin M. Johnson, Chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Grand Lodges, presented the following report: In Grand
Lodge, Boston, December 14, 192‑1 To the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Wardens
and Members of the Grand Lodge Your Committee on Foreign Relations begs leave
at this time to report concerning Masonic conditions in Venezuela.
About a year ago our
Most Worshipful Grand Master received a fraternal communication from Enrique
Doval Castillo, Grand Master of the body known as " Gran Logia de los Estados
Unidos de Venezuela," seeking an exchange of fraternal representatives. This
is a custom which Massachusetts Masonry has not adopted, for which reason we
cannot grant the request in terms. Inasmuch, however, as we have never
officially recognised this body as a Grand Lodge, your Committee treats the
communication as a request for recognition. At least it brings this Grand
Lodge to our attention and calls for a determination upon our part whether or
not it should be recognised. Much time and correspondence have been required
to make a full investigation.
The investigation
discloses that there are two bodies now claiming jurisdiction over symbolic
Masonry in Venezuela namely (i) " Gran Logis de los Estados Inidos de
Venezuela,'' which being translated is '' The Grand Lodge of FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA 157 referred Grand Lodge of Venezuela," and (2‑) " Gran Logia
Soberano de Libresey Acceptados Masone's de Venezuela," which being translated
is " The Sovereign Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Venezuela." For
convenience the . Grand o...
Grand Lodge which is
recognised by England and which also finds place in the Swiss Year Book is the
Schismatic Grand Lodge. The other body, however, is generally recognised
throughout South and Central America.
HISTORY Venezuelan
Masonry has passed through many vicissitudes of war and rebellion which have
been responsible for the destruction of its earlier archives. Enough remains
to give every indication of probability to the traditions.
Through tradition,
coupled with more or less authentic fact, we learn that Venezuelan Masonry had
its origin from Spain, which in turn received it from England in 1726. The
Spanish Lodges worked under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England
until 1779, at which date a local governing body was formed. This latter was
severely persecuted by the Inquisition, but notwithstanding continued to work,
and in 18og three Lodges formed the National Grand Lodge of Spain, which body,
so reports state, celebrated its sessions in the very same place in which the
Inquisition formerly held forth.
In 18o8 Masonry was
introduced into Venezuela from Spain. In 1811 the National Grand Lodge of
Spain changed its title to the Grand Orient of Spain and the Indies and under
the jurisdiction of this body Lodges were working at that date in Venezuela.
From 1813 to i82o the
Grand Orient was inactive, this being the period following the French invasion
of Spain when the Bourbons returned to power and all liberals were severely
persecuted, a persecution ending with the Revolution of i82o. Beginning also
in 1811 the movement for independence from Spain was initiated in Venezuela.
Naturally the local Masonry was thrown into confusion. Notwithstanding the
trials and tribulations through which Masonry was passing, a governing body
was formed in 1824 which referred to itself as the Grand Lodge with the name
of " Grand Orient of Venezuela.'' On November 8, 1828, the great liberator,
Simon Bolivar (who, according to report, was a Master Mason), issued a decree
by which he prohibited meetings of all secret societies including Masonic
Lodges. Bolivar died in 183o and Masonry again began to work openly. Many
Lodges were founded. Among them one, according to tradition, was constituted
by the Grand Lodge of Maryland. In the same year, 1830, Venezuela became an
independent State. In 1835 the Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela
was formed. It has existed uninterruptedly ever since, and it is this body
which has applied to us for an exchange of representatives.
This Grand Lodge of
Venezuela has been since its start the sovereign governing organisation of
Symbolic Masonry in Venezuela. It has ruled and governed the Craft under its
jurisdiction without acknowledgement of or submission to higher authority. It
has always been composed of delegates elected by the Lodges, and these in turn
have elected the Grand Officers. Its decrees and sta‑ .C II 158 FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA u ii tutes have always been promulgated in the name of the Grand
Lodge and have p, not been attested by the Supreme Council as has been the
case in so many Latin jurisdictions. Indeed the Supreme Council of Venezuela
was not established a. until 1840.
At one time or
another for the purpose of preserving the continuity of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite, the Grand Lodge of Venezuela has confederated itself
with the Supreme Council, but it has never united with or become a part of the
Supreme Council. This position is in a way analagous to the recognition of the
Supreme Council by many of the Grand Lodges of the United States including
Massachusetts. The Grand Lodge, however, has not at any time yielded its
sovereignty to the Supreme Council.
In 1851 there were
sixty Lodges under the Grand Lodge of Venezuela, but in that year there was a
schism. Forty‑three Lodges remained faithful; thirteen joined schismatic Grand
Lodge. In 1865 the schism was healed and schismatic Lodges returned to the
obedience of the Mother Grand Lodge.
In 1882 the Supreme
Council attempted to place itself at the head of a symbolic Masonry in
Venezuela. The Grand Lodge refused to enter into any such agreement and so
successfully maintained its own sovereignty that in 1884 the Supreme Council
receded from its position and a new constitution was promulgated. In 1916 the
constitution was revised. Article i9 of this constitution provides that The
Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela is the Supreme Masonic authority
over the symbolic degrees and it is constituted by elected representatives
named by the Lodges in the manner laid down in the statutes." In 1918 a
difference of opinion arose over internal matters. There was a certain amount
of money in the Treasury of the Grand Lodge dedicated to a certain purpose.
Being short of funds at the time, the Grand Lodges voted to borrow from this
fund. This action in Venezuela met with the disapproval of certain of the
prominent members of the Grand Lodge with the result that they withdrew and
formed a schismatic Grand Lodge, upon which the Schismatic Lodge immediately
made the claim that the Grand Loge of Venezuela was not a sovereign and
independent body but was rather dependent upon the Supreme Council and as such
not entitled to rank as a Grand Lodge. The documents in evidence, however,
seem to show conclusively that such a claim is not sound and that the Grand
Lodge of Venezuela has always been sovereign and independent in Symbolic
Masonry. While it is true that the Grand Lodge had entered into an agreement
of confederation with the Supreme Council, such a confederation is amply
proved to have been solely for the preservation of the Rite as a whole, and
was not a yielding up of the powers of the Grand Lodge. Shortly after the
schism the Grand Lodge repaid the money which it borrowed, above referred to,
but whatever may have been done in this regard, it was only an internal matter
of business administration. It was done by a majority vote of the Grand Lodge.
It did not authorise a schism and it has no interest to any outside
jurisdiction. It is mentioned here only to show the starting point of the
present schism.
On March 15, 1921,
the Supreme Council of Venezuela passed a resolution setting forth that the
Grand Lodge of Venezuela has always been the supreme governing power in
Symbolic Masonry, that the Supreme Council will not act in any way or manner
with the Grand Lodge and that the Supreme Council recognises and concedes that
now, as formerly, the Grand Lodge is the only authority FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA 159 of any kind in Symbolic Masonry. In other words, in order to clear
up any misunderstanding as to the former agreement between the Grand Lodge and
the Supreme Council, the Supreme Council now has formally and publicly
acknowledged the absolute and complete autonomy of the Grand Lodge of
Venezuela.
RITUAL The Ritual of
the Grand Lodge of Venezuela is that of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish
Rite. It does not pledge allegiance to any body other than the Grand Lodge,
however. It is as truly Masonic, and it adheres as closely to the Ancient
Landmarks and customs of the Craft as many of our own Grand Lodges. It is far
closer to the working of the Grand Lodge of England and Scotland than many of
our Rituals in the United States. The difference is mainly in the lectures.
There is an absence of the innovations which Preston and Webb made in the
English working.
We have filed in the
Grand Secretary's office documents verifying the major statements hereinbefore
made, viz.: a. A resume of the Masonic History of Venezuela. b. Historical
Masonic documents of the year 1842.
c. A copy of the
Masonic constitution of the confederated Grand Lodge and bodies of the Supreme
Council for the year 1884. This confederation was known as the Grand Orient
and therefore, perhaps, it is wise to point out certain of the provisions.
Article 1o is as follows: " The Symbolic Order is composed of all the Symbolic
Lodges already established, or which may be established under the jurisdiction
of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge in the jurisdiction of the National Grand
Orient." Article 17 defines the functions of the Grand Lodge " The attributes
of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge are I. To legislate with absolute authority
in all that concerns the Symbolic Order, making such statutes, regulations,
resolutions and reports as may be judged necessary for the successful advance
of the Lodges of its dependence, in conformity with the general principles
stated in this Constitution.
4. To sanction the
rituals for all the workings of the Symbolic Lodges." The above seem to us to
be sufficient to show the authority of the Grand Lodge.
d. The 1916 edition
of the Masonic Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of the United States of
Venezuela. Annexed to it is a declaration and appeal by Grand Master A.
Benchetiy to all the Lodges and Masons within his jurisdiction.
The Grand Orient
underwent substantial alterations on July 26, 1893, but the so‑called Grand
Lodge remained subordinate to the Scottish Rite bodies. The Grand Orient
continued in this form until August 18, 1916, when it volun tarily dissolved
and out of its fragments was formed a Supreme Council of the Scottish, and a
Grand Lodge of Symbolic Masonry under the name " The Grand Lodge of the United
States of Venezuela," with seat at Caracas. These two bodies, thereupon, by
mutual consent announced that each was sovereign and independent of the other
within their respective spheres. Latest statistics give the Grand Lodge 9
Lodges and Zso members. Address Sus. 5, No. 78, Caracas. On December 4, 1916,
the Supreme Council and the Grand Lodge con‑ r i 6o FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA jointly adopted the " Masonic Constitutions of the United States of
Venezuela," ` Pact of Confederation," in the caption of which they are
referred to as " United Constituent Bodies of Freemasonry " in Venezuela. In
Article i9, it is declared that " the Grand Lodge of the United States of
Venezuela is the Supreme Masonic authority of Symbolic Masonry " and that it
is composed of delegates elected by the Lodges. Article 25 further says The
Supreme Council and the Grand Lodge are under duty of mutually protecting,
supporting and assisting each other by every legal means within their power in
every case in which the general interests of the Institution require it,
respecting as between themselves their respective jurisdictions, thereby
recognising each other as Masonic Powers sovereign and independent in their
respective Orders.
On January 9, 1921,
the Supreme Council issued the following decree: In view of the Grand Circular
of the Grand Lodge of the United States of Venezuela of date the 4th day of
the present month and having heard the conclusions of the Grand Minister of
State, and in conformity with Article VI of the Grand Constitutions of 1786,
the organic law of the Rite, IT IS DECREED, Art. I. The Grand Lodge of the
United States of Venezuela governs independently, as it has heretofore done,
the first three degrees, or, in other words, the Symbolic Order of the Ancient
and Accepted Scottish Rite: and therefore, it exercises the prerogatives which
Article i9 of the present Constituent concedes to it as well as the powers and
dignities inherent in its high Masonic authority, without the Supreme Council
or any of the bodies of its dependence having any right to interfere in its
deliberations.
COLUMBIA, FORMERLY
NEW GRANADA The Grand Orient of New Granada was formed at Carthagena on June
i9, 1833. On July 11, 1851, the Grand Orient of France passed unanimously the
following resolutions I. That a body of Masons, having founded in the Valley
of Carthagena in the Republic of New Granada in 1833 under the title of the
Grand Orient and Supreme Council of New Granada for the purpose of exercising
the Scottish Rite of Ancient and Accepted Masonry; z. That that authority has
advised its existence and formation to all Masonic bodies and, in particular,
to the Grand Orient of France, which has acknowledged receipt of its
communication and invited that body to make known its titles and constitution
; 3. That, according to its documents that have been received and deposited in
the archives of the Grand Orient of France, proves that the Grand Orient and
Supreme Council of New Granada has been founded like all Supreme Councils and,
in virtue of such rights, according to the Grand Constitution of 1786,
attributes to Frederick II of Prussia, the constitution of Lodges, Chapters,
Councils, Areopagos, Tribunals and Consistories, exercising the work of the
Ancient and Accepted Rite; FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 161 4. That the above
authority has decreed a new Masonic Constitution on August 4, 1849 and the
Grand Orient of France declares the Supreme Council of New Granada to be a
legal Constitution from April 19, 18 with the right to exercise jurisdiction
over all the territory of New Granada.
The Supreme Council.
had been exercising its rights uninterruptedly, during its existence, over
what was then known as the Republic of New Granada, which consisted of the
Republics of Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. As these Republics formed
themselves into distinct nations, they each formed its own Supreme Council,
leaving Colombia with the title of New Granada, now known as the Republic of
Colombia.
In May 1864, General
T. C. Mosquera, Valero F. de Barriga and Francisco Villal formed a Grand
Central Orient of Colombia, with the object of controlling Freemasonry in the
southern part of the Republic, with Bogota as the capital. They argued that,
owing to the lack of communication with the several towns in the interior of
the Republic, there was justification for another Supreme Council. The Supreme
Council of Colombia protested and declared the new body to be illegally formed
and the two Supreme Councils of the United States declared it to be illegal.
The new Supreme Council, however, continued on its way, partly owing to the
fact that General Mosquera was the President of the Republic, although his
opponents declared that he was not a member of the 33░.
In 1871 Juan de Dios Riomalo succeeded Mosquera as Grand Master.
In 186o the original
body had nineteen Lodges on its roll, among them being Lodge La Mas Solida
Virtus at Jamaica. Francisco de Zubirias was Grand Master in 1865 and Juan
Manuel Grau in 1871. Four years later‑according to the somewhat fragmentary
evidence available‑the latter appears to have given way to, or to have been
superseded by, Juan N. Pombo, whose name is shown in the Calendars as Grand
Master from 1875 to 1878. In 1879, however, the name of Juan M. Grau again
figures in the lists, whilst that of Juan N. Pombo disappears. Full details
are given in the Calendars with regard to the Masonic dignitaries of Colombia
during the supremacy of either; and, as Grau is not mentioned, whilst Pombo
was uppermost, and vice versa, it is probable‑considering the manner in which
Masonry and politics blend together in the Spanish Republics‑that they were
rival candidates for power in more ways than one.
Apparently the two
bodies patched up their differences for, in 1879, Juan M. Grau was at the head
of both, with the title of Sovereign Grand Commander and Sublime Grand Master
of the Order. The Secretary Generai (or Grand Secretary) was also for a time
the same for the two bodies, though there was always a separate Lieutenant
Grand Commander (or Deputy Grand Master) at Carthagena and Bogota. In 1883,
Leon Echeverria was elected Grand Master of the Order, an office which he
continued to hold, according to the Calendars of 1886, where, however, his
name was also shown as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council at
Bogota, " founded in 1827," whilst that of Juan M. Grau is similarly shown as
the head of 162 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA the Supreme Council of Carthagena,
"founded in 1833." An English LodgeAmistad Unida, No. 8o8‑established in 1848,
existed at Santa Martha. Other foreign jurisdictions were formerly
represented. Lodge Les Philadelphes, No. 15 1, was erected at Colon‑Aspinwall
by the Supreme Council of France in 18 S 8 and the Isthmus Lodge by the Grand
Lodge of Massachusetts in (or before) 1866. Both these Lodges, however, have
ceased to exist.
Several attempts were
made to form a Grand Lodge of Colombia and the initiative was taken by the
Freemasons of Barranquilla, on the coast of the Republic, where there is more
liberty and less clerical influence. On July zo, 1917, four Lodges, two of
which had their Charters from the Supreme Council of New Granada (Colombia)
and two from the Supreme Council of Bogota, formed the Provincial Grand Lodge
of the Department of the Atlantic, Calle of Barranquilla ; and, later, on
January io, it declared itself as the National Grand Lodge of Colombia,
notwithstanding protests from the Supreme Council of Colombia.
This Grand Lodge has
become stronger with the passing years and is recognised as regular by the
British Grand Lodges of Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, New York,
New Jersey, North Carolina and the Philippine Islands.
On November 30, 1919,
several who had until then been loyal to the Supreme Council of Colombia,
formed the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Colombia, maintaining that the
National Grand Lodge was not legally Constituted and that the territory was
unoccupied. This step was also opposed by the Supreme Council of Colombia.
The Grand Lodge of
the Republic of Colombia at Bogota is growing in strength. It is recognised by
the British Grand Lodges and by New York, Oregon, North Carolina and
Massachusetts.
Later, the Supreme
Council at Carthagena invited a few Lodges there to form a Grand Lodge under
its auspices, which event took place on January 1, 192o. The Grand Lodge of
Colombia at Carthagena continues to grow stronger. It is recognised by the
British Grand Lodges and by Louisiana, New York, and North Carolina.
In 193 S the Foreign
Correspondence Report of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina contained the
following: We have a formal announcement of the formation, on December 16,
1934, of the fourth Grand Lodge in Colombia, South America. There had been
some confusion in this Republic, in Masonic circles, for quite a while, the
nature of which confusion it is not profitable to attempt to analyze here. In
the South American and Central American countries means of communication are
none too good between distant cities and towns; and when Grand Lodges meet,
their acts often receive scant consideration from some of the more remote
Lodges. Then somebody wants to know why these Lodges have not done so and so,
and the Lodges are liable to censure for matters in which they are not
interested or which they do not understand‑and trouble starts.
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA 163 Grand Lodge. There was one Grand Lodge in Cartagena, another in
Bogota, and a third in Barranquilla; so why‑ should they not have theirs? We
read that there are also four '' Trianges," one at Jerico, one at Sonson, a
third at Puerto Berrio, and a fourth at Rio Negro. We suppose these will ere
long become Lodges, too.
The Grand Lodge of
Medellen adopted the North Carolina Standards.
ECUADOR The following
is taken from the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Ecuador and is by an
official writer, Bro. Fichtenfels: The earliest information that we gather of
Ancient, Free, and Accepted Masonry in the Republic of Ecuador, is found at
the end of the eighteenth century, when, still under the Spanish Regime, Jose
Perez, born in Guayaquil, was accused before the Royal Government of being a
Mason. According to the judicial documents, kept by the " Biblioteca Nacional
de Lima." It is known that, fortunately for him, he could not be found; it
being stated that Perez escaped into Brazil, through the Amazon forests.
It is equally known,
through the writings of Emilio Gondron in his detailed narration of the part
played by Masonry in the independence of the American Continent, that in the
year i8o8, fourteen years before the battle of Pichincha was fought, a victory
that gave Ecuador its independence from Spain, there was in Quito a Lodge,
under the name of " Ley Natural " under the authority of the Masonic Body of
Neuvo Reino de Granada.
In 1821, a few months
after the Province of Guayaquil had proclaimed its independence, the first
Guayaquil Lodge was founded.
Thirteen years later,
in 1843, a new Lodge was founded in Guayaquil, also under the jurisdiction of
Neuva Granada working under the name of " Centro Filantropico.'' In the year
1857 the Grand Orient of Peru organised a Lodge in Guayaquil, under the
Scottish Rite, a Symbolic Lodge and a Chapter of eight degrees as stated by
Brother Albert Galatin Mackey, M.D., 33░,
in his " Encyclopedia Masonica y su relacion con las Ciencias. " The works of
these bodies had to be stopped on account of the persecution of the catholic
priests. The Lodge worked under the name of " Filantr6pia " as the previous
one; its worshipful master being Brother Jose Maria Molestina Roca 18░.
Knowing of the
existence of this Lodge, Gabriel Garcia Moreuo sought admission, but as he
pretended to be admitted as a master mason, his request was refused. Taking
the refusal as an offense, it is clearly understood why, later on, when he was
President of the Republic, he issued a decree .. that all Masons be
courtmartialed." During the Government of Garcia Moreno, the Church ruled, and
all the priests were his closest friends. As a result masonic activities in
this period were nil.
Only in the year
1878, when General Ignacio de Veintimilla started the liberal transformation,
several masons, mostly foreigners, obtained a permit 164 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA from the Grand Orient of Peru to open a Lodge in Guayaquil. This Lodge
worked under the name of " Redenc16n,'' and its existence was known to the
President, but later, in order to be on the side of the Church, and to satisfy
social demands, he made it known that unless masons would close the Lodge, he
would have to close it. In order to prevent a fatal result, seeing that the
President had lost his Liberal faith, and the energy to permit them to
continue with the Lodge, the brethren had to abandon their work.
Masonry was at a
standstill during the period of the Conservative Party, until the fall of the
same in 1895. Masonic activity started with the return of the Liberal Party
headed by Brother General Eloy Alfaro 30░,
the " Great Fighter,'' who played a most important role in the history of
Ecuador. The Lodge " Luz del Guayas " was formed on January 31, 1897, and
received its charter from the Grand Lodge of Peru April 2, 1897. This
worshipful Lodge has been active ever since up to the present time. From its
members, two other Lodges were founded later.
It is in this period
that Brother Colonel Gaspar Almiro Plaza, at present an active member of the
Supreme Council of the 33░,
one of the most prominent Masons in Ecuador, gathered the many Masons in the
city and organised several bodies of the Scottish Rite, all under the
jurisdiction of the Supreme Council of Peru.
Continuing his good
work, Brother Plaza selected several Masons, and obtaining the necessary
permission established, in Guayaquil, the Lodge '' Filantropia del Guayas "
No. 2, in commemoration of the old Lodge of i86o. At the same time there was
in Quito a Lodge '' Luz del Pichincha " that was conducting work in an
irregular manner, because of not having fulfilled all the requisites. Brother
Plaza obtained from the Supreme Council of Peru the regularisation of all the
members of the Quito Lodge in the year 19o6. Being in Quito, Brother Plaza
founded another Lodge, giving it the name of '' Ley Natural," in commemoration
of the one founded in 18o8. This further progress in Masonry, in a city
completely overrun with priests, took place the 31st of December, 19o6.
After a long
transitation, the Supreme Council Confederated 33
░,
of Peru, invested with this degree several prominent Masons and organised the
Supreme Council Confederated 33░
of Ecuador, which was duly installed the 24 July, 1910.
All other Supreme
Councils in the world have recognised the Supreme Council of Ecuador, and are
in fraternal relations with it.
The Supreme Council
Confederated, 33░
of Ecuador, being duly constituted and its authority recognised, took over
into her jurisdiction all the Simbolic Lodges established in Ecuador, and
working in the Scottish Rite: except Lodge " Luz del Guayas " No. io,
dependent of the Grand Lodge of Peru.
Two new Charters were
granted by the Supreme Council in 1917. The first one was '' Eloy Alfaro
Lodge,'' No. 5. The other Lodge was " Luz de America." Since 1916, it was felt
the necessity of founding the Grand Lodge of Ecuador and subordinating to it
the three symbolic Lodges, leaving the degrees 4 to 32 to the jurisdiction of
the Supreme Council of Ecuador. Several members of the Lodge " Sucre,'' No. i,
worked enthusiastically to obtain this end, and obtained that the Lodges ''
Filantropia del Guayas '' No. 2, '' Eloy Alfaro '' No. 5, and '' Luz de
America " No. 6, support their intention. Also '' Lodge Bolivar " No. 4, was
founded in Quito in the year igo9, under the auspices of the Spanish
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 165 Modern Rite, which was not recognised by the
Universal Masonic Bodies. Unfortunately, the work started by this newly
organised Grand Lodge did not last, because of certain irregularities, which
were not at first perceived. As a result, the subordinate Lodges lost the
enthusiasm of its work, and were closed. The only survivor was " Luz del
Guayas '' lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Peru.
This failure did not
discourage the good brethren who desired to obtain the benefits of a well
organised Grand Lodge of Ecuador, and the recognition of the Universal Grand
Bodies. Taking into‑consideration the previous experience, the Masonic
Members, headed by the '' Luz del Guayas,'' appealed to the Grand Lodge of
Peru, for its patriotic desire. The Grand Lodge of Peru, recognising the
justice of it, promised to support the Ecuadorian Masons. Toward this end,
they granted permission for two new Lodges to be founded, under their
jurisdiction, and sent Brother Mauel Perez Rosas, the Grand Secretary of Peru,
to organise the work regularly.
Shortly after, the
Grand Lodge of Peru granted the Charters to these two Lodges, and in March 6,
192‑1, they delegated the several members to meet in Convention with the
purpose of organising the Grand Lodge of Ecuador, inde pendently of the Grand
Lodge of Peru, and to have jurisdiction over all the Lodges in its Territory.
In an extraordinary
meeting of The Grand Lodge of Ecuador, on March 25th, 192‑2, a petition from
Masons of the city of Quito was received to found a Lodge in that city. They
named it '' 2.4 de Mayo in commemoration of the battle of Pichincha, deciding
battle in the Independence of Ecuador.
On September 6, 1922,
the Government of Ecuador presided by Dr. Jose Luis Tamayo, by its degree No.
92‑6 approved the Constitution and Statutes of the Grand Lodge of Ecuador, and
recognised it as a legal institution.
In 1896, there was
formed at Guayaquil, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Peru, the Lodge
'' Luz de Guayas," No. 1o, there being at that date no Grand Lodge in Ecuador.
This Lodge received its charter on April 2, 1897.
As the years passed
its membership increased slowly and it gradually drew to itself, despite the
opposition of the clericals, many of the leading merchants, financiers,
journalists, professors and army and navy men.
Within the last few
years, the Grand Lodge of Peru sent a special deputy to Guayaquil to counsel
the Masons there as to the proper procedure for the formation of a Grand
Lodge. He advised the creation of two new lodges under char ters from the
Grand Lodge of Peru. Accordingly Lodges " Cinco de Junio,'' No. 29, and "
Oriente Ecuadoriano," No. 30, were formed. It is stated that these three were
then the only " regular " Lodges in Ecuador. We presume there were Scottish
Rite Symbolic Lodges subordinate to the Supreme Council, but it is in all
probability true that these were the only independent Lodges or the only
Lodges subordinate to a regular Grand Lodge. They were, therefore, the only
ones necessary to be invited to participate in the formation of the Grand
Lodge.
Accordingly these
three Lodges selected delegates to a General Assembly which convened at
Guayaquil on March 5, 1921, 8 p.m., with full representation from each Lodge.
Juan Molinari was chosen president and Miguel E. Rabascal, Secretary.
The Assembly then
adopted and dispatched to the Grand Lodge of Peru a 166 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA Petition praying its consent to the formation of a Grand Lodge of
Ecuador and asking that a Deputy with full authority to act be sent to
constitute the new Grand Lodge. In this Petition, the Assembly declared that
the Grand Lodge would '' teach the people to depart from fanaticism and
superstition." The constitution, By‑Laws and Ritual of the Grand Lodge of Peru
were temporarily adopted. The Grand Lodge of Peru cheerfully and promptly
released the Lodges from allegiance to it and unanimously consented to the
formation of the new Grand Lodge, and commissioned a Deputy to constitute it.
Accordingly, on June
i9, 192.1, the '' Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the
Republic of Ecuador '' was solemnly constituted with jurisdiction over the
three Symbolic Degrees only, viz.. Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master,
throughout the territory of Ecuador.
On July 2.9, 192.1,
another Lodge, '' Pacific," No. 4, in which the work is carried on in English,
was regularly installed under a charter from the new Grand Lodge, giving it 4
Subordinate Lodges, with 77, So, 48 and 8 members respectively, or a total of
183 members. This Grand Lodge was recognised by Louisiana at its 192.2‑ Annual
in February last.
This is, of course, a
weak body in point of numbers, but we have carefully read all the proceedings
leading up to its formation and its printed constitution, laws and
regulations, and we can see no reason why it should not be recognised.
PERU It is
traditionally asserted that Freemasonry was introduced into Peru about the
year 1807, during the French invasion, that several Lodges were at work until
the resumption of Spanish authority and of Papal influence in 1813, when their
existence terminated. But the authentic history of Peruvian Masonry cannot be
traced any earlier than 1825, when the independence of the Republic, declared
in 1820, was completely achieved. In that year, General Valero, a member of
the Grand Orient of Colombia at Santa Fe de Bogoti (New Granada), visited Lima
and, as the representative of that body, proceeded, in the first instance, to
legitimate the Lodges and Chapters which had already been established in the
new Republic, afterwards to found and organize others. At this time there
appear to have been four Lodges at the capital, and nine others were soon
after erected in the provincial towns: Lima‑PaZ y Perfecta Union, 182.1 ;
Orden y Libertad, 18z2; Virtud y Union, 1823 ; and Constancia Peruana, 18z4;
Cuzco‑Solde Huayna Ccapac, 18z6; Lambayeque ‑Union Justa, 182.6 ; Pinra‑Conslancia
Heroica, 18zg ; and Ica‑Filosofia Peruana, 1829. Five other Lodges were also
formed about the same time in Arequipa, Trujillo, Cajamarca, Puno and
Huamachuco respectively, but their names and dates of constitution have passed
out of recollection. Thus the course of descent of Masonry in Peru was from
Spain to Venezuela, from Venezuela to Colombia, thence to Peru. Its base is,
therefore, Spanish, yet, from an early date, English and American Freemasonry
have influenced very strongly that of Peru.
A Supreme Council of
the A. and A.R. 33░
was instituted at Lima in 183o by FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 167 the senior
(local) member of the rite, Jose Maria Monson, Roman Catholic Chaplain in the
Army of Independence, afterwards a Canon in the Cathedral of Trujillo. In the
following year June 23‑Deputies from the Supreme Council 33░,
the Consistory 32░,
the Areopagus 3o░
and the Chapters 18░,
together with the Masters and Wardens of the Lodges, assembled in the capital
under the presidency of the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish
Constitution and established a Grand Lodge, with Thomas Ripley Eldredge as
Grand Master. The Constitutions were settled on August i i, 1831, when it was
unanimously resolved to substitute for the title Grand Lodge, that of Grand
Orient of Peru. Shortly after this, owing to the political disturbances, there
was an entire cessation of Masonic labour.
In 1845, after a
recess of some twelve years, a few metropolitan Brethren, members of the Lodge
Orden y Libertad and of a Rose Croix Chapter, met and continued to work
regularly until November 1, 1848, when a General Convention of Masons was held
and the Grand Orient was revived. In 1850 the Grand Orient again assembled and
sanctioned a Constitution for the government of the Lodges. Marshal Miguel San
Roman‑afterwards President of the Republic‑was Grand Master of this Grand
Orient until 18 52, but the Supreme Council 3 3
░
not only held aloof from its proceedings, but apparently ignored even its
existence.
On July 13, 18 52,
the supreme Masonic body was reorganized under the title of Grand National
Orient of Peru and the members of the so‑called high Degrees recovered their
supremacy. At this meeting twenty‑five Brethren represented the Supreme
Council, Consistory, Areopagus and the Rose Croix Chapters. There were also
present the Masters and Wardens of three Lodges‑Ordeny Libertad and Estrella
Polar, of Lima; and Concordia Universal of Callao. Of these, the first named
was founded in 1822, the second (by the Grand Orient over which Marshal San
Roman presided) in 1850‑‑2, the third (by the Supreme Council of Peru) in
1852.
In the same year
(1852) a Royal Arch Chapter‑Estrella Boreal‑No. 74 on the roll of the Grand
Chapter of Scotland, was established at Callao. This, however, was not
recognized by the Supreme Council of Peru, nor was it allowed a voice in the
deliberations of the Grand National Orient.
In 18 5 5 a new Lodge
under an old title‑ Virtud y Union‑was erected at Lima by Charter of the
Supreme Council 3 3'.
New Statutes were
promulgated by the Grand Orient May 5, 1856. These were very defective,
consisting only of some disjointed extracts from the laws of the Grand Orient
of Venezuela and placed the government of the Fraternity entirely in the hands
of the Supreme Council 33░.
At this time there were seven Lodges holding Warrants from the Supreme
Council‑acting on behalf of the Grand National Orient. Of these five were in
Peru, one each in Ecuador and Chile. Additional regulations, framed with the
especial object of restraining certain irregularities which‑it was
alleged‑‑had penetrated into the Lodges, were enacted in May 18 5 7. The new
Statutes caused the cup of indignation to overflow and three Lodges‑Concordia
Universal, Estrella Polar and Virtud y Union‑‑on June 3, 6 and io respectively
ensuing, declared their independence. These were joined by others 168
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA to the number of fifteen and a Grand Lodge was
erected at Lima, November Zo, 18 5 9. In i 86o there was another schism in the
Supreme Council and the seceders, with the Grand Lodge, formed a Grand Orient
and Supreme Council under a Charter from the Grand Orient of Colombia (New
Granada). In 1863, however, dissensions arose in this body and it passed out
of existence.
Irish Lodges were
established at Lima in 1861 and 1863 and several foreign jurisdictions soon
after became represented. Among these Scotland is entitled to the first place,
having chartered no fewer than thirteen Lodges. Under the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts a Lodge was formed by dispensation at Arica in 1866, but is now
extinct. The Grand Orient of Italy and the Grand Lodge of Hamburg each had a
Lodge at Lima, the Italian Lodge bearing the name Stella d'Italia and the
German one Zur Eintracht (Concord).
The Supreme Council
reorganized the Grand Orient, but again suppressed it in 1875 and sentenced
the opponents of this summary proceeding to " perpetual expulsion." The
sentence was revoked in 1881, the Grand Orient once more revived and the
Lodges placed under it. This gave umbrage to the latter, who contended that
even if the Supreme Council was justified in separating itself from the
Lodges, it could not possess the right oú turning them over to any other body.
Ultimately, in March i88z, five Lodges met in Convention at Lima and organized
the Grand Lodge of Peru. Four out of the five Scottish Lodges at the capital
are said to have given in their adhesion on May 31 and, shortly after, a Lodge
was established at Guayaquil in Ecuador. This Grand Lodge is entirely
independent, controls only the first three Degrees and works them according to
the York ritual. It denies the right of the Supreme Council to form Symbolic
Lodges where a regular Grand Lodge exists. It exacts of its initiates a belief
in the Deity and displays the Bible on the altar. It does not seem, however,
to have made great growth and is still weak in numbers and influence.
On June 13, 1897,
Grand Master Christian Dam promulgated a decree substituting the Book of
Constitutions on the altar in place of the Bible. Quite a furore was raised by
this action in Peru and abroad. Many Grand Lodges severed relations with Peru,
an action which, in some instances, has continued to this day. However, those
in Peru, who objected to the action of the Grand Master, were able just one
year later‑June i2,1898‑to reverse it and a decree was promulgated abrogating
the decree of 1897. In March 1899, England repealed her resolution of
non‑intercourse and other Grand Lodges took like action.
The Grand Lodge of
Peru is now recognized by the Grand Lodges of England, Alabama, California,
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan,
Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, North
Carolina, Massachusetts, Cuba, Costa Rica, Canada, Philippine Islands,
Victoria.
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA 169 BOLIVIA In 1875 a Lodge was Chartered by one of the competing
jurisdictions in Lima and is possibly included among the four Lodges in
Bolivia under the Grand Lodge of Peru.
On November Zo, I929,
there were in Bolivia seven Masonic Lodges under the Constitution of the Grand
Lodge of Chile. On that date, the Grand Lodge of Chile granted to these seven
Lodges a special Dispensation to organise the Grand Lodge of Bolivia, which
Dispensation was transmitted to them and they proceeded to act upon it in due
course.
On June 24, 1931, the
Grand Lodge of Bolivia was formally organised by the Installation of its
Officers under the patronage of the parent Grand Lodge of Chile, the
constituent Lodges therein being the seven Lodges referred to, of the Chilean
Constitution.
The Grand Lodge of
Chile is duly recognised by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. The Grand Lodge
of Bolivia in beginning its Masonic life has adopted the standards of Masonic
regularity which North Carolina set up ten years ago, and which were
translated into Spanish soon afterwards and were broadcast throughout South
America and exerted a profound influence in all Latin America.
The Grand Lodge of
Bolivia requires that all of its Lodges exact of every member thereof
unqualified belief in the Grand Architect of the Universe. It requires that
all candidates be obligated upon the Volume of the Sacred Law. It makes Masons
of men only, and forbids intercourse with all bodies alleged to be Masonic
which admit women.
This Grand Lodge is a
sovereign and independent body, having exclusive and undisputed control over
the Symbolic Lodges within its jurisdiction, and it does not divide or share
its authority with any other organisation or body claiming to be Masonic. It
exercises supreme control over the Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft
and Master Mason in its jurisdiction, and it thus divides the work of the
Degrees and teaches the legend of the Third Degree.
The Grand Lodge in
its declaration asserts that the Three Great Lights are always displayed in
Lodge when open, and that the discussion of politics or religion is strictly
prohibited in Lodges. What it sets out as the Ancient Landmarks is not stated,
but these are strictly observed.
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC,
or CONFEDERACY OF LA PLATA The Province of Buenos Ayres, after forming for
some years a distinct State, re‑entered, in I86o, the General Confederacy of
La Plata, or Argentine Republic, of which it constitutes the head. The Masonic
history of the allied States down to the year named may very briefly be
summarised. A Lodge‑No. Zos, Southern Star‑was chartered at the city of Buenos
Ayres by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, September S, 182.5. This capital, as
the largest town and the outlet of all 169 170 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA
the trade of the Republic, has always exercised a preponderating influence in
the formation and execution of the intrigues, conspiracies and insurrections,
which constitute the political history of the Confederation. From the close
connexion, therefore, between Masonry and politics, found subsisting in all
parts of South America, save in the Lodges under the English Constitution, it
will excite no surprise that, without exception, all the early Lodges in La
Plata, of which any trace exists, were held at Buenos Ayres. Some were in
existence there in 1846, but, about that time, the political aspect becoming
gloomy in the extreme, their labours were suspended.
Two Lodges bearing
the same name‑L'Amie des Naufrages‑were established by the Grand Orient of
France in Buenos Ayres and Rio de la Plata respectively in 185z. The example
thus set was followed by the Grand Lodge of England, under whose authority the
first of a series of Lodges was erected in 1853, viz. Excelsior Lodge, No.
617. In 1856, there seems to have been in existence a body claiming the
prerogatives of a Grand Lodge. It practised the Ancient and Accepted Rite, but
was never recognized by the family of Supreme Councils and soon ceased to
exist. Two years later‑April zz, 1858‑a Supreme Council and Grand Orient of
the Argentine Republic was established at Buenos Ayres by the Supreme Council
and Grand Orient of Uruguay, at Monte Video.
About this time‑so at
least it is gravely related‑" the Roman Catholic Bishop [at Buenos Ayres]
fulminated a Bull against all Masons within his bishopric; he went the length
of declaring the marriage contract dissolved and absolving the wife a vinculo
matrimonii, in all cases where the husband refused to renounce Masonry. Some
parties, as high in temporal authority as the Bishop was in spiritual,
appealed from this decree to Pope Pius IX at Rome. After waiting a long time
for a reply or decision upon the appeal and receiving none, an inquiry‑ was
instituted as to the cause of the delay, when it was found, to the great
satisfaction of the Roman Catholics of La Plata, who were unwilling to bow to
the behests of the Bishop, that in 1816, the venerable Pontiff then a young
man‑received the Degrees, and took upon himself the obligations of Masonry ! "
The full story is told in Dudley tiWright's Roman Catholicism and Freemasonry,
pp. 171‑4. See also the World Ride Register, p. 5z8. A statement of similar
character was made long before by J. L. Laurens in his Essai historique, with
regard to Pope Benedict XIV, of whom it is related that, being himself a
Freemason, he, not unnaturally, mitigated in some slight degree the rigour of
the Papal edict against the Craft, which had been launched by his immediate
predecessor, Clement XII.
In 1861 a treaty was
concluded between the Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Orient of the
Argentine Republic. This empowered the former to establish Lodges in La Plata
and to appoint a District Grand Master to rule over them. The Rev. J. Chubb
Ford presided over the English District Grand Lodge until 1867, when he was
succeeded by R. B. Masefield, who was followed by Dr. George John Ryan, C.
Trevor Mold and F. H. Chevallier Boutell. In 1914, the name of the District
was altered to that of South America, Southern Division, and F. H.
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA 171 Chevallier Boutell retained the position until 1977, when he
resigned and W. E. O. Hazell was appointed his successor.
Some trouble was
caused in 1868 through the establishment of a Lodge under the name of Italia
and the authority of the Grand Orient of Masonry in Italy located at Florence.
Protest was at once made by the Supreme Commander of the Argentine Republic
against this violation of long‑established Masonic law, to which no reply was
made. The worst feature of the proceedings was that one of the members to whom
the Charter was granted was an expelled member from one of the city Lodges,
while other rejected candidates or expelled members generally were admitted
into the Italia Lodge (see The Freemason, July 17, 1869).
During the fatal
cholera epidemic‑December 1867 to February 1868when more than four thousand
persons became victims, the Freemasons formed the Sociedad Masonica de
Socorros, under the presidency of Daniel Maria Cazon, Sovereign Grand
Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. Over z6,ooo dollars was subscribed
by the Order and the Committee visited over 300 families, furnishing them with
medicine, medical advice, food and clothing and burying the dead: they also
sent funds and assistance to several towns in the country where the epidemic
was raging (see The Freemason, July io and 17, 1869).
About 1877, the
invariable rebellion of the Lodges against the domination of the Supreme
Council 3 3', which is always met with in the histories of Grand Orients,
occurred in Buenos Ayres. There appears to have been both a protest and
secession, but without in this case culminating in any definite result.
There were some 13
Lodges under the Grand Orient of La Plata in x 86o, 39 in 1878 and 6o in 1886.
There are 13 Lodges under the Grand Lodge of England in Buenos Ayres and the
same number in other parts of the District.
PARAGUAY When this
country proclaimed its independence of Spain, the reins of government were
seized by Dr. Francia, a well‑meaning despot, who, during his long
administration, carried into effect his ideas of advancing the material
interests of the state by shutting it off from all communication with the
outer world. Under his government Paraguay was, for a long period, as
effectually closed as Japan had been before it. The same exclusive policy,
though without carrying it quite so far, was pursued by his successor, Don
Carlos Antonio Lopez. The latter was followed in turn by his son, Don
Francisco Solano Lopez, whose action involved the country in the disastrous
war of 1864‑70 with Brazil, Uruguay and the Argentine Republic. This war cost
Paraguay nearly one‑half of its territory and reduced its population from
nearly a million and a half to about zzo,ooo, of whom only zcg,ooo were men.
If, conjointly with this, we bear in mind that Paraguay is the only country in
South America without any seaboard, it will occasion no surprise that the
traces of Masonry in the existing Republic are so faint as to be almost
indistinguishable. The population of Asuncion, the. capital, had fallen after
the war from nearly So,ooo to about io,ooo of whom 3,0oo belonged for several
years 172 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA to the Brazilian army of occupation.
The Masonic Calendars of 18 8 i‑z show a Lodge under the Grand Orient of
Brazil as existing at Paraguay, but whether composed of natives or of the
Brazilian garrison is a point upon which statistics leave us wholly in the
dark.
The following is
quoted from the report of Bro. John H. Cowles, Past Grand Master of Kentucky,
who made a personal investigation of conditions The life of Masonry in
Paraguay has been as hectic as the life of the country. Its early introduction
as to authenticity is much mixed with legend, memories of the elder
generation, and a few documents now known of. While proof is lacking, it is
undoubtedly true that Lodges functioned in Paraguay before its war of
1866‑1870, using both the French and Italian languages, but no knowledge is
extant as to what Grand Masonic power established them, maybe Brazil. There
were Lodges also using Portuguese which had their authority from Brazil. While
in Asuncion I was presented with several documents of interest and to which
reference is now made, viz.: A circular issued November, 1871, by the " Grand
Orient and Supreme Council '' of Paraguay, announcing its own establishment,
and stating that the Grand Orient of Brazil had instituted " Fe " (Faith)
Lodge in Asuncion in May 1869; that in July 1871, a Rose Croix was created
from members of this Lodge. They declared themselves independent and divided
Fe Lodge into four Symbolic Lodges. In Humaita, another Lodge was at work,
said to be irregular; but no explanation given about it, and it was made
regular, or healed as to membership while at Cerrito, another Lodge existed,
presumably regular, but nothing said about how it originated. Three Lodges
were organised out of the one at Humaita which made a total of eight, and
these were formed into the '' Grand Orient and Supreme Council '' of Paraguay.
Another is a printed balustre, dated November 15, 1871, giving the names of
the officers of all the bodies, Grand and Subordinate, which include those of
the eight Lodges mentioned. These papers are signed by Jose Garcia y Picos,
Grand Secretary General, and Joaquin Jose Mondes Sampaio, Grand Chancellor and
Keeper of the Seal. The name of Dr. Juan Adrian Chaves is printed as Sovereign
Grand Commander; also printed is the name of Rev. Padre (Priest) Maestro
Benedicto Conti as Grand Hospitaler. Another document is a written certificate
with a red seal, stating that this priest, a chaplain in the Navy, is a member
of the Supreme Council. There are three patents, or diplomas, of Joaquin Jose
Mendes Samjoaio, one issued by a Lodge under the Grand Orient of Brazil,
stating that he was made a Master Mason in 1865, age of twenty‑two years; the
second stating he was given the 30░,
September 1872. This was issued by the Supreme Council of Paraguay, and signed
M. Juan Adrian Chaves, Grand Master, Sovereign Grand Commander; the third
issued by the Supreme Council to him as receiving the 33░,
dated September 1874, signed the same way; still another document is a printed
one, with a heading of the Grand Master Grand Commander of the Order of
Masonry in Paraguay, and signed officially by Dr. Juan Adrian Chaves. Written
authority is given in a letter to Sampiao by the Grand Commander to confer the
31st, 32nd and 33rd Degrees on Christian Heisicke, January 26, 1895, whose
name appears as Grand Commander in 1896 and 1901 on a typewritten balustre of
officers, for what is designated as the four periods in Para‑ FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA 173 guayan Masonry, 1870‑1874, 1896‑igoi. Another document is a
patent, issued 1874, to a Brother whose name is undecipherable, by the Lodge
Cruz under the obedience of the '' Supreme Council and Grand Orient of
Paraguay." Note that the words '' Supreme Council '' appear in this name
before the words '' Grand Orient.'' In 1887, Aurora del Paraguay Lodge was
established in Asuncion by authority of the Grand Orient of Uruguay. Later the
second one was instituted, named Sol Naciente. Then three Lodges were created,
authority doubtful, maybe un der different authorities, Universo, Libertad and
Frederick the Great, and they formed the Grand Orient against the protest of
Uruguay, which considered them irregular, as they probably were. Sol Naciente
Lodge joined with them voluntarily in this organisation. Afterward, though,
the Grand Orient of Uruguay made them regular and then Fe Lodge united with
them and this is the present Masonic Grand authority of the country. The date
of this action by Uruguay was in 1895 and on January 3, 1896, it declared it
regular with recognition. About 19o6 Sapaena Pastor was Grand Master and Grand
Commander. Anyway, it was during his occupation of that double office he
decreed that the Bible should be removed from the altars and the decree was
generally followed. One Lodge, which works the York Rite Blue Degrees, and
instituted in recent years, requires the Bible on its Altar. In 1923, the name
was officially changed from Grand Orient to Grand Lodge, and the Supreme
Council and Grand Lodge were henceforth to be each sovereign and independent.
This was originally to be the case but was not actually put into effect until
the above date.
The Supreme Council
has 13 Active Members at present and 9 Thirty‑thirds; that is, those who have
received the degree. They have the same standing as our Honorary
Thirty‑thirds, but they are not so designated. Their Honorary Mem bers are
those of other jurisdictions they have elected as Honorary Members, and it is
difficult to explain why we call our own members Honorary. There are only
about loo members in all grades above the fourth. Of course they use the
Scottish Rite in the Blue Lodges, and there are not over 15o altogether in the
6 Blue Lodges, 4 of which are 1n Asuncion. They estimate, however, that there
are some two or three thousand Masons in Paraguay who have been made in these
Lodges from time to time and have dropped out. The field is very limited, and
not a great deal of activity, besides dissensions continually disturb them,
dissensions arising usually over trivialities. This is not so strange, for
very few Paraguayans are Masons and the membership is English, Scotch, Dutch,
German, Boer, Agentine et al, and each wants to follow the customs of Masonry
in the countries they come from. There are a few American Masons in the
country, but as the Grand Lodge is not recognised by any American Grand
Lodges, they do not participate. The Grand Lodge of England is in relation of
amity though, and exchanges Representatives.
An official document
sent out by the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Paraguay, in 1934, contains a
declaration of principles from which the following is taken: The inviolability
of human right in all its forms.
The existence of one
great Creator whom we worship under the name of The Grand Architect of the
Universe. We recognise as the three great lights of I74 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA Masonry, the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square and the Compass,
which must be on the altar when the Grand Lodge and its subordinate lodges are
working.
. . . It prohibits
the discussion in its lodges when at labour, of religious controversy or
militant politics. It combats ignorance in all of its forms. .
It is essentially
philosophical and philanthropic. . . . It works for the amelioration of
humanity morally, intellectually and socially.
La Gran Logia
Simbolica Del Paraguay practices the Scottish Rite Ritual (but) admits under
its obedience Lodges of other Rites regularly recognised.... It is sovereign
and independent of any other Masonic body but holds the power to make pacts
and concordats with other regular Masonic Powers. It reserves to itself
exclusively the prerogative to legislate concerning Symbolic Masonry in all of
the territory of the republic of Paraguay as the sole Symbolic Masonic Power
concerning the usages, customs and ceremonies transmitted since antiquity
concerning the Landmarks called Ancient Landmarks of the Fraternity proclaimed
and recognised by Freemasonry.
URUGUAY Masonry‑if we
may credit Dr. Mackey‑was introduced into this Republic in .1827 by the Grand
Orient of France, which in that year chartered a Lodge called the Children of
the New World. But there is no trace of any such Lodge in the French Masonic
Calendars and it is important to recollect that the independence of Uruguay,
or, as it was formerly called, Banda Oriental, " Eastern Side," as a Republic,
was only definitely established by a treaty dated August 27, .1828. The
country prides itself on possessing one of the finest political constitutions
in South America. It sounds, therefore, almost like irony to be obliged to add
that this Republic has been cursed with more frequent revolutions than any
other in the New World. In one respect, however, Uruguay is decidedly in
advance of the Indian Republic oÇ Paraguay. It has a large, well‑built and
pleasant capital, Monte Video, of which one‑third of the residents are
foreigners. A LodgeNo. 2.17, Asilio de la Virtud‑was chartered in this city by
the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, February 6, .1832. After this the Masonic
history of Uruguay is a complete blank until the year .184.1, in which year,
also at Monte Video, Les Amis de la Patrie‑ultimately a Lodge, Chapter,
Areopagus and Consistorywas established by the Grand Orient of France. Further
Lodges are said to have been erected under Warrants from Brazil, but of these
no exact record is forthcoming. The next event of any importance occurred in
.185 5, when authority was obtained from one of the then existing Grand
Orients at Rio de Janeiro to establish a governing Masonic body and the
Supreme Council and Grand Orient of Uruguay were formally constituted at Monte
Video.
Besides Les Amis de
la Patrie, under the Grand Orient of France, which still exists, foreign
jurisdictions are represented at Monte Video by the following Lodges‑England,
No. 876, Acacia, .186.1 and No. 3389, Silver River, .1 gocg ; Spain (Becerra's
Grand Lodge), No. 28.1, Paz y Esperanza ; and Italy, I. Figh Dell' FREEMASONRY
IN SOUTH AMERICA 175 Unit! Italiana and I. Liberi Pensatori. A Lodge, Avenir
et Progres, No. 18z, was formed‑also at the capital‑under the Supreme Council
of France in 1865, but is now extinct.
In 1927, Sir Alfred
Robbins, President of the Board of General Purposes, went as a Deputation to
South America from the United Grand Lodge of England, when he succeeded in
effecting an agreement between the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand
Orient of Uruguay. After the foundation of the Silver River Lodge in i gocg it
was found that the Grand Orient was unable to accord official recognition to
the Lodge, although there was constant inter‑visitation but, as the result of
the visit of Sir Alfred Robbins, all difficulties were overcome.
Masonry, by the end
of 1856 seemed to be well established and regularly so, and ready for work. It
was not long in coming, true Masonic work outside of natural and routine Lodge
business. The following year, 1857, a terrible epi demic of yellow fever swept
the country. Masons volunteered, nursed, doctored and buried the dead,
hundreds losing their own lives in the sacrificial work. Again, in 1873, the
dread disease ravished the country and the Lodges again sent forth their
members to perform their merciful mission. Then, in 1887, the cholera appeared
and, Moloch‑like, claimed its victims, yet again the Masons were in the
forefront of relief. After Argentine had suffered from war's devastations,
Bro. Paullier was sent with a sum of money and other necessaries as aid to
those stricken people. After the disaster at Carnation in Paraguay, the Masons
of Uruguay lent aid and assistance to their fullest abilities. On other
occasions, help was given Brazilian immigrants in 1894, a revolution in
Quebracho, the grippe epidemic, and always the Mason of Uruguay has kept the
faith. He can be credited with other altruistic work. An Orphans' Home for
boys was reported by Bro. Goodall, of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U. S.
A., in 1856 when he visited here, which Home had Zso boys it was rearing and
educating; the celebrated Escuela Filantropica (Philanthropic School) which
may be the one Goodall wrote about, from which graduated many who afterwards
became prominent in their country; other schools, some claim as many as four,
and continued for sixteen years when the government adopted compulsory
education laws.
RESPONSIBLE FOR
MASONRY'S GROWTH The Masonic powers in Uruguay are largely responsible for
introducing Masonry into Argentina and Paraguay, which has resulted in the
spread of our Institution, a thing always desirable.
In General Pike's
day, the National Grand Orient of Uruguay appeared on the scene but from where
it is long since dead. The Grand Orient of Italy established some Lodges from
time to time, one of which it named Garibaldi, in 1879, but, receiving no
recognition, applied in 1881 to the Grand Orient of Uruguay to be made
regular, and was admitted to its fold and is now a very strong Lodge with a
large Italian membership. In 1888, another Lodge was Instituted by Italy and
it later withdrew and joined Uruguay, since which the Italian Grand 176
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA Orient seems to have behaved itself, at least it
has no Lodges in Uruguay now. Lastly, there was founded in 182‑7 a Lodge, Les
Enfants du Nouveau Mond, by French immigrants, under authority of the " Grand
Orient of the Rio Grande," irregular itself. In 1842 it changed its name to
Les Amis de la Patrie and the Grand Orient of France gave it a Charter in
1844. It is claimed by some that Garibaldi was a member of this Lodge. Until
1867, the Grand Orient of France was generally recognised in the Masonic World
as regular, but in that year it removed the Volume of the Sacred Law from its
Altars, and, of course, ceased to be regular Masonry. This Lodge claims
continuous existence sipce its reorganisation in 1844, but other information
(not proven) is that it ceased to exist for quite a period along in the So's
or 6o's. Be that as it may, the fact remains that it acknowledges allegiance
now to the Grand Orient of France and hence is outside the pale. Neither the
Grand Orient of Uruguay nor the English Lodges in Montevideo have aught to do
with it.
The Fraternal
Correspondence Report of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina for 1933 contains
the following: We are in receipt of a bulletin in Spanish setting forth the
separation of the Grand Orient of Uruguay from the Supreme Council of the
Scottish Rite of the Country, a condensed translation of which is as follows
TREATY OF PEACE AND ALLIANCE Consummated Between the Supreme Council and the
Grand Orient of Uruguay, August 24, 1931 The Supreme Council of Inspectors
General 33░
of the Scottish Rite of Uruguay and the Grand Orient of Uruguay (Grand Lodge)
in accordance with an agreement of June 2, 1931, have assembled to work out an
agreement of Peace and Alliance and to establish clearly and definitely the
status of each of the contracting parties and the relations between them, as
complete independence of symbolism, and unalterable and sincere friendship.
I. The contracting
parties establish a treaty of friendship perpetually between the Supreme
Council of the Inspectors General of the Scottish Rite of the Oriental
Republic of Uruguay and the Grand Orient of Uruguay (Grand Lodge).
2. The Supreme
Council recognises as an independent and sovereign organisation legally
Constituted in accordance with the Symbolism, in the said jurisdiction, the
Grand Orient of Uruguay (Grand Lodge).
3. The Grand Orient
of Uruguay (Grand Lodge) sole proprietor of symbolic degrees in this
jurisdiction, recognises the Supreme Council referred to as a free and
complete governing body, sovereign and independent, occupying the territory of
the national government, to govern the Masons of the degrees from the fourth
through the thirty‑second.
4. Both Bodies pledge
mutually to use in behalf of each other co‑operation both in perpetuity and to
the greatest extent possible.
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH
AMERICA 177 6. The Grand Orient of Uruguay (Grand Lodge) for itself declares
a. That in its capacity as an exclusive governing body, independent and
sovereign, for the government of the symbolic work, in the jurisdiction of the
Oriental Republic of Uruguay, it divides authority with no other Masonic body.
b. That it requires
secrecy in its ritualistic work.
c. That it practices
and will require the symbolism of the division of Masonry into three degrees,
viz., Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason.
d. That its work is
to accomplish greater fraternity, respecting tolerance, benevolence and
charity.
e That it controls
symbolic masonry in the jurisdiction of the Republic and does not pretend to
extend its acts to any other territory occupied by any other regular Grand
Orient or Grand Lodge.
f. That its members
acknowledge belief in one God, Grand Architect of the Universe.
That it accepts the
ancient landmarks of the Masonic Order. . That only men of legal age are
accepted in its lodges.
i. That political and
religious discussions are prohibited in the lodges.
7. The High Powers
contracting, obligate themselves to communicate to each other officially the
amendments to laws, initiations, raises or decreases of salaries, suspensions,
and other details of importance, which come to pass in their respective
jurisdictions.
BRAZIL The earliest
record of the Craft in Brazil dates back to I8zo and has reference to a Lodge
at Rio de Janeiro, in the then kingdom of Brazil, which is claimed to have
been established under a French Warrant in 1815, but of which there is no
proof. In 18zi this Lodge was split up into three units, apparently for the
purpose of founding the first Grand Orient of Brazil. Under this body the
modern French Rite of seven Degrees, already in use, was continued and this,
taken in conjunction with the parentage, real or assumed, of the original
Lodge, secured speedy recognition from the Grand Orient of France. In the same
year, Dom Pedro, the Regent, afterwards Emperor, of Brazil, was initiated in
one of the Lodges, but in which particular Lodge is not recorded. He was,
however, proclaimed Grand Master almost immediately and very shortly exercised
his authority as Regent and Grand Master to close all Masonic Lodges on the
ground that they were really political concerns.
On November 17, I8
23, Loge Le Boucher de 1'Honneur Franrgaise was founded at Rio de Janeiro
under the authority of the Grand Orient of France, but this met with no better
fate than its forerunners, because it was ordered to cease work almost
immediately and, indeed, all Lodges were in suspended animation until 1831,
when the Emperor Dom Pedro left for Europe. The abdication of this monarch led
to the establishment of the Grand Brazilian Orient and, at once, the original
Grand Orient of Brazil was revived under its first Grand Master, Jose
Bonefacio de 178 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA Andrada e Silva. Both worked the
modern French Rite, but they were of opposite tendencies and political aims,
the elder being despotic and the younger democratic, with the result that each
anathematized and hurled defiance at the other.
In 1832 Montezuma,
Viscount Jequitinhonha, who had served as Ambassador at several European
Courts, returned to Brazil with authority from the Supreme Council of Belgium
to establish a branch of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. In November of that
year he set up a Supreme Council of Brazil. This, however, put the two Grand
Orients on their mettle; and each erected a Supreme Council and began to issue
Warrants for Chapters and Consistories. Further dissensions occurred and, by
1835, there were in activity two Grand Orients and four Supreme Councils.
The situation was not
helped by the fact that, in December 1834, an Englishspeaking Lodge‑the
Orphan, 616‑had been founded in Rio de Janeiro, under Warrant from the United
Grand Lodge of England (it ceased working in 1842 and was erased from the
register in September 1862), while the peace of the Craft was further harassed
by political disturbances in Pari, the last Brazilian Province to declare its
independence of the mother country and acknowledge the authority of the first
Emperor. According to H. W. Bates (The Naturalist on the River Amazon, 1863),
the native party in Pari was much enraged with the Portuguese and the former,
in an evil hour, called to their aid the ignorant and fanatic mongrel and
Indian population; and he adds (op. cit., p. 39) : " The cry of death to the
Portuguese was soon changed to that of death to the Freemasons, then a
powerfully organized society, embracing the greater part of the male white
inhabitants." In 1834, Viscount Albuquerque succeeded Andrada e Silva as Grand
Master of the Grand Orient of Brazil (No. i), holding the office until 1850,
when he was succeeded by the Marquis d'Abrantes. On July 6, 1841, the second
English speaking Lodge‑St. John's, No. 703‑was founded in Rio de Janeiro. This
also was erased on September 3, 1862. In 1842, the Grand Brazilian Orient (No.
2) rejected the modern French Rite and transferred its allegiance to the
Ancient and Accepted Rite and a union was thus effected between the Grand
Brazilian Orient and the second Supreme Council, thus reducing the number of
Masonic organizations in Brazil to three, viz. two Grand Orients, each with a
Supreme Council and the original Supreme Council under Montezuma.
On December 26, 1847
(see History of Craft Masonry in Bra.Zil, Peter Swanson, ig28), the Grand
Orient issued orders to Lodge Commercio to expel the English Lodge working
there " contrary to the stipulations of Article 22 of the Constitutions." In
the following year the Grand Orient followed this up by issuing a circular to
all Lodges within its jurisdiction " prohibiting any of their members from
visiting the English Lodge referred to, which had been illegally installed in
the Orient of this Capital, under the auspices of a foreign Masonic Power."
Further, they were prohibited from receiving any members of the English Lodge
as visitors or joining members and ordered to expel immediately any who might
have become affiliated to the Brazilian Lodges. This may account for the fact
that there are no records of FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 179 St. John's Lodge
after 1849, up to which time it had, apparently, been in a very healthy
condition, but Swanson thinks it not impossible that the members found the
opposition of the Grand Orient too much and gave up the struggle.
On April 25, 1856,
the third English‑speaking Lodge‑Southern Cross, No. 970 (afterwards No.
672)‑was established at Pernambuco. The last returns of this unit were sent to
Grand Lodge in 1871 and it was erased in 1894.
On September 30,
186o, Grand Orient, No. 2 and Supreme Council, No. 1, were dissolved and
suppressed by Imperial decree, leaving the older Grand Orient in possession of
the field. In that year, according to the llorld Fide Register, there were 13o
Lodges in Brazilian territory. Peace, however, was destined to be in
possession of the land for but a short time, as, in 1863, the Grand Orient
experienced another split into two sections, each becoming known by the name
of the street in which it assembled. One, the Grand Orient of Lavradio Valley,
chose Baron Cayru as Grand Master. He was succeeded, in 1865, by Dr. Joachim
Marcellino de Brito and, in 187o, by the Visconde do Rio Branco. The second,
the Grand Orient of Benedictine Valley, elected Dr. Joachim Saldanha Marinho
as Grand Master.
In 1872 the schism
was apparently healed by the amicable fusion of the two Grand Orients but,
within a year, dissensions again broke out with undiminished virulence, each
of the two opponents once more seeking recognition as the legitimate Grand
Orient of Brazil.
The Lavradios were
again arrayed under the standard of Rio Branco, Prime Minister of the Empire;
whilst the Benedictinos renewed their fealty to Saldanha Marinho, a former
Minister of State and the head of the Liberal party. The various Lodges
throughout the country once more divided their allegiance, some adhering to
the Lavradio faction, but the larger number enrolling themselves on the side
of the Benedictinos.
The discord passed
through sundry phases. In the first instance, to go back beyond the temporary
fusion of 1872, the two Grand Orients reflected pretty accurately the
prevailing opinions of the rival parties in the State. In course of time it
became a recognized fact that the Lavradios were supporters of the clerical
authority, whilst the Benedictinos, on the other hand, everywhere denounced
the evils of priestcraft and Ultramontanism. At this period the clergy entered
fully into the fray. On one party they bestowed high praise; on the other they
lavished terms of opprobrium. The Lavradios, however, under the benignant rule
of Rio Branco, gradually grew less bigoted and illiberal in their ideas and,
in 1873, twenty three of their Lodges went over to the enemy. This example was
quickly followed by fifteen others. It is probable that the secession just
referred to was also in some measure the result of proceedings which it
becomes the next task to relate. The Jesuits, driven from most of the European
countries, selected Brazil as a field for their enterprise. For a long time
the Church and the Freemasons had lived in peace and the population of
Pernambuco was always recognized as the type of Christian piety. But the
Bishop of that diocese‑a young monk, aged twenty‑three ‑at the bidding of the
Jesuits, attempted to enforce the Papal Bull against the Free‑ 180 FREEMASONRY
IN SOUTH AMERICA masons. The prelate had counted on the support of the people,
but his high handed measures turned the tide of popular feeling. The Bishop
was mobbed in his own palace and the military had to be called in to protect
him.
Eventually the
Government interfered and the Bishop, disdaining to avail himself of the locus
pcenitentiT which had been devised for him, was sentenced to four years'
imprisonment. The Archbishop of Bahia and the Bishops of Olinda, Pari, Rio de
Janeiro, Dramantina and Marianna are also said‑in violation of the orders of
their Government‑to have hurled their anathemas against the Craft.
The fickle populace
then turned once more against the Freemasons, who suffered much at the hands
of the mob, were refused the sacraments of the Church and burial for their
dead in consecrated ground, by the clergy. The Benedictinos, nevertheless,
held their own and especially distinguished themselves in the spread of
liberal ideas. Among the measures they energetically supported were acts for
the abolition of slavery and for the foundation of public libraries.
Instructive lectures, moreover, were delivered from time to time by members of
this party. Meanwhile the Lavradios had gradually shaken off the yoke of their
clerical allies, by whom they were ultimately regarded with the same aversion
as their rivals and, in 1877, there were attempts at a fusion. At this time
the Benedictinos under Saldanha Marinho numbered z16 and the Lavradios, under
Rio Branco, 56 Lodges.
In 1874, on November
io, Washington Lodge was founded under a Warrant from the Grand Orient of
Brazil, deriving its name from the fact that it was composed almost entirely
of American Brethren. It held its meetings at Santa Barbara in the State of
Sao Paulo. The following interesting account of its formation is given by
Peter Swanson (op. cit., pp. 8‑9) It is a historical fact that a considerable
exodus of Southerners followed the civil war in the United States of America
and many of them sought a new home in South America. It so happened that the
State of Sao Paulo was chosen by a number of them and, in due course, Santa
Barbara became the home of quite a few families. Amongst these immigrants was
William Hutchinson Norris, better known as Colonel Norris, who was 65 years of
age when he arrived in Brazil and was accompanied by his son, Dr. Robert
Cicero Norris. Colonel Norris became a Mason early in life and, in his native
country, had attained the high distinction of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge
of Alabama. As far as is known his portrait still hangs in the Masonic Hall in
Montgomery, Alabama. His son, Robert, was also a Mason, having been initiated
in the Fulton Lodge, Dallas, U.S.A., in 1858, his father being, at the time,
Master of the Lodge. Dr. Robert served with distinction for four years in the
Civil War, during which time he was wounded on various occasions and was
finally taken prisoner and interned in Fort Delaware.
It was to men such as
these that the Washington Lodge owed its being and, needless to say, Colonel
Norris was its first Master. His son, Robert, who, later on, followed him in
the Chair, practised medicine in this country until shortly before his death
in 1913 and, although the Washington Lodge years ago disappeared from the
Grand Orient register, it is pleasing to note that we number the third
generation of the family amongst our members. Dr. Robert's son, Thomas John
Norris, FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 181 was received into Masonry in Eureka
Lodge, No. 3, a few months ago and it is to him our thanks are due for this
interesting information.
On January 18, 1883,
a union between the two Grand Orients was consummated and Francisco Jose
Cardoso was proclaimed Grand Master and Sovereign Grand Commander of the now
sole Grand Orient of Brazil, which recognized three Rites‑the Ancient and
Accepted of thirty‑three Degrees ; the modern French Rite, with seven Degrees;
and the Adonhiramite Rite. Each was governed by a Chamber of the Grand Orient,
which Chamber was styled a Grand Lodge. In that year there were 139 Lodges, 48
of which met in Rio de Janeiro and 91 in the Provinces.
Other difficulties
and troubles, however, occurred until the formation of the Grand Council in
1915, though the present oldest Lodge in Brazil, Eureka, No. 3, dates back to
December 22, 1891, when it was granted a Warrant by the Grand Orient of
Brazil. The members were given full liberty of action in following the
standards set up by the Grand Lodge of England and to work the Emulation
Ritual, but they were to be governed by the Constitutions of the Grand Orient.
This naturally led to difficulties and, in 1902, the members of Eureka Lodge
submitted their case to the Assemblea Geral, the legislative body of the Grand
Orient. In December of that year that body gave its decision, which was that
wherever the Lodge found that the practice of the Ritual in its purest form
conflicted with the Constitutions, the members were to be guided by the Ritual
and not by the Constitutions. But, says Swanson (op. Cit., p. 12) As time went
on, however, in the body of the Grand Orient, discussions arose on political
and religious matters and culminated in a Masonic Congress held in agog, at
which several themes of a rather revolutionary character were submitted.
It will be sufficient
to mention here that Brazilian Masonry proposed to take the lead in an
International Congress for the unification of all Masonic Rites. They further
proposed to deal drastically with religious bodies and with social problems on
highly revolutionary lines. But the thesis which caused the English‑speaking
Brethren very serious alarm was the submission that " the actual historical
moment exacts the simplification of the rituals, by which means the principle
of the broadest tolerance will dominate in the interior of all temples,
embracing in the bosom of Masonry, Deists and Atheists, the sectarians of any
religion and Freethinkers.
It was not until
1912, however, that a Deputation from the Grand Lodge of England, consisting
of Lord Athlumney, Past Grand Warden; P. Tindal‑Robertson ; H. Passmore
Edwards, Past Grand Deacon; J. J. Keevil ; and F. H. Chevallier Boutell, then
District Grand Master for the Argentine, visited Brazil " to negotiate some
arrangement which would meet the conscientious scruples of English Brethren
and establish new relations with the Grand Orient, consistent with the
fundamental principles of English Freemasonry." The outcome of the
negotiations was the formation of a Grand Council (Capitulo) of the York Rite
with a Warrant of Sovereignty under the Grand Orient of 182‑ FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA Brazil. This Grand Council was to become the supreme authority
in matters of principle for all the Lodges of the York Rite then existing in
Brazil or which should be created in future. The result of this treaty was to
" secure independence for the Lodges in Brazil composed of British subjects
and ensure the regularity of their working in conformity with the principles
of English Masonry." (Quoted from the Report of the Board of General Purposes,
presented to the Grand Lodge of England, June 4, 1913.) In 1927, Sir Alfred
Robbins, President of the Board of General Purposes, went out to South America
as a Deputation from the Grand Lodge of England and, in his report to the
Grand Lodge, he said There is one point which is specially a matter for
consideration by the United Grand Lodge of England and that is the
relationship of Brethren initiated in or joining Lodges which acknowledge
suzerainty to a Sovereign jurisdiction other than that of our own Grand Lodge.
As far as that Grand Lodge is concerned, Brethren belonging to Lodges working
under the sanction of the Grand Council of Craft Masonry in Brazil have been
regarded as having the same rights of entrance to Lodges under this
jurisdiction as if they had originally sprung from it. . . .
New Warrants for
English‑working Lodges are granted only on the recommendation of this Grand
Council; and it is especially provided that a belief in T.G.A.O.T.U. as a
fundamental principle of the Order shall be a necessary condition to
membership of, or visitation in, any Craft Lodge in Brazil. The position thus.
created is without exact parallel in any other part of the English
jurisdiction, though one similar can be contemplated as a result of the spread
of English‑speaking Masonry in Chili. Plainly the situation is one of some
delicacy and much tact and discretion are required on both hands for its
satisfactory working; but I am glad to be able to record the information given
me that, during the fourteen years of the existence of the 1912 Agreement, no
serious difficulty has arisen, while the most friendly sentiments towards
English Freemasonry have been expressed, as before shown, by the present
rulers of the Grand Orient of Brazil.
It should be stated
that new Warrants for English‑working Lodges are granted only by the Grand
Council, whose standing, therefore, as the Governing Body of Craft Masonry in
Brazil is quite clear. The Grand Masters of the Grand Council since its
formation have been H. L. Wheatley, Past Grand Deacon of England (1915‑16) ;
Antonio Luiz dos Santos (1916‑21) ; H. A. Livings (1921‑4) ; Victor N. Tatam
(1924‑7) ; and H. J. Hands, since 1927.
On March 28, 1925,
the Brazil Craft Masters' Lodge, No. 15, was consecrated and its Warrant
provides for meetings to be held at any place where there exists a Lodge
working under the Grand Council. The first Master was R. A. Brooking, Past
Grand Deacon of England, who was Master of the Eureka Lodge in.1905‑6. The
Masonic organisation, or organisations, of Brazil, will be found to be unlike
all others in the world, so far as we have information. The Brazilian system
is completely mystifying to the casual reader, or even to the‑ student not in
possession of facts which it is not at all easy to obtain. This fact accounts
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 183 for some of the unwillingness found at the
present time to recognise Brazilian Masonry as legitimate and regular. This
writer confesses that he was for a long time misled by it. It is therefore
thought that a serious attempt to set these matters straight will not be
improperly set forth. It is significant that we find that this Grand Orient is
recognised by the mother United Grand Lodge of England; by Massachusetts; by
Louisiana; by Alabama; by California; by the Grand Lodge of Ireland; and by a
considerable number of other Grand Lodges in the United States or in other
lands, which it is not possible to list here. Since the Grand Lodge of England
sent personal representatives to Brazil twice, and since the standards of
recognition of Massachusetts and of North Carolina, for example, are almost
identical, the question of the regularity of the Masonry of Brazil should have
our careful attention.
We have before us a
translation into perfect English, of the article printed in the Anuario of the
Grand Orient of Brazil for 1915, bearing the title, " The Organisation of
Brazilian Masonry.'' In this document, it is stated that whereas the usual
form of Masonic organisation is either the Supreme Council, the Grand Orient
or.' the Grand Lodge, that of Brazil is a " mixed corporation." In forming
this '' mixed corporation," the scattered Lodges then existing in Brazil were
in 1882 merged into the present organisation. There were in existence then, as
there now are in the " mixed corporation," Lodges practising the Scottish
Rite, the Modern Rite (sometimes called the French Rite), the Adonhiramite
Rite and the York Rite. As regards their Ritual, or liturgically, as they tell
us, each of these groups of Lodges of Masonic Bodies derives its Work from the
governing authority of the particular rite. As to the government of the Grand
Orient there is no outside control.
It will be borne in
mind in this connection that the Grand Lodge of Louisiana has certain Lodges
which use the Scottish Rite Ritual, but we do not refuse to recognise
Louisiana on this account. In Alberta, we believe, there are three different
Rituals in use, but this fact does not make this Grand Lodge unfit to be
recognised. The same condition is found in many Grand Lodges.
Let us next examine
the administration of Masonry in the Grand Orient of Brazil. The centre of its
work is the Council General of the Order. It consists of the Grand Officers
and the Standing Committees. This Council General under their constitution is
a part of the " Assemblea Geral," or General Assembly, which consists of the
members of the Council General, just referred to; and in addition, the
Representatives of the Lodges at, and of those away from, the seat of power;
and the Representatives of each of the Grand Bodies which are heads of the
Modern, Scottish, Adonhiramite and York Rites. This General Assembly therefore
corresponds in a more or less rough way with the Grand Lodge as we know it;
and its meetings coincide more or less with the Communications of the Grand
Lodges. In addition, there is a sort of Committee on Appeals, Grievances,
jurisprudence and the like, which is called the Supreme Tribunal of justice,
and 184 FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA which consists of fifteen judges. The
term of office of these judges is three years. Five are elected each year by
the General Assembly.
This is the
legislative and judicial organisation of Brazilian Masonry, as well as its
Ritualistic origin and authority. It may be said that the Grand Master is also
the Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, and the Grand Secretary is also
the Secretary‑General of the Supreme Council. There is also interlocking with
the " Modern " and Adonhiramite Rites. In the Boletims which come to us quite
frequently, there is always first space devoted to the Grand Orient and to the
official doings of the Grand Master. This Boletim is published bimonthly, and
decribes itself as " the official organ of Brazilian Masonry "‑of all sorts.
Therefore, following the pages for the Grand Orient and its Grand Master,
there are other pages used by the Council‑General of the Order; then other
sections used by the Supreme Tribunal of justice; and the scene changes and we
find others used by the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, the Grand
Chapter of the Noachites (Adonhiramite Rite); the Grand Chapter of the York
Rite; and of the Grand Chapter of the Modern Rite (the French Rite). The
inside back cover lists the Rituals of three Degrees of each of the four Rites
as for sale by the Grand Secretary‑General; he seems to be indifferent about
which he sells.
The latest figures
which we can get indicate that there are some Zo,ooo members of about 33o
Lodges. Seven of these Lodges are of the York Rite, 32 Lodges are of the
Modern or French Rite; 14 are of the Adonhiramite or Noachite Rite; 274 are of
the Scottish Rite; and 3 are of the Schroeder Rite, which has not been
referred to above. It was invented by a German named Friedrich Joseph William
Schroeder, and consists of seven Degrees, terminating with the Rose Croix. In
all cases the Lodges confer the three Symbolic Degrees.
A circular sent out
from one of the Brazilian Grand Lodges gives the names of the new Grand Lodges
formed in 192.7 and later: Grand Lodge of Para P. O. Box 455. Belem do
Para‑Para Grand Lodge of Ceara Rua Bara`o do Rio Branco, 2‑1o Sob. Fortaleza
Ceari Grand Lodge of Pernambuco Recife, Pernambuco P. 0. Box 2‑97 Grand Lodge
of Bahia Rua Carlos Gomes 21 S. Salvador‑Bahia Grand Lodge of Rio de Janeiro
Rua do Carmo 61‑1░
Rio de Janeiro Grand Lodge Minas Gereas P. O. Box 127, Bello Horizonte‑Minas
Gereas Grand Lodge of Paraiba P. O. Box 3 Paraiba, Brazil Grand Lodge of Sao
Paulo Rua da Tabatinguera 37A Sao Paulo Grand Lodge of Rio Grande do Sul P. O.
Box 263 Pelotas‑Rio Grande do Sul Grand Orient of Amazonas e Acre P. O. Box
362‑Mangos‑Amazonas All these Bodies of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons
defend the autonomy of the Symbolic Masonry and are sovereign in the
jurisdiction of each territory.
The following
Symbolic sovereign Bodies act in Brazil separated from the Grand Orient of
Brazil: FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 185 Grand Orient of Amazonas with 2‑4
Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of Para with 7 Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of
Ceara with S Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of Parahyba with 8 Symbolic Lodges
Grand Lodge of Pernambuco with 7 Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of Bahia with 21
Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of Rio de Janeiro with 13 Symbolic Lodges Grand
Lodge of Sa"o Paulo with 27 Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of Rio Grande do Sul
with 13 Symbolic Lodges Grand Lodge of Minas Gereas with II Symbolic Lodges
The Grand Lodge of Matto Grosso is in formation, it has 4 adepts Lodges.
Nine‑tenths of the
Lodges which formed the Brazilian Grand Lodges already enumerated belonged to
the Grand Orient of Brazil and when the separation of the Supreme Council took
place they decided to separate freely and adopted the organisation of
decentralisation, as per the Symbolic Universal Masonry.
Practically all of
the new Grand Lodges formed in 1927 adopted substantially the same standards
quoted as those of the Grand Lodges of Rio de Janeiro It is an independent,
responsible and self‑governing organisation, with undisputed and exclusive
dogmatic and administrative authority over the Symbolic Lodges within its
jurisdiction. It is not, in any sense whatever, subject to, or dividing its
authority with any other Body claiming Ritualistic or other supervision or
control.
It makes Masons of
men only.
It considers
necessary and indispensable to admission of any Lodge under its jurisdiction:
a. The belief in God, styled T.‑. G.‑. A.% O.'. T.‑. U.‑. b. Secrecy.
c. The symbolism of
operative Masonry.
d. The division of
Symbolic Masonry into the Three Degrees, universally adopted by all regular
Grand Bodies:‑E. A., F. C. and M. M.
e. The legend of
Third Degree (H. A.).
Its dominant purposes
are‑Charitable, Benevolent, Educational and for the worship of God; and
forbids expressly controversial politics and sectarian religion from all
activities under its auspices.
g. The Sacred Book of
Divine law, chief among the Three Great Emblematic Lights of Masonry, must
indispensably be present and open in the Lodges under its jurisdiction, while
at Work.
It occupies
exclusively its territorial jurisdiction and does not presume to extend its
authority into, or to establish Lodges in a territory occupied by another
lawfully constituted Grand Lodge.
f.
186 FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA BRITISH GUIANA Two Lodges are known to have been in existence at
the capital, Georgetown, in the eighteenth century. The first, St. Jean de la
Reunion, was established by the Grand Lodge of Holland, in 1771 ; the second,
No. 887, on the register of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, apparently very
shortly after the cession of a portion of Guiana, now forming the British
colony of that name, in 1796. Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry, published in
1869, gives 178o as the year of the foundation of the first Lodge in this
colony. The " Three Rivers," viz. Essequebo, Demerara and Berbice, were then
in the possession of the Dutch, but there were in Essequebo, at any rate, a
considerable number of British settlers, who had been attracted thereto by the
inducements offered under Gravesande's administration. In 1740, Essequebo had
been opened to all nations ; free lands, with ten years' exemption from head
taxes, being offered to everyone who took up new plantations. Among the new
colonists who arrived from England, Barbados, Antigua and other places,
attracted by these inducements, were some enthusiastic Freemasons, who are
said to have obtained a Charter for a Lodge from the Grand Lodge of England,
of which, however, there is no mention in Lane's Masonic Records. Where the
Lodge was originally held is difficult to say, but, probably, it was held at
Fort Island, at that time the seat of administration, most of the settlers
being then at Essequebo. The Three Rivers were captured, in 1781, by the
British, who, in their short occupation of ten months' duration, chose as a
site for the new capital the land near the mouth of the Demerara River, on
which the city of Georgetown stands. The town was laid out by their
successors, the French, who captured the Three Rivers in 178z. The Dutch, who
resumed possession in 1784, called the town Stabroek, which became Georgetown
in 181 z ; and the colonies were finally transferred to Great Britain at the
peace of 1814‑15, just about the time when the union of the two Grand Lodges
in England took place.
There are no Masonic
records of Freemasonry in these parts prior to 1813 and from 178o to 1813 the
colonies were in a very unsettled condition. It is known, however, that, in
1799, a Dutch Lodge, bearing the somewhat singular name of Calum non Mutat
Gesus, was formed at Berbice and that, in 18oi, the Lodge of the Chosen
Friends of Demerara was established by the Grand Lodge of New York. This
last‑named merged, apparently, into the Union Lodge, now No. 247, under the
Grand Lodge of England, for that Lodge was, until 1goi, when they were stolen,
in possession of some old Masonic jewels marked " Chosen Friends, Demerara."
Union Lodge was warranted by the Grand Lodge 'of England on July z8, 18 13
and, three years later, its own Masonic Hall was dedicated. It was the very
last Lodge to be warranted by the Antient or Atholl Grand Lodge and it is
claimed as the first definitely English Lodge constituted at Georgetown. About
fifty years ago the Grand Lodge of Canada was invited to found a rival to it
but, in loyalty to the Mother Grand Lodge, refused. Further Lodges were
founded under the United FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 187 Grand Lodge of
England: Mount Olive, No. 385, in 18 z7; Ituni, No. z64z, at New Amsterdam, in
1896; Silent Temple, No. 3 2 5 4, in 1907; Concord, No. 3 5 08, in 1911; and
Roraima, No. 39oz, in 1918. Others have also been founded but have ceased to
exist. In 1899, the District of British Guiana was formed under the Grand
Lodge of England by three Lodges, Union, Mount Olive and Ituni, when
LieutenantColonel Thomas Daly was appointed the first District Grand Master.
He was succeeded in 1903 by the Hon. Sir Joseph E. Godfrey, M.B., who ruled
over the Province until 1915, when William Heather Parratt was appointed. In
19z5, the present District Grand Master, Sir Alfred Parker Sherlock, was
appointed.
DUTCH GUIANA, Or
SURINAM In the Freemasons' Calendar, 1776, a list is given of the Lodges in
Holland and the Dutch colonies. Among these are La Vertieuse, 1769 and La
Fidele Sincerite, 1771, at Batavia ; Concordia, 1762, La Zelee, 1767 and Le
Croissant des Trois Clefs, 1768, at Surinam. Apparently the same Lodges,
though with slightly varied dates of formation and, in a solitary instance, a
change of name, are also shown in the edition of the same publication for
1778. Other Lodges in Guiana, of which there is no complete record, have
doubtless lived their span and died.
FRENCH GUIANA, or
CAYENNE Three Lodges in all appear to have been constituted at Cayenne, the
capital of the colony, which is now scarcely anything more than a penal
settlement of the French Government. The first, L'Anglaise, was established in
1755 by the Mother Lodge of the same name‑No. zoo‑at Bordeaux; the second, La
Parfaite Union, in 18zg, by the Grand Orient of France; and the third, La
France Equinoxiale, in 1844, by the Supreme Council 33' of the same country.
CHILE Exactly when
Freemasonry was established in Chile cannot definitely be ascertained. The
earliest Lodge in the Republic of which there is any record, L'Etoile du
Pacifique, was founded under the Grand Orient of France on September '12,
1851, but 1840 is claimed as the date of the foundation of an older Lodge. In
I85z the Pacific Lodge was founded under a dispensation from the Grand Master
of California, but it had a brief existence of one year. Then came Loge
L'Union Fraternelle, under the Grand Orient of France, established at
Valparaiso, in 1854. The fourth Lodge, Aurora de Chile, is said to have been
established under the same sanction at Concepcion and, subsequently, to have
taken the name of Fraternidad, but it cannot be traced in the French
Calendars. The fifth, Estrella del Sur, which also met at Concepcion, was
chartered by the Grand Orient of Peru, but the Warrant was returned in 1860.
The next three
Lodges‑Bethesda, Southern Cross and Hiram of Copiapoderived their origin from
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, the first in 18 5 3, the 188 FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA last two in 1858. Bethesda and Southern Cross met at the capital
and Hiram at Copiapo at first, afterwards at Caldera. Bethesda Lodge
continued, but Southern Cross and Hiram became defunct, the first in 186o, the
second in i88o.
In 1861, a member of
the Ancient and Accepted Rite from Lima, Peru, established, on his own
authority, a Lodge called Orden y Libertad, in Copiapo. This body at once sent
out circulars to the other Lodges in Chile asking for recognition.
This they declined to
accord, basing their refusal on the ground that the founder of their Lodge
belonged to an irregular and spurious Supreme Council; had been expelled from
the Supreme Council of Peru; and that it was not within the power, even of a
regular Inspector‑General of the Ancient and Accepted Rite to establish a
Lodge on his own authority, without the sanction of a Supreme Council of the
Rite.
In April 1862‑, the
news that Marshal Magnan had been appointed Grand Master of the Grand Orient
by the Emperor, Napoleon III, reached Chile, when, immediately Lodges L'Union,
Fraternelle, Valparaiso and Fraternidad, at Concep tion, returned their
Charters and were formally erased from the register of the Grand Orient of
France by decree dated November 1o, 1863. The reason for this action was that
Marshal Magnan was not a Freemason‑he had never been initiated. The members of
the Chilean Lodges met in Valparaiso on May 24, 1862‑ and passed the following
resolutions Not to acknowledge the authority of Grand Master Magnan, in view
of his having been appointed in an irregular manner.
To found the Grand
Lodge of Chile with sovereignty over the whole of the territory of the
Republic, so far as the three Degrees in Freemasonry are concerned.
Loge L'Etoile du
Pacifique refused to unite with the other Lodges in the formation of a Grand
Lodge but, in order to secure a quorum, a Lodge, called Progreso, was founded
and, at the Convention, there were present Delegates from the Lodge Orden y
Libertad and these four Lodges combined to form the Grand Lodge of Chile.
From the date of its
formation the Grand Lodge has progressed and to‑day numbers 65 Lodges and 2‑3
Trangulos (Lodges of Instruction or Lodges in the course of formation,
corresponding to " Lodges under Dispensation " in the American jurisdictions),
with an aggregate membership of more than 4,500.
Since the Grand Lodge
has been formed, no Lodge has been founded in that territory under a foreign
Jurisdiction, notwithstanding the fact that several Petitions were presented
to the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland and Massachusetts. The Petitions
were, in each case, refused by the Grand Lodges named and the Petitioners were
recommended to organise Lodges under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of Chile.
With reference to
this point, there was an interesting exchange of communications between the
United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Chile FREEMASONRY IN
SOUTH AMERICA in 19z7. In icgz6, the Board of General Purposes (England)
reported that a number of Freemasons of British nationality, residing in
Santiago, had requested from the Grand Lodge of Chile the necessary
authorization to found a Lodge to be named the Prince of Wales Lodge, with the
assent of H.R.H., which would act according to the working and ceremonial
recognized in the Lodges throughout the English Jurisdiction. This request was
granted immediately. Within a very short time two other Lodges were
established under the like conditions. There were thus established in Chile in
1927, which permitted English‑speaking Freepractise Freemasonry in their own
language and to perform the cerethe manner to which they were accustomed. The
three Lodges are respectively as Prince of Wales, No. 19 ; Andes, No. zo ; and
Montandon, zz. A petition was also presented by some German Freemasons
resident in Chile for the privilege of founding a Lodge which should conduct
its proceedings in the German language and in the German manner; and the Grand
Master, Hector Boccardo, warranted Lodge Germania, No. zi, to work according
to the ritual of the Grand Lodge of Prussia. Reporting on this matter to his
Grand Lodge, the Grand Master said The enthusiasm of all these Brethren so to
work under our jurisdiction is good for our Grand Lodge; for the many
Brethren, constituted like this, demonstrates our conception of the Masonic
Powers upon which these Brethren originally depended.
Numerous other Lodges
would be constituted under similar auspices but for the difficulty of many of
the Grand Lodges of North America prohibiting their members to belong to more
than one Lodge at the same time; and many of these North American Brethren do
not wish to sever their connexion with their Mother Lodges.
Our Grand Lodge has
made this friendly gesture to obtain the good elements permanently and for all
time in the Lodges and we are hoping that this difficulty will disappear
shortly.
The authorization of
Lodges that work in a different language and ritual than ours is not easy and
it is for this reason that, in a separate message, I am proposing certain
constitutional reforms to solve the difficulty.
The Chilean Supreme
Council of the 33░
was formed in 1899 when a Treaty was signed with that body establishing
clearly the exclusive jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Chile over the three
Degrees of Symbolic Masonry, also the absolute independence of the Supreme
Council.
The connexion of
Chilean Freemasonry with the Grand Orient of France was, of course, prior to
the alteration of the Constitutions of the latter. The Grand Lodge of Chile
has always demanded from its initiates a belief in the Supreme Being and it
has always maintained the Bible on its altars. Discussion of political matters
in Lodges is also prohibited. It has received recognition from about eighty
jurisdictions, England included.
189 I go FREEMASONRY
IN SOUTH AMERICA In 1928, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, which has a
District Grand Lodge, or several Lodges, in Chile, sent out a letter
containing the following The Grand Lodge of Chile was recognised by this Grand
Lodge in December of 1862. We were, we believe, the first Grand Lodge to
recognise it, as it had then been formed but a few months. There was then a
Lodge in Chile work ing under a Massachusetts Charter. That Lodge preferred to
retain its original allegiance and within a few years two other Lodges were
chartered by us in Chile, the Grand Lodge of Chile not insisting upon its
sovereign rights over the territory. These three Lodges still function under
the obedience of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and in warm and close
fraternal relations with their Chilean Brethren.
In recent years three
Lodges of English and Americans, using the English language and English or
American ritual, have been chartered by the Grand Lodge of Chile, and we
understand that the organisation of Lodges of a similar sort is encouraged.
We have found the
Grand Lodge of Chile in every way worthy of our respect and esteem. M.‑. W.‑.
Dudley H. Ferrell visited Chile in 1925, during his administration as Grand
Master. He had conference with M.‑. W.‑. Brother Boc cardo and other leaders
in Chilean Masonry and found their Masonic principles and practice fully
conforming to the strictest type of Masonic regularity and propriety as we
understand it.
CHAPTER VI
FREEMASONRY IN ASIA T has been the practice of Masonic writers to pass very
lightly over the history of Freemasonry in non‑European countries and to
exclude almost from mention the condition or progress of the Craft in even the
largest Colonies or Depen dencies within the sovereignty of an Old‑World
power. Thus we are told by Findel (p. 614) that " the Lodges existing in these
quarters of the globe were one and all under the Grand Lodges of England,
Scotland, Holland, or France, therefore their history forms an inseparable
part of that of the countries in question." With all deference, however, the
position here laid down must be respectfully demurred to. In the East and West
Indies‑and elsewhere‑the natives of many countries commingled, Lodges existed
under a variety of jurisdictions and, if an intelligent appreciation of
Freemasonry is best attained by comparing one Masonic system with another, the
Brethren at a distance from Europe enjoyed, in many cases, opportunities
denied to those residing in London, Paris, or Berlin. The most popular and
extensively diffused of the Masonic innovations which either claim an equality
with, or a superiority over, the Grand Authority of the Craft, were cradled in
the Greater ,Antilles ; whilst in the Lesser Antilles‑as in the East
Indies‑British, French and Dutch Lodges existed side by side. Indeed, in some
of these islands, there were Lodges under other jurisdictions than those
already enumerated and the reader, desirous of studying the Masonic history of
the West Indies, would, in the absence of any further materials to facilitate
his inquiry, be left very much in the position of an astronomer without a
telescope, who might seek to compute the path of a planet by conjecture.
According to Rebold
(Histoire des trois Grandes Loges, p. z 19), " After Holland had become
incorporated with the French Empire (July 18io), the Grand Orient of France
assumed the control of all the Dutch Lodges which then existed, with the
exception of those of the Indies, which remained under the obedience which had
created them and which carried on the title of Grand Lodge of the United
Provinces of the Low Countries." Thus, for a time and during the temporary
obliteration of Holland as a kingdom, what had been the Colonial Lodges of
that monarchy, became, in strictness, the only component members of the Grand
Lodge.
In another way the
Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal, in British India, became, on more than one
occasion, in everything but name, a Grand Lodge, independent of the mother
country and, unless its proceedings formed the subject of a separate inquiry,
the student who in all good faith accepted the assurance of Findel, that the
I9I 192 FREEMASONRY IN ASIA history of Masonry in Hindustan was inseparable
from that of England, would vainly search the archives of the Premier Grand
Lodge of the World, for the names of Lodges that never appeared on her roll,
or for an account of transactions that were never entered in her records.
CHINA During the
eighteenth century, two Lodges of foreign origin were constituted in the
Celestial Empire‑the Lodge of Amity, No. 407, under an English and Elizabeth
under a Swedish, Warrant. The former was erected in 1767, the latter in 1788 ;
in each case the place of assembly was Canton. The English Lodge was not
carried forward at the Union (1813) and Elizabeth came to an end in 1812.
The next Lodge
erected on Chinese soil was the Royal Sussex, No. 735, at Canton, for which a
Warrant was granted by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1844. This is
still in existence at Shanghai, as No. 5o1. A second‑Zetland, No. 768‑was
established at Hong‑Kong under the same sanction, in 1846, which also is still
in existence, as No. 525 ; and a third‑Northern Lodge of Chinaat Shanghai, in
1849, now No. 570. No further increase of Lodges took place until 1864, in
which year two were added to the English roll, at Hong‑Kong and Shanghai
respectively, known to‑day as Victoria Lodge of Hong‑Kong, No. 1026 and Tuscan
Lodge, No. I o27 ; and one each at the latter port under the Grand Lodges of
Scotland and Massachusetts. In 1865, the foundation stone of a Masonic Hall at
Shanghai for the joint use of English, Scottish and American Lodges was laid
by R. Freke Gould. In 1867 the Lodge of Perseverance, No. I165, was
consecrated at Hong‑Kong, which is still on the register. In the following
year Lodge Star of Peace, No. 1217, was formed at Ningpo, but this was erased
in April 1872. The United Service Lodge, No. 1341, was founded at Hong‑Kong in
October 187o and has survived. Other English Lodges in China are the Doric,
No. 1433, consecrated in December 1873, still in existence; the Ionic Lodge of
Amoy, No. 1781, founded in September 1878, but since erased; the Corinthian
Lodge of Amoy, No. i 8o6, consecrated in December 1878, still in existence;
the Union Lodge at Tientsin, No. 1951, formed in October, 1881 ; Lodge Star of
Southern China, No. 2013, consecrated in March 1883, all three still in
existence. In more recent years there has been a marked increase in the number
of Lodges in both Northern and Southern China, as evidenced by the formation
of the following Lodges, all still on the English register: Northern Star of
China, No. 2673, Newchang (1897) ; Far Cathay, No. 2855, Hankow (ICgoi) ;
Coronation, No. 2931, Tientsin (igoz) ; Daintree, No. 2938, Wei‑hai‑wei
(icgo2) ; Tongshan, No. 3001, Tongshan (1903) ; University of Hong‑Kong, No.
3666 (1913) ; Swatow, No. 3705, Swatow (1913); Cathay, No. 4373, Hong‑Kong (igzi);
St. George's, No. 4575, Shanghai (1923). The register of Irish Lodges contains
the names of none in China, but there are three in Hong‑Kong and Southern
China under the Scottish Constitution, viz. No. 6I8, St. John; No. 848, Naval
and Military; and No. 9z3, FREEMASONRY IN ASIA 193 Eastern Scotia, governed by
a District Grand Lodge; with five in Northern China, viz. No. 428,
Cosmopolitan, Shanghai; No. 493, St. Andrew‑in‑the‑Far‑East, Shanghai ; No.
924, St. Andrew, Chefoo ; No. 936, Saltoun, Shanghai; and No. 1300, Caledonia,
Tientsin, also under the governance of a District Grand Lodge.
The District Grand
Lodge of China under the English Constitution was formed in 1847 when Samuel
Rawson was appointed Provincial Grand Master of British Freemasonry in China.
In 1875 this was split up into two Districts‑Northern China and Hong‑Kong, and
Southern China.
In May, 193o, a
number of Masons in Shanghai Petitioned the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for a
Dispensation to form a Lodge to be composed largely of Chinese. The Petition
was denied, and they applied to the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands and
on October 28, 193o, received the Dispensation. In 1932 a Dispensation was
granted from the same source to form a Lodge at Nanking.
JAPAN The first
English Lodge in Japan, the Yokohama, No. io92, was founded in 1866, being
warranted on January 3o and consecrated on June 26 of that year. A second
Lodge at Yokohama, the O Tentosama, No. 1263, was chartered on April 22, 1869
and consecrated on July 28 of the same year. The Nippon Lodge, No. 1344, at
Teddo (now Tokio), was warranted on December 7, 1870 and constituted on May
26, 1871. The Warrant was afterwards surrendered and the Lodge was erased from
the list on July 27, 1883. In 1872, a Charter was issued for the Rising Sun
Lodge, No. 1401, at Kobe and, eleven years later, the Tokio Lodge, No. 2015,
was constituted at Tokio. In 1873, a District Grand Lodge of Japan, under the
Grand Lodge of England, was formed, which has to‑day under its jurisdiction
Lodges Yokohama, O Tentosama, Rising Sun and Tokio, mentioned above and the
Lodge of Albion in the Far East, at Kobe, No. 3729, warranted 111 1914‑
Charles Henry Dallas was the first District Grand Master appointed; succeeded,
in 1886, by William Henry Stone; in 19oo, by Edward Flint Kilby ; in 1904, by
William Henry Stone for a second term of office, which lasted until 1911, when
George Harvey Whymark was appointed ; and, in 1923, by Stanley Edward Unite.
The Lodges are far removed one from another, the distances apart being as far
as 400 miles. The Grand Lodge of Scotland has two Lodges‑Hiogo and Osaka, No.
498, established in 1870, in Kobe and Lodge Star in the East, No. 64o,
established in 1879, at Yokohama. A Scottish Lodge, No. 710, established in
1884, at Nagasaki, has ceased to exist.
There are numerous
stories by the Japanese, dating back to the latter part of the seventeenth and
the earlier part of the eighteenth centuries, of mysterious documents,
carefully preserved in secret by the natives, which they regard as precious
heirlooms. Several of these are matters of history, but the theory has been
advanced (Masonic Magazine, vol. vii, p. 319) that these documents may have
been 194 FREEMASONRY IN ASIA vouchers of Lodges, Warrants, lists of members,
etc and, in some cases, the certificates of ancestors.
When, in 1923, the
Japanese earthquake occurred, the Grand Lodge of England at once voted the sum
of two thousand guineas to the Relief Fund. The Lodge at Tokio and the two
Lodges at Yokohama were specially affected by the disaster. The Charters of
the Yokohama Lodge and Chapter (this latter established in 1871), No. io9z ;
of the O Tentosama Lodge and Chapter (the latter established in igiz), No.
iz63 ; the Orient Mark Lodge, No. 304, constituted at Yokohama, in 188z ;
Lodge Star in the East, No. 640, Scottish Constitution; and the various bodies
holding under the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Ancient
and Accepted Rite in the United States, were all lost, together with the
furniture and regalia, both Lodge and private, the regalia of the District
Grand Lodge and a valuable Masonic library. The records of the Yokohama Lodge,
from its formation in 1866, deposited in the vault, were destroyed, while all
the Minute books, registers and current records of the different bodies, kept
by the various secretaries, were lost. This, apart from the loss of life. A
second Mark Lodge in Japan, the Torii, No. 837, was established on October zz,
igz6, under the Grand Mark Lodge of England.
The Imperial Japanese
Government does not allow its citisens to become members of any secret society
at whose meetings the police may not be present, but Masonic Lodges composed
of citisens of other countries are not molested. In view of this prohibition
it is not likely that there will be native Lodges.
PERSIA Thory informs
us that Askeri Khan, ambassador of the Shah at Paris, who was himself admitted
into Masonry in that city‑November 24, 18o8 ‑took counsel with his French
Brethren respecting the foundation of a Lodge at Ispahan (Acta Latamorum, vol.
i, p. z37). Whether this project was ever carried into effect it is impossible
to say, but two years later we find another Persian‑also an
ambassador‑figuring in Masonic history. On June 15, 18io, His Excellency Mirza
Abdul Hassan Khan was granted the rank of Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge
of England. This personage‑the Minister accredited from the Court of Persia to
that of Great Britain‑in addition to having been a great traveller both in
Hindustan and Arabia, had also performed his devotions at Mecca. In the course
of his journey from Teheran he passed through Georgia, Armenia and Anatolia.
At Constantinople he embarked in a British man‑of‑war and reached England in
December I8og. Sir Gore Ousely, Bart., who was selected to attend upon the
Mirza " as Mehmander‑an officer of distinction, whose duty it is to receive
and entertain foreign princes and other illustrious personages " (European
Magazine, vol. lvii, 18io, p. 403)‑in the following year (18io) received the
appointment of ambassador to the Shah of Persia and was also granted an
English Patent as Provincial Grand Master for that country. No Lodges,
however, were FREEMASONRY IN ASIA 195 established in Persia at any time by the
Grand Lodge of England, nor‑so far as the evidence extends‑by any other
external authority. The Mirza Abdul Hassan Khan was made a Mason by Lord Moira
in 181o (Freemasons' Magazine, January 2, 1 864). The extent of his services
to the Craft must be left undecided; but it was stated in the Masonic
journals, on the authority of a Persian military officer then pursuing his
studies in Berlin, that nearly all the members of the Court of Teheran were
Freemasons.
THE EASTERN
ARCHIPELAGO The Neptune Lodge, No. 344, was established at Penang (Prince of
Wales's Island) under the Antients, on September 6, 1809, but is stated to
have become extinct in 1819. It was revived in 1825 and again became dormant
in 1846, although it was not erased from the register until June 4, 1862. In
June 1822, a military Lodge‑Humanity with Courage, at Georgetown, Penang, No.
826 on the register of the Antients‑was warranted from Bengal, but it did not
appear in the List until 1828 and it was struck out of the Calendar in the
following year, having, it is said, become irregular through the initiation of
civilians. The next Lodge to be founded at Penang was the Royal Prince of
Wales, No. 15 5 5, still in existence and the only English Lodge there. It was
warranted on July 5, 1875 and consecrated on December 4 following. In honour
of the Grand Secretary of that period, Colonel Shadwell Clerke, a Lodge
bearing his name and numbered 2336 was consecrated at Penang on May 2, 189o,
but this has since been erased.
The oldest Lodge in
Singapore is Zetland‑in‑the‑East, No. Sob, was warranted on February 28, 1845
and, in 1867, united with the Lodge of Fidelity, founded in 1858. The Lodge of
St. George, No. 1152, still in existence, was warranted on February 22, 1867
and consecrated on June 22 following. There are. two other Lodges in Singapore
under the English Constitution, St. Michael, 2933, founded in 1902 and Eastern
Gate, No. 2970, founded in 1903.
The District of the
Eastern Archipelago under the English jurisdiction was founded in 1858, with
William Henry McLeod Read, C.M.G., as District Grand Master. He was succeeded
in 1885 by Colonel Samuel Dunlop, C.M.G. ; in 189i, by General Sir Charles
Warren, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., renowned as the first Master of the Quatuor Coronati
Lodge, No. 2076; in 1895, by Lieut.‑Colonel Sir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell,
G.C.M.G. There was an interregnum from 1899 to 1902 and, in the latter year,
Sir Walter John Napier, D.C.L., was appointed, who held the office until igo9,
when Frederick M. Elliot, O.B:E., was appointed. In igi9, Walter Frederick
Nutt, O.B.E., became his successor, followed, in 1923, by MajorGeneral Sir
Neill Malcolm, K.C.B., D.S.O. and, in the following year, by the Hon. Mr.
Justice Percy J. Sproule, who still holds the appointment.
There are to‑day
fifteen Lodges under the English Jurisdiction in the District of the Eastern
Archipelago and, according to the official returns, neither Ireland nor
Scotland is represented there.
196 FREEMASONRY IN
ASIA SUMATRA An English Lodge‑No. 356‑was established at Bencoolen in 1765 ;
two others‑Nos. 424 and 559‑at Fort Marlborough in 177z and 1796 respectively.
These continued to appear in the Lists until 1813 ; but only one, the
Marlborough (afterwards Rising Sun) Lodge (1772), was carried forward at the
Union, which ultimately became No. z4z and, having omitted to make any returns
for several years, was erased March 5, 186z. Sumatra was erected into an
English Province in 1793 under John Macdonald, who was succeeded as Provincial
Grand MasterDecember io, 18z1‑by H. R. Lewis, who continued to hold office
until his death in 1877, there having been one Lodge in existence at the time
of his original appointment and none at all for fifteen years preceding his
decease.
Java, Celebes, Borneo
and the Philippine Lodges were established in these islands by the Grand Lodge
of the Netherlands at various dates between 1769 and 1885. The Grand Lodge of
Scotland has one Lodge in the Philippine Islands, but England and Scotland are
not represented in these islands.
GRAND ORIENT DU LIBAN
The following official document was received by the Masonic Grand Lodges in
the year 1934: The Grand Orient of Lebanon has the honour to announce to the
Grand Lodges and Orients its foundation and constitution as an Independent
Body; and, considering that a number of Masonic Lodges had been working under
Charters from various Grand Lodges and Orients, and that the active Lodges in
the Lebanon which worked under Foreign Masonic Authorities now desire to unite
under an Independent National Grand Orient, now, therefore, the following
Lodges, to wit Al Waleed, Hermon, Bokaa‑al‑Aziz, Al‑Maaref, Hermol, Al‑Meena‑AlAmeen,
Hermon‑Tripoli, Phoenecia, Damascus, Annoor, with an enrolment of over eight
hundred members have met and unanimously decided to return each its Charter to
the Grand Authority that granted it, and have unanimously decided further to
found and constitute a Grand Orient under the name of the Grand Orient of
Lebanon. The said Lodges have drawn an organic constitution for the Grand
Orient of Lebanon based on the principles and traditions of the Ancient and
Accepted Rite.
On the 15th day of
September, 1934, the newly organised and constituted Grand Orient of Lebanon
met, consecrated and dedicated its Temple and installed its Officers in their
respective chairs.
The Grand Orient of
Lebanon begins its work trusting in the assistance and guidance of the Great
Architect of the Universe and hoping that friendly relations and courtesies
will be exchanged between the Grand Lodges and Grand Orients and itself and
that the fraternal bonds which unite Masons all over the world will grow
stronger as the days pass by. The Grand Orient of Lebanon trusts further that
its older Sister Organisations will extend to it their assistance and
FREEMASONRY IN SOUTH AMERICA 197 recognition and thereby help it to go onward
with them, hand in hand for the furtherance of the Cause.
PALESTINE Lodges
under the Grand Lodge of Egypt and others under the British Grand Lodges have
existed in Palestine many years. These did not for a long time think of the
formation of any Grand Lodge. It was only in 1932 and 1933 that this step was
taken. The Symbolic Grand Lodge of Palestine was formed and appears to be
Working upon principles very acceptable to British and American Masonic
standards. It appears to be composed of Lodges of several nationalities, with
Egyptian Lodges preponderating. The Lodges formed under the British
Constitutions have not yet seen fit to connect themselves with this new
organisation but there is no hostility between the groups.
In addition to the
Symbolic Grand Lodge of Palestine, there is another organisation which has
adopted the name, " Symbolic Grand Lodge of Germany inExile.'' About 1931, the
Symbolic Grand Lodge of Germany was organ ised in the German Republic, and
after the Hindenburg regime gave way to the Hitler government, all Masonry in
Germany was dissolved by the government of the Reichsfuehrer. The Symbolic
Grand Lodge, while not in some respects like any of the old Masonic Bodies of
Germany, was akin to the Humanist group. A nucleus of its members with some
Officers, the names and titles of whom are not stated to us, assembled in
Jerusalem and then announced that the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Germany was
functioning in Palestine in exile. Circulars have been sent out giving
accounts of the activities of this group, and reports have been quite
favourable.
CHAPTER VII
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON BENGAL 0 N December z7, 1728, a Deputation was
granted by the Grand Lodge of England to George Pomfret, authorizing him to "
open a new Lodge in Bengal." Thus, says Preston, he " first introduced Masonry
into the English settlements in India " and Pomfret figures in the Masonic
Year Book as the first Provincial Grand Master for East India. Nothing
further, however, is known of this individual and even the voluminous Calcutta
records are silent concerning him. He was succeeded in 17zg by Captain Ralph
Farwinter as Provincial Grand Master " for East India in Bengal " and, under
his direction, a Lodge was duly established in 173o, known as Lodge East India
Arms, which, in the Engraved Lists, is distinguished by the arms of the
company and is described as No. 7z at Bengal in the East Indies. The records
of the Grand Lodge of England contain an entry to the effect that, on December
3, 1731, Captain Farwinter attended a Communication as the Provincial Grand
Master for India and that, on his return to India, he sent " from his Lodge of
Bengal a chest of the best arrack for the use of the Grand Lodge and ten
guineas for the Masonic Charity." At the Communication held on December 13,
1733, the thanks of the Grand Lodge of England were voted to him for his gift.
The following letter
of thanks, which was sent by the Grand Lodge of England to the Provincial
Grand Lodge of Bengal, is taken from a copy which appears in the Rawlinson
Collection in the Bodleian Library at Oxford (Rawl. Ms., c. 136).
Rt Worshipful G.
Master, Deputy and Wardens, with the other Worshipful Members of the Grand
Lodge at Calcutta in Bengall in East India.
All our Fraternity
here rejoyce much in the frequent good account of your excellent Conduct, the
Grand Lodge have been refreshed by your genteel Present of Arrack, which made
curious Punch and you may without telling believe that we drank all your
healths after the ancient manner of Masons.
We return our hearty
Thanks for it, but much more for your two handsome Presents of ten Guineas by
Br. Capt. Farr Winter and twenty Guineas by Br. Capt. Rigby for the Releife of
our poor Brethren: which we lodged in the hands of our Treasurer and recorded
in our Books as a lasting Evidence to Posterity how strong and extensive
appears the Brotherly Love of true and faithful Masons surmounting all
tempestous Billows, Promontories and distant Capes and Climes.
You have well
rewarded us for our Deputation or Patent and we heartily rejoice in your
Honour and Reputation, as you are a part of our Selves, for it all I98
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON 199 redounds to us and we cannot forbear
saying that no Lodge out of Britain has been so generous and so deserving our
esteem.
Providence has fixed
your Lodge near those learned Indians that affected to be called Noachidx, the
strict observers of his Precepts taught in those parts by the disciples of the
great Zoroastris, the learned Archimagus of Bactria or Grand Masters of the
Magians, whose religion is largely preserved in India (which we have no
concern about) and also many of the Rituals of the ancient Fraternity used in
his Time, perhaps more then they are sensible of themselves. Now if it was
consistent with your other Business to discover in those parts the Remains of
old Masonry and transmitt them to us, we should be all Thankfull, but
especially the learned Brothers who grasp at new Discoveries from ancient
Nations that have been renowned for Arts and Science and must have some
valuable remains among them still.
The Grand Master (the
Lord Viscount Weymouth) orders me to write this, with as many commendations as
you can imagine from all the Brethren, who, I may assure you, of their most
sincere affection, and I am with great esteem R` Worship' and Hon`d Brethren
Your most humble servant and affectionate brother I. R. Secretary to the Grand
Lodge.
The name of Ralph Far
Winter appears as a member of the Lodge held at the Queen's Arms in Newgate
Street, in a list published in 173o. The name of Capt. R. Farr Winter also
appears in the same year as a member of the Lodge held at the Hoop and Griffin
in Leadenhall Street. He was Steward at the Grand Festival held on March 30,
17 Farwinter was succeeded by James Dawson, temp. incert. and by Zachariah
Gee, who held the office from 1740 to 1754, but whose name, for some reason,
does not appear in the Masonic Year Book. He was Gunner and Master Attendant
at Old Fort William and is described in an official document as "honest,
industrious, to be confided in." Gee was succeeded in 175 5 by the Hon. Roger
Drake. According to the Minutes of Grand Lodge, at the Communication held on
April 1o, 175 5, James Dawson, late Provincial Grand Master for East India,
was present and the Grand Master " was pleased to appoint the Honourable Roger
Drake, Esq., Provincial Grand Master at Bengal for East India." Drake was
Governor of Calcutta at the time of the attack made on the settlement by
Surajah Dowlah in 1756 and escaped the horrors of the Black Hole by deserting
his post and flying to the shipping ; but though present at the retaking of
Calcutta in January 1757 by the forces under Clive and Watson, it is
improbable‑after the calamity which befell the Settlement‑‑that he resumed the
duties of his Masonic office.
Archdeacon W. K.
Firminger, in his Freemasonry in Bengal and the Punjab points out that the
hero of the Black Hole, Zephaniah Holwell, the renowned Collector of Calcutta,
was a Freemason. He was offered an easy opportunity of escape, but elected to
remain with his fellow‑captives and be their leader in the sufferings of that
awful night, of which Macaulay said " nothing in history or fiction, not Zoo
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON even the story which Ugolino told in the sea
of everlasting ice, after he had wiped his bloody lips on the scalp of his
murderer, approaches the horrors which were recounted by the few survivors."
On February 13, 1759, says Firminger, " Messrs. Holwell and Mapletoff, on
behalf of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Masons, laid before the Board the sum
of Rs. 2,475," but the bond was lost at the capture of Fort William. Holwell,
it may also be mentioned, erected on the site of the Black Hole, in the
north‑west corner of Tank Square, an obelisk, fifty feet high, inscribed with
the names of the thirty victims who perished on that occasion on June 2o,
1757, but the monument was ordered to be pulled down by the Marquess of
Hastings.
The Minutes of Grand
Lodge inform us that William Mackett, Provincial Grand Master for Calcutta,
was present at a meeting of that body on November 17, 176o and we learn from
the same authority that, in 1762, at the request of the Lodges in the East
Indies, Grand Lodge " ordered that a Deputation be made out in the neatest
manner appointing Cullen J. Smith, Esq., of Calcutta, to be Provincial Grand
Master for India, the expenses to be defrayed out of the funds of Grand
Lodge." Culling J. Smith (for that is the correct spelling of the name) was
secretary of the East India Company and a churchwarden at St. Anne's Church,
which figures largely in the Masonic life of that period. He had previously
been subimport warehouse keeper. He signalized his appointment to the high
office by sending to Grand Lodge the sum of fifty guineas for the Public Fund
of Charity. At the period in question it was the custom in Bengal " to elect
the Provincial Grand Master annually, by the majority of the voices of the
members then present, from among those who had passed through the different
offices of the [Provincial] Grand Lodge and who had served as Deputy
Provincial Grand Master." This annual election, as soon as notified to the
Grand Lodge of England, was confirmed by the Grand Master without its being
thought an infringement of his prerogative. In accordance with this practice,
Samuel Middleton was elected Provincial Grand Master in 1767, but a few years
previously a kind of roving commission had been granted by Earl Ferrers, Grand
Master of England, 1762‑3, to Captain John Bluwitt, or Blevit, Commander of
the Admiral Ilatson, Indiaman, " wherever no other Provincial Grand Master may
be found." Middleton's election was confirmed‑October 31, 1768‑and as the
Dispensa. tion forwarded by the Grand Secretary was looked upon as abrogating
the practice of annual elections, he accordingly held the office of Provincial
Grand Master until his death in 1775. According to the terms of the Patent, in
the absence of Middleton, Thomas Burdell might act until a new Provincial
Chief was appointed. It appears, also, that one Jolm Graham was elected
Provincial Grand Master to succeed in like manner.
The records of the
Provincial Grand Lodge reach back only to 1774, the earlier ones having been
lost and it is, therefore, convenient if, before leaning on their authority, a
preliminary outline is given of the progress of Masonry in Bengal from the
erection of the first Lodge in 173o. A second Lodge, now known as FREEMASONRY
IN INDIA AND CEYLON 2‑01 Star in the East, No. 67, Calcutta, soon after sprang
into existence, which, becoming too numerous, seven of its members were
constituted‑April 16, 174o‑by the Provincial Grand Lodge into a new and
regular Lodge. Of the former nothing further is known ; but the Grand Lodge of
England, on the petition of the latter, ordered " the said Lodge to be
enrolled (as requested) in the list of regular Lodges, agreeable to the date
of their Constitution." A Lodge‑No. 2zi‑was formed at " Chandernagore, ye
chief French Settlement," in 175z, which became dormant in 1788 and was erased
in 1790. Others sprang up at Calcutta, 1761‑No. 275, now Lodge of Industry and
Perseverance, No. 1ocg ; and at Patna and Burdwan, 1768‑Nos. 354 and 363,
erased in 1790. As the last named, however, were styled respectively the 8th,
9th and loth Lodges, some others of local constitution must have been erected.
Five Lodges‑Nos.
441‑445‑were warranted in 1772, the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Lodges of
Bengal. These were at Dacca, Calcutta and with the 1st, 3rd and znd Brigades
respectively. All, however, with the exception of the 6th Lodge, No. 44z,
Calcutta‑afterwards Unanimity‑were erased in 1790. This became No. z9z in
1792, but lapsed in the following year, when its place was assigned to Lodge
Anchor and Hope, Calcutta, on the Provincial establishment.
The loth and 11th
Lodges of Bengal‑Nos. 45z and 453‑were added to the roll in 1773 and the lzth‑No.
482‑in 1775. The former were at Moorshedabad and Calcutta respectively ;
whilst the latter was " with the 3 rd Brigade." No. 45 3, which underwent many
vicissitudes, appears later as Lodge Humility with Fortitude; whilst No. 48z
is described in 1793 as the Lodge of St. George in the East and, in the
following year‑having then become No. 316‑as the Lodge of True Friendship,
with the 3rd Brigade.
Returning to the year
1774, there appear, from the records of the Provincial Grand Lodge, to have
been at that time only three Lodges in Calcutta, viz. (local) Nos. i, Star in
the East‑constituted in 1740 as the third, but which became the first, Lodge
of Bengal on its predecessor of 1730 dropping out in 1770; 2, Industry and
Perseverance; and 3, Humility with Fortitude. Besides these, however, there
were Lodges at Chandernagore (French settlement), Patna, Burdwan, Dacca and
Moorshedabad, also at some of the military stations or with the army brigades.
The Provincial Grand Lodge under England seems to have worked in perfect
harmony with a similar body under Holland, " The Grand Lodge of Solomon at
Chinsura " (Dutch settlement) and the officers and members of the two
Societies exchanged visits and walked together in processions. Constitutions
were granted by the Grand Lodge of Holland to the following Lodges in Bengal
:‑Solomon, 1759; Perseverance, 1771; and Constance (Houghly), 1773ò On
February 15, 1775, the Provincial Grand Lodge " taking into consideration the
propriety of preserving concord and unanimity, recommend it to the Brethren
who call themselves ` Scott and Elect,' that they do lay aside the wearing of
red ribbons, or any other marks of distinction, but such as are proper to the
102‑ FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON Three Degrees, or to the Grand Lodge as
such "‑a request, we are told, which was cheerfully complied with.
Middleton passed away
in 1775 and, in the following year, Charles Stafford Pleydell was elected in
his room, but the confirmation of the Grand Lodge of England was withheld
until 1778. Pleydell, in addition to being Collector or Collector‑General of
Calcutta, member of the Board of Trade, Master in Chancery and Superintendent
of Police, seems also to have had a private practice as a barrister in
Calcutta. As already noted, John Graham had, in 1769, been elected to succeed
Middleton whenever he should vacate his office, but Graham had left India in
1775, before Middleton's demise. Pleydell was succeeded by Philip Milner
Dacres, who was installed on November 4, 1779 On March 17, 1777, a letter had
been sent to the Grand Lodge of England from the Province in which the
following passage occurs We are sorry we cannot give the same favourable
relation of Masonry in our Province. It has grown languid in the interior
districts where Lodges are established, by reason of the Brethren being, by
their several callings, so dispersed as to prevent their assembling at all in
some places and seldom in others, for want of sufficient number to form a
Lodge. This we premise, that you may not be surprised that our contribution
this year to the Grand Charity from Bengal fell short of former years.
However, from us you will receive thirty golden mohurs, as usual, to be
allotted, ú2o to the Fund of Charity, and úio towards dedicating the hall.
In 1779 a
contribution of fifty‑one gold mohurs was made to the Charity and Hall Funds
of the Grand Lodge of England. C. S. Pleydell presided for the last time in
the Provincial Grand Lodge on March 29, 1779. He died exactly two months
later. He is described on his tombstone as member of the Board of Trade,
Master in Chancery and Superintendent of Police in Calcutta. The confirmation
of his appointment had been received from the Grand Lodge of England only a
few months before his demise.
Under Dacres the
Provincial Grand Lodge for Bengal had but a very brief existence. It assembled
for the last time on January 25, 1781. Doubtless the war in the Carnatic,
which broke out about that time, had much to do with its dissolu tion and
Masonry in India was very nearly swept away by it. Every Lodge in Calcutta,
where alone in Bengal Masonry may be said to have existed, was extinguished,
with the. exception of Industry and Perseverance and, even there, the light
glimmered feebly. But the members of that Lodge nobly determined that the
light should not go out. The name of Philip Milner Dacres is associated with
the first proposal for a corps of volunteers in Bengal and he was one of the
signatories to the Governor‑General to a petition to establish a Patriot Band.
An interesting event occurred on April 6, 1784, when the foundation stone of
the Presidency Church was laid, with Masonic ceremonial, by Edward Wheler,
Senior Member of the Council.
At two meetings held
in January, 1784, Lodge Industry and Perseverance FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND
CEYLON 203 resolved to call a general assembly of the Craft " for the purpose
of taking into consideration the present state of Masonry and of concerting
and adopting measures to revive its ancient splendour in the Settlement." The
Provincial Grand Lodge was reopened July 18, 1785, under the presidency of
George Williamson, a former Deputy Provincial Grand Master, who, on the same
date, produced a Patent from England appointing him Acting Provincial Grand
Master and directed that a meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge should be
held a fortnight later for the express purpose of electing a Grand Master. At
this assembly the Wardens of Lodge Star in the East said their meetings had
been interrupted, because, in the absence of the Provincial Grand Lodge, no
new Master could be installed. Williamson, however, ordered them to proceed
with the election of a new Master and engaged to convene a Provincial Grand
Lodge for his installation.
The election,
however, did not take place until November 14, when four votes were cast for
Williamson and six for Edward Fenwick, a former Provincial Grand Warden.
The new Provincial
Grand Master was installed March 17, 1786, although the Patent granted to
Williamson clearly indicated that he was to retain his acting appointment
until the confirmation from London of the person who might be elected to the
office. This led to serious disagreements, which harassed the Fraternity for
some years.
The supporters of
Fenwick were, undoubtedly, in the wrong from the constitutional, which is the
only, point of view. This was clearly laid down in a letter written by William
White, Grand Secretary, dated March 24, 1787, in which he pointed out that the
Bengal Brethren had fallen into the error of electing, instead of recommending
to the Grand Master, the name of the Brother they deemed suitable for the
office of Provincial Grand Master and he added The powers and dignity of the
Provincial Grand Master are delegations of the Grand Master's high authority
and granted by him, during his pleasure only, to such respectable Brethren in
particular districts as he may deem worthy to repre sent him for the purpose
of cementing the Brethren and more easily communicating with Grand Lodge; but
the Brethren of a particular Province can have no powers of election. They may
recommend and their recommendations, when conducted with general assent and
harmony, will always receive the Grand Master's sanction and approbation. But
in an election the electors assert a legal right, which, in the present
instance, cannot be pretended.
The Grand Master
refused to make any appointment of a Provincial Grand Master " in hopes that
the Brethren will be more unanimous in the recommendation of a Brother for
that office " and continued the powers specified in the com mission to George
Williamson. Thus it happened that Williamson was supported by the Grand Lodge
of England and the letter already quoted continued to Williamson the powers
specified in his Patent of 1784. This was read in the Zoo FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON Provincial Grand Lodge held on August 27 of that year, but that
body studiously refused to yield to its mandate. In the discussion which
ensued, the Master of Lodge Star in the East observed:‑" . . . Mr. Williamson,
whose affairs have long been in a most anxious situation‑who has been obliged,
for a long time past, to live under a foreign jurisdiction‑who now cannot come
to Calcutta, but on a Sunday, or, if he comes on any other day, is obliged to
conceal himself during the day time and to be extremely cautious how he goes
out even when it is dark ! " In spite of repeated protests on the part of the
Acting Provincial Grand Master, Fenwick continued the exercise of the duties
of the office to which he had been elected by a majority, even to the granting
of Lodge Warrants, but his election was not confirmed by the Grand Lodge of
England until March 4, 1789. The position was an extraordinary one. Fenwick,
in his role of Provincial Grand Master, which he claimed to be, had set aside
the Warrants granted by Williamson, in the exercise of the right conferred
upon him by Grand Lodge and by recognizing Fenwick ultimately as Provincial
Grand Master, Grand Lodge countenanced and set the seal of approval upon
Fenwick's insubordination. Fenwick, however, had but a short lease of office,
for on December 27, 179o, he was forced to resign his position " in
consequence of his unfortunate state of affairs." Williamson's loyalty was
never in question. Directly he received the official intimation of the
confirmation from Grand Lodge of Fenwick's appointment, he handed over to him
all the property he had in his possession belonging to the Provincial Grand
Lodge. Apparently, from a letter written by Williamson, dated December zi,
179o, Freemasonry in Bengal had passed into a more or less moribund condition,
" no Lectures ever being given and nothing going forward but the outward form
of Making, Passing and Raising, insomuch that there is scarce among them one
that has sufficient knowledge to gain admittance into a strange Lodge."
Williamson, in the same letter, protested against the treatment he had
received from Grand Lodge. He said I do not consider myself ill‑treated by the
Lodges here only, but conceive also that I was very ill‑requited by the Most
Worshipful Grand Master of England, whose Dignity and Authority I so
strenuously strove to support and maintain, for certainly private Thanks such
as I received through you was by no means a Recompence, for who, saving
myself, could suppose otherwise than that my Conduct was disapproved? Had the
Thanks been publicly announced and registered on your Records, a Vote passed
creating me an Honorary Member of the Grand Lodge, or an honorary Medal sent
me as a testimonial of Approbation, I should have been perfectly satisfied,
whereas now I am confidently told that Brother Miller and others have
propagated among the Brethren that the Grand Lodge of England were highly
incensed against me for the part I had acted contrary to the intent and
meaning of my commission.
Some interesting
correspondence occurred about this period. In a letter dated February 6, 1788,
from the Provincial Grand Lodge meeting under Fenwick to William White, Grand
Secretary, the following passages occur FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON Zos
Country Lodges.‑We earnestly wish to see the whole number of Lodges which
existed in 1773 or 1774 re‑established. But the Subordinates at Patna, Burdwan,
Dacca and Moorshedabad now consist of such small societies and these so liable
to change, that we must confess it rather to be our wish than our hope to see
Lodges established at any of these places.
Military Lodges.‑With
respect to the Brigades, they have been divided into six of Infantry and three
of Artillery. This regulation has lessened the number of officers in each and
they will be more liable to removals than formerly. The first circumstance
must be a great discouragement to the formation of Lodges in the Brigades and
the second would sometimes expose such Lodges to the risk of being
annihilated. However, we shall give all encouragement to the making of
applications and all the support we possibly can to such Lodges as may be
constituted.
On the same day a
letter was written to the Grand Lodge introducing the Rev. William Johnson
who, for sixteen years, had been in Bengal as one of the chaplains of the
Settlement and, for three years, Provincial Grand Chaplain, who was then on
his return to Europe. That letter refers to the erection of the church by
public subscription and, to a large extent, by the Freemasons in the
Settlement. That letter, by stating that the church " was consecrated on the
Festival of St. John the Baptist, one of the Patrons of the Fraternity,"
settles the point raised by Archdeacon Hyde in his Parochial Annals of Bengal,
when he writes It has long been a matter of controversy as to whether the
Evangelist or the Baptist is to be held as the patron saint‑and the following
solution to the question is now proposed. The Provincial Grand Lodge of the
Freemasons of Bengal had been revived the previous year, Mr. William Mackett,
previously mentioned being the Grand Master and Mr. Holwell and Mr. Mapletoft
high office‑bearers. Mr. Churchwarden Culling Smith was also a member of the
Lodge and succeeded as Grand Master in 1762. It happened that the new chapel
was projected and completed during the six months, January 28 to July 27 of
Mr. Holwell's administration as President in the Bay and Governor and
Commander‑in‑chief for Fort William in Bengal for the United East India
Company, before Mr. Henry Vansittart, who had been designated for that
jurisdiction, arrived to assume it. There is a tradition that the first
Calcutta church was dedicated to St. John at the request of the Freemasons,
who provided the ceremony of dedication. It is now known that the first church
was dedicated to St. Anne, but that the chapel built in 176o was St. John's.
Adjusting, therefore, the tradition to the dedication of the Chapel, it
appears very likely that the Governor Holwell appointed the 24th of June, St.
John the Baptist's Day, a great Masonic anniversary, for the opening
solemnities and not some time, as Mr. Long thinks, in July.
Masonic Church
Services were not infrequent at that period and did not always take place on
Sundays. The Calcutta Gazette of January 1, 1789, contains the following
paragraph On Saturday last the different Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons
met at the Exchange, from whence they proceeded to the new church and attended
divine 2o6 FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON service, after which the Brethren
retired to their respective Lodges and the day was concluded with that festive
mirth and harmony which ever characterize the meetings of this ancient and
honourable Fraternity.
There are previous
references to the practice. One occurs in the Minutes for December, 1786, the
last occasion on which the service was held in the old church. Future services
were held in the new church, in the erection of which the Craft had taken a
great interest. The preacher in 1786 in the old church and in the new church
on St. John the Evangelist's Day, 1787, was the Rev. W. Johnson and,
concerning the latter service, the Calcutta Gazette of January 3, 1788, said A
historical sermon on the occasion was preached by the Rev. Mr. Johnson, a
member of the Fraternity, who traced the origin of the Society from the
ancient Egyptians and enumerated its several revolutions, encouragements and
persecu tions, down to the present period, concluding with many excellent
doctrinal maxims for the qualifications and conduct of the true Mason, who, he
strongly argued, must necessarily be a good man and a worthy member of the
Society of mankind in general.
The Rev. J. Long, in
an article entitled " Calcutta in the Olden Time," which appeared in the
Calcutta Review (vol. xviii, p. 299), says To the west of Writers' Buildings,
Fort William College, thirty yards east of the Fort, stood the first church of
Calcutta, called St. John's on the suggestion of the Freemasons, who were
liberal contributors to it. We have accounts of a Freemasons' Lodge in
Calcutta in 1744; in 1789 they gave at the old court‑house a ball and supper
to members of the Company's service in Calcutta ; and they seem to have had a
local celebration and name from the days of Charnock‑their institution tending
to mitigate the exclusiveness of European classes in modern times.
Unhappily there is no
evidence to support this statement as to the antiquity of Freemasonry in
Calcutta. It was on August 24, 16go, that job Charnock of the English East
India Company founded the city of Calcutta. The place is mentioned briefly in
the Survey of Bengal made in 1596, by command of the Emperor Akbar, but it did
not emerge into history until eighty‑four years later. In those days Calcutta
was a small rent‑paying village, then and later known as Golgotha, because of
its malarial jungles and heavy death‑rate.
A grand ball and
supper was given by the Provincial Grand Lodge, January 14, 1789, to which
invitations were sent, not only to residents in Calcutta, but also to " Bro.
Titsingh [? Titsink], Governor of Chinsurah and other Masons of that Colony;
to Bro. de Bretel, and the other Masons of Chandernagore ; also to the Masons
of Serampore [Danish settlement] and to the Sisters of these Colonies,
according to what has been customary on such occasions formerly." This
reference to " Sisters " is very curious and it occurs elsewhere in the
Masonic annals of Bengal. A possible explanation is that special distinction
was FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON zo7 accorded to the sisters, wives and
daughters of members of the Lodges in the district. In the arrangements made
for a Festival in connexion with a private Lodge in January 1775, the
following directions occur General invitations to be sent to the ladies of
Calcutta with a request to those who are sisters and don't receive blue
ribbons, would send intimation thereof, that they may be sent.
Particular
invitations with ribbons to be sent to all the Sisters.
On the same
day‑December z7, I7go‑that Fenwick resigned the office of Provincial Grand
Master, the Hon. Charles Stuart, Senior Member of the Supreme Council, was
elected and installed as his successor, which action was, of course, again
entirely contrary to the ruling of Grand Lodge. There is no record, however,
of any protest on the part of that body, but one undoubtedly was lodged, as
may be deduced from a letter written three years later, an extract from which
is given below. Stuart, however, was unable to perform his Masonic duties,
owing to the fact that the government of the country devolved upon him, in
consequence of the absence of the Earl Cornwallis from Calcutta. He,
thereupon, appointed Richard Comyns Birch as Acting Provincial Grand Master of
Bengal and reappointed John Miller as Deputy. In February, 1793, Stuart
appears to have handed in his resignation, not to the Grand Master of England
as he ought to have done, but to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal and that
body communicated the fact to the Grand Master, George, Prince of Wales,
afterwards King George IV. The Provincial Grand Lodge assembled on the 19th of
the same month, elected and installed, again in defiance of the Grand Lodge
regulations, Richard Comyns Birch as Provincial Grand Master. On this occasion
they wrote a letter to the Grand Master, explaining their action in the
following words We have the Highest Respect for your Most Worshipfull Lodge
and wish to conform exactly to the Line of Duty Laid Down to us, . . . and we
would have awaited the Confirmation of our Choice. . . . But to have done so
would have occasin'd a Long Delay, which, in any case, would have Evil
Consequences : And We have very forcible Reasons for wishing to avoid in the
Present Occurrence. We have already informed you, that the Craft has been for
some time, on the Decline and We have Cause to apprehend It may be still more
so. . . . Wherefore, after the most serious Consideration, We were Unanimously
of Opinion that it was essentially necessary for the proper Support of the
Provincial Grand Lodge and of the interests of Masonry in these Provinces in
General, that Brother Birch should be immediately seated in the Chair of
Solomon; and he was installed accordingly.
When war broke out
between England and France in 1793, Chandernagore, the French settlement, was
occupied by the English and Richard Comyns Birch was appointed "
Superintendent and Judge and Magistrate of Chandernagore " and de Bretel was
appointed " Deputy to the Superintendent." A noted character appeared on the
scene at this period in the person of the Rev. Dr. James Ward, who seems to
have been inspired with a genuine desire to F. V‑IO Zo8 FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON resuscitate and to reorganize Freemasonry in the District. At any
rate, on St. John's Day, December 27, i 8og, the members of five Lodges‑True
Friendship, Humility with Fortitude, Marine, Union (then No. 338, afterwards
432) and the Dispensation Officers' Lodge (which worked under a Warrant
granted by No. 3 3 8) ‑walked in procession to St. John's Church, where Divine
Service was sung and " an excellent sermon illustrative of the grand
principles of Masonry " was delivered by Dr. James Ward, who is described as a
" Royal Arch Brother." A like service was held in December 1811, when, at Dr.
Ward's suggestion, a subscription was made for the distressed Portuguese. That
sermon was printed by request and over four hundred copies were taken by
Lodges Humility with Fortitude, Star in the East, Marine and True Friendship.
This sermon, says Firminger, stirred up the zeal of some Brethren of the
dormant Lodge Star in the East. A meeting was at once called and it was
resolved that the Lodge should be revived. W. C. Blaquiere, who was elected
Master, attributed the resolution " of restoring the Lodge to its former
splendour " to the impulse given to the zeal of the Brethren by Dr. Ward's
eloquent and impressive sermon on St. John's Day last.
The question of
electing a Provincial Grand Master and submitting his name for the approval of
the Grand Lodge of England was also broached and, when the ballot was taken,
there were sixteen votes for Dr. Ward and ten for W. C. Blaquiere and the
former was accordingly declared elected, although, for reasons that will
presently be noted, his election was not confirmed by Grand Lodge and he was
never installed in the position.
During the ten or
eleven years that intervened between the obliteration of the Provincial Grand
Lodge and its re‑establishment in 1813, Masonry in Calcutta was represented
almost exclusively by the Lodges which had seceded from the (older) Grand
Lodge of England.
It may be as well to
break in here with a description of the Lodges in the Presidency as they were
given in the Freemasons' Calendar for 1794 Nos. Founded.
70. Star in the East,
Calcutta . 1740 143. Industry and Perseverance, Calcutta . 1761 288.
Unanimity, Calcutta . 1771 Revived in 1787, when it consisted of
handicraftsmen in Calcutta.
292. Anchor and Hope,
Calcutta . . 1773 According to Grand Lodge records this Lodge was placed at
this vacant number in 1793.
293. Humility with
Fortitude, Calcutta . 1774 Afterwards became dormant and was revived by Acting
Provincial Grand Master Williamson in 1787 316. True Friendship, with the
Third Brigade . 1775 When the Third Brigade removed to Berampore in 1788 a new
Warrant was issued to the seven members remaining in Calcutta.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON Zo9 Nos. Founded. 399. Lodge at Futty Ghur . . 1786 Dormant in
1788, erased 1794.
464. North Star,
Fredericksnagore . 1789 In connexion with the Danish Factory in Bengal.
528. Lodge at Chuna,
East Indies . 1793 I Known as Sincere Friendship. Dormant from 1796 to f 1812.
Erased from English roll in 1813, though according to Provincial records was
on November 23, 1814, " doing well and their numbers daily increasing." 529‑
Mars, Cawnpore . 1793 There was also in existence about this time the Marine
Lodge, originally formed by persons employed in the Government's marine
service, Calcutta, which, however, only obtained a local number; and a
Stewards' Lodge‑established p June 24, 1736‑with privileges akin to those of
its prototype under the Grand f Lodge of England.
It unfortunately
happened that the officers of the Provincial Grand Lodge had always been
selected from the first two Lodges on the above list and this G circumstance
led to no slight dissatisfaction on the part of the other Lodges, who, feeling
themselves aggrieved, were not slow to resent the treatment. This it was which
mainly conduced to the almost general defection, about the close of the
century, from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal and, consequently, from the
older or legitimate Grand Lodge of England. A Lodge ‑No. 146‑under the Atholl
(or Antient) Grand Lodge, was established at Calcutta in 1767, but it took no
root and it does not appear that any further Lodges were erected by the same
authority until the secession now about to be described. The Lodges True
Friendship and Humility with Fortitude were the first which transferred their
allegiance, the former becoming No. 315, or No. i of Bengal‑December 27, 1797
and the latter, No. 317, or No. z of Bengal‑April 11, 1798. The Marine Lodge
followed their example and obtained a similar Warrant‑No. 323‑March 4, 18oi.
Meanwhile, Lodge Star in the East fell into abeyance and Industry and
Perseverance was on the point of closing also. One meeting only was held in
each of the years 18o2, 1803 and 1804, after which, for a long period, there
were no more. Lodge Anchor and Hope obtained an Atholl Warrant as No.
325‑October i, i 80i. Little is known of Lodge Unanimity, which, though
carried forward at the Union (1813), must have died out at least several years
before.
As St. John's Day in
Winter, 1812, fell upon a Sunday, the two newly revived Lodges decided to hold
their Service on January 6, 1813, while the Atholl Lodge True Friendship, No.
1, with its Royal Arch Chapter and the Lodge Marine also held a Service on
January 14, the sermon on each occasion being preached by Dr. Ward. The Atholl
Lodge True Friendship had also held a Service in the previous January, when
the sermon was delivered by the Rev. T. Thomason. A very zio FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON elaborate dinner followed these gatherings at which a very
large number of toasts were honoured, in which the Earl of Moira and " our
noble and gallant Brother, the Marquess Wellington " were included and honour
duly paid to " the memory of our illustrious Brethren, Lord Nelson, Sir Ralph
Abercromby and Sir John Moore." It was not until March 27, 1813, that Lodge
Star in the East communicated to the Grand Lodge of England the desire of the
Brethren concerning Dr. Ward and this unexplained delay of six months
undoubtedly accounts for the events that followed.
On October 4, 1813,
the Earl of Moira, who had been appointed Acting Grand Master of India,
arrived in Calcutta, after a short sojourn in Madras, where he had held a
Masonic reception. It should also be noted that on his outward journey he
stopped at Mauritius, where, at the head of the Freemasons of the island, he
laid the foundation‑stone of the Roman Catholic cathedral there. The first
Masonic act of the Governor‑General was to constitute a new Lodge, the Moira
Lodge of Freedom and Fidelity, which he did on November 8, 1813. Major‑General
Sir William Keir (who afterwards became successively Sir W. Grant Keir and Sir
W. Keir Grant) was the first Master of the Lodge and he had for his Wardens,
Colonel L. J. Doyle (afterwards Sir Charles Doyle) and Commodore Sir John
Hayes. Another Founder was Sir Robert Rollo Gillespie. Archdeacon Firminger
relates the following interesting story concerning the last named Bro.
Gillespie had seen much service in the West Indies. On one occasion he was
sent by the Commander‑in‑Chief as bearer of a command to the enemy to
surrender an island. His boat, with the flag of truce and the papers were over
turned. Gillespie, with his sword between his teeth, swam ashore under a heavy
fire. He was brought before the Governor‑General, Santhonax, who condemned
Gillespie, as a spy, to the gallows. Fortunately the Governor was familiar
with Masonic language and, instead of being executed, Gillespie was sent back
to the squadron under a guard‑of‑honour.
As soon as the Union
of the two Grand Lodges of England became known in India, which was not until
December ‑18 14, the Atholl Lodges at Calcutta tendered their allegiance to
the Provincial Grand Lodge. These were, True Friendship, Humility with
Fortitude and Marine. The Anchor and Hope‑which also seceded from the
legitimate Grand Lodge of England‑is not mentioned in the records of the
Province 1814‑4o.
At the period of this
fusion, there were the following Lodges under the older sanction: The
Stewards, Star in the East, Industry and Perseverance and Sincere Friendship (Chunar).
Of these Lodges, the first never held a London Warrant and the last was struck
off the roll inadvertently at the Union. There were also then in existence the
Moira Lodge and three others constituted since the revival of the Provincial
Grand Lodge, the names of which head the following table of Lodges erected
during the period 18 1 3‑2G FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON 211 i. Moira,
Calcutta, November 13, 1813.
z. Oriental Star,
Noacollee, April zi, 1814. 3. Aurora, Calcutta, June z3, 1814.
4. Courage with
Humanity, Dum Dum, July 17, 18145. Northern Star, Barrackpore, July 18, 1816.
6. Sincerity,
Cawnpore, January 8, i 8 i g.
7. Hastings Lodge of
Amity and Independence, Allahabad, April 9, 18 z1. 8. United Lodge of
Friendship, Cawnpore, June 13, 1871 9. Humanity with Courage, Prince of Wales'
Island, July 1822. io. Amity, St. John's, Poona (Deccan), January 30, 1824 ii.
Kilwinning in the West, Nusseerabad, October zo, 1824.
12. Larkins' Lodge of
Union and Brotherly Love, Dinapore, October zo, 1824. 13. Independence with
Philanthropy, Allahabad, October 26, 18 z 5.
14. South‑Eastern
Star of Light and Victory, Arracan, October 26, r825. 15. Tuscan, Malacca,
October 26, 1825.
16. Royal George,
Bombay, December 9, 18 17. Union and Perseverance, Agra, October 23, 1826. 18.
Kilwinning in the East, Calcutta, December 23, 1826.
Out of these eighteen
Lodges, however, only seven‑Nos. z, 3, 4, 6, 7, 13 and 18 above‑secured a
footing on the Roll of the Grand Lodge of England. It is not a little curious
that, of the two now alone surviving, Courage with Humanity (1814) and
Independence with Philanthropy (1825), which were placed on the general list
in the same year (1828) in juxtaposition, the latter bears the earlier number
and has the higher precedence ! The first was the only one in India warranted
by Lord Moira : it hadf ceased working in 1821. The second sent Lioo to the
English Charities in 1816 and, five years later, surrendered its Warrant. The
third amalgamated with Lodge True Friendship in 183o. The fourth was for many
years composed of non‑commissioned officers of the Bengal Artillery. It threw
off a shoot in Penang‑Humanity with Courage, in 18 z2, which took the place of
the Atholl Lodge Neptune, No. 344, established in 18og. The fourteenth Lodge
was never established, in consequence of the dispersion of the petitioners.
As a result of the
appointment of the Earl of Moira, Dr. Ward's appointment as Provincial Grand
Master was not confirmed, which is the explanation of the absence of his name
from the list of Provincial Grand Masters for Bengal. The Grand Lodge of
England explained the position in the following letter I am commanded by H.R.H.
the Duke of Sussex to say that he sees not the least objection to the
appointment ; but as the Earl of Moira is vested with the rank of Acting Grand
Master for the whole of India and in that capacity is com petent to appoint
Provincial Grand Masters for Districts (whose rank and authority will be the
same as if appointed by the Grand Master himself) he feels it would be more
correct that the appointment should be under the hands of his Lordship ; and
as no inconvenience or delay will result from this course being adopted, I
have to refer you to the noble Lord accordingly.
III FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON There was no resentment on the part of Dr. Ward, who accepted
the appointment of Provincial Grand Chaplain in the Provincial Grand Lodge
appointed by Lord Moira in December 1813.
This re‑establishment
of the Provincial Grand Lodge was the second Masonic act of Lord Moira, who
appointed the Hon. Archibald Seton as Acting Provincial Grand Master. He left
India in 1817, when the Governor‑General, who had now become the Marquess of
Hastings, intimated to the Provincial Grand Lodge that he had selected the
Hon. C. Stuart to succeed him. The latter does not appear, however, to have
entered upon the duties of his office ; and in the following yearJanuary
17‑the Hon. Charles Robert Lindsay was successively appointed, by Warrants of
Lord Hastings, Provincial Grand Master for Bengal, January 17, 1818, and
Deputy Grand Master for India, January 13, 181g.
On November 3 an
application was made to the Grand Master for India, by eight Brethren residing
at Poona, in the Deccan, praying for authority to meet as Lodge St. Andrew at
that station, also for " a dispensation for holding a Provincial Lodge, for
the purpose of making the Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone a Mason, he having
expressed a wish to that effect." The petitioners further requested " that his
name might be inserted in the body of the Warrant, authorizing them to install
him, after being duly passed and raised, a Deputy Grand Master for the Deccan."
Of the reply made to this application, no record has been preserved.
According to the
Calcutta Gazette of January and February i s i g, the Provincial Grand Lodge
for Bengal was solicited by the Collector of Government Customs (Sir Charles
D'Oyly, Bart.) to assist in the ceremony of laying the founda tion‑stone of
the new Customs House, then about to be erected on the site of the old fort.
The stone was accordingly laid by the Hon. C. R. Lindsay, who was accompanied
by W. C. Blaquiere as Deputy and the Rev. H. Shepherd as Provincial Grand
Chaplain. The Lodges represented were Courage with Humanity, Aurora, Moira,
Humility with Fortitude, True Friendship, Industry with Perseverance and Star
in the East.
Lindsay, on his
appointment to a distant station, was succeeded as Deputy Grand Master for
India and Provincial Grand Master for Bengal by John Pascal Larkins, who was
installed by W. C. Blaquiere on December 24, 18 i g. At that meeting it was
decided to abolish the Stewards' Lodge and, on March 21 following, it was
reported that the Aurora Lodge had ceased to work.
On December 2o, 1822,
an address was presented to the Marquess of Hastings on his approaching
departure from India and, a week later, on the Festival of St. John, the
Governor‑General was present at the Cathedral Church in his capacity of Grand
Master for the last time. The members of the Lodges walked there in procession
and a Masonic Service was held, conducted by the Rev. D. Corrie, afterwards
first Bishop of Madras.
Larkins returned to
Europe in 1826, but did not resign his appointment, with the consequence that,
from that year until 1840, Bengal was under the nominal rule FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON 213 of a Provincial Grand Master resident in England, with a
Deputy at Calcutta. Before leaving for England, Larkins earnestly recommended
the Brethren to maintain the custom of attending Divine Service on the
anniversaries of the Saints John and issued a Warrant authorizing William
Coates Blaquiere to officiate as his Deputy and to execute all the functions
of the Provincial Grand Master in his name. The absence of the Provincial
head, however, resulted in the extinction of the Provincial Grand Lodge and
the annihilation of all order and constituted authority for a time. In
1827‑November z2‑Lodge Independence with Philanthropy, at Allahabad, so
resented this conduct, as to return its Warrant, intimating that its future
meetings would be held under a Dispensation obtained from Lodge Union, No. 43z
(Irish Register), in the 14th Foot, until a Warrant could be obtained from
England, for which application had been made direct and which, strange to say,
was granted by Grand Lodge.
In 1834, some Masons
at Delhi applied to their Brethren at Meerut for an acting Constitution of
this kind, which might serve their purpose until the receipt of a Warrant from
the Grand Lodge of England. At the latter station there were two Lodges, one
of which, however, was itself working under Dispensation and could not
therefore dispense grace to another. The other belonged to the 26th Foot, No.
26, under the Grand Lodge of Ireland. This Lodge declined giving a
Dispensation, for the somewhat Irish reason that the Cameronian Lodge had
already granted one to another Lodge, of the propriety of which act they had
great doubt; and that until an answer had been received from Ireland, they
could not commit a second act of doubtful legality ! The custom, however, was
a very old one. In 1759, Lodge No. 74, I.R., in the 1st Foot (zd Batt.),
granted an exact copy of its Warrant‑dated October 26, 1737‑to some Brethren
at Albany, to work under until they received a separate Charter from Ireland.
This was changed‑February 21, 1765‑for a Warrant from George Harrison, English
Provincial Grand Master for New York; and the Lodge‑Mount Vernon‑is now No. 3
on the roll of the Grand Lodge of that State. Cf. Barker, Early History of the
Grand Lodge of New York, Preface, p. xviii.
The Lodges in Bengal
made their returns regularly and forwarded their dues punctually, to the
Provincial Grand Lodge ; but as no steps were taken for the transmission of
these returns and dues to their destination, the Grand Lodge of England ceased
to notice or regard the tributary Lodges of Bengal. On the submission of a
motion for inquiry‑March 22, 1828‑W. C. Blaquiere, Deputy Provincial Grand
Master, " felt himself constrained to resign his chair on the spot and the
Grand Wardens also tendered their resignations." On April ig, 1828, a letter
signed by the Master, Wardens and Secretary of Lodge Aurora, requesting the
Deputy Provincial Grand Master to reassume his high functions and to call an
early meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge was despatched. On May 31 a
meeting called by Lodge Aurora was attended by representatives from Lodges
True Friendship, Humility with Fortitude, Marine, Courage ‑with Humanity and
Kilwinning in the East and led to the formation of a repre‑ 214 FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON sentative body styled the Lodge of Delegates, which, on
August 28, 1828, sent a Memorial to the Duke of Sussex as Grand Master of
England.
To this no reply,
beyond a bare acknowledgment, was vouchsafed. The letters of the Lodges in
Bengal remained unanswered and their requests unheeded. The usual certificates
for Brethren made in the country were withheld, notwithstanding that the
established dues were regularly remitted ; and applications for Warrants were
also unnoticed, though they were accompanied by the proper fees. This state of
affairs continued until 1834, when the question of separation from the Grand
Lodge of England was gravely and formally mooted in the Lodges. Overtures for
a reconciliation at length came in the shape of certificates for Brethren who
had by this time grown grey in Masonry. Answers to letters written long ago
were also received; but the most important concession made by the Grand Lodge
of England was the constitution of the first District Grand Lodge for
Bengal‑under Dr. John Grant‑which held its first meeting, February 28, 1840.
Although the Masonic
Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Ireland has always been a favourite one
with the rank and file of the British army and the number of military Lodges
under it has ever been vastly in excess of those owning allegiance to any
other authority, only a single Irish Warrant for a stationary Lodge in India
appears to have been issued. This was granted in 1837 to some Brethren at
Kurnaul, but its activity seems not to have outlasted the year of its
constitution. An attempt was made in 1862 to establish an Irish Lodge in
Bombay, but on the representation of the Grand Secretary of England to the
Deputy Grand Secretary of Ireland that it would be objectionable " to create a
third Masonic independent jurisdiction in the Province, there being already
two, viz. English and Scotch," the Grand Lodge of Ireland declined to grant
the Warrant.
In the decennial
periods 1840‑50 and 185o‑6o there were, in each instance, i z additions to the
roll. In 1860‑7o the new Lodges amounted to 1 g and in 1870‑85 to 3 8. Since
1885, 57. Lodges have been added. These figures are confined to the English
Lodges, but extend over the area now occupied in part by the District Grand
Lodges of Burma and the Punjab, both of which were carved out of the territory
previously comprised within the Province of Bengal in 1868. The following
statistics show the number of Lodges existing‑January 1, 1886‑in the various
states and districts which until 1868 were subject to the Masonic government
of Bengal: under the Grand Lodge of England‑Bengal (District Grand Lodge), 39;
British Burma (District Grand Lodge), 7 ; and Punjab (District Grand Lodge),
24. Under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, I1‑the earliest of which, St. David
(originally Kilwinning) in the East, No. 371, Calcutta, was constituted
February 5, 1849ò The Dutch Lodges in Hindostan have passed out of existence,
but with regard to these, also to certain other Lodges established by the
Grand Lodge of Holland in various places beyond the seas, the materials for an
exhaustive list are not available to the historian.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON 2‑15 MADRAS The first Lodge on the Coromandel Coast was established
at Madras in 1752, shortly after that city had been restored to the English
under the treaty of Aix‑la‑Chapelle. It is described in the lists as "at
Madrass " in East India and it was first numbered 222, becoming 157 in 1755 ;
124 in 1770; ioi in 178o ; and Io2 In 1781. It was erased from the register in
1790. Canon C. H. Malden, in his History of Freemasonry on the Coast of
Coromandel, thinks that, in all probability, the Lodge was founded by Captain
Edmund Pascal, who was appointed Provincial Grand Master for that District on
February 27, 1767. He was an officer in the English Coast Army, the date of
his commission being October 30, 1751. He was also responsible for the
foundation, in 1765, of three Lodges, numbered respectively 3 5 3, 3 5 4 and 3
5 5. The first had its location at Madras and the third at Trichinopoly, and
Canon Malden thinks that the second worked at Ellore on the East Coast, where
there certainly was a Lodge of which G. Westcott was Master for many years.
It was in the
Trichinopoly Lodge that the last reigning Nabob of the Carnatic, Omdat‑ul‑Omrah
Bahadur, then the eldest son of the reigning Nabob, was initiated in 1775 by
Terence Gahagan, who returned to England in the following year on account of
his health. He attended a meeting of Grand Lodge held on February 5, 1777 and
reported the initiation, stating that Omdat‑ul‑Omrah Bahadur professed a great
veneration for the Society.
It was thereupon
resolved that a complimentary letter should be sent to His Highness,
accompanied with a Masonic apron, elegantly decorated and a Book of
Constitutions, bound in a most superb manner. This apron and book cost ,37
17s. 6d.
The letter and
present were entrusted to the care of Sir John Day, then going out as
Advocate‑General of Bengal, who executed his commission to the universal
satisfaction of the Society and the following letter was written by him to His
Highness as an introduction May it please your Highness,‑The underwritten
(having. been honoured with the commands of the Grand Lodge of Masons of Great
Britain, to convey to your Highness an apron and Book of Constitutions, as a
testimony of their respect for you and your illustrious father, the stedfast
friend and ally of their Sovereign, as well as of the satisfaction they feel
at seeing so exalted a name enrolled among their Order) intended to have
executed the commission with which he is charged in a manner that might best
answer the intentions of his constituents, and the dignity and importance of
the occasion.
It so happens,
however, that the late dissensions in this Settlement have so effectually
dissolved the ties of amity and confidence which once subsisted amongst them,
that even the fraternal bond of Masonry has been annihilated in the general
wreck.
For this reason the
Lodge has so long discontinued its meetings that it may be said to be now
extinct.
2.16 FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON In this situation of things, it being impossible to invest
your Highness in full Lodge and with a splendour and solemnity suited to the
dignity of your character and the importance of the commission he is honoured
with, the underwritten hopes your Highness will condescend to accept (in the
only manner that remains) the pledge of amity and respect from the Masons of
Great Britain that accompanies this and remains, with the most profound
respect, Your Highness's Most humble and devoted servant, JOHN DAY.
Omdat‑ul‑Omrah
Bahadur returned an answer to the Grand Lodge of England in the Persian
language, elegantly decorated and enclosed in cloth of gold, which translated
is as follows To the Right Worshipful His Grace the Duke of Manchester, Grand
Master of the Illustrious and Benevolent Fraternity of Free and Accepted
Masons, under the Constitution of England and the Grand Lodge thereof.
Most honoured Sir and
Brethren,‑An early knowledge and participation of the benefits arising to our
house from its intimate union of councils and interests with the British
nation and a deep veneration for the laws, constitution and manners of the
latter, have for many years of my life led me to seize every opportunity of
drawing the ties subsisting between us still closer and closer.
By the accounts which
have reached me of the principles and practices of your Fraternity, nothing
though be more pleasing to the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, whom we all,
though in different ways adore, or more honourable to His creatures, for they
stand upon the broad basis of indiscriminate and universal benevolence. Under
this conviction I have long wished to be admitted of your Fraternity; and now
that I am initiated, I consider the title of an English Mason as one of the
most honourable I possess, for it is at once a cement to the friendship
between your nation and me and confirms me the friend of mankind.
I have received from
the Advocate‑General of Bengal, Sir John Day, the very acceptable mark of
attention and esteem with which you have favoured me; it has been presented
with every circumstance of deference and respect that the situation of things
here and the temper of the times would admit of; and I do assure your Grace
and the Brethren at large that he has done ample justice to the commission you
have confided to him and has executed it in such manner as to do honour to
himself and to me.
I shall avail myself
of a proper opportunity to convince your Grace and the rest of the Brethren
that Omdat‑ul‑Omrah is not an unfeeling Brother, or heedless of the precepts
he has imbibed; and that, while he testifies his love and esteem for his
Brethren, by strengthening the hands of humanity, he means to minister to the
wants of the distressed.
May the common Father
of aft, the one omnipotent and merciful God, take you into His holy keeping
and give you health, peace, and length of years.
Prays your highly
honoured and affectionate Brother, OMDAT‑UL‑OMRAH BAHADUR.
MADRAS, September 29,
1778.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON 217 This letter is still preserved in the Library and Museum of the
United Grand Lodge of England. Unhappily, in later years, when he succeeded to
the rule, the Nabob seems to have fallen from Masonic grace and through his
inattention to the just claims of dependents upon him much suffering was
caused, so much so that, in 1793, the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity, now No. 150,
recorded With respect to the claims of our late Brother on the Nabob,
experience has shown that the solemn obligations of a Mason and the
admonitions of Lodge, have weighed little with His Highness, in the payment of
a just debt to the orphans of a faithful Brother and Servant.
Some years later,
Terence Gahagan was the bearer of a personal letter from the Prince of Wales
(afterwards George IV) to the Nabob, but, apparently, no notice was taken even
of that communication.
Captain Pascal
appears to have appointed as Deputy Provincial Grand Master, John Call, who
was appointed Chief Engineer, in succession to Captain Brohier, in 1757. He
was granted the rank of Captain in December 1758 and took a leading part in
the siege of Fort St. George.
It is worthy of
recollection that for a short period the Presidency of Madras and its
Dependencies was predominant over all the other English settlements in India ;
and, during the latter half of the eighteenth century, the continuous wars
with the French and, afterwards, with Hyder Ali and his son, caused the
Carnatic to figure largely in Indian history.
In 1767 a fifth Lodge
was warranted at Madras, being described as " of Fort St. George, East
Indies." Its number was first 389, being changed successively to 3 z 3, z 5 4
and z 5 5 . It did not appear in the List for 177o and it was erased on
February 9, 1791.
On January 5, 1768,
the Atholl Grand Lodge established a Lodge‑No. 15z ‑at Fort St. George,
recruited mainly, if not altogether, from officers in the army, which received
an impetus in consequence of the break‑up of Lodge No. 353 This unit seems to
have exercised the functions of a Provincial Grand Lodge, inasmuch as, in
addition to building a Masonic Hall, it established a Charity Fund and granted
Warrants, or Dispensations, for subordinate Lodges. It was not until 178z,
however, that a regular Provincial Grand Master for the Coromandel Coast was
appointed by the Atholl Grand Lodge in the person of John Sykes, an
attorney‑at‑law, then Master of Lodge No. 15 z, but the Warrant of his
appointment never reached its destination. Prior to that date‑at the latter
end of 1778‑the Master and Past Master of the Lodge had been constituted into
a "Provincial Grand Committee for hearing petitions and granting Dispensations
for holding Lodges to such Brethren that may apply and be deemed worthy." In
1785 there was the expression of a desire for Masonic union on the part of the
Atholl Masons. In a letter to the Earl of Antrim, dated from Fort St. George
on July 17, 1785, the Master and Officers of Lodge No. 15 z wrote 2‑18
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON We cannot but express our deepest concern that
Freemasonry should be unhappily divided into two different sects, by the term
of Ancient and Modern and that their respective laws strictly prohibit a free
communication with each other. We wish a union of the Craft could be effected;
the principles of both are the same, the difference, therefore, must be in
their manner of conducting the business of their respective societies, which
do not appear so essential as to prevent a scheme taking place that would
cement the Fraternity in universal harmony and give it more the appearance of
its divine origin, than it at present bears.
On February 2o, 1786,
Brigadier‑General Mathew Horne was appointed by the Duke of Cumberland as "
Provincial Grand Master for the Coast of Coromandel, the Presidency of Madras
and parts adjacent " and the Atholl Brethren welcomed his suggestion that they
should transfer their allegiance to the older body. They surrendered their
Atholl Warrant and a number of them joined the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity,
still in existence as No. 15 0, which has existed uninterruptedly since its
constitution on October 7, 1786. Although 1786 is the date given in the
Masonic Year Book, it is clear from a letter from Horne to the Grand Master of
England, dated January 16, 1785, quoted in full in Canon Malden's History,
that he had held the office previously, but Freemasonry generally had been
abandoned, owing to the unsettled conditions of the times. General Horne
appointed Terence Gahagan as his Deputy Provincial Grand Master. Gahagan had
striven hard, in 1784, to secure the higher office, but unsuccessfully. We are
indebted to him, however, for a description of the surrender of the Atholl
Brethren. In a letter to the Grand Secretary of England, dated October 9,
1786, he says I am very happy to inform you that previous to the arrival of
the Patent, I made no small exertions in bringing about a Union with a set of
gentlemen here who had acted under the Patronage of that Spurious Set who
assumed the title of " Antient Masons." My arguments have at length carried
conviction and, about three months ago, they offered General Horne and me
unconditional terms to come under our Authority, which we gladly accepted, but
deferred the execution of it till the Patent arrived, since which General Home
repaired to the Presidency of Madras, tho' 300 miles distant from Trichinopoly,
where I met him and the 5th instant we visited Prov. Grand Lodge, No. 152,
which was composed of some of the first Characters in the Settlement, who in a
very formal and awful manner surrendered their constitution of York Masons,
with all their jewels, Masonic Implements, etc., to General Horne and me and
solicited our Patronage under the Grand Lodge of England and, on Saturday, the
7th inst., a Masonic assembly was convened at a very large, elegant House for
the purpose of consecrating in due form the new Lodge, as well as to proclaim
our Authority, which was done in ample form. After a regular procession, we
marched round the Hall three times with a Band of Music and then entered in a
solemn manner and consecrated devoutly and installed in due form. As the
ceremony had never been performed in this part of the world, it was left to my
management and I take no small share of satisfaction to myself in finding that
the largest assembly of Masonic Gentlemen, sixty and upwards, attended upon
the occasion ; and were agreeably surprised and extremely pleased at the
ceremony.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON 21g The full programme of the procession is given by Preston, in
his Illustrations of Masonry, though he has wrongly placed the year as 1787
instead of 1786.
At this period all
the Lodges under the older Grand Lodge of England seem to have been extinct;
but, in 1786, the Carnatic Military Lodge, No. 488, was established at Arcot.
In 1787 four Lodges were added to the roll, viz. Perfect Harmony, St. Thomas
Mount; Social Friendship, Madras; Trichinopoly ; and Social Friendship, St.
Thomas Mount. Two other Lodges were already established ‑Stewards' and Perfect
Unanimity‑which, according to the loose practice of those days, were given the
places on the list of the two earliest Madras Lodges and became, in 179o, Nos.
ioz and 233 respectively. The Lodge of Perfect Unanimity is, as already
stated, still in existence as No. 15 o, but the Stewards' Lodge is extinct. A
Lodge of happy nomenclature, La Fraternite Cosmopolite, was constituted at
Pondicherry in 1786 by the Grand Orient of France and a second, Les
Navigateurs Reunis, in 1790 Brigadier‑General Horne resigned his office as
Provincial Grand Master in 1788 on his transference to Trichinopoly, his
resignation being accepted with great regret by the Grand Lodge of England, a
regret which was accentuated when he passed away in December 1789. He was
buried in the church at Trichinopoly, where a handsome tablet was erected to
his memory.
General Horne was
succeeded by John Chamier, a member of the Madras Civil Service, a very
enthusiastic Freemason, who held the office until 1804, when he returned to
England, where he died in 181 o, after holding the office of Senior Grand
Warden of England in the previous year. Chamier was succeeded by Terence
Gahagan, who had been Deputy Provincial Grand Master since 1786. He had waited
long for the preferment which he had sought with much assiduity. In 1812, when
he returned to England, where he died in 1814, he appointed Herbert Compton as
acting Provincial Grand Master, who became his successor. Compton had the
distinction of being the first Grand Superintendent of Royal Arch Masonry in
Madras, in which office he was succeeded, says Canon Malden, by Richard Jebb,
LL.D., although his name is absent from the list of Grand Superintendents as
given in the Masonic Year Book, who also ruled over the Province as Provincial
Grand Master from 1814 until his death in 18zo. Between 179o and 1812 four
Lodges were added to the roll: Solid Friendship, Trichinopoly, 1790; Unity,
Peace, and Concord, 1798 ; St. Andrew's Union, 19th Foot, 18oz ; and
Philanthropists, 94th Foot, Scotch Brigade, at Madras.
Richard Jebb was, of
course, the first Provincial Grand Master for the Coast of Coromandel
appointed after the Union of the Antient (or Atholl) and Modern Grand Lodges,
but it was not until April 1815 that the official intimation of that Union was
received at that outpost. Jebb was succeeded by George Lys in i 8zo, who,
however, was never formally installed and, five years later, Compton again
ruled over the Province. The name of this worthy only disappears from the
Freemasons' Calendar in 1842, and with it the provincial title, " Coast of
Coromandel," which was exchanged for that of Madras, over which Lord
Elphinstone had been ZZO FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON appointed Provincial
Grand Master in 1840. In 1866 Madras was designated a District instead of a
Province, the latter term being reserved for the Provinces in England and
`Vales.
Between 1814 and 1842
numerous Lodges were warranted locally, but thirteen only, of which seven were
in Madras itself, secured places on the London register. There are, at the
present time, thirty‑five Lodges on the register of England and five on that
of Scotland within the boundaries marked out for the English District, but the
introduction of Scottish Lodges into India will be referred to in the ensuing
section.
The French Lodge at
Pondicherry, La Fraternite Cosmopolite, was revived (or anew one established
under the old title) in 18zi. Another, L'Union Indienne, was erected at the
same station in 18 51. At the present date, however, there exist throughout
India and its dependencies no Lodges other than those owning allegiance to the
Grand Lodges of England and Scotland.
The earliest Minute
relating to Royal Arch Masonry occurs in the proceedings of the Lodge of
Perfect Unanimity, dated March 4, 179o and runs Read a letter from the
Cosmopolitan Lodge at Pondicherry acquainting us of the zeal they have
demonstrated from the Royal Arch by promoting Brothers Robson and Griffiths to
a high degree.
Agreed that a letter
be written to Cosmopolitan Lodge at Pondicherry expressive of our attention
for the regard they have demonstrated to Brothers Grifths and Robson and
further a mark of our attention that we have referred their letter to the
Lodge of the Royal Arch.
The Degree, however,
was worked in a Chapter attached to the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity right from
the time of its foundation in 1786, although many years elapsed before a Royal
Arch Chapter was regularly warranted on the coast. About 18og two Chapters
were established in Madras‑Benevolence and School of Plato‑but their Warrants
were not issued until December io, 18 11. The first was formed by members of
the Provincial Grand Lodge and the second by the members of the Lodge of
Perfect Unanimity. In 1811, also, a Chapter, named St. George, which met at
Fort St. George, was formed from among the members of the Lodge Carnatic
Military, which met as a separate unit until July 1814, when it joined forces
with the Chapter of Benevolence. The only Chapter in this trio still in
existence is the School of Plato, which, Malden says, may fairly claim to be
the oldest Colonial Royal Arch Chapter now on the roll of the Supreme Grand
Chapter of England.
The Mark Degree was
worked by the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity from August 1856, when the following
resolution was adopted That the Mark Degree having been sanctioned by the
Grand Lodge of England, it be given as a separate Degree in this Lodge to any
desirous of it who have taken the degree of Fellow Craft.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON Zzi The Lodge of Social Friendship also worked the Mark, Ark
Mariner and Excellent Master Degrees and had a Knight Templar Encampment
attached to it. The first Chapter of the Ancient and Accepted Rite was opened
in Madras in 1839, before the establishment of the Supreme Council for
England, which was formed in 1845. The following are the Minutes of the first
meeting held on August 2, 1839 In the name of the Holy Trinity, At a meeting
of the Knights of the Sovereign Chapter of Rose Croix. Present : Sir Knights
John Carnac Morris, Most Wise ; Varden Seth Sam, i st Knight ; Eleazar Seth
Sam, 2nd Knight ; Paul Melitus, Grand Expert; Stephen Lazar.
After the Sovereign
Chapter was opened in due and antient form, the Most Wise announced to the Sir
Knights present the object of the meeting. That it was to admit a certain
number of candidates into the Sovereign Chapter in order to enable theMasons
in Madras to establish a Chapter of that Degree, which proposition being put
to the Sir Knights present and all assenting to, the ist Knight was desired to
admit the following candidates: Major John James Underwood, Dr. D. S. Young,
Cosmo Richard Howard (Merchant), Alexander Inglis Cherry (Madras C.S.),
Surgeon William Middlemass, John Binny Key (M(‑.rchant), James Ouchterlony
(Merchant), Captain John Bower, William McTaggart (Merchant), Captain Godfrey
Webster Whistler. The candidates were admitted to a participation of the
Sublime and Sovereign Degree of Rose Croix. No other business being on hand,
the Most Wise closed the Chapter with Prudence, Intrepidity and Justice and
the Sir Knights departed in the true Christian faith.
All the candidates
were members of the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity. At the next meeting held on
December 27, 1839, the following twelve candidates, all again members of the
same Lodge, were admitted to the Rite; John, Lord Elphinstone, Governor of
Madras; Alexander Duncan Campbell, C.S. ; John Henry Wilkins, Attorney;
Charles Martin Teed, Barrister; John Thompson, Merchant; Lieutenant the Hon.
G. F. C. Graves; Walter Elliot, C. S. ; Alexander Maclean, C. S. ; Colonel
William Monteith ; William Serle, Lawyer; Joseph Pugh, Merchant; and Captain
James Macdonald. The Chapter seems to have fallen into abeyance soon after
185o, a fate which, in the same year, appears to have befallen three other
Chapters of the Rite which were working in 1847. It was not until 1869 that a
Warrant was obtained from the Supreme Council of England for the establishment
of a Chapter at Madras, the foundation of which was due to the Masonic zeal of
Colonel A. J. Greenlaw, a member of the Thirty‑first Degree. That Chapter,
known as the Coromandel, No. 27, is still in existence. The address delivered
by Colonel Greenlaw on the occasion of the consecration of this Chapter
contained the following historical references Some years back the 18░
was worked by two of the Lodges in Madras, I think in Perfect Unanimity and
Pilgrims of Light, but without, as far as I can discover, any Warrant from a
Supreme Grand Council of the 33░.
The Degree has now long ceased to be worked in Madras.
2‑2.2‑ FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON On my arrival from Burma, where I had inaugurated the Leeson
Chapter under a Warrant from the Supreme Grand Council 33░
for England and Wales, I made every inquiry regarding these Chapters and found
that even the working had been incorrect.
There were some
interesting local customs, particularly in the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity.
When the time for the election of Master came round, the retiring ruler
invariably proposed the Senior Warden as his successor. The members then put
forward another candidate and the votes of the Brethren were then cast, the
candidate securing the majority being, of course, declared elected. He then
nominated a Brother to take the office of Senior Warden; the members brought
forward a candidate in opposition and the ballot again decided the issue. The
same procedure was adopted for the election of junior Warden, Treasurer and
Secretary, but the remaining officers were appointed by the Master‑elect. A
similar custom seems to have been followed in St. Andrew's Union Lodge. The
Lodge of Perfect Unanimity seems to have valued Chaplains highly. On November
6, 1792, it admitted the Rev. Richard Hall Kerr, D.D., as an honorary member
and, shortly afterwards, he was appointed Grand Chaplain at a monthly salary
of thirty pagodas (a pagoda was of the value of about seven shillings). The
Provincial Grand Lodge demanded that the names of all candidates should be
submitted to that body before any subordinate Lodge could proceed to confer
any Degree, a rule which was the cause of much irritation. The following
extract from the Minute Book of the Carnatic Military Lodge is somewhat
amusing Resolved unanimously that henceforward no person exercising the
occupation of Gaoler, Bailiff, Turnkey, or any other whose Livelihood arises
from being actually and personally employed in restraining the Liberty of his
Fellow Creatures, be admitted a member of this Lodge, with the exception (to
prevent misconstruction) of anyone who being a Housekeeper in Madras may be
obliged to serve the office of Constable, as parochial duty in his turn, when
regularly chosen as such, for the usual term; an office unavoidable and which
every one so situated is liable to ; but no Person holding the last‑mentioned
employ as a substitute for another (for hire or otherwise) is by any means to
be admitted. Furthermore, the exception equally applies to all military men
immediately employed as such, whose duties are of that nature, so as to
preclude them from always acting according to their own inclination and who
cannot give way to the impulse of their own feelings, or resist the authority
by which they are commanded.
The old customs of
St. John's Day in winter and summer, says Canon Malden, were regularly kept.
On June 24 and December 27 it was the practice for the Brethren ò assemble
sunrise ò ò ò.‑ òò._ . The officers for the ensuing six months were then
installed. During the day the meeting of the Provincial Lodges.n the evening
ò.[" Brethren ireassembled,lf'.W[WOe business of 7Pro FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND
CEYLON 223 vincial Grand Lodge was reported to those who had no right to
attend. At sunset the Lodge was closed, after the usual Masonic toasts had
been honoured.
The Lodge of Social
Friendship appears to have visited the sins of a wife upon a husband,
according to the following extract from its Minute Book Brother S. having
petitioned the Lodge for advancement, it was proposed and agreed to and
accordingly put to the ballot, whether or not Brother S. should be advanced,
or even continued as a member of the Lodge, unless he put away his wife, she
being convicted of having behaved in a loose and indecent and scandalous
manner in various instances, particularly during his absence at Seringapatam,
on command. The poll proved against him by ten to three, on which he was
directed to withdraw and his name struck out of the Lodge.
The expelled Brother,
quite naturally, appealed to the Provincial Grand Lodge, with the result that
about a year afterwards he was readmitted to membership of the Lodge.
The Brethren of the
District have always been stalwart supporters of the Masonic Institutions and
have organized their own local Benevolent Funds. The Civil Orphan Asylum was
founded in 1807, as the outcome of a scheme drawn up by Dr. R. H. Kerr and
placed before the members of the Lodge of Perfect Unanimity in September 18oo.
The Madras Masonic
Institution for Maintaining and Educating the Children of Indigent and
Deceased Freemasons, inaugurated in 1879, is in a healthy condition.
In April 1917 a plot
of land in a central position in Egmore was acquired with the object of
erecting thereon a Masonic Hall with Offices for the District Grand Lodge. A
temporary building was at once erected and the foundation stone of the new
building was laid on February 26, '1923, by Lord Willingdon, Governor of
Madras. The building has since been completed and was opened by Viscount
Goschen, who succeeded Lord Willingdon as Governor, on February 27, 1925,
being dedicated by A. Y. G. Campbell, District Grand Master. Among the
important events in the history of Freemasonry in Madras, probably the one of
outstanding importance was the visit of H.R.H. the Duke of Conn.aught, Grand
Master, who attended the District Grand Lodge in 1921.
BOMBAY Two Lodges
were established in this Presidency during the eighteenth century‑Nos. 234,
Bombay, in 1758 and 569, Surat, in 1798, both of which were carried on in the
lists until 1813, but disappeared at the Union. A Provincial Grand
Master‑James Todd‑was appointed in 1763, whose name only drops out of the
Freemasons' Calendar in 1799. In 18o1, an Atholl Warrant, No. 322, was granted
to the 78th Foot, which regiment was engaged in the Mahratta F. V‑II 114
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA AND CEYLON war under Sir Arthur Wellesley and took part
in the decisive victory of Assaye (1803). In 1818, Lord Moira was asked to
constitute a Lodge at Poona. But none was again established in the Presidency
until 1822, in which year the Benevolent Lodge, No. 746, Bombay was placed on
the English lists. Among the Freemasons about this time in Bombay were
thirteen non‑commissioned officers who were too poor to establish a Lodge of
their own and too modest to seek admittance in what was considered an
aristocratic Lodge. They met, however, monthly in the guard‑room over the
Apollo Gate, for mutual instruction in Masonry. This coming to the knowledge
of the Benevolent Lodge, the thirteen were elected honorary members of No.
746, for which they returned heartfelt thanks. At their first attendance, when
the Lodge work was over and the Brethren adjourned to the banquet, the
thirteen were informed that refreshments awaited them down stairs. Revolting
at the distinction thus made among Freemasons, they one and all left the
place. The next morning they were sent for by their commanding officer, who
was also one of the officers of the Lodge and asked to explain their conduct.
One of the party, W. Willis, told him that as Masons they were bound to meet
on the Level and part on the Square ; but as this fundamental principle was
not practised in No. 746, of which they had been elected honorary members,
they could not partake of their hospitality. The astonished colonel uttered
not a word, but waved his hand for them to retire. Ever after this, the
Benevolent Lodge‑including the thirteen‑met on the Level, both in Lodge and at
the banquettable.
In 1823, a Military
Lodge‑Orion in the West‑was formed in the Bombay Artillery and registered at
Poona as No. 15, Coast of Coromandel, November 15. According to the early
proceedings of this Lodge, members " were examined in the Third Degree and
passed into the chair of the Fourth Degree "‑for which a fee of three gold
mohurs was exacted. In the following year, a second Lodge at Poona was
established by the Provincial Grand Lodge for Bengal, which, however, has left
no trace of its existence. In 1825, the civilian element of Orion seceded and
formed the Lodge of Hope, also at Poona, No. 8oz. Here, Orion, unrecognized at
home, aided in the secession of some of its members, who obtained a Warrant,
on the recommendation of the parent Lodge, from the Grand Lodge of England. A
Lodge was erected at Bombay‑Perseverance, No. 818‑in 1828. Two years later it
was discovered that no notification of the existence of Orion in the West had
reached the Grand Lodge of England, nor had any fees been received, though
these, including the quarterages, had been regularly paid to the Provincial
Grand Lodge of the Coast of Coromandel. It was further ascertained that in
granting a Warrant for a Bombay Lodge, the Provincial Grand Master for the
Coast of Coromandel had exceeded his powers. Ultimately, a new Warrant, No.
598, was granted from England, July 19, 18 Up to this time the jurisdiction of
the Grand Lodge of England had not been invaded ; but in 1836, Dr. James
Burnes was appointed by the Grand Lodge for Scotland, Provincial Grand Master
for Western India and its Dependencies.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON 225 No Provincial Grand Lodge, however, was formed until January 1,
1838. A second Scottish Province‑of Eastern India‑was subsequently erected,
which, on the retirement of the Marquess of Tweeddale, was absorbed within the
jurisdiction of Dr. Burnes, who, in 1846, became Provincial Grand Master for
all India (including Aden), but with the proviso, that this appointment was
not to act in restraint of any future subdivision of the Presidencies. D.
Murray Lyon says that though Lord Tweeddale was Governor and
Commander‑in‑Chief of Madras from April 1842 to September 1848, his name does
not occur in any records of the Grand Lodge of Scotland of that period, nor
indeed of any other, as Provincial Grand Master for Eastern India.
Burnes, in 1836, may
be best described, in ecclesiastical phrase, as a Provincial Grand Master in
partibus infidelium, for whatever Lodges then existed throughout the length
and breadth of India were strangers to Scottish Masonry. But the times were
propitious. There was no English Provincial Grand Lodge for Bombay; and under
the Chevalier Burnes, whom nature had bountifully endowed with all the
qualities requisite for Masonic administration, Scottish Masonry presented
such attractions, that the strange sight was witnessed of English Masons
deserting their mother Lodges to such an extent that these fell into abeyance,
in order that they might give their support to Lodges newly constituted by the
Grand Lodge of Scotland. In one case, indeed, a Lodge‑Perseverance‑under
England went over bodily to the enemy, with its name, jewels, furniture and
belongings and the charge was accepted by Scotland.
From this period,
therefore, Scottish Masonry flourished and English Masonry declined, the
latter finally becoming quite dormant until the year 1848, when a Lodge, St.
George‑No. 807 on the roll of the Grand Lodge of England‑was again formed at
Bombay and, for some years, was the solitary representative of English Masonry
in the Province.
In 1844, Burnes
established a Lodge, No. 413, Rising Star, at Bombay, for the admission of
natives‑by whom a beautiful medal, cut by Wyon, was struck in consequence‑and
No. 414, St. Andrew in the East, at Poona. These were fol lowed by Nos. 421
(now No. 337)‑Hope, Karachi‑and 4zz (now No. 338) ‑Perseverance, Bombay‑in
1847.
Scottish Lodges were
next erected in Bengal‑No. 3 5 3 (now 371), St. David in the East, Calcutta,
1849 ; and in Arabia‑No. 35 5, Felix, Aden, 1850, still existent with the same
number. At the close of 1885, 33 Lodges in all‑or under Bom bay, 19 ; Bengal,
ii ; Madras, z ; and in Afghanistan, 1‑had received Charters from the Grand
Lodge of Scotland.
Burnes left India in
1849 and was succeeded by a Provincial Grand Master for Western India only. In
1874, however, Captain Henry Morland became Provincial Grand Master for
Hindustan and, subsequently, was commissioned as Grand Master of All Scottish
Freemasonry in India.
Returning to the
Lodges under the Grand Lodge of England, St. George ‑No. 807 (now No.
549)‑constituted in 1848, was for ten years the only repre‑ 226 FREEMASONRY IN
INDIA AND CEYLON sentative of its class. In 1858, however, Lodges Concord‑No.
1o59 (now No. 507) ‑and Union‑No. io6g (now No. 767 at Karachi)‑were
established at Bombay and Karachi respectively. A year later, Orion in the
West (now No. 415, Poona), awoke from its dormancy. In 1861, a Provincial
Grand Lodge was established and to‑day there are 49 Lodges under the District
Grand Master for Bombay.
Until recent years,
it cannot be said that Freemasonry has taken any real root among the native
population of India. Umdat‑ul‑Umari, son of the Nabob of Arcot, was admitted a
member of the Society in 1776. The princes Keyralla Khan (of the Mysore
family) and Shadad Khan (ex‑Ameer of Scinde) joined, or were made Masons in,
the Lodge of True Friendship in 1842 and‑ 18 5 o respectively; and, in 1861,
the Maharajahs Duleep and Rundeer Sing were initiated in Lodges Star of the
East and Hope and Perseverance‑the last‑named personage at Lahore, the other
three in Calcutta. Since then several native princes have received Grand Rank
in the United Grand Lodge of England.
A By‑law of the
Provincial Grand Lodge for Bengal, forbidding the entry of Asiatics without
the permission of the Provincial Grand Master was in force until May 12, 1871
; and there was at least a popular belief in existence so late as 186o, that
Hindus were ineligible for initiation. An assistant military apothecary was
initiated in the Meridian Lodge, 31st Foot, in that year. The legality of this
act‑on the score of the intrant being a Brahmin‑was demurred to in the Masonic
press; the 31st Regiment being with the Expeditionary Force in China, G. W.
Ingram, P.M., No. 345, took up the cudgels on behalf of the Lodge, pointing
out, in an elaborate argument, " that the very ground‑work of the Brahmin
faith is the belief in one Grand Superintending Being." The journal in which
these letters appeared ultimately reached the Lodge‑then at Tientsin‑when a
final letter, deposing that, having filled the chair on the occasion alluded
to, the individual whose admission had been called in question was, " by his
own statement a Christian," was sent to the press. Cf. Freemasons' Magazine,
April zi, September 8, and October 13, 186o; and May 18, 1861 ; and for some
startling assertions respecting Freemasonry forming a portion of the
Brahminical knowledge, see Higgins, Anacalypsis, 1836, vol. i, pp. 767‑9; and
H. Melville, Revelation of Mysteries, etc., 1876, p. 17. The Parsees of
Western India were the first of the native races who evinced any real interest
in the institution and in 1886 one of their number, Doribjee Prestonjee Cama,
was elected to the high position of Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of England.
Another member of that family was, in 1927, appointed to the rank of Past
Assistant Grand Registrar, while there is a Lodge at Hampton Court, Cama, No.
2105, named after another distinguished Parsee (see Masonic News, London, June
14, 1930, p. 480).
In 1876, a Scottish
Lodge, No. 587, Islam‑presumably for the association of Mohammedans‑was
erected at Bombay. The extent to which Freemasonry is now practised by the
Hindus‑who form 7312' per cent. of the total population of India‑is impossible
to determine.
FREEMASONRY IN INDIA
AND CEYLON zi7 CEYLON The earliest trace of a Lodge in Ceylon is that of one
warranted by the Antient Grand Lodge of England in October 1761, to be
attached to the 51st Regiment. Little is known of its activities. In a
certificate of i8oz from Colombo it is referred to as the Orange Lodge, but it
does not appear in the Register after 1781, although it is included in the
list in Ahiman ReZon in 1804. In 18oz, the Antients warranted a Lodge for the
Sixth Battalion of the Royal Artillery then stationed at Colombo, but this
seems to have had an inglorious existence and it was erased in 1830. In
September 1807 a further Lodge was warranted by the Antients to be attached to
the Second Battalion of the 34th Regiment, but it is doubtful whether the
Lodge ever met there as the Warrant is endorsed "At Bandon, November 25,
1807." The Lodge met at Bandon and Clonmel in that year and at Jersey in the
following year. Little more is known of its movements and it was erased from
the English Register in 1832. In 18zz, the Taprobane Lodge was established in
Ceylon under a Provisional Warrant from the United Grand Lodge of England, but
it does not appear in the list until 1836, when it met at Madras ; it was
erased in June 1 862. In the same year (18zz), St. John's Lodge, No. 628, was
formed at Colombo by members of the St. Andrew's Union Lodge, which had been
founded in 1799, to be attached to the 19th Regiment of Foot. It is still in
existence as No. 434, but meets at Secunderabad and is, therefore, included in
the District of Madras. In August, 1838, the oldest existing Lodge in Ceylon
was established‑the St. John's Lodge of Colombo, No. 454, which now meets at
the Henry Byrde Memorial Hall, Kandy. Then comes a long break until 1886, when
the Lodge of St. George, No. z170, still in existence, was founded at Colombo.
To‑day there are nine Lodges in the District of Ceylon, which was formed in
1907. Sir Alexander Johnston was appointed Provincial Grand Master in 181 o,
but he was connected with the Coast of Coromandel, which had the supervision
of the Lodges in Ceylon.
There are three
Lodges under the Irish Constitution: two in Colombo, No. 107, founded in 1861
and No. r 15, founded in 1868 ; one at Talawakelle, No. 298, founded in 1874.
Scotland has jurisdiction over one only, Bonnie Doon, No. 611, at Colombo.
The Grand Lodge of
the Netherlands was one of the earliest Masonic invaders of Ceylon and erected
Lodges at Colombo in 1771 and 1794 and at Point de Galle in 1773. In 1795 the
British took possession of the Dutch settlements on the island and annexed
them to the Presidency of Madras but, six years afterwards, in 1801, Ceylon
was formed into a separate Crown colony.
CHAPTER VIII
FREEMASONRY IN AFRICA SOUTH AFRICA HE Cape Settlement was taken by a British
naval force in 1795, restored to Holland in 18oz, retaken in 18o6 and
permanently ceded to Britain at the Congress of Vienna.
Dutch Lodges‑" Of
Good Hope " and " Of Good Trust "‑were erected at Cape Town in 1772 and I8oz
respectively. These, happily, survive; but several Lodges, at least, in South
Africa under the same jurisdiction appear to have passed away without leaving
any trace of their existence.
After the final
cession of the colony, Lodges under the rival Grand Lodges of England were
established at the capital in 1811 and 1812 respectively‑in the former year,
the British, No. 629, under the older sanction, still in existence as No. 334,
the oldest Lodge in the District of South Africa, Western Division; and in the
latter, No. 354, the Cape of Good Hope Lodge, in the Loth Battalion of the
Royal Artillery, under an Atholl Warrant ; this Lodge was erased in 1851.
The first band of
English settlers arrived in 18zo and, in the following year, a second
stationary Lodge, under the United Grand Lodge of England‑Hope, No. 7z7
(erased in January 1878)‑was erected at Cape Town‑where, also, a Lodge bearing
the same name under the Grand Orient of France, sprang up, November Io, 18z4.
A third English Lodge‑Albany, No. 817‑was established at Grahamstown in 18 z8.
It is now numbered 389 and is the oldest Lodge in the District of South
Africa, Eastern Division.
The following
statement appears in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of England for June 5,
1867 The Dutch Lodges received the English Brethren with open arms and with
great satisfaction. When English Masonry had increased and it was considered
right to form a Provincial Grand Lodge, the Brother selected for the office of
Provincial Grand Master was the Deputy Grand Master of the Netherlands, who
continued till his death to hold the two appointments.
This must have been
Sir John Truter, who received an English Patent in 181g ; for, although an
earlier Provincial Grand Master under England‑Richard Blake ‑had been
appointed in I8oI, the words quoted above will not apply to the latter.
Between 18 z 8 and 18 5 o there was no augmentation of the Lodges ; but, in
the latter year, a revival set in and, during the decade immediately
ensuing‑1851‑6o‑six 228 FREEMASONRY IN AFRICA 229 were warranted by the Grand
Lodge of England. These were the Sovereignty, 871, founded in 1851 and erased
on June 4, 18 62 ; Zetland, No. 884, now No. 6o8, founded at Fort Beaufort on
November 30, 185z; Fordyce, No. 987, founded at King William's Town, in
November, 1856, which ceased working in October i86o; Lodge of Good Will, No.
1013, now No. 711, warranted on July 30, 1857 and consecrated on June 24, 1858
; Port Natal, No. 1040, now 738, warranted on March 3 and consecrated on June
14, 1858 ; and St. John's, No. 113o, now No. 828, warranted on August 7 and
consecrated on November 29, 186o.
In i 86o, to the
jurisdictions already existing (those of Holland and England) was added that
of Scotland, under the Grand Lodge of which country a LodgeSouthern Cross, No.
398‑was erected at Cape Town, Which is still in existence. Shortly afterwards,
in a single year (1863) two Dutch Lodges were established in Cape Colony and
one at Bloemfontein, in the Orange Free State. This period coincides with the
appointment in 1863‑after an interregnum‑of Sir Richard Southey as Provincial
Grand Master under the Grand Lodge of England for the whole of South Africa.
This, however, was not the first appointment of this character, as he had been
preceded, in i 8o1, by Richard Blake; in 1826, by Sir John Truter ; and, in
1834, by Clerke Burton. In 1877, South Africa was divided into two
Districts‑Eastern and Western Divisions, when Sir Richard Southey became
District Grand Master of the latter. In 1895 there was a further partition and
the District of South Africa, Central Division, was founded. The District of
Natal was formed in 1882 ; Transvaal in 1895.; and Rhodesia in 1929.
The strength of the
English Jurisdiction in South Africa to‑day is as follows Natal, 4o Lodges;
Rhodesia, 6 Lodges ; South Africa, Central Division, iz Lodges; South Africa,
Eastern Division, 46 Lodges ; South Africa, Western Division, 31 Lodges ;
Transvaal, 61 Lodges.
Ireland has two
Provincial Grand Lodges in South Africa: the Northern Province, with
jurisdiction over z3 Lodges and the Southern (Cape) Province, with 5 Lodges.
Scotland has five
Districts : the Eastern of the Cape of Good Hope, i z Lodges ; Natal, 14
Lodges ; Rhodesia, 11 Lodges ; Transvaal, 44 Lodges ; Western of the Cape of
Good Hope, 9 Lodges.
The relations between
the English and Dutch Masons at the Cape have always been of the most friendly
character. When the District Grand Lodge under England was re‑erected (1863),
the Deputy Grand Master under the Grand Lodge of the Netherlands assisted at
its re‑inauguration and placed at the disposal of the English Brethren, the
Masonic Hall belonging to the Dutch Fraternity. At the celebration of the
festival of St. John, it has long been customary for the English and Dutch
Masons to assemble at different hours of the day, in order that the Brethren
under each jurisdiction might be present at both meetings. There is frequent
inter‑visitation between the members of all four jurisdictions.
At a Quarterly
Communication of the Grand Lodge of England, held June 5, 1867, it was stated
2.30 FREEMASONRY IN AFRICA Recently an objection has been raised by some of
the younger English Masons against the establishment of some new Lodges lately
formed by the Dutch, on the ground that the Convention of 1770 prohibits their
doing so, the Cape now being an English possession, having been so since the
early part of the present century. In this view, the District Grand Lodge does
not seem to participate. That body is anxious that the amicable relations that
have so long subsisted between the English and Dutch Masons should continue.
.‑. .‑. After setting the foregoing facts before the Grand Lodge, the Grand
Registrar expressed an opinion that, whatever might have been the intention of
the Convention of 1770, it had not been acted on in the Cape Colony, but that
the Grand Master of England, by appointing the Deputy Grand Master of the
Netherlands to be his Provincial Grand Master over English Lodges, virtually
recognized the Dutch Lodges. It must be taken for granted that both the
contracting parties have tacitly consented that it should not apply to the
Cape. . . He was of opinion that as both parties seem to have considered that
the Cape was neutral ground and, the existence of two Grand Lodges having been
allowed to continue side by side, it would be for the benefit of the Brethren
in that Colony, that, as they have gone on working as friends and Brothers,
they should still continue to do so (Proceedings, Grand Lodge of England).
A resolution
embodying the foregoing was then put and unanimously adopted.
WEST COAST OF AFRICA
Richard Hull was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Gambia, West Africa, in
1735 ; David Creighton, M.D., was similarly commissioned for Cape Coast in
1736; and William Douglas for the African Coast and American Islands in 1737.
Notwithstanding these appointments by the Grand Lodge of England, the earliest
Lodge in the western portion of the continent established by that body, seems
to have been No. 586, at Bulam, constituted in 1792. After this came the
Torridzonian Lodge, No. 6zi, at Cape Coast Castle, in 18io. The former of
these disappeared at the Union (1813), but the latter was only erased March 5,
1862, though doubtless inactive for a long time previously, as three Lodges of
much later constitution‑Nos. 7z', Sierra Leone, I8z0 ; 599, Cape Coast, 1833 ;
and 867, Bathurst, River Gambia, 1851‑were likewise struck off the Roll on the
same occasion. Two further English Lodges were established in the
district‑Nos. 1075, Cape Coast Castle, 1859, now No. 773 ; and IM, Lagos, West
Coast, 1867‑both of which are still shown in the list.
To‑day there are
altogether eleven Lodges of the English Constitution in the Gold Coast under
the charge of a Grand Inspector, viz. four at Accra: Victoria, No.
2392, (founded in
189i) ; Accra, No. 3o63 (igo4) ; Harmonic, No. 4190 (i92o) ; and Three
Pillars, No. 4867 (igz6) ; one at Cape Coast Castle, Gold Coast Lodge, already
mentioned; 'two at Coomassie : Ashanti, No. 3717 (1914) and McCarthy, No. 4132
(19z0); two at Sekondi : Sekondi, No. 3238 (1907) and St. George's Seccondee,
No. 3851 (I g I 8) : two at Tarkwa : Taquah, No. 3356 (I 9o9) and Wanderers'
Home, No. 3814 (1917). There are thirteen Lodges under the Scottish
FREEMASONRY IN AFRICA 2.31 Constitution in West Africa: at Sierra Leone
(three), Nigeria (seven), Gambia (one), Cape Coast Castle (one) and Ashanti
(one).
LIBERIA.‑This
remarkable State, colonized in 1821 by a handful of freed slaves from the
United States, recruited ever since by emigrants of the same class and by the
wretched cargoes of captured slave vessels, acknowledged in 1847 as an
independent Republic, governed and well governed too, on the American model,
by the elsewhere despised negro race, with a navy of one vessel (a present
from England), a college with professorial chairs all filled by negroes‑this
successful outcome of a daringly humane experiment, which has partly civilized
countless hordes of natives on its borders, possesses an independent Grand
Lodge of its own, with a seat at Monrovia, the capital. Its Masonic history,
properly told, would prove both interesting and instructive, but unfortunately
nothing beyond the barest statistics can be obtained. A Grand Lodge was
established in 1867, of which the first Grand Master was Amos, an
ex‑Pennsylvanian slave. In 187o he died and was followed by Joseph Roberts, an
ex‑President of the Republic. According to the Masonic Calendars, in 1876 C.
B. Dunbar was the Grand Master, with five Lodges; in 1877, Reginald A. Sherman
; and in 1881, William M. Davis, with six Lodges and 125 members.
THE AZORES.‑In these,
which form a province and not a dependency, of Portugal, there was a Lodge
under the United Grand Lusitanian Orient. That jurisdiction is a favourite one
in the islands of the North Atlantic, as there were in MADEIRA three and in
the CANARIES nine, Lodges holding Warrants from the same Grand Orient.
ST. HELENA.‑An (Atholl)
Lodge‑No. 132‑was established in this island in 1764, but lapsed in the
following year; another‑No. 568‑under the (older) Grand Lodge of England in
1798, which was carried forward at the Union (1813), though it did not survive
the renumbering of 1832. Lieut.‑Colonel Francis Robson was appointed
Provincial Grand Master in i 8oi, David Kay, M.D., in 1803, both holding
office under the senior of the two Grand Lodges. The latter continued for
several years to preside over a Province in which there was no Lodge; but a
revival took place in 1843, when No. 718, now No. 488, was erected and a
second Lodge‑No. 1214‑came into existence in 1862, but has since been erased.
The zoth Foot‑to
which the famous Minden Lodge, No. 63, was attached by the Grand Lodge of
Ireland in 1748‑formed the guard over Napoleon in 181c9‑zI ; but the historian
of the Lodge informs us, " the political and peculiar state of the island
during our station at St. Helena, the severity of duty, the want of a
building, all operated to prevent the best intentions .. .. to assemble for
Masonic purposes." In the only other British island on the coast of Africa
lying south of the Equator‑ASCENSION‑a Lodge, No. Iozq on the English Roll,
was erected in 1864, but has ceased to exist.
There is one Lodge
under the Irish Jurisdiction in West Africa, No. 197, at Calabar.
232‑ FREEMASONRY IN
AFRICA EGYPT Tradition states that Freemasonry was introduced into Egypt,
according to the Rite of Memphis, in 1798, by Napoleon, Kleber and other
officers of the French Army. It is not, however, until 18o2 that there is
definite information concerning regular French Lodges, when Loge La
Bienfaisance was established at Alexandria; in 18o6, a second unit, Loge Les
Amis de Napoleon le Grand, was established, also at Alexandria: both these
were under the Grand Orient of France. Others were constituted by the same
authority, at Alexandria, in 1847 and 1863 ; at Cairo, in 1868 ; and at
Mansourah, in 1882. The rival French Jurisdiction‑the Supreme Council of the
33rd Degree‑also established a Lodge at Alexandria in 1862, others at Ismailia,
Port Said and Suez in 1867, which remained in existence for many years. There
was also in existence, in 1879, a French Lodge under the dominion of the Grand
Independent Symbolic Leagueò body no longer in existence.
The following Lodges
were established under the United Grand Lodge of England, prior to 1894 St.
John's Lodge, No. 1221 (afterwards 9i9), founded at Alexandria, July 12, 1862
; erased April 5, 1877.
Bulwer Lodge of
Cairo, No. io68, constituted February 8 and chartered June 7, 1865, still in
existence.
Hyde Clarke Lodge,
No. io82, founded in 1865 at Alexandria; erased December 14, 1869.
Grecia Lodge, No.
1105, warranted March 31 and constituted April 2o, 1866, at Cairo ; still in
existence.
Lodge of St. John and
St. Paul, No. 1154, at Alexandria, chartered on February 22, 1867; erased
December 6, 1882.
Egyptian Lodge, No.
1156, at Cairo, chartered March 5 and constituted April 29, 1867 ; erased
December 6, 18 Zetland Lodge, No. 1157, at Alexandria, warranted March 5 and
constituted May 30, 1867 ; still in existence.
La Concordia Lodge,
No. 1226, Cairo, formed in 1868 and erased June 4, 18go. Lodge Star of the
East, No. 13 5 5, warranted March 27 and constituted June i o, 1871 ; still in
existence.
Ramleh Lodge, No.
I4Ig, at Ramleh, warranted October 21, 1872, and constituted on January 28,
1873 ; erased December 6, 1882.
The Lodges