Address To The Officers And Brethren Of The Lodge Of Antiquity, Montreal.

by Its warrant . It is asserted that at a later period , a Mark Master Mason ' s jewel was exhibited , which had once been worn by General Washington in an army lodge , and it is supposed that he received this Mark degree in the lodge 227

attached to the 46 th Regiment , which our American brethren assume would explain the entry in the x'ecords of the lodge , and relieve the case from all embarassments . Be this as it may , certain it is that General Washington evinced great love and

veneration for the Order in general , and this lodge in particular . It is reported that the Masonic chest of the 46 fcli , by the chances of war , fell into the hands of the Americans ; they related the circumstance to General Washington , who

embraced the opportunity of testifying his estimation of Masonry in the most marked and gratifying manner , by directing that a guard of honour , under a distinguished officer , should take charge of the chest , with many articles of value

belonging to the 46 th , and return them to the regiment . The surprise , the feeling of both officers and men , may be imagined , when they perceived the flag of truce that annnounced this elegant compliment

from their noble opponent , but still more noble brother . The guard of honour with their flutes playing a sacred march , the chest containing the Constitution and implements of the Craft , borne aloft , like another ark of the covenant , equally by

Englishmen and Americans , who , lately engaged in the strife of war , now marched through the ranks of the gallant regiment , that , with presented arms and colours , hailed the glorious act hy cheers which the sentiment rendered sacred as the

hallelujahs of an angel ' s song . Another fact is worthy of record . In Dominica , in the year 1805 , the 40 th Regiment was attacked by a French force , which it gallantly repelled , but in the action had the misfortune again to lose the Masonic

chest , which the enemy succeeded in securing on board their fleet , without knowing its contents . Three years afterwards , the French Government , at the earnest request of the officers who had commanded the expedition , returned the chest ,

with several complimentary presents ; offering by that act the acknowledgment and homage of an enlightened nation to the purity , value , and usefulness of Masonry .

In 1834 there were but twelve Masons attached to the lodge , one only of whom was among the number of its original members . These twelve , however , in that year petitioned and obtained

from the Grand Lodg-e of Ireland a renewal of their original charter . Thus the English Freemason ' s Quarterly Magazine , of December , 1852 , from which I have compiled in a short form the foregoing facts , remarks : " Thislodge , we think , is still

in existence , having been revived in 1834 , and is called the Lodge of Social and Military Virtues ( No . 227 ) . " I feel satisfied that the jewels worn by your officers are the jewels originally worn by the officers

of the lodge , and especiall y the square which I now have the honour to wear , and on which , as you will perceive , is engraven the words f ' ' 46 th

Regiment . " May it remind us of the sublime injunction we give to our candidates to act upon the square , with all men and more especially with Masons ; but may it beyond all unite in the everlasting bonds of fraternal love the members of

our own , our ancient ,. our well-beloved lodge . The lodge owed allegiance to the Grand Lodge of Ireland until the charter was returned on the establishment of the Grand Lodge of Canada in 1855 , when the lodge joined the latter ; and it is

a pleasing fact , that the Mother Grand Lodge of Ireland was the first Grand Lodge in the Old World which recognised the independent Grand Lodge of Canada .

The Lodge of Social and Military Virtues worked on under that name until the meeting of the Grand Lodge in the city of Montreal in the year 1857 , when , after due notice , it was moved by R . W . Bro . W . C . Stephens , now a Past Grand

Master of Canada , and a distinguished honoz'ary member of this lodge , and seconded by R . W . Bro . Simpson , now the Immediate Past Grand Master of Canada , that the Lodge of Social and Military Virtues shall henceforth be called the

Lodge of "Antiquity , " wear gold instead of silver jewels , and " take precedence of all numbered lodges , " which resolution was unanimously adopted . The Lodge of Antiquity worked on for a few years thereafter most successfully

under able management , but alas ! the higher the flight , the nearer the fall ! We find the lodge some four or five years ago with a low scale of fees , we find it craving for numbers—numbers , not worth , rule the day ; Masons in name but not

in spirit form a majority , and carry their favourite officers ; the result , the monstrous spectacle of Past Masters who should be teachers and rulers of the Craft , while occupying their seats in the east , using toward one another most abusive and