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  • March 1, 1857
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  • GRAND LODGE OF EMERGENCY.
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The Masonic Observer, March 1, 1857: Page 4

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Ar00400

ALTHOUGH ( mainly owing to the exertions of those more warmhearted and vigorous Masons , who have not inappropriately been called the constitutional party , ) a Colonial Board has been appointed to sound the difficult depths of the Canada question , and although ( until that Board shall have made its report ) it were uncalled for to speculate on the result of its

deliberations , there are some brethren to whom the subject of those far neglected Lodges is pregnant with abiding and sustained interest ; and to such , the following extracts from a letter of the Rev . ARTHUR HILL , whose qualifications to write on the subject are patent from his words , can hardly fail to be acceptable .

. "I was Chaplain , " says he , " of the St . Andrew ' s Lodge , No . 1 Prov . register . This Lodge adhered to the 6 . L . of England . " After describing how he had been pained by the adverse spirit evoked and manifested towards each other by the brethren at the last Prov . G . L . he attended , and which induced him to withdraw from active Masonic life , he proceeds : —

" If I remember rightly , during the sitting of that G . L . it was stated , by the Secretary and others , that commmueatioiss had been treated with the greatest neglect at the G . L . of London ; that sometimes two or three years were allowed to elapse before even an acknowledgment of monies remitted could be obtained ; letters were left

unanswered , and , in fact , the Canadian Lodges were treated as unworthy of notice . The Masons of Canada are becoming a most flourishing body , and they felt that such irregularity in conducting the business of the Craft must impair the prospects of the fraternity . They were not all under the powerful influence which I felt ( having been born into Masonry in London at the Sit . Moriah Lodge ) , and therefore while they smarted under the neglect they had experienced that secession took place , which ( as far as I could judge ) was successful . My Lodge , however , never joined in the proceeding , but

opposed it . \\ ithout matters have changed , since I left Canada in August last , there are two distinct bodies of Masons there , viz ., the one working under the G . L . of England , the other under the newly constituted G . L . of Canada . How is this state of things to bo deplored ! I may here remark , that the now G . L . of Canada has been formally recognised by the various Grand Lodges in the United States of America . My own opinion is , that any effort to bring those Canadian Lodges under allegiance to the English G . L . will he quite futile . If I might suggest itthe plan should be ratherto endeavour in duo course

, , to obtain tiie recognition of the new G . L . of Canada by our English G . L .: thus the sad division in Canada would be filled up , differences would be removed , and all would work harmoniously in the Canadian Masonic world . I can assure you , the Craft in Canada is not in its infancy . I have never seen in England Lodges so efficiently worked , or the principles of Masonry more fully exemplified in the lives and conduct of the Brethren . "

We are indebted to Mr . HILL for setting before us , m its true li ght , the status and character of our trans-Atlantic brothers . The letter from which we have extracted the above passages is , in its tone throughout , most truthful and most temperate , and is conceived in the spirit of true Masonry in its fullest acceptation .

Grand Lodge Of Emergency.

GRAND LODGE OF EMERGENCY .

On Wednesday , the 11 th inst ., a Grand Lodge of Emergency was held for the despatch of business remaining over from the last Q . C . Present—The Eight Hon . the Earl of Zetland , M . W . G . M . on the Throne ; E . W . Sir Lucius Curtis , P . G . M ., Hants , as D . G . M . ; E . W . Viscount Godcrich , M . P ., S . G . W . ; K . W . Thos . Tooke , jun . J . G . W . ; R . W . S . Kawson , V . G . M ., China ; R . W . A . Dobie , P . G . M ., Surrey and G . Eeg . ; B . W . T . H . Hall , P . G . M ,, Cambridgeshire ; It . XV . R . J . Bagshaw , P . G . M ., Essex ; E . W . Hon . J . L . Button , P . G . M ., Gloucestershire ; B . W . B . A . Kent , P . G . M ., South Australia ; E . W . Col . Burlton , P . P . G . M . Bengal ; E . W . Lord Panmure , P . S . G . \ V .:

R . W . E . Pattison , P . J . G . W . ; R . W . W . V . Boadon , P . J . G . W . ; V . W . Eev . J . E . Cox , G . C . ; V . W . Rev . E . Moore G . C . ; V . XV . S . Tomkins , G . Tresis . ; V . W . W . H . White , G . Sec . ; W . T . Jones , S . G . D . ; W . E . Phillips , J . G . D . ; W . "W . Famfield , Assistant G . S . W . Edwin Hansford , G . 0 . ; XV . J . Smith , G . P . & o . ; the Grand Stewards of the year ; the Master , Past Masters , and Wardens , of the Grand Stewards' Lodge ; and the Masters , Past Masters , and Wardens of many other Lodges . There were twenty-two motions on the paper .

After the summons calling the G . L . had been read , Bro . the Rev . G . H . PORTAL presented two petitions relative to Canada , and the circulation of the business paper , with a request for them to be read . The Most Worshipful GISANIJ MASTER refused on the ground that this was not a regular , but a special meeting of G . L . The W . Bro . the Rev . G . R . PORTA L then moved " that a return be forthwith ordered from the Provincial Grand Secretary of Canada West , stating the number of Provincial Grand Lodges held during

the Mastership of the present Prov . G . Master , and specifying those at which he presided in person . " His reason for making this motion was , because complaints had been made that the Provincial Grand Master of Canada West had neglected the business of the province , and it ought , therefore , to be known whether those complaints were well founded , and whether the Grand Master had held a sufficient number of Lodges , and was present at them . Some remarks had been made in Grand Lodge in June last , by the G . M ., which appeared to reflect on the worthy Deputy P . G . M . of Canada

West . Those remarks , he trusted , had been misunderstood , and would be found capable of explanation ; but they rendered this return necessary , in vindication of the course adopted by the D . P . G . M . The motion having been seconded , R . W . Bro . DOBIE disapproved of the wording of the motion , and suggested that the return should be requested through the Grand Master . The W . Bro . the Rev . G . PORTAL in reply said , he should not have resisted Bro . Dobie's amendment on light grounds , he did so because it appeared to him that the power and authority of the Grand Lodge over Provincial Grand Lodges were involved in this proceeding . It was the duty of Provincial Grand Lodges to keep their proceedings registered in a book for the inspection of the

Grand Master or Grand Lodge . It was not possible to forego tne authority that Grand Lodge possessed in this matter , or to attempt to get , by indirect means , that information which they had a right to obtain by their own authority . For this reason he must beg leave to press his motion . G . L . then divided , when the motion was carried by a very large majority . The W . Bro . the Rev . G . R . PORTAL next moved " that the Board of General Purposes be requested to procure a return of the number

of Prov . G . Lodges held in each province during the last ten years , specifying those at which the P . G . M . had presided in person , and to report the same to G . L . " He had no wish to cast the slightest imputation upon those P . G . M . ' s who , being unable from various causes to attend personally to the duties of the province , took care that Masonry suffered no damage by appointing a Deputy who should regularly hold P . G . Lodges ; but there were cases in which no Lodges had been held for very long periods , and he thought it riht that G . L . should know which of the P . G . M . ' s fulfilled the

g trust reposed in them , either personally or by deputy , and which neglected them altogether . W . Bro . SYMONSS seconded the Motion . R . W . Bro . BEADON : —Such motions put the Board of General Purposes in a very awkward position . It was clear to him , from the Book of Constitutions , that the Board had no power to obtain this return . He was not opposed to the return , but to the form of the motion , believing that the Board of General Purposes had no valid power in the matter .

W . Bro . the Rev . G . PORTAL remarked , that the difference between the R . XV . Bro . Beadon and himself was , simply whether the Grand Secretary or the Board of General Purposes should be directed by G . L . to procure the return . With respect to the wording of the motion , he worded it in a courteous manner , inserting the term " requested" instead of "desired , " but implying that the return was ordered by the sole authority of G . L . He thought , however , that R . W . Bro . Beadon was wrong when he said the Book of Constitutions gave no power to the Board in the matterfor he found

, , in the Book of Constitutions , that it was the duty of the Board of General Purposes to correspond with Provincial Lodges , and obtain any information that might be needed . R . XV . Bro . BEADON said it was quite a different thing to correspond with Provincial Lodges and to order a return to be made by them .

“The Masonic Observer: 1857-03-01, Page 4” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 29 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mob/issues/mob_01031857/page/4/.
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Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
Untitled Article 3
Untitled Article 3
Untitled Article 4
GRAND LODGE OF EMERGENCY. Article 4
"ADDRESS TO THE CRAFT, BY A PAST MASTER." Article 8
Untitled Article 10
Untitled Article 10
MEMORIAL FROM THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF CANADA WEST. Article 10
BRO. THE EARL OF CARNARVON AT BATH. Article 12
A VALENTINE SOMEWHAT OVERDUE. Article 13
"THE MASONIC OBSERVER" TO HIS SHAMELESS LITTLE MUSE. Article 13
Untitled Article 14
Correspondence. Article 14
Untitled Article 15
From the " Canadian Masonic Pioneer." Article 16
Untitled Article 16
Untitled Article 16
"THE EARLY WITHDRAWAL OF THE BENEVOLENT—A LESSON TO SURVIVORS." Article 16
Untitled Article 16
Untitled Article 16
Untitled Article 16
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Ar00400

ALTHOUGH ( mainly owing to the exertions of those more warmhearted and vigorous Masons , who have not inappropriately been called the constitutional party , ) a Colonial Board has been appointed to sound the difficult depths of the Canada question , and although ( until that Board shall have made its report ) it were uncalled for to speculate on the result of its

deliberations , there are some brethren to whom the subject of those far neglected Lodges is pregnant with abiding and sustained interest ; and to such , the following extracts from a letter of the Rev . ARTHUR HILL , whose qualifications to write on the subject are patent from his words , can hardly fail to be acceptable .

. "I was Chaplain , " says he , " of the St . Andrew ' s Lodge , No . 1 Prov . register . This Lodge adhered to the 6 . L . of England . " After describing how he had been pained by the adverse spirit evoked and manifested towards each other by the brethren at the last Prov . G . L . he attended , and which induced him to withdraw from active Masonic life , he proceeds : —

" If I remember rightly , during the sitting of that G . L . it was stated , by the Secretary and others , that commmueatioiss had been treated with the greatest neglect at the G . L . of London ; that sometimes two or three years were allowed to elapse before even an acknowledgment of monies remitted could be obtained ; letters were left

unanswered , and , in fact , the Canadian Lodges were treated as unworthy of notice . The Masons of Canada are becoming a most flourishing body , and they felt that such irregularity in conducting the business of the Craft must impair the prospects of the fraternity . They were not all under the powerful influence which I felt ( having been born into Masonry in London at the Sit . Moriah Lodge ) , and therefore while they smarted under the neglect they had experienced that secession took place , which ( as far as I could judge ) was successful . My Lodge , however , never joined in the proceeding , but

opposed it . \\ ithout matters have changed , since I left Canada in August last , there are two distinct bodies of Masons there , viz ., the one working under the G . L . of England , the other under the newly constituted G . L . of Canada . How is this state of things to bo deplored ! I may here remark , that the now G . L . of Canada has been formally recognised by the various Grand Lodges in the United States of America . My own opinion is , that any effort to bring those Canadian Lodges under allegiance to the English G . L . will he quite futile . If I might suggest itthe plan should be ratherto endeavour in duo course

, , to obtain tiie recognition of the new G . L . of Canada by our English G . L .: thus the sad division in Canada would be filled up , differences would be removed , and all would work harmoniously in the Canadian Masonic world . I can assure you , the Craft in Canada is not in its infancy . I have never seen in England Lodges so efficiently worked , or the principles of Masonry more fully exemplified in the lives and conduct of the Brethren . "

We are indebted to Mr . HILL for setting before us , m its true li ght , the status and character of our trans-Atlantic brothers . The letter from which we have extracted the above passages is , in its tone throughout , most truthful and most temperate , and is conceived in the spirit of true Masonry in its fullest acceptation .

Grand Lodge Of Emergency.

GRAND LODGE OF EMERGENCY .

On Wednesday , the 11 th inst ., a Grand Lodge of Emergency was held for the despatch of business remaining over from the last Q . C . Present—The Eight Hon . the Earl of Zetland , M . W . G . M . on the Throne ; E . W . Sir Lucius Curtis , P . G . M ., Hants , as D . G . M . ; E . W . Viscount Godcrich , M . P ., S . G . W . ; K . W . Thos . Tooke , jun . J . G . W . ; R . W . S . Kawson , V . G . M ., China ; R . W . A . Dobie , P . G . M ., Surrey and G . Eeg . ; B . W . T . H . Hall , P . G . M ,, Cambridgeshire ; It . XV . R . J . Bagshaw , P . G . M ., Essex ; E . W . Hon . J . L . Button , P . G . M ., Gloucestershire ; B . W . B . A . Kent , P . G . M ., South Australia ; E . W . Col . Burlton , P . P . G . M . Bengal ; E . W . Lord Panmure , P . S . G . \ V .:

R . W . E . Pattison , P . J . G . W . ; R . W . W . V . Boadon , P . J . G . W . ; V . W . Eev . J . E . Cox , G . C . ; V . W . Rev . E . Moore G . C . ; V . XV . S . Tomkins , G . Tresis . ; V . W . W . H . White , G . Sec . ; W . T . Jones , S . G . D . ; W . E . Phillips , J . G . D . ; W . "W . Famfield , Assistant G . S . W . Edwin Hansford , G . 0 . ; XV . J . Smith , G . P . & o . ; the Grand Stewards of the year ; the Master , Past Masters , and Wardens , of the Grand Stewards' Lodge ; and the Masters , Past Masters , and Wardens of many other Lodges . There were twenty-two motions on the paper .

After the summons calling the G . L . had been read , Bro . the Rev . G . H . PORTAL presented two petitions relative to Canada , and the circulation of the business paper , with a request for them to be read . The Most Worshipful GISANIJ MASTER refused on the ground that this was not a regular , but a special meeting of G . L . The W . Bro . the Rev . G . R . PORTA L then moved " that a return be forthwith ordered from the Provincial Grand Secretary of Canada West , stating the number of Provincial Grand Lodges held during

the Mastership of the present Prov . G . Master , and specifying those at which he presided in person . " His reason for making this motion was , because complaints had been made that the Provincial Grand Master of Canada West had neglected the business of the province , and it ought , therefore , to be known whether those complaints were well founded , and whether the Grand Master had held a sufficient number of Lodges , and was present at them . Some remarks had been made in Grand Lodge in June last , by the G . M ., which appeared to reflect on the worthy Deputy P . G . M . of Canada

West . Those remarks , he trusted , had been misunderstood , and would be found capable of explanation ; but they rendered this return necessary , in vindication of the course adopted by the D . P . G . M . The motion having been seconded , R . W . Bro . DOBIE disapproved of the wording of the motion , and suggested that the return should be requested through the Grand Master . The W . Bro . the Rev . G . PORTAL in reply said , he should not have resisted Bro . Dobie's amendment on light grounds , he did so because it appeared to him that the power and authority of the Grand Lodge over Provincial Grand Lodges were involved in this proceeding . It was the duty of Provincial Grand Lodges to keep their proceedings registered in a book for the inspection of the

Grand Master or Grand Lodge . It was not possible to forego tne authority that Grand Lodge possessed in this matter , or to attempt to get , by indirect means , that information which they had a right to obtain by their own authority . For this reason he must beg leave to press his motion . G . L . then divided , when the motion was carried by a very large majority . The W . Bro . the Rev . G . R . PORTAL next moved " that the Board of General Purposes be requested to procure a return of the number

of Prov . G . Lodges held in each province during the last ten years , specifying those at which the P . G . M . had presided in person , and to report the same to G . L . " He had no wish to cast the slightest imputation upon those P . G . M . ' s who , being unable from various causes to attend personally to the duties of the province , took care that Masonry suffered no damage by appointing a Deputy who should regularly hold P . G . Lodges ; but there were cases in which no Lodges had been held for very long periods , and he thought it riht that G . L . should know which of the P . G . M . ' s fulfilled the

g trust reposed in them , either personally or by deputy , and which neglected them altogether . W . Bro . SYMONSS seconded the Motion . R . W . Bro . BEADON : —Such motions put the Board of General Purposes in a very awkward position . It was clear to him , from the Book of Constitutions , that the Board had no power to obtain this return . He was not opposed to the return , but to the form of the motion , believing that the Board of General Purposes had no valid power in the matter .

W . Bro . the Rev . G . PORTAL remarked , that the difference between the R . XV . Bro . Beadon and himself was , simply whether the Grand Secretary or the Board of General Purposes should be directed by G . L . to procure the return . With respect to the wording of the motion , he worded it in a courteous manner , inserting the term " requested" instead of "desired , " but implying that the return was ordered by the sole authority of G . L . He thought , however , that R . W . Bro . Beadon was wrong when he said the Book of Constitutions gave no power to the Board in the matterfor he found

, , in the Book of Constitutions , that it was the duty of the Board of General Purposes to correspond with Provincial Lodges , and obtain any information that might be needed . R . XV . Bro . BEADON said it was quite a different thing to correspond with Provincial Lodges and to order a return to be made by them .

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