Difference between revisions of "MassachusettsHamiltonHistoryCh25"

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(Created page with "== CHAPTER 25: THE COMING OF WAR == Grand Master Heard's three years of office were now at an end and the Grand Lodge called Winslow Lewis back into service as Grand Master....")
 
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Another Lodge provided that vacancies in the line of officers should be filled at the first regular meeting after they occur, by ballot or appointment, as they were originally filled (quite unconstitutional), and that in business and discussions the Lodge should be governed by Parliamentary law. Masonry knows nothing of Parliamentary law and cannot be governed by it.
 
Another Lodge provided that vacancies in the line of officers should be filled at the first regular meeting after they occur, by ballot or appointment, as they were originally filled (quite unconstitutional), and that in business and discussions the Lodge should be governed by Parliamentary law. Masonry knows nothing of Parliamentary law and cannot be governed by it.
  
All of these provisions, some clearly unconstitutional and some merely fantastic, were disallowed. The Committee reports deal
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All of these provisions, some clearly unconstitutional and some merely fantastic, were disallowed. The Committee reports deal thoroughly and very interestingly with various aspects of the Common Law of Masonry. They were probably drafted by Gardner, a very able lawyer who was afterward a Justice of the Supreme Court. It was of the greatest value to the Fraternity in this period of rapid expansion to have such wise counsellors to direct and restrain its activities.
thoroughly and very interestingly with various aspects of the Common Law of Masonry. They were probably drafted by Gardner, a very able lawyer who was afterward a Justice of the Supreme Court. It was of the greatest value to the Fraternity in this period of rapid expansion to have such wise counsellors to direct and restrain its activities.
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After a few years we cease to find these curious sets of by-laws presented by new Lodges. They were the natural result of war time conditions already noted. Great numbers of candidates were hastily given the degrees. They were uninstructed even in the ritual. They wanted to be, and were Master Masons, but they had very little idea what it was all about. Many of them rushed off to war without becoming Lodge members. A good many were made in the Army Lodges which surrendered their warrants when the forces were demobilized. Great Numbers of these unaffiliated Masons sought Masonic homes in the new Lodges which were formed in numbers. Quite ignorant of Masonic law,practice, or precedent, they quite naturally supposed that they could adopt any by-laws they pleased. Incidentally the Committee reports on these cases furnished a very important body of precedent, discussion, and information for succeeding years.
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After a few years we cease to find these curious sets of by-laws presented by new Lodges. They were the natural result of war time conditions already noted. Great numbers of candidates were hastily given the degrees. They were uninstructed even in the ritual. They wanted to be, and were Master Masons, but they had very little idea what it was all about. Many of them rushed off to war without becoming Lodge members. A good many were made in the Army Lodges which surrendered their warrants when the forces were demobilized. Great Numbers of these unaffiliated Masons sought Masonic homes in the new Lodges which were formed in numbers. Quite ignorant of Masonic law, practice, or precedent, they quite naturally supposed that they could adopt any by-laws they pleased. Incidentally the Committee reports on these cases furnished a very important body of precedent, discussion, and information for succeeding years.
  
 
The question of financing the new Temple now seriously engaged the attention of the Grand Lodge. The Grand Master in his annual report at the close of 1866 called attention to the fact that the Grand Lodge had, by authorizing the building of a Temple to replace the Winthrop House, committed itself to a very large expenditure which must somehow be provided for, and suggested a plan for a sinking fund for that purpose. The Committee to whom the report was referred presented at the March Quarterly of 1867 a very elaborate and thorough report, undoubtedly drawn by William Sewall Gardner, the Chairman. Gardner had been Senior Grand Warden in 1864 and his great ability and power of clear and forceful presentation of his views had made him a leading figure in Grand Lodge.
 
The question of financing the new Temple now seriously engaged the attention of the Grand Lodge. The Grand Master in his annual report at the close of 1866 called attention to the fact that the Grand Lodge had, by authorizing the building of a Temple to replace the Winthrop House, committed itself to a very large expenditure which must somehow be provided for, and suggested a plan for a sinking fund for that purpose. The Committee to whom the report was referred presented at the March Quarterly of 1867 a very elaborate and thorough report, undoubtedly drawn by William Sewall Gardner, the Chairman. Gardner had been Senior Grand Warden in 1864 and his great ability and power of clear and forceful presentation of his views had made him a leading figure in Grand Lodge.
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Two resolutions were proposed and adopted, as follows:
 
Two resolutions were proposed and adopted, as follows:
55?.
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<blockquote>
"Resolved: That this Grand Lodge hereby pledges the faith of the Fraternity of the Commonwealth to sustain the Most Worshipful Grand Master and the Board of Directors in completing and paying for the new Masonic Temple now being erected in this city."
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* "Resolved: That this Grand Lodge hereby pledges the faith of the Fraternity of the Commonwealth to sustain the Most Worshipful Grand Master and the Board of Directors in completing and paying for the new Masonic Temple now being erected in this city."
"Resolved: That it is the sense of the Grand Lodge that its acticn this day taken upon the reference of the papers purporting to be a protest from King Solomon's Lodge, was not intended and is not to be deemed, as in any way rscinding its Order passed at the last Communication (imposing a capitation tax ) but rather with the view of causing the subordinate Lodges more fully to understand the necessity of its passage."
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* "Resolved: That it is the sense of the Grand Lodge that its action this day taken upon the reference of the papers purporting to be a protest from King Solomon's Lodge, was not intended and is not to be deemed, as in any way rescinding its Order passed at the last Communication (imposing a capitation tax ) but rather with the view of causing the subordinate Lodges more fully to understand the necessity of its passage."
The first resolution, which was passed unanimously, was offered by Charles Levi Woodbury, the Corresponding Grand Secretary. The second which was passed, but not unanimously, was offered by George Washington Warren, who was himself a member of King Solomon's Lodge. Both Woodbury and Warren were put on the Committee of Sixteen when the Grand Master^ later appointed it.
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</blockquote>
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The first resolution, which was passed unanimously, was offered by Charles Levi Woodbury, the Corresponding Grand Secretary. The second which was passed, but not unanimously, was offered by George Washington Warren, who was himself a member of King Solomon's Lodge. Both Woodbury and Warren were put on the Committee of Sixteen when the Grand Master later appointed it.
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The Committee of Sixteen reported at the September Quarterly. Unfortunately the report has not survived. It was considered and accepted and it was "Voted, that so much of the report as relates to the financial condition of the Grand Lodge be printed and sent to the Lodges, with such explanations and additions as the Grand Master may judge to be necessary for their information.
 
The Committee of Sixteen reported at the September Quarterly. Unfortunately the report has not survived. It was considered and accepted and it was "Voted, that so much of the report as relates to the financial condition of the Grand Lodge be printed and sent to the Lodges, with such explanations and additions as the Grand Master may judge to be necessary for their information.
There were no more protests, but the collection of the tgx involved a good deal of difficulty for some years and caused not a little friction. A few Lodges flatly refused to pay. They were all finally brought
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into a more submissive frame of mind but one Lodge carried its rebellion so far that it was necessary to lift its Charter, The suspension, however, only lasted for a few months.
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There were no more protests, but the collection of the tax involved a good deal of difficulty for some years and caused not a little friction. A few Lodges flatly refused to pay. They were all finally brought into a more submissive frame of mind but one Lodge carried its rebellion so far that it was necessary to lift its Charter, The suspension, however, only lasted for a few months.
On June 24, 1867, the new Temple was dedicated with much pomp and ceremony. There was a procession of some sixteen thousand Masons,
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558,
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On June 24, 1867, the new Temple was dedicated with much pomp and ceremony. There was a procession of some sixteen thousand Masons, including delegations from many foreign jurisdictions both in and out of the United States, which marched over a four mile route. There was a formal dedication of the Temple, with full form and ceremony. There was a great meeting in Music Hall, the largest auditorium in the city, with an admirable oration by Rev. William S. Studley, a Past Grand Chaplain who had been summoned from his then home in Cincinnati for the purpose. To crown the day there was a banquet In the Temple, with the usual array of distinguished speakers. It is worth recording that the speeches,which are on record, were all short and all good.
including delegations from many foreign jurisdictions both in and out of the United States, which marched over a four mile route. There was
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a formal dedication of the Temple, with full form and ceremony. There was a great meeting in Music Hall, the largest auditorium in the city, -w with an admirable oration by Rev, William S. Studley, a Past Grand Chaplain who had been summoned from his then home in Cincinnati for tte purpose. To crown the day there was a banquet In the Temple, with the usual array of distinguished speakers. It is worth recording that the speeches,which are on record, were all short and all good.
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The chief guest of the day was President Andrew Johnson. President Johnson very graciously accepted the invitation to be present and spoke twice, once during the dedication ceremony and once at the banquet. The President was received with great enthusiasm. In his remarks he expressed very great pleasure in coming to Massachusetts and at the evidences of sincerely fraternal spirit which he had seen displayed. He said that he had attended many Masonic celebrations but had almost always heard "taunts and jeers." On this occasion every Brother appeared to feel that he was a man and was inspired by the spirit of Masonic fraternity. He had not heard the first expression of acrimony. He said that in coming here he had followed the rule of his life - to satisfy his conscience that a thing was right, and then left the consequences to take care of themselves. He praised the great principles of Freemasonry and said that through them he had learned one thing, "I care not whether it be in religion, in politics, or elsewhere, in the pursuit and in the support of a correct principle I could never reach a wrong conclusion. I love principle: I am devoted to principle.*
The chief guest of the day was President Andrew Johnson. President Johnson very graciously accepted the invitation to be present and spoke twice, once during the dedication ceremony and once at the banquet, *■ The President was received with great enthusiasm. In his remarks he expressed very great pleasure in coming to Massachusetts and at the evidences of sincerely fraternal spirit which he had seen displayed. He said that he had attended many Masonic celebrations but had almost always heard "taunts and jeers." On this occasion every Brother appeared to feel that he was a man and was inspired by the spirit of Masonic fraternity. He had not heard the first expression of acrimony. He said that in coming here he had followed the rule of his life - to satisfy his conscinece that a thing was right, and then left the consequences to take care of themselves. He praised the great principles of Freemasonry and said that through them he had learned one thing, "I care not whether it be in religion, in politics, or elsewhere, in the pursuit and in the support of a correct principle I could never reach a wrong conclusion. I love principle: I am devoted to principle.*
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Other speakers spoke of Freemasonry and its underlying principles as a valuable aid toward abolishing the rancor and healing the divisions caused by the Civil War. All such references were Masonically discreet and there was an entire absence of any direct political allusions,
Other speakers spoke of Freemasonry and its underlying principles as a valuable aid toward abolishing the rancor and healing the divisiorts caused by the Civil War. All such references were Masonically discreet
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but reading the speeches against the background of current conditions one sees much between the lines.
559. and there was an entire absence of any direct political allusions,
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but reading the speeches against the background of current conditions
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The presence and words of President Johnson gain greatly in interest and significance when projected against this background. Johnson was in the midst of this courageous but helpless struggle with a Congress overwhelmingly opposed to him. Two of the most conspicuous leaders of the opposition were Massachusetts men, Charles Sumner and Benjamin F. Butler. Johnson was fighting for the restoration of the spiritual unity of the nation, generosity toward the fallen foe, government in the hands of the people, where it belonged, the known principles and policy of Abraham Lincoln. The dominant party in Congress wished to treat the southern states as conquered provinces, crush them, body and soul, and subject them to a regime of vengeance. To this end they passed the legislation which brought about the shameful "reconstruction era." Johnson vetoed their acts, but they overrode his veto again and again. A year after he came to Boston they tried, to their everlasting disgrace, to impeach him and failed only by the margin of a single vote, cast by a brave Senator who took his political life in his hands to do it. Viewed in the light of all this Johnson's visit to Massachusetts became much more than a pleasant fraternal gesture.
one sees much between the lines.
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The presence and words of President Johnson gain greatly in interest and significance when projected against this background. Johnson was in the midst of this courageous but helpless struggle with a Congress overwhelmingly opposed to him. Two of the most conspicuous leaders of the opposition were Massachusetts men, Charles Sumner and Benjamin F. Butler. Johnson was fighting for the restoration of the spiritual unity of the nation, generosity toward the fallen foe, government in the hands of the people, where it belonged, the known principles and policy of Abraham Lincoln. The dominant party in Congress wished to treat the southern states as conquered provinces, crush them, body and soul, and subject them to a regime of vengeance. To this end they passed the legislation which brought about the shameful "reconstruction era." Johnson vetoed their acts, but they overrode his veto again and again. A year after he came to Boston they tried,tdtheir everlasting disgrace, to impeach him and failed only by the margin of a single vote, cast by a brave Senator who took his political life in his hands to do it. Viewed in the light of all this Johnson's visit to Massachusetts became much more than a pleasant fraternal gesture.
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The rapid growth of the years just preceding revealed some weaknesses in the constitutional structure. Amendments were adopted providing that the Grand Secretary should officially notify all the Lodges of proposed amendments to the Grand Constitutions within thirty days of their proposal and should put them on the notice of the meeting at which action was expected.
 
The rapid growth of the years just preceding revealed some weaknesses in the constitutional structure. Amendments were adopted providing that the Grand Secretary should officially notify all the Lodges of proposed amendments to the Grand Constitutions within thirty days of their proposal and should put them on the notice of the meeting at which action was expected.
The machinery for the investigating of applicants for the degrees was not working efficiently. Two amendments were adopted, one declaring that rejected applicants who might receive the degrees without a
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560. recommendation from the rejecting Lodge should be declared^ clandestine Mason^the other that "any person leaving his place of residence within this state, who shall be initiated in any Lodge in any other state or territory without having first obtained the consent of the Lodge having jurisdiction, should likewise be deemed clandestine."
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The machinery for the investigating of applicants for the degrees was not working efficiently. Two amendments were adopted, one declaring that rejected applicants who might receive the degrees without a recommendation from the rejecting Lodge should be declared clandestine Masons; the other that "any person leaving his place of residence within this state, who shall be initiated in any Lodge in any other state or territory without having first obtained the consent of the Lodge having jurisdiction, should likewise be deemed clandestine."
A very important amendment forbade the incorporation of Particular Lodges. The same matter came up at the June Quarterly of 1826, when the Grand Lodge, on recommendation of a Committee of which John Abbot, who probably drew the report, was Chairmanjadopted a resolution rlThat no subordinate Lodge, or any member thereof for such Lodge, shall hereafter present to the Legislature any petition for aiylct of Incorporation, and that all Lodges or members thereof which have such petitions now pending cause the same to be withdrawn; and that the Recording Grand Secretary notify all Lodges under the jurisdiction of this report and resolution.1"
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A very important amendment forbade the incorporation of Particular Lodges. The same matter came up at the June Quarterly of 1826, when the Grand Lodge, on recommendation of a Committee of which John Abbot, who probably drew the report, was Chairman, adopted a resolution "That no subordinate Lodge, or any member thereof for such Lodge, shall hereafter present to the Legislature any petition for an act of Incorporation, and that all Lodges or members thereof which have such petitions now pending cause the same to be withdrawn; and that the Recording Grand Secretary notify all Lodges under the jurisdiction of this report and resolution."
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At that time there was a wave of incorporation, all sorts of groups applying for such Acts, and there was a disposition on the part of some Lodges to go along with the crowd. The resolution accomplished its purpose, the craze for incorporation subsided, and no further action seemed called for. The matter was not mentioned in the Constitution of 1843.
 
At that time there was a wave of incorporation, all sorts of groups applying for such Acts, and there was a disposition on the part of some Lodges to go along with the crowd. The resolution accomplished its purpose, the craze for incorporation subsided, and no further action seemed called for. The matter was not mentioned in the Constitution of 1843.
Now the growing size and wealth of the Fraternity and especially the acquisition of real estate, brought the matter up again. An amendment was prepared dealing with it and submitted to a Committee of which William Sewall Gardner was Chairman. Gardner presented another of his masterly reports. iie laid down at the outset the principle that "the supreme authority over the subordinate Lodgesjexists exclusively and absolutely in the Grand Lodge." They are answerable to the Grand . Lodge, and cannot be made answerable to any other tribunal or government." If they were incorporated they would become subordinate not only to the Grand Lodge, but also to the civil courts and to the Legislature. Their most private concerns would become open. Their proceedings might be
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Now the growing size and wealth of the Fraternity and especially the acquisition of real estate, brought the matter up again. An amendment was prepared dealing with it and submitted to a Committee of which William Sewall Gardner was Chairman. Gardner presented another of his masterly reports. He laid down at the outset the principle that "the supreme authority over the subordinate Lodges exists exclusively and absolutely in the Grand Lodge." They are answerable to the Grand Lodge, and cannot be made answerable to any other tribunal or government." If they were incorporated they would become subordinate not only to the Grand Lodge, but also to the civil courts and to the Legislature. Their most private concerns would become open. Their proceedings might be reviewed, their discharged members ordered restored, their elections declared void even the investment and expenditure of their funds be ordered and directed by a Court of Equity. Our own Grand Lodge only escaped such interference by the surrender of its Charter of Incorporation in 1834. Incorporation would sweep away the appellate jurisdiction of the Grand Master and Grand Lodge and substitute a jurisdiction which knew nothing of Masonic obligation or of Masonic law. Cases were cited to show that these considerations were not theoretical but very practical.
561. reviewed, their discharged members ordered restored, their elections declared void even the investment and expenditure of their funds be ordered and directed by a Court of Equity. Our own Grand Lodge only escaped such interference by the surrender of its Charter of Incorporation in 1854. Incorporation would sweep away the appelate jurisdiction of the Grand Master and Grand Lodge and substitute a jurisdiction which knew nothing of Masonic obligation or of Masonic law. Cases were cited to show that these considerationswere not theoretical but very practical.
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As a result the Grand Lodge at the December Quarterly adopted an amendment to the Grand Constitutions as follows: "No Lodge shall apply for, receive, or act under any corporate charter granted by any legislature or political government, and the receiving such charter of incorporation or acting thereunder by any Lodge under this jurisdiction shall operate as a surrender and revocation of its Masonic Charter or Warrant from the Grand Lodge."
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As a result the Grand Lodge at the December Quarterly adopted an amendment to the Grand Constitutions as follows: "No Lodge shall apply for, receive, or act under any corporate charter granted by any legislature or political government, and the receiving such charter of incorporation or acting thereunder by any Lodge under this jurisdiction shall operate as a surrender and revocation of its Masonic Charter or Warrant from the Grand Lodge." This is still the law of this jurisdiction.
This is still the law of this jurisdiction.
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In 1867 we find recorded the first case of the impeachment of a Master of a Lodge. In the course of the proceedings Gar^dter, as Chairman of a Committee appointed to reoort on the suspension of the Master by the Grand Masterj presented a long and very valuable report. As this case was the first to occur in this jurisdiction, the Committee went very thoroughly into the whole matter of procedure. The report does not appear in the published reprints, but may be found in full in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge for 1867, beginning on page 91.
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In 1867 we find recorded the first case of the impeachment of a Master of a Lodge. In the course of the proceedings Gardner, as Chairman of a Committee appointed to report on the suspension of the Master by the Grand Master, presented a long and very valuable report. As this case was the first to occur in this jurisdiction, the Committee went very thoroughly into the whole matter of procedure. The report does not appear in the published reprints, but may be found in full in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge for 1867, beginning on page 91.
The conclusion of the matter was the trial of the respondent by Grand
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his conviction Lodge and expulsion from all the rights and privileges of Freemasonry,
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The conclusion of the matter was the trial of the respondent by Grand Lodge, his conviction and expulsion from all the rights and privileges of Freemasonry,
The Grand Lodge refused to recognize a body calling itself the Grand
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Lodge of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia and New BruBswick contained two
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The Grand Lodge refused to recognize a body calling itself the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick contained two Provincial Grand Lodges, one under Scotland and one under England, but the same person was Provincial Grand Master for both groups. Seven or eight of the Scotch Lodges seceded and set up a Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Some forty-eight of the Lodges in the two provinces remained loyal to their Mother Grand Lodges. Massachusetts was, of course, in friendly relations with the two Provincial Grand Lodges. She held that in order to establish a just claim for recognition the new Grand Lodge must consist of a practically complete union of the Lodges in the territory where it was proposed to establish it and must be agreed to by the Mother Grand Lodge. This was a reaffirmation of the principles laid down previously when Massachusetts refused to recognize the Grand Lodge of Canada, so-called. Local differences were, however, soon adjusted and Grand Lodges were established in New Brunswick and in Nova Scotia.
Provincial Grand Lodges, one under Scotland and one under England, but
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the same person was Provincial Grand Master for both groups. Seven
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At the Annual Communication in December 1867, Grand Master Dame was re-elected, but the long incumbency of Charles W. Moore was terminated by the election of Solon W. Thornton as Recording Grand Secretary. Moore had served for thirty-four years. As a Masonic statesman and jurist he has never been equalled in Massachusetts, if anywhere. He, more then anyone else, guided the Grand Lodge through the critical and dangerous years from 1826 to 1843. His ''Freemason's Monthly Magazine'', begun in 1841 and continued until his death, is an inexhaustable storehouse of information which has not yet lost its value. His service to Masonry cannot be estimated too highly. On going out of office he was immediately appointed Deputy Grand Master and the year following he was appointed Corresponding Grand Secretary and was continued in that until his death in December, 1873.
562. or eight of the Scotch Lodges seceded and set up a Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Some forty-eight of the Lodges in the two provinces remained loyal to their Mother Grand Lodges. Massachusetts was, of course, in friendly relations with the two Provincial Grand Lodges. She held that in order to establish a just claim for recognition the new Grand Lodge must consist of a practically complete union of the Lodges in the territoryjwhere it was proposed to establish it and must be agreed to by : the Mother Grand Lodge. This was a reaffirmation of the principles laid down previously when Massachusetts refused to recognize the Grand Lodge of Canada, so-called. Local differences were, however, soon adjusted and Grand Lodges were established in New Brunswick and in Nova Scotia.
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At the Annual Communication in December 1867, Grand Master Dame was re-elected, but the long incumbency of Charles W. Moore was terminated by the election of Solon W. Thornton as Recording Grand Secretary. Moore had served for thirty-four years. As a Masonic statesman and jurist he has never been equalled in Massachusetts, if anywhere. ile, more then anyone else, guided the Grand Lodge through the critical and dangerous years from 1826 to 1843. His "Freemason's Monthly Magazine," begun in 1841 and continued until his death, is an inexhaustable storehouse of information which has not yet lost its value. His service to Masonry cannot be estimated too highly. On going out of office he was immediately appointed Deputy Grand Master and the year following he was appointed Corresponding Grand Secretary and was continued in that until his death in December, 1873.
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Solon Thornton had been a member of St. John's Lodge, of Boston, since 1851. He had served it as Master in 1856 and again in 1861. He was Junior Grand Steward in 1863, District Deputy Grand Master for the First District in 1864 and Junior Grand Warden in 1865.
 
Solon Thornton had been a member of St. John's Lodge, of Boston, since 1851. He had served it as Master in 1856 and again in 1861. He was Junior Grand Steward in 1863, District Deputy Grand Master for the First District in 1864 and Junior Grand Warden in 1865.
The annexation of the city of Roxbury to Boston raised the question
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565. of the status of the Roxbury Lodges. On report and recommendation of a Committee the Grand Lodge voted that the Roxbury Lodges had now become Boston Lodges and "entitled to all the immunities and privileges incident to that relation." This question of effect of changing
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The annexation of the city of Roxbury to Boston raised the question of the status of the Roxbury Lodges. On report and recommendation of a Committee the Grand Lodge voted that the Roxbury Lodges had now become Boston Lodges and "entitled to all the immunities and privileges incident to that relation." This question of effect of changing boundaries and erection of new towns had long been a somewhat troublesome one and in 1873 the present regulation was adopted that "no changes by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Municipal corporation or boundaries of the territories thereof, shall be held to affect in any
A.
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way the jurisdiction of Lodges." In 1888, owing to the confusion of jurisdiction arising from the numerous annexations to Boston, it was enacted that "the several Lodges located in Boston shall have equal and concurrent jurisdiction over the territorial limits of the city."
bounderies and erection of new towns had long been a somewhat troublesome
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one and in 1873 the present regulation was adopted that "no changes by
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In 1912 the next annexation, that of Hyde Park, took place and the Grand Lodge voted that the regulation regarding legislative changes applied and Hyde Park Lodge retained its original jurisdiction and only that. Some years later, however, the inconsistency of this position was realized when the revised Constitutions of 1918 were adopted it was held that the re-enactment of the provision regarding the concurrent jurisdiction of the Boston Lodges would include Hyde Park, and it has since been so held.
«£. _3
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the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Munioipie corporation or
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<hr>
-1 boundaries of the territories thereof, shall be held to affect in any
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way the jurisdiction of Lodges." In 1888, owing to the confusion of
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* [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=MassachusettsHamiltonHistoryCh24 Previous Chapter]
jurisdiction arising from the numerous annexations to Boston, it was
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* [http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=MassachusettsHamiltonHistoryCh26 Next Chapter]
enacted that "the several Lodges located in Boston shall have equal
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and concurrent jurisdiction over the territorial limits of the city.'1
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[http://masonicgenealogy.com/MediaWiki/index.php?title=MassachusettsHamiltonHistory Main Page]
In 1912 the next annexation, that of Hyde Park, took place and the
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Grand Lodge voted that the regulation regarding legislative changes
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''Unfinished''
applied and Hyde Park Lodge retained its original jurisdiction and
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only that. Some years later, however, the inconsistency of this
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position was realized when the revised Constitutions of 1918 were
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adopted it was held that the re-£nactment of the provision regarding
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the concurrent jurisdiction of the Boston Lodges would include Hyde
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Park, and it has since been so held.
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Revision as of 20:43, 19 September 2017

CHAPTER 25: THE COMING OF WAR

Grand Master Heard's three years of office were now at an end and the Grand Lodge called Winslow Lewis back into service as Grand Master.

The Stated Communication of December 1859 was a gala occasion. In addition to the regular installment of officers, the new Apartments in the Winthrop House were dedicated with full form and ceremony in the presence of 600 or more Brethren. At the March Quarterly of 1860 an interesting case of discipline was decided in such a manner as to set important precedent. A member of Mt. Hermon Lodge was discharged from membership and appealed to the Grand Lodge. After careful investigation, during which the appellant appeared and was heard,a long report was submitted to the Grand Lodge and the appeal was dismissed. It appeared that the appellant had, for personal reasons blackballed an applicant. This he had done publicly and defiantly. On the last ballot, the box being on the altar, "he declared in a loud and irritating manner" holding up a cube, "That is what has done it, and what will do it as long as I am a mind to." Charges were preferred and, although the early proceedings of the Lodge in the matter were erroneous in form, these errors were subsequently corrected and the Lodge voted to discharge the offender from membership. In recommending that the appeal be dismissed the committee said:

"We have also come to the conclusion from the evidence before us, that the appellant has been for a long time a troublesome and factious member of the Lodge, and one whose action was inimical to the harmony and prosperity thereof. This is probably the unavoidable result of an unfortunate temperament on his part, and not of any vicious motives: but still its effect has been seriously to endanger the welfare of the Lodge.

"There can be no question that the happiness and prosperity of all subordinate Lodges, as well as the good order and government of the Fraternity generally, require that each subordinate Lodge shall have the right, full and entire, to say for itself who may and who may not be members thereof; and your committee do not well see how this Gd. Lodge can interfere with this right by directing the restoration of any one to Lodge membership who has forfeited the same, in accordance with the lawfully approved By Laws of that Lodge.

"And if, at any time as in this instance any member shall by factious and unreasonable conduct in the Lodge become detrimental to the welfare thereof the Lodge should and must have the power to rid itself of such an injurious member, and thus restore peace and harmony among those "amongst whom no contention should ever exist, save that noble contention or rather emulation of who best can work and best agree."

This action established on a firm basis of precedent the principle that a Lodge is the ultimate judge of its own membership and, provided the procedure followed in regular, the Grand Lodge can not intervene if a Lodge decides to rid itself of a disturbing and factious member.

At the same Communication a complaint was filed by the District Deputy Grand Master for the Eleventh District against Olive Branch Lodge. The complaint was referred to A. A. Dame, Benjamin Dean, and Sanford M. Hunt. Dame was a Past Deputy Grand Master. The others were District Deputy Grand Masters. Dean later served as Junior Grand Warden. At the June Communication the Committee presented, and the Grand Lodge adopted, thevery interesting report which follows:

"The Committee to whom was referred the complaint against, Olive Branch Lodge of Millbury, for continuing the initiation of a Candidate after he had used improper and unbecoming language in the Lodge: and for subsequently conferring upon him the degree of Fellow Craft, respectfully submit the following report:-

"The candidate has long been a resident of the town of Millbury, where by his enterprise and industry he has accumulated a competency, and by his upright and manly conduct in his dealings, and a liberal support of benevolent enterprises, he has won the respect and esteem of his townsmen.

"He had, however two vices - the too frequent use of profane language and intoxicating drinks.

"He had many warm friends among the members of the Lodge, who thought he was too much a man to be lost. They determined to save him and after talking the subject over, concluded in order to accomplish this desirable end - that he might be proposed to the Lodge.

"This humane and charitable feeling prevailed and he was admitted.

"This was the first great error. For however charitable to the candidates, and however successful the experiment might occasionally turn out to be, such a course is not just to the institutions or its members. Masonic Lodges are not hospitals, or reformatory institutions, into which the unworthy are admitted to be cured of their moral deformities or vicious habits. As in the building of the Temple of Solomon, the timber was felled and prepared, and the stone hewn - squared and numbered before they were brought to the place, and the waste left behind, and no inferior material was permitted to be used so should the materials of which our Masonic temples are composed be thoroughly examined and found without flaw or defect before they are admitted to form a part of the structure.

"A defective pillar recently caused a noble building to fall burying the workmen in its ruin. An unworthy member might destroy not only the Lodge but the character and reputation of its members. And though as in the case of edifices, materials with hidden defects may be used, and the defects not be discovered until too late - so persons may be admitted within the pale of our Brotherhood who subsequently prove unworthy; yet every Brother has a right to rest upon the well established landmark or guaranty, that he has the best judgment of a regular Lodge upon the good character and moral fitness of every Brother at the time of his admission, and that no one can without that Judgment be placed in the position of his Masonic Brother.

"Your committee are satisfied, though there are some discrepancies in the recollections of the Brethren present as to the exact language used, that the candidate at his initiation did use improper and unbecoming language, and also that he was at the commencement of his initiation somewhat under the influence of spirituous or intoxicating drinks. We are also satisfied that it was the duty of the Master of the Lodge to have forthwith sent him from the room, and to have refused him initiation. the candidate acknowledged his belief in one supreme and eternal God - and in all other respects conformed to the requirements of the ritual, and understood perfectly the engagements he entered into.

"Though the initiation of a candidate under such circumstances, and his not being dismissed immediately, never again to enter the portals of a Lodge room will doubtless surprise every well informed Brother; yet there are circumstances of mitigation so far as the Candidate is concerned which the committee deem it proper to state in their report.

"The candidate had frequently heard a member of another association speak jocosely about "riding the goat" and about the "grid iron", and fancied he was to meet only his familiar acquaintances, and go through some foolish ceremonies to which his imagination pictured those words as referring. He therefore fortified himself with liquor for the event.

"Your committee are also satisfied that the Officers and members of the Lodge - (the Master though present did not preside) were at the time deeply concerned as to the condition and language of the candidate {some of the officers and members being distinguished for their piety and religious lives) and that the initiation was proceeded with, rather because they were too much taken with surprise to consider what other course to adopt, than from any indifference they felt at the condition and conduct of the candidate. This is proved by what followed.

"A number of the principal members of the Lodge immediately after the initiation, informed him of the impropriety of his conduct, and of the impossibility of further preferment without a complete reformation on his part. The candidate also was deeply sensible of the disgrace he had brought upon himself and the Lodge: he was surprised and delighted to find the institution and ceremonies of so entirely different and more elevated a character than he had anticipated; and immediately' began endeavors at reformation which have apparently been crowned with complete success.

"At the expiration of two months the members of the Lodge being fully satisfied of his reformation he was passed to the degree of Fellow Craft.

"The details of his conduct during these two months - though calculated to justify their conclusion upon so comparatively short a probation it is not necessary to state in this report.

"Whatever errors, therefore, the Lodge committed in the first instance -they earnestly endeavored to remedy the evil afterwards, and though the candidate has been reformed, and the good, and powerful influence of the institution thereby exhibited; the Lodge is fully sensible of the danger and impropriety of hazarding the reputation and character of the institution by any such experiments.

"The Charter of Olive Branch Lodge was granted Sept 14th, 1797, and bears the honored names of Paul Revere G.M.; Saml Dunn, D.G.M.; Isaiah Thomas S. G. W.; Joseph Laughton J. G.W.: and Danl Oliver G. S.

"Its first meetings were held at Oxford and until Sept 11th, 1815, when it moved to Sutton, and between Dec. 10th, 1856, the meetings were held alternately at Sutton and Webster.

"On Dec 14th, 1859 the Lodge was removed to its present location in Milbury.

"During her long life she has migrated many times to meet the wants and conveniences of the brethren, scattering blessings, and doing good wherever she went. Other Lodges have sprung from her loins and to leave all, ample room and verge, she has taken up her abode in the pleasant town of Millbury.

"This town contains about 3300 inhabitants and adjoins Worcester -Sutton - Grafton - Oxford and Woburn.

"The nearest Lodge is in Grafton - four miles distant - the next nearest are in Worcester - six miles, and the next two are one eight and the other twelve miles distant.

"This venerable Lodge stood firm through that bitterest of all trials, the great popular antimasonic excitement. She retained her charter and maintained her organization when many, very many quailed, and fell before the relentless blast. Your committee are unwilling to report that now in her old age, after so much usefulness and such a checkered career - she should be too severely punished for one fault; and therefore recommend that no further action be taken in the premises, than the expression of the Censure and disapprobation of the acts complained of, which it has been the endeavor of your committee to set forth in this report and which will be expressed by its adoption.

Benj. Dean,- for the Com. May 2nd, 1860."

Grand Lodge was able to be generous and sympathetic without sacrifice of Masonic principle.

At the December Communication of 1860 some important amendments to the Grand Constitutions were adopted. Several of them had to do with provisions called for by the incorporation of the Grand Lodge and the establishment of the Board of Directors.

One provided that a Proxy must be a member of the Lodge which he represented. The previous provision had only required that he be a member of a Lodge in this jurisdiction. The ease of the overseas Lodges was provided for by permitting an honorary member to serve as Proxy.

The matter of the jurisdiction of Lodges and the manner of dealing with non-resident- applications was placed on a much more satisfactory basis by striking out the existing regulations and substituting the following:-

"Applications for initiations shall be made to the Lodge in the town or city where the petitioner resides, if there be a Lodge therein; but if there be none, then he shall apply to the Lodge most convenient to his residence, and it shall be the duty of such Lodge to make due and careful inquiry as to the moral standing of the petitioner, of some respectable and reliable person or persons living in the place of his residence, before he shall be initiated. And no person residing in a town or city where there is a Lodge shall be initiated in any other town or city without trie written consent and recommendation of the Master, one Warden, and two members, at least of each Lodge in the town or city where he resides; provided however, that where there are more than two Lodges in any town or city; such consent and recommendation shall not be required of more than two of them. Nor shall any candidate be received from any other State (he being a resident thereof) where a of opinion and a roll call of Lodges is ordered by the Grand Master."

At this Communication the Grand Master read the following letter:

"Boston, Dec. 10th, 1860.
M. W. John E. McDaniels, G. Master of the Gd, Lodge of Virginia.

Dear Brother.

The period has arrived (alas! that it should ever be so.) when it behoves every one who has lived and flourished under the benign influence of our glorious Union, to exert his best endeavors to obviate that sad impulse which threatens its dissolution. In the relations of fellow citizens of a wide spread republic, our efforts have proved ineffectual. Fanaticism is the predominate demon, and the ties which have bound the South and North so long together, which carried them shoulder to shoulder in the days of our fathers, and have continued them in their prosperity as a United Nation, are now in preparation to be severed.

Is it too late to avert the calamity? Is there nought remains of conservation to be tried? Have we not an institution which binds us together not only as fellow citizens but as Brothers, and as Brothers can we lacerate those pledges, the foundation of our Faith & Practice? Therefore may we not look to it as a strong element to allay the bitter anguish of these dark days in our Nation's History?

It was my good fortune to visit Richmond with a band of our Order, and to witness and feel the mighty operation which cemented the hearts of all the participants on that occasion.

The influences of that meeting are ineffaceable the impress indelible, with such feelings of so powerful a fraternization, how disunion must pall the hearts of those whose affections as Brothers are so warmed towards those so dear to them in Virginia, and as one I was resolved to pour out my own, and to express to you what I deem to be, the predominate sentiment in Boston, if not, in the whole jurisdiction over which I have the honor to preside, and I assure my dear Brother, that we cling to you, not only as Brothers, but as Fellow-citizens; and may that evil day be far removed, when Virginia and Massachusetts, the States which gave our country a Washington and a Franklin and to Freemasonry two of its brightest lights, shall be found opposed as enemies, and severed as components of the United States.

May God avert that terrible issue: and may He instill into the hearts of all our Order, the observance of that precept of his Holy Word, that first before to every neophyte In Free-masonry. "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell in unity," and may all under your fraternal jurisdiction, demonstrate by their acts, that in the "'Old Dominion" fellow citizens, and Brotherly Love, as Masons shall now, in this the perilous hour, as heretofore under the days of prosperity, be their aim end Resolve,- "So mote it be."

Fraternally Yours.
Winslow Lewis MD.
Grand Master.

The reading of the letter was received with great favor and elicited warm and hearty responses from the Brethren, and especially from Bro. Col. Ruggles of Virginia who was present as a Visitor. It was also voted that the sentiments of the letter be adopted as the sentiments Of the G. Lodge, and that it be spread upon the records, and a copy sent to each G. Lodge in the Union, The vote was taken by the Brethren rising and was carried with but two negatives.

This was an extremely interesting letter. When it was written no state had yet receded. The threat of secession had been made, and it appeared likely to result in action,, but the final decision had not yet been made. These threats had been predicted on the possible election, of Lincoln to the Presidency. When he was elected in November the South Carolina legislature, which had- continued to sit until the results of the election might be known issued on November 10 a call for a State convention and adjourned. On December 20, the state passed an ordinance of secession. Between January 9, 1861, and February 1, similar ordinances were passed by the seven states in the extreme South. The northern tier of southern states bordering on the northern states, hesitated. They, especially Virginia, contained a strong element opposed to secession. Virginia did not secede until late in April, 1861. The scale was turned by Lincoln's call for volunteers to suppress insurrection, issued immediately after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, April 14, 1861.

Lewis' letter, with its strong appeal for union and reconciliation, represented not only the feeling of the Grand Lodge, but that on many people in the south and a probable majority in the north at the date of writing. The nation was trembling on the verge of disunion and civil war, but moderate men on both sides still hoped that the plunge might be avoided and strove to prevent it. Fanaticism (Lewis' word) had yet much to do before the final calamity, but unfortunately it did its evil work. What response, if any, came to this letter, we do not know.

In his farewell address to the Grand Lodge, on December 27, Grand Master Lewis made a strong appeal for peace and union. Dwelling upon the power of Freemasonry as a unifying force, he urged the maintaining of Masonic unity, whatever might happen in the political field. His words are worth quoting.

"Remember that we gather here, remember that whenever Masons meet, it is around an altar, as Brothers of a Brotherhood extensive as the earth. Holy is that communion here, the essential teaching of which is the commandment, which enjoins to "love the neighbor as thyself." Among us all, may the true fraternal spirit and practice be so engendered and prevail, that it may inspire our hearts, as members of a great community, to those kindly feelings towards all of our fellow-citizens of this wide-spread land, which will conduce to the harmony and the preservation of a glorious Union. It is not out of place to say, that our institution may do much in this relation. "Peace on earth, good will to men," is the great constituent of Freemasonry. Therefore, introducing here no caustic allusion to sectional differences, no subject of political diversities, we can and should, as wielding a most powerful conservative influence, urge upon all of the household of our Faith, to cast oil from our altars, o'er the troubled waters of political and sectional strife. It is those who meet, as we here are met, where differences are buried, acrimonies subdued, who can be powerful for so much general good, who hold in their hands the Olive Branch of Peace, who cherish in their hearts the warmest, widest philanthropy. With those feelings, unrestricted by space, undivided by local peculiarities, pray for the peace of our Zion, for the perpetuity of the Union, for the consequent prosperity of our country, and for the continuance of those fraternal ties which, God grant, may be long continued to us all, whether of the North or South, East or West, as fellow-citizens and as Brothers."

Lewis declined further service at the end of 1860, and William D. Coolidge was elected to succeed him.

William Dawes Coolidge was born in Boston February 15, 1808, and died in Newton, September 10, 1885. He was educated in the Boston grammar schools and in the "English School" from which he was graduated in 1821. Immediately on graduation he took a clerkship with a firm importing English dry goods. In 1828, being only twenty years old, he entered business for himself. At first he dealt in leather, then combined wool with leather, and finally gave his whole attention to wool, becoming an expert in wool and the wool market. In 1870 he took a position in the Collectors office in the Boston Custom House, In 1778, being then seventy years old, he was displaced by a new Collector, and engaged in no active business afterward.

He took his Masonic degrees in Columbian Lodge in 1842 and was its Master in 1852 and 1853. He early attracted the attention of the Grand Officers and was appointed Grand Sword Bearer in 1849. For the remaining thirty-six years of his life he was continuously a member of Grand Lodge except for one year. He was Junior Grand Steward in 1852, 3 and 4, Grand Marshal in 1856, District Deputy Grand Master for the First Masonic District in 1857, 8 and 9, Junior Grand Warden in 1860 and Grand Master in 1861 and 1862.

Bro. Coolidge's Masonic interests were confined to Symbolic Masonry. He took the degrees in St. Paul's R. A. Chapter, in Boston Commandery of Knights Templar, and in the Scottish Rite up to the 32°, but never took membership in any of these bodies.

In all the relations of life he was courteous, kindly and unassuming, and strictly faithful to his duty as he saw it. Te memorial of him read in Grand Lodge after his death says "the record bears the highest testimony to the purity of his character and the unselfishness of his aims. His was a nature genuine and sincere, working always in straightforward paths and utterly free from ostentation and pretense. . . He had strong convictions and gave forcible, but always courteous, expression to the faith that was in him."

In his inaugural address he stressed the importance of care in the selection of candidates, a point not without significance in the development of his administration. He closed by saying, "While the spirit of estrangement and alienation is all around us, let us draw more closely than ever the bonds of fraternal union, and learn more deeply than ever 'How good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell in unity,' and 'may Peace be within thy walls and plentiousness within thy palaces.' For my Brethren and companions' sake, I will say, 'Peace be within thee.' "

The farewell address of Lewis and the inaugural of Coolidge were referred to a Committee which reported at the March Communication. The report, which was accepted, endorsed the opinions of both, but did not recommend action. Lewis, had expressed a desire for a Committee on Foreign Correspondence. The Committee said of this "A digest of the doings of the Brethren elsewhere, compiled with care and due discrimination, would be of great value to us: and become useful oftentimes in determining matters personal, historical, and legal. But the value a report of such a committee would "depend largely upon the qualification of Its members and their application to the arduous duties devolved upon them."

This matter has been discussed many times since, but the Grand Lodge has never seen its way to establish such a Committee. The difficulty suggested in the report, that of securing the person or persons having the time and the qualifications for the preparation of a Foreign Correspondence Report worthy of this Grand Lodge, has so far seemed insuperable.

The Committee suggested that the largely ineffective office of Corresponding Grand Secretary might be made really useful by devolving upon him a considerable part of the correspondence of the Grand Lodge and looking to him to discharge the functions of a Committee on Foreign Correspondence. The suggestion was not new, but, as usual, was sterile. As a practical matter the correspondence of any Grand Lodge must be conducted by the Grand Master in person and one Grand Secretary under the Grand Master's direction. No Corresponding Grand Secretary has ever appeared in this Grand Lodge who could or would undertake the duties of a Foreign Correspondence Committee. Curiously enough, in spite of its obvious failure to work, the cumbrous system was not abandoned until 1915.

At the March Communication of 1861, the Grand Lodge adopted a report recommending that an appeal from the action of King Solomon's Lodge in discharging one of its members from membership be dismissed. After considering the regularity of the procedure of the Lodge the Committee said, "Your Committee consider that this Grand Lodge has no jurisdiction over the membership of members in subordinate Lodges." "In accordance with this principle this Grand Lodge has heretofore refused to interfere with the just and proper prerogatives of subordinate Lodges in this respect."

Other cases have since occurred which dealt with matters concerning membership in Lodges. The attitude of the Grand Lodge has invariably been the same. The Lodge is the final judge as to its membership. The only questions which can be considered by the Grand Lodge are those which relate to the regularity of procedure. The acts of Lodges have sometimes been reversed on law points, but never on any other grounds.

It must be remembered that at this time all Masonic trials were conducted in the defendant's Lodge. If the Lodge voted to expel or suspend a member from all the rights and privileges of Masonry, its act had to be referred to Grand Lodge and confirmed by it before the judgment became final. The judgment might be reversed or modified by Grand Lodge, but this rarely happened.

At this period when Lodges under Dispensation returned their Dispensations and petitioned for a Charter the petition, records, proposed by-laws and other papers were referred in each case to a special Committee. Some of the reports are very Interesting as showing a tendency on the part of the Lodge to attempt interference with the Master*s prerogative and to violate established usage. Such a case occurred at the June Communication of 1861. Certain provisions in the proposed by-laws of Dalhousie Lodge gave certain independent authority to some officers when the Master was present, required the Master to consult with his Wardens before making his appointments, gave the Master power to remove appointed officers, and provided that officers who failed to perform the duties of their offices for a given time were to be deemed to have resigned and these provisions were removed by the Grand Lodge on recommendation of the Committee.

At the June Communication the Grand Master read a circular which he had just received from M,W. James McCallom, Grand Master of Tennessee, In the circular the Brethren of Tennessee expressed the hope that "if the sword must still be the last resort, and accepted as the final arbiter, the Brethren engaged in the awful contest might remember that a fallen foe is still a Brother, and as such is entitled to warmest sympathies and kindest attentions.'1 The circular concluded with the prayer that "God in his infinite mercy may yet incline the hearts of his people to ways of peace and paths of pleasantness, and that he may dissipate and disperse the storm-cloud of destruction which seems to hang so fearfully above us. The Grand Master was requested to acknowledge this communication and respond to its fraternal sentiments.

It was too late to think of peace. In April Fort Sumter had fallen, Massachusetts soldiers had been killed in Baltimore, and war had begun. It is, however, pleasant to record that the war between the states did not break the bonds of Freemasonry. The hopes of Grand Master McCallom were fully realized. All through the war were countless cases on both sides when fraternal courtesy was shown and individual suffering alleviated by fraternal ministrations.

At the Annual Communication on December 11, Coolidge was re-elected Grand Master.

His annual address, while strictly within proper Masonic limits, is full of warm expressions of loyalty and patriotism. At the end he said, "I close as I began, exhorting you to be loyal to your government and faithful to your vows. We are not a political but a philanthropic and conservative institution, and throughout our land, whatever our political differences, we are a unit still, and come what will, we will do all we can to keep it so. And wherever distress exists, there we can alleviate, if we cannot avert."

He announced that he had warranted six Army Lodges in as many regiments.

At the March Quarterly of 1862 a question of jurisdiction raised by Fellowship Lodge, of Bridgewater, came before the Grand Lodge. Fellowship was charted in 1797 in the town of Bridgewater. Since that time the Legislature had divided the original town of Bridgewater into four towns and in two of the new towns Lodges had been chartered. Fellowship Lodge now claimed jurisdiction over the whole of Bridgewater as it was in 1797. The Grand Lodge decided on the report of a Committee, headed by the very able William Sewall Gardner, that the division of town by the Legislature redefined the jurisdiction of Lodges. In other words, by legislative action, in which the Grand Lodge had no share, Fellowship Lodge had lost jurisdiction over East, West, and North Bridgewater.

This ruling was attacked in 1872, and in 1873 an amendment was passed that thereafter no changes in towns or their boundaries made by the legislature should affect the jurisdiction of Lodges. This is still the law.

On June 24, 1863, the Grand Lodge of Maine celebrated the one hundredth introduction anniversary of the introduction of Masonry into that territory. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was invited to participate and did so. No detailed account of the celebration is available, but the Grand Master of Maine, in his next annual address, said that it was very successful.

At the Annual Communication on December 10, Grand Master Coolidge was a candidate for a third term but was badly defeated, receiving only 49 votes out of 348 cast. The reason for the defeat is to be found in Coolidge's valedictory address, delivered at the Stated Communication on December 30, in which occurs the following paragraph:

"For this state of war there is no precedent, nor is there precedent for such a sudden influx into the institution from the Army, of those, who, from the circumstances of the case, must be made "at sight," the prerogative alone of the Grand Master, as I am taught by a strict examination of the ancient landmarks, and the best council of the wise and prudent, whom we all revere, I have met this pressure readily and earnestly, for it has been made by those whose patriotic impulses have led them forth to battle for their country; to stand for you and me, and bare their breasts to the bullet aimed at the nation's heart, and I could not find it in my own to refuse any aid, comfort or protection which I might be instrumental in throwing around them. I have been strengthened in this by the careful and earnest assurances from you, W. Masters of forty-one of our Lodges who have applied to me, that in granting to you Dispensations for this purpose, for the hasty admission of one hundred and thirteen candidates, dispensing with all the requirements of the Constitution, receiving an application, balloting on the same, and conferring the degrees all within five consecutive hours! I have been strengthened, I say, by your assurances of care, and the confidence I have felt in the prudence and sagacity of the Brethren. In the midst of these scenes of war and bloodshed I see not how we could have done less, and in the retrospect I have not a single instance of regret. (Df the one hundred and thirteen, nearly all are officers; this indeed is the fact among the six hundred of our Brethren who are doing battle for us in the Army of the United States. May God's shield be over them; may He nerve their arms and strengthen their hearts for the performance of duty; never wavering even in the presence of a rebel Brother, till he has surrendered, or is prostrate at their feet."

Later he said:

"The duties of watching the interests of two of the Districts, together with the close attention which under our present organization must be given to the financial affairs of the Corporation, all together have been quite enough, to reconcile me to the retirement I shall now enjoy; and quite enough, to my own mind that having fulfilled them all, with the purist motives and intentions, I feel that it has fallen to my lot in the two exciting years of my administration to have fulfilled as much of the duty as usually falls to the lot of him who passes through an entire constitutional period. At any rate, the devotion of the past five years as District Deputy and as Grand Master, has evinced, I trust, a singleness of purpose on my part. It has fully satisfied all my ambition for any distinction which I have ever sought; an ambition limited by the boundary of duty and usefulness."

No one can question Coolidge's devotion to Masonry. He was, however, intensely patriotic and intensely sympathetic. Influenced by these sympathies he was anxious to do all that he could for the Union and for its defenders. Hence his action. It must not be forgotten that he was acting in a time of great public excitement and unrest. 1862 was the darkest year of the Civil War. In 1861 the North had risen en masse to put down rebellion. It was confidently expected that a very short time would suffice for the task. The Bull Run disaster had been disillusioning, but it was still felt that the North had only to put forth, its strength to succeed. A great army was raised and trained. Instead of the expected victory, 1862 brought little but discouragement and ever increasing calls for more soldiers. The year saw McClellan's costly failure in the Peninsular campaign, Pope's rather ignominious defeat at the second Bull Run, the Confederate occupation of the Shenandoah Valley, and the bloody blunder of Fredericksburg. Lee's invasion of the North had been turned back at Antietam, but he had led his army back to Virginia unmolested, A draft act had been passed by Congress because voluntary enlistment was not filling the ranks. They were having heavy increases in taxation. The North was dissatisfied with the military high command, which deserved it, and with the Lincoln administration, which did not. Congress was more or less floundering. Public discontent found expression in the November Congressional elections of 1862 in which the administration barely escaped losing its Congressional majority. It is not to be wondered at that Coolidge lost his head.

There was some confusion in his mind as to exactly what he had done. He speaks of making Masons "at sight," and calls it a prerogative of the Grand Master. Many members of the Grand Lodge would remember that only ten years before the Grand Lodge had accepted the report of a Committee that the Grand Masters did not have that prerogative. Most present day authorities disagree with that conclusion, but that was the expressed attitude of the Grand Lodge. Coolidge, however, did not make any Mason "at sight". The distinct charecteristic of a Mason "made at sight" Is that he does not pass the ballot. He is made by fiat of the Grand Master, although that fiat extends only to making him an unaffiliated Master Mason. He can acquire Lodge membership only by Lodge vote.

Coolidge did not exercise this questioned power. He made a wholesale and unique use of his power of dispensation. He allowed an application to be received, a ballot taken, and the three degrees conferred, all in a single meeting of a Lodge, and he did it in a hundred and thirteen cases. Nothing like it had ever been done before or has been done since. Even in the World War, when our doors were besieged by soldiers about to go over seas, while many dispensations were issued to shorten the constitutionally required time between degrees, not one was issued to shorten the time between the receiving of an application and the ballot or to confer the second and third degrees on the same day.

Coolidge was well aware of the disapproval aroused by his acts. He might have declined to stand for re-election. To his straightforward nature such a course was unthinkable. He was not a man to retire under f fire. He felt that what he had done was right. He would not admit the contrary even by implication. If the Grand Lodge thought him wrong, it must say so by its votes.

The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is always conservative. It felt that Coolidge had abused his power of dispensation. It saw no good reason why orderly constitutional procedure should be swept aside, even for soldiers and under stress of war. Consequently it registered its opinion in the only way open to it, and it did so unequivocally and very emphatically. Personally Coolidge deserves great credit for the brave and loyal way in which he took his defeat. His valedictory address shows not the slightest sign of bitterness. He attended Grand Lodge regularly, beginning with his successor's first Communication. To the very end of his life he faithfully and loyally attended to every duty that, came to him as a Past Grand Master. Most men would have been embittered, at least for a time, by such an experience. Not so Coolidge. That there was considerable disturbance in the Grand Lodge appears by the other elections. It took two ballots to elect each of the Grand Wardens. Even Charles W. Moore had eighty-one votes against him. Coolidge was elected a member of the Board,of Directors. This election shows clearly that his defeat indicated no ill feeling against him personally, only emphatic disapproval of his official conduct.

During the year five more Army Lodges were warranted. Six were reported the year 'before, but one of them, Union Lodge in the First Massachusetts Cavalry, does not appear in the 1862 list. Apparently it either did not complete its organization or very soon surrendered its Warrant. Ten Army Lodges are listed for 1862.

The effects of the war are clearly reflected in the reports of the District Deputy Grand Masters. One of them, R. W. William S. Shurtleff, of Springfield, District Deputy for the Ninth District, left his post to go to war as a Lieutenant Colonel. Many of them report frequent dispensations to Masters to shorten the time between degrees, a power then delegated to the District Deputy Grand Masters. One of them, R. W. William W. Baker, District Deputy Grand Master for the Twelfth District and later to be a Senior Grand Warden gave an emphatic warning against lack of careful consideration of applicants and hasty and slipshod conferring of the degrees. He thought there was danger of sending out men who would not properly represent Massachusetts Masonry. He also sounded warning against candidates who sought Masonry for their own advantage. All of this has a familiar sound to those of us who saw the World War.

By far the most interesting of these reports, from the light it throws on current conditions, is that of R. W. Benjamin Dean, Deputy for the First District, later to be a Junior Grand Warden. He says:

"We found everywhere the same zeal and devotion to our ritual which has been manifested for many years past; the same correctness of work; the same adherence to our ancient principles and landmarks.

"That such should be the case in these troublesome times, when the very air is full of excitement and danger, seems at first blush remarkable. But the human heart and mind must have some relaxation. It will seek rest and change, even from the monotony of excitement. And where else than in our Lodges can the Brethren find rest? Our daily papers speak of nothing but the clash of resounding arms. Our walks by day and dreams by night are interrupted by political discussions; and if we go to the house of God we hear the arguments of politicians rehearsed from the pulpit.

"There is only one place where the turbulence is not felt. Beyond the threshold of the Lodge they cannot come. Here, at least, discord cannot enter! Here, for the time, all differences of political and religious opinions are laid aside, and all unite in the 'grand design of being happy, and communicating happiness.' Here confidence, that 'plant of slow growth,' finds a rich soil, a genial sunshine, and acquire-luxurious growth.

"Is it, then, after all, surprising that even in these times of peril we should find our Lodges well attended? What a relief from every thing outside! Among ourselves we commune 'with naked hearts together.' Our aid is silent and unobtrusive; it is direct and specific, not general and broad-cast.

We do not, as a society, attempt to advocate or meddle with measures of national importance, or even of general interest, except it be to aid enterprises such as the purchase of the Tomb of Washington, or the relief of a distressed city, overwhelmed by some calamity. The Brethren, however, as individuals, act their own pleasure with reference to all such subjects."

Further on he says

"Let us under no circumstances be lured or tempted into the belief that we can, with safety, depart from our mission. Let no talk of saving the Union lead us into the vortex of politics. Let no partiality for the Institution lead us to overestimate its strength. Its strength is only in its legitimate channels. Let us rather be content to go on as we always have done, adhering to the truly Masonic rules and aims; and the Grand Officers will continue to visit united and prosperous Lodges so long as anything worth preserving lasts."

On December 10, 1862, William Parkman was elected Grand Master.

Parkman was born in Boston May 9, 1811, and died there December 26, 1891. He was educated in the public schools up to and including the English High School, He entered the hardware business, became a partner in the business in 1833, and continued in that capacity for forty-seven years. He retired from active business in 1880.

Parkman served in the Boston City Council in 1856 to 1860, at a time when membership of that body was considered a very honorable distinction. He was long a Trustee of the Boston Public Library.

One of the characteristic organizations in Boston civic life was "A Republican Institution in the Town of Boston," It was organized in 1819 as a good government association. Later it ceased political activity but was long kept alive as a patriotic and historical dining club. Mr. Parkman was its treasurer for many years.

One who knew him said that "he had a charm of manner that captivated all who met him. His was a kindly and lovable nature actuated by the kindliest of impulses. He was always ready to help the needy and direct the erring." He was of medium height and well built, with a strong face, full head of hair and full chin beard. He knew how to be aggressive when necessary, mild and gentle when mildness was called for, although a born leader of men.

Bro. Parkman took his degrees in St. Andrew*s Lodge in 1844 and was its Master from 1857 to 1860. He had the very unusual experience of being elected Grand Master without having previously held any office in Grand Lodge. He was active in all the co-ordinate bodies of Freemasonry, serving as an officer of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter, Treasurer of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and an Active Member and for four years Grand Treasurer General of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite.

At the Stated Communication December 30, 1863 a letter was received from R. W. George H. Kendall, District Deputy Grand Master for Chile, reporting the formation of a Grand Lodge of Chile. R. W. Bro. Kendall was of opinion that Freemasonry in Chile would be much benefitted by the recognition of the new Grand Lodge and recommended that recognition be extended to it. Upon recommendation of the Committee to which the letter was referred it was voted to recognize the new Grand Lodge. Massachusetts was one of the first foreign Grand Lodges, if not the very first to recognize the new Grand Lodge.

The condition was worthy of note. We had then two Lodges in Chile, Bethesda, of Valparaiso, which had started in 1853 is still active, and Hiram, in Copiapo, the latter a short-lived Lodge. Our Lodges did not join the new Grand Lodge, nor was any attempt made to induce them to join. The Grand Lodge of Chile was a Scottish Rite Grand Lodge and claimed no control over York Rite Masonry in Chile, nor did it assert territorial sovereignty over Chile as against the York Rite. Massachusetts chartered several more Lodges in Chile without protest from the Chilean Grand Lodge, and other foreign Masonic powers did likewise.

After the beginning of the present century the Grand Lodge of Chile separated from the Supreme Council and asserted its territorial sovereignty and no further Lodges were chartered from Massachusetts. We then had three Lodges there and they are now working under the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts but in most friendly relations with their Chilean Brethren.

At the Annual Communication December 10, 1863, Grand Master Parkman was re-elected.

At this Communication a long report was made upon the dispensing power of District Deputy Grand Masters. The Grand Constitutions at that time provided that the District Deputy Grand Masters "shall have the power to grant Dispensations for initiation" and there was much difference of opinion as to the extent of that power. There was no question that the District Deputy Grand Masters had authority to shorten time between degrees. The question at issue is stated by the Committee thus: "Can District Deputy Grand Masters dispense with the usual time for conferring the degrees so that the application can be acted upon at the first meeting of the Lodge, after the application has been handed to the Master, all other constitutional provisions having been complied with, or does his jurisdiction commence after that meeting. No doubt has been suggested but that Lodges may be authorized to confer the degrees in the case stated or that a dispensation is the proper form for the exercise of that power. It is only claimed that its exercise is a prerogative of the Grand Master alone and does not exist in his Deputies."

The report is long and somewhat labored. The Committee concludes "that the District Deputy Grand Masters have the power to grant dispensations, to submit applications to the ballot, and to confer the degrees at the meeting when the application is first brought before the Lodge, and that they cannot dispense with notice to the Brethren and an examination into the applicants character and a clear ballot."

As, however, not all Lodges issued written or printed notices the Grand Lodge ordered "that it shall not be regular hereafter for any Lodge which does not usually issue written or printed notifications of its meetings to ballot upon any application for the degrees where there is a dispensation therefore at any but stated monthly meetings without written or printed notifications to the members of the Lodge with the name of their candidate borne thereon."

The reasoning of the Committee was sound and logical. It the hurrying of candidates along by dispensation was to be done, there seems no doubt that as the law stood the dispensing power was not restricted to the Grand Master, but was voted also to his Deputies. The practice itself, however, was dangerous and demoralizing. Grand Master Parkman recognized the danger and dealt with it in his report on December 29, 1863. He said "Upon entering on the duty of my office I found that my immediate predecessor had inaugurated the custom of granting dispensations to candidates who were entering the army, when they were well known and of equal good report", and, taking the same view of the matter I had heard him express, I am disposed to grant dispensations upon the application of Masters who were desirous of making such candidates as were in army or navy - but the custom has been so common that it has become too near an established part of our ceremonies to be any longer safe, and my conviction is very firm that all such work should be immediately stopped and I am clearly of opinion no dispensations should be granted to give the degrees to a candidate unless he has been proposed at a regular communication of the Lodge and stood so proposed the time specified by our constitutional provisions - except in the case of mariners or for very sound and urgent reason."

This was effective as as far as it went, but the pressure to shorten time between degrees to the extent of conferring all three at one meeting continued many such dispensations were issued. At the end of 1864 and of 1865 Grand Master Parkman returned to the subject. He thought that few of the men thus made became assets to the Fraternity. At that time election to receive the degrees did not carry membership with it. The greater part of the men thus made did not take membership at all and so did not become dues paying supporters of any Lodge. They immediately went away, having sought Masonry only for its supposed benefits and never became interested in its principles or rituals. He made suggestions for the abatement of the evil but no Grand Lodge action followed. Undoubtedly his words made an impression and reduced the number of applications for dispensations. With the end of the war in the spring of 1865 the matter adjusted itself.

At the March Quarterly of 1864 the wise vigilance of a Committee checked at the outset what might well have become a serious fault. A certain Lodge came up for charter and an examination of the records showed that they did not give a list of officers present.

About eleven o'clock on the evening of April 5, 1864, three Brethren who were leaving the Masonic apartments in the Winthrop House discovered fire under the stairway leading up from the lower part of the building. The fire spread so rapidly that access to the Masonic apartments became at once impossible. Before morning the building was entirely destroyed. Fortunately the Grand Lodge safe survived the fire with its contents unharmed. Everything else was destroyed. Archives, library, portraits, memorials, regalia, Charters and personal property of the bodies meeting in the Apartments, all were a total loss. It was estimated that the loss of uninsured property amounted to $75,000.

This was a stunning blow to the Grand Lodge. The building had been occupied less than five years and was far from being paid for. The situation, however, was met with promptness and courage. The next morning the Odd Fellows placed their apartments at the disposal of the Grand Lodge. On April 8 quarters were leased at No. 10 Summer Street. In two weeks they were ready for occupancy and all Masonic meetings were held there regularly beginning April 24. Steps were immediately taken to build upon the Winthrop House site. Plans were drawn and accepted, the foundations were laid and the corner-stone was laid with full Masonic ceremonies on October 14.

Unfortunately a north-east storm was raging, but in spite of that the occasion was very impressive. Calvary Encampment, K. T., of Providence, R.I., acted as a guard of honor for the Grand Lodge. The Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, 755 strong, acted as escort. Fourteen Encampments were in line, with eight bands. Eighty-one Lodges were in line, with nine bands. The officers of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter appeared with two Chapters and a band.

Of course the Royal Arch Masons generally marched with their Lodges. There were about 6000 Masons in line and the bad weather undoubtedly kept away two or three thousand more.

The reports of the Committees on the proposed by-laws of new Lodge s at this period are interesting, and sometimes amusing, as showing the vagaries of the petitioners and, more important, action upon them fixed law and procedure for the Lodges of the future. A set of By-Laws considered at the June Quarterly of 1864 provided that the Master must have the consent of his Wardens to his appointments, that in the absence of the Master the senior officer present should preside, that a clear ballot must be a prerequisite to advancement from one degree to another, and that if the ballot was not clear it might be continued from time to time at the discretion of the Master. Needless to say these eccentric provisions were not permitted. Another set provided for the moving of the previous question in debate. This was disallowed as having no proper place in Masonic procedure.

Still another set gave the Master power to remove appointed officers at his pleasure. It also provided that Past Masters of the Lodge and members of other Lodges in good standing who have been eminently serviceable to this Lodge in particular or to the Institution generally may by vote of the Lodge be admitted to honorary membership, with the same privileges as other members, but exempt from assessments.

The first of these provisions were disallowed as violating essential Masonic principles.

The second was disallowed because it violated the provision of the Grand Constitutions that "no Brother shall be a member of more than one Lodge. The Committee, pointed out clearly that there are two kinds of honorary membership established by usage in this jurisdiction. Honorary membership conferred on an active member of a Lodge exempts him from further payment of Lodge dues, but deprives him of none of his rights. Conferred on a non-member of the Lodge it is merely a gesture of friendship and respect. It carries with it none of the rights of active membership.

It appeared that in the great increase of work in recent years a good deal of looseness had crept into Lodge practice for the purpose of expediting work. The excuse was that the point was not explicitly covered by the Grand Constitutions. An amendment was proposed covering this point and the Committee in its report showed conclusively that the practices complained of violated ancient usage going back to the 1723 Constitutions of Anderson. At the September Quarterly of 1864 the Grand Constitutions were amended to provide as follows: "No Lodge shall hold more than one communication on the same day, nor confer either of the three degrees upon more than five candidates at one communication. No Lodge shall permit more than one candidates to be present at the same time in the first section of the first degree, nor in the second section of the third degree."

At the Annual Communication on December 14, 1864, Grand Master Parkman was re-elected for his third term. Winslow Lewis, who had been the chief mover in the work of creating the Library presented a pathetic, but very gallant report. The Library was gone. Only one item, but that a very valuable one, had escaped. A complete file of the Masonic Mirror happened to be in the bindery. It was then supposed to be the only complete file in existence. With undaunted courage Lewis had already taken the $400 of insurance money and made a start on a new Library. He made a strong appeal for donations of money and books.

At the March Quarterly of 1865 a Charter was granted to Ancient Landmark Lodge, of Shanghai, thus laying the foundation of our Masonic establishment in China.

At the September Quarterly of 1866, Old Colony Lodge, of Hingham, placed before the Grand Lodge the Charter and Master's gavel of St. Mary's Lodge, of St. Mary's Lodge, Georgia, for return to St. Mary's Lodge, accompanied by a letter from Old Colony Lodge to St. Mary's Lodge. The matter was referred to Grand Master Parkman who sent the letter and accompanying articles to the Grand Lodge of Georgia. A passage in the letter telling how the Charter came into possession of Old Colony Lodge gives a vivid description of one of the minor incidents of the Civil War.

"An engineer of a Federal gun boat, connected with the late blockading fleet on the Atlantic coast, on going ashore at the village of St. Mary's, at the close of the bombardment, we believe, found the place deserted by most of its white population, and on entering a building which had suffered from the guns of our ships, or had been broken into and rifled of its contents, found himself unexpectedly within the sacred precincts of a Masonic Lodge, and on the floor lay a roll of parchment, and a small mallet, which on examination he believed to be the Charter of the Lodge, and the W. Master's gavel. To him, who had but recently gained admission into the sublime arcana of our sacred Brotherhood, they were of course objects of exceeding interest and value, and lest they should come to the eyes of the unworthy, or be lost entirely, he took them with him to the boat, whereupon, being almost immediately ordered North, he improved the first opportunity to commit them to the strict charge of a sister Lodge for the purpose as already stated of their ultimate restoration to the place from which they were taken."

The letter goes on at some length in the somewhat stilted language of the time to emphasize the thought that war had no power to dissolve the bonds of Masonic brotherhood. St. Mary's Lodge was a very small Lodge. In 1860 it returned a membership of only ten. It made no more returns to Grand Lodge until 1868, when its return shows a membership of fifteen.

We get our last sight of the Civil War at the December 27 Communication of 1865, in the Committee report which follows:

"In G. Lodge Dec. 27, A. L. 5865.

"The Com. to whom was referred the memorial of a Com. of Masons of Columbia, S. C. praying for pecuniary aid to reestablish the Institution in that City Respectfully Report

Your Com. have read with much attention the eloquent and touching appeal to the Fraternity of Masons throughout the United States from the pen of that accomplished scholar and distinguished writer, Bro. W. Gilmore Simons, which the Grand Lodge has submitted to them. It is apparent that the ravages of War have not spared our Brethren of that City; their private dwellings and property have been destroyed by fire, their temples reduced to ashes, and all their paraphernalia of their Lodges, their altars, jewels, tools insignia and banners, have been consigned to a common ruin.- in their utter destitution, they appeal to the benevolence and charity of the Fraternity to come to their aid to assist them in rebuilding their Temple, in erecting the Masonic Altars again in the Capital of their State, and in restoring to its former influential position, the Order of Masonry.

But they do not plead for assistance upon the simple score of Brotherhood, they claim to have been always true to the Brethren,"even when war waged like a demon through the land" that they have sought out their Northern Brethren in the prisons, where they lay captive, have supplied them with money, clothes, comforts and even luxuries, have obtained their temporary release from prison that they might join with their Brethren of Colombia in the rites of Masonry. Thus they confidently appeal to the testimony of hundreds of their Captives, to speak of no other guests to show that they have been faithful to their Brethren, and to all those principles and laws of our sacred Order, which are paramount in the minds and souls of all the Brotherhood.

It is the duty of Masons to assuage the miseries of war - to soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, and to compassionate their miseries, are among the tenets of our profession - Our Brethren of S. Carolina have thus been performing their duties as Masons, and fulfilling their obligations - numerous instances of their kindness and attention to the Craft, to those soldiers to the North, whom the sad fate of War, has thrown upon their compassion, have been told by those whose lives have been spared. Your Com. believe it to be not out of place in this report, to make record of the fact that S. Carolina Masons in repeated instances have comforted the sick relieved the distressed, liberated the Captive, and consoled the dying Brethren from Massachusetts. The financial condition of our G. Lodge at the present time is such, as to require of us, the most careful and rigid economy. Like our Brethren who have addressed us,in such pathetic appeals, we have recently met with a most serious loss, in the midst of peace, comfort and unexampled prosperity, the avenging element in one night destroyed our Temple, with all the valuable property which it contained, reducing to ashes the archives of our G. Lodge full of the most pleasing mementos of the past. The foundations of a new Temple, have been laid upon the ruins, and we trust that before long, like the immortal bird of antiquity, there will rise from the ashes, one more elegant and beautiful than that which was consumed. All the resources of the G. Lodge, its means and its credit, will be necessary to carry out the enterprise - for the time being our expenditures must be reduced and our charities limited.

Thus while we would cheerfully and with alacrity assist our Brethren of S. Carolina, while our hearts respond to their earnest appeal for aid, and our desires are ardent to assist them, the present condition of our Treasury prevents.

Your Com. desire however to present the cause of our suffering Brethren of Columbia to the Lodges and Craft generally of Mass. as worthy objects of their charities, and as deserving of their assistance.

Respectfully submitted

  • Wm. S. Gardner
  • C. Levi Woodbury
  • Geo. W. Warren

The report was unanimously adopted, and on motion it was ordered that in accordance with an old Masonic custom, almost or quite, now obsolete, the G. Marshal & Deacons were ordered to pass the hat 'round among their Brethren," for such voluntary contributions, as they might individually feel disposed to make, for the purpose stated. The result was the collection of $1123.67, which was subsequently made up to the even sum of $200 and the Com. were instructed to forward the same to the memorialists.

In his farewell address Grand Master Parkman called attention to the progress of the new Temple and the desirability that it be dedicated free from debt. He suggested that t..e Lodges might be assessed one dollar per year for each member and a sinking fund be thus established which would take care of the cost in a few years.

Referring to the importance of the social side of our fraternal life, he reported that he had caused dinner to be served to the District Deputy Grand Masters, to the attendant at the exemplification meetings, and to the attendants at the Feast of St. John's,, all at the expense of the Grand Lodge.

The address was referred to a Committee which reported at the next Quarterly. The Committee paid no attention to the sinking fund suggestion. They reported, however, that they were "compelled to believe that our great prosperity has been attended with an extravagance of expenditure in the administration of the affairs of the Grand Lodge which is not justified." After some discussions of the subject the Committee recommended that the Grand Master be authorized to pay the expenses of the District Deputy Grand Masters at the four regular Grand Lodge Communications; that at Constitutions of Lodges and Dedications of Apartments the Grand Lodge pay only the traveling expenses of Grand, Officers: that when the Grand Officers were invited to instal Lodge officers, the Lodge should bear the entire expense: that the Grand Master be instructed to make a detailed report of the financial condition of the Grand Lodge in his annual report. The recommendations were all adopted and have governed the Grand Lodge practice ever since. The last one later became a constitutional requirement, substituting "requested" for "instructed." The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has a high respect for the position and prerogative of the Grand Master. It may "request" him, but it never "instructs" or "directs" him to do anything.

At the Annual Communication of 1865 Charles C. Dame was elected Grand Master.

Bro. Dame was born in Kittery Point, then Massachusetts, now Maine, June 5, 1819,and died in Newburyport January 19, 1901. He was descended from John Dame who came from England in 1633. His father was a school teacher, and his early environment was one of culture, but of limited means. He was educated in the public schools of Portsmouth, N. H. and at South Newmarket Academy. On leaving the Academy he took up his father's profession and taught school until 1860, the last nine years as head of the English Department in the Chauncey Hall School of Boston, still one of the leading private schools of New England.

While teaching he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1859 and began practice in 1860. President Andrew Johnson appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue and he held that office until 1883, when he resumed the practice of law. He was deeply interested in the civic affairs of Boston, his-adopted city, serving as a member of the School Committee, of the Common Council, and of the Board of Aldermen. He was Mayor in 1886. He had already served a term in the state Senate in 1868. He was a Director of the Merchants National Bank, of Boston, and a Trustee of the Institution for Savings in Newburyport.

He was raised in Revere Lodge, December 1, 1857 and was its Master in 1860 and 1861. In Grand Lodge he was Junior Grand Deacon in 1862 and Deputy Grand Master in 1863, 1864, and 1865, the whole of Grand Master Parkman's administration. He was later a member of the Board of Directors of the Grand Lodge from 1882 until his death. When the Masonic Education and Charity Trust was incorporated in 1884 he was one of the original members and Secretary, holding that post until his death. He was High Priest of St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter and GrandKing of the Grand Chapter. He was a member of Boston Council, Royal and Select Masters, and Commander of Boston Commandery, Knights Templar. He was a member of the several Scottish Rite Bodies, and became an Active Member of the Supreme Council in 1897.

In Masonry and in business he won confidence, respect, and affection by his sincerity, his upright impartiality, his zeal, and his competence. It was said of him, "His sense of justice was his safe and constant guide, and true to this he was fearless of opposition, calm amid perplexities, generous and kind." His portrait shows a man of rather large proportions, solid, calm, poised, judicial. His appearance suits well the description of hit character.

Grand Master Dame's first year in office was a busy one, but presented nothing of historical importance.

At the December quarterly of 1866 a report was accepted and adopted fixing the stations of the Grand Officers as they have been ever since. This period was prolific in new Lodges, apparently in many cases organized by Brethren whose zeal was commendable, but whose knowledge of the fundamental of Masonry left much to be desired. A very strong Committee consisting of William Sewall Gardner, a Past Grand Warden, and Past Grand Masters Lewis and Coolidge reported on the By-Laws of several of the new Lodges and caused the correction of many errors.

55£. In one case the Committee says "the by-laws show in many respects a great lack of Masonic knowledge, and a misapprehension of the object of a Masonic Lodge." There are frequent attempts to curtail the power of the Master in his appointments, sometimes by associating the Wardens with appointments and in one case by making the appointments subject to the approval of the Lodge, The Committee point out that the Lodge may by by-law provide for the election of all officers, but if it leaves any to be appointed the Master's power of appointment is absolute. Another by-law made it obligatory on the Master to call a special meeting "on the written application of seven members." In the Master alone lies the right to call special meetings and this right cannot be invaded or controlled by the Lodge.

Another undertook to provide the application might be accepted by a two thirds vote. The Committee stresses the importance of unanimous consent.

There were submitted by-laws providing that the Lodge might by unanimous consent dispense with the constitutional provision that a month must elapse between receiving an application and balloting thereon; that if an black ball appeared in the ballot box the balloting might be postponed a month; that if any Brother be known to speak or act disrespectfully of Masonry in general or of their Lodge in particular "he shall not be allowed to sit in the Lodge as member or visit until the matter has been adjusted; that a Committee might be appointed to investigate any private quarrel or animosity between two Brothers and if possible to reconcile them", but "if either shall continue to harbor unkind feelings after the other shall have made due and proper concessions, he shall be dealt with as the majority of the Lodge think proper." The Committee very justly points out that a Lodge is not an inquisitional court and has no right, ability, or power to judge, much less punish, the private feelings of its members. Another provided that "no member or visiting Brother shall be admitted into this Lodge, if he is in the slightest degree intoxicated, or who is in the common practice of using intoxicating drink as a beverage, or who is engaged in any illegal traffic (if within our knowledge) or who does not sustain a good moral character." At this time the liquor question was a very live political issue. This proposed by-law, therefore, not only went far to prejudice a question of personal morals, but invaded the political field in which Masonry has no business. England has Lodges of total abstainers, but the matter is handled very wisely and with great breadth of mind. It is understood that these Lodges do not entertain applications from any but abstainers. At the same time it is made perfectly clear that the Lodge does not attempt to control the habits of members. If they cease to be abstainers, they are not subjected to any discipline or even disapproval, but as honorable men they are expected to dimit. The discussion of this proposal is full and illuminating.

The Committee says, "The petitioners should remember that there is a world wide difference between the moral reform societies existing in the community and a'Masonic Lodge." Masonry does not engage in the moral, political, and religious dissensions which embroil mankind and embitter their lives. As individuals Brethren may engage in any political, reformatory, or religious endeavor they may please, but all this must be kept outside the Lodge-room. There is ample resource in Masonic law for dealing with violation of the civil law or serious moral delinquency, beyond this there is no need to go.

It may be noted in this connection that the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has never legislated on any phase of the liquor question. By this wise reticence she has saved herself much embarrassment, confusion, and inconsistency without detriment to the manners or morals of her members.

Another Lodge provided that vacancies in the line of officers should be filled at the first regular meeting after they occur, by ballot or appointment, as they were originally filled (quite unconstitutional), and that in business and discussions the Lodge should be governed by Parliamentary law. Masonry knows nothing of Parliamentary law and cannot be governed by it.

All of these provisions, some clearly unconstitutional and some merely fantastic, were disallowed. The Committee reports deal thoroughly and very interestingly with various aspects of the Common Law of Masonry. They were probably drafted by Gardner, a very able lawyer who was afterward a Justice of the Supreme Court. It was of the greatest value to the Fraternity in this period of rapid expansion to have such wise counsellors to direct and restrain its activities.

After a few years we cease to find these curious sets of by-laws presented by new Lodges. They were the natural result of war time conditions already noted. Great numbers of candidates were hastily given the degrees. They were uninstructed even in the ritual. They wanted to be, and were Master Masons, but they had very little idea what it was all about. Many of them rushed off to war without becoming Lodge members. A good many were made in the Army Lodges which surrendered their warrants when the forces were demobilized. Great Numbers of these unaffiliated Masons sought Masonic homes in the new Lodges which were formed in numbers. Quite ignorant of Masonic law, practice, or precedent, they quite naturally supposed that they could adopt any by-laws they pleased. Incidentally the Committee reports on these cases furnished a very important body of precedent, discussion, and information for succeeding years.

The question of financing the new Temple now seriously engaged the attention of the Grand Lodge. The Grand Master in his annual report at the close of 1866 called attention to the fact that the Grand Lodge had, by authorizing the building of a Temple to replace the Winthrop House, committed itself to a very large expenditure which must somehow be provided for, and suggested a plan for a sinking fund for that purpose. The Committee to whom the report was referred presented at the March Quarterly of 1867 a very elaborate and thorough report, undoubtedly drawn by William Sewall Gardner, the Chairman. Gardner had been Senior Grand Warden in 1864 and his great ability and power of clear and forceful presentation of his views had made him a leading figure in Grand Lodge.

After the insurance on the Winthrop House had been collected and outstanding indebtedness on the property paid, the Grand Lodge owned the land clear and had about $20,000 with which to begin the construction of the new Temple. The $20,000 barely paid for the foundations. The Grand Lodge had borrowed on a first and second mortgage $300,000. Rentals derived from the building would hardly more than pay the carrying charges. The balance of ordinary Grand Lodge income after paying ordinary expenses would not be large enough to provide a sinking fund of any appreciable amount.

The Committee showed conclusively that resources under Grand Master Dame's plan would not be sufficient to meet the need. After pointing out that the Temple had been authorized by the Fraternity as a whole through the vote of the Grand Lodge,was the property of the whole Fraternity, and was for the benefit of the whole Fraternity, the Committee declared that it was the duty of the whole Fraternity to pay for it.

The Committee then introduced an order, which was unanimously adopted, that one dollar a year should be paid as Grand. Lodge dues by every member of the Fraternity for thirteen years, but the thirteen years annual dues might be commuted by one lump payment of ten dollars. As there was then no limit upon the right of unaffiliated Masons to visit, it was furthered ordered that no unaffiliated Mason residing in Massachusetts should be allowed to visit without first paying twenty-five cents at each visit. All such fees and all moneys received from the Grand Lodge dues, commonly known as the "capitation tax" should be collected by the District Deputy Grand Master at his annual visitation and should be paid into the sinking fund.

This order brought forth a vigorous protest from King Solomon's Lodge. The protest set forth that the order "was hastily adopted without the opportunity for discussion by the Lodges which its importance required," and that it was unconstitutional in that it was virtually an amendment to the Grand Constitutions and should have taken the course required for amendments. The protest expressed a fear that a dangerous precedent had been established which might disturb the harmony of the Fraternity and seriously weaken that respect for the Grand Lodge which is so vitally Important.

The protest was referred after long discussion to a Committee of sixteen, one person from each Masonic District. Light of the Committee were District Deputy Grand Masters, one was a Past Deputy Grand Master, five were Past Senior Grand Wardens, one was a Past Junior Grand Warden, and one was the Corresponding Grand Secretary. This Committee was appointed subsequent to the meeting by the Grand Master, It was a very strong Committee, but obviously not one which could be expected to do anything to upset the action of the Grand Lodge.

The protest considerably disturbed the Grand Lodge. It raised apprehension that it might be representative of an extensive opposition. One member moved that the enforcement of the order regarding the capitation tax be postponed until the next Communication of the Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge showed ita confusion by passing the motion and later In the same session reconsidering the vote and reversing it.

Two resolutions were proposed and adopted, as follows:

  • "Resolved: That this Grand Lodge hereby pledges the faith of the Fraternity of the Commonwealth to sustain the Most Worshipful Grand Master and the Board of Directors in completing and paying for the new Masonic Temple now being erected in this city."
  • "Resolved: That it is the sense of the Grand Lodge that its action this day taken upon the reference of the papers purporting to be a protest from King Solomon's Lodge, was not intended and is not to be deemed, as in any way rescinding its Order passed at the last Communication (imposing a capitation tax ) but rather with the view of causing the subordinate Lodges more fully to understand the necessity of its passage."

The first resolution, which was passed unanimously, was offered by Charles Levi Woodbury, the Corresponding Grand Secretary. The second which was passed, but not unanimously, was offered by George Washington Warren, who was himself a member of King Solomon's Lodge. Both Woodbury and Warren were put on the Committee of Sixteen when the Grand Master later appointed it.

The Committee of Sixteen reported at the September Quarterly. Unfortunately the report has not survived. It was considered and accepted and it was "Voted, that so much of the report as relates to the financial condition of the Grand Lodge be printed and sent to the Lodges, with such explanations and additions as the Grand Master may judge to be necessary for their information.

There were no more protests, but the collection of the tax involved a good deal of difficulty for some years and caused not a little friction. A few Lodges flatly refused to pay. They were all finally brought into a more submissive frame of mind but one Lodge carried its rebellion so far that it was necessary to lift its Charter, The suspension, however, only lasted for a few months.

On June 24, 1867, the new Temple was dedicated with much pomp and ceremony. There was a procession of some sixteen thousand Masons, including delegations from many foreign jurisdictions both in and out of the United States, which marched over a four mile route. There was a formal dedication of the Temple, with full form and ceremony. There was a great meeting in Music Hall, the largest auditorium in the city, with an admirable oration by Rev. William S. Studley, a Past Grand Chaplain who had been summoned from his then home in Cincinnati for the purpose. To crown the day there was a banquet In the Temple, with the usual array of distinguished speakers. It is worth recording that the speeches,which are on record, were all short and all good.

The chief guest of the day was President Andrew Johnson. President Johnson very graciously accepted the invitation to be present and spoke twice, once during the dedication ceremony and once at the banquet. The President was received with great enthusiasm. In his remarks he expressed very great pleasure in coming to Massachusetts and at the evidences of sincerely fraternal spirit which he had seen displayed. He said that he had attended many Masonic celebrations but had almost always heard "taunts and jeers." On this occasion every Brother appeared to feel that he was a man and was inspired by the spirit of Masonic fraternity. He had not heard the first expression of acrimony. He said that in coming here he had followed the rule of his life - to satisfy his conscience that a thing was right, and then left the consequences to take care of themselves. He praised the great principles of Freemasonry and said that through them he had learned one thing, "I care not whether it be in religion, in politics, or elsewhere, in the pursuit and in the support of a correct principle I could never reach a wrong conclusion. I love principle: I am devoted to principle.* Other speakers spoke of Freemasonry and its underlying principles as a valuable aid toward abolishing the rancor and healing the divisions caused by the Civil War. All such references were Masonically discreet and there was an entire absence of any direct political allusions, but reading the speeches against the background of current conditions one sees much between the lines.

The presence and words of President Johnson gain greatly in interest and significance when projected against this background. Johnson was in the midst of this courageous but helpless struggle with a Congress overwhelmingly opposed to him. Two of the most conspicuous leaders of the opposition were Massachusetts men, Charles Sumner and Benjamin F. Butler. Johnson was fighting for the restoration of the spiritual unity of the nation, generosity toward the fallen foe, government in the hands of the people, where it belonged, the known principles and policy of Abraham Lincoln. The dominant party in Congress wished to treat the southern states as conquered provinces, crush them, body and soul, and subject them to a regime of vengeance. To this end they passed the legislation which brought about the shameful "reconstruction era." Johnson vetoed their acts, but they overrode his veto again and again. A year after he came to Boston they tried, to their everlasting disgrace, to impeach him and failed only by the margin of a single vote, cast by a brave Senator who took his political life in his hands to do it. Viewed in the light of all this Johnson's visit to Massachusetts became much more than a pleasant fraternal gesture.

The rapid growth of the years just preceding revealed some weaknesses in the constitutional structure. Amendments were adopted providing that the Grand Secretary should officially notify all the Lodges of proposed amendments to the Grand Constitutions within thirty days of their proposal and should put them on the notice of the meeting at which action was expected.

The machinery for the investigating of applicants for the degrees was not working efficiently. Two amendments were adopted, one declaring that rejected applicants who might receive the degrees without a recommendation from the rejecting Lodge should be declared clandestine Masons; the other that "any person leaving his place of residence within this state, who shall be initiated in any Lodge in any other state or territory without having first obtained the consent of the Lodge having jurisdiction, should likewise be deemed clandestine."

A very important amendment forbade the incorporation of Particular Lodges. The same matter came up at the June Quarterly of 1826, when the Grand Lodge, on recommendation of a Committee of which John Abbot, who probably drew the report, was Chairman, adopted a resolution "That no subordinate Lodge, or any member thereof for such Lodge, shall hereafter present to the Legislature any petition for an act of Incorporation, and that all Lodges or members thereof which have such petitions now pending cause the same to be withdrawn; and that the Recording Grand Secretary notify all Lodges under the jurisdiction of this report and resolution."

At that time there was a wave of incorporation, all sorts of groups applying for such Acts, and there was a disposition on the part of some Lodges to go along with the crowd. The resolution accomplished its purpose, the craze for incorporation subsided, and no further action seemed called for. The matter was not mentioned in the Constitution of 1843. Now the growing size and wealth of the Fraternity and especially the acquisition of real estate, brought the matter up again. An amendment was prepared dealing with it and submitted to a Committee of which William Sewall Gardner was Chairman. Gardner presented another of his masterly reports. He laid down at the outset the principle that "the supreme authority over the subordinate Lodges exists exclusively and absolutely in the Grand Lodge." They are answerable to the Grand Lodge, and cannot be made answerable to any other tribunal or government." If they were incorporated they would become subordinate not only to the Grand Lodge, but also to the civil courts and to the Legislature. Their most private concerns would become open. Their proceedings might be reviewed, their discharged members ordered restored, their elections declared void even the investment and expenditure of their funds be ordered and directed by a Court of Equity. Our own Grand Lodge only escaped such interference by the surrender of its Charter of Incorporation in 1834. Incorporation would sweep away the appellate jurisdiction of the Grand Master and Grand Lodge and substitute a jurisdiction which knew nothing of Masonic obligation or of Masonic law. Cases were cited to show that these considerations were not theoretical but very practical.

As a result the Grand Lodge at the December Quarterly adopted an amendment to the Grand Constitutions as follows: "No Lodge shall apply for, receive, or act under any corporate charter granted by any legislature or political government, and the receiving such charter of incorporation or acting thereunder by any Lodge under this jurisdiction shall operate as a surrender and revocation of its Masonic Charter or Warrant from the Grand Lodge." This is still the law of this jurisdiction.

In 1867 we find recorded the first case of the impeachment of a Master of a Lodge. In the course of the proceedings Gardner, as Chairman of a Committee appointed to report on the suspension of the Master by the Grand Master, presented a long and very valuable report. As this case was the first to occur in this jurisdiction, the Committee went very thoroughly into the whole matter of procedure. The report does not appear in the published reprints, but may be found in full in the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge for 1867, beginning on page 91.

The conclusion of the matter was the trial of the respondent by Grand Lodge, his conviction and expulsion from all the rights and privileges of Freemasonry,

The Grand Lodge refused to recognize a body calling itself the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick contained two Provincial Grand Lodges, one under Scotland and one under England, but the same person was Provincial Grand Master for both groups. Seven or eight of the Scotch Lodges seceded and set up a Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Some forty-eight of the Lodges in the two provinces remained loyal to their Mother Grand Lodges. Massachusetts was, of course, in friendly relations with the two Provincial Grand Lodges. She held that in order to establish a just claim for recognition the new Grand Lodge must consist of a practically complete union of the Lodges in the territory where it was proposed to establish it and must be agreed to by the Mother Grand Lodge. This was a reaffirmation of the principles laid down previously when Massachusetts refused to recognize the Grand Lodge of Canada, so-called. Local differences were, however, soon adjusted and Grand Lodges were established in New Brunswick and in Nova Scotia.

At the Annual Communication in December 1867, Grand Master Dame was re-elected, but the long incumbency of Charles W. Moore was terminated by the election of Solon W. Thornton as Recording Grand Secretary. Moore had served for thirty-four years. As a Masonic statesman and jurist he has never been equalled in Massachusetts, if anywhere. He, more then anyone else, guided the Grand Lodge through the critical and dangerous years from 1826 to 1843. His Freemason's Monthly Magazine, begun in 1841 and continued until his death, is an inexhaustable storehouse of information which has not yet lost its value. His service to Masonry cannot be estimated too highly. On going out of office he was immediately appointed Deputy Grand Master and the year following he was appointed Corresponding Grand Secretary and was continued in that until his death in December, 1873.

Solon Thornton had been a member of St. John's Lodge, of Boston, since 1851. He had served it as Master in 1856 and again in 1861. He was Junior Grand Steward in 1863, District Deputy Grand Master for the First District in 1864 and Junior Grand Warden in 1865.

The annexation of the city of Roxbury to Boston raised the question of the status of the Roxbury Lodges. On report and recommendation of a Committee the Grand Lodge voted that the Roxbury Lodges had now become Boston Lodges and "entitled to all the immunities and privileges incident to that relation." This question of effect of changing boundaries and erection of new towns had long been a somewhat troublesome one and in 1873 the present regulation was adopted that "no changes by the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Municipal corporation or boundaries of the territories thereof, shall be held to affect in any way the jurisdiction of Lodges." In 1888, owing to the confusion of jurisdiction arising from the numerous annexations to Boston, it was enacted that "the several Lodges located in Boston shall have equal and concurrent jurisdiction over the territorial limits of the city."

In 1912 the next annexation, that of Hyde Park, took place and the Grand Lodge voted that the regulation regarding legislative changes applied and Hyde Park Lodge retained its original jurisdiction and only that. Some years later, however, the inconsistency of this position was realized when the revised Constitutions of 1918 were adopted it was held that the re-enactment of the provision regarding the concurrent jurisdiction of the Boston Lodges would include Hyde Park, and it has since been so held.


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