Coloured Masonry In The United States.

instances of secession , which , nevertheless , did not always impair tin Masonic status of the seceders . Tho French Masons were the first to secede from the Grand Lodge of England ' s jurisdiction . But when the G . L . of Franco desired to bo on good terms with that ot England , the latter at once cheerfully acceded . Two secessions took placo in London in tho hist century -viz ., tho Ancients and the Lod "' e

of Antiquity : tho latter apologised , and was reinstated ; but the former continued independent , and was acknowledged as such by the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland , and ac tho Union in 1813 , the Grand Lodgo of England itself tacitly acknowledged the Grand Lodge of the Ancients' previous legality . Kilwinning Lodge also seceded , and chartered Lodges in Scotland ; and the Grand Lodgo of Scotland

after making certain concessions to the said Kilwinning Lodgo , received its Lodges and itself within the fold of tho G . L . Within thirty years the State of New York had threo Grand Lodges for a number of years in succession ; each G . L . denounced the others as clandestine ; yet , when unions were successively effected between them , each acknowledged tho other ' s previous legality . And last , and

not least , we all know that thero are at present threo Grand Lodges in Prussia , exercising co-ordinate jurisdiction , and between whom perfect harmony exists . From tho above facts , we must come to the conclusion that , however desirable unity of jurisdiction may be according to our notions , yet , under certain circumstances , two or more Grand Lodges can exercise co-ordinate jurisdiction without

impairing each other ' s legality , and that exclusive jurisdiction is not absolutely essential to Masonic government or Masonic harmony . Before I proceed further it is necessary to give an outline of the history of Masonry in Masachusetts . Briefly then , in 1733 , a London tailor , by the name of Henry Price , came to Boston , and pretended to hold a Provincial Grand Master ' s Deputation for New England ,

from Viscount Montague , G . M . of England , and by virtue of which he organised here a Lodge . In 1734 ho pretended to havo received , from Lord Crawford , then G . M . of England , an extension of his powers , making him ( Price ) P . G . M . of all America . The Boston Lodge was made known in England in 1735 or 1736 , and in December 1736 , Koberfc Tomlinson was appointed P . G . M . of New

England and its territories . That Henry Price ' s Grand Mastershi p was a fraud I have proved elsewhere ; but let us see how Tomlinson acted . His Deputation required him " to send annually an account in writing of the number of Lodges constituted , with the names of the several members of each particular , together also with two guineas from every particular Lodge so to be constituted . " Tomlinson

constituted a Lodge in Portsmouth , New Hampshire , in 1738 ; but ho never informed tho G . L . of England thereof , and of course did not send the two guineas . Tomlinson died in 1742 , and in 1743 Thomas Oxnard was appointed P . G . M . by Lord Ward ; his Deputation enjoined to hold quarterly

communications of his P . G . L ., to make annual returns to England , and to pay two guineas and a half for every new Lodgo chartered b y him ; he chartered several Lodges , among which two new Lod ges were constituted in 1750 in Boston ; bub no quarterly meetings wore held before 1750 , and no communication was made to the G . L . of England about the new chartered Lodges .

Oxnard died in 1754 . The Boston Brethren petition tho English authorities to appoint Bro . Jeremy Gridley P . G . M . of America . With the petition they sent a list of twelve Lodges chartered by the Boston P . G . L . between 1734 and 1754 . I must here add that five out of the twelve Lodges , the Boston G . L . never chartered ; while the two Boston Lodges constituted in 1750 , were omitted from the said list .

But the joke is , while thoy send no guineas for the constitution of the said Lodges , they craved precedency , " and that in order thereunto , our G . M . elect may in his Deputation bo styled G . M . of all North America . " The G . L . of England , however , appointed the said Bro . Gridley as requested ; but it is evident that the English Graud Secretary demanded at the same time pay for tho Lodges constituted

as per list . Gridley ' s Deputation demanded three guineas for every Lodge he constituted . But Bro . Gridley never sent to the English authorities a solitary shilling either for old or new Lodges constituted by himself . Gridley died in 1767 , and in tho following year the Boston Brethren petitioned the English authorities to appoint Bro . John Bowe P . G . M .

This time they did not send their list of Lodges ; but as the petition was taken to England by a Bostonian Brother , it was agreed , that if by paying fifteen guineas on account to tho G . L . of England , tho desired Deputation could bo procured ; that Bro . Jackson , tho messenger , should pay that amount . But Bro . Jackson did better than ho was instructed ; ho paid but eight guineas , for which four

American Lodges were registered in England . Bro . Eowe afterwards constituted two or three more Lodges , but never paid a cent , to tho G . L . of England . Altogether , the Boston records claim that about forty Lodges were constituted by the Boston P . G . L . between 1733 and 1755 , and out of all these the G . L . of England received pay for only five . In 1775 the Boston Provincial G . L . held its last meeting . Bro .

John Eowe died in 1787 . His Masonic associates attended his funeral , and afterwards passed the usual resolutions . It was also decided to reorganize the G . L ., but nothing was done until 1790 . Then they held a meeting , " the E . W . John Cutler , S . G . W ., presiding , " and for the first time they assumed the name of " St . John ' s G . L . " though they had no G . M .

Here we must leave tho so-called St . John's G . L ., and take up the history of another Boston Masonic organization of the last century . In 1752 , six Clandestines started a Lodge in Boston and mado Masons . It is claimed that they were Ancients , but I never found the authority for that claim . They did not even apply to the Ancients for a charter , but in 1756 tho G . M . of Scotland granted them a warrant

as " St . Andrew's Lodge . " Tho charter did not , however , arrive before 1760 ; but yet initiations , & c , were continued by the Lodge previous to 1760 . Efforts were then mado by the St . Andrew ' s Brethren to visit the Lodges of English origin in Boston , but adinis . sion was refused to them on account of being clandestine . Committees were then appointed by both parties , and the usual quibbles about

Coloured Masonry In The United States.

' •' Masonic jurisprudence" and ancient landmarks" woro learnedly discussed , but without result . In 1769 , Dr . Joseph Warren , of St . Andrew's Lodgo , receiver ! from Scotland tho appointment of P . G . M . ; he afterwards constituted threo nevv Lodges—viz .. ono Lodge in Boston , and two in other towns . In 1775 G . M . Warren mt : slain at the battle ; of Bunker Mil ! , lira . W .

S . Gardner , P . G . M ., ' of Massachusetts , conclusively demonstrated that with the death of a Provincial Grand Master , tho Provincial Grand Lodgo ceased to exist , and it was so understood and believed by tho survivors of G . M . Warren . In 1777 eleven Brethren belonging to tho Scotch party mot in Boston , and organised an independent Grand Lodgo , and there and

then granted a charter for a now Lodgo ; not a solitary officer of either of the then existing Lodges was present at tho said meeting . Trno , the W . M . of St . Peter ' s Lodge , Newburyport , was there ; but the Lodge lost its charter at tho timo of tho revolution , and it did not receive a new charter boforo 1791 , and oven then tho Lodgo did not long survive its resuscitation . Such was tho origin of tho famous

Grand Lodgo of Massachusetts , about which onr American Masonio jurisprudence-mongers havo raised a cry of " virtuous indignation " against tho Grand Lodge of England , that by granting tho African Lodge charter in 1784 it invaded tho sacred soil of tho Grand Lodge of Massachusetts , I must hero add that St . Andrew ' s Lodgo did nob acknowledge the so-called Grand Lodgo of Masachusetts until 1809 .

I left off the history of tho so-called " St . John ' s Grand Lodgo " at the period of 1790 . The precise number of Lodges under its jack . diction I cannot at present ascertain . Of the five Lodges registered in England in 1736 and in 1768 , three of these were located iu Ehodo Island and in Connecticut . Tho Boston Lodge of 1750 was dead , and even tho first Boston Lodgo of 1733 seems to have br on

dormant for somo years , but it was revived in 17 S 4 . Bro . Moore says that at tho meeting in 1787 abovo referred to , a committee was appointed "to write a circular letter to all tho Lodges under tho jurisdiction , requiring their attendance at the Grand Lodge , to assist in choosing grand officers . It does not appear , however , that any such meeting was convened until July 29 , 1790 . "

It is my opinion , however , that as most of the Lodges chartered by tho Prov . G . L . in Boston were outside of Massachusetts , they , there , fore , paid no attention to tho circular , if they received any . Indeed , these outside Lodges were never represented at all in tho Boston G . L ., and as to their Lodges in Massachusetts , I doubt very much whether the St . John ' s party had any Lodges in Massachusetts . St . John ' s

Lodge , Boston , was , as I said before , resuscitated in 1784 ; and I doubt very much whether its three other Lodges in country towns , chartered by tho Colonial G . L . before the war , were in active existence either in 1787 or 1790 . The St . John ' s G . L ., however , hold several meetings between 1790 and 1792 , when an arrangement was mado between the two so-called Grand Lodges for a union . Then the St . Johners '

elected a G . M ., and I believe that not a solitary officer of its Lodges was present ; and then , after a little mutual admiration , a conference of both parties unitedly elected a Grand Master . And here again wo see that two independent Grand Lodges acknowledged each other as equally legal and true blue . But of all these doings the Grand Lodgo of England know just as much as it did about tho " man in tho

moon , " so much so that the Masonic Calendar in London continued to print , until 1804 , the name of Henry Price as P . G . M . of America . I now come to the origin of " Coloured Masonry " iu the U . S . In 1775 , an army Lodge in Boston initiated Prince Hall and fourteen other coloured men . It is said that these applied to the G . L . of Massachusetts of 1777 for a charter , which was refused . In 1784 ,

however , the G . M . of England granted thorn a charter under tho name of " The African Lodge ; " tho charter did not reach Boston before 1787 . Tho fact , however , of the charter having been so granted was well known to the white Boston Masons , but not a protest or word of complaint was sent by them to England . Prince Hall carried on a correspondence with Bro . White , G . S . of England certainly ,

until 179- ! , and letters may havo passed between them even afterwards . Upon several occasions Bro . Hall sent a guinea or more to the charity fund of the G . L . of England , a generosity never displayed by the Provincial White G . L . of Boston . In 1807 Prince Hall died , and his successors neglected to report themselves to tho English Grand Secretary . In 1824 tho officers of tho African Lodgo wanted to procure a charter for Eoyal Arch Masonry , aud as our American

E . A . consists of four degrees , they requested tho charter for four degrees . To this letter ( though it contained a promise to pay np arrears if any were due ) no answer was returned . In 1826 tho African Lodge , in imitation of tho example sot by the white Lodges of both Scotch aud English origin , also declared its independence , and soon after it granted a charter to coloured Brethren residing in Ehodo Island ; and since then it organized Prince Hall Grand Lodge , which issued charters to coloured Masons in many states in America .

Now , that the brethren of the African Lodge were wrong in discontinuing correspondence with the Grand Secretary of England after the demise of Princo Hall , I fully and frankly admit . That its declaration of independence and its setting up a Grand Lodgo , & o ., was not in accordance with the Book of Constitutions , I also admit . But , in the name of justice and common sense , I ask , wherein havo the

African Brethren sinned more greatly than the whites of tho last century ? Upon what pretence , then , do English journalists recommend to make an invidious distinction between the white and the coloured American Masons ? Surely , Masonry never contemplated that there should be ono law for the African and another for tho Caucasian ; that for ono and tho same sin one should bo punished and the other should not . It is strange that these facts were better

known to Bro . Fmdel at tho time when he wrote his history of Freemasonry than they arc known now to English Masonic students . lb was because these facts were better understood on tho Continent of Europe that France , Germany , Italy , Switzerland , Belgium , and other Masonic jurisdictions have successfully acknowledged the legal status of Prince Hall and other coloured Grand Lodges in America . And hence tho reader will understand why the E . W . Bro . Hervey , G . S . of England , came to the just conclusion that , as far as legality or ille-