Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Constitution Of Grand Lodges.
THE CONSTITUTION OF GRAND LODGES .
There is an old saying- to the effect that nothing is to be gained by " slaying the slain . " But the New Zealand Craftsman , in one of its recent numbers , has been at the pains of quoting from an address delivered by the Grand Master of Quebec in 1883 , what our contemporary is pleased to describe as the " Statement of laws governing the establishment , relations ,
and procedure of Grand Lodge . " We presume the A * ea > Zealand Craftsnun has . quoted these laws—which , as they happen to be 12 in number , it has seen fit to designate " The Twelve Tables " —as being in some sort a justification for the acts of those brethren who some time since set up the unrecognised Grand Lodge of New Zealand . Hence , though the ground
has been traversed again and again , it seems not unreasonable that we should offer a few remarks on this so-called code . In the first place , we shall gladly be informed by whose or what authority these laws were made , and by what process they have become generally applicable to Freemasonry as constituted throughout the various States of
the world . We know there is a code of International Law , by which the conduct of different States towards each other is regulated . These laws have been framed in accordance with certain general principles , and even the most powerful countries consider themselves bound , both in honour and from motives of sound policy , to observe and respect this International Law .
But though we have heard much of an alleged inter-jurisdictional Masonic law , we have never yet been able to ascertain how and when it came to be established and under what authority there can be claimed for it anything like the universal application which such a code should rightly possess . Let os take the fust of " The Twelve Tables , " which is to the following effect :
"At least three duly represented private lodges must unite in the establishment of a Grand Lodge , and the number of lodges thus co-operating should constitute a majority of all the regular private lodges existing within the territory for which the Sovereign Grand Lodge is formed . The union and co-operation of all the lodges so situated is supremely desirable where
practicable . " Now , as regards this allegation that it is necessary there should be at least three private lodges taking part in the constitution of a Grand Lodge in order to make it regular , we have heard it many and many a time , but we have never yet been able to ascertain how and when it came lo be recognised as a universal Masonic law , to which all Masonic
communities , belonging to no matter what system , are bound to pay obedience We are under the impression the authorship has been ascribed lo the late Hro , Dr . MACKEY , but though we readily admit that Dr . MACKEY was a learned and most diligent writer on Freemasonry , —and especially on Masonic jurisprudence—whose opinion is worthy of all respect , wc cannot bring
ourselves to accept his mere dictum as of sufficient authority to justify its acceptance as law . Again , as regards the second of these laws which reads thus . * " It is the duty of every private lodge situated within the territorial jurisdiction of a regularly formed Grand Lodge , but which , through any cause , was not represented at its organisation , to become , at an early day
thereafter , of allegiance to the new Grand Body , and be enrolled on its registry ; w upon its refusal it may be deemed and declared to be an irregular lodge in not submitting to the lawfully constituted Masonic sovereignty of the country . " Here , again , we must decline to accept this as an inter-jurisdictional Masonic law , and for the same reason , that no evidence is forthcoming as to when
or b y whom it was established as such and declared to be of universal application . Laws 3 to 6 inclusive , do not call for remark , but Law 7 provides that " Any Grand Lodge may charter private lodges in any territory ^ occupied by a local Sovereign Grand Lodge ; but thc exercise of this f | ght is , with propriety , restricted to unoccupied territories belonging to the
country within whose domain the chartering Grand Lodge is situated , or lo exterior countries within whose limits a Grand Lodge does not exist . " ¦ ^ rc , again , there is wanting thc authority of a competent tribunal , while tne question—What is " unoccupied territory ? " —will puzzle even the most earned jurist to answer . Thus , as regards States which have Colonies ¦
""id Dependencies , . its Sovereign Grand Lodge would justly claim Masonic jurisdiction over lodges in such Colonies and Dependencies as well as in the late itself—in fact the Colonies must be looked upon as forming con-•• iient parts of the State , and though the Supreme Grand Body may abdic ils position in respect of a local Colonial Grand I . odge , it still
. f ns its supremacy as regards those portions which are outside the ls diction thus conceded . To make our argument still mo'e clear , will take the case of France or the Netherlands , both of jcl ) have Colonies and Dependencies abroad . The Grand Orient , r ance or of the Netherlands is supreme not only over the lodges in the a . * ° untry , but likewise over those located in their respective Colonics 'dependencies . As regards ( he ., United Kingdom , the circumstances
The Constitution Of Grand Lodges.
appear to be somewhat more complicated . The Grand Lodges of Kngland , Ireland , Scotland are supreme each in its own particular section of thc United Kingdom ; in the Colonies and Dependencies the three exercise coordinate authorit }' , the settlers in our foreign possessions having been originally , some of English , some of Irish , and some of Scottish origin .
But during the last 30 or 40 years local Grand Lodges have been established in sundry of these colonies , and recognised as the supreme Masonic Bodies within their several territorial limits , but we have never conceded to these local Grand Lodges the right to warrant lodges in their sister Coloniesand possessions . Yet it is not soverylongago that the Grand Chapter
of Canada set up chapters in Melbourne , and pleaded in defence of its conduct that it was the peer of our Supreme Grand Chapter , and possessed the same sovereign rights as the latter . It would therefore be necessary that the term " unoccupied territory" should be clearly defined , it being impossible for any man in his senses to affirm that Victoria , of which
Melbourne was the capital , and in which the Grand Lodgesof the United Kingdom at the time exercised their respective powers by means of District or Provincial Grand Lodges ,, was Masonically " unoccupied . " Law S provides that a " Grand Lodge cannot rightfully constitute a new lodge , or continue to exercise jurisdiction over any lodge formerly chartered by it , after the
regular formation of a Grand Lodge within the territory in which said private lodge is situated . " This may be the law as interpreted by the Grand Lodge of Quebec ; but there is direct evidence to show that the law is not one which can be universally applied . * When * the Grand Lodge of Canada was recognised by the Grand Lodges of the United
Kingdom , it was stipulated' and agreed tbat any lodges might , if they chose , remain true to their . old allegiance . Some years later the Grand Lodge of England' expressed its willingness to recognise the Grand Lodge of Quebec on precisely the same condition ; but it declined to accept recognition on such terms . More ' recently still we
have recognised the Grand Lodges of South Australia , New South Wales , Victoria , and Tasmania on the same terms . Moreover , in the . Mauritius , which was formerly a French possession , and at the Cape of Good Hope , which was formerly Dutch , the lodgesof French and Dutch Constitution are to all intents and purposes as purely French and Dutch as
though they were quartered in France or the Netherlands . It is clean therefore , that from what we have said thus brielly our New Zealand contemporar } ' is not justified in claiming for these "Twelve Tables " anything like the authority of an international code of Masonic law . On some future occasion wc shall venture to offer other remarks on the subject .
Installation Of Rt. Hon.Bro. Sir R. W. Duff As Grand Master, New South Wales.
INSTALLATION OF RT . HON . BRO . SIR R . W . DUFF AS GRAND MASTER , NEW SOUTH WALES .
The installation of His Excellency , Bro . the Right Hon . Sir R . W . Duff , as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales took place at Sydney in July , the M . W . Grand Master of South Australia , His Excellency Bro . the Earl of Kintore , acting as Installing Grand Master . , To both these distinguished brothers , associated M i . sonically as they have been in the immediate p ist in their own land and under their parent con-
stitution , each holding exalted and honourable positions in the Craft , the day and opportunity of again coming together and joining to promote the welfareof Freemasonry in this far-distant landand British Dependency . would be an occasion which , while recalling those memories , must have been to them in itself an intensely pleasureable experience , and bright and big with promise to the Australian Brotherhood . For although made up of many parts and divisions of a whole , it remains indis-olubly one in interests ,
hopes , and aspirations alike and the same , and ever the same . The splendid success of the ceremony , with its accompaniments , gave proof that that spirit and that sentiment dominated the whole proceeding , and made an impression on those who witnessed and shared in it which will take long in the forgetting . As early as the 8 th inst . someof the Grand Officers took their departure eastward for the mother city , and on thc 1 ith inst . Bro . Lord Kintore , attended by his private secretary , Bro . Capt . the Hon . Henniker-Major , took train for the same destination .
The Grand Ollicers and members of Grand Lodge who availed themselves of the invitation of New South Wales Grand Lodge were Bros , the Hon . A . M . Simpson , D . G . M ., * If . E . Downer , P . G . M . ; F . H . Wigg , P . S . G . W . ; f . II . Cunningham , G . Sec . ; R . Mc . YIichen , S . G . W . ; J . H . Fray , P . G . O . ; J . B . VVarren , P . M . ; N . Sadler , P . M . ; J . H . Bailey , P . M . ; and J . Robinson , G . Stwd .
The 13 th inst . was the day fixed for the ceremony , and each colony sent its Masonic contingent to take part in it and swell the large number present . The usual formalities having been observed , and Bro . the Right Hon . Sir
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Constitution Of Grand Lodges.
THE CONSTITUTION OF GRAND LODGES .
There is an old saying- to the effect that nothing is to be gained by " slaying the slain . " But the New Zealand Craftsman , in one of its recent numbers , has been at the pains of quoting from an address delivered by the Grand Master of Quebec in 1883 , what our contemporary is pleased to describe as the " Statement of laws governing the establishment , relations ,
and procedure of Grand Lodge . " We presume the A * ea > Zealand Craftsnun has . quoted these laws—which , as they happen to be 12 in number , it has seen fit to designate " The Twelve Tables " —as being in some sort a justification for the acts of those brethren who some time since set up the unrecognised Grand Lodge of New Zealand . Hence , though the ground
has been traversed again and again , it seems not unreasonable that we should offer a few remarks on this so-called code . In the first place , we shall gladly be informed by whose or what authority these laws were made , and by what process they have become generally applicable to Freemasonry as constituted throughout the various States of
the world . We know there is a code of International Law , by which the conduct of different States towards each other is regulated . These laws have been framed in accordance with certain general principles , and even the most powerful countries consider themselves bound , both in honour and from motives of sound policy , to observe and respect this International Law .
But though we have heard much of an alleged inter-jurisdictional Masonic law , we have never yet been able to ascertain how and when it came to be established and under what authority there can be claimed for it anything like the universal application which such a code should rightly possess . Let os take the fust of " The Twelve Tables , " which is to the following effect :
"At least three duly represented private lodges must unite in the establishment of a Grand Lodge , and the number of lodges thus co-operating should constitute a majority of all the regular private lodges existing within the territory for which the Sovereign Grand Lodge is formed . The union and co-operation of all the lodges so situated is supremely desirable where
practicable . " Now , as regards this allegation that it is necessary there should be at least three private lodges taking part in the constitution of a Grand Lodge in order to make it regular , we have heard it many and many a time , but we have never yet been able to ascertain how and when it came lo be recognised as a universal Masonic law , to which all Masonic
communities , belonging to no matter what system , are bound to pay obedience We are under the impression the authorship has been ascribed lo the late Hro , Dr . MACKEY , but though we readily admit that Dr . MACKEY was a learned and most diligent writer on Freemasonry , —and especially on Masonic jurisprudence—whose opinion is worthy of all respect , wc cannot bring
ourselves to accept his mere dictum as of sufficient authority to justify its acceptance as law . Again , as regards the second of these laws which reads thus . * " It is the duty of every private lodge situated within the territorial jurisdiction of a regularly formed Grand Lodge , but which , through any cause , was not represented at its organisation , to become , at an early day
thereafter , of allegiance to the new Grand Body , and be enrolled on its registry ; w upon its refusal it may be deemed and declared to be an irregular lodge in not submitting to the lawfully constituted Masonic sovereignty of the country . " Here , again , we must decline to accept this as an inter-jurisdictional Masonic law , and for the same reason , that no evidence is forthcoming as to when
or b y whom it was established as such and declared to be of universal application . Laws 3 to 6 inclusive , do not call for remark , but Law 7 provides that " Any Grand Lodge may charter private lodges in any territory ^ occupied by a local Sovereign Grand Lodge ; but thc exercise of this f | ght is , with propriety , restricted to unoccupied territories belonging to the
country within whose domain the chartering Grand Lodge is situated , or lo exterior countries within whose limits a Grand Lodge does not exist . " ¦ ^ rc , again , there is wanting thc authority of a competent tribunal , while tne question—What is " unoccupied territory ? " —will puzzle even the most earned jurist to answer . Thus , as regards States which have Colonies ¦
""id Dependencies , . its Sovereign Grand Lodge would justly claim Masonic jurisdiction over lodges in such Colonies and Dependencies as well as in the late itself—in fact the Colonies must be looked upon as forming con-•• iient parts of the State , and though the Supreme Grand Body may abdic ils position in respect of a local Colonial Grand I . odge , it still
. f ns its supremacy as regards those portions which are outside the ls diction thus conceded . To make our argument still mo'e clear , will take the case of France or the Netherlands , both of jcl ) have Colonies and Dependencies abroad . The Grand Orient , r ance or of the Netherlands is supreme not only over the lodges in the a . * ° untry , but likewise over those located in their respective Colonics 'dependencies . As regards ( he ., United Kingdom , the circumstances
The Constitution Of Grand Lodges.
appear to be somewhat more complicated . The Grand Lodges of Kngland , Ireland , Scotland are supreme each in its own particular section of thc United Kingdom ; in the Colonies and Dependencies the three exercise coordinate authorit }' , the settlers in our foreign possessions having been originally , some of English , some of Irish , and some of Scottish origin .
But during the last 30 or 40 years local Grand Lodges have been established in sundry of these colonies , and recognised as the supreme Masonic Bodies within their several territorial limits , but we have never conceded to these local Grand Lodges the right to warrant lodges in their sister Coloniesand possessions . Yet it is not soverylongago that the Grand Chapter
of Canada set up chapters in Melbourne , and pleaded in defence of its conduct that it was the peer of our Supreme Grand Chapter , and possessed the same sovereign rights as the latter . It would therefore be necessary that the term " unoccupied territory" should be clearly defined , it being impossible for any man in his senses to affirm that Victoria , of which
Melbourne was the capital , and in which the Grand Lodgesof the United Kingdom at the time exercised their respective powers by means of District or Provincial Grand Lodges ,, was Masonically " unoccupied . " Law S provides that a " Grand Lodge cannot rightfully constitute a new lodge , or continue to exercise jurisdiction over any lodge formerly chartered by it , after the
regular formation of a Grand Lodge within the territory in which said private lodge is situated . " This may be the law as interpreted by the Grand Lodge of Quebec ; but there is direct evidence to show that the law is not one which can be universally applied . * When * the Grand Lodge of Canada was recognised by the Grand Lodges of the United
Kingdom , it was stipulated' and agreed tbat any lodges might , if they chose , remain true to their . old allegiance . Some years later the Grand Lodge of England' expressed its willingness to recognise the Grand Lodge of Quebec on precisely the same condition ; but it declined to accept recognition on such terms . More ' recently still we
have recognised the Grand Lodges of South Australia , New South Wales , Victoria , and Tasmania on the same terms . Moreover , in the . Mauritius , which was formerly a French possession , and at the Cape of Good Hope , which was formerly Dutch , the lodgesof French and Dutch Constitution are to all intents and purposes as purely French and Dutch as
though they were quartered in France or the Netherlands . It is clean therefore , that from what we have said thus brielly our New Zealand contemporar } ' is not justified in claiming for these "Twelve Tables " anything like the authority of an international code of Masonic law . On some future occasion wc shall venture to offer other remarks on the subject .
Installation Of Rt. Hon.Bro. Sir R. W. Duff As Grand Master, New South Wales.
INSTALLATION OF RT . HON . BRO . SIR R . W . DUFF AS GRAND MASTER , NEW SOUTH WALES .
The installation of His Excellency , Bro . the Right Hon . Sir R . W . Duff , as Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales took place at Sydney in July , the M . W . Grand Master of South Australia , His Excellency Bro . the Earl of Kintore , acting as Installing Grand Master . , To both these distinguished brothers , associated M i . sonically as they have been in the immediate p ist in their own land and under their parent con-
stitution , each holding exalted and honourable positions in the Craft , the day and opportunity of again coming together and joining to promote the welfareof Freemasonry in this far-distant landand British Dependency . would be an occasion which , while recalling those memories , must have been to them in itself an intensely pleasureable experience , and bright and big with promise to the Australian Brotherhood . For although made up of many parts and divisions of a whole , it remains indis-olubly one in interests ,
hopes , and aspirations alike and the same , and ever the same . The splendid success of the ceremony , with its accompaniments , gave proof that that spirit and that sentiment dominated the whole proceeding , and made an impression on those who witnessed and shared in it which will take long in the forgetting . As early as the 8 th inst . someof the Grand Officers took their departure eastward for the mother city , and on thc 1 ith inst . Bro . Lord Kintore , attended by his private secretary , Bro . Capt . the Hon . Henniker-Major , took train for the same destination .
The Grand Ollicers and members of Grand Lodge who availed themselves of the invitation of New South Wales Grand Lodge were Bros , the Hon . A . M . Simpson , D . G . M ., * If . E . Downer , P . G . M . ; F . H . Wigg , P . S . G . W . ; f . II . Cunningham , G . Sec . ; R . Mc . YIichen , S . G . W . ; J . H . Fray , P . G . O . ; J . B . VVarren , P . M . ; N . Sadler , P . M . ; J . H . Bailey , P . M . ; and J . Robinson , G . Stwd .
The 13 th inst . was the day fixed for the ceremony , and each colony sent its Masonic contingent to take part in it and swell the large number present . The usual formalities having been observed , and Bro . the Right Hon . Sir