Some No Tes On Freemasonry In Australasia.– –(Continued).

for him . The corner stones of many of the " stately and superb edifices" which the colony can in truth boast of , were laid by Sir A . C . Gregory in his Masonic capacity , amongst which may be enumerated the Town Hall , the School of

Arts , and the Masonic Hall , all in Brisbane . The deceased veteran was , by the way , an honorary member of the Cambrian Lodge of Australia , in the struggle of which for its rights and privileges as an English loclge he evinced

considerable sympathy .

HHO . II . COURTKXAY LUCK , l ' . A . Ci . n . C , DISTRICT GRAND SECRETARY OF QUEENSLAND , K . C . Queensland up to 1904 was the only one of the seven Australasian colonies that had not erected an independent

Grand Lodge . True it is , that symptoms of a movement in that direction had now and again been visible , firstly in 188 9 . Eight years ago , moreover , a joint committee of the English , Irish and Scottish lodges was formed , with the object of feeling the pulse of the community . Sir A . C . Gregory entered into the controversy in a practical way . Knowing that the Brisbane

lodges in his district were averse lo the separation , he commissioned his then deputy , Bro . Baron Lewis Barnett , P . G . D ., and Bro . H . Courtenav Luck , P . D . S . G . W . now District Grand Secretary , and P . A . G . D . C . of England , to visit all the country lodges , and explain the position , with the

result that , by a bare majority in each case , only two lodges expressed their agreement in the desire for self-government . The immensity of the task undertaken by the two brethren named may be guessed , when it is seen that many thousands of miles were travelled by rail , sea , and coach , covering a

correspondingly great expenditure of time . Up to the latter part of 1 905 it appeared to be extremely unlikely that the English lodges would sever their allegiance to the " old country " for years to come .

The Irish Constitution set up its banner in Queensland in 186 4 , when a loclge was opened in Brisbane . Two years later the colony- was formed into a Province , the heads of which have been : — Col . Sir M . C . O'Connell 186 4

Theodore O . Unmack ... ... 1880 Sir Samuel W . Griffith , K . C . M . G .... 18 93 George Samuel Hutton ... ... 18 97 The Irish Craft progressed slowl y but surely , and up to the beginning of 1 904 there were twenty-six lodges working

in different parts of the colony . Scottish Freemasonry , too , has played a leading part in Queensland , the oldest lodge having been chartered at Brisbane in 186 4 , under the title of St . Andrew . Since then

the lodges have multiplied rapidly , whether to the advantage of the Craft remains to be seen , there being at the close of 1903 a total of sixty-four , no fewer than thirteen of which were in Brisbane . The Provincial or District Grand Masters rank thus : —

W . M . Boyce 1871 Hon . A . MacAllister 1877 Hon . John Douglas , C . M . G . ... 1878 Thomas Mylne 18 95 There are also sixteen chapters under the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland .

During the past few years it is to be regretted that discord has reigned in Scottish Masonry in Queensland . This unhappy state of affairs played into the hands of the advocates for a Grand Loclge , Irish as well as Scotch . Allegations of mismanagement by the local executive culminated in a fruitless appeal to the Grand Lodge of Scotland , which declined to interfere with the District Grand Master . Threats

to return warrants of lodges , with whispers of applications for new English ones , to divide the colony into two districts ( north and south ) , also to form the southern moiety into a Grand Loclge followed each other . The latter alternative it may be guessed " caught on " amongst a particular section , and to begin with Sir S . Griffith declined the honour of Grand

Master , as did Sir A . C . Gregory , the dernier ressorl being the head of the Irish Province . The next stage of the trouble was the resolution of the Grand Loclge of Scotland to found a new District Grand Loclge in the colony under the name of the " District Grand Loclge of North Queensland , " with the Hon . E . D . Miles as head of the new district , and headquarters at Charters Towers . But to crown all a Grand

MEMORIAL STOXE TO BRO . JAMES WATKIN JACKSON , FOUNDER OF FREEMASONRY IN QUEENSLAND . Lodge was formed in May , 1904 , composed of twenty-five Irish lodges and fcurteen of the Scotch lodges only . Thus

there was a total of thirty-nine lodges ( Irish and Scotch ) to originate a supreme body , whilst 113 English , Irish , and Scotch dissented . In due course came an application to the Grand Lodge of England for recognition , which under the circumstances just stated could not possibly be acceded