The Grand Lodge Of Massachusetts.

performed , he did by virtue of the commission to him . Hi Deputy Grand Master and Grand Wardens , appointed by him , and not by the Grand Master of England , nor by his confirmation , derived their power and character as Grand Officers from the Provincial , and when the Provincial expired , their tennre of office expired also . To show that these conclusions are correct , I will refer to the authorities .

The office of Provincial Grand Master was established by the Grand Lodge of England , as has already been stated , in 1726 , and the first deputation was granted May 10 , 1727 . Preston says of the office , at this date , "A Provincial Grand Master is the immediate representative of the Grand Master in that District over which he is limited to preside , and being invested with the power and honour of a Deputy Grand Master in his Province , may constitute lodges therein , if the consent of the Masters

and Wardens of three lodges already constituted within his district have been obtained , and the Grand Lodge in London has not disapproved thereof . He wears the clothing of a Grand Officer , and ranks , in all public , assemblies , immediately alter Past Deputy Grand Masters . He must , in person or by deputy , attend the quarterly meetings of the Masters and Wardens of the lodges in bis district , and transmit to the Grand Lodge , once in every year , the proceedings of those meetings , with a regular

statement of the lodges under his jurisdiction . " Speaking of the year 1737 , he says : "The authority granted by patent to a Provincial Grand Master was limited to one year from his first public appearance in that character within his province ; and if , at the expiration of chat period , a new election of the lodges under his jurisdiction did not take place , subject to the approbation of the Grand Master , the patent was no longer valid . Hence we findwithin the course of a few yearsdifferent

, , appointments to the same station ; but the office is now permanent , and the sole appointment of the Grand Master . " In Entick ' s Constitutions of 1756 there is a section entitlid " Of Provincial Grand Masters , " which is as follows : — AET . I . The office of Provincial Grand Master was found particularly necessary in the year 1726 ; when the extraordinary increase of the Craftsmen , and their travelling into distant parts , and convening themselves into lodges , required an immediate

Head , to whom they mi ght apply in all cases where it was not possible to wait the decision or opinion of the Grand Lodge . ART . II . The appointment of this Grand Officer is a prerogative of tile Grand Master , who grants his deputation to such brother of eminence and ability in the Craft , as he shall think proper , not for life , but during his good pleasure . AllT . HI . The Provincial thus deputed is invested with the power and honour of a Deputy Grand Master ; and during the

continuance of his Provincialship is entitled to wear the clothing , to take rank as the Grand Officers in all public assemblies , immediately after the past Deputy Grand Masters ; and t ) constitute lodges within his own province . AET . IV . He is enjoined to correspond with the Grand Lodge , and to transmit a circumstantial account of his proceedings , at least once in every year , At which times , the provincial is required to send a List of those lodges he has

constituted , their contribution for the general Fund of Charity ; and the usual demand , as specified iu his deputation , for every Lodge he has constituted h y the Grand Master ' s authority . The Constitutions of the United Grand Lodge of Ivnglaud have been more particular in specif ying the powers , duties , and prerogatives of the Provincial Grand Master and Grand Lod ^ e . I will refer tt > a single section of these Constitutions : — "The Provincial Grand Lodge emanates from the authority

vested in the Provincial Grand Master and possesses no other powers than those specified . It therefore follows that no Provincial Grand Lodge can meet but b y the sanction of the Provincial Grand Master or his Deputy ; and that it ceases to exist on the death , resignation , suspension , or removal of the Provincial Grand Master , until some Brother is duly appointed or empowered to perform the functions of Provincial Grand Master , by whose authority the Provincial Grand Lodge may be again

established . " In Scotland this office was created in 1738 , and tho first nomination made abroad in 1747 . In November , 1707 , R . W . Col . John Young was appointed Provincial Grand Master o \ -er all the lodges in America holding of the Grand Lodtxe of Scotland , aud in 1768 , lames Grant , Governor of the Province of East Florida , was appointed Provincial Grand Master of North America , Southern District . The commissions were issued "to continne in force until

recalled . In 1800 a series of regulations for the government of these officers were sanctioned by the Grand Lodge , previous to which time , it is presumed that they were governed by the same rules and regulations as in Englan 1 . More recently , the "Laws and Constitutions of the Grand Lodge" have provided that the " meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodges shall not be interrupted by the death or retirement of the Provincial Grand Master , unless the Grand Lodge

shall not deem it expedient within the space of one year to appoint another . A Provincial Grand Lodge not assembling for the space of two years , also becomes dormant , and has no poweragain to call meetings , unless empowered by the Provincial Grand Master , or by the order of the Grand Lodge or Grand Committee . " " When a Provincial Grand Lodge becomes dormant , the lodges in the district come under the immediate supervision of the Grand Lodge and Grand Committee . "

These new rules and regulations were made to prevent the disruption of tho Provincial Grand Lodges , which was inevitable upon the decease of the Provincial Grand Master . In Ireland the same system has existed as in England aud Scotland . The present Constitutions provide that , " if the Provincial Grand Master die , resign , or be removed , the authority of the Provincial Deputy Grand Master shall continue for six months after , or until a successor to the Provincial Grand

Master shall be appointed , but such authority of the Provincial Deputy Grand Master shall not continue longer , unless he be re-appointed . If these authorities support the position taken , and if the conclusions arrived at are correct , it follows beyond all controversy that when Provincial Grand Master Joseph Warren expired on Bunker Hill , June 17 , 1775 , the Provincial Grand Lodge , of which he was the essence and life , expired alsoand with it all

, the offices of which it was composed . The lodges established b y him , and by the Grand Lodge of Scotland , were not affected thereby as has already appeared . They were , or should have been , registered in Edinborough , and owed their allegiance to the Grand Lodge there . The conclusion of the Eulogy pronounced by Bro . Perez Morton at the re-interment of Joseph Warren , April 8 , 1776 , was devoted to the subject of independence , which was then

agitating the colonies . Some of the language made use of by him upon this occasion seems to foreshadow the masonic independence of Massachusetts which was soon to follow . " Now is the happy time , " said he , "to seize again those ri ghts which , as men , we are by nature entitled to , and which by contract we never have , and never could have surrendered . " On the 4 th of Jul y following , "The Declaration of Independence " was , by order of Congress , engrossed and signed , by

which the United Colonies declared themselves to be free and independent States . The effect of this declaration upon the Colonies I need not allude to ; . Massachusetts , by virtue of its claim , became a free , independent , sovereign State , and the spirit of freedom and independence of Great Britain became infused into every organisation and society which before this were bound and dependent . It was an absolute revolution by- which a dependent colony became revolutionized into an independent

Stile . The idea of a permanent union of the States had then hardly been broached . They had united for defence against a common foe , and had set themselves up as independent States ,, not only independent ot Great Britain , but independent of each other . Isolated from all the world , they each stood forth free , independent sovereign States . Toe institution of Freemasonry , which numbered among its firmest adherents such revolutionists as Webb , Revere , Morton ,

and a host of others who followed in the footsteps of Warren , could not long withstand the influence of freedom , and Massachusetts set the example of a revolution iu masonic government , which h- 'S been followed successfully by every State in the union . It has become the American system , or , as the committee of New Hampshire call it , "The American Doctrine of Grand Lodge Jurisdiction , " respected and recognized by the Masonic Fraternity the world over . It had its birth on Bunker

Hill , when the patriot Warren poured out his life ' s blood , — " The Patriot Grand Master , who fell in his might—The second of three—in defence of the ri ght ! " The " American Doctrine of Grand Lodge Jurisdiction , " brielly stated , is this : Three regular chartered Lodges existing iu any State or Territory have the ri ght to establish a Grand Lodge therein . Such Grand Lodge , when lawfully organised , has sole , absolute , and exclusive jurisdiction over the three degrees of Craft Masonry ; over the Lodges and their Members ,-