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  • Sept. 20, 1858
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The Masonic Observer, Sept. 20, 1858: Page 13

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" 1 st .. That I quoted passages from the Magazine because the M . W . Grand Master asserted , that what had occurred in Canada arose from dissensions amongst ourselves , and not particularly from neglect in England , and I wished to bring prominently to his notice , that ( if for no other reasons ) we were justified in claiming the right of independent Government by that very dissatisfaction of Brethren who , from their proximity to the fountain head , could hardly fall into error as to the necessity of some great radical change in Masonic affairs and Government .

2 nd . I published my correspondence by request of my Brethren here , and I acquainted the M . W . Grand Master of my intention to do so , in order that they might understand and have knowledge of all that is taking place , inasmuch as the M . W . Grand Master had propounded the doctrine , that when documents were addressed to him , Grand Lodge had nothing to do with them—a doctrine that the Craft at this distance never could contemplate , and certainly would not subscribe to . I will add that this decision of his influenced me , in resigning my appointment of Provincial Grand Master .

The Book of Constitutions declares that— " In the Grand Lodge alone resides the power of enacting Laws and Jiegulatioris for the Government of the Craft , § 'c . " 3 rd . The Canadian Craft desired the deliberate decision of the Grand Lodge of England , not the opinion of the M . W . Grand Master . 4 th . The M . W . Grand Master's letter of March , 1857 , was not suppressed , but is printed at length in the published proceedings , a copy of which I transmitted to you with my resignation of office ,

and its tenor was known to the Brethren at the time they confirmed the concluding sentence of their Memorial , in which they state that the time for concessions had passed , and nothing but absolute independent Government would satisfy their wants and condition . ath . I deny that my letter of the 14 th April last contains a series of errors and misconceptions . I did not say— "That the Province of Canada West cannot now command more than a dozen lines "" but that this important Province , " & c—meaning Canada . There is no Grand Lodge of Canada West .

" 6 th . I have not severed myself from Canada West . On the contrary , I never was so closely connected with it as at this moment —and such is the gratifying confidence reposed in me and my motives , that I am deputed to arrange for the Union of the Craft on the part of the Antient Grand Lodge of Canada , and have reason to believe that my appointment has given satisfaction to the Fraternity

generally . " 7 th . Mercenary motives have never been imputed to the Grand Lodge of England in its dealings with Canadian Brethren . I stated that ' money' and 'oMtenee' have been the principal results derived from their connection therewith , but it was well known that I alluded to the indifference that communications met with at the hands of the Executive ( your own office , I should say ) unless they contained remittances . " 8 th . I am not ignorant of the generosity of English

Freemasons , or of the establishment of their magnificent charities , their maintenance , & c . You are not better informed on the subject than wo are on this side of the Atlantic , and yet I must take the liberty of reiterating that the Colonies are taxed two-fold . They transmit funds to you , and send no distress to the Old Country , although much reaches them . When we speak of 'England' here , we mean the British Kingdom . " 9 th . Nothing that has been written can be properly tortured

into , ' The Brotherhood in England being held up to reprobation as being actuated by selfish motives , ' as your letter states . But allow us to look on the other side of the picture , and to ask you if the M . W . Grand Master instructed you to write , and to convey emphasis by underlining your words , 'that , looking to the gross total of all moneys received from Canada West by the Grand Lodge of England , the amount is so inconsiderable as not to deserve notice , and it would not be difficult to name London Lod the

many ges , contributions of any one of which to Grand Lodge and its Charities , during the last ten years only , would very much exceed the total receipts from all the Lodges in Canada West from the period of their formation to the present moment' You must have lost si ght of the emi gration from the Old Country to these shores , and , I beg to state , from personal knowledge and experience , that the necessitous Brethren hailing from England have been pretty equal in number to those from other portions of the empire . If you will be

so good as to refer to the M . W . Grand Master ' s letter of March , 1857 , you will there see that the reduction of fees was one of his proposed concessions , and I only alluded at all to money matters in justice to the Canadian Fraternity , who have attached " little or no importance thereto when asserting their claim to self-government . " Finally . I can feel no such regret as you hint at , because I have not 'hazarded any rash and ungenerous assertions , calculated not alone to mislead my Canadian Brethren , but to wound the

feelings and impugn the liberality of the Brethren in England . ' I would do neither if I could , and it is a comfort to me to be able to announce that I have received the thanks of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec since my resignation , accompanied by a most fraternal letter from my successor in that district , and that , however we may differ at present , my honest motives are appreciated . " Rest assured , V . W . Sir and Brother , that the Canadian Craft will have a lasting and sincere affection for their Mother Grand Lodges , and that we hope and will strive to be on terms of the most

close and satisfactory communion with them , but we are not blinded to the present condition of affairs at the fountain head . True and reliable information reaches us in the same way that it does the English Provinces at home ; and it is impossible to disguise the plain fact , that although we have been , in theory , governed by the Grand Lodge of England , practically we 'have been under the immediate contronl of the M . W . Grand Master and a small body of London Brethren . "Depend upon it that the English Freemasons have no more

attached friends than the Canadian Craft ; but the latter are the true judges of the cause of their past disabilities , and of their present and future practical wants and requisite remedies , and they are too numerous and ( I write advisedly ) intellectual a body to be turned from what they consider their true Masonic course of conduct by hard words and official assertions , and the M . W . Grand Master is more likely to perpetuate disunion than to banish discord , by instructing the Grand Secretary to adopt the extraordinary tone of your last letter . We cannot point to a better precedent for the

establishment of a Canadian Grand Lodge , than the present Grand Lodge of England , its organization in 1717 , and the historical facts appertaining to that period . No one in Canada can possibly intend or imagine disrespect to the Earl of Zetland personally , most certainly I could not , wdio am indebted to him for having ' once filled a high and very responsible Masonic office . —1 beg to remain , V . W . Sir and Brother , yours fraternally ,

( Signed ) "T . DOUGLAS HARINGTON , "Past P . G . Master , & c . " P . S —I find that I have neglected to notice the reason you offer for Sir Allan MacNab ' s so-called removal from office . If you will have the goodness to recall the circumstances to your mind , you will remember that he had no opportunity , after reaching England , of tendering his formal resignation to the M . W . Grand Masteras

, your letter of removal , being in readiness , was put into his hands at the first interview you had with him . Presuming that your last letter will be laid before Grand Lodge for general information , I have no doubt that rou will acknowledge the propriety of treating this , my reply , in the same open way , as positive charges are brought against us . It will bo my duty to place the communications before the Brethren here , as all former ones have been . "T . D . H . "

"Freemasons' Hall , London , August 12 th , 1858 . "RW . Sir and Brother , —I have received , and laid before the M . W . Grand Master , your letter dated the 10 th July . It does not appear that any advantage can be gained by prolonging this correspondence . In my former communications 1 have confined myself to simple statements of facts . I have no doubt those facts

are startling , and I am not surprised that they should be unpalatable ; but you must bear in mind that they were evoked bv the charge of selfishness preferred by you against the Grand Lodge of England , and that such charge could only be met by a plain and straightforward statement of the truth . " There are one or two errors in your present letter which I am directed to correct ; but it would * be neither profitable nor becoming to notice other portions of it , which contain gratuitous

assumptions , quite unfounded , and imputations of . motives which might as well have been omitted . Having corrected the errors to which I refer , I think that—unless you are prepared to disprove the statements which , in justice to the Grand Lodge over which he has the honour to preside , the M . W . Grand Master felt it his duty to direct me to make , or until you have any new or beneficial communication to make—it is better that this correspondence should here cease . "In reference to your second paragraphI have to observe that

, the Grand Master has never ( as you allege ) propounded the doctrine 'that when documents were addressed to him , Grand Lodge had nothing to do with them . ' The Grand Master has only said , in reference to a particular memorial , that when a petition is addressed to him , requesting him to do that which is within his own ureroga-

“The Masonic Observer: 1858-09-20, Page 13” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 23 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mob/issues/mob_20091858/page/13/.
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GRAND LODGE. Article 7
The Colonies. Article 10
Untitled Article 11
Untitled Article 11
Untitled Article 14
UNION IN NEW YORK. Article 14
NEW BRUNSWICK. Article 14
NEW ZEALAND. Article 15
AUSTRALIA.-VICTORIA. Article 15
Mark Masonry. Article 16
Masonic Charities. Article 17
The Provinces. Article 19
Untitled Article 22
Correspondence. Article 23
Untitled Article 24
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Untitled Ad 24
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Ar01300

" 1 st .. That I quoted passages from the Magazine because the M . W . Grand Master asserted , that what had occurred in Canada arose from dissensions amongst ourselves , and not particularly from neglect in England , and I wished to bring prominently to his notice , that ( if for no other reasons ) we were justified in claiming the right of independent Government by that very dissatisfaction of Brethren who , from their proximity to the fountain head , could hardly fall into error as to the necessity of some great radical change in Masonic affairs and Government .

2 nd . I published my correspondence by request of my Brethren here , and I acquainted the M . W . Grand Master of my intention to do so , in order that they might understand and have knowledge of all that is taking place , inasmuch as the M . W . Grand Master had propounded the doctrine , that when documents were addressed to him , Grand Lodge had nothing to do with them—a doctrine that the Craft at this distance never could contemplate , and certainly would not subscribe to . I will add that this decision of his influenced me , in resigning my appointment of Provincial Grand Master .

The Book of Constitutions declares that— " In the Grand Lodge alone resides the power of enacting Laws and Jiegulatioris for the Government of the Craft , § 'c . " 3 rd . The Canadian Craft desired the deliberate decision of the Grand Lodge of England , not the opinion of the M . W . Grand Master . 4 th . The M . W . Grand Master's letter of March , 1857 , was not suppressed , but is printed at length in the published proceedings , a copy of which I transmitted to you with my resignation of office ,

and its tenor was known to the Brethren at the time they confirmed the concluding sentence of their Memorial , in which they state that the time for concessions had passed , and nothing but absolute independent Government would satisfy their wants and condition . ath . I deny that my letter of the 14 th April last contains a series of errors and misconceptions . I did not say— "That the Province of Canada West cannot now command more than a dozen lines "" but that this important Province , " & c—meaning Canada . There is no Grand Lodge of Canada West .

" 6 th . I have not severed myself from Canada West . On the contrary , I never was so closely connected with it as at this moment —and such is the gratifying confidence reposed in me and my motives , that I am deputed to arrange for the Union of the Craft on the part of the Antient Grand Lodge of Canada , and have reason to believe that my appointment has given satisfaction to the Fraternity

generally . " 7 th . Mercenary motives have never been imputed to the Grand Lodge of England in its dealings with Canadian Brethren . I stated that ' money' and 'oMtenee' have been the principal results derived from their connection therewith , but it was well known that I alluded to the indifference that communications met with at the hands of the Executive ( your own office , I should say ) unless they contained remittances . " 8 th . I am not ignorant of the generosity of English

Freemasons , or of the establishment of their magnificent charities , their maintenance , & c . You are not better informed on the subject than wo are on this side of the Atlantic , and yet I must take the liberty of reiterating that the Colonies are taxed two-fold . They transmit funds to you , and send no distress to the Old Country , although much reaches them . When we speak of 'England' here , we mean the British Kingdom . " 9 th . Nothing that has been written can be properly tortured

into , ' The Brotherhood in England being held up to reprobation as being actuated by selfish motives , ' as your letter states . But allow us to look on the other side of the picture , and to ask you if the M . W . Grand Master instructed you to write , and to convey emphasis by underlining your words , 'that , looking to the gross total of all moneys received from Canada West by the Grand Lodge of England , the amount is so inconsiderable as not to deserve notice , and it would not be difficult to name London Lod the

many ges , contributions of any one of which to Grand Lodge and its Charities , during the last ten years only , would very much exceed the total receipts from all the Lodges in Canada West from the period of their formation to the present moment' You must have lost si ght of the emi gration from the Old Country to these shores , and , I beg to state , from personal knowledge and experience , that the necessitous Brethren hailing from England have been pretty equal in number to those from other portions of the empire . If you will be

so good as to refer to the M . W . Grand Master ' s letter of March , 1857 , you will there see that the reduction of fees was one of his proposed concessions , and I only alluded at all to money matters in justice to the Canadian Fraternity , who have attached " little or no importance thereto when asserting their claim to self-government . " Finally . I can feel no such regret as you hint at , because I have not 'hazarded any rash and ungenerous assertions , calculated not alone to mislead my Canadian Brethren , but to wound the

feelings and impugn the liberality of the Brethren in England . ' I would do neither if I could , and it is a comfort to me to be able to announce that I have received the thanks of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Quebec since my resignation , accompanied by a most fraternal letter from my successor in that district , and that , however we may differ at present , my honest motives are appreciated . " Rest assured , V . W . Sir and Brother , that the Canadian Craft will have a lasting and sincere affection for their Mother Grand Lodges , and that we hope and will strive to be on terms of the most

close and satisfactory communion with them , but we are not blinded to the present condition of affairs at the fountain head . True and reliable information reaches us in the same way that it does the English Provinces at home ; and it is impossible to disguise the plain fact , that although we have been , in theory , governed by the Grand Lodge of England , practically we 'have been under the immediate contronl of the M . W . Grand Master and a small body of London Brethren . "Depend upon it that the English Freemasons have no more

attached friends than the Canadian Craft ; but the latter are the true judges of the cause of their past disabilities , and of their present and future practical wants and requisite remedies , and they are too numerous and ( I write advisedly ) intellectual a body to be turned from what they consider their true Masonic course of conduct by hard words and official assertions , and the M . W . Grand Master is more likely to perpetuate disunion than to banish discord , by instructing the Grand Secretary to adopt the extraordinary tone of your last letter . We cannot point to a better precedent for the

establishment of a Canadian Grand Lodge , than the present Grand Lodge of England , its organization in 1717 , and the historical facts appertaining to that period . No one in Canada can possibly intend or imagine disrespect to the Earl of Zetland personally , most certainly I could not , wdio am indebted to him for having ' once filled a high and very responsible Masonic office . —1 beg to remain , V . W . Sir and Brother , yours fraternally ,

( Signed ) "T . DOUGLAS HARINGTON , "Past P . G . Master , & c . " P . S —I find that I have neglected to notice the reason you offer for Sir Allan MacNab ' s so-called removal from office . If you will have the goodness to recall the circumstances to your mind , you will remember that he had no opportunity , after reaching England , of tendering his formal resignation to the M . W . Grand Masteras

, your letter of removal , being in readiness , was put into his hands at the first interview you had with him . Presuming that your last letter will be laid before Grand Lodge for general information , I have no doubt that rou will acknowledge the propriety of treating this , my reply , in the same open way , as positive charges are brought against us . It will bo my duty to place the communications before the Brethren here , as all former ones have been . "T . D . H . "

"Freemasons' Hall , London , August 12 th , 1858 . "RW . Sir and Brother , —I have received , and laid before the M . W . Grand Master , your letter dated the 10 th July . It does not appear that any advantage can be gained by prolonging this correspondence . In my former communications 1 have confined myself to simple statements of facts . I have no doubt those facts

are startling , and I am not surprised that they should be unpalatable ; but you must bear in mind that they were evoked bv the charge of selfishness preferred by you against the Grand Lodge of England , and that such charge could only be met by a plain and straightforward statement of the truth . " There are one or two errors in your present letter which I am directed to correct ; but it would * be neither profitable nor becoming to notice other portions of it , which contain gratuitous

assumptions , quite unfounded , and imputations of . motives which might as well have been omitted . Having corrected the errors to which I refer , I think that—unless you are prepared to disprove the statements which , in justice to the Grand Lodge over which he has the honour to preside , the M . W . Grand Master felt it his duty to direct me to make , or until you have any new or beneficial communication to make—it is better that this correspondence should here cease . "In reference to your second paragraphI have to observe that

, the Grand Master has never ( as you allege ) propounded the doctrine 'that when documents were addressed to him , Grand Lodge had nothing to do with them . ' The Grand Master has only said , in reference to a particular memorial , that when a petition is addressed to him , requesting him to do that which is within his own ureroga-

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