IV. to the throne of his ancestors, we are furnished with

a decisive weapon to counteract the foul imputations of Barruel, Robison, and others, that our Society is the cra- dle where insubordination and treason are nurtured and brought to maturity. Nor did the Grand Lodge omit this opportunity of declaring their attachment to the person, arid adherence to the laws and institutions, of their revered monarch. At a quarterly Communication, holden the 8th of March, 1820, the Grand Master, in the chair, called the attention of the Grand Lodge to the heavy and melancholy loss which the nation had sustained by the death of the late venerable sovereign King George ill., and also of his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, and submitted, that, before any other business was trans- acted, it would be proper to move addresses of condolence to be presented to his present Majesty on these melan- choly events ; which was unanimously agreed to, and the following addresses were presented in the name and on the behalf of the Fraternity, by his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, G.M., on the 10th of May:—
ADDRESS TO HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE IV., ON HIS ACCESSION.
To the KING'S Most Excellent MAJESTY. MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN:
We, your Majesty's most dutiful and faithful subjects, the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Officers, and Brethren of the United 15*
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Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England, with all humility and respect, approach your royal presence.
We request, Sire, your gracious permission to condole with your Majesty OIL the death of our late most excellent Sovereign, your revered and venerable father.
We beg leave also, at the same time, to offer our most cordial con- gratulations on your Majesty's accession to the Throne of this United Kingdom.
While the signal events which have characterized, and the splen- did triumphs which have accompanied, a reign of unexampled length, extended by the wisdom and energies of your Majesty when holding the reins of Government, during a Regency of many years, will be commemorated by the pen of the historian, it is our more pleasing duty to contemplate and dwell on the peaceful virtues and the moral qualities which adorned his late Majestyr, and endeared him to his people.
As Masons, interested in the progress of useful knowledge, and the dissemination of intellectual truth, we beheld with de-light the encour- agement which his late Majesty afforded to science, the patronage which he bestowed on the liberal arts, and the facility he gave to the diffusion of learning, by supporting the caus"e of early and general education.
To your Majesty we do not look in vain for the exercise of similar virtues, for the continuance of sucli blessings to the whole community. In the native benevolence of your Majesty's mind we place our fullest confidence, whilst we indulge the fondest hopes.
The sceptre of this kingdom is now wielded by the hand of a FREEMASON : the honour, Sire, which is thus conferred on the Craft, must be duly felt and appreciated by every individual brother. For- tunately for the best interests of Masonry, the supreme authority over our Order was vested in your Majesty at an early period; and, from a thorough knowledge of the principles of our fraternity, your Majesty was graciously pleased, in presenting the dutiful Address of our community to your Royal Father in the year 1793, to declare that " the Freemasons of England yielded to no subjects of the realm, in the love of their country, and in loyal attachment to the sacred person of the Sovereign of these Rea'ms."
These sentiments are now further confirmed by the exertion of your Royal influence in procuring for the brethren that facility and tranquillity of assembling, of which they otherwise would have been deprived by Acts of Parliament, prohibiting, in general, all secret meetings.
In the confidence of entertaining the same sentiments of duty and affection for your Majesty's sacred person, we humbly entreat your Majesty will continue to us your fostering care and protection as Patron of our community ; which title, Sire, you were graciously pleased to accept from the fraternity at large, whilst presiding as Regent over the destinies of this country.
It remains for us now to invoke, with fervent prayer, the Great Architect and Ruler of the Universe, that the blessings of Heaven may descend upon your Royal person; that your Majesty's gracious intentions to promote the welfare of your subjects, and to support the honour of your Crown, may be brought to a successful issue; and that your Majesty's throne may be permanently fixed upon the
OF MASONRY. 323
same sure and solid foundation upon which it now stands — the united affections of a free and loyal people.
Given in Grand Lodge, at Freemasons' Hall, this 8th day of Martfi, 1820. AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, G.M.
DUNDAS, D.G.M. WILLIAM H. WHITE, ? r „ . HARPER, $ w
His Majesty was most graciously pleased to receive this and the following address with the utmost compla- cency, and to confirm to the Society the continuance of his royal patronage, which must for ever silence the voice of calumny, and satisfy the world that the opinions of those who would impute treasonable designs to our Institution, are nothing but the crude offspring of jealous doubt and dark conjecture. The royal arms, and title of his Majesty, as Patron, were then engraven at the head of the Grand Lodge certificate, as a public testimony of the exalted sanction under which Masonry had now the honour of being placed.
ADDEESS TO HIS MAJESTY ON THE DEATH OF HIS KOYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF KENT.
To the KING'S Most Excellent MAJESTY. MOST GRACIOUS SOVEREIGN,
We, the Grand Master, Deputy Grand Master, Officers, and Brethren of the United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England in Grand Lodge assembled, most sensibly participating in every subject of grief to your Majesty and your august family, thus most dutifully crave leave to offer our heartfelt condolence on the demise of your Majesty's illustrious brother, his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, a Past Grand Master of our ancient and venerable Order.
Our devoted attachment to your Majesty's august person did not permit us to. blend our sorrows, on this melancholy event, with the declaration of our affliction occasioned by the death of our late Sove- reign of blessed memory ; but, although ceremonial forms may have separated these expressions, our augmented feelings of grief on this twofold calamity were united.
In all humility, therefore, we fervently pray the Great Architect of the Universe to take your Majesty, and every member of the Illustrious House of Brunswick, under his most especial favour and protection ; that he will deign to bless them with uninterrupted health and long life, to their own felicity and comfort, and to the never-ceasing prosperity of this United Kingdom.
Given in Grand Lodge, at Freemasons' Hall, this 8th day of March, 1820. AUGUSTUS FREDERICK, Gr.M.
DUNDAS, D.G.M.
WILLIAM H. WHITE,
EDW. HARPER,
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To commemorate the auspicious circumstances which placed the patronage of Masonry under the superintend- ence of the sovereign of these realms, his Royal Highness the Grand Master was pleased to present to the Grand Lodge a superb carved and gilt chair, the back and seat of which are covered with very rich blue velvet, to be used as a chair for the Deputy Grand Master ; and also four smaller chairs to correspond, as seats for Brethren of distinction. This splendid present was received with gratitude, and it was unanimously "Resolved, that the Grand Lodge, highly honoured at all times by the zeal and attention which his Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, the M. W. Grand Master, manifests for the best interests and comfort of the Craft, cannot refrain, on this particular occasion, from expressing to his Royal High- ness its grateful acknowledgments for this additional mark of his liberality and paternal kindness."
About this time, some incipient symptoms of an inclina- tion to disturb the harmony and tranquillity which had characterized the proceedings of Masonry since the union, appeared in the proceedings of certain lodges in the north of England. The lodge No. 31, holden at Liverpool, having violated an essential regulation of Masonry,117 and being found contumacious by the Provincial Grand Mas- ter, was regularly suspended. The dispute had com- menced so early as 1818; and in December of that year, a communication was made to the Grand Lodge, by the Provincial Grand Secretary for Lancashire, suggesting that some regulation was necessary relative to the num- ber of Brethren requisite to constitute a legal Lodge, with competent powers to perform the rite of initiation, and transact other general business. To this application the Board for General Purposes replied, that "The sub- ject is one which has undergone a great deal of discussion and consideration, especially on the late revision of the laws. But it is a matter of so much delicacy and diffi- culty, that it was thought advisable not to depart from
7 This rule is as follows: "No brother shall presume to print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, the proceedings of any Lodge, nor any part thereof, or the names of the persons present at Buch Lodge, without the direction of the Grand Master, or the Pro- vincial Grand Master, under pain of being expelled from the Order." (Const. " Of Members." Art. 6.)
OF MASONRY . 325
that silence on the subject, which had been observed in all the Books of Constitution."
In the latter end of 1819, a memorial was addressed to the M. W. Grand Master, from the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lancashire, on a subject which, at a subsequent meeting of that body, was considered improper, and the Grand Master was requested to allow it to be withdrawn. His Royal Highness, therefore, did not deem it necessary to intimate to the Grand Lodge, or to the Board of General Purposes, that such a document had been trans- mitted to him. Although this withdrawal was perfectly voluntary on the part of the Provincial Grand Lodge, yet the Brethren of No. 31, having taken an erroneous view of the circumstances, elevated it into an occasion of dis- satisfaction and complaint, and instituted an accusation against the Board of General Purposes, in which they cited this as a "case where the Board had detained a communication from the Provincial Grand Lodge for the county of Lancaster, which consists of sixty-two Lodges on record; consequently, if the Board for General Pur- poses acted thus, without the authority of the Grand Lodge, we consider their conduct highly reprehensible, and if, on the other hand, the Grand Lodge gave them power to act in this manner, then we consider it a dangerous innovation upon the landmarks of our Order," &c., &c., &c. Thus they argued upon false grounds, for the Board had no knowledge of the document which had been restored to the P. G. Lodge at its own request.
From this time until the beginning of the year 1821, it should appear that the breach was widened, for in the month of March the P. G. Master dispatched a parcel to the Board, containing charges preferred by Brother H. Lucas against Brothers Thomas Page and M. A. Gage, of the Lodge No. 31 ; and a copy of the order for the suspension of that Lodge. As that officer had not inves- tigated the charges himself, the papers were returned, and the Board declined interfering with them in their present shape.
It might be rationally conceived that the members of Lodge No. 31, on receiving the order of suspension, ivould have endeavoured to reduce the points in dispute into as narrow a compass as existing circumstances would allow, for the purpose of eliciting an amicable and satis-
326 ILLUSTRATIONS
factory termination, that the science of Masonry might not be brought into disrepute by the effects of division and disunion amongst its professors. This they unfortu- nately failed to do. They omitted to seize the critical moment; and having passed the Rubicon, all hope of future arrangement was at an end. They did not even appeal to the Grand Lodge against the order of suspen- sion, although it was denounced as arbitrary and unjust; but held their accustomed meetings, and transacted masonic business as usual: they materially aggravated their case by the circulation amongst the lodges of intemperate manifestos, full of harsh and indecorous language ; and, in their zeal for the -production of authorities in justification of their own conduct, and the crimination of the constituted authorities, they entirely overlooked that one grand charge, which, like a crown of pure gold, decorates and adorns the glorious super- structure of Freemasonry, "The rulers and governors, supreme and subordinate, are to be obeyed in their respective stations, by all the Brethren, according to the old charges and regulations, with all humility, reverence, love, and alacrity."
To terminate these unhappy disputes successfully, the P. G. Master summoned the erring Brethren before him, without effect ; and his precept was met by the following Resolution, which was agreed to by the members of Lodge No. 31, on the 9th of July, 1821: —
"Resolved unanimously, that we will not enter into any negotiation, nor appear before any committee or masonic tribunal whatever, until the P. G. Master has furnished us with a copy of the charge exhibited against our Lodge, and with the names of our accusers, nor until he has commanded Richard James Greesham to restore the property which he removed from our Lodge, under the pretence of committing it to the care of the P. G. Master for safety."
The P. G. Master, under a suspicion that some latent prejudice might exist in the minds of these Brethren against himself, deputed his authority to the Master of another Lodge in Liverpool (No. 38), directing him to convene a meeting of all the Masters, Past Masters, and Wardens, of every Lodge in that place, to investigate the conduct of the accused Brethren; for the defection
OF MASONRY. 327
had extended to other Lodges, whose members appeared determined to advocate the cause of No. 31. In the month of August this committee mei, and the charges were regularly brought forward ; but after two or three days of fruitless discussion, the meeting dissolved without having accomplished any satisfactory result ; and the Brethren of No. 31 published a detailed account of these proceedings, under date of September 19, 1821, highly impregnated with the angry feelings which then prevailed in their minds; and this document was pronounced by the Grand Lodge, at the succeeding quarterly Communi- cation, to be "a direct violation of the laws of the Craft, p. 84, Art. 6, Book of Constitutions, and forming a sufficient ground to continue the suspension of the Lodge No. 31." In November, 1821, another attempt was made for the adjustment of this unhappy dispute. The Deputy P. Gr. Master went over to Liverpool, and, having formed a meeting composed of the chairman of the late committee, and six other brothers, issued an especial summons to the Master of No. 31, to appear personally before him with the warrant papers and evidences of the Lodge. No attention was paid to this summons, except by referring the D. P. G. Master once more to the Resolution of the 9th of July; thus violating a fundamental law of Ma- sonry ;118 and the former suspension was again confirmed. The Lodge now, with the advice and concurrence of its abettors, published that fatal manifesto which was decisive
of its fate.119
»
us "The Master and Wardens of every Lodge shall attend the Grand Master or his deputy, or the Provincial Grand Master or his deputy, or any board or committee authorized by the Grand Lodge ; and produce the warrant, minutes, and books of the Lodge, when summoned to do so, under pain of suspension, and being reported to the next Grand Lodge." (Const. Art. 11, Of Masters and Wardens of Lodges.)
119 This paper attracted the attention of the Grand Master, in his private capacity as Master of the Lodge of Antiquity, and he addressed the following letter to the P. G. Master : —
Freemasons1 Hall, London, 15th Dec. 1821. R. W. BROTHER,
We have received the commands of the M."W. Grand Master, the Duke of Sussex, to acquaint you, that his Royal Highness has received, as Master of the Lodge of 'Antiquity, No. 2, the Copy of a printed circular, dated " Masonic Committee Room, Castle Inn, North Liver-
328 ILLUSTRATIONS
The primitive intention of these Brethren might spring from a right principle ; for their motive, as they themselves profess, was a jealous concern for the maintenance of the ancient laws and usages of the Order; but how proper soever this ftM'ling might be, they failed altogether in the details; ;iinl their subsequent conduct violated almost every law that was applicable to their case. Their disobedience could not be palliated by the plea of necessity or expe- diency: and the language which they made use of in their communications to the Brethren and the Grand Lodge, was neither masonic nor respectful. Instead of a calm and temperate recapitulation of the points they desired to illustrate, they dealt largely in amplification ;
pool, 26th November, 1821," and which paper purports to come from Brothers Thomas Page, W. M. of No. 31, M. A. Gage, P. M. of same, and thirty-two other Brethren, Officers or Past Officers of various Lodges in your Pi'ovince ; and to give the proceedings or sentiments of a meeting held on the said xidth November. Annexed to the said letter is the copy of an Address transmitted to the M. W. Grand Master by the Provincial Grand Lodge, on 27th September, 1819 ; and, also, copy of a letter sent by the Lodge, No. 31, to the R. \Vr. Provincial Grand Master, under date of 30th August last. The Grand Master views the publication of these matters as a most offensive proceeding, and in direct violation of the Laws of the Craft. He, therefore, directs that you will ascertain whether the individuals whose names appear to that paper did actually subscribe the original from which it is copied, and also gave their sanction to its publication And, further, that you will suspend from their privileges as Masons, such Brethren as shall be proved to have so acted, and make a report to his Royal Highness what you may do, that he may take the mea- sures requisite in the said affair.
In making this communication, the M. W. Grand Master commands us further to remark upon the contents of the paper, dated 26th November last, that, as to the observations made by the Provincial Grand Lodge upon tho number of Members necessary to remain together, to enable them to continue their Lodge in existence, an answer was sent to the Provincial Grand Secretary, on 5th January, 1819, by order of the Board of General Purposes, stating, that the subject was one of great delicacy ; and, therefore, it had been felt advisable, in the new Book of Constitution, to preserve the same silence in regard thereto as had been observed in all the former editions ; and such opinion has ever been held by the Grand Lodge.
That the Address of the 27th September, 1819, was received by the