CHAPTER VI.

Parent of Ganges, hear and smile ! Soon from the West's Elysian Isle A ivarrior comes, \vhose mighty voice Shall bid thy hundred realms rejoice I Far as Imperial Indus flows, His hand shall stretch the sacred Rose.
— Anox (see p. 180).
The earliest Stationary Lodges in India, which must all have partaken more or less of a military character, were established at Calcutta in 1730, at Madi-as in 1752, and at Bombay in 1758. But the records now existing do not permit of our going back with any certainty beyond the year 1774, at which date there were Lodges at the principal seats of civil Government, and also at some of the military stations, or with the army brigades. Shortly afterwards came the war in the Carnatic, and Masonry in India was very nearly swept away by it. In the beginning of 1787, there was a Lodge consisting of non-commissioned officers and privates in the 3rd Brigade, and another of a similar character at Fort William, Calcutta, while what was ap- parently an " Officers' Lodge," had been recently established in the 4th Brigade. At the close of the same year there were two Lodges " amongst the lower military " at Calcutta, and in 1788 a letter was addressed by the Provincial authorities to the (Regular) Grand Lodge of England, from which I extract the following : —
'"With respect to the brigades, they have been divided into six of Infantry and three of Artillery. This regulation has lessened the number of officers in each, and they will be more liable to removals than formerly. The first circumstance will be a great discouragement to the formation of Lodges in the brigades, and the second would sometimes expose such Lodges to the risk of being annihilated."
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About the same time, or, to be more precise, in 1784, an equally important "revival" of Masonry had taken place in Madras. It is worthy of recollection that for a short period this Presidency was predominant over all the other English Settlements in India ; and during the latter half of the eighteenth century the continuous wars with the French, and afterwards with Hyder Ali and his son, cause the Carnatic to figure largely in Indian history.
Major (afterwards Brigadier-General) Matthew Home, of the Coast Army, was Provincial Grand Master of Madras (under the Moderns) in 17 76, daring which A-ear the governor, Lord Pigot, was deposed l)y the Council. Party spirit seems to have run high, and Major Home closed the Lodges. Meanwhile "Ancient" or "Atholl" Masonry, so largely practised in the Army, had been introduced into Madras, and a Lodge under that banner was established at Fort St. George. Towards the close of 1784, however, the dissensions among the "Ptegular" Masons had subsided, and a new Lodge, under the older sanction, " Carnatic Military," was established at Arcot, with the idea of its taking the position on the English roll of No. 355, at Trinchinopoly, the warrant of which, accompanying the Master, Dr. Terence Gahagan, a surgeon of the Coast Ai'my on field service, in 1781, had been captured with his baggage in the action betAveen Colonel Owen and Hyder Ali.
Among the founders of this Lodge, as previously related (p. 103), were Brigadier-General Home and Captain (after- wards Sir David) Baird. The latter, who entered the army in 1772, had been selected by Lord Macleod (sou of the second Grand Master of Scotland), in 1778, to be captain of the Grenadier Company in the Scottish regiment just raised ■by him, and at first called the 73rd, but afterwards famous as the 71st L.I. The battalion reached India in 1780, and shortly after a small detachment (of all arms), including the (irenadier Company of Lord Macleod's regiment under Captain Baird, was sent to assist Colonel Baillie, who was in danger of being surrounded by the enemy, but the whole force was cut to pieces by Hyder Ali and his son Tippoo Sahib. Baird had been severely wounded and left for dead, but managed to find his way into the French Camp, from
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which, however, he soon passed with his companions into the power of Hyder Ali, who treated the captives with oriental Ijarbarity. The unfortunate officers lived for three years and eight months in most terrible agony, knowing that many of them were taken from prison only to be poisoned or tortured to death. That there were other Masons besides Baird among the captives might be naturally' inferred, but the circumstance is placed beyond doubt by such words as " Prisoner with Tippoo "; which are appended to the names of members in the records of some of the Coast Lodges. The inhuman treatment they experienced at the hands of Tippoo Sahib, who succeeded his father as Sultan of Mysore, in 1782, would seem, indeed, to be quite irreconcilalDle with the alleged fact, that the son of Hyder Ali was himself a member of our fraternity. The statement has been very positively made, and is said to be supported by documentary evidence which leaves no room for dispute, but as the story itself has a fabulous ring, it will be safest to relegate the supposition of Tippoo being a " brothei'," into the limbo of fancy, until at least some proof is forthcoming, upon which our judgment can be emplo^'ed.
The prisoner of Hyder Ali and Tippoo Sahib (who was released in March, 1784), the stormer of Seringapatam, the General of the march across the desert, and the Commander at the capture of the Cape of Good Hope, will always deservedly remain a popular hero. There was a chivalrous gallantry in his nature which made the jeu d'exprit " not 'Baird,' but 'Bayard,'" particularly applicable to him.
General Home had also been a prisoner of war, though his captivity was unattended by any similar hardships, and, indeed, left very pleasing recollections behind it, as he experienced the most fraternal kindness from French Lodges at Bourbon and the Isle of France, which is gracefully referred to at the close of a letter addressed by him to tlie officers of the Grand Lodge of Fngland, on January 16th, 1785:—
"Before I conclude, I beg leave to observe, in Justice to a very respectable French Lodge at the Island of Bourbon. That many of our distress"d countrymen who had been made Prisoners and carrj'"d to that Island, and who proved themselves to be Brothers, receiv'd from them very handsome relief and assist-
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ance. and those of us who did not stand in need of any in the Pecuniary Way, Met with great attention : and every endeavour by the Principal Members to render our Situation on the Island pleasant and agreeable. Some of the Gentlemen knowing I had presided in the Madras Lodge, it was on their first meeting, resolv'd that the Officers of the Lodge should pay me a visit, and give me an invitation, and on my visit they complemented me with a General One and the freedom of the Lodge, which I found conducted with the True principles of Masonry, although some of their rules are different from ours."'
The I'evival of "Regular" Mtisonry by the formation of " Carnatic Military," in 1784, led to a unioti, which took place in 1786, between the "Atholl" or "Ancient" Masons under Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Moorhouse, President of the Provincial Grand Committee ; and the Regular Masons or titular " Moderns," under General Home, Provincial Grand Master — the immediate result being the opening of a new Lodge, " Perfect Unanimity," the history of which, from 1786 to the present date, is, in effect, a history of Freemasonry on the coast of Coromandel.
Of this Lodge, Major David Baird was a member, and Lieutenant-Colonel Moorhouse the Master, in 1789. In the following year the latter, an officer in the Coast Artillery, being ordered on service, resigned the chair, and was killed at the gallant assault of the Pettah Gate of Bangalore, in March, 1791.
It will be seen that the Freemasons of Madras, in a very happy manner, anticipated the " Union " in England l)y twenty-eight years. But a great man} cases occurred after the healing of the schism, in which the Madras Lodges were erroneously supposed to be at work under an " AthoU " banner. This arose from the fact that the Madras brethren, though in full communion with the " Moderns," neverthe- less conducted their ceremonies according to the practice of the " Ancients."
A "moveable" warrant. No. VII. — " Unity and Friend- ship"— was granted to the 33rd Foot in 1802. There had been an "Atholl" Lodge in this regiment, "No. 90," but the warrant was lost at Helvoitsluys, in 1795, and the brethren of the 33rd, in applying for a Provincial Charter, seem to have been quite under the impression that thej' were communicating; with " Atholl " or " Ancient " Masons.
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On their return to England they appear to have reverted to their old allegiance, and resumed Avork under the No. 90, which had been re-granted and sent to Fort William, Calcutta (though evidently lost en route), by the Junior Grand Lodge of England, in 1798.
In 1799, "St. Andrew's Union" was established in the 19th Foot, at Madras, and numbered X. on the Coast. The regiment shortly after was transferred to Ceylon, and the troubles of the Lodge began by the master and nine of the members being massacred by the King of Candia, in 1804.
After this, the regularity of the warrant was impugned, as not being "Ancient," by the "Atholl" Lodge, No 329 in the Royal Artillery, which had been working at Colombo since 1802. At first the two Lodges had fraternized, owing to the similarity of their working, but subsequently they ceased to have any dealings with one another, and deserters from the enemy were eagerly welcomed on either side.
The Lodges in two other i-egiments, in 1809, while freely admitting that the work was " strictly Antient," neverthe- less " declared the warrant to be Modern," and for that reason "would not sojourn" with the brethren of the 19th Foot. These were (Irish) No. 863, in the 89th, and one of the two "Orange" Lodges ("Ancient" and " Irish "), bearing the No. 94, in the 51st regiment.
In the following year (1810), the brethren of No. 863 asked " Carnatic Military " to initiate two candidates for them, and as the ceremony was commencing, a member of No. 863 ordered the brethren instantly to desist, " that they were working with Modern Masons, and that he would upset the Lodge in ten minutes if they proceeded any further." After this, it savours of paradox to record that in June, 181 1, a new member of " (Jarnatic Military, being a Modern Mason, was put over the old ground." Three years later, in the same Lodge, two Captains, described as " modern brothers," were " conducted over the antient ground as far as Master Mason"; and to crown the whole. Lodge No. 863, in 1822, relinquished its Irish warrant, becoming in the first instance " Hibernia and Union," No. XL, on the coast of Coromandel, and in due sequence, No. 633 on the register of the United Grand Lodge of Enjiland.
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A Military Lodge, " Strength and Beauty," No. VIII., was constituted at Vellore, in 1802, but it came to an untimely end, in 1806, when the warrant was found in the Fort, after the mutiny.
The " travelling " bodies established on the Coast often shared a similar if not quite identical fate ; for example, the " Lodge of Philanthropists," in the Scotch Brigade, a regiment which, after being in the Dutch service from 1 58ti to 1793, was incorporated with the English Army and became the 94th Foot in 1802. From this Lodge — warranted in December, 1801 — the following information was received by the Provincial Authorities in March, 1806 : —
" The regiment being so long on field service. Lodge No. XI. has been subjected to various distresses, particularly that of losing two-thirds of its members, amongst whom were some of its best and brightest ornaments."
There is no mention of the Lodge after 1807, and at the union of 1813 it was erased from the roll.
In 1808, a petition for a warrant was sent in " by some Master Masons, privates in His Majesty's Regiment of Royals at Wallahjabad." 'J'he application was granted, and the "Lodge of Unity, Peace, and Concord," which still survives, was established in the 2nd Battalion of what was then the 1st or the Royal Regiment, and is now the Royal Scots The ^petitioners, however, were not all private soldiers, but included a large number of non-commissioned officers ; and in the following year the officers of the battalion sought permission to form a second Lodge in the same corps, to be styled " The Officers' Lodge." The result of this petition has not been recorded, but the examples are numerous, especially in India, of Lodges being formed in regiments, the membership of which was restricted to commissioned officers. The " Lodge of United Friendship," No. v., Avas formed at Madras in 1812 by officers of the 16rh Native Infantry; " Orion in the West," No. XV., at Poona, by those of the Bombay Artillery in 1823; and the " Corinthian Lodge," No. XIV., at Cannanore, by non- commissioned officers of the 7th N.I. in the same year. The "lower military" also figure as the exclusive peti- tioners for a Charter, as we find that in September, 1818, an
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application (forwarded by "St. Andrew's Union," No. X., in the 19tli Foot) was received from three brethren, " Privates in H.M. 73rd Regiment, praying for a warrant of constitution for the establishment of a regular Lodge in that regiment under the distinctive denomination of St. John's Lodge."
The petition was not granted at once, but merely because the Provincial Grand Master thought Ceylon was beyond his jurisdiction. A reply, therefore, was sent to No. X. (in the 19th Foot) "that the matter was to be laid over for the present."
In Bengal, at the close of the last centur}-, there was an almost general defection from the Provincial Grand Lodge, and consequently from the older or legitimate Grand Lodge of England. Lodges " True Friendship " and "Humility with Fortitude" (composed of non-commissioned officers and privates), were the first who transferred their allegiance to the " Ancients," and the " Marine Lodge " (consisting of persons employed in the marine service of the government) soon followed their example.
On St. John's Day (in Christmas), 1809, these Lodges, accompanied by No. 338 {Ancients) in the 14th Foot, and a " Dispensation Lodge " working under a warrant granted by No. 338, walked in procession to St. John's Church, Calcutta, when a Masonic sermon was delivered by the Rev. James Ward. This appears to have stirred up the zeal of the " Moderns." Two of the old Lodges were revived, and these, on St. John's Day (in winter) 1812, accompanied by " Humility with Fortitude " and the "Officers" (formerly the " Dispensation" ) Lodge, No. 347 in the 14th Foot, also walked in procession to the same church, and benefited by a like sermon from Dr. Ward.
The spectacle of two Lodges under each of the rival (English) Societies, being thus united in Masonic fellowship, must have afforded, no doubt, a presage of what was about to happen in the following year, with respect to the yet smouldering animosities between the " Moderns " and the "Ancients."
But the time was now at hand when Masonry in Bengal would take root in the land and flourish as it never
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had done before. This em is inseparably connected with the memory of a great ruler of India, an outline of whose general will precede that of his Masonic career.
The Earl of Moira.
The subject of this sketch, known successively as Lord Rawdon, Eaid Moira, and finalh- as Marquess of Hastings, was the eldest sou of the first Earl of Moira. He was born on the 7th of December, 175-t, and received a commission as Ensign in the loth Foot in 1771. Two years later he became a Lieutenant in the 5th Regiment and embarked for America to take part in the War of Independence.
For his gallantry at Bunker's Hill he was especially com- plimented by General Burgoyne, who stat-ed in his despatch " Lord Rawdon has this day stamped his fame for life." A month later he was promoted Captain in the 63rd Foot, and shortly afterwards appointed Aide-de-( 'amp to Sir Henry Clinton.
Having greatly distinguished himself in numerous engage- ments with the enemy, he was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and appointed Adjiitaut-General to the British Forces in America in 1778. For his services in this cajjacity he was entrusted with a separate command in South Carolina, gaining fresh laurels at the battles of Camden — where he commanded a wing of the Army — and of Hobkirk Hill — where he directed the whole of the operations, and defeated General Greene, one of the ablest of the American Generals.
His health now compelled him to returji to England, and the vessel he sailed in was captured by the Glorieuse and taken to Brest, but he was soon exchanged, and in 1782 received promotion to the rank of Colonel and becanie Aide-de-Camp to the King.
When a man has greatly distinguished himself in his youth, and again in his old age, it is not often that his middle life should be a blank. Yet this, in the opinion of his latest biographer, is what happened in the case of Lord Rawdon, who, he tells us, never rose above mediocrity between 1781 and 1812.
The point, indeed, is one upon which some differences of opinion Avill bo found to exist, though not among English
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Freemasons ; but it will be convenient to give in the first instance the remainder of the personal history of Lord Kawdon as a Soldier, a Statesman, and a Viceroy in the East, after which I shall conclude with a recital of those services which entitle him to rank as one of the brightest characters in the annals of our Fraternity.
On the death of his maternal uncle, the Earl of Huntingdon, in 1789, he succeeded to the estates of that ancient and noble family, and in the same year he acted as second to the Duke of York in his duel with Colonel Lennox, afterwards Duke of llichmond and Provincial Grand Master of Sussex.
By the death of his father, in June, 1793, Lord Rawdon became the second Earl of Moira, and in the following October was promoted Major-General, and entrusted with the command of a force intended to co-operate with the French Royalists in La Vendee. The expedition, however, proved a failure, and the troops did not even land.
The next year the Army in Flanders, under the Duke of York, was in difficulties, and the battle of Fleurus made the position of the allies desperate. Lord Moira was at this time encamped near Southampton with 10,000 men. At their head he sailed for Flanders, and succeeded in effecting a junction with the Duke of York, then nearly surrounded by hostile forces much supei-ior in number. This was one of the most extraordinary marches of which military history affords an example. After the Earl had cleared the French armies and was passing the Austrian Corps, under Field- Marshal Clarfayt, the latter greeted him with the words : — " My lord, you have done what was impossible."
The march from Ostend was the last active service in which the Earl was engaged until he went to India. He was promoted Lieutenant-General in 1798, and General in 1803. About the same time he became Commander of the Forces in Scotland. In 1804 he was appointed Colonel of the 27th Foot, and, in 1806, Constable of the Tower.
Of his character as a high military officer, General Sir John Doyle, who knew him well, observed : —
" No man possessed in a higher degree the happy but rare faculty of attaching to him all who came within the sphere of his command. When they saw their general take upon himself
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the blame of any failure in the execution of his plans (provided it did not arise from want of zeal or courage), and when it suc- ceeded giving the whole credit to those he employed, every man found himself safe : an unlimited confidence infused itself into all ranks, and his army became irresistible. Never was there a man of whom it could be more truly said —
' Self was the only being seemed forgot.' "
His sagacity as a statesman was not inferior to his intre- pidity as a soldier. In the House of Lords he proved himself a clear and able orator, and a judicious man of business. His benevolent and persevering exertions in 1801, resulting in a law being passed to relieve the distresses of persons imprisoned for small debts, will remain a monu- ment of philanthropy upon our Parliamentary records.
Lord Moira married, in 1804, Flora, Countess of Loudoun in her own right, by whom he had six children. He was created a Privy Councillor and appointed Master of the Oi-dnance in 1806. His mother died in 1808, and upon that event he succeeded to the ancient baronies of Hastings, Hungerford, &c., which were vested in the Hastings' family.
In 1812, on the fiiilure of Lord Wellesley to form an administration, he was sent for and empowered to proceed with the delicate task of establishing a Coalition Government of which he would have been the head. At first it seemed as if success was likely to crown his efforts, but the arrange- ments ultimately fell through. Lord Liverpool was appointed Prime Minister, and the crisis ended.
Soon afterwards he was created a ^.G., and on the resignation of the Earl of Minto, was appointed Governor- General and Commander-in-Chief in India. He sailed from Portsmouth on the 14th of April, and landed at Calcutta on the 4th of October, 1813.
" On his acceding to the Government of India," to use his own words, " there were made over to him no less than six hostile discussions with native powers, each capable of entailing a resort to arms, and the independent Princes of India were so numerous and strong as to con- ceive themselves equal to expel the British." But at the termination of Lord Moira's rule — during which period he brouoht two wars of the greatest magnitude to a successful issue— every native state in that vast region was in either
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acknowledged or essential subjugation to our Government. James Mill, the historian of British India, remarks : —
■■ The administration of the Marquess of Hastings may be regarded as the completion of the great scheme of which Clive laid the foundation, and Warren Hastings and the Marquess of Wellesley had reared the superstructure. The crowning pinnacle was the work of Lord Hastings, and by him was the supremacy of the British Empu'e in India finally established."
The subject of this memoir, who for his public services had been created Marquess of Hastings, Earl of Rawdon, and Viscount Loudoun, in 1817, returned to England in 1823, where, however, in spite of increasing age and infirmities, he found himself unable to enjoy that repose to which his long and brilliant career in the service of his country had justly entitled him.
It was said of him that his ample fortune absolutely sank under the benevolence of his nature, and his libei-ality was declared by a judge from the bench, "absolutely to exceed all bounds." While he commanded at Southampton (1793-4), his private expenditure exceeded £30,000, yet such was his delicacy, that he would not accept either j)ay, emolument, or patronage, while the troops in his camp were kept in that state of indecision which did not promise real service, and this rule was strictly carried out during the whole time that his commission was in force.
It has been suggested by Major Ross, of Bladensburg (in the Rulers of India series), that his extraordinary attachment to the Prince of Wales greatly contributed to the ruin of his affairs. " Moira and I," the Prince would sometimes say, " are like two brothers, when one wants money he puts his hand in the other's pocket " ; and to help his illustrious friend, he sold his estates in Ireland and much valuable property in England. Also, according to the same biographer, on the exile of the Bourbon princes during the Frencli Revolution, he placed Donnington Park at their disposal. There they remained for several years, and to fully supply their wants, he left in each bedroom a signed cheque book, which the occupant could fill up at pleasure, without having to undergo the humiliation of asking for pecuniar}- assistance. It is satisfactory to state that the Royal objects of his bounty availed themselves but sparingly of this generosity. His
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expenditure in India was conducted on a very lavish scale, and when he returned to England, he declared himself to be, after nine years' unceasing toil in the East, a poorer man than when he went out. He was obliged, therefore, to seek further employment, and in 1824 became Governor of Malta. Two yeai's later, his health gave way, and he sustained a serious injury through a fall from his horse. A cruise in the Mediterranean was prescribed for him, but he never rallied, and died on board H.M.S. Revetige, in Baia Ba}^, near Naples, November 28tli, 1826. His body was brought to Malta and buried on the ramparts.
'■ What hallows pound where heroes sleep .' 'Tis not the sculptured piles you heap ! '
He left a letter, in which, among other requests, he desired that his right hand might be cut off, and buried (at her death) with his wife. The wish was complied with, and it now rests clasped with her's in the family vault at the old Kirk of Loudoun
When, or where, the eminent man whose Masonic career it will become my next task to unfold, was received into the Society, cannot be positively affirmed. It has always been supposed that he was initiated in an Army Lodge, and if so his admission probably took place either in No. 86, attached to the 5th Foot, in which he served as a subaltern from 1773 to 1775 ; or in No. 512, in the 63rd regiment, to which he was transferred as captain after the sanguinary engagement at Bunker's Hill. These were both Irish Lodges, but it is with the annals of English Masonry in which for many eventful years the Earl of Moira (as he will always be best known by students of the Craft), forms the central figure, that we are chiefly concerned, and to these I now pass.
At the annual Feast of the Society in 1790, Lord Rawdon was ap[)ointed Acting Grand Master, and retained that position under the Prince of Wales, who, on the death of his uncle, the Dnke of Ciimberland, was elected Grand Master, and installed in 1792.
At this time the French Revolution had given rise to many unhappy dissensions in Great Britain, and to check them, addresses to tlie Throne were presented by most of the corporate bodies in the kingdom and all the true friends of
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the Constitution. It was deemed proper that the Society •of Masons, by adding their mite to the number, should evince that attachment to the King and Constitution Avhich the laws of the institution enjoined. Accordingly, ■on the 6th of February, 1793, the Grand Lodge unani- luonsly resolved that an address which had been drawn up by Lord Moira should be presented to His Majesty.
The following passay;es from this powerful exposition of Masonic principles will be read with interest at tlie jiresent tiuie, when the eldest son of the Sovereign once more Ijresides over the destinies of the Freemasons of England : —
" It may be thought, perhaps, that being what Ave are. a private society of men connected by invisible ties — professing secrecy — mysterious in our meetings — stamped by no act of prerogative — and acknowledged by no law. we assume a part and hold a langv^age upon this occasion to which we can urge no legal or a Imitted right. We are the Free Citizens of a Free State, and number raanj' thousands of our body. The Heir Apparrid of the Empire is our Chief. We fraternize for the purj)oxe>i of social intercourse, of i/iiitual assi.stanre, of charity to the distressed, a7id i/ood-irill to all ; and fidelity to a truxt, rererem-e to the mar/istrate, and obedience to the l((nis, are sculptured in eapitals upon the pediment of our Institution."
A grand feast was held at Freemasons' Hall on the 13th of May, 1795, the (Jrand Master in the chair. The Prince of Wales was accompanied by the Duke of Clarence, and I'rince William (afterwards Duke) of Cloacester, who had been initiated in the Jh'itannic Lodge by the Acting Grand Master on the preceding evening. As a final toast the Grand Master gave "the Earl of Moira," whom he styled " the man of my heart and the friend I admire," and sincerely hoped that the Acting (jtrand Master might lon<>" live to superintend the government of the Craft, and to extend the principles of the Art.
The Prince of Wales again presided at the grand festival of the Society in 1796, and was supported by Prince Ernest Augustus, afterwards Duke of Cumberland, and still later King of Hanover, whose initiation, he informed the brethren, had taken place the same day, at a special Lodge held for that purpose, in the house of the Earl of Moira.
Two works were published in 1797, which, though now seldom read, produced an inunense sensation at the time.
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They were written by the Al>be Barruel and Professor Robison, in the same year and without mutual consultation. It was the object of both to prove that a secret association had been formed and carried on for rooting out all the religious establishments and overturning all the existing governments of Europe ; and that this association had employed as its chief instruments the Lodges of Freemasons.
These works were not without influence in inspiring a portion of the legislation in 1799, when an Act of Parliament was passed " for the more eftectiial suppression of societies established fur seditious and treasonable purposes, and for preventing treasonable and seditious practices."
By this Statute — 39, George III., c. 79 — it was enacted that all societies, the members whereof are required to take any oath not authorised by law, should be deemed unlawful combinations.
Ultimately, however, societies held imder the denomina- tion of Lodges of Freemasons, were, under certain conditions, exempted from the operation of the Act. This was mainly due to the tact and address of the Earl of Moira, by whose efforts English Freemasonry was saved from extinction, or at the very least from temporary obliteration.
On the 15th of May, 1800, the King was fired at from the pit of Drury Lane Theatre, and at a Special Gi-and Lodge held in June, the Acting Grand Master stated that it had been convened for the purpose of considering a suitable address to be presented to his majesty.
In the course of his speech, and evidently referring to the w^orks of Barruel and Robison, he " took occasion to allude to certain modern publications holding forth the Society of Masons as a league against constituted authorities " ; and while admitting " that in countries where impolitic prohi- bitions restrict the communication of sentiment, the activity of the human mind might, among other means of baffling' the control, have resorted to the artifice of borrowing the denomination of Freemasons to cover meetings for seditious purposes," he boldly affirmed, "not onl}' that such a subterfuge had no sort of connection with the tenets of Masonry, but was diametrically opposite to the junction regarded as the foundation of the Lodge, namely — Fear God, and Honour the King."
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In 1805, the Earl of Moira, who then combined the functions of Acting Grand Master of English Freemasons with those of Commander of the Forces in Scotland, became the happy medium through which his own and the Gi'and Lodge of the Northern Kingdom were brought into fraternal union. In the same year, November 27, and through the same channel, a correspondence in terms of amity, and brotherly communication was arranged with the Grand Lodge of Prussia. At this meeting of the Grand Lodge, the brethren, to mark their sense of the services rendered to Masonry by the acting Grand Master, "agreed that the fraternity should dine together on December 7th, it being the birthday of Earl Moira." The practice continued to be observed by a large number of the Metropolitan Lodges until his lordship's departure for India, and a survival of it still exists in the Moira Lodge, No. 92, which holds its annual festival on December 7, when the toast of the evening is, " The memory of Earl Moira, the patron of the Lodge."
A friendly alliance with the Grand Lodge of Ireland, similar to that established with the Grand Lodge of Scotland, was effected throvigh the same instrumentality, in 1808. The previous Masonic intercourse of both these Grand Lodges had been confined to the Schismatic Grand Lodge of " Ancient Masons," seceders from the Grand Lodge of England about the middle of the last century.
The Earl of Moira, who was acting (or virtual) Grand Master of Scotland in 1806 and 1807, twice discharged the ceremonial duties incidental to that office in 1809. On October 25th, he laid the foundation stone of George the Third's Bastion at Leith, and on November 21st, the "Free- mason's Hall " of Scotland was consecrated by him, and in the most solemn manner dedicated to Masonry. On each of these occasions the Earl delivered one of those eloquent addresses for which he was so justly famed.
Towards the close of the year 1812, Lord Moira having been appointed Governor-General of India, it was considered by the Fraternity as only due to his exalted merit to enter- tain him at a farewell banquet, and to present him with a valuable Masonic jewel, as a memorial of their regard.
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On the day appointed — January 27th, 1813 — the Duke of Sussex, as Deputy Grand Master (in which office he had succeeded Sir Peter Parker, Admiral of the Fleet, who died in December, 1811), took the chair, and was supported by above five hundred brethren, the coraimny including six royal dukes.
In happy terms the Chairman characterised the services of tlie Earl during the one and twenty years he had ])resided over the interests of the fraternity, as having shed splendour upon the Oraft, and saved the society from total destruction ; while in terms still happier, the guest of the evening acknowledged the compliment : —
'■ The prominent staUon which I hold here," replied Lord Moira, " concentrates all the rays of the Craft upon my person, as it would upon the person of any other placed in the same elevation ; and the illustrious Deputy Grand Master makes an effort to persuade himself that the lunar brilliancy is the genuine irradiation of the sun. My real relation to you may Ije best explained by an Asiatic apologue. In the baths of the East, perfumed clay is used instead of soap. A poet is introduced, who breaks out into an enthusiastic flow of admiration at the odour of a lump of clay of this sort. ' Alas I ' answers the clay, 'I am only a piece of ordinary earth, but I happened to come in contact with the rose, and I have borrowed some of its fragrance.' I have borrowed the character of the virtues inherent in this Institution' ; and my best hope is, that however minute be the ])ortion with which I have been thus imbued, at least. I am not likely to lose what has been so forfuitouslj^ acquired. Gratitude holds a high rank among those virtues : and. if I can be confident of anything, it must be of this, that earnest gratitude towards you cannot depart from my breast, but with the last pulse of life."
The Mason's Widow.
Lord Moira was on the eve of starting for the seat of Government in India. Thousands of miles were soon to interpose between him and the home of his ancestors. Was he ever to return to its shades a free, unembarassed, independent man 1
In his splendid library at Donniugton Park he was busily engaged in sorting papers, destroying letters, and signing certain lengthy parchments, prior to a long absence from England. While so employed a servant entered and said that a woman wished to see him.
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" Her business ? "
" ]\lilitary business, inx lord, so she says."
" I cannot see her, be lier errand whit it may."
" I told her so, m}' lord, b\it she will take no denial."
"The shortest way to end this matter," said Lord Moira kindly, " will be for me to see her at once. Let her enter.''
" What may you want from me 1 " said the Earl, coldly, on her admittance to the library.
She explained that her second son, who supported the entire family, had been drawn for a soldier, and she wanted Lord Moira to get him off.
"I cannot help you," was the Earl's rejoinder; "if your son has been regularly balloted for and drawn in the Militia, he must serve."
" Serve ' " exclaimed the poor woman bitterly and vehemently, as if her grief was getting the better of both reason and prudence. "Yes, that's the word — 'serve.' My three brothers did so, and fell on the field of battle. My father did so, and his bones lie in the sands of Egypt. My husband did so, and fell in action at Corunna."
" A soldier's widow," said his lordship, musinglj-. " What was your husband's name 1 "
" Isaac Wardroper."
" Did he ever serve in the 63rd ?"
" He did, and volunteered out of it for foreign service."
"The 63rd! I should know something about that regi- ment," returned the Earl quickly. " I had a company in it." Then in more measured tones — " I think I recollect your husband, what was his rank ?"
" Pay-Corporal," was the reply.
"Right," said liis lordship. " I remember him, a steady, well-conducted man." Then turning to the lawyer by his side, he asked in a low tone, " '\Vhat would a substitute cost 1 "
The legal gentleman made no reply, biit his look at the parchments lying before them seemed to say, "How can you, with s\ich a heavy mortgage as the one you are about to execute, think, even for a passing instant, of incurring the cost of a substitute 1 "
Lord Moira coloured and turned away. " I cannot inter-
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fere," he said at last, " the law is peremptory and must be obeyed."
The tone of the Earl's voice, or the energy of despair may have suggested the movement, but again advancing, the woman said faintly, — " About a week before he went into action for tlie fifth time, my poor fellow gave these into my hands, and told me, that should he fall, and I be ever able to reach England, they might, perhaps, be useful to me."
She handed to his lordship, as she spoke, a certificate, drawn up on vellum, together with certain insignia, and waited in bent and hopeless attitude the result.
He to whom Masonry was so dear, whose devotion to its interests never varied, who held so high a place in the Craft, and in the affections of the Brethren, extended his hand, and examined narrowly and deliberately the various insig- nia; the vellum, its tenor, its signatures. The scrutiny, it would seem, left no suspicions behind it, for the Earl, with a smile, said firmly and cheeringly, —
" Your husband, it appears, was a Mason. Of that I am satisfied. He belonged, unqiiestionably, to a Military Lodge. There are such in the army, not many, nor perhaps much countenanced by the authorities ; but they do exist. For you it is well. Go, and with a light heart. So good a son had best remain where he is. He will not be torn from you. I require no thanks. I can listen to nothing further ; go, and have no fears about the future."
A substitute for Stephen Wardroper was procured — who provided him? who sought him? who paid for him? and who, before the week's end, sent a .£10 note by post to the Mason's widow ? The poor woman accurately conjectured, and so without a doubt will the reader.
On Lord Moira's passage to India, the vessel in which he had embarked, calling at the Mauritius, at the head of the Masons of that island, he laid the foundation stone of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Port Louis.
The Earl, who was not only Governor-General and Com- mander-in-Chief, but also Acting-Grand Master of India, arrived in Calcutta on October 4th, 1813. His first Masonic act was to constitute a new Lodge, which was named after
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him — The " Moira Lodge, Freedom and FideHty," to which he granted a warrant of constitution on November 8th in the same year.
The first Master was Major-General Sir William Keir Grant ; the Wardens, Colonel C. J. Doyle and Commodore John Hayes ; and one of the Founders (or earliest members) Major-General Sir Rollo Gillespie.
The Acting Grand Master, who was presented — December 11th, 1813 — with an address of congratuUxtion on his safe arrival in India, made a most eloquent speech to the brethren of Calcutta in reply, declaring " the diffusion of a spirit of benevolence and charity to be the object of their labours, and that the true work of Masons was the adoration of the Most High."
An address to the Countess of Moira w^as presented on the same occasion. This lady — the grand-daughter of John, 4th Earl of Loudoun, Grand Master of England, 1736 — was also Countess of Loudoun in her own right, and succeeded to the family honours in 1786. The brethren expressed to her ladyship that they were unable to deny themselves the gratification of blending with their congratulations to Lord Moira the same cordial welcome to herself, and claiming her hereditary influence over their Fraternity with sentiments of equal veneration.
Under the benignant sway of the Earl of Moira, as Grand Master in India, which lasted for the period of nine years, the Lodges multiplied, and in those glorious days persons of all classes were eager to become members of the Society. The wisdom of the appointment was exemplified in its immediate effects. The influence of his lordship's great name, exalted rank, high acquirements, extensive benevo- lence, and Masonic eminence was seen in the new zeal it infused into the Fraternity. The constant appearance of the Governor-General and Commander-in-Cliief among the Brethren in India, gave additional vigour to the spirit so inspired, and, working under the eye of a Grand Master so distinguished for every Masonic virtue, the ardour of that spirit continued unabated until the close of his adminis- tration, to the honour of the Craft, the increase of its numbers, and the extension of its charities.
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On its being notified that the Governor-General was ahout to hiy down his high office and retni'n to Enghxnd, the Marqness of Hastings — to use the title which had been conferred upon him in 1817 — was presented with a farewell address, offering their united sentiments of regard and esteem for his person and virtues, by the Freemasons.
The Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal and eight private Lodges took part in the demonstration, assembling on December 20th, 1822, at the Town Hall, Calcutto, and having been joined by several brethren of distinction, walk- ing in procession to the Government House to the number of about three hundred. In most of the Lodges the military element must have predominated, but in three of them the membership was restricted to brethren of the sea and land ser- vices. These were "Courage with Humanity" (now No. 39 L'), in the Regiment of Artillery at Dum-Dum, so called because " Courage was ever the leading featiire in the Bengal Artiller}^ and Humanity the grand characteristic of the British soldier"; "Marine" (now No. 232), at that time composed, as its name would imply, of persons employed in the Marine service of the Governtnent ; and No. 921, under the Irish Constitution, attached to the 17th Foot.
The presence of military Lodges, as well as military brethren, lent a particular interest to the presentation of the address, and probably nothing has ever surpassed in pathos or dignity the leave-taking of the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief as Grand Master of English Free- masons in the East. He did so in the following words : —
"Brethren. — The compliment which you have offered to me is peculiarly affecting and grateful to my feelings. It ought to be so. As j'ou have yourselves observed, each of you has already affixed his name to the general Arldress with which I was honoured some days ago. There is, of course, a motive for your wishing to come forward again, and as I cannot but understand it, the quality of that motive is most flattering to me : you have desired to bear a more precise and emphatic testimony to my conduct. That observation which Masons reciprocally exercise over each other, not as a privilege, but as a duty, l)inds the Craft to be strict in a public profession of opinion, so that where it chii commend, the commendation stands vouched by the known caution. Your approbation of me may be mistaken — may be undeservedly partial — may be exaggerated in phrase, but it must be sincere, and as such I take it to my heart.
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'"You have thanked me for the encouragement I have given here to Masonry, and for the vigilance I have exerted for its preserving an accurate course. That fostering care was ir'cum- bent on me. for the superintendence which I have held. But I have not considered the fulfilment of such an obligation as a dry duty.
•• I have felt a lively interest in the pi'omotion of what I believe to be highly beneficial to societj'. The veil thrown over Masonrv renders its operation silent and unobserved ; yet the influence of a body, spread through all classes of society, pervading every circle and diffusing (though by its separate members) opinions digested and matured, from remote periods, in the Brotherhood, must be powerful in its effect. I think the traces of its useful sway are disco veral:)le if we cast our eyes on olden times. Reflect on that semi-barbarism which was the condition of all the States of Europe in ages not long past. What apparent cause was there for a sudden and rapidly progressive mitigation, of the rude oppressions Avhich characterised the day ? If noije such can confidently be pointed out, is it not reasonable to recur to an agency which, while it is unobtrusive, must in its very nature be active !
" The secrecy observed in Masonic proceedings, and the rigid scrutiny exercised into the private character of candidates for admission, excited the curiosity of the higher ranks, and at the same time removed every fear of their discrediting themselves by becoming members of the Fraternity. Once initiated they received lessons which never could have reached them in any other situation. They were taught that, throughout the necessary giadations in a community, and amid the unavoidable distinctions ai-ising from talents or property, man was still the brother of man. This primary position once adopted, all corollaries from it were readily embraced. The doctrine imbibed in the Lodge became the rule of action for the man of might in his public sphere, and his example disseminated the principles of humanity and justice to the utmost extent of the circle. Surely this is not a visionary supposition. Obseive the difference of charactei' between the rations of Europe where Masonry has flourished and those in which it has been proscribed, and let the contrast, so favourable for the former, support my hypothesis. The proof will be still stronger if you advert to the despotism, the ferocity, the degradation of manhood in the Asiatic regions, where no casual ray of Masonry has ever pierced the gloom. In Europe, what were once Masonic principles alone, are so generally prevalent, that it would now be difficult to make it believed that thej' were once acknowledged only in a confined society. Yet it is well that the sanctuary for them should still exist. Our forms are only constant inculcations to us of the moral Rules which ought to be observed in all times, cases, and situations. If I may have been fortuuate enough to have recollected them in the exercise of authority', as you would kindly persuade me, I am most happy.
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"X"W, in the truest spirit of fraternal afEection. I bid you FAKEWELL, with this parting injunction — (OXTIXUE TO FEAR God, to hoxouh the King, and to keep pure the Craft."
The Marquess of Hastings left India, where he restored Freemasonry and became the shepherd of the faithful, amid the regrets of his fold. The parting scene, which has been well depicted by Dr. Burnes, in his nration " On the duties of the Masonic Soldier," will be found in the present volume, and there is nothing in the annals of Indian Masonry that possesses an equal interest for such military readers as happen also to be members of the Fraternity.
If wisdom in council, eloquence in debate, valour in arms, undeviating patriotism, and universal benevolence, are deserving of record iu the pages of history, and in the annals of Freemasonry — then, in the character of the Earl of Moira (first Marquess of Hastings), who was equally renowned as a soldier, a statesman, and a great ruler in the Craft, we find a happy combination of Masonic and patriotic excellence, which no lapse of time ought to elTace from our memory, as it can never be surpassed.
The warrant of the " Moira Lodge, Freedom and Fidelity," which was the only instrument of its class, granted by the Acting Grand Master of India (as shortly after he re- established the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bengal), was surrendered in 1823. A short notice of the first Master, Sir William Keir Grant, has been already given (p. 109). The Senior Warden, Colonel (afterwards General Sir Charles William) Doyle, served in the Netherlands and Egypt, under Abercrombie, and commanded a force of Light Infantry, known as " Doyle's Triadores," in Ihe Peninsula, with such conspicuous success, that he w^as made a Spanish Lieutenant- General. The Junior Warden, Commodore (afterwards Sir John) Hayes, entered the Indian Navy, of which he Avas one of the brightest ornaments, in 1781. He com- manded a squadron of nine vessels at the capture of Java, and the armed flotilla on the coast of Airacan (as a flag officer) during the Burmese War of 1825.
The remaining member of the " Moira Lodge " whose name has coujC down to us, was Sir I'obert Bollo Gillespie, of whom a brief memoir will ne.\t be presented.
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From time imLoemorial the Craft has recruited from the ranks of the British Armv, brethren who have been distin- guished for their devotion to Freemasonry and its principles, no less than for their gallantry in the field of arms. Of this a brilliant example is afforded by the career of General Gillespie, who was born at Comber, in the County of Down, and became a Cornet in the 6th Dragoon Guards, and also a Freemason, in 1783. A few years later he was transferred to the "JOth (Jamaica) Light Dragoons, with which regiment he saw much service in the West Indies, particularly at the capture of Tiburon in 1794, and afterwards at Port-au-Prince, where his life was threatened, and he was on the point of being put to death by order of the French Governor, General Santhonax, under the following circumstances.
He was selected by the British Commander-in-Chief as the bearer of a despatch with a summons to surrender the island, and having been sent under a flag of truce, so great was his anxiety to reach the shore from the English squad- ron, that the boat became stranded and overturned, with the result that both flag and papers were lost in the sea. Whereupon Gillespie swam ashore with his sword in his mouth, and though repeatedly fired at succeeded in affecting a landing without receiving any hurt. On being brought a ])risouer before the Governor he was charged with being a spy, and sentenced to be hanged. Gillespie, however, espied on the buttons of the Governor (or one of his officers) a certain device, and at once resorted to the language of Freemasonry. The signal was acknowledged, he was im- mediately released, sumptuously entertained, and sent back to the squadron and his companions in arms, under a guard of honour, by order of General Santhonax.
In 1796, as a Major, he accompanied General Wilford to St. Domingo, when he was appointed Adjutant-General and much feared by the republicans. A gang of eight des- peradoes broke into his quarters, murdered his slave-boy, and attacked Gillespie, who, however, defended himself with his sword, and killed six of his assailants, when the two others, after firing at and wounding him, fled. On his return to England, he attended a levee, and George III. noticing his diminutive stature, — " Eh, eh, what, what,"
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said the King, "is this the little man that killed tlie brigands 1 "
After the Peace of Amiens, he exchanged, as Lieutenant- Colonel, into the 19th Light Dragoons, and proceeding- overland to India, was appointed Commandant of Arcot, where his regiment was stationed. Hut he had not been there many days when, riding before bieakfast on July 10th, 1806, he was met by an officer who reported a mutiny at Vellure. This was fourteen miles distant, and the retreat of the captive princes of Tippoo's family.
Starting at once with a squadron of the 19th, and some native cavalry, and directing the rest of the Dragoons with their "galloper" guns to follow, Gillespie hurried to Vellore to find that the Sepoy troops had massacred the Europeans, with the exception of a few survivors belonging to the 69th Foot, who had spent their anuiiunition and were making their last stand. With the aid of a rope, Gillespie had him- self hoisted into the fort, where he encouraged the 69th until the arrival of the guns from Arcot, when the gates were l)lown open, and the Dragoons entering cut down over 800 of the mutineers. The Military Lodge at Vellore, as previously narrated, perished in this revolt.
In 1811, Gillespie, as Brigadier-General, accompanied the expedition against Java, and on the reduction of the Island was left in command of the troops. The next year finding that a confederacy of the Javanese Chiefs had taken up a position in a powerfully stockaded fort, defended by 100 guns, and 30,000 men, he promptly attacked and carried it with 1,500 troops, therel)y, in all prol)ability, saving the lives of nil the Europeans on the island.
Returning as a Major-General, to India in 1813, after participating for a brief period in Masonic fellowship with his brethren of the " Moira Lodge," he was appointed, in 1814, to the command of one of the four columns which took part in the invasion of Nepaul. The progress of the column was arrested by one hill fort, Kalanga, garrisoned l)y a mere handful of the enemy. Two assaults were beaten liack, and the British General and 500 of his men were killed.
The gratitude of a nation has reared in St. Paul's Cathedral
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a monument to perpetuate the inemoi-y of Sir Rollo Gillespie, and in the town of Comber, where he was born, his Masonic brethi'en have erected a column in loving rememl^rance of the hero whose last words were — " One shot more for tlie honour of Down." Thirty -five Lodges were present at the unveiling of the " Gillespie Monument " on the I'-tth of June (St. John's Day), 1844, and the members of the Society who assembled on that interesting occasion, are said to have formed the largest meeting of Freemasons ever witnessed in Ireland.
For a short time after the departure of Lord Hastings Masonry continued to flourish in Bengal, and ten (or more) Lodges of a military, though stationary, character are known to have existed in that Presidency (or jurisdiction) in 1827. Three, "Sincerity" (Cawnpore), "Hastings" (Allahabad), and " Northern Star " (Barrackpore), were in each case composed of officers in the cantonment and neigh- bourhood. The members of the others, one of which, " Independence with Philanthropy," was formed out of the lower ranks by the " Hastings " Lodge, Allahabad, were non-commissioned otficers and men.
But the close of the same year ushered in the annihilation (jf all order and constituted authority for a time. The Provincial Grand Lodge sank into a profound slumber, and the military brethren of "Indejoendence with Philanthropy" hoisted the standard of revolt liy returning their warrant, intimating that future meetings would be held under a dis- pensation obtained from Lodge "Union" in the 14th Foot until a oharter could be obtained from England, for which application had been made direct. The latter — formerly .\o. 338, "Ancients" — was carried over at the fusion of the two societies as No. 432, but, together with its earlier off- spring under a previous dispensation, the " Ofiicers' Lodge " in the same regiment, had ceased to exist in 1832. The petition of the former was successful and a civil warrant was granted, under which it still exists as the Lodge of " Independence with Philanthropy " at Allahabad.
Yet in general the letters of the Lodges remained luianswered and their requests unheeded, a state of affairs which continvied imtil the 3'ear 1840 — the commencement (if a new era in the Masonic Historv of Bengal.
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There are many obstacles to the success of Masonry in India, and perhaps the chief one is the pecuHar nature of the society there, and its habihty to perpetual fluctuation. Most of the Lodges are composed chiefly and some exclu- sively of military members, all of whom are liable to be removed from particular stations at a moment's notice.
Whether, therefore, an Indian Lodge, except in the principal seats of Government, will continue to prosper or fall into at least a temporary decay, is even in our OA\'n times dependent on the chance of any given number of those who form the last I'elief being members of the Fraternity. But in more remote days, when there were no railroads, and the European population of India was merely a fraction of what it now is, any sudden removal of Masons from a station, which was not counter-ljalanced by an accession of new l)rethren, almost invariably resulted in the extinction of a Lodge.
To these observations the Lodges in regiments were, of course, an exception, since wherever the regiments moved the Lodges and their members accompanied them. Still, it must be recollected that in practice, regimental Lodges were confined to the Queen's troops, excepting only the (Bengal and Bombay) Artillery. In regiments of Native Infantry (though the experiment has been tried in Madras) the number of officers is too scanty to allow the possibility of Lodges being permanently established in them.
It is, indeed, to these regimental Lodges that I must, as far as possible, restrict my remarks, but cases were of frequent occurrence in which their assistance was invoked l:)y military brethren under circumstances of the following- character.
As already stated, the Stationary Lodges were always in great peril, owing to the possible removal of the whole (or a large portion) of their members on military duty ; and to this must now be added that it was by no means unusual for the members, whose involuntary defection so often brought about a catastrophe at the station from which they were removed, to find themselves at a new one, where there was no Lodge. In this diflficvilty it was the custom for such brethren to apply to a regular Lodge for a dispensation,
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and to work under the protection of that body, until a warrant was received from home.
Some Masons at Delhi applied in 1834 to their brethren at Meerut for a constitution of this kind, which might serve their purpose until the receipt of a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England. At the latter station there were two Lodges, one of which, however, was itself working under dispensation, and could not therefore dispense grace to another. The other belonged to the 26th Foot, No. 26, under the Grand Lodge of Ireland. This Lodge declined giving a dispensation, for the somewhat Irish reason that the " Cameronian Lodge " had already granted one to another Lodge of the 'propriety of which act they had great dotdjt ; and that until an answer had been received from Ireland, they could not commit a second act of doubtful legality.
The custom was, indeed, a very old one, and to the examples already given of its prevalence in numerous jurisdictions, it will be sufficient to add that in 1782, Lodges in the Nova Scotia Volunteers, Royal Artillery, and 82nd Foot were at work in Halifax (N.S.), " under dispensation from the warranted Lodges Nos. 155 and 211 " — now Nos. 1 and 2 on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Also, that a Lodge, " No. 213 Junior," was held in the Royal Artillery, under a dispensation from the parent body at the same ("Atholl ") number — now the "Albion," Quebec — at St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1785
The practice, which attained a great vogue, necessai-ily fell into disuse with the more general existence of Provincial Grand Lodges, and no survival of the usage after 1840 has been recorded. In that year there was a second revival of Masonry- in Bengal. After the departure of the Marquess of Hastings, it had gone out of fashion, and the circumstances under which military brethren of all ranks in the leading Presidency again rallied round the Masonic Standard will be presently related.
In 1813, the 17th Dragoons was stationed at Kaira, in Goojerat, and a Lodge (English), No. 361, was attached to the regiment, which for many years continued to be the only one in the Presidency of Bombay. Of the thirtv-four
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members, sixteen were Knights Templar, and seventeen Koyal Arch Masons. Twenty-nine were non-commissioned officers, and the remainder private dragoons. The degrees worked, in addition to the "three regnlar steps," were those of Past Master (in the Lodge) ; Royal Arch, Super-excellent, Mark and Link (in the Chapter) ; and Knight Templar, St. John of Jerusalem, and Knight ot Malta (in the Encamp- ment).
Six commissioned officers (of other regiments) and one civilian were admitted to the membership of the Lodge in LS21, and in the same year a petition from the seven for a No. 361. A remarkable entry in the minutes occurs under the date of August 22nd, 1821 : —
"Proposed and agreed to that the half-monthly meeting be entirely for the Br. Officers (Military) of Lodge Xo. 301. but that ail fees and dues for Initiation. &c.. exclusively to the (ieneral Lodge fund, and that such Br. Officers as may have already been admitted into our most Honble. Society, may attend the regular monthly meeting if they desire it, and on the half-monthly night calling such assistance from the old members as they may require."
From that time, until the regiment left India (1823), there were virtually two Lodges attached to it, one consisting of commissioned officers and members of the Civil Service, the other of non-commissioned officers and private dragoons.
In December, 182 1 , " the Brethren, Commissioned Officers, and Lodge Officers" met, and it was arranged that the former should fill the various offices on the occasion of the Festival of St. John.
The " Benevolent Lodge," No. 746, was duly established (on the recommendation of No. 361) in 1822, and all the military petitioners for it were founders of another Lodge, "Orion in the West," "installed" in the Bombay Horse Artillery, at Poona, in 1823. In the latter none but Initiates of the Lodge, or officers of the regiment, could become members, and non-commissioned officers were only admitted as serving brethren. In 1832, a subaltern of the corps, being "the only uninitiated officer of the mess," was admitted, "though under age," by dispensation.
The "Benevolent Lodge," held in the first instance at
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Poona, was, a few years afterwards, removed to Bombay, at which capital there were thirteen non-commissioned ofhcers who were too poor to establish a Lodge of their own, and too modest to seek admittaucii into what was considered an aristocratic Lodge. 'I'hey met, however, monthly in the guard-room over the Apollo Gate, for mutual instruction in Masonry. This coming to the knowledge of the " Benevolent Lodge," the thirteen were elected honorary members of No. 746, for which they returned heartfelt thanks. At their first attendance, when the Lodge work was over and the brethren adjourned to the banquet, the thirteen were informed that refreshments awaited them downstairs. Revolting at the distinction thus made among Masons, they one and all left the place. The next morning they were sent for by their commanding officer, who was also one of the officers of the Lodge, and asked to explain their conduct. One of the party, William Willis — by whom this anecdote was related to me at Poona in 1859 — told him that as Masons they were bound to meet on the Level and part on the Square ; but as this fundamental principle was not practised in No. 746, of which they had been elected honorary members, they could not partake of their hospi- tality. The astonished Colonel uttered not a word, but waved his hand for them to retire. Ever after this the "Benevolent Lodge" — including the thirteen — met on the Level, both in Lodge and at the banquet table.
During the brief existence of this Lodge some very illus- trious names were inscribed on its roll (p. 105), and among them that of a famous Initiate, a short account of whose career, combined with a memoir of his elder brother, upon whom the mantle of the Marquess of Hastings would seem to have fallen as a Ruler of the Craft, will be next laid before the reader.
James and Alexander Burnes arrived in India and were taken on the strength of the Bombay army, the foi'mer as a medical officer and the latter as a cadet, in October, 1821. The elder brother. Dr. Burnes, author of a History of Cxitch and a Visit to the Court of Scinde, after meritorious service with the cavalry and infantry, returned to Europe on sick certificate in 1833.
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Alexander Barnes, at an age when yonths at home were just leaving college, had already advanced a long way on the path of fame.
•■ Where souls are born to soar in loftier spheres, True valour waits not the advance of years."
After proceeding on a mission to Runjeet Singh, " The Lion of the Punjaub," at Lahore, the unwearied traveller, in January, LS32, commenced his adventurous journey into Central Asia. Among the countries he passed through was AfFghanistan,and from Cabool, Burnes wrote to his mother: —
'■ The people know me by the name of Sekunder, which is the Persian for Alexander, and a magnanimous name it is. I am living with a most amiable man. a Nawab, named Jubbur Khan, brother to the Chief of Cabool."
Of this worthy he relates an anecdote which will be best given in the traveller's own words : —
" I had the pleasure of manv sociable evenings with our host the Nawab, whom I found, like manv of his countrymen, in search of the philosopher's stone. We heard from him the position of many metallic veins in the country. The good man declared that he must have some of our knowledge in return for what he told so freely. I informed him that I belonged to a sect called Freemasons, and gave some account of the Craft. It was an institution, I said, where, though we did not change the baser metals into gold, we sought to transform the baser and blacker passions of man into philanthropy and charity. He particularly- requested that he might be admitted into the fraternity without delay, but as the number of brethren must be equal to that of the Pleiades. I put it off to a convenient opportunity. He confi- dently believed that he had at last got scent of magic in its purest dye, and had it been in my power I would ha-ve willingly initiated him."
On leaving Cabool "Sekunder Burnes" made his way to the City of Bokhara, where he received all possible kindness and hospitality. The story of his travels he sums up in a few striking words : —
'"I saw everything, both ancient and modern, to excite the interest and inflame the imagination — Bactria, Trans-OxiauR. Scythia, and Parthia. Kharasm, Khorasan, and Iran. We beheld the scenes of Alexander's wars, of the rude and savage inroads of Jengis and Timour, as well as of the campaigns and revelries of Baber. In the journey to the coast, we marched on the very line of route by which Alexander had pursued Darius, while the voyage to India took us on the track of the Admiral Nearchus. "
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Burnes an-ived in England in November, 1833, and was most cordially received as a true son of Britain who had performed glorious service in the East. His manuscript quickly found a publisher, and it was at once admitted that such a book of travels had not appeared for many a long year. Honours of all kinds vvere showered upon him. Such attention no lieutenant in any age had ever received before. It was enough to turn the head of any ordinary subaltern, but Alexander Burnes was cast in no ordinary mould, and he survived it.
In February, 183-1, the young officer, in the course of an address delivered before St. Peter's Lodge, Montrose, gave some interesting particulars of the state of Freemasonry in the East, and stated that even in the most remote and rude districts of Asia which he had visited, he had traced that Masonry had once existed there, from tradition and the remains of varioiis Masonic symbols which he particularised.
In the following August, at a meeting of the same Lodge, three of his brothers, Dr. James Burnes, K.H., Charles Burnes, of Montrose (afterwards Lieutenant, 17th Bombay Native Infantry), and David Burnes, M.D., of London (who joined the Royal Xavy as a Surgeon in 182G, and retired from it in 1835), were enrolled as members, having been entered, passed, and raised in the course of the evening.
An offer of the Secretaryship of Legation, to be followed by the superior appointment of British ^Minister at the Court of Teheran, was declined by Alexander Burnes. He laughed at Persia and her politics, exclaiming — "I look far higher, and shall either die or be so." India was his chosen field of action, and thither he returned with a "flaming despatch " from the Court of Directors in his pocket, in June, 1835.
The remaining events in the life of Sir Alexander Burnes (as he shortly after became) are matters of history. The Cabool tragedy of 1841 opened with his brutal murder by the Affghan mob, and this brief sketch of his career will be brought to a close in the words of his best biographer : — -
"Carried off in the prime of life, — 'only thirtj'-six years old, so young, yet so much ali'eady done for immortality ' — so much time remaining, as it appeared to us short-sighted mortals, to maintain and to extend his fame."
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Returning to Dr. James Burnes, there is nothing more remarkable in the annals of Masonry, than the absolutely unique position which he attained in the Craft within less than three years from the date of his initiation at Montrose. In 1836 he was appointed Provincial Grand Master for Western India, where, on his return, Scottish Masonry flourished, and English Masonry became quite dormant until the year 1848.
In 1840, Dr. Burnes was for some time in Bengal, and the revival of Masonry in India, which had languished in the leading Presidency ever since the departui-e of the Earl of Moira — first Marquess of Hastings — in 1823, has always been associated with the visit to Calcutta of the Provincial Grand Master of Bombay.
The addi'esses of Dr. Burnes to the Calcutta Lodges were of a very eloquent character, and one of them, delivered before the brethren of " Humility with Fortitude " (formerly an Artillery Lodge) in Fort William, is so germane to the scope of the present volume that I shall not scruple to reproduce a portion of it in these pages.
On the Duties of the Masonic Soldier.
"I have ever fancied Masonry as a sort of rosy Avreath that might be entwined round the iron pillar of military discipline, imparting a grace and beauty to its form without impairing its integrity or strength ; since it is a system utterly abhorrent of oppression and insubordination, encouraging attachment to the officer, and even devotion, should he be a Brother, at the same time that it enhances the self-respect of the soldier by making him feel that in consequence of his moral Avorth, there is a point at which he and his military superior may be on the level, where the good qualities of both may become prominently known to each, and where neither would obtain a place unless under the tongue of good report, well vouched for and true. Everyone knows that even in the fury of the late war, the charters, diplomas, and insignia of Lodges used to be returned with courtesy after an engagement. It was only last night that Colonel Logan, a brave officer of the Peninsula, mentioned to me an authentic anecdote which will interest you. A whole battalion of the 4th Foot had been taken prisoners and the officers stripped of everything ; several of them were bemoaning their lot in a drearj^ abode, when, to their surprise, they saw a subaltern of their corps passing along with a gay step, in full dress. The explanation "vvas very simple : having been discovered to be a Mason, his
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uniform and baggage had been immediatelj' restored to him, and he was then going, by special invitation, to dine with the French Field-Marshal. Some of you may have heard of a party of ladies and gentlemen having been taken prisoners in the Bay of Bengal by the French fi-igate La Forte, but who were all afforded the means of escape on the captain discovering that there was the Master of one of the Calcutta Lodges amongst them. From the qualification required in Military Lodges, as well as the character of our Institution, the Masonic badge has become an honoural>le distinction in the ranks of the Ai^my. On last St. John's Day I had the honour of being supported by Brigadier Valiant, com- manding the Garrison of Bombay, and Colonel Griffith. Com- mandant of the Artillery, two distinguished officers and Masons, who asserted, in the presence of the Military Lodge, ' Orthez ' (6th Foot), that Masonic Brethren had invariably been the best conducted soldiers. It is also within my knowledge that the Quarter-Master-General of this Army stated publicly at Agra that during his command of the Bengal European Regiment, no Masonic Brother's name had ever appeared in the defaulter's list.
So much, however, for the effect of Masonry on the soldier.
How it has chastened the officer, I need scarcely recount here, since the annals of this city contain a glorious record of its triumph ; and many still glow with enthusiasm at the recollection of the august scene when Francis, Marquess of Hastings, the most chivalrous character of later times, impressed with devotion for the Craft and love for all his brethren, descended from his high estate as Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India, and within the walls of his own palace offered the right hand of friendship, with his parting benediction, to every soldier, individually, that wore an apron, acknowledging also his pride that Masonic principles had been discovered in the exercise of his authoi'itj\"
In 1846, Dr. Burnes was appointed Grand Master of Scottish Freemasons in India, and three years later his colleagues on the Medical Board intimated to the Bombay Government their deep regret that ill-health was about to deprive the Army Medical Service of an officer who had been "so long its pride and ornament."
Whether, indeed, the Military is entitled to rank before, or with, but after, the Medical profession, in respect of the influence it has exercised on Freemasonry, is a point on which there will be a difference of opinion, but a combina- tion of the two may be instanced with confidence, as the most favourable condition — certainly in former times — under which the highest distinction in the Craft could be attained.
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Burnes and Grant, under whom Masonry so greatly- prospered in Bombay and Bengal, were Army Surgeons on the Indian establishment, and of the same military and medical status was Terence Gahagan, a third Provincial Grand Master of earlier date, through whose energy and zeal, after the war in the Carnatic, Masonry was prevented from sinking into a second lethargy on the Coast of Coromandel.
Masonry over the whole of India could not fail to be profoundly affected by the Mutiny of 1857. A few days before the Siege of Lucknow, twenty brethren of the " Morning Star Lodge " celebrated the festival of St. John. At the chise of September nine of the party had been killed in action and three lay grievously wounded in the hospital. Captain Bernard M'Cabe, 32nd Foot, who, as one of tlie "rank and file," had served throughout the Cabool and Sutlej campaigns in the 31st, died sword in hand while leading his fourth sortie.
Tiie meetings of the Lodges were suspended, and the brotherly feeling of the members was enlisted in a new cause. A staff officer records in his Diary : —
" May 20, 1857. — Attended a grand meeting of Freemasons, when it was resolved that the services of all the Masons in Calcutta should be placed at the disposal of Government ; and everyone pressed forward to show his loyalty by enrolling his name as a Volunteer."
It is cui'ious and noteworthy that amid the general devas- tation which occurred during the Mutiny, the " Masonic Temples " in the various cantonments were often left totally uninjured. Everything English in Bareilly — people, houses, furniture — was ruthlessly destroyed, all save the house which the military brethren had used as a Freemasons' Lodge. The poor superstitious Sepoys understood that there was something inystp.rious transacted there, and that it might not be safe or lucky to interfere with it in any way. So there it stood in its integrity (on the return of those who fortunately for themselves had left Bareilly before the massacre), alone and unharmed amid the ruins of the English station.