The primitive intention of these Brethren might spring from a right principle; for their motive, as they themselves profess, was a jealous concern

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 measures 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 the 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 M. W. Grand Master seuled, having been transmitted direct to him, and not sent through the Board; that, upon perusal, his Royal Highness found it to contain questions relative to the Order of the Royal Arch, which could not, under any circumstances, be discussed in the Grand Lodge; and he, therefore, never communicated the receipt of it, nor any part of its contents, either to the Grand Lodge or to the Board of General Purposes; consequently the Board was wholly ignorant of such Address having been sent; and, as it was subsequently withdrawn as improper, the Grand Master had hoped the matter had been set at rest.

That the Board of General Purposes possesses no powers but such as have been delegated to it by the United Grand Lodge, and to which body an appeal is reserved in all cases.

That the Board is not the only channel of communication with the Grand Lodge: on the contrary, all petitions, appeals, &c. for that Body, addressed to the Grand Secretary, and transmitted at least seven days prior to any Quarterly Communication, so that the same may be read at the General Committee, which meets on the Wednesday previous to the Grand Lodge, must, as a matter of course, go to the Grand Lodge, provided the language be proper; and every Member of the Grand Lodge is at liberty to bring any subject under discussion there, provided he give notice at the said General Committee of his intention so to do.

If the Meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge, held at Preston, in 1820, or any of the proceedings there adopted, were irregular, the Members who held such an opinion might have preferred their complaint in the proper quarter; but which they have never done.

His Royal Highness directs, that this Letter may be communi

for the maintenance of the ancient laws and usages of the order; but how proper soever this feeling might be, they failed altogether in the details; and 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 expediency; 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; made use of irritating and exaggerated statements of facts; and even bordered upon menaces, with the intention of intimidating the Grand Lodge by the dread of another schism. They laboured under the grievous error of supposing that Boards and superior officers, although lawfully constituted, possessed no authority; and that as all Masters, Past Masters, and Wardens, are ex-officio members of the Grand Lodge, so the acts of a competent number of such members, wheresoever assembled, are equally valid and binding; forgetting that as no private Lodge can be legally held without its Master, or his legitimate substitute, so no Grand Lodge can possibly be constituted, how numerous soever its members may be, except the Grand

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cated to the Provincial Grand Lodge on Monday next, for the information of the Brethren who may be then assembled, not as an answer to the printed paper alluded to, because the printing of such paper, and the meeting on the 26th November last, are both so illegal, that no answer could be given to them; but because the Grand Master is desirous that the Brethren, who have seen the paper, may, at least, be informed of the fallacious grounds on which it is framed, although such paper, being illegal, could form no part of the proceedings of a Lodge, or be recognized by them. We have the honour to be,

Right Worshipful Brother,

Your most obedient servants and faithful Brothers,

Master, or a Deputy regularly appointed by himself, were actually present. They even pursued this principle so far as to convene a general meeting of Masons in the county palatine of Lancaster, without the concurrence of the P. G. Master or his Deputy; and in their eagerness to confirm their own acts by the countenance of such an authority, they totally lost sight of the plain construction of that simple law, by virtue of which the decree of suspension had been issued and confirmed, that if any Brother be summoned to attend the Grand Master or his Deputy, or the P. G. Master or his Deputy, or any board or committee authorized by the Grand Master, and do not comply, or give sufficient reason for his non-attendance, the summons is to be repeated, and if he still persist in his contumacy, he shall be suspended from all masonic rights, and the proceeding notified to the Grand Lodge.**

The P. G. Master, finding all attempts to settle the question ineffectual, transmitted the documents to the Board of General Purposes; and that body, now that the subject was brought regularly before them, proceeded without delay to the performance of their duty; and in the examination of the charges they appear to have been actuated by a desire to discharge that duty faithfully and impartially. On the 5th of December 1821, they made their Report to the Grand Lodge, which was read and approved; and it was then ordered, that the Lodge No. 31 be further suspended from the exercise of its Masonic Privileges until the next Quarterly Communication, reserving to the Grand Master the power to restore it previously, if he should see sufficient cause so to do.' The Lodge took no notice of this order, but continued occa

*Const. Of Members, and their Duty.' Art. 14.

sionally to meet; and it was therefore Resolved by the Grand Lodge, on the 6th March 1822, that the Master and Wardens of No. 31 be summoned to shew cause, at the next Quarterly Communication, why the Lodge should not be erased from the list of Lodges, and its warrant be withdrawn for disobedience of the order of the Grand Lodge; and that, in the mean time, it be suspended from its functions, allowing the members only to assemble in Lodge for the purpose of considering their defence.' It was also resolved unanimously, that the thirty-four Brethren whose names appeared to a printed paper, dated Masonic Committee Room, Castle Inn, North Liverpool, Nov. 26, 1821, circulated to many Lodges, be suspended from their Masonic Privileges until the next Quarterly Communication, reserving to the Grand Master the power previously to reinstate the whole, or such of them as he may see cause to restore." Copies of these resolutions were sent to the Lodge and to the thirty-four Brethren respectively.

The Lodge No. 31 now transmitted a paper, bearing date the 1st of April, in which the members denied to the Grand Lodge the right and power of passing the above resolutions, and remonstrated, in very unbecoming and offensive language, against its proceedings on their case. This was followed up by another paper of similar tendency in June, wherein it was avowed that the Lodge No. 31, notwithstanding the prohibition of the 5th of December last, had continued to hold its masonic meetings in the usual manner; that, in consequence of a resolution passed in the Lodge, it was impossible for the members to pay any attention to the commands of the Grand Lodge; and that, under existing circumstances, it was their determination not to do so' Such a flagrant instance of contumacy and violation of discipline could not be

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overlooked; and therefore, on motions duly made, at the Quarterly Communication in June 1822, it Resolved unanimously, That the Lodge No. 31, at Liverpool, be erased from the list of Lodges, and its warrant forfeited; that notice of such erasure be transmitted to every Lodge upon the registry of the Grand Lodge; and that no Brother, being at present a member of the said Lodge No. 31, be received even as a visitor in any other Lodge; that these resolutions be communicated to the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland, and to all Lodges in communion with the Grand Lodge of England; that the several Brothers who signed the papers, published under the date of the 26th of Nov. 1821, and the 1st of April, 1822, be summoned to shew cause at the next Quarterly Communication, why they should not be expelled the Fraternity; and that in the mean time they be suspended from their masonic privileges; and that notice of such suspension, with the names of the individuals so suspended, be transmitted to all the Lodges, in order that those Brethren may not be received, even as visitors, in any Lodge, under the penalty attached to the Lodges admitting irregular Masons."*

It is to be regretted that expelled and suspended Brothers, at this extreme period of the business, should have still indulged in the spirit of bitterness, which was calculated to exclude the sympathy and

* The expelled and suspended Brethren were sixty-eight in number, and were members of the following Lodges :- Twelve belonged to No. 31, three of whom had been reinstated by petition to the Grand Master; four belonged to No. 59, who had all been restored by petition; nine to No. 74; seven to No. 140, two of whom had been restored; one to No. 182; five to No. 348, four of whom had been readmitted; one to No. 378; one to No. 380, and he had been restored; five to No. 442, four of whom had been reinstated; seven to No. 466, four of whom were restored; twelve to No. 486, three of whom had been restored; and four to No. 655, who had all been restored.