communication, was intended or imagined, nor were you in any way snubbed, as E. G. C.' expresses it." "As members of the Craft, we readily accord to you that respect and consideration which is your due, as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada, *** and as personal friends of old acquaintance, we beg to assure you that we feel pained and aggrieved at the unwarrantable attack made upon you by this anonymous writer." "We are, dear Bro: Harington, JOHN A. MACDONALD, "T. D. Harington, Esq." 1861.-The Sixth Annual Communication was held at the City of London, C. W., July 10, 1861, Grand Masters Harington presiding, and assisted by the D: G: M, Bro: W. B. Simpson, of Kingston, C. W., and a very large number of Grand Officers, Past Grand Officers, Grand Representatives, and Past Masters. Past Grand Masters, Finlay M. King, of New York, and Robert Morris, of Kentucky, were also present as Visiting Brethren. Of the large number of Lodges now on the roll, but about one-half of the 136 were represented by Masters or Wardens! The Grand Master announced that he had granted Dispensations for thirteen new Lodges; called attention to the continuance of difficulties with the English Lodges in Montreal; spoke with much feeling of the recent lamented decease of P: G: M:, Philip C. Tucker, of Vermont, the learned and eloquent friend of the G: L: of Canada; and impressed upon the Brethren the advisability of forming a Grand Committee of Benevolence, and the pushing forward the establishment of a Masonic Asylum. He also, for the first time, and as it seemed to me without the slightest necessity, apparent or real, spoke of what he had done to secure statutory exemption for the G: L: of Canada from the operations of the Law in the Consolidated Statutes of Lower Canada, relating to "Seditious and unlawful Associations and Oaths," as if, forsooth, the Grand Lodge of Freemasons, whose perfect loyalty no sane person would question, could, by any technicality, be deemed for a moment to come within the category of such named "Associations ;" and which, as a proposition, would inevitably lead to the necessity of exempting or incorporating the thousand and one' somewhat like private and voluntary Benevolent and Philanthropic Societies of every race and creed, which include nearly the whole population of the country! Such an ill-starred proposal in this age and in this country should have been left to those, if any, of evil design! The correspondence between the G: M:, the D: D: G: M: for the Mont real District, the G: Rep. of Eng. at Canada, and the G: Sec. of England, anent the Montreal St. Lawrence English Lodge troubles, occupies some ten. closely printed pages of the Proceedings, and the end is not yet! Aylmer Lodge, Aylmer, C. E., and Civil Service Lodge, Quebec, received Warrants. A Board of General Purposes was created and a committee appointed to take the necessary steps to procure a suitable "testimonial to Past Grand Master Wilson, as a token of appreciation of his self-sacrificing and long continued labors to promote the interests of the Fraternity. An excellent report on Foreign Correspondence was presented by Bro: S. D. Fowler. Bro: T. Douglas Harington was re-elected Grand Master, and Bro: W、 B. Simpson was re-elected D: G: M: For Canada East: R: W: Bros: A. A. Stevenson, George T. Morehouse and Richard Pope were elected respectively the Deputies for Montreal, Eastern Townships and the Quebec Districts. 1862. At the Seventh Annual Communication, held at the Town of St. Catharines, C. W., Grand Master Harington, in his Address to the Grand Lodge, referred with deep emotion to the lamented decease, in December previous, of the Prince Consort; and recommended that an address of condolence be presented by the Grand Lodge to Her Majesty the Queen. He also alluded, in feeling terms, to the recent death of W: M: Thomas Gibbs Ridout, and advised that an address from the Grand Lodge be presented to the sorrowing widow and reiatives of our late much esteemed Brother. He also recommended that Grand Lodge decide upon two alternate places, one in Canada West and another in Canada East, for the meetings of Grand Lodge, instead of leaving, as now, the locality to be fixed by annual vote, as the existing plan bears hard upon Brethren who reside at great distances and off the line of railway or steamboat. He regretted to state that the Grand Lodges of England and Ireland still insist upon the good standing of those Lodges hailing under them, which the G: L: of C. had declared to be irregular, after much earnest consideration; and he closed with the expression of the hope that peace might speedily be restored to "that powerful Republic between whom and us there is only an imaginary geographical line of separation." Clarenceville Lodge, Clarenceville, C. E. affiliated with the G: L: of C. A notice of motion was given to amend the constitution by "striking out all that relates to the Board of General Purposes and the General Committee, and substitute District Grand Lodges in their stead." Suitable Addresses of condolence to Her Majesty and to Mrs. Ridout were adopted. The two chief officers, as also the then District Deputy Grand Masters for Lower Canada, were re-elected. 1863.-The Eighth Annual Communication was held at the City of Montreal, July 8, the Grand Master "on the Throne." Of the 156 Lodges on the Registry, 40 were represented by Proxies and 15 by Past Masters. In his address the G: M: having happily alluded to the auspicious marriage of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales to the Princess Alexandra of Denmark, and the acknowledgment of the address of condolence to Her Majesty, the Queen, he speaks with hopefulness of the continued prosperity of the Craft. He expressed his earnest wish that the labors of the Com mittees for the establishment of a Masonic Asylum, a Grand Committee of Benevolence, and for the collection of Masonic Documents with a view of compiling a History of Masonry in Canada, may be crowned with success. He reported having conceded the claim of the G: L: of England regarding St. Lawrence Lodge, Montreal, and announced the appointment of R: W: Lord De Tabley as the representative of the G: L: of Canada at the G: L: of England, in the place of Earl de Grey and Ripon, who had been elected Grand Master of England; and the appointment of R: W: Robert Makersey, as the Representative of the G: L: of C. at the G: L: of Scotland. The G: M: also submitted his reasons for not accepting an invitation to attend a "National Masonic Convention at New York for the humane and praiseworthy object of endeavoring to devise measures whereby to mitigate the suffering caused by the Civil War" in the United States. He did not see how Canada could thus advantageously intervene. : : The G M also submitted the voluminous correspondence during the past year in the continued unhappy controversy with England, concerning six Lodges in Canada East and a like number in Canada West still retained on the Registry of England; the non-return to England of a number of Lodge Warrants, long since delivered up, for that purpose; the assuming by R: W: Bro: Badgley to be the Prov. G: M: of Montreal and William Henry, after the G: M: of England had specially declared that his authority had ceased and the Provincial Grand Lodge had become extinct, and at the same time had informed the G: L: of Canada that the only Prov. G: M in the Province was R: W: Bro: Dean, of Quebec; the complaint that ten Brethren, who had been unaffiliated for periods of 8, 9, 11, 13, 17, and 19 years, had "allowed themselves to be called members, and had been placed in the various offices" in resuscitated Lodges under England, etc. : These unpleasant affairs are now referred to as instructive lessons of admonition and warning, and to indicate to youthful Craftsmen what "their fathers" had to undergo in securing their birth-right of Masonic self-govern ment. The D: D: G: M: 's of the Montreal, Eastern Townships, and Quebec Districts reported the 5, 10 and 3 Lodges in their respective Districts as in a fair state of prosperity. Resolutions were also reported from St. George's Lodge, Montreal, favoring the substituting of G: L: Committees for the present Board of General Purposes. In accordance with a resolution passed at the last Annual Communication the Board reported its revision of the Constitution. Much opposition was made to the continuance of the Board of General Purposes, and an unusually warm discussion pro and con having arisen with no seeming prospect of a satisfactory conclusion, it was moved by W: Bro: John H. Graham, W: M: and representative of St. Francis Lodge, Richmond, Canada East, seconded by R: W: Bro: James Seymour, of St. Catharines, Canada West, and unanimously Resolved, That the M: W: Grand Master be requested to appoint a Special Committee to consider the amendments to the Constitution, as proposed by R: W: Bro: J. C. Franck" (at the last Annual Communication) as a substitute for the Board of General Purposes, and report to this Grand Lodge at the next Annual Communication." 66 "The Grand Master named the following Brethren to compose said Committee, viz.: M: W: Brothers W. C. Stephens and A. Bernard; R: W: Brothers J. C. Franck, James Moffat, George Masson, William Belhouse and David Browne; and W: Brothers Henry Macpherson and John H. Graham." The writer spent very considerable time during the ensuing year in the study of the British, Irish and American G: L: Constitutions; recommended various amendments to the proposed Constitution of the G: L: of C., many of which were approved by the Committee on revision and adopted by Grand Lodge. The G: M:, D: G: M:, and Grand Secretary were re-elected. Of the Grand Officers in Canada East, R: W: Alex. A. Stevenson was re-elected D: D: G: M: for the Montreal District; R: W: Richard Pope, re-elected for the Quebec District; and R: W: David Brown was elected for the Eastern Townships District. W: Bro: John H. Graham was elected Grand Registrar. A valuable and much appreciated Testimonial was presented to Past Grand Master Wilson, consisting of "an elegant carved oak case, containing complete silver sets for breakfast, dinner, and tea, valued to cost, with the engraving, etc., eight hundred and eighty-five dollars and sixty five cents." A moiety of the cost was contribued by a number of private Lodges and the balance by the Grand Lodge. The G M appointed, as members of the Board of General Purposes from Canada East, R: W: Bro: John H. Isaacson and V: W: Bro: W. D. Ogilvie, of Montreal, and R: W: John H. Graham, of Richmond. The income from Lodge dues during the preceding year was $4881.77. 1864. The Ninth Annual Communication of the G: L: of C. was held at Hamilton, C. W., July 13, 1864, Grand Master Harington presiding. There was a large attendance of Grand Officers, Past Grand Officers, Grand Representatives, Past Masters, and Representatives of Lodges. In his address, the G: M: announced that he had granted Dispensations for the establishment of eight new Lodges; alluded to the erasure by England of certain Lodges in Canada hitherto claimed as being of her obedience; to the continued turmoil relating to Lodge No. 440, in Montreal; and adds: "It was a great mistake we made in not determining a fixed date when there must be exclusive jurisdiction throughout Canada, and serving a formal notice to that effect on the Grand Lodges having subordinates here, that these last might be numbered and registered, and receive Warrants from the Grand Lodge of Canada, or choose the alternative of dissolving. It was the natural sequence to the events occurring in and since 1855, and no compromise should have been entered into by us, except as to time." He spoke feelingly of the death of M: W: the Duke of Athole, who had been Grand Master of Scotland for the past twenty years; and reported that, being sure of their concurrence, he had directed that the sum of $50 be contributed towards the erection of a monument, by the Grand Lodge of Vermont, in honor of their late revered Grand Master, who had also been one of the "first and stoutest friends" of the Grand Lodge of Canada. He also announced that R: W: Bro: the Rev. Cyril Pearl had made known to him his resignation of the appointment of Representative of the Grand Lodge of Maine, in Canada; and advised me that our R: W: Grand Registrar, Brother John H. Graham, had been nominated to succeed him. The GM said he could not do otherwise than approve of this appointment, and upon the presentation of his credentials he proposed, with the concurrence of Grand Lodge, to confer upon Bro: Graham, as a member of this G: L, the honorary rank of Past Grand Junior Warden, : The G: M: advised the Brethren to pay no heed to the slanders that were being circulated in Europe, and had been even reprinted in Canada, to the effect that Freemasons are engaged in fostering political plots and revolu tionary proceedings, since they well know the falsity of such accusations against genuine Freemasons; and he besought them to unite in a fervent prayer for the continued peace and prosperity of the country and of the fraternity. R: W: David Browne, D: D: G: M: of the Eastern Townships District, having reported regarding the general prosperity of the Lodges in his District, said: "I performed the dedication services of a new and beautifully finished and well fitted Masonic Hall at Richmond, belonging to 'St. Francis Lodge, on the 17th December last, assisted by R: W: Bro: Stevenson, D: D: G: M: Montreal District, and I cannot express the pleasure I felt at again meeting with the Brethren of that Lodge, and viewing the marked progress which it was apparent had been made since its organization. From the well-known energy and Masonic ability of the officers and members of this Lodge, it must rank among the best of Lodges in the Eastern Townships District." R: W: Richard Pope, D: D: G: M: of the Quebec District, made a lengthy report of his labors during the previous year, in which he spoke highly of the condition and prospects of "Quebec Garrison" Lodge, composed chiefly of Military Brethren, and of "Civil Service" Lodge, composed of those who are in the Service of the Government and whose Warrant enabled them to hold the Lodge at the seat of Government for the time being! He expressed the hope that Harington Lodge might speedily overcome the difficulties with which it was then beset, and informed G: L: that on account of his pressing public avocations he had very reluctantly consented to accept a nomination for the office of D: D: G: M: for the ensuing year. R: W: Bro: A. A. Stevenson, D: D: G: M: for the Montreal District, on account of "public business of great importance, connected with the late |