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The History of Freemasonry

by Albert Gallatin Mackey

Chapter 59 - History of Coloured Masonry in the United States

THE action taken by the Grand Lodge of the State of Washington, wherein the legality of the organization of Prince Hall Lodge was duly recognized, renders it proper that, in the history of Masonry in the United States, some notice should be taken of that lodge and its successors in the present work. In our examination of this matter we have found the subject so well treated by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Brother William Sewell Gardner, in an address delivered before that Grand Lodge, in 1870, that we shall use the same as a foundation, and largely as the structure of this article, for the reason that he has fully and thoroughly covered the entire ground and answered all the arguments employed by the fiends of that famous body of negro Masons, within the years 1898 and 1899 in almost every Grand Lodge in the United States, by the Grand Masters, and committees appointed, to respond to the action of the Grand Lodge of Washington in 1898, who have clearly set forth their views, in opposition to the recognition of negro Masonry in this country. The views set forth in this address have been referred to by most of those writers and there is nothing new for the present writer to urge in opposition to recognition. In his own response in the report on correspondence in the "Annual Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia," for the year 1898, one point insisted upon by him was, that the charters of the Grand Lodge of England issued to Military Lodges did not authorize said lodges to make Masons of citizens in any country where there were already duly constituted lodges under Grand Lodge jurisdiction. The argument used was, that a lodge could not go beyond the letter and terms of the Charter by whose authority it worked. We laid this down as a necessary and fundamental principle, and we have been pkased to notice very many of our correspondents agree with us in that position; and finding that Grand Master Gardner uses the same point, we have thought it best to follow out his address as being more comprehensive and more strictly adhering to the true history of the first introduction of this foul blot upon the escutcheon of our Masonry, all through its succeeding ramifications, and subsequent discoloring of our fair fame and otherwise pure record in the United States.

It is due to our Brethren in Washington to say, that when it became known to the Craft at large in that State that the movement, on the part of their leading men, thus to drag in the dust the proud banner of Masonry had aroused the ire of every Grand Lodge in the country, at the succeeding Communication in June, 1899, the obnoxious resolutions were annulled and former harmonious and cordial relations have been restored.

We now proceed to use Brother Gardner's admirable address to give a true history of Prince Hall Lodge:

Address.

BRETHREN: In the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, at its session held at Manchester on the 18th of June, 1869, "the Committee on Foreign Correspondence offered their report, and, on motion, it was voted, That the reading of the report be dispensed with, and that it be published with the printed proceedings."

In this report the following statements are made:

"In Massachusetts there was no legal Grand Lodge till the Union in 1792."

"The American doctrine of Grand Lodge jurisdiction has grown up since" the establishment of the African Lodge at Boston, by authority of a Charter from the Grand Lodge of England, "and is not elsewhere fully received even now; besides, there was then no Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, or in that State, whose rights could be interfered with; for, notwithstanding the claim to antiquity of that Grand Lodge, it was not formed till 1792, and the two Provincial Grand Lodges, before existing in that Colony, both expired in 1775 by the death of their Provincial Grand Masters. The Massachusetts Grand Lodge did not pretend to meet after the death of Warren, and although St. John's Grand Lodge did have some sort of meetings, probably no law that ever existed in Masonry anywhere would hold such meetings regular."

If this report had been read to the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, its venerable Past Grand Masters, Israel Hunt and Horace Chase, then present, could have informed the Committee on Foreign Correspondence that they were treading upon dangerous ground, and alluding to a delicate subject.

The Grand Lodge of New Hampshire was organized on the 8th of July, 1789, by four Deputies from St. John's Lodge of Portsmouth, chartered by the Massachusetts "St. John's Grand Lodge" June 24, 1734, and one Deputy from Rising Sun Lodge of Keene, chartered by the "Massachusetts Grand Lodge" March 5, 1784 - five Deputies from two Lodges. All Masonic authorities claim that, to organize a legitimate Grand Lodge, there must be present the representatives of "not less than three Lodges holding Charters or Warrants from some legal Grand Lodge."

All the Lodges in New Hampshire existing prior to the year 1790, with the single exception of St. John's of Portsmouth, received their Charters from the "Massachusetts Grand Lodge."

St. Patrick's was chartered and established at Portsmouth, March 17, 1780. It continued in existence until the latter part of the year 1790, when it ceased working, most of its members joining St. John's Lodge, which was revived about that time. It never acknomledged the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire.

November 8, 1781, the "Massachusetts Grand Lodge" chartered a Lodge at Cornish, then claimed to be a part of Vermont, but now set off to New Hampshire. It met at Cornish a few times, and when Cornish was decided to be in New Hampshire, it moved to Windsor, Vt., on the opposite side of the Connecticut River, and took the name of Vermont Lodge, No. 1.

Rising Sun, of Keene, well known as the Lodge which gave Masonic light to Thomas Smith Webb, was chartered by the "Massachusetts Grand Lodge" March 5, 1784. It surrendered its Charter to the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire August 3, 1792, and received a new one with the same name, and rank No. 3.

The "Massachusetts Grand Lodge" granted a Charter for a Lodge at Charlestown by the name of "Faithful Lodge, No. 27," February 22, 1788. This Charter was surrendered to the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire April 30, 1800, and a new one given, by which it was styled "Faithful Lodge, No. 12."

Dartmouth Lodge, of Hanover, received a Charter from "the Massachusetts Grand Lodge" December 18, 1788, and was the last Lodge chartered by this Grand Lodge in New Hampshire. Its dissolution took place before it acknowledged the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of that State.

The Grand Secretary, Horace Chase, says, that when the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire was formed, July 8, 1789, "as appears from the record there were but three Lodges in the State, viz., St. John's and St. Patrick's at Portsmouth, and Rising Sun at Keene."

However irregularly organized the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire may have been the "Massachusetts Grand Lodge" disclaimed jurisdiction in that State thereafter. It is unnecessary to state that this Grand Lodge, since 1789 to the present time, has been on the most friendly and fraternal relations with our sister Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, and that it will require something more than unauthorized and unconfirmed statements of a Committee on Foreign Correspondence to unsettle these pleasant relations.

Nevertheless, when it is pretended before a body of such great respectability as the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire, that, in 1784, when it is said the "African Lodge" in Boston obtained its Charter in England, there was no existing Grand Lodge in Massachusetts, for the purpose of proving the then and present legitimacy of the African Lodge, and of adding the weight and influence of the Grand Lodge of New Hampshire to this pretense, it is due to ourselves, and to the Craft universal, that the truth should be fully known and fearlessly spoken.

The time is propitious to meet this false pretense, and I need but resume the history of the "Massachusetts Grand Lodge" where it was left at its Centennial on the recent Feast of St. John the Evangelist.

The system of Provincial Grand Lodges originated in the Grand Lodge of England in 1726, and arose from the necessity of having, in the distant colonies of Great Britain where Masonry has extended, some authority and power, not only to control and govern the Craft, but also to establish new Lodges in the Provinces. The Provincial Grand Master was appointed by commission of the Grand Master, wherein the extent of his powers was set forth, and by virtue of which he convened his Grand Body. In the language of early days, this commission was styled a Deputation, and this word conveys the true idea of the Provincials' position. It was a Deputy Grand Lodge, with its various Deputy Grand Officers, convened by the power and authoity of the Provincial Grand Master as the Deputy of the Grand Master. It possessed no sovereign power. The Lodges under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand Master were not necessarily registered in his Grand Lodge. They were returned to England, registered in the Grand Lodge there, and classified as we do our Lodges at the present day, as belonging to a certain District or Province. The Provincial Grand Master had power to appoint a Deputy and commission him, who in the absence, sickness, and disability of his chief, assumed his functions. The Grand Wardens and other officers he also had the exclusive right to appoint, although sometimes he nominated brethren to these offices and permitted the Grand Lodge to elect them.

Each Lodge in the Province had the right of representation in the Provincial Grand Lodge, by its Master and Wardens or by a regularly appointed representative, and the expenses of the Grand Body were assessed upon the various subordinates. The right of appeal existed from every act and decision of the Provincial Grand Master or Grand Lodge, to the Grand Master of England, thus making the Provincial and his Grand Lodge subordinate to the power by which they were created.

The allegiance of the Lodges and of the Craft was to the Grand Lodge of England, and to the Provincial Grand Lodge and Grand Master, through the parent Body. There was no direct allegiance to the Provincial from the Craft. It was a temporary power which he held ex gratis, and of which he could be deprived at the pleasure of the Grand Master by whom he was appointed.

Thus it will be seen that the Provincial Grand Master was appointed for the convenience of the administration of the affairs of the Grand Lodge of England in distant parts, in the same manner that our District Deputies are appointed at the present time. The powers, however, in the one case, were more extended than they are in the other. The means of communication with London were not so easy and rapid as now, and the distance from the Grand East required that some officer should be stationed here, who should be invested with authority for sudden emergencies and instant action.

The Provincial Grand Master having been regularly commissioned and installed, could not resign his trust to his Provincial Grand Lodge. That Body had no power to accept it. His resignation must be made to the Grand Master from whom he received his commission. The Provincial Grand Lodge was the creation of the Provincial Grand Master, and was wholly under his direction and control. He appointed its officers, and summoned the representatives of the Lodges to assemble in Grand Lodge. In this Grand Lodge there was no inherent power, save what it derived from the Provincial Grand Master, by virtue of his delegated authority, thus making it the very reverse of a Sovereign Grand Lodge, the Grand Master of which derives his authority from the Sovereign Body by whose votes he is elected to office, and over which he presides.

The Grand Master appointing his Provincial, could annul the commission at his will and pleasure. The officer being created by the pleasure of the Grand Master of England, all the adjuncts, appointees, and creations of the office depended upon the same pleasure, and existed during the will of the appointing power. If a Provincial Grand Master was removed, and his commission recalled, and the Grand Master declined to appoint his successor, it is clear that the Provincial Grand Lodge established by virtue of such commission would cease to exist. Such a Grand Lodge never possessed any vitality which would survive the life of the commission appointing the Provincial Grand Master.

The death of the Provincial would also lead to the same result. The commission to him from the Grand Master would lose all its force upon his decease. Whatever act the Provincial performed, he did by virtue of the commission to him. His Deputy Grand Master and Grand Wardens, appointed by trim, and not by the Grand Master of England, nor by his confirmation, derived their power and character as Grand Officers from the Provincial, and when the Provincial expired, their tenure of office expired also.

To show that these conclusions are correct, I will refer to the authorities.

The office of Provincial Grand Master was established by the Grand Lodge of England, as has already been stated, in 1726, and the first Deputation was granted May 10, 1727. Preston says of the office, at this date: "A Provincial Grand Master in that district over which he is limited to preside, and being invested with the power and honor of a Deputy Grand Master in his Province, may constitute Lodges therein, if the consent of the Masters and Wardens of three Lodges already constituted within his District have been obtained, and the Grand Lodge in London has not disapproved thereof. He wears the clothing of a Grand Officer, and ranks, in all public assemblies, immediatetly after Past Deputy Grand Master. He must, in person or by deputy, attend the quarterly meetings of the Masters and Wardens of the Lodges in his District, and transmit to the Grand Lodge, once in every year, the proceedings of those meetings, with a regular statement of the Lodges under his jurisdiction."

Speaking of the year 1737, he says: "The authority granted by patent to a Provincial Grand Master was limited to one year from his first public appearance in that character within his Province; and if at the expiration of that period, a new election of the Lodges under his jurisdiction did not take place, subject to the approbation of the Grand Master, the patent was no longer valid. Hence we find, within the course of a few years, different appointments to the same station; but the office is now permanent, and the sole appointment of the Grand Master."

In Entick's Constitutions of 1756 there is a section entitled "Of Provincial Grand Masters," which is as follows:

"Art. 1. The office of Provincial Grand Master was found particularly necessary in the year 1726; when the extraordinary increase of the Craftsmen, and their traveling into distant parts, and convening themselves into Lodges, required an immediate Head, to whom they might apply in all Cases, where it was not possible to wait the Decision or Opinion of the Grand Lodge.

"Art. 2. The appointment of this Grand Officer is a Prerogative of the Grand Master: who grants his Deputation to such Brother of Eminence and Ability in the Craft, as he shall think proper: not for life, but during his good Pleasure.

"Art. 3. The Provincial thus deputed, is invested with the Power and Honor of a Deputy Grand Master; and during the continuance of his Provincialship, is entitied to wear the Clothing, to take rank as the Grand Officers, in all publick Assemblies, immediately after the past Deputy Grand Masters: and to constitute Lodges within his own Province.

"Art. 4. He is enjoined to correspond with the Grand Lodge, and to transmit a circumstantial Account of his Proceedings, at least once in every Year. At which Times, the Provincial is required to send a List of those Lodges he has constituted for the general Fund of Charity: and the usual demand, as specified in his Deputation, for every Lodge he has constituted by the Grand Master's Authority."

The Constitutions of the United Grand Lodge of England have been more particular in specifying the powers, duties, and prerogatives of the Provincial Grand Master and Grand Lodge. I will refer to a single Section of these Constitutions:

"The Provincial Grand Lodge emanates from the authority vested in the Provincial Grand Master, and possesses no other powers than those specified. It therefore follows that no Provincial Grand Lodge can meet but by the sanction of the Provincial Grand Master or his Deputy; and that it ceases to exist on the death, resignation, suspension, or removal of the Provincial Grand Master, until some Brother is duly appointed or empowered to perform the functions of Provincial Grand Master, by whose authority the Provincial Grand Lodge may be again established."

In Scotland this office was created in 1738, and the first nomination made abroad in 1747. In November, 1757, R.W. Col. John Young was appointed Provincial Grand Master over all the Lodges in America holding of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and in 1768 James Grant, Governor of the Province of East Florida, was appointed Provincial Grand Master of North America, Southern District.

The commissions were issued "to continue in force until re-called." In 1800 a series of regulations for the government of thesc officers were sanctioned by the Grand Lodge, previous to which time it is presumed that they were governed by the same rules and regulations as in England.

More recently, the "Laws and Constitutions of the Grand Lodge" have provided that the "meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodges shall not be interrupted by the death or retirement of the Provincial Grand Master, unless the Grand Lodge shall not deem it expedient within the space of one year to appoint another. A Provincial Grand Lodge not assembling for the space of two years, also becomes dormant, and has no power again to call meetings, unless empowered by the Provincial Grand Master, or by the order of the Grand Lodge or Grand Committee" - "When a Provincial Grand Lodge becomes dormant the Lodges in the District come under the immediate supervision of the Grand Lodge and Grand Committee."

These new rules and regulations were made to prevent the disruption of the Provincial Grand Lodges, which was inevitable upon the decease of the Provincial Grand Master.

In Ireland the same system has existed as in England and Scotland. The present Constitutions provided that, "if the Provincial Grand Master die, resign, or be removed, the authority of the Provincial Deputy Grand Master shall continue for six months after, or until a successor to the Provincial Grand Master be appointed, but such authority of the Provincial Deputy Grand Master shall not continue longer, unless he be re-appointed."

If these authorities support the position taken, and if the conclusions arrived at are correct, it follows beyond all controversy that when Provincial Grand Master Joseph Warren expired on Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, the Provincial Grand Lodge, of which he was the essence and life, expired also, and with it all the offices of which it was composed. The Lodges established by him, and by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, were not affected thereby, as has already appeared. They were, or should have been, registered in Edinburgh, and owed their allegiance to the Grand Lodge there.

The conclusion of the Eulogy pronounced by Br. Perez Morton at the re-interment of Joseph Warren, April 8, 1776, was devoted to the subject of independence, which was then agitating the Colonies. Some of the language made use of by him upon this occasion seems to foreshadow the Masonic independence of Massachusetts, which was soon to follow. "Now is the happy time," said he, "to seize again those rights which, as men, we are by nature entitled to, and which by contract we never have, and never could have, surrendered."

On the 4th of July following, "The Declaration of Independence" was, by order of Congress, engrossed and signed, by which the United Colonies declared themselves to be free and independent States. The effect of this declaration upon the Colonies I need not allude to; Massachusetts, by virtue of its claim, became a free, independent, sovereign State and the spirit of freedom and independence of Great Britain became infused into every organization and society which before this were bound and dependent. It was an absolute revolution, by which a dependent colony became revolutionized into an independent State. The idea of a permanent union of the States had then hardly been broached. They had united for defence against a common foe, and had set themselves up as independent States, not only independent of Great Britain, but independent of each other. Isolated from all the world, they each stood forth free, independent, sovereign States.

The Institution of Freemasonry, which numbered among its firmest adherents such revolutionists as Webb, Revere, Morton, and a host of others who followed in the footsteps of Warren, could not long withstand the influence of freedom, and Massachusetts set the example of a revolution in Masonic government, which has been followed successfully by every State in the Union. It has become the American system, or, as the committee of New Hampshire call it, "The American Doctrine of Grand Lodge Jurisdiction," respected and recognized by the Masonic Fraternity the world over. It had its birth on Bunker Hill, when the patriot Warren poured out his life's blood :

"The Patriot Grand Master, who fell in his might- The second of three - in defence of the right!"

"The American Doctrine of Grand Lodge jurisdiction," briefly stated, is this: "Three regularly-chartered Lodges existing in any State or Territory have the right to establish a Grand Lodge therein. Such Grand Lodge, when lawfully organized, has sole, absolute, and exclusive jurisdiction over the three degrees of Craft Masonry; over the Lodges and their Members; and over all Masons, unaffiliated as well as affiliated, in such State or Territory. No other Grand Lodge whatever can lawfully interfere with this jurisdiction, and can neither establish Lodges in such State, nor continue any authority over Bodies which it might properly have exercised prior to the organization of such Grand Lodge therein."

By the erection of a Grand Lodge in such State, all Masonic powers over what is popularly called Blue Masonry are merged in it, and henceforth it exists therein supreme and sovereign over a jurisdiction which it can neither divide nor share with any other Masonic Grand Body in the world.

The several States of the United States of America, the Territories, when legally organized as such by Congress, and the District of Columbia, are each recognized as separate and independent jurisdictions in which Grand Lodges may be established. This is the American doctrine, most religiously and masonically adhered to by the Craftsmen of the United States, and which our brethren upon the other side of the Atlantic must accede to, recognize, and support. After the Declaration hereinafter referred to, made by the Massachusetts Grand Lodge, December 6, 1782, treaty stipulations were entered into by the several Grand Lodges then in existence, in confirmation of the action of Massachusetts.

The following preamble and resolutions were adopted by the Grand Lodge of New York :

"Whereas, The Grand Lodge of the State of Massachusetts have by a communication, dated the 4th of January last, suggested to this Grand Lodge the propriety of adopting a resolution declaring that no Charter or Dispensation for holding a Lodge be issued by any Grand Lodge to any number of Masons residing out of the State wherein the Grand Lodge is established, be it therefore

"Resolved and declared by this Grand Lodge, that no Charter or Dispensation for holding a Lodge of Masons shall be granted to any person or persons whatever, residing out of this State and within the jurisdiction of any other Grand Lodge."

The Grand Lodges of the United States have uniformly resisted every encroachment upon the jurisdiction of the several Grand Lodges."

The Feast of St. John the Evangelist, in 1776, was celebrated, and the record shows that a Grand Lodge was held by thirty-three brethren, Joseph Webb presiding as Deputy Grand Master. A Grand Lodge was called by the Deputy of Warren, February 14, 1777, to hear the petition for a Charter at Stockbridge, of brethren in Berkshire County. This proposition aroused the brethren to a realizing sense of their status and condition as a Grand Lodge. They were doubtful of its power, as then organized, to grant the Charter prayed for. The petition was accordingly laid over to Friday evening, March the 7th next, and it was " Voted, That the Deputy Grand Master should send a summons to all the Masters and Wardens under the jurisdiction to assemble on the 7th March, in order to consult upon, and to elect, a Grand Master for this State, in the room of our late worthy Grand Master Warren, deceased."

On the 7th of March the brethren met, and adjourned until the following evening. March 8, 1777, the following brethren assembled, representing St. Andrew's Lodge, of Boston, Tyrian Lodge, of Gloucester, and St. Peter's Lodge, of Newburyport:

R.W. Joseph Webb, D.G.M., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. Paul Revere, S.G.W., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. Thomas Crafts, J.G.W., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. John Lowell, G. Treas., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. Nat. Peirce, G. Sec. pro tem., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. Thomas Urann, S.G.D., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. Edward Proctor, J.G.D., of St. Andrew's Lodge, Boston. Moses Deshon, P.M., of Tydan Lodg, Gloucester. Philip Marett, G. St'd, of Tyrian Lodge, Gloucester. S.W. of St Andrew's Lodge Boston. Wintrop Grey, G. St'd, of Tyrian Lodge, Gloucester. S.W. of St Andrew's Lodge Boston. Wm. Greenough, M., of St Peter's Lodge Newburyport.

The brethren then unanimously elected a Grand Master, Grand Wardens, and other Grand Officers. Joseph Webb was chosen Grand Master.

The Grand Lodge then acted upon the petition for a new Lodge at Stockbridge, and granted the same; this being the first act of the Independent Grand Lodge.

Massachusetts Lodge, of Boston, was not represented at this meeting; but, on the 18th of December, 1778, it petitioned the Grand Lodge, "setting forth that the exigency of the times would not admit of their assembling sooner, and praying said Lodge may retain the rank they formerly held under the Grand Lodge," which was granted. All the Lodges under the old Provincial Grand Lodge of Warren, with the exception of Massachusetts, united in forming the independent Grand Lodge, and they forthwith yielded allegiance to it. However, but few of the Lodges in Massachusetts at this time, were in a condition to hold meetings, by reason of "the exigency of the times."

The record of the meeting setting up the Independent Grand Lodge contains no account of the motives and incentives which gave rise to this action.

Grand Master Joseph Webb sent the following letter to the Grand Lodge of Georgia, which has recently been discovered by R.W. Br. I.E. Blackshear, Grand Secretary of that State:

"BOSTON, March 2, 1787.

"To the Right Worshipful, the Grand Master, Dep. G.M., G. Wardens, and Brethren of the Grand Lodge of Savannah in Georgia, greeting.

"GENTLEMEN AND BRETHREN: Having lately seen the Southern papers, that you had at last assumed to your selves the undoubted right of Forming a Grand Lodge in your State, I Congratulate you on so Important an acquisition, and wish you all the success imaginable: we, in this Common Wealth, assumed the same so early as 1777, since w'ch I find Pennsilvania and N. York have adopted; but how they have proceeded at Charleston or Virginia I have not as yet heard. I hold a correspondence with those 2 Lodges, and should be glad of the same with you, and all in the Union at least. Since our adopting, we have had 25 Lodges under the jurisdiction (tho' some of them Charters of Dispensation, in Connecticut, Vermont, N. Hampshire), until they appoint a G. Lodge of their own. Inclosed, I have taken the freedom to send you the Regulations of our G. Lodge, w'ch you'l please to accept as a small token of my Respect. So, wishing the Grand Lodge in particular, and those under your jurisdiction in general, all that Universal Benevolence, Brotherly Love, and Truth : Adieu! I remain with sincerity, your unknown tho' affectionate Brother and H'ble Serv.

"JOS. WEBB, G.M. Com. Wealt Massachusetts." (Received 27th April.)

Josiah Bartlett, afterward Grand Master, in an address before the Grand Lodge, said:

"How to assemble the Grand Lodge with regularity, was now made a serious question, as the commission of the Grand Master had died with him, and the Deputy had no power independent of his nomination and appointment.

"Communications for the consideration of this subject were held at different times, till the 8th of March, 1777, when, experiencing the necessity of preserving the intercourse of the brethren, and the want of a proper establishment to soften the rigors of an active and distressing war, they proceeded to the formation of an Independent Grand Lodge, with 'powers and preyogatives to be exercised on principles consistent with and subordinate to the regulations pointed out in the Constitutions of Ancient Masonry,' and our late worthy and Most Worshipful Brother, Joseph Webb, Esquire, whose amiable deportment and fidelity in the duties of his important office now claim our grateful remembrance, was duly elected Grand Master, and pyoceeded to install his officers, and organize the Grand Lodge."

Thaddeus M. Harris, who compiled the Constitutions in 1792, referring to this act of independence, quotes the above extract from Bartlett's address, and, in a foot-note, says that "the general regulations from Entick's Constitutions were adopted and practiced; except that the Grand Master and Wardens were elected by a ballot at large. The other officers were appointed by the Grand Master."

The record itself, of December 6, 1782, recies the facts:

"Charters were not only granted for establishing Lodges in Massachusetts, but also in other States. But anticipating that the independent government organized in this State would be followed by the Craft elsewhere, it was determined that all Charters granted without the limits of Massachusetts should be in force only until a Grand Lodge was formed in such State or Country where such Lodges were held. Upon these conditions Lodges were established in New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, and New York, prior to December, 1782."

"In October, 1778, it was voted that a Charter be granted to a traveling Lodge in the American army, to make Masons, pass, and raise, in this State, or any of the United States of America, where no other Grand Master presides. But in any other State where there is a Grand Master constituted by the brethren of these United States, they are to inform him, and receive his sanction."

In September, 1780, the Grand Master "laid before the Grand Lodge a letter dated Philadelphia, August 19, 1780, signed William Smith, Grand Secretary, inclosing a printed list of the several Lodges in Pennsylvania under that jurisdiction, and advising that they had, in that Grand Lodge, thought it expedient to make choice of a Grand Master General, for the thirteen United American States; that they had nominated His Excellency General George Washington, and requesting the opinion and approbation of this Grand Lodge thereon."

"Circular letters were sent to the several Lodges under the jurisdiction requesting the attendance of the Masters and Wardens at the Grand Lodge, for the purpose of considering this proposition. Brother Perez Morton was strongly in favor of the project, but the Grand Lodge Voted, That any determination upon the subject cannot, with the propriety and justice due to the Craft at large, be made by this Grand Lodge, until a general peace shall happily take place through the continent, inasmuch as the sentiments of the various Grand Lodges in the United States upon this question could not be made known under the peculiar circumstances of public affairs."

On the 10th of July, 1782, it was "Voted, That a committee be appointed to draw resolutions explanatory of the powers and authority of this Grand Lodge, respecting the extent and meaning of its jurisdiction, and of the exercise of any other masonic authorities within its jurisdiction." Brothers Perez Morton, Paul Revere, John Warren, James Avery, and John Juteau were appointed upon the committee.

A special meeting of the Grand Lodge was called to receive the report, September 30, 1782, when it was read and referred to the next meeting. December 6, 1782, in a full Grand Lodge, it was considered.

This interesting report, omitting the formal introduction, is as follows:

"The Commission from the Grand Lodge of Scotland granted to our late Grand Master, Joseph Warren, Esquire, having died with him, and of course his deputy, whose appointment was derived from his nomination, being no longer in existence, they saw themselves without a head, and without a single Grand Officer, and of course it was evident that not only the Grand Lodge, but all the particular Lodges under its jurisdiction, must cease to assemble, the brethren be dispersed, the penniless go unassisted, the Craft languish, and ancient Masonry be extinct in this part of the world.

"That in consequence of a summons from the former Grand Wardens to the Masters and Wardens of all the regular constituted Lodges, a Grand Communication was held to consult and advise on some means to preserve the intercourse of the brethren.

"That the Political Head of this country, having destroyed all connection and correspondence between the subjects of these States and the country from which the Grand Lodge originally derived its commissioned authority, and the principles of the Craft, inculcating on its professors submission to the commands of the civil authority of the country they reside in, the brethren did assume an elective supremacy, and under it chose a Grand Master and Grand Officers, and erected a Grand Lodge with independent powers and prerogatives, to be exercised, however, on principles consistent with and subordinate to the regulations pointed out in the Constitution of Ancient Masonry.

"That the reputation and utility of the Craft, under their jurisdiction, has been most extensively diffused, by the flourishing state of fourteen Lodges constituted by their authority within a shorter period than that in which three only received Dispensations under the former Grand Lodge.

"That in the history of our Craft we find that in England there are two Grand Lodges, independent of each other; in Scotland the same, and in Ireland their Grand Lodge and Grand Master are independent either of England or Scotland. It is clear that the authority of some of their Grand Lodges originated in assumption, or otherwise they would acknowledge the head from whence they derived.

"Your committee are therefore of opinion that the doings of the present Grand Lodge were dictated by principles of the clearest necessity, founded in the highest reason, and warranted by precedents of the most approved authority.

"And they beg leave to recommend the following resolutions, to be adopted by the Grand Lodge and engrafted into its Constitutions:

"I. That the brethren of the Grand Lodge, in assuming the powers and prerogatives of an independent Grand Lodge, acted from the most laudable motives and consistently with the principles which ought forever to govern Masons, viz., the benefit of the Craft and the good of mankind, and are warranted in their proceedings by the practice of Ancient Masons in all parts of the world. (1)

II. That this Grand Lodge be hereafter known and called by the name of 'The Massachusetts Grand Lodge of Ancient Masons,'

(1) See Calcot, p. 107; "Masons' Pocket Companion," p. 92, London edition.

and that it is free and independent in its government and official authority of any other Grand Lodge or Grand Master in the universe.

"III. That the power and authority of the said Grand Lodge be construed to extend throughout the Commonwealth of Massachuseas and to any of the United States, where none other is erected, over such Lodges only as this Grand Lodge has constituted or shall constitute.

"IV. That the Grand Master for the time being be desired to call in all Charters which were held under the jurisdiction of the late Grand Master, Joseph Warren, Esquire, and return the same with an endorsement thereon, expressive of their recognition of the power and authority of this Grand Lodge.

"V. That no person ought or can, consistently with the rules of Ancient Masonry, use or exercise the powers or prerogatives of an Ancient Grand Master or Grand Lodge, to wit: To give power to erect Lodges of ancient Masonry, make Masons, appoint superior or Grand Officers, receive dues, or do anything which belongs to the powers or prerogatives of an ancient Grand Lodge within any part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the rightful and appropriated limits to which the authority of this Grand Lodge forever hereafter extends."

The foregoing report was signed by Perez Morton, Paul Revere, John Warren, and James Avery. It "was read paragraph by paragraph, and, after mature deliberation thereon, the same was accepted and ordered to be recorded in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge," where it now appears, signed by "Jos. Webb, Grand Master." A majority of the members of St. Andrew's Lodge objected to this report, although, at a Grand Lodge held March 1, 1782, a petition from its Master, Wardens, and members was presented, "praying that the Grand Lodge would grant them a Charter by the 'name of Saint Andrew,' they retaining their rank and precedency as heretofore in said Grand Lodge," which was unanimously granted.

"In 1768 John Rowe was appointed Provincial Grand Master of the St. John's Grand Lodge." He held the office until August 4, 1787, when he died. After 1775 this Grand Lodge held no meeting until called together to attend the funeral of Grand Master Rowe. In July, 1790, the Grand Officers assembled and voted to elect new officers, but no higher officer than a Senior Grand Warden was chosen. The Massachusetts Grand Lodge, as early as 1787, had taken action upon the question of a union, and had appointed a committee to consider it. "It is evident that the St. John's Lodge preserved its organization as such for the purpose of completing the contemplated union. It granted no Charters, nor did it assume any of the powers of a Charter to St. John's Lodge, Boston, for the purpose of uniting the first and second Lodges into one. The Grand Lodge record contains no reference to it, nor was there any record kept of the Grand Lodge doings for that year."

"Thus by the record, and by contemporaneous history, it is fixed beyond all question and doubt that the 'Massachusetts Grand Lodge' on the 8th of March, 1777, by a revolution and by assumption of the powers, duties, and responsibilities of a Grand Lodge, became a free, independent, sovereign Grand Lodge, with a jurisdiction absolute, exclusive, and entire throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and a provisional jurisdiction in other States and countries. By this revolution and assumption, from that day to this, the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, without interruption, has exercised all the plenary powers of a Grand Lodge. It has held Regular and Special Meetings, elected and installed its Grand Masters and other Grand Officers, kept full and complete records of its doings, granted Warrants for new Lodges, erected and erased Lodges, compelled and received the allegiance of its subordinates and their members, and has been in correspondence with and recognized by the other Grand Lodges of the world. From the 8th of March, 1777, to the day of this Quarterly mecting, the full and just - complete term of ninety-three years, there has never been any successful opposition to its claim of sovereignty. From time to time it has gathered into self every opposing element possessing even a colorable title to legitimacy which it found within the borders of its jurisdiction."

"In the State of Massachusetts there have been three Lodges chartered by Grand Lodges of foreign jurisdictions, and but three - St. Andrew's, chartered in 1756, by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and now one of our subordinates; Ancient York Lodge, No. 169, of Boston, chartered prior to 1772, by the Atholl Grand Lodge of England, and had but a brief existence; and the African Lodge, of Boston.

"It is claimed that in 1775 the persons named in the Charter of the African Lodge were made Masons in a traveling Lodge attached to one of the British regiments then stationed at Boston, and that they 'were soon after organized as, and dispensated into a Lodge,' before the death of Warren, to whom they applied for a Charter. That they were made Masons may be true. That they received a Dispensation for a Lodge there is not the least proof of, nor the slightest shadow of pretence for. Dispensations for Lodges, as preliminary to granting a Charter, were not made use of in those days. But more than all, there was no authorized power here to grant such Dispensation save Provincial Grand Masters Rowe and Warren. A traveling Lodge, although attached to a British regiment, could not authorize these persons to assessable as a Lodge. Nor was it ever pretended that such Dispensation existed until recently. This claim is nowhere stated directly, and contains so little foundation that it is not worth considering."

The Massachusetts Grand Lodge, at its Session October 1, 1773, after mature deliberation, decided that neither the Lodge at Castle william, nor any other traveling Lodge, " has any right to make Masons of any citizen."

There is no doubt that, on the 6th of March, 1775, the day after Warren delivered his celebrated oration in the Old South Church, where he was menaced by British troops, Prince Hall and thirteen others received the three degrees in a traveling Lodge attached to one of the British regiments in the army of General Gage, by whom Boston was then garrisoned; that Prince Hall and his associates met as a Lodge thereafter in Boston, without any warrant or authority, until May, 1787.

Application was sent to England for a Charter in 1784. The letter of Prince Hall, dated March 1, 1784, accompanying the petition to the Grand Lodge of England for the Charter of the African Lodge, says - "I would inform you that this Lodge hath been founded almost eight years." "We have had no opportunity to apply for a Warrant before now, though we have been importuned to send to France for one, yet we thought it best to send to the fountain head, from whence we received the light, for a Warrant."

A Charter was granted September 29, 1784. It did not arrive at Boston for nearly three years, and was received April 29, 1787, and, on the 6th of May following, Prince Hall organized the "African Lodge," at Boston, ten years after the Massachusetts Grand Lodge had asserted its freedom and independence; ten years after the American doctrine of Grand Lodge jurisdiction had been established.

"Without any other authoity than that contained in the Warrant for said Lodge, Prince Hall, the Master thereof, it is said, on the 22d of March, 1797, granted a Dispensation, preliminary to a Warrant, to certain persons in Philadelphia. Soon afterwards Prince Hall established a Lodge at Providence, R.I. African Lodge, of Boston, continued to act as a subordinate Lodge until 1808, when, with the assistance of the Lodges at Philadelphia and Providence, established as above stated, it organized a Grand Lodge at Boston, which Body granted Charters to several subordinates, not only in Massachusetts, but in several other States."

The African Lodge declared its independence in June, 1827, and published its Declaration in a newspaper printed at Boston.

"It is unnecessary to argue the masonic and legitimate effect of this Declaration. It was a surrender of their Charter, and a public declaration that from thenceforth they ceased to act under it, or to recognize its validity or the authority from whence it was derived. If the 'African Lodge' had any 'existence at this time, by force of this Declaration its existence came to an end."

A National Grand Lodge was formed in 1847; and, says the petition of Lewis Hayden and others to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, set out on page 132 of the Proceedings for 1869: "The African Lodge of Boston, becoming a part of that Body, surrendered its Charter, and received its present Charter, dated December 11, 1847, under the title of Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and by which authority we this day exist as a Masonic Body."

The Lodge prospered, but after the death of Prince Hall, December 4, 1807, aet. 72, it became dormant, and ceased. Upon the union of the Grand Lodges of England, in 1813, African Lodge, which had been registered as No. 459 and as 370, "was removed from the list," and was never after recognized by the United Grand Lodge. The Declaration of 1827 complains "that the members of African Lodge could open no correspondence with the Grand Lodge of England, and that their communications and advances were treated with the most studied neglect."

"Boyer Lodge, No. 1, was organized at New York City by the African Lodge or the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. The members of this Lodge applied to the Grand Lodge of New York for recognition in 1812, 1829, and again in 1845. Grand Secretary James Herring made a report in 1846 which contains a letter from Brother Charles W. Moore, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, which throws some light upon the condition of the African Lodge in Boston at this time.

"Why this Charter was granted without the consent of the Lodges in Massachusetts, and without any correspondence concerning the propriety of the step, is a question which can be answered by every American who remembers the bitter hostility existing in England at that date towards the successful rebels against the crown of Great Britain. This Charter, in common form, conferring no extraordinary powers upon the petitioners, authorizing them to hold a Lodge, enter, pass, and raise Masons, and no more, was undoubtedly granted by the Grand Master of England, and under it the petitioners commenced Work. The successors of the persons named in that Charter have magnified the powers granted by it, have construed it to confer upon them Grand Lodge powers, have set up by virtue of it Grand Lodges, and finally a national Grand Lodge, with subordinate Staions and Lodges, and have established an 'American doctrine of Grand Lodge jurisdiction' peculiar to themselves, distinct and separate from any other Grand Lodge government known to man. Their National Grand Body 'claims and exercises masonic authority over these United States, with full power and authority to settle all masonic difficulties that may arise among the Grand Lodges of these States.'"

The original Charter, granted September 29, 1784, under which the successors of the persons named have claimed to act from April, 1787, to the year 1847, and which was the only plausible authority by which they hope to be justified in their proceedings, was not only surrendered by operation of masonic law, June 18, 1827, by reason of the Declaration then made, but on the 11th of December, 1847, was actually in set form of words, and with premeditation, abandoned and surrendered, and if they now possess the parchment upon which it was written, it is kept only as a curious relic of the past, emasculated of its virility.

The first difficulty has been complicated with a National Grand Lodge, State Grand Lodges, and subordinate Lodges, so that it wail not be easy to escape from the triple bonds with which they have been bound.

This is purely a question of Grand Lodge jurisdiction which was settled and determined, September 17, 1797, by Massachusetts Grand Lodge, when it incorporated into its Constitution this Section:

"The Grand Lodge will not hold communication with, or admit as visitors, any Masons, residing in this State, who hold authority under, and acknowledge the supremacy of, any foreign Grand Lodge."

In some form of language the same feature has existed in their Constitutions from 1797 to this day, and is as follows:

"No Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons can legally assemble in this Commonwealth under a Warrant granted by any foreign masonic power." Which is a question of Grand Lodge jurisdiction.

"The Institution of Freemasonry is universal. It stretches from East to West, from North to South, and embraces within itself the representatives of every branch of the human family. Its carefully-tyled doors swing open, not at the knock of every man, but at the demand of every true and worthy man, duly accepted, whatever his religion, his race, or his country may be. This Grand Lodge stands upon the high vantage ground of this catholic society, and recognizes the great principles which must necessarily underlie an Institution which has a home on the continents and on the islands of the seas."

"When that celebrated play of Terence, styled the 'Self-Tormentor,' was first introduced upon the Roman Stage, before the great amphitheatre crowded with Senators, knights, citizens, and men of rank, some of whom had been found worthy of a Roman triumph, and Chremes, in his reply to Menedemus, repeated these words,

'Homo sum; humani nihil a me alienum puto' (I am a man; nothing which relates to man is alien to me),

the vast assemblage rose up, impelled by a common sentiment, and rent the air with reiterated plaudits. The memory of that scene has not yet faded away. The words of Chremes have not yet ceased to reverberate. We bear upon the Masons' arms of Massachusetts, and have inscibed upon our Grand Lodge banner, the motto,

'Humani nihil alienum.'" (Man everywhere our brother.)

True Copy of the Charter of the African Lodge.

"Effingham, A.G.M. To all and every Right Worshipful and loving Brethren, we, Thomas Howard, &c., &c., &c., Earl of Effingham, Lord Howard, Acting Grand Master under the authority of His Royal Highness Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, &c., &c., &c., Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons, sends Greeting:

"Know ye, that we, at the humble petition of our right trusty and well beloved brethren, Prince Hall, Boston Smith, Thomas Sanderson, and several other brethren residing in Boston, New Zealand, in North America, do hereby constitute the said brethren into a regular Lodge of Free and accepted Masons, under the title or denomination of the African Lodge, to be opened in Boston, aforesaid; and do further, at their said petition, hereby appoint the said Prince Hall to be Master, Boston Smith, Senior Warden, and Thomas Sanderson, Junior Warden, for opening the said Lodge, and for such further time only as shall be thought proper by the brethren thereof, it being any future election of officers of the Lodge, but that such election shall be regulated agreeably to such By-Laws of the said Lodge as shall be consistent with the general laws of the society, contained in the Book of Constitutions; and we hereby will and require you, the said Prince Hall, to take special care that all and every the said brethren are, or have been, regularly made Masons, and that they do observe, perform, and keep all the rules and orders contained in the Books of Constitutions; and further, that you do, from time to time, cause to be entered in a book kept for that purpose an account of your proceedings in the Lodges, together with all such rules, orders, and regulations as shall be made for the good government of the same; that in no wise you omit once in every year to send to us, our successors Grand Masters or to Rowland Holt, Esq., our Deputy Grand Master, for the time being, an account in writing of your proceedings, and copies of all such rules, orders, and regulations as shall be made as aforesaid, together with a list of the members of the Lodge, and such a sum of money as may suit the circumstances of the Lodge and reasonably be expected towards the Grand Charity. Moreover, we hereby will and require you, the said Prince Hall, as soon as conveniently may be, to send an account in writing of what may be done by virtue of these presents.

"Given at London, under our hand and seal of Masonry, this 29th day September, A.L. 5784, A.D. 1784.

By the Grand Master's Command.

"ROWLAND HOLT, D.G.M., Witness WILLIAM WHITE, "Grand Secretary."

The "Massachusetts Centinal," printed at Boston, in its issue of May 2, 1787, has the following document:

"AFRICAN LODGE, "BOSTON, May 2, 1787.

By Captain Scott, from London, came the Charter, &c., which his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, and the Grand Lodge, have been graciously pleased to grant to the African Lodge, in Boston. As the brethren have a desire to acknowledge all favors shown them, they, in this public manner, return particular thanks to a certain member of the Fraternity who offered the so generous reward in this paper, some time since, for the Charter, supposed to be lost; and to assure him, though they doubt of his friendship, that he has made them many good friends."

"Signed PRINCE HALL."

Extract from an Address of John V. De Grasse, before the "Prince Hall Grand Lodge" June 30, 1858: "Although, brethren, our Charter was granted in London, September 17, 1784, we did not receive it until April 29, 1787, through the neglect and almost culpable carelessness of Brother Gregory, who did not take it from the Office of the Grand Secretary, where it had remained over two years." "On the 29th of April the Charter and a beautiful bound book of the Constitutions were delivered to Prince Hall."

Declaration of Independence Published in a newspaper at Boston, June, 1827.

GREETING: "AFRICAN LODGE, NO. 459.

"GREETING: "Be it known to all whom it may concern, That we, the Master, Wardens, Members of the African Lodge, No. 459, City Of Boston (Mass.), U.S. of America, hold in our possession a certain unlimited Charter, granted September 29, A.L. 5784, A.D. 1784, by Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, Acting Grand Master under the authority of his Royal Highness Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, &c., &c., &c., Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable society of Free and Accepted Masons. Be it further known, that the Charter alluded to bears the seal of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge at London, England, and was presented to our much esteemed and worthy brethren and predecessors, Prince Hall, Boston Smith, Thomas Sanderson, and several others, agreeably to a humble petition of theirs, sent in form to the above Grand Lodge. Be it remembered that, according to correct information as regards this instrument and the manner in which it was given, it appears to have been confined exclusively to the Africans, and to certain conditions. Whether the conditions have been complied with by our ancestors, we are unable to say; but we can add that, in consequence of the decease of the above-named Brother, the institution was for years unable to proceed, for the want of one to conduct its affairs agreeably to what is required in every regular and well-educated Lodge of Masons. It is now, however, with great pleasure we state that the present age has arrived to that degree of proficiency in the art, that we can at any time select from among us many whose capacity to govern enables them to preside with as much good order, dignity, and propriety as any other Lodge within our knowledge. This fact can be proved by gentlemen of respectability, whose knowledge of Masonry would not be questioned by any one well acquainted with the art. Since the rise of the Lodge to this degree of proficiency, we concluded it was best and proper to make it known to the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge from whence we derive our charter, by sending written documents and monies, to fulfil the agreements of our ancestors, giving information of the low state to which it had fallen, its cause, &c., with its rise and progress; and also soliciting favors, whereby we might be placed on a different and better standing than we had heretofore. And notwithstanding this has long since been done, and more than sufficient time has elapsed for returns, yet we have never received a single line or reply from that Hon. Society. In consequence of that neglect, we have been at a stand what course to pursue. Our remote situation prevents us from making any verbal communication whatever. Taking all these things into consideration we have come to the conclusion that with what knowledge we possess of Masonry, and as people of color by ourselves, we are, and ought by rights, to be free and independent of other Lodges. We do, therefore, with this belief, publicly declare ourselves free and independent of any Lodge from this day, and that we will not be tributary, or be governed by any lodge than that of our own. We agree solemnly to abide by all proper rules and regulations which govern the like Fraternity, discountenancing all imposition to injure the Order, and to use all fair and honorable means to promote its prosperity, resting in full hope that this will enable us to transmit it in its purity to our posterity for their enjoyment.

"Done at the Lodge, this the 18th June, A.L. 5727, A.D. 1827.

"In full testimony of what has been written, we affix our names:

"JOHN T. HILTON, R.M.W., "THOMAS DALTON, Sen. Ward., "LEWIS YORK, Jun. Ward., "J.H. PURRON, Secretary."

Letter from John Hervey, Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England.

FREEMASONS' HALL, LONDON, W.C., 11th November, 1868.

"DEAR SIR AND R. W. BROTHER: I am in receipt of your favor of the 20th ult., making enquiries respecting a Warrant granted in 1784 to a certain Prince Hall. I have caused a most diligent search to be made in our books here, and the only reference I can find is in the Calendar for 1785, when a Lodge appears to have been working under the English Constitution, at Boston, under the No. 459, and called the 'African Lodge.' It afterwards became 370, and, I presume, had ceased working, as at the Union, in 1813, it was removed from the list.

"To reply to your questions categorically

"1st. I can find no record in 1775 of any Dispensation; but as the G. L. Books were not then kept, as they are now, with accuracy, such may, nevertheless, have existed.

"2d. It was struck off the list in 1813, but I can find no trace of any return having been made, and consequently imagine it must have ceased working long before, although retained on the list.

"3d. I should say most decidedly, that the said 'Prince Hall' was never appointed D.G.M., or had power to grant warrants for the establishment of Lodges in your country. Henry Price, of Boston, was P.G.M. for America from 1775 to 1804, after which year his name disappears from the lists.

"It is quite clear that the Lodge referred to is not working under the English Constitutions, and that the parties holding the Warrant can have no right to it, and are not a regular Lodge, unless empowered to meet under your Constitutions.

I am, dear Sir and Brother, yours, truly and fraternally, "JOHN HERVEY, Grand Secretary

CHARLES W. MOORE, Deputy Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Extract from the Report of James Herring, Grand Secretary, to the Grand Lodge of New York, June 2, 1846.

The undersigned, having requested the R.W. Charles W. Moore, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, to endeavor to see the Charter of the so-called African Lodge, of Boston, and, if possible, obtain a copy thereof, begs leave to incorporate the following extract from Br. Moore's letter, dated JULY 26, 1845 :

"I called, agreeably to your request, on Mr. Hilton - who, I believe, is the Master of the African Lodge in this city - stated to him the object of my visit, and asked permission to see the Charter of his Lodge. He informed me that there was a difficulty between his and Boyer Lodge, of long standing, that they had nothing to do with that Lodge, nor would they have, until the difference referred to was settled. He further stated, that they were entirely independent of the white Lodges; asked no favors of them; and would have nothing to do with them; nor would they admit a white Mason, if he should present himself as a visitor. In the course of his conversation he distinctly said that he had been 'told by them people' (meaning Boyer Lodge) to have no communication with anybody on the subject of their recognition by the Grand Lodge of New York. He also positively and repeatedly refused to allow me to see the Charter of his Lodge, or to give me any information in relation to its history or present existence. It is proper for me to add, that my conversation with him was kind and gentle. I explicitly stated to him that I did not call officially, but as a friend, and at your request, with a view to ascertain whether Boyer Lodge was a regular constituted Lodge, such as the Grand Lodge of New York could recognize. . . .

"The African Lodge has never been recognized by the Grand Lodge of this Commonwealth. Applications have several times been made by its members for admission to our Lodges, but they have generally, if not always, been refused. Mr. Hilton stated to me that he had once, through the influence of a friend, gained admission into one of our out-of-town Lodges. If so, the Brother who introduced him laid himself open to censure, and would have been dealt with, had the circumstance come to the knowledge of the Grand Lodge. That the course of our Grand Lodge, in reference to the African Lodge, is not the result of prejudice, it is only necessary for me to say, that, within the last month, a colored Brother from England has visited, and been kindly received, in one of our city Lodges.

"Such is the state of the case, so far as I am able to communicate it. The argument does not belong to me; but you will permit me to inquire, whether your Grand Lodge is prepared to recognize any real or pretended Lodge, existing within another jurisdiction, before it had been recognized by the Grand Lodge of that jurisdiction? Again, does your Grand Lodge allow other Grand Lodges to establish Lodges within its jurisdiction? and is it ready to recognize Lodges so established ?

"These three questions have been, by repeated decisions of this Grand Lodge, answered in the negative; and, according to the treaty stipulations entered into by the Grand Lodges of this continent, soon after the revolution, and the uniform resistance of any encroachment upon the sole jurisdiction of the several Grand Lodges down to the present time, these questions can be answered only in the negative.

"The undersigned would further state, that the legality of the Body, called Boyer Lodge, No. 1, has been already twice reported on by Committees of this Grand Lodge on the 3d of March, 1812, and on the 4th of March, 1829. In the latter report, the main facts were correctly stated and able arguments sustained, and the conclusion drawn that Boyer Lodge, No. 1, can be regarded only as a clandestine Lodge. The undersigned can arrive only at the same conclusion, it being established beyond doubt that the African Lodge, at Boston, was illegally established by the Grand Lodge of England within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; that its name has been long stricken from the roll of the Grand Lodge of England; that its assumed authority to grant Warrants was unmasonic and fraudulent; and further, that the statement contained in the memorial of said Boyer Lodge, that it had been 'regularly and legally constituted and installed as a Master Mason's Lodge, with a legal Warrant or Charter,' is totally unfounded. All of which is respectfully submitted,

"JAMES HERRING,

"Grand Secretary."

NEW YORK, June 2, 1846.

In June, 1855, one Peter G. Smith, of Montpelier, Vt., visited Boston, and "joined a Lodge of Masons." Upon returning to Montpelier, he attempted to visit a regular Lodge, but was refused admission. Mr. Smith then wrote to Boston, and received the following reply:

"No. 60 SOUTHAC STREET, BOSTON, September 6, 1855.

"PETER G. SMITH, ESQ.

"MAY DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: Yours, bearing date August 14, came duly to hand. You say that the Grand Master of Vermont says that the colored Masons had their Charter taken from them, and that they are now working without a Charter. We reply that the charge is no doubt innocent, but it is nevertheless false from beginning to end. The original Charter is now in our possession, and always has been, and we worked under it until some time after the war between this country and Great Britain, when the colored Masons held a Convention and declared themselves independent, the same as the white had already done before. This was done on account of the difficulties of making the returns to the mother country. There has always been the best feelings, and our brethren all visit the Lodges, not only in England, but in all parts of the world.

"If the Grand Master of Vermont wishes any more light, we are prepared to give it to him; or if he has a curiosity, he can see the original Charter. Yours fraternally,

"J. S. ROCK,

"Corresponding Grand Secretary of Prince Hall Grand Lodge."

To this letter Philip C. Tucker, Grand Master of Vermont, replied in a communication to Peter G. Smith as follows:

"VERGENNES, September 22, 1855.

"MR PETER G. SMITH, Montpelier.

"SIR: I received yours of yesterday, enclosing a letter to you from Mr. J.S. Rock, of Boston, this morning.

"As to the Lodge of colored men existing in Boston, calling itself 'Prince Hall Grand Lodge,' and such Lodges as acknowledge its jurisdiction, I have to say that my understanding on the subject is this :

"I suppose it to be true that on the 20th day of September, 1784, a Charter for a Masters' Lodge was granted to Prince Hall and others, under the authority of the Grand Lodge of England, and that the Lodge then chartered bore the name of 'African Lodge, NO. 459,' and was located at Boston. If any other Charter was ever granted, at any other time, by the Grand Lodge of England, or any other Grand Lodge, to the colored persons of that city, it has never come to my, knowledge.

"I suppose it to be also true that African Lodge, No. 459, did not continue its connection for many years with the Grand Lodge of England, and that its registration was stricken from the rolls of that Grand more than fifty years ago.

"I suppose it further to be true that this Lodge, NO. 459, and all others which have originated from it, have always held themselves aloof, and have always refused to acknowledge any allegiance to the Grand Lodge of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

"I also suppose it to be true that, on the 18th day of June, 1827, this same Lodge, No. 459, issued a Declaration, and had it published in some of the Boston papers, signed by John T. Hilton, Thomas Dalton, Lewis York, jr., and J.H. Purron (claiming to be Master Wardens, and Secretary thereof), which Declaration contained the following language: 'We publicly declare ourselves free and independent of any Lodge from this day, and we will not be tributary, or governed by any Lodge than that of our own.'

"And I still further suppose it to be true that, in the month of July, 1845, R.W. Charles W. Moore; the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, had a personal interview with Mr. Hilton, then Master of this said Lodge, NO. 459, in which interview Mr. Hilton said, that they (the members of said Lodge) were 'entirely independent of all white Bodies, asked no favors of them, and would have nothing to do with them; nor would they admit a white Mason, if he should present himself as a visitor.'

"All these things are of record, and cannot, I think, be denied in any quarter. From them I form the following opinions:

"First. Even if a Charter for a subordinate Lodge, to be located within the United States, could be lawfully granted by the Grand Lodge of England, after the close of the American Lodges, its vitality would necessarily expire when the grantor substantially revoked the grant by striking it from its records, and thus disavowing all connection with the grantee.

"Second. 'That the mere retention of a Charter, after its legal revocation, cannot preserve or retain any right, power, or authority in the original grantees or their successors, where the right to revoke is reserved, as it always is in all Grand Lodges, in the grantor.

"Third. Even if African Lodge, NO. 459, had a lawful masonic existence June 18, 1827, the Declaration of that date was both unmasonic and revolutionary, and placed that Body as effectually beyond recognition by either the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts or any other Grand Lodge in the United States, as was the French Lodge of Virginia, or the German Lodges of New York.

"Fourth. Had African Lodge, NO. 459, been in all things a lawful Lodge, after the Declaration of its first officer, of July, 1845, that 'it would not admit a white Mason if he should present himself as a visitor,' it would have been both humiliating and degrading to have allowed the doors of the white Lodges to stand open for a reciprocity of courtesies which were thus gratuitously and roughly declared inadmissible, in advance of any request, offer, or wish to establish them.

"I have the highest masonic authority in Massachtiseas for denying 'the brethren' of the Lodge in question 'all visit the Lodges,' so far as the Lodges of Massachusetts are concerned. A Past Grand Master of the Lodge of the Commonwealth, writing at Boston, in 1848, says: 'There are no Lodges of colored Masons in this city or any other part of the United States that are recognized and acknowledged by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, or to our knowledge, by any other regularly-constituted Grand Lodge in this country. It (the African Lodge) was never recognized by the Grand Lodge of this State, nor has there been any masonic intercourse between the two Bodies.'

"The same Brother, writing at the same place, in 1846, says, in referring to that Lodge: 'Applications have several times been made by its members for admission to our Lodges, but they have generally, if not always, been refused.' Again he says, 'That the course of our Grand Lodge in reference to African Lodge is not the result of prejudice, it is only necessary for me to say that, within the last month, a colored Brother from England has visited, and been kindly received in one of our city Lodges.'

"I believe I am correct in stating that the two following propositions are recognized as sound masonic law in this country:

"First. That no Grand Lodge of any State can regularly recognize a subordinate Lodge existing in another State, or its members, until such subordinate Lodge is recognized by the Grand lodge of the State in which it exists.

"Second. That no Grand Lodge, either in these United States, or any other country, can legally establish a subordinate Lodge in any other State where a regularly-constituted Grand Lodge exists.

"From these views you will readily perceive why the Masonry of the United States does not and cannot either recognize 'Prince Hall Grand Lodge,' or its subordinates, or their members, as regular. To our understanding, the whole of these organizations are irregular and unmasonic, and exist adverse to masonic regulations and law. If, as Mr. Rock asserts, members of these Bodies are admitted to 'visit Lodges in England and all parts of the world,' that admission probably arises from the fact that the history and masonic positions of these Bodies are not so well understood elsewhere as they are in the United States.

"Mr. Rock expresses an inclination to 'give the Grand Master of Vermont more light' on this subject. As he signed himself 'Corresponding Secretary of Prince Hall Grand Lodge,' I suppose him to possess all the light' which the subject has in it; and whatever that light may be able to reflect upon me of the truth of the past or the present, will always receive the respectful attention it may deserve from

"Your Humble Serv't, "PHILIP C. TUCKER, "Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Vermont.".

Communication from the Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England

FREEMASONS' HALL, LONDON, W. C., "May 5, 1870.

"WILLIAM SEWALL GARDNER, ESQ., Most Worshipful Grand Master of Massachusetts.

"M.W. SIR AND BROTHER: I would have replied earlier to your esteemed letter of the 12th March, had not the information you required necessitated a longer search than could be prosecuted at the moment. I regret that I can afford so little information, as our records, excepting, as to the proceedings of our own Grand Lodge, were not kept in the accurate manner as is now the general practice.

As you are already aware, the Warrant for the African Lodge was granted in 1784, and was numbered 459; but the fee for the Warrant, 4 pounds 4s., does not appear in our Grand Lodge accounts until the 4th April, 1787. The following remittances were received for the Charity Fund from the African Lodge, viz. :

"November 25, 1789 2 pounds 2S. 11d. "April 18, 1792 1 pound 1S 0d "November 27, 1793 1 pound 5S 6d "November 22, 1797 1 pound 5S 0d

"In 1793 its number was altered to 370, and continued so numbered in our Calendar until 1812, when, on the re-numbering consequent on the union of the two Grand Lodges, the African Lodge was omitted.

"I send you enclosed a verbatim copy of all the documents I can discover relating to the Lodge; but the petition for the Lodge is not forthcoming. Should any other documents present themselves, which is somewhat unlikely, I will send you copies, and have the honor to remain, M.W. Sir and Brother, "Yours fraternally, "JOHN HERVEY, "Grand Secretary."

Copies referred to in the above letter:

"RIGHT WORSHIPFUL SIR: We now, send you an account of the Lodges proceeding since we sent our last, which was in August last, together with ten dollars for the Fund of the Grand Charity, by Captain Scot, which he saith he hath delivered to the Grand Secretary, but he hath no recept with him for the money. We have initiated into the Lodge this year Samovel Beean, a black man, and the Reverend Mr. John Merrand, a black Minister from home, but last from Beech Town in Nova Scotia. We shall make a colletchen on St. John's Day next, which we shall send by the first carefull hand; the Lodge in general behaves veriwell in there Station, so that there no just complantes made against them. I hope I may allways have the plesevr of sending a good account of the African Lodge. After whiching all Happyness to our Royal Grand Master, and all the Officers and Members of the Grand Lodge, I beg leve to subscribe myself your most obedient humble servent and Brother, PRINCE HALL."

"BOSTON, November 9, 1789.

"To the Most Worshipful WILLIAM WHITE, ESQ., G. S.

"DEAR SIR: These comes to acquant you that we have sent sundrey, letters to our Right Worshipful Rowland Holt, Esq., and to your Worship according to my order in the Charter; and with those we sent you datted Augest 2, 1788, we sent Ten Dollars for the Grand Charity but have not had a anser wether you had receved them or not, and the Lodge is uneasey with me on that acount, as I paid the money to Mr. Bengmen Greene, Jun., one of Captain James Scotts Merchants, and receved his recepte for the money to be sent to him with the Letters for you, as I did not now were to derecte them to you, and if you receved them that must be the Reson; therefore, Sir, be so good when you send an ansear to this you would send me some word were to derect them, that you may have them, which we hope will be by the Berrer hearof. I have sent you a sermon, preched on St. Johns Day by our Brother John Marrant, for our Grand Master, and another for you, which I hope you will recevn. Our Brother Sanderson is Dead. All the rest of our Br are in health. So no at pesent. But must beg leve to subscribe myself your vere humble servent and Br.,

"PRINCE HALL."

"To the Right Worshipful, the Grand Master, Wardens, and Members of the Grand Lodge of England.

"We your petitioners, Sampson H. Moody, Peter Howard, Abraham C. Derendemed, John I. Hilton, James Jackson, Zadock Low, Samuel G. Gardner, Richard Potter, Lewis Walker, and other Companions Who have been regularly Exalted to the Sublime Degree of Royal Arch Masons.

"Our worthy and well beloved Brethren Prince Hall, Boston Smith, Thomas Sanderson, and several Brethren having obtained a Warrant from your Honourable Body, on September 29, 1784, A.D., A.L. 5784, when, under the Government of Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, Lord Howard, &c., &c., &c., acting Grand Master Under the authority of his Royal Highness Henry Frederick, Duke of Cumberland, Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honourable Society of Free and Accepted Masons.

"This Warrant allowing us to confer but the three Degrees, and Finding it injurious for the benefit of our Body by having no legal authority to confer the other four degrees. And understanding that the seven degrees is given under the Warrants from the Grand Lodge, we, therefore, humbly solicit the Renual of our Charter to ourtherise us Legally to confer the same, as we are now getting in a flourishing condition. It is with regret we communicated to you that, from the Decease of our Well Beloved Brethren who obtain'd the Warrant we have not been able for several years to transmit Monies and hold a regular Communication; but, as we are now permanently established to work conformable to our Warrant and Book of Constitutions. We will send the Monies as far as circimstances will admit, together with the money, for a new Warrant. Should your Honourable Body think us worthy to receive the sarae. We remain, Right Worshipful and Most Worshipful Brethren,

"With all Due Respect, Yours fraternally, "(Signed) SAMSON H. MOODY, W.M.,

"PETER HOWARD, S. W., "C. A. DERANDAMIE, J. W.

"Given under our hands at Boston, in the year of our Lord 1824, January 5th (5824). "WILLIAM J. CHAMPNEY, "Secretary"

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