history 15

HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY

CHAPTER XV

MASONRY REUNITED

History of Freemasonry by H.L. Haywood

FAMILY feuds are more bitter than other civil wars are

fought with greater passion and stubbornness than are other

wars. So it was with the strife which for the greater part of a

century divided English Freemasonry into two hostile camps.

But time itself is a great assuager of animosities and so it

proved in this case. One generation of belligerents died

away, to pass an inheritance of fratricidal struggle to the

second one. Meanwhile the original issues had become so

confused it was not always possible for the heirs to know just

why and for what they were fighting. Gradually the

senselessness of the controversy began to take hold of the

minds of younger leaders, and thus by imperceptible

degrees a way was opened for peace.

The echoes of that conflict have now, after another hundred

years, died away into an indistinct murmur. As the average

schoolboy remembers in a vague way that in the War of the

Roses the House of York wore a rose of one color and the

House of Lancaster one of another, but is unable to say with

assurance which wore the red and which the white, so now

the average member of a Masonic Lodge is rarely sure

whether it is of Modern or of Antient origin, and cares even

less about the matter. Questions once so violently debated

have for modern times but academic interest. Undoubtedly

there was right and wrong on both sides of that quarrel, and

but little good can be served in trying to measure the

respective shares of merit and of blame. Historians have

lavished a good deal of expensive white paper and printer's

ink defending this side and assaulting that one. Literary

heads have been broken with such hard words as

"Schismatics," "Seceders," "Dissenters," "Rebels." But the

treaty of peace which ended the breach was a fair and

honorable one, entered into in good faith by both sides. The

fact that each retained much of what it had contended for

and made reasonable concessions to the other may properly

be taken as evidence that neither bad a monopoly upon the

justice of the causes at issue. The cement of love and

affection has united both branches of Freemasonry into one

band of friends and brethren among whom no further

contention should arise, save that noble emulation who best

can serve the common good of all mankind. In the present

work it has been deemed wise to regard the cleavage as a

division of English Freemasonry. In simple candor it should

be said, however, that it has been ably and learnedly

reasoned that it was in fact a schism, with the Antients as

secessionists from the body of Modern Freemasonry. With

ability and learning also it has been argued that the Antients

were in truth a separate branch, springing from a body of

independents who never at any time accepted the

hegemony of the first Grand Lodge of Moderns. Mackey's

History of Freemasonry strongly supports the one theory.

Henry Sadler in Masonic Facts and Fictions, on the other

hand, so brilliantly made out a case for the hypothesis that

the Antient Grand Lodge was a growth from independent

origins and therefore not illegal that the weight of modern

criticism inclines very largely to that view. It is not a matter

that can be determined with mathematical precision.

Whether they were separate streams or whether one

diverged from the other is of less consequence than the

undeniable fact that in time they became merged into one

majestic current.

The division was attended by inconveniences for both

factions. Friends and neighbors who were Freemasons

nevertheless found themselves estranged from one another,

without always knowing precisely why. Among the rank and

file of members it was not always possible to keep fires of

resentment burning. Now and then brethren of Modern and

Antient persuasions were unable to realize they might be

incurring severe penalties by fraternizing in Masonic

intercourse. Each Grand Lodge had to admonish its

adherents from time to time that such complacency was

unlawful.

As early as 1764 Dermott in the Ahiman Rezon observed

that he cherished no animosity against the Moderns and in

1778 he expressed a wish that he might in his lifetime see a

union of the two. At that time, however, the Antients were on

the crest of prosperity. They were gaining accessions far

more rapidly than were the Moderns, and had

outmaneuvered their rivals so skillfully in the department of

foreign relations that they were recognized in many parts of

the English-speaking world as wielding a dominant influence

in English Masonry. The peculiar genius of Dermott had

done much to put them into that advantageous situation. He

was far and away the best propagandist of his times, and in

a period of intense controversy, his Was an art not to be

despised.

Although they must have been disturbed by the progress

their rivals were making, the Moderns were not as yet ready

to make pacific overtures to the aggressive Antients. In 1777

their Grand Lodge issued a stern edict forbidding its

supporters to have Masonic intercourse with Antients under

pain of expulsion, and decreeing that no Antient should be

admitted to a Modern Lodge until he had been "re-made."

Some twenty years later, however, the rivals were forced to

make common cause to escape the provisions of legislation

intended to drive all secret societies out of the country.

By this time, moreover, the balance of authority had begun

to slip toward the Moderns. Dermott having paid the usual

human score and departed from this life, the Antients soon

began to miss his capable leadership. Meanwhile several

persons of exceptional ability had begun to make their

influence felt among the Moderns, notably the Earl of Moira,

an avowed protagonist of peace and reconciliation. But while

Lord Moira was an ardent advocate of union, he lost no

opportunity to strengthen the position of his own Grand

Lodge and he managed to do this in ways that proved him

capable of statesmanship of the highest order.

In 1801, Preston relates in his Illustrations, several brethren

of the Modernist group were summoned before Grand Lodge

to answer a charge they had served as officers in an Antient

lodge. They were found guilty and were ordered forthwith to

cease a practice which was declared to be highly irregular.

They wished to be at peace with their own grand body, but

they were reluctant to give up their new connections. They

asked that operation of the sentence be suspended for three

months, during which time they promised to do what they

could to bring about an adjustment of the differences

between the Modern and Antient lodges. This was agreed to,

and Lord Moira was made member of a committee to take

the thing in hand and do everything possible to further the

enterprise. In effect this amounted to a rather definite

proposal for union and it was of all the greater significance

because it emanated from the supreme governing power of

the Moderns.

The three months dragged out into two years before the

committee found so many obstacles in the way of a

successful prosecution of its task that it concluded to give it

up for the time being. Thereupon the Modern Grand Lodge

punished its recalcitrant brethren and issued a stiffer decree

than ever against all Moderns who should hold Masonic

intercourse with Antient Masons. Defeated in this direction,

Lord Moira had by no means exhausted his resources.

Indeed, in that same year, 1803, he turned the defeat to

such account that he was able to begin a series of diplomatic

maneuvers which was completely to reverse the existing

situation in regard to foreign relations.

In November of that year, as it is related in Laurie's History

of Freemasonry, Moira visited the Grand Lodge of Scotland

and in a moving and tactful address reviewed the story of the

Modernist - Antient dispute. He said that the Grand Lodge of

England had opened its arms and its heart to the seceding

brethren, but these had obstinately refused to accept

reconciliation. The speech made a profound impression

upon the Scottish brethren, and although at the time it was

delivered the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Antient

Grand Lodge were in fraternal relations with each other, the

former speedily opened correspondence with the Moderns.

Presently it granted formal recognition to them as

constituting the sovereign Grand Jurisdiction of England.

This action was emphasized in the strongest possible

manner in 1805, when the Scottish Grand Lodge elected the

Prince of Wales as Grand Master and the Earl of Moira as

Acting Grand Master, the positions which those

distinguished Masons were then holding under the Modern

Grand Lodge.

That was turning the tables upon the Antients with a

vengeance, but Moira was still far from the end of his

resources. In 1808 he was largely instrumental in bringing

about a correspondence with the Grand Lodge of Ireland.

These negotiations ended with complete recognition of the

Moderns by the Irish body and thus the last important

diplomatic connection of the Antients with another Grand

Lodge in the British Isles was irrevocably severed. The

Antients found themselves where, only a few years before,

the Moderns had been - cut off from Masonic intercourse

with the great body of British Freemasonry. Their position

was all the more imperilled when, the Prince of Wales having

ascended the throne of England, the Duke of Sussex

became Grand Master of the Moderns. Sussex was a strong

advocate of union and so was his brother the Duke of Kent,

who was Grand Master of the Antient Grand Lodge of

Canada.

Meanwhile Moira had kept patiently at his appointed task. He

and the Duke of Atholl engaged in a series of friendly

conversations in which it was reciprocally agreed that some

way should be found to bring the two bodies together. On

October 26, 1809, Moira issued a warrant constituting a

special lodge which should undertake to bring about a

means of union. This body met on November 21 and

resolved to call itself "The Special Lodge of Promulgation." In

the spring of 1810 Moira was able to report to the Modern

Grand Lodge that he and the Grand Master of the Antients

"were both fully of opinion that it would be an event truly

desirable to consolidate under one head the two Societies of

Masons that existed in this country." This report was

transmitted in due form to the Antient Grand Lodge, where it

was favorably received. After further discussions it was

agreed to try to find a way to reconciliation. Each Grand

Lodge thereupon appointed a special committee on union

and on July 21, 1810, the two committees met in joint

session under the presidency of Lord Moira.

Many and intricate were the problems which had to be

solved, but perhaps the most important was the one which

related to the Royal Arch Degree. The Antients, it will be

remembered, had a system of four degrees, of which the

Royal Arch was the fourth. The Moderns had a system of

three degrees, but the Royal Arch had been worked by many

Modern lodges as a continuation of the Third Degree.

Originally this had been without official sanction of the

Modern Grand Lodge, but it had grown into a sort of

supplementary department, branching out into a Royal Arch

Chapter and ultimately a Grand Chapter.

The Four Degree System had been of inestimable

advantage to the Antients. Naturally, all other things being

equal, the average candidate for Freemasonry would rather

join a lodge which had four degrees than one which had only

three, and no small part of the astonishing growth of the

Antients can be attributed to this understandable human

preference. Each organization for the better part of a century

had been insisting with much heat that its system was the

only true Craft Masonry, and each was still reluctant to give

up its own practice for that of the other.

Then, too, there were numerous other details of procedure,

which had to be adjusted. There were differences in ritual, in

symbols and signs, in methods of listing lodges, in colors. It

was early felt that the only feasible path to union was the

way of compromise and accommodation. The leaders were

wise enough, however, not to insist that all of these

problems be finally solved as a condition precedent to union,

preferring to hasten union as rapidly as possible and trust to

mutual good will to make the necessary adjustments

afterwards.

Before the end of the year 1813 conditions were highly

propitious for the great change. At the head of the Modern

Grand Lodge were Sussex and Moira. At the head of the

Antients was Atholl, good friend of Sussex, and the Duke of

Kent, brother to Sussex as well as Antient Grand Master of

Canada. On November 8, 1813, Atholl resigned his Grand

Mastership in favor of Kent, thereby further simplifying the

situation, since one of the royal brothers was now Grand

Master of the Antients and the other of the Moderns. The

installation took place on December 1. The Modern Grand

Master and his staff attended the ceremonies, giving further

evidence of their zeal for union by consenting to be "made"

Antients in a lodge especially convened for that purpose.

During all this time the Lodge of Promulgation, consisting of

nine Master Masons or Past Masters from each Grand

Lodge had been keeping steadily at its work of drafting a

basis for agreement. It was ready to make its report, which

consisted of the now famous Masonic document known as

the "Articles of Union Between the Two Grand Lodges of

Freemasons in England." It was signed and scaled in

duplicate and at a December meeting of each body it was

formally ratified. December 27 was set as the day when the

union should be completed at a "Grand Assembly of

Freemasons for the Union of the Two Grand Lodges of

England." The important items of the agreement were to the

following effect:

1. That a perpetual and irrevocable union in one

Brotherhood and under one Grand Lodge should exist

forever.

2. That "pure Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees and

no more; viz., those of the Entered Apprentice, the including

the Supreme Fellowcraft and the Master Mason, including

the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch. But this article is

not intended to prevent any lodge or chapter from holding a

meeting in any of the degrees of the Orders of Chivalry,

according to the constitutions of the said Orders."

3. That there should be unity of obligations, discipline

working in lodges, and clothing according to the landmarks,

laws and traditions of the Craft.

4. That for the purpose of establishing uniform work and

practice it "is agreed that the obligations and forms that

have, from time immemorial, been established, used and

practiced in the Craft shall be recognized, accepted and

taken by the members of both Fraternities." For the purpose

of securing uniformity it was agreed to ask the Grand Lodges

of Scotland and Ireland to send accredited delegates to the

forthcoming Assembly to witness the solemn engagement of

the uniting brotherhoods "to abide by the true forms and

obligations," so that it might be "declared, recognized and

known that they all are bound by the same solemn pledge,

and work under the same law."

5. That the two Grand Masters should each appoint nine

Master Masons or Past Masters to meet at some convenient

place where each party should open in a separate apartment

a "just and perfect lodge" according to its own practices.

These were to "give and receive mutually and reciprocally

the obligations of both Fraternities, deciding by lot which

shall take priority in giving and receiving the same." Being

thus duly and equally enlightened they were to be

empowered to hold a Lodge of Reconciliation or visit all

lodges, instructing them fully in the joint work.

6. That as soon as the solemn declaration had been made in

the presence of the witnesses from Scotland and Ireland, the

general assembly should proceed to the election of a Grand

Master, the brother chosen to be installed immediately and

to nominate and appoint the various Grand Officers.

Immediately thereafter "the Grand Incorporated Lodge" was

to be opened "in ample form, under the style and title of THE

UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ANCIENT FREEMASONS OF

ENGLAND." Grand Officers of both bodies were to be

recognized as Past Grand Officers of the United Grand

Lodge; in case existing Grand Secretaries, Pursuivants and

Tylers should not be reappointed, they should receive

lifetime annuities out of the treasury.

7. That the United Grand Lodge should be composed of all

present and past Grand Masters, present and past Deputy

and Provincial Grand Masters, present and past Grand

Wardens, Grand Chaplain, Grand Treasurer, Grand

Secretary, Grand Sword Bearer, twelve Grand Stewards,

actual Masters and Wardens of all warranted lodges, past

Masters who served before the Union. Seniority of past

Grand Lodge officers was to be determined by the time of

their previous appointments; where two were

contemporaries seniority was to be determined by lot.

8. That seniority of lodges on the combined roll be

determined in the following fashion: The No. 1 lodges on

each old list to draw lots, the winner taking No. 1 and the

loser No. 2 on the new list. No. 2 lodge on the winner's list

would then become No. 3 on the new and No. 2 on the

loser's list would become No. 4 and so on, alternating

throughout the rolls.

9. That upon a day appointed for installation of the new

Grand Lodge officers the Articles of Union be formally

ratified by affixing thereto the great seal of the United Grand

Lodge, which seal was to be made out of both seals then in

use and the old seals were then to be broken.

10. That the regalia of Grand Officers should be "in addition

to white gloves and aprons and the respective jewels or

emblems of distinction, garter blue and gold."

11. That Grand Lodge quarterly communications be held on

the first Wednesdays of March, June, September and

December and that stipulated assessments be levied for

support of Grand Lodge.

12. That emergency communications might be summoned at

the discretion of responsible Grand Lodge Officers.

13. That each successive Grand Master be elected at the

September meeting (with power to nominate and appoint his

own Deputy, Wardens and Secretary) and that Grand Lodge

at the same time should nominate three candidates for each

office of Treasurer, Chaplain and Sword Bearer, from among

whom the Grand Master-elect should make appointments at

the December meeting; that installation should take place on

the feast day of St. John the Evangelist, unless the Grand

Master should appoint another day.

14. That there should be an annual Masonic festival.

15. That as soon as the revisions of obligations, forms, had

been worked out, speedy and effectual means should be

taken to familiarize therewith all the members of each lodge;

in London delegations of expert craftsmen in groups of three

were to visit the several lodges in rotation.

16. That United Grand Lodge charters should be given to

lodges and provincial Grand Lodges as soon as these could

prove proficiency in the work.

17. That all property and moneys of the two Fraternities be

pooled in one Grand Fund and that, as soon as it could be

done, the United Grand Lodge should have power to create

a single trusteeship. Freemasons' Hall should continue to be

fraternal headquarters and a full-length portrait of the Duke

of Atholl should be hung there with those of Past Grand

Masters of the Modern Lodge.

18. That no appropriations of Masonic benevolence funds be

made other than for works of charity.

19. That the charitable fund be distributed in London by a

committee or Lodge of Benevolence, to be composed of

twelve Masters of lodges and three Grand Officers and to sit

on the third Wednesday of each month.

20. That a plan, "with rules and regulations, for the solemnity

of the Union" should be prepared before the approaching

festival of St. John.

21. That a revision should be made at once of the rules and

regulations of both Fraternities and that a new Book of

Constitutions should be prepared and published.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the Articles of Union

merely outlined the general terms of agreement without

attempting to go into innumerable details remaining to be

perfected. The original Lodge of Promulgation continued its

work until 1816, harmonizing differences between the two

rituals. The task of preparing a code of regulations was

assigned to a Board of General Purposes. An International

Commission was formed to bring into essential unison

various points of Mystery and Craft. This Commission

drafted a compact consisting of eight resolutions which

ultimately was accepted by the Grand Lodges of England,

Ireland and Scotland and which effectually completed the

consolidation of Anglo-Saxon Freemasonry.

And so the story of trials and tribulations had a pleasant

ending after all. The two Grand Lodges were married and

lived happily ever after. The formal ceremony of wedding

took place with the pomp and circumstance worthy of an

affair so important. Preston's sprightly pen has left an

account from which it appears that on a day previously

determined - December 27, 1813 - Freemasons' Hall had the

honor of receiving both bodies. In adjoining rooms they

opened their respective Grand Lodges according to the

peculiar customs of each. Meanwhile in the principal

assembly room Masters, Wardens and Past Masters of the

various lodges had been seated in such manner that

Moderns and Antients intermingled.

At a signal the Grand Procession marched into the room in

double line, each Modern dignitary being accompanied by

his Antient contemporary, the Grand Masters, Kent and

Sussex, bringing up the rear. As the procession approached

the Grand Master's throne its individuals faced inward and

then opened up a lane down which the royal brothers

marched arm in arm. They took seats on each side of the

throne, being flanked by their respective staffs and

distinguished visitors. In the Grand West and the Grand

South similar arrangements were carried out, the respective

Grand Wardens sitting to right and left of each Warden's

station. After an invocation by the Rev. Dr. Barry, Grand

Chaplain of the Antients, the Act of Union was read by the

Grand Director of Ceremonies, Sir George Naylor. Then the

Rev. Dr. Coghlan, Grand Chaplain of the Moderns,

addressed the assembly in these words:

"Hear ye: This is the Act of Union engrossed in confirmation

of Articles solemnly concluded between the two Grand

Lodges of Free and Accepted Masons of England, signed,

sealed and ratified by the two Grand Lodges respectively: by

which they are hereafter and forever to be known and

acknowledged by the style and title of The United Grand

Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England. How say you,

Brothers, Representatives of the two Fraternities? Do you

accept of, ratify and confirm the same?"

As with one voice the assemblage replied, "We do accept,

ratify and confirm the same."

"And may the Great Architect of the Universe make the

union perpetual!" cried Dr. Coghlan.

"So mote it be!" the assemblage replied.

Dr. Barry then made formal proclamation that the union had

been ratified, with a second prayer that it might be perpetual,

to which there was another chorus of amens. After a

symphony played by the Grand Organist, Samuel Wesley,

the two Grand Masters arose and, followed by their staffs,

approached an Ark of the Covenant which had been placed

before the throne. The square, level, plumb and gavel were

presented to them in turn. After making symbolic trial of the

ark with these implements, they proclaimed it a symbol of a

union which, they prayed, might endure forever.

"So mote it be! " chanted the brethren in chorus.

The ark was then consecrated by the ancient rite of Corn,

Wine and Oil. When that had been done, a recess was

called, when the Masters and Past Masters composing the

Lodge of Reconciliation retired to another room. There,

under the presidency of Count Lagardje, Past Grand Master

of Masons in Sweden, they ratified the forms and

ceremonies previously agreed upon. This action was

formally reported to the Grand Lodge. The accepted form of

obligation was read to the assembly, and the brethren, with

hands joined, vowed faithfully to keep and perform it.

Officers of the old Grand Lodges then divested themselves

of their insignia of office. The Duke of Kent obtained the floor

and, observing that the task which had induced him to

assume the Antient Grand Mastership had been

accomplished, he nominated the Duke of Sussex for Grand

Master. The election was by unanimous voice and Sussex

was escorted to the throne by his brother and Count

Lagardje. After the transaction of routine business, the

communication was closed in proper form.

A great deal of work remained to be done, but there was a

wholesome desire throughout the united Craft to forget old

grudges and promote peace and harmony. How this

generous spirit operated to smooth away difficulties of ritual

and practice was admirably expressed by W. B. Hextall in

his article in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum (Volume XXIII, page

304) when he said:

"A conclusion to which I personally come is that for many

years after the Union - speaking approximately until about

1825 - a good deal of 'give and take' concerning ritual went

on unofficially, in London as well as in the Provinces, and

that our Craft ceremonies, as practiced from 1830 and

earlier, considerably deviated from those which were

ascertained in the Lodge of Promulgation, 1809 - 11; worked

in the Lodge of Reconciliation, 1813-16; and approved by

Grand Lodge on 5th June, 1816. The material from which we

have to draw inference is slight, but at the same time cogent;

and when (to name a few points only) we find duties

originally assigned to the Senior Deacon transferred to his

junior colleague; the entrusting with the means of

satisfactory proof leading to the second degree otherwise

performed; and the admission of a member or visitor by

proof of his having ascertained the degree in which the

Lodge is opened from an inspection of the three great lights

at the entrance (Lodge of Promulgation minutes, January

5th, 1810) fallen into complete disuse; it is difficult to avoid

recalling that, to a large extent, the subject of Craft working

must have been placed in the melting pot, and that quite

apart from the means of instruction officially provided in

1813."

Several Lodges of Instruction did in fact come into existence

and some of them became permanent. As they differed

slightly from one another they are probably accountable for

certain variations in "workings" which later came into use.

Precisely how strong the old Grand Lodges were at the

moment of union it is impossible to ascertain with a degree

of certainty. A Modern roll of 1812 mentioned 620 lodges

and an Antient record of 1813 listed 354. It is certain,

however, that some on both lists had become extinct or had

passed under the control of foreign or colonial Grand

Lodges. Hughan in Memorials of the Union observes that the

United Grand Lodge started out with 636 lodges, of which

385 were of Modern and 251 of Antient origin.

The union of 1813 completed the evolutionary phase by

which Speculative Masonry had developed from Operative

Masonry in a period of slightly less than a century. It is

impossible to exaggerate the Masonic importance of this

event. Henceforth a strong, solidified, progressive Fraternity

should be able to extend its influence, preserve its discipline

and establish its authority throughout the world. It is still

divided into numerous Grand jurisdictions, each sovereign in

its own sphere, all working harmoniously together and each

giving full faith and credit to the official acts of any other.

Freemasonry in 1927 numbered its adherents by millions

and of these approximately 97 per cent. were under the

control of regular Anglo-Saxon Grand Lodges or of other

Grand Lodges recognized by them as regular. It is possible

that the future may lead to an even more perfect union. Who

can say?