Part 4 (2/2)
The English Const.i.tutions conclude, in the pa.s.sage that has formed the basis of our previous remarks, by a.s.serting that ”in the Grand Lodge, alone, resides the power of erasing lodges and expelling Brethren from the craft, a power which it ought not to delegate to any subordinate authority.” The power of the Grand Lodge to erase lodges is accompanied with a coincident power of const.i.tuting new lodges. This power it originally shared with the Grand Master, and still does in England; but in this country the power of the Grand Lodge is paramount to that of the Grand Master. The latter can only const.i.tute lodges temporarily, by dispensation, and his act must be confirmed, or may be annulled by the Grand Lodge. It is not until a lodge has received its Warrant of Const.i.tution from the Grand Lodge, that it can a.s.sume the rank and exercise the prerogatives of a regular and legal lodge.
The expelling power is one that is very properly intrusted to the Grand Lodge, which is the only tribunal that should impose a penalty affecting the relations of the punished party with the whole fraternity. Some of the lodges in this country have claimed the right to expel independently of the action of the Grand Lodge. But the claim is founded on an erroneous a.s.sumption of powers that have never existed, and which are not recognized by the ancient const.i.tutions, nor the general usages of the fraternity. A subordinate lodge tries its delinquent member, under the provisions which have already been stated, and, according to the general usage of lodges in the United States, declares him expelled. But the sentence is of no force nor effect until it has been confirmed by the Grand Lodge, which may, or may not, give the required confirmation, and which, indeed, often refuses to do so, but actually reverses the sentence. It is apparent, from the views already expressed on the judicial powers of the Grand Lodge, that the sentence of expulsion uttered by the subordinate is to be taken in the sense of a recommendatory report, and that it is the confirmation and adoption of that report by the Grand Lodge that alone gives it vitality and effect.
The expelling power presumes, of course, coincidently, the reinstating power. As the Grand Lodge alone can expel, it also alone can reinstate.
These const.i.tute the general powers and prerogatives of a Grand Lodge. Of course there are other local powers, a.s.sumed by various Grand Lodges, and differing in the several jurisdictions, but they are all derived from some one of the three cla.s.ses that we have enumerated. From these views, it will appear that a Grand Lodge is the supreme legislative, judicial, and executive authority of the Masonic jurisdiction in which it is situated.
It is, to use a feudal term, ”the lord paramount” in Masonry. It is a representative body, in which, however, it const.i.tuents have delegated everything and reserved no rights to themselves. Its authority is almost unlimited, for it is restrained by but a single check:--_It cannot alter or remove the ancient landmarks_.
Book Second
Laws of Subordinate Lodges.
Having thus succinctly treated of the law in relation to Grand Lodges, I come next in order to consider the law as it respects the organization, rights, powers, and privileges of subordinate Lodges; and the first question that will engage our attention will be, as to the proper method of organizing a Lodge.
Chapter I.
Of the Nature and Organization of Subordinate Lodges.
The old charges define a Lodge to be ”a place where Masons a.s.semble and work;” and also ”that a.s.sembly, or duly organized society of Masons.” The lecture on the first degree gives a still more precise definition. It says that ”a lodge is an a.s.semblage of Masons, duly congregated, having the Holy Bible, square, and compa.s.ses, and a charter, or warrant of const.i.tution, empowering them to work.”
Every lodge of Masons requires for its proper organization, that it should have been congregated by the permission of some superior authority, which may be either a Grand Master or a Grand Lodge. When a lodge is organized by the authority of a Grand Master, it is said to work under a Dispensation, and when by the authority of a Grand Lodge, it is said to work under a warrant of const.i.tution. In the history of a lodge, the former authority generally precedes the latter, the lodge usually working for some time under the dispensation of the Grand Master, before it is regularly warranted by the Grand Lodge. But this is not necessarily the case. A Grand Lodge will sometimes grant a warrant of const.i.tution at once, without the previous exercise, on the part of the Grand Master, of his dispensing power. As it is, however, more usually the practice for the dispensation to precede the warrant of const.i.tution, I shall explain the formation of a lodge according to that method.
Any number of Master Masons, not under seven, being desirous of uniting themselves into a lodge, apply by pet.i.tion to the Grand Master for the necessary authority. This pet.i.tion must set forth that they now are, or have been, members of a regularly const.i.tuted lodge, and must a.s.sign, as a reason for their application, that they desire to form the lodge ”for the conveniency of their respective dwellings,” or some other sufficient reason. The pet.i.tion must also name the brethren whom they desire to act as their Master and Wardens, and the place where they intend to meet; and it must be recommended by the nearest lodge.
Dalcho says that not less than three Master Masons should sign the pet.i.tion; but in this he differs from all the other authorities, which require not less than seven. This rule, too, seems to be founded in reason; for, as it requires seven Masons to const.i.tute a quorum for opening and holding a lodge of Entered Apprentices, it would be absurd to authorize a smaller number to organize a lodge which, after its organization, could not be opened, nor make Masons in that degree.
Preston says that the pet.i.tion must be recommended ”by the Masters of three regular lodges adjacent to the place where the new lodge is to be held.” Dalcho says it must be recommended ”by three other known and approved Master Masons,” but does not make any allusion to any adjacent lodge. The laws and regulations of the Grand Lodge of Scotland require the recommendation to be signed ”by the Masters and officers of two of the nearest lodges.” The Const.i.tutions of the Grand Lodge of England require that it must be recommended ”by the officers of some regular lodge.” The recommendation of a neighboring lodge is the general usage of the craft, and is intended to certify to the superior authority, on the very best evidence that can be obtained, that, namely, of an adjacent lodge, that the new lodge will be productive of no injury to the Order.
If this pet.i.tion be granted, the Grand Secretary prepares a doc.u.ment called a _dispensation_, which authorizes the officers named in the pet.i.tion to open and hold a lodge, and to ”enter, pa.s.s, and raise Freemasons.” The duration of this dispensasation is generally expressed on its face to be, ”until it shall be revoked by the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge, or until a warrant of const.i.tution is granted by the Grand Lodge.” Preston says, that the Brethren named in it are authorized ”to a.s.semble as Masons for forty days, and until such time as a warrant of const.i.tution can be obtained by command of the Grand Lodge, or that authority be recalled.” But generally, usage continues the dispensation only until the next meeting of the Grand Lodge, when it is either revoked, or a warrant of const.i.tution granted.
If the dispensation be revoked by either the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge (for either has the power to do so), the lodge of course at once ceases to exist. Whatever funds or property it has acc.u.mulated revert, as in the case of all extinct lodges, to the Grand Lodge, which may be called the natural heir of its subordinates; but all the work done in the lodge, under the dispensation, is regular and legal, and all the Masons made by it are, in every sense of the term, ”true and lawful Brethren.”
Let it be supposed, however, that the dispensation is confirmed or approved by the Grand Lodge, and we thus arrive at another step in the history of the new lodge. At the next sitting of the Grand Lodge, after the dispensation has been issued by the Grand Master, he states that fact to the Grand Lodge, when, either at his request, or on motion of some Brother, the vote is taken on the question of const.i.tuting the new lodge, and, if a majority are in favor of it, the Grand Secretary is ordered to grant a warrant of const.i.tution.
This instrument differs from a dispensation in many important particulars.
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