ways. formative on many most important points. E.g., the reception of the law merchant was not complete till some time thereafter. Lord Mansfield had still many years before him in his work of turning the custom of merchants into the common law. Again, the crystallization of equity, begun so well by Lord Hardwicke in the eighteenth century, was not complete till the long chancellorship of Lord Eldon in the first decade of the nineteenth century and James Kent in New York was able to divide the honor with him. Thus the fixing of the common law went on parallel in England and America for a generation after the Revolution and we worked out many things in our own way and many of our states worked out the same things in different The same thing happened in Masonry. We received the English Masonry of the eighteenth century as the foundation. But English Masonry as we received it was not a fixed and fully developed system at every point. In more than one place it was still formative and when we broke off our Masonic allegiance along with our political allegiance after 1776 that great unifying agency, Preston's Illustrations, was but fairly off the press. Thus we did much parallel with English Masonry, in the way of fixing the details. Each of our Grand Lodges has had to some extent to work out in its own way the dialogue and the setting of the noble story which the Middle Ages handed down to the eighteenth century and the latter century endeavored to reconstruct and restore from the corruptions of a long era of communication rather than working of reading or describing rather than acting. REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CHARTERS AND BY-LAWS. R.W. Brother Samuel Hauser presented the following report, which was accepted. IN GRAND LODGE, BOSTON, June 9, 1915. To the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Wardens, and Members of the Grand Lodge: The Committee on Charters and By-Laws have examined the amendments submitted by the following named Lodges and have approved the same without change: 1915. April 16. ORPHAN 'S HOPE, of East Weymouth. THE REGULAR AND INDEPENDENT GRAND LODGE OF FRANCE. M.W. Brother Charles T. Gallagher presented the following report: IN GRAND LODGE, June 9, 1915. To the M.W. Grand Master and Brethren: The Committee on our Foreign Relations with Grand Bodies, to whom was referred the petition of the Regular and Independent National Grand Lodge for France and Colonies as follows: A LA GLOIRE DU GRAND ARCHITECTE DE L'UNIVERS AU NOM DE L'ORDRE. THE GRAND SECRETARY, PARIS, le 10th July, 1914. THE GRAND LODGE, Boston (Massachusetts). DEAR SIR AND V.W. BROTHER: The Grande Loge Nationale was founded in September 1913, with a view to reviving the traditional Freemasonry in France. The official ritual of the Grande Loge is the Scottish Rite, but permission is given for the Lodges to which warrants are granted to work in any ritual sanctioned by Grand Lodges recognized as being regular by the Grande Loge Nationale. The Grande Loge Nationale has been recognized officially by the Grand Lodge of England and by the Grand Lodge of Scotland. The obligations of the Order are as follows: 1. The Lodge is opened and closed to the Glory of the Great Architect of the Universe. 2. The Volume of the Sacred Law lies open on the pedestal of the W.M. 3. No political or religious discussion is permitted in Lodge. 4. Only the three degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master are recognized. The circumstances attending the formation of the Grande Loge and its recognition by the Grand Lodge of England were set out in the proceedings of the Quarterly Communication of the 3rd December, 1913, with which you are no doubt familiar. It is hoped that the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts will henceforth recognize this Grande Loge Nationale as the only regular Masonic Body in France and will be prepared to enter into friendly relations with it. I am, dear Sir and V.W. Brother, Yours very faithfully and fraternally, L. JOLLOIS, Grand Secretary. P.S. The Scottish Rite, revised at Lyons in 1778, was confirmed at the Convention of Wilhelmsbad in 1782. respectfully report as follows: The application was supposed at first to come from the Grand Lodge of France with its 151 lodges and a membership of nearly 5,000, which had petitioned our Grand Lodge for recognition in 1907 and which we declined to recognize after an exhaustive and elaborate report, hoping that they would later put themselves in position to comply with our demands so as to renew their request in the future, but an inquiry in Paris by your Chairman in the month of March, 1914, developed the fact that the petitioning Body was an entirely new and distinct creation consisting of two existing lodges, with a possible third, with not more than sixty members, and that at its head was Prof. Dr. De Ribaucourt, who until recently had been connected with the Grand Orient of France with which all English-speaking Grand Lodges severed connection in 1877. A request to the Grand Lodge of England for information as to its recognition brought the address of the Secretary of the new Grand Lodge, to whom your Chairman wrote as follows: M. LOUIS JOLLOIS, BOSTON, MASS., March 18, 1914. 94 Boulevard Richard Lenoir, Paris, France. DEAR SIR AND BROTHER: Sir Edward Letchworth, the London Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of England, gave me your address in response to the request on my part to know what Grand Lodge in France has been recognized by the Grand Lodge of England. Will you kindly tell me: 1. Lodge? How many Subordinate Lodges there are under your Grand 2. How many members in all the Bodies under its jurisdiction? 3. When and where does the Grand Lodge meet? 4. What is the name of the Grand Master and with what was he affiliated before the present Grand Lodge? 5. Does this Grand Lodge claim authority from any other Body, or is it organized independently? 6. Are any of its Lodges now under the Grand Orient or the Grand Lodge of France, or have they withdrawn from either of those Bodies? As I am Chairman of the Committee of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on the Recognition of Foreign Jurisdictions, I ask these questions for the information of our Grand Lodge. Thanking you in advance, I am, Very truly and fraternally yours, CHAS. T. GALLAGHER, 33°, No answer had been received at the time of the reference of this petition in September to your Committee. December 28th your Chairman wrote Dr. Ribaucourt calling attention to the fact that no answer had come to the March letter and a card of explanation for the failure to respond by the Secretary was received from Dr. E. de Ribaucourt |