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Article THE 1757 NOVA SCOTIA WARRANTS. ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE 1757 NOVA SCOTIA WARRANTS. Page 2 of 2
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The 1757 Nova Scotia Warrants.
before the end of the year 1749 , and consequently supposed that Masonry was established both at Annapolis and at Halifax some time before 1740 , and I was not the only one
that was misled by the " 1740 . Omitted in place , " for , in 1871 , Grand Master Gardner , in his oration on Henry Price , ascribed those events to about the year 1735 . Bro . Gardner ' s address was extensively read , but no one
found fault with it . Guess then Bro . Gardner s surprise when , in 1872 , 1 placed before him Haliburton ' s History of Novia Scotia , and pointed out that Halifax in Nova Scotia was unknown before 1749 . Now Bro . Gardner ' s address , in 1871 , was designed to upset my arguments against the then belief that Price was appointed Grand Master iu 1733 over New England , and in 1734 over all North America .
In 1873 I surprised Bro . Gardner still further by laying before him a pamphlet , printed at Halifax in 1786 , purporting to give a sketch of the origin of Masonry in Nova Scotia , which ascribes to Erasmus Jas . Philips ( fche
name is variously spelled ) , of Annapolis , in 1750 , the introduction of Masonry into Halifax , by virtue of his being some how a Deputy Grand Master ) , of which , however , they
were not certain ) . So after referring to the death of the Prince of Wales , which took place in 1751 , the pamphlet goes on to say : —
"At this time our R . W . Bro . Philips probably acted nnder a deputation , for we find a Grand Warrant dated seven years after this from tbe R . W . and Hon . William Stuart , Earl of Blessington , Grand Master of England , constituting Erasmus James Philips , Esq ., Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia , " & c , & c .
Now , in the first place , it is evident from the above that tbe Nova Scotia Masons of 1786 had not the remotest idea thafc Erasmus Jas . Philips had any knowledge of Henry Price . And second , if E . J . Philips had been initiated in
Boston , and if he had received a Warrant or a Deputation from a Boston Grand Master , he could readily have obtained all fche authority he wanted in 1757 , either from Boston or from the Grand Lodge of England , and therefore would never have applied to Dermott for such authority .
Now , E . J . Philips was certainly in Annapolis in 1726 . The probability is that he was initiated in England in one of the irregular Lodges we read of . At Annapolis he
initiated some of his fellow officers , and opened a Lodge the same as a man did in Philadelphia in 1731 , and as half a dozen men did in Boston in 1752 , and thinking that he could more easily obtain acknowledgment from the
Ancients than from the aristocratic Moderns , Bro . Philips therefore applied in 1757 to Dermott . Now , on the 19 th July 1750 , Gov . Cornwallis and Lord Colvill , the commander of the fleet , were initiated in the Halifax new
Lodge . After Lord Colvill left Halifax he was for some months stationed in Boston . 24 th October 1750 , his Lordship was elected a member of the Boston Lodge * . 2 nd November following he was raised to the third degree
in the Master Masons' Lodge , be also served as Master or the first Lodge , and as Provincial Deputy Grand Master . From Lord Colvill they doubtless learned in Boston about E . Jas . Philips and his Lodges in Nova Scotia , and as Henry
Price was ambitious to be regarded as the founder of all the then Lodges in America , for he claimed to have chartered the first Lodge in Philadelphia in 1734 , a Lodge in New Hampshire in 1735 , also a Lodge in South Carolina , and as
the first Boston Lodge had not in 1750 a scrap of a record older than 1738 , and as the Prov . G . L . never had a record or Secretary before 1750 or 1751 , aud as Bro . Charles Pelham was in 1751 employed to write up a record of fche
Grand Lodge from 1733 , for the contents of which ho was wholly indebted to Price ' s information , hence he committed the blunder of ascribing the origin of Masonry
in Nova Scotia to a period anterior to 1740 . There is no doubt , therefore , iu my mind , that Nova Scotia Masonry had no connection whatever with Henry Price , or with tho Massachusetts Provincial Grand Lodge .
Now for the Nova Scotia Warrants of 1757 . From n
letter I received from Bro . Sadler I learned that he still believed thafc the Nova Scotia Warrants were signed by " Blesinton . " This induced me to reperuse Bro . Brennan ' s History of Freemasonry in Nova Scotia , which I havo not
road since 1875 , and also an article of mine , viz ., " Origin of Freemasony in Nova Scotia , " in tho Masonic Mdgnzine , "Vol . I . p 131 , where tlie reader will find the g ist of tinpamphlet printed at Halifax in 1780 , which , by the bye ,
Bro . Brennan believed fc > bj uaioyne . Well thf-n , Brother E . J . Philips received three documents in 1758 from Dermott , respectively numbered 1 , 2 , and 3 , two of which were written on parchment and one on paper . The
The 1757 Nova Scotia Warrants.
Provincial Grand Lodge Warrant No . 1 , and Lodge Warrant No . 2 , both written on parchment , evidently by Dermott , are " stamped with slightly oval seal of wax ,
having on the superior portion thereof the impress of a square and compass , and beneath a naked dagger , the whole partially surrounded with tho words 'Virtue and Silence . '"
This proves that the Ancients had a seal in 1757 . The
name of Erasmus James Philips was in the Grand Lodge Warrant given as Provincial G . M ., and the names of the D . G . M . and of two Grand Wardens are also given . The Grand Lodge Warrant is thus headed : —
"B LKSINTON Grand Master . Wm . Halford D . G . M . Eobert Goodman S . G . W . Wm . Osborn J . G . W . To all to whom it may concern , & o .
No . 65 in England . > We , tbe Grand Lodge of the Most No . 1 in Nova Scotia , j Ancient and Hon'ble Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , in ample
form assembled , viz ., the Right Worshipful and Right Honourable William Stuart , Earl of Blesinton ( in the Kingdom of Ireland ) Grand Master in England , William Halford , Esq . Deputy Grand Master , Mr . Robert Goodman Senior Grand Warden , Mr . Wm .
Osborn Junior Grand Warden , by and with the approbation and consent of Forty-seven Lodges , held in the cities and suburbs of London and Westminster , Do hereby authorise and empower our Trnsty and Well beloved Brethren that are now or hereafter may become
inhabitants in fcho Province of Nova Scotia to form and hold a Provincial Graud Lodge in the said Province independent of any former Dispensation , Warrant , or Constitution granted by us or our Predecessors to New England or elsewhere . "
There are two misstatements in the above , to which I must direct Bro . Sadler ' s attention . First , "forty seven Lodges , " located near London , could not have given their consent to the Halifax Warrants in 1757 , because Dermott
could not then have mustered more than about 34 living Lodges from far and near . And second , as neither Lord " Blesinton " nor any of bis predecessors , had , previous to 27 th December 1757 , ever granted any Masonic powers to
any part of America , it was simply a piece of humbug on the part of Dermott to insert into the Nova Scotia Warrant that Lord Blessingfcon , or his predecessors , had granted Constitutions or Warrants to New England .
This Warrant winds up with the signature of " Laur . Dermott Gd . Secretary . " Now , as all the copies of Deputations or Charters issued by the Grand Lodge of England that I have met with , either
in records or in print , were invariably signed at the bottom by the Deputy G . M ., as well as by the Wardens and G . Sec , I naturally supposed that the Nova Scotia Warrants were signed by Dermott only , but on reperusing Bro . Brennan ' s Book , I found , on page 304 , as follows : —
" For this organization , in 1756 , he [ Dermott ] in some manner obtained tha consent of the Earl of Blessington to become its Grand Master . Certainly those Charters or Warrants , sent by him to Halifas , bear at the top , in manner as if written by the hand of thafc
nobleman , the signature of'Blesinton Grand Master , ' the last two words being written by the hand which wrote the Warrants . The spelling of the name is different from thafc of its appearance anywhere in print . "
After perusing the above , said 1 to myself , " Well ! we must live and learn . " Who would have supposed that in fche second half of the last century a British nobleman did not know how to spell his own title , and thafc Masonic
Warrants were signed by the Grand Officers at the top instead of tbe bottom . Such , however , was the case , and Bro . Sadler was right in this case also to charge me with carelessness . This frank confession of mine will , I hope ,
satisfy Bro . Sadler thafc I am opjn to conviction , and that I am always ready to confess my errors when 1 am convinced they are such . lam sorry , however , to inform him that vve are still as wide apart as ever on fche main question
at issue . I still believe that Dermott and his gang in 1751-2 had no just cause to create a schism in the Oraft , that if they imagined they had a cause they certainly never made au effort , either by petition or otherwise , to induce
the Grand Lodge to remove the alleged cause . And after looking afc Dennett ' s conduct from every point of view , I am still convinced that he w ; is a most unscrupulous bra « f gcr and Masonic quack , and I assure Bro . Sadler that other Americans beside Bro . MacCalla s ' mre in my opinion . BOSTON , U . S ., 22 nd M > , ™ h 1889 .
NO MORE DEAF . —Niohulsou ' d Pi . t-ntu . J Artificial Ear Drums cure Deiifness siiul X-iises in tho He .-id in sip stages . 1 : 12 pasre illustrated Book , with full de .-icriptioji live . Addioc . s J . II . NICUULHON , __ !! Bedfordsquare , London , W . C .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The 1757 Nova Scotia Warrants.
before the end of the year 1749 , and consequently supposed that Masonry was established both at Annapolis and at Halifax some time before 1740 , and I was not the only one
that was misled by the " 1740 . Omitted in place , " for , in 1871 , Grand Master Gardner , in his oration on Henry Price , ascribed those events to about the year 1735 . Bro . Gardner ' s address was extensively read , but no one
found fault with it . Guess then Bro . Gardner s surprise when , in 1872 , 1 placed before him Haliburton ' s History of Novia Scotia , and pointed out that Halifax in Nova Scotia was unknown before 1749 . Now Bro . Gardner ' s address , in 1871 , was designed to upset my arguments against the then belief that Price was appointed Grand Master iu 1733 over New England , and in 1734 over all North America .
In 1873 I surprised Bro . Gardner still further by laying before him a pamphlet , printed at Halifax in 1786 , purporting to give a sketch of the origin of Masonry in Nova Scotia , which ascribes to Erasmus Jas . Philips ( fche
name is variously spelled ) , of Annapolis , in 1750 , the introduction of Masonry into Halifax , by virtue of his being some how a Deputy Grand Master ) , of which , however , they
were not certain ) . So after referring to the death of the Prince of Wales , which took place in 1751 , the pamphlet goes on to say : —
"At this time our R . W . Bro . Philips probably acted nnder a deputation , for we find a Grand Warrant dated seven years after this from tbe R . W . and Hon . William Stuart , Earl of Blessington , Grand Master of England , constituting Erasmus James Philips , Esq ., Provincial Grand Master of Nova Scotia , " & c , & c .
Now , in the first place , it is evident from the above that tbe Nova Scotia Masons of 1786 had not the remotest idea thafc Erasmus Jas . Philips had any knowledge of Henry Price . And second , if E . J . Philips had been initiated in
Boston , and if he had received a Warrant or a Deputation from a Boston Grand Master , he could readily have obtained all fche authority he wanted in 1757 , either from Boston or from the Grand Lodge of England , and therefore would never have applied to Dermott for such authority .
Now , E . J . Philips was certainly in Annapolis in 1726 . The probability is that he was initiated in England in one of the irregular Lodges we read of . At Annapolis he
initiated some of his fellow officers , and opened a Lodge the same as a man did in Philadelphia in 1731 , and as half a dozen men did in Boston in 1752 , and thinking that he could more easily obtain acknowledgment from the
Ancients than from the aristocratic Moderns , Bro . Philips therefore applied in 1757 to Dermott . Now , on the 19 th July 1750 , Gov . Cornwallis and Lord Colvill , the commander of the fleet , were initiated in the Halifax new
Lodge . After Lord Colvill left Halifax he was for some months stationed in Boston . 24 th October 1750 , his Lordship was elected a member of the Boston Lodge * . 2 nd November following he was raised to the third degree
in the Master Masons' Lodge , be also served as Master or the first Lodge , and as Provincial Deputy Grand Master . From Lord Colvill they doubtless learned in Boston about E . Jas . Philips and his Lodges in Nova Scotia , and as Henry
Price was ambitious to be regarded as the founder of all the then Lodges in America , for he claimed to have chartered the first Lodge in Philadelphia in 1734 , a Lodge in New Hampshire in 1735 , also a Lodge in South Carolina , and as
the first Boston Lodge had not in 1750 a scrap of a record older than 1738 , and as the Prov . G . L . never had a record or Secretary before 1750 or 1751 , aud as Bro . Charles Pelham was in 1751 employed to write up a record of fche
Grand Lodge from 1733 , for the contents of which ho was wholly indebted to Price ' s information , hence he committed the blunder of ascribing the origin of Masonry
in Nova Scotia to a period anterior to 1740 . There is no doubt , therefore , iu my mind , that Nova Scotia Masonry had no connection whatever with Henry Price , or with tho Massachusetts Provincial Grand Lodge .
Now for the Nova Scotia Warrants of 1757 . From n
letter I received from Bro . Sadler I learned that he still believed thafc the Nova Scotia Warrants were signed by " Blesinton . " This induced me to reperuse Bro . Brennan ' s History of Freemasonry in Nova Scotia , which I havo not
road since 1875 , and also an article of mine , viz ., " Origin of Freemasony in Nova Scotia , " in tho Masonic Mdgnzine , "Vol . I . p 131 , where tlie reader will find the g ist of tinpamphlet printed at Halifax in 1780 , which , by the bye ,
Bro . Brennan believed fc > bj uaioyne . Well thf-n , Brother E . J . Philips received three documents in 1758 from Dermott , respectively numbered 1 , 2 , and 3 , two of which were written on parchment and one on paper . The
The 1757 Nova Scotia Warrants.
Provincial Grand Lodge Warrant No . 1 , and Lodge Warrant No . 2 , both written on parchment , evidently by Dermott , are " stamped with slightly oval seal of wax ,
having on the superior portion thereof the impress of a square and compass , and beneath a naked dagger , the whole partially surrounded with tho words 'Virtue and Silence . '"
This proves that the Ancients had a seal in 1757 . The
name of Erasmus James Philips was in the Grand Lodge Warrant given as Provincial G . M ., and the names of the D . G . M . and of two Grand Wardens are also given . The Grand Lodge Warrant is thus headed : —
"B LKSINTON Grand Master . Wm . Halford D . G . M . Eobert Goodman S . G . W . Wm . Osborn J . G . W . To all to whom it may concern , & o .
No . 65 in England . > We , tbe Grand Lodge of the Most No . 1 in Nova Scotia , j Ancient and Hon'ble Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , in ample
form assembled , viz ., the Right Worshipful and Right Honourable William Stuart , Earl of Blesinton ( in the Kingdom of Ireland ) Grand Master in England , William Halford , Esq . Deputy Grand Master , Mr . Robert Goodman Senior Grand Warden , Mr . Wm .
Osborn Junior Grand Warden , by and with the approbation and consent of Forty-seven Lodges , held in the cities and suburbs of London and Westminster , Do hereby authorise and empower our Trnsty and Well beloved Brethren that are now or hereafter may become
inhabitants in fcho Province of Nova Scotia to form and hold a Provincial Graud Lodge in the said Province independent of any former Dispensation , Warrant , or Constitution granted by us or our Predecessors to New England or elsewhere . "
There are two misstatements in the above , to which I must direct Bro . Sadler ' s attention . First , "forty seven Lodges , " located near London , could not have given their consent to the Halifax Warrants in 1757 , because Dermott
could not then have mustered more than about 34 living Lodges from far and near . And second , as neither Lord " Blesinton " nor any of bis predecessors , had , previous to 27 th December 1757 , ever granted any Masonic powers to
any part of America , it was simply a piece of humbug on the part of Dermott to insert into the Nova Scotia Warrant that Lord Blessingfcon , or his predecessors , had granted Constitutions or Warrants to New England .
This Warrant winds up with the signature of " Laur . Dermott Gd . Secretary . " Now , as all the copies of Deputations or Charters issued by the Grand Lodge of England that I have met with , either
in records or in print , were invariably signed at the bottom by the Deputy G . M ., as well as by the Wardens and G . Sec , I naturally supposed that the Nova Scotia Warrants were signed by Dermott only , but on reperusing Bro . Brennan ' s Book , I found , on page 304 , as follows : —
" For this organization , in 1756 , he [ Dermott ] in some manner obtained tha consent of the Earl of Blessington to become its Grand Master . Certainly those Charters or Warrants , sent by him to Halifas , bear at the top , in manner as if written by the hand of thafc
nobleman , the signature of'Blesinton Grand Master , ' the last two words being written by the hand which wrote the Warrants . The spelling of the name is different from thafc of its appearance anywhere in print . "
After perusing the above , said 1 to myself , " Well ! we must live and learn . " Who would have supposed that in fche second half of the last century a British nobleman did not know how to spell his own title , and thafc Masonic
Warrants were signed by the Grand Officers at the top instead of tbe bottom . Such , however , was the case , and Bro . Sadler was right in this case also to charge me with carelessness . This frank confession of mine will , I hope ,
satisfy Bro . Sadler thafc I am opjn to conviction , and that I am always ready to confess my errors when 1 am convinced they are such . lam sorry , however , to inform him that vve are still as wide apart as ever on fche main question
at issue . I still believe that Dermott and his gang in 1751-2 had no just cause to create a schism in the Oraft , that if they imagined they had a cause they certainly never made au effort , either by petition or otherwise , to induce
the Grand Lodge to remove the alleged cause . And after looking afc Dennett ' s conduct from every point of view , I am still convinced that he w ; is a most unscrupulous bra « f gcr and Masonic quack , and I assure Bro . Sadler that other Americans beside Bro . MacCalla s ' mre in my opinion . BOSTON , U . S ., 22 nd M > , ™ h 1889 .
NO MORE DEAF . —Niohulsou ' d Pi . t-ntu . J Artificial Ear Drums cure Deiifness siiul X-iises in tho He .-id in sip stages . 1 : 12 pasre illustrated Book , with full de .-icriptioji live . Addioc . s J . II . NICUULHON , __ !! Bedfordsquare , London , W . C .