THE BUILDER MARCH 1925

Studies of Masonry in the United States 
By BRO. H. L. HAYWOOD, Editor
PART VII. THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE SYSTEM

THE history of organized Masonry in Massachusetts properly begins
with the Deputation issued to Henry Price by the Grand Master of
England, Lord viscount Montague, appointing him "Provincial Grand
Master of New England and Dominions and Territories thereunto
belonging." Chronologically it would stand next in order, in this
course of studies, to give an account of Price and his Deputation;
but that has been deferred until the succeeding chapter in order to
give some account of the Provincial Grand Lodge System, a knowledge
of which is necessary to an understanding of Price's Masonic
career.

After the first Grand Lodge was established in London in 1717 each
new lodge was solemnly constituted by the Grand Master himself, or
else, in his absence, by his Deputy. As the Fraternity grew in
membership and an ever increasing number of lodges came into
existence, it became physically impossible for either the Grand
Master or the Deputy Grand Master to officiate in person; thereupon
Grand Masters' adopted the custom to grant a Deputation to some
brother to act in the name of the Grand Master. As lodges still
further increased in number, with the subsequent complexity of
government thereby made necessary, the further custom arose of
deputizing Provincial Grand Masters to act over a given term of
years. The Deputation granted to such a Provincial Grand Master
authorized him to constitute lodges as requirements might arise; it
was not a Deputation issued for the constitution of any one lodge,
and therefore was an enlargement of authority over the Deputations
issued under the earlier conditions. But even so the Provincial
Grand Master was in reality merely the Grand Master's Deputy and
derived all his authority from the Grand Master himself, and not
from the lodges that might comprise his Provincial Grand Lodge,
should he cause such to be organized. since it was the Grand
Master, and not Grand Lodge, that issued such Deputations, the
issuance of them was not always reported back to Grand Lodge, and
for this reason a number of such Deputations do not show in Grand
Lodge Minutes.

Preston states that the first Deputation for a Provincial Grand
Master was issued on May 10, 1727, for North Wales, but this is an
error. Grand Lodge Minutes, as edited by Bro. W. J. Songhurst, page
73, show that on May 10, 1727, a letter from the Provincial Grand
Master of Chester, under date of April 15, 1727, was read to Grand
Lodge, thereby proving that a Provincial Grand Master had been
deputized prior to May 10. The Masonic Year Book for 1924,
published under the authority of the United Grand Lodge of England,
shows that the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire had a Provincial
Grand Master in the person of Colonel Francis Columbine in 1725
(page 323). In the same book a Provincial Grand Lodge of North
Wales is shown as having been organized in 1726 (page 264), and
that of South Wales as having had sir Edward Mansel as Prov. G. M.
in 1727 (page 330). The Grand Lodge Minutes, above referred to,
also show that a Deputation was issued for Daniel Coxe to be Prov.
G. M. of the provinces of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania in
America on June 5, 1730. On page 222 of this same book, under date
of Nov. 21, 1732, the Right Honorable, the Lord Southwell, is shown
as Provincial Grand Master in Ireland. Under date of April 17,
1735, Randolph Took was appointed to be Provincial Grand Master of
South America, and under date of April 6, 1738, John Hammerton is
shown as attending Grand Lodge as Prov. G. M. of South Carolina,
but nothing is said in the Minutes concerning the deputizing of
either Took or Hammerton.

THE ENGLISH SYSTEM WAS EXTENDED TO AMERICA

The erection of the Provincial Grand Lodge System in the American
Colonies was an inevitable extension of the system found necessary
in England, as above described. Bro. Josiah H. Drummond makes note
of this in a paragraph showing the number of Provincial Grand
Lodges in existence at the time of the Revolution:

"From the first creation of chartered lodges in this country down
to the Revolution, Masonry was governed through the Provincial
Grand Lodge system except that occasionally lodges were chartered
directly by the home Grand Lodge in provinces in which it had no
Provincial Grand Lodge. When hostilities commenced, there were
Provincial Grand Lodges, in real or nominal existence, in
Massachusetts (for New England), New York, Virginia, South
Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia under the Grand Lodge of
England ('Moderns')- in Massachusetts (for Boston and within one
hundred miles thereof) under the Grand Lodge of Scotland- and in
Pennsylvania under the 'Ancient' Grand Lodge of England: in 1781,
the Athol [or Ancient] Grand Lodge established a Provincial Grand
Lodge in New York."

When the Ancient Grand Lodge was organized in London in 1751 as a
rival to the Grand Lodge of 1717, it adopted a somewhat different
system of deputizing Provincial Grand Masters, described concisely
by Bro. Henry Sadler in his Masonic Reprints and Historical
Revelations (page 83):

"A distinct difference may be observed between the Moderns and the
Antients in the mode of appointing Provincial Grand Masters. By the
former, such appointments, being considered the personal
prerogative of the Grand Master for the time being, were seldom
even reported to the Grand Lodge after the first few years of its
existence. Hence nearly every county in England and Wales, as well
as many of the colonial districts and several foreign countries,
had a Provincial Grand Master, although in some few instances the
head of the province had no lodges to rule over.

"A complete list of the Provincial Grand Masters under the Modern
Grand Lodge will be found in the Grand Lodge Calendar, but no
attempt has hitherto been made to collate those of the Antients,
who allowed their Grand Masters no such privilege as before
mentioned, the appointments being very few, and only made in
response to petitions to the Grand Lodge.

"When a new lodge was to be opened, either at home or abroad, it
was customary for the authorities to issue a Dispensation to some
duly-qualified brother in the neighborhood to act as Deputy Grand
Master pro tem, and to 'open and hold a Grand Lodge, for the space
of three hours only,' for the purpose of Constituting the lodge and
Installing the first officers.

"So far as I can learn, the appointment of a Provincial Grand
Master for York, Chester, and Lancaster was the only one made in
England.

"The brethren abroad, after a Provincial Grand Warrant had been
granted and a person nominated as first Provincial Grand Master,
seldom troubled the home authorities for a successor, but selected
one for themselves, and merely reported the name to the Grand
Secretary when they sent him a list of their officers; and as that
functionary kept no record of such appointments this list may not
be absolutely perfect in every particular.

"These Provincial Grand Lodges were Warranted and given a number on
the general list of lodges, in most cases taking a local number as
well."

Brother Sadler makes note of the Provincial Grand Masters deputized
by that Grand Lodge in the Western Hemisphere, among which we note:
Major Erasmus James Philips, Nova Scotia, 1757; William Ball,
Pennsylvania, 1761; Dr. Thomas Fogarty, Montserrat and Nevis, 1767;
Rev. William Walter, New York, 1781; Prince Edward, Duke of Kent,
Lower Canada, 1792-1812; William Jarvis, Upper Canada, 1792; and
Honorable William Blake, Jamaica, 1796.

GARDNER EXPLAINED THE SYSTEM

One of the best explanations extant of the Provincial Grand Lodge
System from an American point of view is found in an address
delivered by William S. Gardner, Grand Master of Massachusetts, in
1870. It is worthy of being quoted in extenso:

"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 authority 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 gratia, 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 him 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."

AS IT WAS IN 1756

In the course of his argument Bro. Gardner quoted the Entick
edition of the Constitutions which show how the Provincial Grand
Lodge System was regulated in 1756:

"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 entitled 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 Provincial Grand Lodge System was a gradual development and
remained in a condition of flux for a number of years. The extant
records of early American Grand Lodges would indicate that on this
side of the water our American brethren were not very certain in
their own minds as to what was expected of them. We find the Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania turning to the Grand Lodge of England to ask
for the deputizing of a Provincial Grand Master, and then turning
toward Henry Price, at Boston, to ask him to extend his authority
over Pennsylvania. Did the American Provincial Grand Lodges each
one derive its authority directly from England? Or was it supposed
that authority resided in some one American Provincial Grand Master
who in turn passed it down to other Provincial Grand Masters? Why
was Henry Price's authority extended to cover the whole of North
America at the time when a Grand Master resided in Philadelphia ?
It is difficult to clear up these questions.

JOHNSON IS QUOTED

Bro. Melvin Johnson has recently commented on them in a private
letter which he has very kindly permitted me to quote in these
pages:

"The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, of which Price was Grand Master,
was a Provincial Grand Lodge, instituted by him. His authority was
subsequently extended over North America. I have never felt that
gave the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts authority over all North
America. I have never felt that gave the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts authority over all North America. I have felt that
the authority resided in Price to establish provincial authority
elsewhere when he saw fit to do so. When he did it their authority
was derived from him, who in turn derived his authority from
England.

"The Grand Lodge of England was not a very careful respecter of its
own practices and rules. In spite of authority given to Price, it
constituted other Provincial Grand Lodges direct. Price was not the
only Provincial Grand Master whose authority was disrespected by
the power appointing him. There are numerous instances where a
Commission issued covering a time or period in part of which a new
Provincial Grand Master was appointed or lodges were founded
direct. In other words, in this whole period conditions were more
or less fluid. Price's authority should have been respected
throughout North America.

"You will remember a protest was made when subsequent Provincial
Grand Masters found that other lodges had been constituted without
going through them. I suppose the power that issued their warrants
had authority to do what it did I every time an authoritative
commission was given which deleted from the authority of the North
American Provincial. I suppose that was legal and by so much
decreased his authority unless it was expected that even though an
appointment was made it was still to be under him.

"To tell the truth my impression is that they didn't think much
about those things in that period. They were so anxious to spread
Freemasonry and the authority of the English Grand Lodge that they
just went ahead and did things whenever there was a good
opportunity. When the Grand Lodge of England was organized indeed,
it was at first only supposed to have local authority. Almost
immediately, however, it began to extend that authority so that it
was only a short time when it had assumed exclusive jurisdiction at
least in England and all of England's possessions. It even went
further and almost assumed jurisdiction over the world. Where a
country does this sort of thing in previously unexplored country,
what it does is recognized by the rest of the world. Just so with
Freemasonry. The action of the English Grand Lodge in extending its
authority was at first successful de facto and indeed was
recognized de jure. Subsequent developments limited the
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England from its fluid coverage
to what is now recognized.

"That again was the working out of the facts of history.

"I have said above that it did not seem to me that the other
Provincial Grand Lodges in North America were subject to the Grand
Lodge here in Boston. That is only my conclusion, but without
giving the matter very careful thought and study I am quite sure
that this conclusion is right. I do think that from 1734 Price was
the Provincial Grand Master of all North America--so were some of
his successors. I think that they had full provincial authority
over North America except in such places as had been cut out of
that authority by a direct appointment from England."

Inasmuch as they will be frequently referred to it may be of use
for future chapters of these studies to give a list of the
Provincial Grand Masters appointed in America by the Grand Lodge of
1717, those appointed by the Grand Lodge of 1751 having been
already given in the quotation from Bro. Henry Sadler:

In 1729 the Duke of Norfolk appointed Daniel Coxe for New York, New
Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

In 1733 Lord Viscount Montague appointed Henry Price for New
England and Dominions and Territories belonging thereto.

In 1736 the Earl of Loudoun appointed Robert Tomlinson for New
England and John Hammerton for South Carolina.

In 1737 the Earl of Darnley appointed Richard Riggs for New York.

In 1742 Lord Ward appointed Thomas Oxnard for North America.

In 1747, 1748, 1749, 1750, 1751, Lord Byron appointed William Allen
for Pennsylvania and Francis Goelet for New York.

In 1752 and 1753 Lord Carysfort appointed George Harrison for New
York.

In 1754, 1755 the Marquis of Carnarvon appointed Peter Leigh for
South Carolina and Jeremiah Gridley for all North America, except
where a Provincial Grand Master had been already appointed.

In 1758-1762 Lord Aberdour appointed Grey Elliot for Georgia and
Benjamin Smith for Carolina.

In 1768 Lord Beaufort appointed John Rowe in the room of Henry
Price.

In 1770-1774 Lord Petre re-appointed Henry Price for North America;
John Cullins for Canada; Noble Jones for Georgia; and Honorable
Peyton Randolph for Virginia.

In 1771 the Duke of Beaufort appointed Joseph Montfort of North
Carolina "Provisional Grand Master of and for America."

Note:--I shall appreciate having any error or omission in this list
called to my attention. H. L. H.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

On references to Provincial Grand Lodges in the Minutes of the
Grand Lodge of England see Ars Quatuor Coronatorum Antigrapha, Vol.
X, index. The Masonic Year Book is published annually by the Grand
Lodge of England. The reference to Preston is based on his
Illustrations of Masonry edited by Dr. George Oliver, London; 1829,
page 195. For the Drummond quotation see History of Freemasonry, R.
F. Gould, American Edition, Vol. IV, page 330. On Provincial Grand
Masters under the Ancient Grand Lodge see Masonic Reprints and
Revelations, Including Original Notes and Additions, Henry Sadler;
London; 1898, page 83. Grand Master Gardner's address was on the
subject of Negro Masonry; it will be found in Massachusetts Grand
Lodge Proceedings for 1870; it is quoted in full in Mackey's
Revised History of Freemasonry, Robert I. Clegg, page 2009. For
lists of Provincial Grand Masters see History of Freemasonry in the
State of New York, Ossian Lang; New York; 1922, page 11ff.; History
of Freemasonry and Concordant Orders, Stillson and Hughan; Boston
and New York 1890, page 225, Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts, 1871, page 384. Also consult index of the Beginnings
of Freemasonry in America, Melvin M. Johnson; New York; 1924. On
the Provincial Grand Lodge System as now worked under the Grand
Lodge of England consult Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of
England; Freemasonry and Its Etiquette, Campbell Everden, page 70;
Masonic Jurisprudence, J.T. Lawrence; London; 1923, Chapters IV and
V.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

When does the history of organized Masonry in Massachusetts begin?
What do you know about Henry Price? How were the first lodges of
Speculative Masonry constituted? Explain how the Provincial Grand
Lodge System arose. From whom did a Provincial Grand Master derive
his authority? Who was Preston? Why were Deputations to Prov. G.
M.'s omitted from minutes of the Grand Lodge?

Who was Josiah H. Drummond? What Provincial Grand Lodge existed in
the American Colonies at the time of the Revolution? What was the
Ancient Grand Lodge? In what way did its Provincial Grand Lodge
System differ from that of the older Grand Lodge? Who was Henry
Sadler?

Describe the Provincial Grand Lodge System as explained by William
S. Gardner.
