The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-12 00:00:00

LODGES IN, THE. ARMY.

In the earlier. years the applications from the militia, and
the other regiments which had been in Ireland, were chidly
for the exchange of Irish .warrants, which they had received
in Dublin, for English warrants ; and the letters will show
that they were very numerous. In the circular of the pro-
ceedings of the Imperial Grand Lodge of the 4th June,
1833, there is the following nonce :—" All Irish warrants
now in operation in Great Drita'n shall he .immediately ex-
changed for English warrants, by an application to the •
Deputy Grand Sccreta`ry, to whose office the former ought
to be sent without delay." And Mr. Chetwode informed
the Committee, that he never hesitated to- exchange Eng-
lish for Irish warrants to regiments, or to any part of the
army, and never made any inquiry, or hesitated to grant
them. It is, however, stated by him, that he had thought
that all the military warrants had been granted in Ireland
to the non-commissioned officers and privates, with the
previous sanction of the commanding officers, although he
never saw any note or certificate to that purport.
Youweurnmittee •have- selected some letters from non-
commissioned officers and privates in the army, and answers
LO t14C411, will,s4tisfy the House that. the grand offi -

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X 44

ce
cers of the Loyal Orange Institution have given assistan
and encouragement to keep up and to establish lodges in
the army, although these officers were made accumnted
with the orders of the Commander-in-Chic;; forbidding the
holding them in regiments ; and notwithstanding they were
informed that some commanding officers had actually sup-
pressed the lodges in conformity with the general °rulers.
Major Anderson, commanding the 56th regiment, destroy -ea
warrant No. 53, which was held in that corps, and therec u
a letter from Henry Nichols, of the light company, dated?
May 27, 1830, requesting a new warrant. Major Middle-
ton,. of the 42d regiment, also prohibited the holding of
the lodge at Malta. It will be seen, by the letter from
New South Wales, and the letters to Corfu and other
places, that the General Orders of the Commander-in--
Chief were explained to the soldiers by the deputy grand
secretary, as intended not really to suppress the lodges, but
to hold out only an appearance of doing so.
The following is a list of military warrants to the follow-
ing reir, -iments, held under the Loyal Orange Instituti,ln,
'arid which were extracted from the printed list of 18.9.9
pros-nted br .Mr. Chetwodc ; and if the regiments and mi-
litary corps ho;:litig warrants under the Grand Lodge of
Dublin, as stated • hi. the evidence before the House, are
taken into account, 44,111 be seen how large a portion of
the army has been imbued-write -Orangeism.
No. 30. 13th Light Dragoons (No. 51st Light Infantry
31. Royal -Sappers and lb!. 6th Foot .
Miners, 7th comp. IIZO. 6th Dragoon-Guards
33. 24th Reg. of Foot 201. sth ditto ditto
• 53. 95th or Hifle Brigade 205. Royal Artillery, 4th
64. 35th Regiment battalion.
65. .Ro3al Art.il. Drivels 232. Ditto .
66. 434 Regiment •battalion
67. Royal Artillery 233. 67th Foot
77. Royal Horse Artillery 241. 20th Foci:
84. •424 Foot (High. 240, Royal Scppers. and
.. • landors) illiners
87. 59th Foot 244. Royal Artillecy, sth
94. Ride Brigade, 24 bat- battalion
talion
258. 251. Ditto
104.
424 Regiment
Brigade battalion
114. Mi,' 94th Foot
120. 31st Fo‘lt. 260. 17th Foot
125. 7th Dragoo.: Guards 269. Ist Royal Dragoons
131. 16th Light Drat,-"ens 2(>l. 6th Dragoon Guards
[Then follow in the Ite;;Iort several extracts from the
Account Book, intita!ed " The C-atid Orange Lodge
Treasurer," of moneys received from the Military Lodges,
for which we have not room.]

COLONIES.

ditto,

ditto, 6th

It. will be seen by the correspondence betweeln non-com-
missioned officers and privates in different regimerh!s of the
line and of the artillery, at Bermuda, Gibraltar, Malta., :and
Corfu, and the deputy grand secretary of the instituton,
that Orange Lodges have not only been held in regiments
in these colonies, with the knowledge of the grand officers
of the institution, but that the soldiers have been encou-
raged by them to hold such lodges under the most suspi-
cious- circumstances. The books of the institution show
also that money has been received from them, from time to
time, for the warrants, and for the dues owing to the Grand
Lodge, by the members of these lodges ; and it is difficult
to comprehend how. all this could be done, and continued
for so many years, without the knowledge of the grand
officers of the institution in London, to whom it may-fairly
be presumed that the books of the secretary and treasurer
have been always accessible. _ _

....New South \V ales and Van Diemen's Land appear to
be deeply embued with the system ,of Gratigeism. Your
Committee refer to several letters which have come before
,:hern, and which will explain the progress of the system
; hut your Committee consider it of importance to
pi„,! prominently before the House one letter dated Jan.
1833,. which it appears that the deputy grand secretary
of the inst:.&ution in London induced the writer, a soldier,
to disobey the
orders of his commanding officer, and did
actually exchange :4•D Irish for an English warrant to hold
a lodge, contrary to t:.-c orders of the Commander-in-chief,
at the time he knew tha,t-
the military orders were against

such grant.

,9ydney, January 13, 1833.
" Sir and Brother,—l beg leave .0 lay before you the fol-
lowing account of 206 Loyal Oran g,l Association, who are
increasing rapidly in the 17th Regiment ,\t present ; our num-
ber of members at present is 73 regular god members ; our
fund.is not strong at present, for we allow nur sick ls. per
week, and our entering charge is only 2s. 6d. We held a
i•Jo. from the Benevolent Otange Systcry of Irei...nd in 184§,
but j thought better to exchange the same, which I did
181$ shortly after I was ordered to embark for Nev' South
Wales'. • •
was prdered,.previous to embarkation, if I had or held a
warrant of tho Orange system, to send it back to the Gravi
Lodge, which-
J aid not. think proper to do ; this, I must own,
was direct disol;et,.
ience of orders to my commanding officer ;
but I wrote to Mr. Chetwoode Eustace, then Deputy Grand
Secretary, and he int-e*:med me not to be the least afraid, for
no harm would be dolib me. I knew there was an order
issued in-1829 prohibiting 'Orange Lodges in the Army, but
this was only, as. I believe, to satisfy our most bitter enemies ;
but if our beloved Sovereign w.a..3 depending on them for the
support of his Crown, he would find the result ; hut I hope
God will keep them from further ncwer, for they are getting
too much in power, both in the firi.ly and public. I am. of
opinion that if Orange Lodges were es,fablished. in this coun-
try, it would increase the welfare of the community, for there
is numbers of free: respeeta.hie inhabitants at.'d discharged sol-
diers would support the same; but we are not sillowecl to make
inhabitants Orangemen under our warrant held as a military
;one ; but if there was a warrant granted to me, i am assured
it Ns-ould increase rapidly, as I intend to stop in this o.quntry by
purchoing my discharge, when I shall make commu.lication
to you 00 the same.
WM. M'KEE, Corfe, 17th Regiment.
" God save the King.
N.B. .':rect to Corfe, Wm. M'Kee,
Ai. i:th Reg., Sydney."

), • ;,

ESS LODGES IN
endeayour on the part of the Government
THE ARMY UNAVAILING.
EFFORTS TO SHIP)...
Lodges in the army has been met
the Orange Institution,
When every
to put an end to Oratigv2
by redoubled efforts on the :01 of
not only to uphold, but to incr.-A.se them, evidently violating
the military law, and aggravating ,ghat breach by concealing
from the officers of the- different rei:m.'eut', and from the
Commander-of-the-Forcesfrom all, :a fact, but. Orange-
men—the fixed determination of fostering; their institution ;
when soldiers are urged in official letters .from the deputy
grand secretary of the society to hold meet:ogs,
standing the orders of the Commander-in-Chi:lt, but with
instructions to act With caution and prudence, ,;t is surely
time for Goverritnent to take measures for the ,`complete
suppression of such institutiors. •
In a letter, dated 30th July,
.1833, addressed tO' ,the
master of a Lodge at Portsmouth, Lieutenant-cannel
airman writes, " it, is a lamentable thing that the. Go-
vernment is so short-sighted, or so wilfully blind, as.not~
to encourage Orangeism in the army, wlich would ope-
rate as an additional security for the allegiance and fidelity
6! the soldier on all occasions ; but the Mini sters of ,the
pro„-'at day are holding out premiums for dis.oyalty to
subjects ^f every clasS."
Although, by an arrangement between the Grand Orange
Lodge in --Dou;.n and the Loyal Orange Institution of
Great Britain, the ;,Idges in Upper and Lower Canade are
to be under the Irish ;nrisdiction, yet. considerable eo;re-
spondenee has passed betwcen the soldiers and non-com:pis-
sioned officers of the army there - and the Deputy GraLci
Secretary of the Loyal Orange Institution in England, and
strong encouragement appears to have been given by the
Imperial. Grand Lodge in London to the establishment of
new ledges, and to the exteusion of Oraugeism amongst the
troops in these provinces. ?cur Comm:ttee refer to the
correspondence with these colonies for the state of
Orangeisni there ; and they refer to extracts in the itTert a
of the proceedings of the Grand Lods-e in London, for fur-
ther inihrmation on that subject.
" Meeting of Grand Lodge, Bth January, 1827.—A letter
from Sir Harcourt Lees, Bart., was read t,l the meeting,
• strongly recommending the object of Brother ,;ohn Montgo-
mery West's mi:sion, relative to the organization of the
Orange system in the Canadas, to the serious corCideration
of the Grand Lodge, as a subject of great and mate,ial im-
portance.'
A letter was also read from Alexander Matheson, Obi.,
;,,f Perth, in Upper. Canada, in which he states that many
I.cusands of Orangemen at present in the Canadas arc with-
' •
regular lodge, the benefit tlia would result from a re-
out
,rutir
sv:tem to 'those provinecs and to the rising generation
would hu it.
ORANGEMEN IN POLICE.
Although there 'IC some pOIiCCITICH in .London entered
,of the Orange lodges, your Com-
in the retnrns of some
to learn how many : but they
mittee have not been aim.'
have been informed by Colon' 4 Rowan, one of the Com-
missioners of the Police, that he .ccels confident there are
not many Orangenien in the police tOrce•
• emicy OF CHURCH, OF EN.ILAND.
Your ComMittee have to observe that tl'e clergymen of
the'Chureh of England appear to have engs,ged, to a con-
siderable extent, in the affairs the Orangt. Institution.
The Right _Rev. Thomas, Lord Bishop of St:/isbz:ry, is
Lord Prelate and Grand (7haPlain cf the Order. there
are also twelve or thirteen deputy grand chaplains of the
institution. Some clergymen have
.marrants as masters of
lodges, and conduct the ,/fairs of the lade. No disscnt-
ing clergyman in England, and only two clergymen of aLY
persuasion in Scotland, appeared to hav6 joined the insti-
tution. The reverend functionaries of the :nstitution are
• directed to appear in the Grand Lodge in canoticals ; their
insignia is a purple velvet scarf with goll binding, . gold
fringe at the ends, and lined with orange silk.
DEMONSTRATIONS OF PnYSICAL
In the printed report of the proceedings of the L.npe-
rial Grand Lodge, on the 4th of June, 1835, amongst il/40
notices for circulation to the Orangemen of Great Britain
and the Colo,lics, thei-o is the aming paragraph, copied
from the procealings• of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, and
no apology for its introduction in that report is considered

necessary.
" The Grand Lodge of Dublin thouglit proper to thank
tlieir Orange brethreil -for haying asselr.hl,:(l in large riUlll-
- in on‘•.!..place, to the number of 75,090 Oranizonen