The Portland daily press., 1862-06-26

withstanding that many of our Lodges were
located in towns with small population, and
the bitter and unrelenting persecution they
suffered few years since, / believe am cor
rect in stating that all OF the Lodges chartered
previous to 1880 have resumed work and are
In active operation, with four exceptions
We have five Lodges i'm the State, whose
charters date in the 18th century-all in active
operation-Portland, Warren, Lincoln, Han
cock and Kennebec.
All Lodges chartered previous to 1920 were
under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
Massachusetts. On the 1st day of June, 1920,
consent of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
having been obtained for the organization of an
independent Grand Lodge in the State of
Maine formerly Province of Massachusetts,
and for a just division of the charity and 9TH
er funds of the institution, Representatives
from "a Lodges met and proceeded to organ
ize said Grand Lodge, and NJ. w., Hon. VIM.
King, Esq, first Governor of the State, was
elected its first Grand Master. On the day
following, June 2, NJ. w. William King was
introduced into the hall, received and sauted
In due form, and on taking the chair delivered
an address, which cannot forbear incorporat-
ing into these brief remarks.
The address was as follows:
*. w. and w. officers and members of this
Grand Lodge: In the circumstances under
which have appeared before you to enter up
oiA diS oiiiSC W WHICH, you have Dten DieaSeu
to elevate me, can do little more at this time,
than express my acceptance of the trust, and
say to you that according TO the best of my
ability will endeavor to discharge its duties.
1t would have been much more agreeable TO
me, at least for the present, to have appeared
in the Grand Lodge only as a private Brother:
but as Masonry teaches us to regard the duties
we owe to God and the community as para
mount to all others, will endeavor to perform
them by attending to the wishes of my breth-
rem rather than crafty my own"
Such was the address of our first G.. NJ In
this State. Since that date we have had 20
Grand Masters, many Of them well beloved
many of them gone to the Grand Lodge above
but among them all, none, perhaps, whose
memory Is more highly cherished than that of
William King
l have thus given you in brief a history of
the first Lodge chartered in Maine, with that
of its Grand Lodge. What further | might
say in connection with the part assigned me.
must necessarily be rehearsal of dry facts
and figures.
On Falmouth neck, where IL Masons petit
toned for charter in 176S, we have now three
subordinate Lodges, with an aggregate Of 4S3
members, and probably more than 100 non-af-
filiated Masons.
In 1920, as before stated, "a Lodges met for
the purpose of organizing Grand Lodge for
the State; now we have III chartered. &C.
with membership of more than 5000.
What better statistics can l give you Of the
progress of Masonry in Maine, than to point
you to the living assemblage before me, and
say that here are the devotees of this noble,
charitable, and time-enduring institution, from
our own State, from our parent State of Mass
achusetts, and from our sister States, met here
on this occasion to celebrate the centennial
anniversary of its introduction into the Pine
Tree State? This audience is of age and it
speaks for itself.
Brethren from our parent State (the Old
Commonwealth, we are happy and gratified
to know that "Auld Lang Syne' is not forgot
ten, and that you have made this social call on
younger branch of the family, and we are
proud to be able TO say to you that the attend
ance of the brethren of our own State. and the
statistics we have given you is good and suffi-
cient proof that We have not been unmndful
OF the injunction given In the early ages of the
world, Ito be fruitful and multiply.
have not searched the history Of our State
to find the statistics of Masonry, as ours is not
society that courts public notice or applause.
As early as TIA Parson Smith, in his Journal,
under date Dec. 25, says: Il almost killed my
self in praying at the funeral of Jere Tucker.-
and again under date Dec. q, II prayed with
the Freemasons, and had uncommon assist
ance, thank Godw
The landmarks and regulations of Free Ma
sonry, and its principles and teachings. ihaye
not changed for ages but some of the Gus
toms OF the fraternity, like those of society in
general, change with the change of time and
the changes constantly going on in this muta-
bic world. Some, no doubt, are for the better,
and Others for the worse. In the earlier days
Of Masonry in Maine, the festival of ST. John
the Baptist, which we are commemoratng on
this oath of June, and that also of St John
the Evangelist on the 9th of December. were
with few exceptions, promptly and punctual-
ly kept as sacred festivals; and in fact the pro-
visions of the charter enjoned it upon the
brethren to keep these and other Masonic feast
days. In latter days this practice has been
much neglected, as we cannot but believe TO
the injury OF the craft. Better, probably far
better for us if our social gatherings were
more frequent.
On the other hand, learn from the records
Of Portland Lodge that when there was no
other In town it was deemed best to appoint a
committee to purchase liquors for the use of
the Lodge, ut wholesale, rather than pay so
much more money as percentage or as COM
missions to retail dealers. Custom has so
changed that for a long series of years last
past, no Lodge In this city, and presume
none In the State, has found any necessity for
the appointment of such committee, and
believe the change in this respect cannot have
been Injurious to the welfare and prosperity of
Tile lTdtpFnlty.
Were this the proper time and place, could
give the date of the charter of each Lodge in
the State in their chronological order, with
their number of members, for nearly every
year for the century past, with the names of
their Masters, &c.
Many of those intimately connected with
the introduction and progress of Masonry in
this State have been men who have occupied
high, proud and honorable positions in the
commercial, professional and political world.
Without making any invidious distinction, we
may safely name Preble, an Oxnard Sto-
rer, Hopkins, Fox, Swan, Rackliff, u
Seaver, Cahoon and Chase.
Since the organization of our Grand Lodge,
among its officers have been Governors of our
States, one of which was the lamented and much
beloved Dunlap, and many others of different
professions and occupations whom we can
name with pride. Among the iurists, Green
leaf, Sprague, Fessenden, Washburn, Paine and
Bradford, and last in order of election, but not
least, We have now at the head of our Grand
Lodge "Drummond" light in Masonry.
We also find in the list of past officers, Cof-
fin, Thompson, Stevens, our old "Father Mil
ler," Nourse, Nichols, Smith, Child, Gerrish
and Chase.
The biography of many of those brothers
would possess intense interest to all of us if
written-in fact, the whole history of the in
PRODUCTION of Masonry into Maine; and its
progress is of so much interest to us as a fra
ternity, that at some time not far distant It
must be written. That duty will devolve up
on some more able pen than mine. The incl
dents connected with it must form a volume,
instead OF paper, the reading of which must
occupy the space of a few moments only.