Direct evidence was given as to the letter being in the plaintiff's handwriting. It was directed to the Grand Master, and was in the hands of the officer of the Grand Lodge, the Secretary, who was entitled to its custody, who testified that he had received it from the Grand Master, and that it was under his control as one of the papers belonging to his office. Hearsay evidence is not always incompetent, but is frequently allowed in trials in courts of record, and is evidence, so far as it goes, and if not objected to may, in the absence of other evidence, become conclusive upon the party. But there was no injustice in this, as upon this trial the plaintiff has stipulated and testified himself that he did write and mail the letter to the Grand Master. The objection is without merit, and a court of equity should not be influenced by it.

As to the allegation that the punishment was too severe, that is a matter with which this court has nothing to do. If the court below had jurisdiction to try the plaintiff, it had jurisdiction to fix the punishment of expulsion. Whether it was commensurate with the crime, or whether it was excessive, this court cannot decide. It will be seen that all of these alleged errors were, if error at all, of judgment, not affecting jurisdiction, and were reviewable by the commission of appeals, whose judgment was final, and not subject to review by the court. It was a case wholly for the Masonic tribunal.

Again, objection is made that all tribunals were subject to the direction, in some way or other, of the Grand Master, and that, therefore, upon the charge made against the plaintiff the Grand Master was disqualified. If this were so it would be impossible for the Order to try a person who desired to assail the Grand Master, and it would only be necessary for an offender to direct his offense against the Grand Master, and however much deserving of punishment, he would escape entirely by having made this selection of the object of his offense.

I am unable to discover any grounds upon which this court could interfere. When the plaintiff became a Mason, he submitted himself to the government of the Order as prescribed by its constitution and by-laws. Whatever right he obtained he obtained from the society itself. He held those rights subject to the laws of the governing body, and to no other. He was bound to conduct himself in accordance with the rules and laws of the society, and he knew that if he failed so to conduct himself, he was amenable to the court established by the organization itself. He was, at the time of committing the second offense, under discipline and suspension for a former offense against the laws of the Order. It was in this action that the letter of the Grand Master, the reply to which was the subject of the trial now under investigation; that such letter was a gross violation of Masonic obligations, Masonic conduct, and Masonic law, there can be no question.

If I am correct in the views I have stated above, his trial was strictly in accordance with the rules of procedure established by the Order, and his appeal to the commission of appeals, and the affirmance of its judgment by the Grand Lodge, was within the jurisdiction conferred by the rules of the Order. There is no ground that I can discover upon which a court of equity should interfere to prevent the carrying out of the sentence as finally confirmed by the Grand Lodge. The complaint will be dismissed upon the merits.

CENTENARY OF DEATH OF WASHINGTON.

"One hundred years ago, on the 23d day of December, 1799, an Emergent Communication of the Grand Lodge of the Most

Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York was held in the city of New York, at which the Deputy Grand Master announced the death of 'BROTHER GEORGE WASHINGTON, late President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of its Army.' Whereupon, a Committee was appointed to unite with other committees of citizens to devise some public testimonial of respect and veneration to the memory of our departed brother.' One week thereafter, on the 30th day of December, 1799, an Emergent Communication of the Grand Lodge was again called for the purpose of acquainting the officers of the several lodges with the form to be observed in the solemn funeral procession to be held in commemoration of our Illustrious Brother, GEORGE WASHINGTON.' All the lodges in the city, then but eight in number, escorting the officers of the Grand Lodge, participated with the citizens in general in the procession on the following day, December 31, 1799, concluding the exercises of that day with appropriate memorial services in Saint Paul's Chapel.”— Ëxtract Grand Master's Encyclical, December 9, 1899.

As we approached the one hundredth anniversary of the death of WASHINGTON, and with the thought that some suitable service should be held that would be commemorative of the memorial exercises conducted in this city by the members of our Fraternity, December 31, 1799, I issued an encyclical, calling upon the lodges in this jurisdiction to attend divine service, on Sunday, the 31st day of December, 1899, in their several places of worship, and suggesting that the clergymen of the various denominations be requested to preach at that time a sermon upon the life and character of WASHINGTON.

This request touched the patriotic sentiment of the Craft, and was followed by an enthusiastic compliance upon the part of hundreds of our lodges. Throughout each and every one of the forty-one Masonic districts in this State, in almost every village, town, and city where the altar of Freemasonry has been erected, the brethren assembled, in church or hall, with their families, neighbors, friends, and fellow citizens, to listen to the paid to the memory of America's foremost son.

tributes

An epitome of the services thus held has been prepared and appended to this address, thereby becoming a part of our permanent record. There is a limit to the size of our printed proceedings, beyond which we cannot possibly go, and it is this fact alone that unhappily proscribes the reproduction in full in

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our records of the many brilliant and eloquent discourses delivered upon a now memorable occasion in the annals of the Craft of this State.

Pure in style, lofty in aspiration, profound in thought, these fervent outpourings of patriotic sentiment amply verify the truth of LORD BROUGHAM's prophetic utterance: "A test of the progress which our race has made in wisdom and virtue will be derived from the veneration paid to the immortal name of WASHINGTON."

The fame of WASHINGTON adorns and dignifies Freemasonry as does that of no other figure, however great, in the world's history. His sublime virtue has been the inspiration of successive generations, and if it continues to be the guiding star of ages yet unborn, the fair fame of the country he loved so well will never be tarnished. His name stands out upon the pages of our history with a luster that time has never dimmed, but which shines brighter with the lapse of years. For an entire century his character has been held up to the admiration of the youth of our land, and the contemplation of his triumphant superiority has been an all-controlling factor in shaping the destiny of our nation. WASHINGTON was the soul of the Revolution. His sterling integrity gave to the men surrounding him a high ideal, to which they consciously or unconsciously aspired. He gave vitalizing force to a movement that otherwise might have been recorded as a lost cause. His firm hand snatched victory from defeat, and by a master stroke kindled the waning fires of patriotism.

He not only saved the country when it was beset by the perils of war, but in the hour of political vicissitude that succeeded the Revolution his wise counsel and good judgment gave strength and stability to the young republic. For WASHINGTON, being without envy, extended a welcome to all excellence and gathered about him the foremost men of his time and generation.

In formulating our Constitution, which is the epitome of the life and thought of Revolutionary times, WASHINGTON was preeminent; and this Constitution, which is now recorded as the hope of the world, was inanimate until his administration gave it life.

Across every page of history since that time glows the influ

ence of his name and fame. In colonial days his clear vision recognized the danger that lay in slavery and forestalled the Emancipation Proclamation by several decades. WASHINGTON'S example in practically freeing his slaves by the terms of his will was a strong weapon in the hands of the Abolitionists. He prepared the soil upon which bloomed the perfect flower of liberty, but he could conceive neither the first fruits of the planting nor the richness of the ripening harvest.

Had the spirit of prophecy stood beside WASHINGTON's bier and unveiled the wonders of the nineteenth century, the forecast would have been rejected by WASHINGTON'S compatriots as the impossible creation of an idle dream. But, nevertheless, we live to-day in the midst of a civilization so wondrous that even now the mind of man but feebly comprehends its astounding significance. And yet, with all its marvels, it presents only the accumulated treasures of a past whose every page bears the impress of the influences of men pre-eminent among whom will ever stand the heroic figure of WASHINGTON, the soldier, statesman, and Mason. He knelt at our altar, assumed our vows, and dwelt within the temple of our brotherhood. To the increasing luster of his imperishable fame a patriotic Craft gratefully ascribes the added brilliancy of the mystic light that illumines the pathway of our Fraternity across the threshold of the coming

century.

THE GRAND Lodge of the STATE OF WASHINGTON.*

At our last Annual Communication it was hoped that the Grand Lodge of Washington, at its Annual Communication held on the 14th day of June, 1899, would restore its edict of non-intercourse with the Grand Lodge of Hamburg and reconsider its action of the previous year whereby it adopted resolutions "relating to the subject of Masonry among the negroes of America." For this reason it was decided to refer the whole matter to the incoming Grand Master "to take such action [hereafter] as will maintain the dignity of this Grand Lodge, expressive of its adherence to the principles of supreme and exclusive Grand Lodge jurisdiction, and its discountenance of

* See Special Report Committee on Foreign Correspondence.

association with clandestine Masons, or of any bodies, grand or subordinate, composed of such clandestine Masons."

The action of the Grand Lodge of Washington was awaited with deep and fraternal interest; but our hopes were not to be realized, for, at its session in June last, it adopted a series of resolutions which seemingly rescinded the resolutions of 1898, but which did, nevertheless, in apparently unmistakable terms, reassert the vital principles of those resolutions, with widened and extended application. On page 377 of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Washington for the year 1899 are found these words:

"Nor can this Grand Lodge consent to tolerate the idea that her lodges do not possess the plenary right to determine for themselves but for no one else subject to review by nobody but herself, the status of all persons claiming to be Masons who knock at their doors, either for the purpose of visiting or as applicants for affiliation."

In affirming the foregoing principle the Grand Lodge of Washington declares that her lodges may not only receive as a visitor, but may also accept as a member by affiliation, any person who claims to have been made a Mason in the State of New York, no matter how often the initiation of that person may have been adjudged clandestine by the Grand Lodge of New York. The Washington declaration, if assented to, would also lead to great confusion in the Craft of this jurisdiction by the return to the State of New York of men who, leaving this State clandestine Masons, might return after affiliation in Washington, and seek admission to our lodges as visitors, "without producing proper vouchers of having been initiated into a regular lodge." The Grand Lodge of New York has always maintained the doctrine, formally declared one hundred and three years ago, "that no lodge can exist in this State but under the jurisdiction. of this Grand Lodge." The Grand Lodge of New York has always held that a person, whether white or black, claiming to have been initiated in any so-called lodge existing within the State of New York not under the jurisdiction of this Grand Lodge is a clandestine Mason, with whom intercourse is absolutely forbidden. The Grand Lodge, holding this doctrine, cannot consent that persons who are not Freemasons so long as