CHAPTER V
THE SECOND PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE
IN THE NEW CENTURY
1800-1829

Bulkeley's successor as Provincial Grand Master was a Physical, Dr. Duncan Clarke.

Dr. Clarke was born in Scotland in 1742. As a young man he served during the American Revolution with the British forces in the South. With the end of the war he came with thousands of other Loyalists, to find a home in Nova Scotia. Soon after his arrival in Halifax he was appointed Medical Officer for his Majesty's Dockyard and Naval Hospital. A man of military bearing, splendid physique, and pleasing personality, he was popular with the armed services, the average civilian, and with his Masonic Brethren.1

Soon after he became a citizen of Halifax, Clarke joined St. John's Lodge, and in 1786, served as its Master. With the exception of John George Pyke, who had been a member of several lodges, the new Provincial Grand Master was the first member of St. John's to hold this high office. His fellow members appreciated the honour done him, and hoped that he might have a long term of service. But he encountered the same tradition that had faced Pyke more than a decade before, that the Provincial Grand Master should be, if possible, the Lieutenant-Governor. Sir John Wentworht was a member of the Craft, and willing to assume the office. To him therefore Clarke "bowed out", Before he did so, however, he made Masonic history by being the first Provincial grand Master to preside over Grand Lodge in the new Masons Hall. Only one lodge, and that in New Brunswick, was chartered during his year of office.

The seventh Provincial Grand Master, Sir John Wentworth, was born in New Hampshire in 1737, and graduated from Harvard College in 1758 where one of his classmates was John Adams, first Vice-President of the United States. In 1767 he succeeded his uncle, Benning Wentworth, as Governor of New Hampshire, and married his first cousin, the vivacious Frances Wentworth, who was later to prove a charming, if not always popular, hostess in Government House, Nova Scotia.

As a Royal Governor at the outbreak of the American Revolution, John Wentworth was forced out of office and driven into exile. He went first to Boston, and in 1776 accompanied the army of Sir William Howe to Halifax. He served for a brief period with Howe at New York, then sailed for England, where he joined many other American refugees who had lost their offices as a petitioner for another Government appointment. His efforts were successful.

SIR JOHN WENTWORTH
Provincial Grand Master 1802 - 10

In 1783, he arrived at Halifax as Surveyor-General of His Majesty's American Forests. A subsequent visit to England brought him a knighthood and the Lieutenant-Governorship of Nova Sscotia. He assumed duties May 14, 1792. His name is still remembered in the Province. The Wentworth Valley with its ski resort, and Wentworth Lodge No. 108, of Dartmouth were named for him.

For the first six or seven years he was in Government House, Sir John did not seem to have been a member of the Craft, which probably accounts for Richard Bulkeley's undisturbed term of office. In 1799, however, the Lieutenant-Governor joined the Royal Nova Scotia Regiment Lodge, and was almost immediately elected its Worshipful Master. In this capacity, as has been noted, he was a leader in the parade when Prince Edward laid the cornerstone of the Masons Hall. Under the existing tradition his election as Provincial Grand Master was inevitable. He was resident of Government House for sixteen years, but led the Masons of the Province for only half of that time, 1802-10.

Sir John Wentworth was a Loyalist, and he and Lady Wentworth did not forget their fellow refugees wither politically or Masonically. They were especially partial to relatives and those who supported them. They loved to entertain. As Provincial Grand Master he was ever ready for a public ceremony or a parade. By the time he took office the great expansion of the Craft that followed the arrival of the Loyalists had begun to slacken. In the years of his leadership, only three lodges were chartered, Trinity in Halifax, Wentworth in Yarmouth, and New Caledonia in Pictou. Of these, New Caledonia has survived. It is now No. 11 on the registry of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia.

Sir John ceased to be Lieutenant-Governor in 1808, but held his Masonic office for another two years. Early in 1810 he sailed for England. Here he resided until the death of Lady Wentworth in February 1813. He returned to Halifax and lived in comparative retirement until his death in 1820, at the age of 83. His body was placed in a vault beneath St. Paul's Church, and a mural tablet in the church testifies to his long service to the Crown.

With the retirement of Sir John Wentworth, the tradition of making the Lieutenant-Governor the Provincial Grand Master came to an end, but not as we shall see, further efforts to retain the connection had signally for the moment, the Brethren turned again to their old faithful George Pyke. He was elected Provincial Grand Master, and this time held the office for ten years. At times his hold was tenuous, but he had always enough friends to assure a victory.

For the two years 1810-1812 he was still under the shadow of Sir John Wentworth. Then came the first revolt. It was customary at this time for the Deputy Grand Master to interview the Provincial Grand Master each year shortly before the opening of the sessions of the Provincial Grand Lodge to ascertain whether or not he wished to continue in office, and if not to nominate a successor. Under Wentworth for a number of years the interview had been merely a formality. It was not to be so under Pyke. When the Deputy Grand Master, John Albro, indicated that Pyke wished to remain in office, some of his opponents nominated the Attorney-General, Richard John Uniacke. The nomination was promptly challenged on the ground that it was neither constitutional nor proper to nominate an opponent when the incumbent had indicated his desire to hold the office for an additional year. This interpretation of the rules was also challenged, and the right to make additional nominations was upheld by a vote of 19 to 3. Pyke was not present when the vote was taken, and on learning the results he left the chair. The Brethren then proceeded to elect Richard John Uniacke Provincial Grand Master. Thus far the plan to oust Pyke seemed to have been successful. It failed, however, because the Attorney-General refused to be a party to any plan which would injure a Brother with such long and meritorious service as that of John George Pyke. He would only accept the honour if the "present Grand Master particularly requested him to do so."

On learning of Uniacke's refusal, the Brethren by a vote of 13 to 11 elected the previous occupant, Sir John Wentworth, to the high office, but when a delegation waited upon him, he too declined, giving as his reason "the ill state of his health and his probable short stay in the Province." He was probably influenced also, as Anakie had been, by the lack of harmony which was evident among the members of Grand Lodge. There now seemed to be no alternative but to re-elect Pyke. Rather shamefully, it would seem, his Brethren requested him "to continue as Grand Master for the year ensuing." By a majority vote, however, it was decided that the record of what had been done should remain on the books. Why Pyke was not wanted is not clear. He was, of course, no longer a young man, and it may be that while he was an enthusiastic Mason, he was not a skilful administrator, or leader of men. Then too, there was the old feeling of rank. Anakie was a senior member of the Government. Sir John Wentworth had been Lieutenant-Governor. Pyke was a member of the Assembly only. Back of all this there was undoubtedly some lodge rivalry. john George Pyke was supported by St. Andrew's, Uniacke was evidently the choice of St. John's., but John George Pyke does not seem to have been resentful. Like Old Man River, he just kept "rolling along."

In 1816 an attempt was made to replace Pyke by choosing the Lieutenant-Governor, the Earl of Dalhousie to head the Craft, but the Earl, perhaps for the same reasons that had prompted the refusal of Uniacke and Wentworth, declined the honour.2 Three years later, the successor to Dalhousie, Sir James , on being vouched for by the Worshipful Master of St. John's Lodge, was elected Provincial Grand Master before he arrived in the Province. Pyke agreed to continue tin office until Sir James had been installed. It was announced later that the Lieutenant-Governor was not a member of the Craft, there were a few more "red faces", and Pyke was still in office. He retired in 1820.

During Pyke's term of office, the North British Society, which was composed chiefly of Freemasons, agreed to advance sufficient funds to supply curtains for the Masons Hall on the condition that they be permitted to use it at a specified rental until the money had been repaid. The amount was &63 which was sufficient to pay the rent for six years.

During the War of 1812-1815 some of the American prisoners who were sent to Halifax were members of the Craft and were in real need of relief. To minister to these brethren, their families, and others who required held, the Lodge appointed a standing committee and supplied it with funds to aid in distress, and also to provide a proper interment for those who passed away. In August, 1815, Grand Lodge contributed 20 guineas to a fund being established to assist the sufferers of the late "glorious battle of Waterloo."

II

Perhaps the most important event in the annals of Freemasonry during the era was the union of the Ancients and Moderns, after some sixty years of rivalry, to form the United Grand Lodge of England. This was established in 1813 when the Grand Master of the Ancients, Edward, Duke brothers and sons of the reigning monarch agreed that a rivalry which or action in the 18th century had outlived its usefulness and should be

To make the union possible, the Duke of Kent retired from office, supported his younger brother, Frederick Augustus, Duke of who became the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge, a position he retained for thirty years. Two of our lodges, Royal Sussex No. 6, of Halifax, and Duke of Kent No. 121 of Spryfield, recall this event of long ago. The union consummated by a Lodge of Reconciliation which took place on St. John's Day, December 27, 1813, in Freemasons' Hall, London.

The Union of 1813 had an immediate, and in general a rather unfortunate effect upon the lodges in Nova Scotia. The new Grand Lodge did not wish to continue the rather loose connection which had existed between the Grand Ancients, in London and its lodges overseas, and decided to institute important changes. It was necessary first of all, as Ancients and Moderns more, to have all lodges renumbered. This meant registration in for which a fee was to be charged. Pyke and his associates in Nova Scotia at first ignored the new regulations, hoping they would not be enforced. Several years did pass without action, but in 1819, the demands were renewed. This time, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia decided to send the registrations without the accompanying fees. This was met by a definite statement of the fees that were to be paid, &l, 3s, 4d, for each initiation, 2s 9d for each affiliation, 1s and 6d per capita dues. Arguments concerning the justice of these demands were going on when Pyke retired. His term of office had been one of difficulty. Not all of the Craft were willing to follow his leadership; the tensions between the Maritime Provinces and New England which had characterized the American Revolution were again manifest, but

JOHN GEORGE PYKE
Provincial Grand Master, 1784, 1810-20

were somewhat ameliorated by the fact that many New Englanders did not approve of the War of 1812. Nevertheless communication was interrupted with an inevitable affect on Freemasonry. In spite of the troubled times, however, seven new lodges were established in the jurisdiction, four of them in Nova Scotia: Newport in Hants County, Royal Standard in Halifax, Musquodoboit in Halifax County, and Regent in Dorchester, now Antigonish; of these, only Royal Standard survives, still under the registry of the Grand Lodge of England.

When John George Pyke retired as Grand Master, he was seventy-five years of age and one of the oldest members of the Craft in the jurisdiction. After he retired he served as Deputy Grand Master, and continued to be a subject for controversy among his Brethren. He died in 1828 in his eighty-fourth year.

III

Pyke's long term as Provincial Grand Master, together with the failure to persuade the Earl of Dalhousie to take office, and the fiasco of Sir James Kempt, ended efforts to obtain the Lieutenant-Governor as Provincial Grand Master. Thus when Pyke retired, two of the leaders of the Craft in the Province, Richard Uniacke and John Albro, were nominated to succeed him. Uniacke was well known in political circles. Albro had been Deputy Grand Master and was thus better known to the Craft. Albro had been a member of St. Andrew's Lodge since 1794. Uniacke belonged to the more youthful St. John's. Here were the ingredients for an inter-lodge contest. Thus when Albro was declared elected, the representatives of St. John's stated that the election had not been properly conducted, and refused to attend Albro's installation, December, 1820. They followed this act of protest with accusations against the retiring Provincial Grand Master, Pyke, which were presented to the Grand Stewards Lodge in April, 1821. It was asserted that between 1807 and 1820, he had not paid all dues and that he owed &12. The following October, Grand Lodge appointed a committee to consider the charge, but St. John's sent no one to represent it at the hearing; instead an appeal was made direct to the Grand Lodge in England. The report of the committee as presented in December 1821 upheld both the election of Albro and the standing of John George Pyke. Albro was re-elected Provincial Grand Master. Since St. John's was again unrepresented, those present voted that the protesting lodge should not have its case decided solely by the Grand Lodge of England, as its continual refusal to cooperate constituted disobedience to the Provincial Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia. Then by a vote of 7 to 11, St. John's Lodge was suspended until the pleasure of the Grand Lodge of England was known, or the said Lodge, No. 265 offered such concessions or apologies "as may be deemed sufficient by this Grand Lodge."

This unfortunate dispute was finally ended by the Grand Lodge of England whose leaders deserve commendation for their wisdom and moderation. The Ruling Grand Master, the Duke of Sussex, decided that the suspension of St. John's Lodge exceeded the powers of the Provincial Grand Lodge and ordered it repealed. Other less serious charges and counter charges he took under advisement. Most of all, he requested the Brethren "to banish every feeling of hostility and to unite in promoting that cause which all are interested in preserving." His appeal was well received. At the next session of Grand Lodge held in June, 1822, St. John's was restored to full fellowship. That lodge, after some hesitation, accepted the peace offer, and thus harmony was restored. This was the early 19th century. Today, it is to be hoped, saner policies prevail.

JOHN ALBRO
Provincial Grand Master, 1820-39

The memory of the tenth Provincial Grand Master of Masons in Nova Scotia, John Albro, is kept alive today by the comparatively youthful lodge, John Albro No. 122 in Dartmouth. He was in his day one of the outstanding citizens and merchants of Halifax and Dartmouth. From 1813 to 1829 he served the Capital City as Commissioner of Streets. In 1818 he was elected to the Provincial Legislature, where he sat for several years. His Masonic career had been equally distinguished. He joined St. Andrew's Lodge in 1794, and four years later was elected Worshipful Master. In Grand Lodge he served as Junior Grand Warden in 1810, Senior Grand Warden, 1811, and Deputy Grand Master, 1812-29. He was Grand Master for nineteen interesting, but somewhat troubled years. He died in office, 1839. He served the Provincial grand Lodge of Nova Scotia first as an elected representative of the Brethren of the Province, and later as an appointed Provincial Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England.

During the first nine years he was in office, Albro was a symbol for enthusiasm and growth among the Craft in the Province. Fourteen new lodges were chartered, eight in Nova Scotia, four in New Brunswick, and two military lodges. Those in Nova Scotia were Unity in Lunenburg, Fort Edward in Windsor, Moira in Rawdon, Colchester Union in Truro, Concord in Barrington, Cumberland Harmony in Amherst, St. Marys in Digby, and Rising Sun in Londonderry. With these lodges we approach the modern era. Unity is now No. 4 under the registry of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia; Cumberland Harmony was the ancestor of Acacia No. 8; St. Mary's continues indirectly as King Solomon No. 54; and Concord left its name to the present Concord Lodge No. 24 at Clarke's Harbour.

Even during the prosperous years of Albro's Grand Mastership, there was much grumbling among the Brethren over the various fees being required by the Grand Lodge of England. The year he became Provincial Grand Master, 1821, the authorities in London made an attempt to pour oil on troubled waters by remitting registration fees and all charges on certificates of initiation and affiliation. The lodges overseas were also assured that they were to share in the Grand Lodge General Fund of Benevolence. Thereafter relations between Halifax and London were improved, but some of the Brethren in the former city refused to be mollified. One group in Halifax requested a charter for a new lodge in Halifax from the Grand Lodge of Scotland. Of this more will be told later. Most of the Craft remained loyal to the Grand Lodge of England, but continued to resist its claims. Then in the midst of the existing confusion in the Craft came the well known Morgan anti-Masonic campaign in the United States. William Morgan3 , may have taken his degrees in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. While residing in New York State he became a party to a plan to make public certain Masonic secrets. He disappeared and the Masons were unjustly accused of having killed him. This led to an anti-Masonic Campaign which got into politics and caused a frenzied attack on lodges and Freemasons that lasted for about a decade, 1826-36. In New York State, long a stronghold of the Fraternity, membership dropped from 20,000 in 1826 to 3000 in 1836. New England and other parts of the United states also had substantial losses, and in Nova Scotia, a number of lodges closed never to open again. It was unfortunate that the frenzied outburst against Freemasonry came at the same time the Grand Lodge of England was seeking to bring the colonial lodges under stricter control. The two problems, as they were considered by the lodges overseas, produced a feeling of frustration from which it was not easy to recover.

It was in July, 1828, that Albro summoned a special meeting of Grand Lodge to hear and consider an important communication which had come from the Grand Lodge of England and to announce a change of policy. In the future, the Provincial Grand Master would not be elected by his brethren, but appointed by the Grand Master in England. All lodges in Nova Scotia were therefore to be renumbered and would receive new Warrants direct from London. If the Warrants were obtained within three months, no fees were required. Otherwise, a charge would be made. In the future, each lodge must pay 10s for each initiation and 5s for each affiliation. Although rather unhappy with the new dispensation, the Brethren of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia decided they must accept it. Thus John Albro ceased to be an elected and became an appointed official. The change, with the Morgan trouble already cited, caused some of the weaker lodges to collapse, and even in the stronger ones, the membership was reduced. What this meant to the Craft may be seen from a letter sent by the Worshipful Master of St. Andrew's to the Grand Secretary in London in 1837: "The prosperity of the Craft in this country during the past ten years has very much declined. There are but three Lodges in Halifax, (St. Andrew's, St. John's, and Virgin) and eleven members comprise the present strength of St. Andrew's, the other two lodges do not exceed that number." With this situation prevailing in Halifax, conditions throughout the Province could not be dissimilar. Albro himself was a trusted leader and was not blamed for the decline, as he could do little as long as the storm raged outside. Before his death in 1839 he had watched the recovery begin.

NOTES

1. In addition to his large practice as a physician, Dr. Clarke was twice President of the North British Society, 1789 and 1798, and was a member of a Club composed entirely of Masons who met to discuss papers in scientific and other subjects. The late Duke of Kent was a frequent visitor to the Club.
2. The Earl of Dalhousie replied to the invitation to become Provincial Grand Master with the words, "with every possible respect for the institution in general, and for the Grand Lodge of this province, I feel myself, from various reasons, obliged to beg that I may be allowed to decline." That he was a Mason in 1819 there can be no doubt. He served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1804-05. In 1820 he laid the cornerstone of Dalhousie College on the Grand Parade with Masonic honours.
3. One of the early writings on William Morgan was by Robert Morris in 1883, entitled William Morgan or Political anti-Masonry. More recent works are: The Great William Morgan Mystery, in Canadian Masonic Research Association, No. 45, 1958; History of Freemasonry in Canada, by J. Ross Robertson, Vol. l, p. 121; and the Strange Disappearances of William Morgan, by Thomas Knight, 1932.