GSCWMoore

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CHARLES WHITLOCK MOORE 1801-1873

CharlesWMoore2_1872.jpg

  • Corresponding Grand Secretary, 1833-1873
  • Deputy Grand Master, 1868
  • Honorary Past Grand Master, 1873
  • Grand High Priest, 1846-1848

CharlesWMoore1834.jpg CharlesWMoore1858.jpg
Charles W. Moore in 1834 and 1858
From the collection of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts


ESSAYS

REGULATIONS FOR LODGES, 1853

Included in Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XIII, No. 3, December 1853, Page 139:

The following concise rules will be found convenient to presiding Masters, in the government of their Lodges, and perhaps useful to young and inexperienced members in the regulation of their own conduct. They are, we think, consistent with Masonic usage; and in respect to the propriety of them we presume there can be little or no difference of opinion among intelligent Brethren. They were compiled by a Brother in a distant State for the use of the Lodges under his charge. Having, however, taken the liberty to make a few alterations in them, we do not feel at liberty to throw the responsibility of the amendments upon him by giving his name: —

  1. Petitions for Initiation, Advancement and Membership, must be handed in on the day or night designated in the By-Laws as the stated monthly meeting, and lie over until the next stated monthly meeting, unless otherwise provided for by dispensation.
  2. The secret ballot, or right of a member to vote secretly, must be inviolate and unimpaired. Every member in balloting upon a petition may vote as he thinks proper, and he cannot be caused to divulge how he voted, nor can he be questioned at all, or called on to give a reason for his vote.
  3. No petition can be withdrawn, unless the report of the investigating committee be favorable.
  4. No candidate can be advanced in less time than one month, unless he is about to leave the State, when a dispensation may be obtained in his favor.
  5. Degrees may be conferred at called or special meetings; but no other business can be transacted except that specified in the notification, of which due notice must be given to all the member, if practicable.
  6. No other business can be transacted at any meeting to which the Lodge may be called off, except such as was announced or begun on the day or night of the stated monthly meeting and could not be finished; and such unfinished business mutt be specified on the minutes, and announced to the members present, when the Lodge is called off.
  7. The minutes of a preceding Lodge cannot be altered by any subsequent Lodge, nor can any of its acts be reconsidered. If any change or alteration is desired, it must be submitted to the Lodge by a Resolution, for its action.
  8. No Vote or Resolution of a subordinate Lodge is valid, if it conflicts with the Constitution, Usages or Regulations, established for the government of the Fraternity; nor any By-Law or amendment, until approved by the Grand Lodge.
  9. No Section or Article of the By-Laws can be suspended for any purpose, except by Dispensation.
  10. No case can be considered emergent, unless the applicant is about to remove permanently from the State, or to travel in foreign countries, or going to sea.
  11. Elections cannot be held except on the days designated in the By-Laws.
  12. If the Master, Senior and Junior Wardens, are all absent, the Lodge cannot be opened, unless a Dispensation is obtained.
  13. A regular Warden may preside and confer degrees and transact the legitimate business of the Lodge, in the absence of the Master, although he is not a Past Master.
  14. A Past Master has no authority in a Lodge, but what is bestowed on him by the courtesy of the then presiding officer of the Lodge.
  15. A Master of the Lodge cannot authorize or deputise a Past Master to open the Lodge in his absence, or conduct its labors, to the exclusion of a regular Warden present, as the Warden succeeds to all the duties of the Master in his absence.
  16. The decision of the Master of the Lodge upon any question or point, is final and conclusive, and there is no appeal front it, except to the Grand Lodge or Grand Master.

MASONIC LAW, 1865

Included in Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XXIII, No. 1, November 1865, Page 21:

The rules which are laid down for the regulation of our conduct as Masons, are embraced in the term. Masonic law. These rules are either written or unwritten; they are either general or local. Some are of universal obligation, and some are not. The former govern the craft, wheresoever dispersed ; the latter govern only in particular territories, districts, or Lodges. But no local law or rule can be passed which is repugnant to the universal or common law of Masonry. The moral law is a universal law, and is the foundation of Masonic ethics. Dictated by God himself, it is of superior obligation. It is binding over all the globe, at all times, and in all Lodges. None of the laws of the Order are of any validity if they conflict with it; and such of them as are valid derive all their force and all their authority, mediately 'or immediately, from this original.

The moral law in Masonry may be regarded as written law; for it is the revealed law, and is found in the Holy Scriptures. The rule by which it is adopted and sanctioned is unwritten; for the Bible is both a light and a symbol of Masonry. Many of the principles of the Order, which have been borrowed from the inspired volume, and embodied in our ritual, are also unwritten; but nevertheless, as moral precepts, their intrinsic obligation depends upon the revealed or unwritten law of God.

Some universal laws, as contradistinguished from revealed laws, derive their force and authority from universal consent and immemorial usage. They need not the sanction of any Lodge or Grand Lodge, by any express act, to give them power and validity; and this is the criterion by which they are to be distinguished from the local or special enactments of Masonic assemblies. They are unwritten laws; by which is not meant that all our universal laws are at present merely oral, or communicated from former ages to the present day solely by word of mouth; but the evidence of many of these laws is to be found embodied in our Book of Constitutions and in our general regulations. In the decisions of Grand Masters, and Masters of Lodges, may be traced the sense and proper construction of these laws ; and therefore such decisions contain evidence of them. Their real institution and authority are coeval with the authority of Freemasonry: they have been transmitted from age to age in all their original power and force; and, unlike the common law of England or America, they cannot be repealed. No edict or statute of a Grand Lodge can alter, change, or modify them in the least particular; while all edicts, statutes, resolutions, or by-laws, passed in derogation of those laws, are absolutely null and void. They bear a necessary and intimate relation to one another; and none of them can be changed without endangering the beauty, harmony, and strength of the whole code. Our ceremonies and traditions are substantially the same in all Lodges. None of the landmarks can be legally changed in any of their essential features.

Some emblems or symbols may have been in the progress of time and civilization added to the tracing-board; but, if rightly understood, they cannot be said to conflict with the original designs, at least in the opinion of those who adopted and use them. There is a remarkable unity of purpose and design pervading the whole system or body of Masonry, and that unity is protected by the highest sanctions. The universal voluntary law is received by the general consent and uniform practice of Lodges in general, and also on account of its manifest utility, as also on account of its being made immutable as well as universal: it was prescribed by the founders of Masonry, and every Mason must yield a willing obedience to it.

The distinctions which exist between the local and universal laws should be kept in mind. A local law may be modified or repealed. The constitutions, regulations, and enactments of Grand Lodges may be altered or amended at the will and pleasure of the bodies which passed them. The form of petition for degrees, the rules for fixing the fee for admission, — in fact, all the by-laws of a Lodge, — are generally local in their character; but the rules which designate and establish the qualifications of candidates are of universal obligation, and can never be repealed. So with the mode of initiation, the manner of preparing a candidate to take the several degrees, and the way in which he is brought to a knowledge of them ; for these usages are universal.

Such usages or customs which are claimed to be universal are not clearly stated or defined. Precedents or rules which are not repugnant to the law, and which are contained in the Masonic ritual, must be followed. And, in the construction of the fundamental law, the decisions of Grand Lodges, and opinions of eminent Masons, like the decisions of courts of justice, are held in the highest estimation." They serve as indexes to, and also to explain," the law. The treatises of Glanville and Beacton, Britton and Fleta, Hengham and Littleton, and others, are cited as authority in the courts of common law. In matters of a doubtful nature, we ought always to have regard to the opinions of enlightened Masons; and, unless the opinions are "flatly absurd and unjust," we ought to be governed by them.

Most of our ancient and fundamental laws are hard to misunderstand; for they are couched in plain and unambiguous language. The rules by which the qualifications of a candidate for Masonry are to be tested are generally very-clear and explicit. All who have not the regular use of the understanding, or who, in other words, are idiots and lunatics, are incapable of being made Masons. They are incapable of giving that free and voluntary consent which is required of every petitioner for our rites, and cannot enter into any binding contract or obligation. Being totally unqualified for learning the royal art, and understanding its principles, they are excluded from our Lodges: they could only introduce confusion among the workmen, and destroy that harmony and peace which constitute the strength and support of our institution. — Scott.

LODGES IN MASSACHUSETTS JURISDICTION, 1869

Included in Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XXVIII, No. 12, October 1869, Page 353:

GRAND LODGE JURISDICTION.
MASSACHUSETTS LODGES IN OTHER STATES AND FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

The jurisdiction of a Grand Lodge of Freemasons, in the United States, is threefold:

  1. Over the State or Territory in which it is located. This jurisdiction is exclusive as against all other Grand Lodges or Masonic powers, over Ancient Craft or Symbolic Masonry.
  2. Co-ordinate and common jurisdiction in those States and Territories of the United States within whose limits an American Grand Lodge has not been lawfully and regularly established and exists. This is also exclusive, as against all foreign masonic powers.
  3. Co-ordinate and common jurisdiction with the Grand Lodges of Europe, in those independent States, kingdoms, or countries wherein no native or local Grand Lodge of the same Rite is maintained.

With the further explanation that the territories or dependencies of any independent foreign State, are to be regarded as included in the Masonic jurisdiction of such State, our readers will readily understand the policy and principles by which the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has been governed in establishing Lodges beyond its own immediate and exclusive jurisdiction,— a policy which it has pursued uninterruptedly from its organization as the original Grand Lodge in this country, in 1733 ; and in the prosecution of which it has extended its authority and diffused the light entrusted to its care over, and, to a limited extent, beyond, both the American continents. And it may be new, and perhaps not wholly uninteresting, to some of our younger brethren, to learn that eleven of the thirteen colonies composing the confederation and future States of the Union were indebted to it for the first elements of their masonic existence and subsequent prosperity.

The first warrant issued by it was granted on the 30th of July, 1733, — the day of its own organization, — for "The First Lodge in Boston." It was the first warranted Lodge in America, and its records are nearly complete to the present time. It was followed by a Dispensation for the "First Lodge in Pennsylvania," granted to Benjamin Franklin,— then of Philadelphia, who was its first Master,— dated June 24, 1734. On the same clay a Dispensation was al o issued for the "Holy Lodge of St. John," at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, which Lodge is still in existence, and is one of the most flourishing in the State. The next charter issued was for the "First Lodge in South Carolina," located at Charleston, and dated December 27, 1735. On December 27, 1749, authority for "St. John's Lodge, No. 1," at Newport, Rhode Island, was granted, and this Lodge is still in existence. Authority was also subsequently granted for other Lodges in the State. August 12, 1750, "Maryland Lodge" was established at Annapolis, in Maryland, but we believe it is not now in existence. August 12, 1752, a warrant was granted for "Hiram Lodge," at New Haven, Connecticut, which is still in existence. Warrants were also afterwards granted for other Lodges in the State. In 1756 a warrant was granted for an Army Lodge at Crown Point, in the State of New York; and in 1759, for another at Lake George; and in 1762 for still another at Crown Point; and in September, 1782, a Dispensation was granted by the then Grand Master to John Copp and others for a Lodge in the State of New York. Neither the name nor the location is given in the record. In 1762, "Temple Lodge, No. 1," was authorized at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, being the first Lodge in that province. In 1764, another Lodge was authorized to be held at Princeton, in the same colony, by the name of "St. John's Lodge." In 1765 a Dispensation was issued for "Pitt County Lodge," in North Carolina, and in 1767, another for a Lodge in Virginia. In November, 1781, a warrant was issued for "Vermont Lodge," at Cornish, Vermont, being the first Lodge in that State; and in 1785 another for "North Star Lodge," at Manchester, Vermont. In 1796, "American Union Lodge" was authorized at Marietta, Ohio. The above comprise all the old colonies, except Delaware and Georgia; the last of which received its first Masonic authority from England, in 1735. The Lodges whose names are given all derived their authority from Massachusetts, and were the first in their respective districts. And, in addition thereto, the Grand Lodge, between the date of its organization and the close of the eighteenth century, established Lodges beyond the present jurisdiction of the United States as follows : The "First Lodge in the West Indies," at Antigua, in 1738; "Halifax Lodge," Nova Scotia, in 1740; a Lodge at St. Johns, Newfoundland, 1746; " Royal Lodge," at Annapolis, Nova Scotia, 1750; and another at Louisburg, in 1758; a Lodge at Quebec, Canada, in 1764; "Surinam Lodge," at Surinam, Dutch Guiana, in 1766; another at St. Christopher, and still another at Barbadoes, both in the West Indies, 1767; which include all the foreign Lodges for which authority was granted before the beginning of the present century, at which time the following Report, adopted by the Grand Lodge, at its last Quarterly Communication, takes the subject up, and brings it down to the present date.

THE MASONIC CHARACTER AND CORRESPONDENCE OF GENERAL WASHINGTON

Published by Moore and Sevey, 1830

BIOGRAPHY

FROM NEW ENGLAND FREEMASON, 1874

The first article that appeared in New England Freemason in January 1874 was an extended memorial biography of Charles W. Moore. It appears below, from Vol. I, No. 1, beginning on Page 1.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF R. W. CHARLES W. MOORE.

"So much one man can do.
That does both act and know."
— Andrew Martell.

The Brethren of the Mystic; Tie, wheresoever dispersed over the face of the globe, will be filled with sadness when they learn that the distinguished Brother whose name stands at the head of this article has passed from earth. Few members of the Fraternity, in this or any other country, have ever been so generally known or so highly respected by the Brotherhood. His long Masonic life, his faithful service in almost every office in Grand and subordinate Bodies of every branch of the Order, his able, vigorous, persistent and successful defence of our principles and our rights against the mad fury of Anti-Masonic folly and demagogueism; his publications illustrative of our ritual, and his editorship for a whole generation of the first exclusively Masonic periodical ever published,—all these services have made his name as familiar as household words to Masons everywhere, and wherever it has been known it has been respected and honored. His opinion was constantly sought in regard to questions of Masonic law and practice, and his conclusions were regarded as final. His life-long experience furnished reasons and precedents, his ripe and mature judgment weighed and balanced arguments, and his clear and forcible statement carried conviction to every mind. Never again shall we listen to his earnest injunction to stand by the ancient landmarks. Never again shall we apply to him for counsel and advice. We have reverently deposited his body in the house ap¬ pointed for all living, but his spirit we trust has been received into the Celestial Lodge above with the welcome "Well done, good and faithful servant! "

Charles Whitlock Moore was born in Boston, March 29th, 1801. Little is known of his parents, but the record ill the family Bible informs us that his father held a responsible position in the household of King George the Third; that he came to this country towards the close of the last century, and opened a music store in Boston. The son was apprenticed to the printer's trade, and the senior editor of the Boston Post, relates that while they were boys together in the office of the brother of the latter, in Haverhill, Mass., an unfair and ungenerous attack was made upon the narrator by one his superior in age and position; that Brother Moore came to the rescue and most vigorously defended his fellow-apprentice and room-mate, and from that time until Brother Moore's death a most friendly feeling existed between them.

This little incident would indicate that even at that early age Brother Moore was possessed of that love of justice and that sturdy zeal in the defence of right, which prompted him to do such good service in the cause of Masonry when he had arrived at manhood. In the Grand Master's remarks in regard to him at the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge, on the 10th of December last, he related the facts in regard to his official connection with this Body, and we propose at this time to recite the other principal incidents in his Masonic history, gathering them from his Address on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of his membership in St. Andrew's Lodge, and from R. W. Brother John T. Heard's History of Columbian Lodge.

In February, 1822, he applied for initiation in Massachusetts Lodge, then, as now, standing third in the list of Boston Lodges. He was accepted and would have been received on the evening of his coming of age but for business engagements which called him to the State of Maine. With the consent of Massachusetts Lodge, he was admitted in Kennebec Lodge of Hallowell in May following, and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on the evening of the 12th of June. He returned to Boston in July, and on the 10th of October was admitted to membership in St. Andrew's Lodge. In the address delivered by him before thai Body on the occasion of the semi-centennial anniversary of his membership, he said : "In 1825. I established what was the first Masonic newspaper, not only in Boston, but in the world,—the Masonic Mirror—in which, to the best of my ability, I fought the battle of Masonry against Anti-Masonry from that year up to 1834, and sustained it subsequently till 1841 in the Masonic department of another paper. In November of the latter year, I started the Freemasons' Magazine, as an exclusively Masonic publication, and the only one then in the world based on that principle." It was continued without interruption until his death.

In the year of his admission to St. Andrew's Lodge. 1822, Brother David Parker was its Worshipful Master. "On the 12th of November of that year," says Brother Moore, "at the election of officers, Brother Parker, in making up his appointments, did me the honor to invest me with the jewel of one of the subordinate offices of the Lodge, I having then been a Mason but six months. I look back with a grateful pride upon that appointment as the first step of a long career of official duties; for from that time to the present—a long half century of Masonic life—I have no recollection of ever having been free from official duties and responsibilities in some one or more of the various divisions or branches of our Institution."

He was elected Master of St. Andrew's Lodge by a unanimous ballot in 1832, and re-elected in 1833, but having in the following month been elected Recording Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, he was under the necessity of resigning the office of Master—the two being incompatible. He was, however, the same evening elected Secretary of St. Andrew's Lodge, which place he held for sixteen years, when he resigned.

"In 1826, that remarkable and most groundless persecution, known as the 'Anti-Masonic Excitement,' broke out in the western part of the State of New York, and speedily spread itself over all the neighboring States. In 1830 and 1831, it raged with unmitigated violence and virulence in Massachusetts. Here, as elsewhere, it was carried into all the relations of social life; the ties of kinship and of friendship were rudely severed; the springs of sympathy were dried up; confidence between man and man was destroyed; the dark demon of persecution ran riot throughout the length and breadth of the land; members of the Masonic Institution were broken up in their business, denied the lawful exercise of their civil franchise, driven with ignominy from all public offices, from the jury-box and from the churches, subjected to insult, injury and contumely in their daily walks, hunted down as felons, and only saved at times from personal violence through the cowardice of their wicked persecutors. It was at this time, and when mercilessly beset and assailed by their infuriate foe6, that the Grand Lodge, through the expiration of its lease, was required to vacate the rooms it had occupied for some years previously in one of the public buildings of this city. It determined, therefore, to erect a Masonic edifice of its own. For this purpose, it purchased the land on which the old Masonic Temple on the corner of Temple Place now stands, and immediately commenced the building. By its Act of Incorporation, granted in 1816, the Grand Lodge was authorized to hold real estate not exceeding the value of twenty thousand dollars, and personal estate not exceeding the value of sixty thousand dollars."

Anticipating no difficulty in obtaining a modification of the charter reversing the proportions named, the Grand Lodge went on with the building, and in March, 1831, petitioned the Legislature accordingly. "The petition was immediately attacked in violent and abusive language by the Anti-Masonic; members of the House, but was finally referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The committee made their report, at the end of the session, in favor, as was expected, of the petition of the Grand Lodge. After a stormy debate, the report was rejected by a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight in the affirmative to one hundred and thirty-three in the negative. A motion to reconsider was lost on the following day, and the Grand Lodge was left without its remedy. It had undeniably exceeded its corporate powers, and had thereby endangered its property."

Remonstrances and petitions were prepared in great numbers to be presented to the Legislature in case the Grand Lodge renewed its petition at the session of 1832, as was expected. But in this our enemies were disappointed; no action was taken.

"The year 1833 was one of great anxiety to the Grand Lodge. It had gone on with, and completed its new Temple; the Legislature was to re-assemble in January; the Grand Lodge had exceeded its corporate powers, and its property was still in danger. The inquisitorial committee, so pertinaciously asked for by its enemies, would then probably be appointed. Before that committee, the leading Masons of the State would, undoubtedly, be summoned; an oath would be proposed which they would not take; questions be put to them which they could not and would not answer. The only alternative was imprisonment!

"With few exceptions, the leading Masons in the city were prepared for this; others were not. All naturally desired to avoid the issue, if it could be done without dishonor. How was this to be accomplished.

"Councils and extra meetings of the Grand Lodge were held, various propositions were submitted, debated and rejected. On the 20th of December (eleven days before the assembling of the Legislature) nothing had been decided upon. The committee appointed at a previous meeting reported that they had not been able to agree upon any course which they could recommend as free from objection, and they were discharged."

Thereupon Brother Moore moved "that a committee be appointed to consider the expediency of surrendering the Act of Incorporation of the Grand Lodge, and report at the next meeting. The members of the Grand Lodge were not disposed to surrender anything. Their temper had been severely tried, and was now decidedly above fever heat."

The resolution was adopted, and the following named Brethren were appointed as the committee :—R. W. Brothers Francis J. Oliver, Augustus Peabody, Joseph Baker, John Soley and Charles W. Moore; all being among the ablest, and the first four among the oldest members of the Grand Lodge.

On the 27th of December, the committee reported, recommending the surrender of the Charter and the presentation to the Legislature of a Memorial which Brother Moore had prepared. Both the recommendation and the Memorial were adopted by a unanimous vote of the Grand Lodge, without amendment.

The Memorial was presented to the Legislature by the Hon. Stephen White of Boston, on the first day of the session. "The surrender was accepted. The authority of the Legislature over the Grand Lodge was at an end ; the property of the latter was secure, and the Fraternity of the whole Commonwealth could now sit down under 'its own vine and fig-tree,' regardless alike of legislative interference and of Anti-Masonic malice and impertinence."

In the meantime, the Masonic Temple had been conveyed to Brother Robert G. Shaw, an honorable and honored merchant of Boston, who, after the storm had passed, transferred it to Trustees for the benefit of the Grand Lodge.

It has been well said that "the Declaration of 1831, the 'Memorial' of 1833,—both written by the same hand,—and the triumphant acquittal on a charge of libel, in the same year, of the author of these celebrated documents, were the three blows which killed Anti- Masonry in Massachusetts, and redeemed the Masonic Institution from seven years of obloquy and unparalleled opposition."

The Memorial, so creditable to the author and productive of so great benefit to the Institution, is here transcribed as an important part of the history of his life: —

Reproduced on this page

"In 1831, when the Anti-Masonic excitement was in its meridian, and the Brethren of Massachusetts were subjected to the grossest personal insults, and the most scandalous charges were preferred against thein as a Body, and when flagrant violations of their rights as citizens were threatened, they felt that some measures should be taken to repel the attacks to which they were thus wantonly and constantly exposed. Hitherto, they had maintained silence; the work of detraction they had suffered to pass unnoticed, and with a courage and forbearance which men only can exercise who are conscious of their integrity, they had borne the pitiless storm of a heartless and fanatical persecution in silent dignity and meek submission. Justice to themselves, to their families and friends, to the community of which they were members, demanded a denial, at least, of what had been so sedulously urged against them as Masons ; to maintain silence longer would be construed into a tacit admission that the criminations of their assailants were well-founded and justifiable. The subject was accordingly brought before the Grand Lodge. That Body was divided as to the propriety of going before the public to meet charges made by Anti-Masons. The proposition was, however, entertained, and a committee were appointed to report some paper adapted to the exigency tor publication. Various plans were reported, but none of them meeting with acceptance, the subject was at last postponed. The uproar of accusation continuing without abatement, and the Brethren being daily importuned by their friends to oppose some statement to the course of their opponents, the subject of a protest was introduced before the Boston Encampment of Knights Templars, an association of true and estimable men, and devoted Masons. A declaration, or protest, written by Sir Knight Charles W. Moore, was unanimously adopted by that Body. Though it had been intended that the paper should be signed only by the members of the organization in which it originated, such was the desire among the Brethren generally, to unite with them in the promulgation of the sentiments it embodied, that it was determined that all might become parties to it who were so inclined. Without any efforts having been made to obtain signatures, fourteen hundred and seventy-two of the Brethren in Massachusetts, in the course of a few days, had appended their names to the document, of whom four hundred and thirty-seven were residents of Boston. It was then printed and circulated.

Subsequently, many other signatures were added, until finally, they reached the number of about sixteen hundred. The Brethren in Connecticut and Rhode Island having procured copies of the protest, very generally signed it. About six thousand Masons in New England participated in this act of self-defence. The firm stand thus taken by the Brotherhood was attended with the most salutary effects. It evidenced that the great body of the Fraternity were not intimidated by the attitude of their enemies, and were faithful to the noble Institution which was so ruthlessly assailed. These facts afforded encouragement to those who had faltered, and Stimulated all in the reliance that truth would ultimately prevail, and their rights would be re-established." This famous document was in the following words:—

See this page for the document/

At the celebration of the Feast of St. John the Evangelist by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts on the 27th of December, 1871, eleven of the signers of this Declaration were present. Several of them, including Brother Moore, gave most interesting reminiscences of the trying circumstances which gave rise to this Declaration, and all of them seemed to appreciate most highly the honors which were paid them by their Brethren.

From the History of Columbian Lodge by R. W. Brother John T. Heard, we gather the following items of Brother Moore's Masonic history as they were obtained from his own lips. In 1825, he was made a Royal Arch Mason in St. Andrew's Chapter, and having tilled most of the offices in that Body, he was, in 1840, chosen its High Priest. He was subsequently elected Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter, in which he had previously sustained nearly all of the subordinate offices, including that of Grand Lecturer. He was made a Knight Templar in Boston Encampment in 1830, and was its Grand Commander in 1837. He was afterwards Grand Commander of the DeMolay Encampment of Boston. In 1841, he served as Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1832, he received the Royal and Select Master's degrees in Boston Council, over which he presided for ten or twelve years. The thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite was conferred upon him Nov. 13, 1844, and he afterwards served as the Grand Secretary General of the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the U. S. A. lie held various offices in the General Grand Encampment of the United States, and was for a time its third officer. He was Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Grand Charity Fund for sixteen years, and afterwards of the Board of Trustees of the Masonic Temple. "In short," says Brother Heard, "he has filled nearly every office in a Lodge, Chapter and Encampment, holding each several years. He has rarely failed to occupy less than three or four, and frequently five or six official stations at the same time."

To those not on intimate terms of friendship with Brother Moore, he often appeared too confident in his own opinions, too intolerant of dissent, too little considerate of the opinions and feelings of others, but those who knew him best realized that this was a matter of appearance rather than of fact, and that under a manner sometimes harsh and rough there was concealed a wealth of generous and true sympathy and tenderness. He has himself alluded to one of the probable causes of the outward appearance referred to.

"I am painfully conscious of many short-comings in my career, of many failures to accomplish fully the objects aimed at; conscious, also, that the bitter struggle and trials of that strife against the enemies of our Order, in which so many years of my earlier Masonic life were passed, may have left a personal impress of sternness and inflexibility which do not faithfully represent the truer emotions of the heart. Yet, with all this, as I stand before you to-night, I feel that I have never been disloyal to the great and good principles of our Order. To it, and to its interests, my thoughts, affections, labors. have all been heartily, unselfishly devoted now for fifty years, and only second to that hope of future happiness which every Christian man must cherish, is the hope that, when my place among you shall at length become vacant, my memory may in some degree be cherished as that of a Mason true to his Order and to his Brethren, through life unto death."

It was his custom to pass two or three hours every forenoon in the Grand Secretary's office. While then, on the morning of Friday, the 28th of November last, he was suddenly seized with a congestive chill of great violence. His life-long friend and Brother, Dr. Winslow Lewis, administered suitable remedies, which after an hour relieved him so that he was able to ride home, when he took to his bed and never left it but for the grave. He seemed to have a presentiment that it was his last visit to the Temple, for after going a few steps from the Grand Secretary's office, he turned back, shook hands with that Brother and bade him "Good Bye!" From the first, his physicians gave the friends little or no encouragement to hope. For a few days he suffered severely, his disease changing to pneumonia and pleurisy with typhoidal symptoms. His strength gradually failed, and the suffering seemed to diminish. For much of the time during the last week of his life he was unconscious, and on Friday evening, the 12th of December, at ten minutes after six o'clock, he fell asleep!

His last Masonic work was the preparation of the dedication of the 32nd volume of the Freemasons' Monthly Magazine. It was in these words:

"TO
THE FEW SURVIVING BRETHREN
WHOSE NAMES
HAVE BEEN BORNE ON ITS SUBSCRIPTION LIST FOR MORE THAN
AN ENTIRE GENERATION. THIS VOLUME OF
THE
"FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE"
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED.

Leaves have their time to fall.
And flowers to wither at the North wind's breath,
And stars to set; — but all,
Thou hast all seasons for thine own — O Death!

A day or two before he was seized with his last illness, he showed it to a Brother whom he was accustomed to consult about his articles and asked his opinion. The reply was that it was very beautiful, but the quotation would seem to be more appropriate if the volume were dedicated to the memory of the departed, instead of to the surviving subscribers. Brother Moore admitted the justice of the criticism, but he said, "It has been running in my mind several days, and it must stand." His prophetic soul discerned the shadow of the tomb stealing across his path. He delivered the copy to the printer with his own hand, and his work was finished,—the book was closed! At the Annual Communication of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, held on Wednesday, the 10th of December, the Grand Master alluded to the sickness of Brother Moore in the following words: —

" We have assembled under circumstances of peculiar sadness. It is not unusual at our Communications for the announcement to be made that some distinguished Brother has been summoned to the Celestial Lodge above. You are already prepared lor the report that since our last Quarterly Meeting it has pleased the Supreme Architect of the Universe to remove by death our Senior Past Grand Master, R. W. George M. Randall. But to-day we look in vain for the familiar face and form of one whom no Brother present, save one, has ever found to be wanting in Grand Lodge.

"Charles W. Moore is nigh unto death!

"For over forty years he has never failed to attend our Communications, except the two or three which occurred while he was in Europe, or when he was absent in a distant city upon a commission of the Grand Lodge. On the 27th of December, 1832, he was installed as Grand Pursuivant. At the annual election in 1833, he was chosen Recording Grand Secretary, and was re-elected to that office each year until December, 1867, when he was appointed Deputy Grand Master. By his service in the latter office, he became entitled to permanent membership in this Grand Lodge, an honor which he had not previously enjoyed, notwithstanding his long service in this Body. In December, 1868, he was appointed Corresponding Grand Secretary, an office which he has held, by successive appointments, until the present time. Thus it appears that he has been constantly engaged in the active service of this Grand Lodge for forty-one years. During the Anti-Masonic excitement, which raged from 1826 to 1834, he was unwearied in the defence of the 'Institution. He was the author of the famous "Declaration of the Freemasons of Boston and Vicinity," issued in December, 1831, and of the Memorial, surrendering the Charter of the Grand Lodge, presented to the Legislature at the session of 1834. To him more than to any other Brother is this Grand Lodge indebted for its triumphant issue from that trying ordeal, and other Grand Lodges were sustained by our example. Such pre-eminent services would seem to demand a corresponding recognition. We should honor ourselves by conferring upon him who has rendered them, an especial mark of appreciation and gratitude. I therefore recommend that R. W. Charles W. Moore be elected to the rank of Honorary Past Grand Master of this Grand Lodge. 1 am not aware that there is any precedent on record in this country for such action. The nearest approach to one in the history of our own Grand Lodge will be found in the record of the Communication held on the 27th of December, 1845, when R. W. Brothers George Oliver, D. D., and Robert Thomas Crucelix, M. D., both of England, were elected honorary members, the former with the rank of Past Deputy Grand Master, and the latter with the rank of Past Senior Grand Warden. Should you adopt my suggestion, I believe your action will meet the general approval of the Craft, and be keenly and gratefully appreciated by the recipient."

Upon the conclusion of the Grand Master's address, the following preamble and resolution were offered by Past Grand Master William S. Gardner, and seconded by Past Grand Master John T. Heard:

"Whereas R. W. Brother Charles W. Moore for more than forty years, without interruption, has been a member of this Grand Lodge, its staunchest friend during the days of adversity and peril, its advocate and counsellor in prosperity; and whereas he has devoted his life to the interests of Freemasonry in all its branches, and especially to those of this Grand Lodge,
"Therefore, Resolved, That the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts do now promote our R. W. Brother Charles Whitlock Moore to the rank of Honorary Past Grand Master, and that hereafter he be recognized and respected accordingly."

The resolution was unanimously adopted by a rising vote.

Upon motion of Past Grand Master John T. Heard, seconded by Past Grand Master William Parkman, it was voted that a committee deliver this news, with Past Grand Master Winslow Lewis as the committee. An hour later R. W. Brother Lewis made the following report :- —

"The committee appointed to communicate to R. W. Brother Charles W. Moore the action of the Grand Lodge in unanimously electing him to the rank and privileges of Honorary Past Grand Master, has attended to the duty and respectfully reports:

"The announcement of the action of the Grand Lodge for the moment re-animated his dying features and lighted up his fading eyes. With grateful emotion he expressed his benediction to his Brethren, and added that this tribute was 'worth living for and worth dying for.'

"He expressed his full consciousness of this last bestowment of the appreciation of his labors, and of the solace thus administered in the last moments of life.

"You have smoothed his pillow of death, and sweetened the bitter cup of that libation of which we must all sooner or later partake."

With moistened eye and trembling lip. our venerable and beloved Brother delivered this interesting and impressive message, but he could not finish it; overcome by emotion, he exclaimed, "I can say no more," and sat down.

Truly, this was a noble compliment, and worthily bestowed. We have thus endeavored to group the principal facts in Brother Moore's history without attempting a review of his career or character. This duty has been admirably performed by a committee of Robert Lash Lodge, and we have kindly been furnished with a copy for publication.

In Robert Lash Lodge, Chelsea,
December 24th, 1873.

The Committee appointed to present to Robert Lash Lodge for permanent record in its archives, some tribute of their recognition and appreciation of tin; exalted life, character and services of R. W. Charles W. Moore, late an Honorary Member of this Lodge, who lias just descended to the tomb, crowned with laurels of the truest earthly fame, wrought by the consenting hands of a Brotherhood which knows not the limits of country or race; being painfully aware how inadequate; must be their best attempts to estimate or measure a Masonic career and character so grand and noble, yet conscious that the simplest review of such a career may be instructive and profitable to the younger Brethren of the Fraternity who are the heirs id' the fame and labors of our distinguished Brother.—with deep distrust and diffidence, present the following

MEMORIAL
R. W. Charles W. Moore was born in the city of Boston, in the year 1801; received the three degrees in Masonry in Kennebec Lodge, Hallowell. Me., in 1822. and on October 10th of the same year was admitted a member of the Lodge of St. Andrew, in the city of Boston.

No enumeration of the various offices, which, during a Masonic life of more than fifty-one years, he has filled in all the departments of Masonry, need here be made, although his official connection was necessarily the means, and in some cases, perhaps the source of his large influence in all Masonic affairs. It was his lot, almost as by the decree of Providence, to be connected inseparably—to be, as it were, interwoven with the organization, the structure and all the interests of each institution of Masonry of which he was a member. So potent ami commanding was the sway of his character, so strongly did he control the currents of action and of opinion in all the societies to which he was attached, that he gave to each of them not only force and direction, but almost life. It is difficult, and certainly within the limits of this paper, almost impossible, to present a just and at the same time full analysis of the rare Masonic life and still rarer powers and achievements of our illustrious Brother.

Nevertheless, we have considered that his life may, perhaps, best be viewed in that threefold aspect, in which may be seen, 1st. the grand efforts and devotion of his early Masonic years to the defence and maintenance of the institution of Masonry in the bitter campaign made against it by its unscrupulous political and social enemies; 2nd,-his constructive labors in the organization, ritual and material interests of the Fraternity, during the first years of the revival which succeeded the overthrow of Anti-Masonry; and 3d, as perhaps, the highest work of his life, permeating it, and closing only with death, his contributions to the history, jurisprudence, and literature of the Fraternity.

R. W. Brother Moore found himself scarcely ensconced within that historic Lodge, of which his memory is now one of the most sacred treasures, when the Anti-Masonic excitement, so called, broke out in the western part of the State of New York. The more sober mind of New England was not readily drawn into a movement so utterly sensational and absurd, but yielded at length, in 1830. to the storm which raged so fiercely in the surrounding States, and when the influence had fully pervaded the politics and theology of our social frame, it would seem that the force of fanaticism could no further go.

Relentless civil, social, and personal persecution, affecting all ranks and conditions of men, was dealt out to every known Mason, and especially to those firm and unyielding Brethren who stood uncompromisingly for their rights as men and citizens. But this dark day of persecution and of sorrow, of trial and of distrust, when the weak faltered and the half-hearted turned back, was the triumph day and hour for R. W. Brother Moore. With that cool temperament, calm discernment and self-poise which were his birthright, he entered into the fray, drew the sword under whose trenchant blade the enemy fell in heaps, and returned it to its scabbard only when the war was ended, and the victory for the Fraternity and himself was won. In the zeal of those youthful days, and while toward himself as a champion, the ranks of war pressed, as toward the white plume of Henry of Navarre, he never forgot that discretion, which, when we consider the surroundings of storm and tempest, was indeed a marvel, and signally illustrates the completeness of his character, teves atque rotundas.

Far greater even than the strong right arm of his controversial power; more potent than his satiric blast and denunciation of the foe, was his almost infallible insight, his calm, penetrating sagacity, his clear and acute judgment. It was this clear judgment, born of the emergencies of the hour, and supplemented by a dauntless courage, which led him to throw back the Charter of the Grand Lodge into the faces of a desperate and inquisitorial majority of the legislature of Massachusetts, and to send them baffled and broken into that darkness out of which they never found light. It was this which gave to his Brethren and the world the grand Declaration. It was this which at all times during that long campaign, illuminated the counsels and gave point and direction to the labors of his associates. These commanding qualities, so well.adapted to the storms and conflicts of life, not only controlled his personal exertions and made him the hero of the scene, but were the source of inspiration in others, working a similar heroism and devotion in the hearts of all whom the force of his character and example could reach. Gladly we turn to the page (for our hard pressed and sorely struggling Brother, a historic page!) which records how grandly the Fraternity emerged under his lead from that desperate warfare. No injustice can be done to the compact mass of tried and faithful Brethren (among whom was our own venerable and beloved Robert Lash), who surrounded Brother Moore and held up his arms during that period of exhausting strife, if we assign to him the chief meed of the victory, as he bore the chief brunt of the battle.

The second title to the consideration of the Fraternity, made by the life of our eminent Brother, may be found in his labors which commenced at the restoration, and which were directed to the structural advancement of" Masonry, and to its ritual and material progress. This portion of his life work necessarily includes his connection in leading official positions, with the several branches of the Fraternity. His character, built up and invigorated by his ever well-directed and never remitted labors in the Anti-Masonic crusade, had so impressed itself upon his Brethren, that they instinctively looked to him for counsel and superintendence in the large and vital undertaking then before them, of restoring the breaches made by the enemy and of rebuilding the very structure of our Institution. Its ritual was to be re-examined, unfolded, and illustrated. Its "rand teachings were to be more perfectly reduced and wrought into a system .of science, such as had been m the minds of the Fathers. Its spreading Broth¬ erhood was to be comprehended in adequate forms of organization and government. Its philosophy and its practical operations were to be more fully impressed than ever before upon the world out¬ side its bounds. Its place as a society and an organization, not simply more ancient, but more fully interwoven with the highest human interests than any other, was to be assured. Its mission to teach mankind some of the noblest lessons of mortal teaching, was to be made known. Its gentle errand of charity and universal love was to be published, almost as a new Gospel. The tree, whose roots reached back into remote antiquity, but which had been riven by the storm and scarred by the lightning, was to spring forth into a new life, and its branches were to be for the healing of the nations.

Our illustrious Brother devoted to this grand work of restoration the full and mature powers with which he was so lavishly endowed. It is only the simplest and severest eulogy which claims that he manfully did for that work all which one man could do. It was the study of a life which knew no intermission or vacation, to reach or at least to approximate the end, the attainment of which was due alike to the present exigencies and the historic fame of our beloved Fraternity. His purposes here were of the sternest and most solemn. Nothing, not even the amenities of the Brotherhood or of society, could divert him for a moment from the serious pursuit of this object. Hence it has been sometimes thought that his nature wan stern and harsh, and that he gave little heed to the requisitions of personal association, or to the flowing courtesies of life. But they misjudge, who suppose that the occasional coldness exhibited by him in his contact with the Brethren, wan anything more than the exponent of his firm, unyielding pursuit of reconstructing and enlarging the moral and technical structure of the Order to which his life had been consecrated and reconsecrated with every succeeding installation into office; a pursuit which scarcely gave him time for the exhibition of that gentleness and urbanity, which, after all, lay at the bottom of his character. His merits, therefore, in that portion of his life-work now under consideration, can be fairly and honestly guaged, not simply by the measure of his arduous labors, but by the complications, embarrassments and perplexities by which they were constantly attended.

The third view in which the life of our departed Brother may be considered, relates to his labors connected with the literature of Masonry. He established in 1825, to adopt his own language, "what was not only the first Masonic newspaper in Boston, but in the world"—the Masonic Mirror, which he continued to publish for nine years. In the year 1841, he founded the Freemasons' Magazine, and continued its publication to the date of his death. Fortunately for his fame, there is no need of comparison, invidious or otherwise, with other similar periodicals. The Freemasons' Magazine may rest securely upon its own well-wrought intellectual and scientific char¬ acter. It can scarcely be obscured by brighter lights in the future. The pages of this Magazine, which has now run through more than a generation, fraught with the highest human activities, have teemed with the productions of his fertile brain and have related to all matters whether of history, antiquity, science, or letters, which could be wrought aesthetically or practically into the life of our Order.

Owning his debt to skilful and intelligent Brethren, whose minds have concurred with his and aided him in his editorial labors, yet in this department, as in the other departments of his Masonic life, the work rested mainly upon his own broad shoulders. Indeed, he was for a time the Atlas upon whom alone rested the history and literature of Masonry. There is so much of the clearly and purely scientific in our Society, so much that is hidden from the common apprehension in the pursuit of its mysteries, that the study and application of a finely trained mind and culture are requisite to the evolution and illustration of its truths. Bro. Moore's vigorous self-training had lent to his naturally balanced mind a welcome aid in this direction ; and to a clear conception of the truths and the philosophy of our science, he added a lucid and transparent expression. His style was sterling in its positive worth, and was wholly free from the faults of affectation, exaggeration, or redundancy. Through the pages of the Freemasons' Monthly, he was able to reach the Brethren of all the States of the Union, and in all foreign lands, and thus to exercise a control and authority in remote parts, and over Brethren upon whom his eyes had never rested.

His articles and opinions came to bo cited everywhere, as with the authority and sanction of law. For the jurisprudence of Masonry, that most difficult field, requiring for its proper appreciation and understanding a rare adjustment and treatment of differing and sometimes conflicting elements, he has accomplished perhaps as much as could well proceed from the judgment and reflection of a single mind. Even in the lighter departments of poetry, of the essay and of the narration of Masonic events, the Magazine, while sparkling often, has been dignified ever.

The unfinished work left by the Master and which, perhaps, no hand may resume, is of itself a grand and sufficient tribute to that life which is now, alas, but a memory!

And thus have we, yet with but a single glance, turned to the threefold aspect of the life of this illustrious man and Brother. From each of these fields of action he conies forth a conqueror! For him, as for the old Roman, we weave the third embroidered gown.

Thrice in utmost need sent forth,
Thrice drawn in triumph home!"

The record of such a life and example is for the instruction of the whole Fraternity. Every member may derive from it strength and consolation.

R. W. Brother Moore, wearied with the long and stern conflict of life, might well have turned away from further duty and sought for his later years the repose he had won so well. But such repose was not for him, while the light of his intellect yet burned brightly. He still persevered, after rounding his threescore and ten years, in the labors of the Magazine, and still maintained an active interest in the business of the Fraternity. The writer of this Memorial, if permitted for a moment the indulgence of a mere personal reminiscence, gratefully attests the profound and active regard and sympathy con¬ stantly and warmly shown to him by this illustrious Brother, especially when referring to Masonic questions in which we were equally interested.

And his great life went on, peacefully indeed at last, as was welcome to the worn soldier at the battle's close, but growing warmer and more genial day by day to the end. It may, perhaps, be fittingly recorded as a bright test of his clear Masonic consciousness in his closing hours, that when the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, at its recent Annual Communication, conferred upon him the unwonted honor of Honorary Past Grand Master, and sent his life-long friend and companion, our R. W. Brother Winslow Lewis, to announce to him the fact before his lips should be sealed in death, he stretched forth his withered hand, and, in a scarcely faltering toue, warmly and affectionately exclaimed, "This is worth living for, it is worth dying for."

And thus, mindful iudeed of the claims of blood, of family and friends, in the supreme moment he turned back to his beloved Fraternity, even as the dying Greek to the home of his boyhood,

Et dulces moreius reminiscitur Argos.

Tracy P. Cheever,
John Low,
Eben W. Lothrop,
Committee.

FROM NEW ENGLAND CRAFTSMAN, 1916

From New England Craftsman, Vol. XI, No. 5, February 1916, Page 144:

During the nearly two centuries that Freemasonry has flourished on the western continent as a duly constituted society, many men distinguished for their virtue, their wisdom and their sincerity, have been prominent in its support. Through their fostering care the institution has grown into an organization vast in number and influence. It would be impossible to determine the exact place of honor that scores of well known Masons should hold in our minds as factors in this great movement of human uplift. All deserve our reverent admiration, all our loving remembrance. There is one, however, whom we may choose as foremost of all, whose wisdom, courage, experience and unfaltering loyalty under the most discouraging conditions entitles his name to the first place on the scroll of eminent Freemasons who have won undying fame by their ability and service. That name is Charles Whitlock Moore, a Massachusetts Mason, but well known wherever the history of Freemasonry has been read. Brother Moore's Masonic work was helpful to Freemasonry everywhere. It was most direct and most fertile in immediate results in Massachusetts, especially during the period when Freemasonry was the target of political assault. His work was varied and adapted to every demand. He was a great educator and his written words stand today as authority on nearly every question of Masonic law and policy. With the exception of Anderson and his coworkers in founding the Grand Lod-, of England in 1717 and Preston who in the latter half of the same century introduced a system of lectures that superseded the old charges and which are today the substance of the lectures used by all the lodges of our land, we cannot name one who has clone so much for the maintenance and orderly development of Freemasonry as Charles Whitlock Moore.

No stronger testimony of the great ability of this man can be desired than the action of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in adopting a large number of his opinions as authority in its government of the Craft. In the edition of the Masonic Digest of 1899, there are one hundred and twelve titles and four hundred and eleven paragraphs giving opinions or decisions. Of these the name of Charles W. Moore is given as authority for one hundred and eighty. The Grand Lodge with less than one dozen individual names, including grand masters, being given as the authority for the two hundred and thirty-one other decisions or reports.

Brother Moore exerted a powerful influence on Freemasonry during his entire life. He was active in all branches, especially in the Grand Lodge which he served more thai1 forty years although not a permanent member until within about five years of his death. At the last moment while on his death bed, the Grand Lodge honored itself by making Brother Moore an "Honorary Past grand Master." With the belief that we should perpetuate the memory of this remarkable Mason, now dead more than thirty years, and of his great service to Freemasonry we present the following narrative, considerable of it in his own words and all on the authority of the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.

Grand Master Sereno D. Nickerson who knew Brother Moore intimately, said of him:

"Few members of the Fraternity, in this or any other country, have ever been so generally known or so highly respected by the Brotherhood, as R. W. Charles W. Moore. His long Masonic life, his faithful service in almost every office in grand and subordinate bodies of every branch of the Order, his able, vigorous, persistent and successful defence of our principles and our rights against the mad fury of Anti-Masonic folly and demagogism, his publications illustrative of our ritual, and his editorship for a whole generation of the first exclusively Masonic periodical ever published,—all these services have made his name as familiar as household words to Masons everywhere, and wherever it has been known it has been respected and honored. His opinion was constantly sought in regard to questions of Masonic law and practise, and his conclusions were regarded as final. His lifelong experience furnished reasons and precedents, his ripe and mature Judgment weighed and balanced auguments, and his clear and forcible statement carried conviction to every mind."

Charles Whitlock Moore was born in Boston on the 29th of March, 1801. Little is known of his parents; but the record in the family Bible informs us that his father held a responsible position in the household of King George the Third; that he came to this country towards the close of the last century (18th) and opened a music store in Boston. The son was apprenticed to the printers' trade.

In February, 1822, he applied for initiation in Massachusetts Lodge, then, as now, standing third in the list of Boston Lodges. He was accepted, and would have been received on the evening of his coming of age, but for business engagements which called him to the State of Maine. With the consent of Massachusetts Lodge he was admitted in Kennebec Lodge, of Hallowell, in May following, and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on the evening of the 12th of June. He returned to Boston in July, and on the 10th of October was admitted to membership in St. Andrew's Lodge.

"In 1825," says Brother Moore, "I established what was the first Masonic newspaper, not only in Boston, but in the world. The Masonic Mirror — in which, to the best of my ability, I fought the battle of Masonry against Anti-Masonry from that year up to 1834, and sustained it subsequently till 1841, in the Masonic Department of another paper. In November of the latter year I started the Freemason's Magazine as an exclusively Masonic publication, and the only one then in the world based on that principle." It was continued without interruption until his death.

His first Masonic office was an appointment by the Master in the Lodge of St. Andrew in 1822 within six months of his admission in the lodge. Regarding this appointment, he said, "I look back with a grateful pride upon that appointment as the first step of a long career of official duties; for, from that time to the present, a long half century of Masonic life, I have no recollection of ever having been free from official duties and responsibilities in some one or more of the various divisions or branches of our Institution."

He was elected Master of St. Andrew's Lodge by a unanimous ballot, in November, 1832, and re-elected November, 1833, but having, in December following, been elected Recording Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, he was under the necessity of resigning the office of Master — the two offices being incompatible. He was, however, the same evening, elected Secretary of St. Andrew's Lodge, which place he held for sixteen years, when he resigned.

In 1826, that remarkable and most groundless persecution, known as the "Anti-Masonic Excitement," broke out in the western part of the State of New York, and speedily spread itself over all the neighboring States. In 1830 and 1831 it raged with unmitigated violence and virulence in Massachusetts. Here, as elsewhere, it was carried into all the relations of social life; the ties of kinship and of friendship were rudely severed; the springs of sympathy were died up; confidence between man and man was destroyed; the dark demon of persecution ran riot throughout the length and breadth of the land; members of the Masonic Institution were broken up in their business, denied the lawful exercise of their civil franchise, driven with ignominy from all public offices, from the jury-box and from the churches; subjected to insult, injury and contumely, in their daily walks, hunted down as felons, and only saved at times from personal violence, through the cowardice of their wicked persecutors. It was at this time, and when mercilessly bent and assailed by their infuriate foes, that the Grand Lodge, through the expiration of its lease, was required to vacate the rooms it had occupied for some years previously in one of the public buildings of the city. It determined therefore, to erect a Masonic edifice of its own. For this purpose it purchased the land on which the old Masonic Temple, on the corner of Temple Place, now stands (since razed), and immediately commenced the building. By its Act of Incorporation, granted in 1816, the Grand Lodge was authorized to hold real estate not exceeding the value of twenty thousand dollars and personal estate not exceeding the value of sixty thousand dollars.

Anticipating no difficulty in obtaining a modification of the charter reversing the proportions named, the Grand Lodge went on with the building, and in March, 1831, petitioned the Legislature accordingly. "The petition was immediately attacked in violent and abusive language by the Anti-Masonic members of the House, but was finally referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The Committee made their report, at the end of the session, in favor, as was expected, of the petition of the Grand Lodge. After a stormy debate, the report was rejected by a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight in the affirmative, to one hundred and thirty-three in the negative. A motion to reconsider was lost on the following day, and the Grand Lodge was left without its remedy. It had undeniably exceeded its corporate powers, and had thereby endangered its property."

Remonstrances and petitions were prepared in great numbers to be presented to the Legislature in case the Grand Lodge renewed its petition at the session of 1832, as was expected. But in this our enemies were disappointed; no action was taken.

"The year 1833 was one of great anxiety to the Grand Lodge. It had gone on with and completed its new Temple; the Legislature was to reassemble in January; the Grand Lodge had exceeded its corporate powers, and its property was still in danger. The inquisitorial committee, so pertinaciously asked for by its enemies, would then probably be appointed. Before that committee, the leading Masons of the State would, undoubtedly, be summoned; an oath would be proposed which they would not take; questions be put to them they could not and would not answer. The only alternative was imprisonment!"

With few exceptions, the leading Masons in the city were prepared for this; others were not. All naturally desired to avoid the issue, if it could be done without dishonor. How was this to be accomplished? Councils and extra meetings of the Grand Lodge were held, various propositions were submitted, debated and rejected. On the 20th of December (eleven days before the assembling of the Legislature), nothing had been decided upon. The committee, appointed at a previous meeting, reported that they had not been able to agree upon any course which they could recommend as free from objection, and they were discharged.

Thereupon Brother Moore moved "that a committee be appointed to consider the expediency of surrendering the Act of Incorporation of the Grand Lodge, and report at the next meeting." The members of the Grand Lodge were not disposed to surrender anything. Their temper had been sorely tried, and was now decidedly above fever heat.

The resolution was adopted, and the following named Brethren were appointed as the committee: R. W. Brothers Francis J. Oliver, Augustus Peabody, Joseph Baker, John Soley, and Charles W. Moore; all being among the ablest, and the first four among the oldest members of the Grand Lodge.

On the 27th of December the committee reported recommending the surrender of the Charter, and the Presentation to the Legislature of a Memorial which Brother Moore had Prepared. Both the recommendation and the Memorial were adopted by a unanimous vote of the Grand Lodge, without amendment.

The memorial was presented to the Legislature by the Hon. Stephen White, of Boston, on the first day of the session. "The surrender was accepted. The authority of the Legislature over the Grand Lodge was at an end; the property of the latter was secure, and the Fraternity of the whole Commonwealth could now sit down under 'its own vine and fig-tree,' regardless alike of Legislative interference and of Anti-Masonic malice and impertinence."

In the meantime the Masonic Temple had been conveyed to Brother Robert G. Shaw, an honorable and honored merchant of Boston, who, after the storm had passed, transferred it to Trustees for the benefit of the Grand Lodge.

It has been well said that "the DECLARATION of 1831, the MEMORIAL of 1833, — both written by the same hand, — and the triumphant acquittal on a charge of libel, in the same year, of the author of these celebrated documents, were the three blows which killed Anti-Masonry in Massachusetts, and redeemed the Masonic Institution from seven years of obloquy and unparalleled opposition."

From the History of Columbian Lodge, by R. W. Brother John T. Heard, we gather the principal facts of Brother Moore's Masonic life, as they were obtained from his own lips. In 1825, he was made a Royal Arch Mason in St. Andrew's Chapter, and having filled most of the offices in that body, he was, in 1840, chosen its High Priest. He was subsequently elected Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter, in which he had previously sustained nearly all the subordinate offices, including that of Grand Lecturer. He was made a Knight Templar in Boston Encampment in 1830, and was its Commander in 1837. He was afterwards Commander of The De Molay Encampment, of Boston. In 1841 he served as Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1832 he received the Royal and Select Masters' degrees in Boston Council, over which he presided for ten or twelve years. The thirty-third degree of the Scottish Rite was conferred upon him Nov. 13, 1844, and he afterwards served as Grand Secretary General of the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the U. S. A. He held various offices in the General Grand Encampment of the United States, and was, for a time, its third officer.

He was Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Grand Charity Fund for sixteen years, and afterwards of the Board of Trustees of the Masonic Temple. "In short," says Brother Heard, "he has filled nearly every office in a Lodge, Chapter and Encampment, holding each several years. He has rarely failed to occupy less than three or four, and frequently five or six official stations at the same time."

MEMORIAL

PROCEEDINGS, 1873

From Proceedings, Page 1873-168:

"Few members of the Fraternity, in this or any other country, have ever been so generally known or so highly respected by the Brotherhood, as R.W. Charles W. Moore. His long Masonic life, his faithful service in almost every office in Grand and subordinate Bodies of every branch of the Order, his able, vigorous, persistent and successful defence of our principles and our rights against the mad fury of Anti-Masonic folly and demagogism, his publications illustrative of our ritual, and his editorship for a whole generation of the first exclusively Masonic periodical ever published, — all these services have made his name as familiar as household words to Masons everywhere, and wherever it has been known it has been respected and honored. His opinion was constantly sought in regard to questions of Masonic law and practice, and his conclusions were regarded as final. His life-long experience furnished reasons and precedents, his ripe and mature judgment weighed and balanced arguments, and his clear and forcible statement carried conviction to every mind. Never again shall we listen to his earnest injunction to stand by the ancient landmarks. Never again shall we apply to him for counsel and advice. We have reverently deposited his body in the house appointed for all living; but his spirit we trust has been received into the Celestial Lodge above, with the welcome: 'Well done, good and faithful servant!'

"Charles Whitlock Moore was born in Boston, on the 29th of March, 1801. Little is known of his parents; but the record in the family Bible informs us that his father held a responsible position in the household of King George the Third; that he came to this country towards the close of the last century and opened a music store in Boston. The son was apprenticed to the printer's trade; and the senior editor of the 'Boston Post' relates that while they were boys together in the office of the brother of the latter in Haverhill, Mass., an unfair and ungenerous attack was made upon the narrator by one his superior in age and position; that Brother Moore came to the rescue and most vigorously defended his fellow apprentice and room-mate, and from that time until Brother Moore's death a most friendly feeling subsisted between them. This little incident would indicate that, even at that early age, Brother Moore was possessed of that love of justice and that sturdy zeal in the defence of right, which prompted him to do such good service in the cause of Masonry when he had arrived at manhood. In my remarks in regard to him at the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge, on the 10th inst., I related the facts in regard to his official connection with this Body, and I propose at this time to recite the other principal incidents in his Masonic history, gathering them from his Address on the occasion of the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of his membership in St. Andrew's Lodge, and from R.W. Brother John T. Heard's History of Columbian Lodge.

In February, 1822, he applied for initiation in The Massachusetts Lodge, then, as now, standing third in the list of Boston Lodges. He was accepted, and would have been received on the evening of his coming of age, but for business engagements which called him to the State of Maine. With the consent of The Massachusetts Lodge he was admitted in Kennebec Lodge, of Hallowell, in May following, and was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on the evening of the 12th of June. He returned to Boston in July, and "on the 10th of October was admitted to membership in St. Andrew's Lodge. 'In 1825,' says Brother Moore, 'I established what was the first Masonic newspaper, not only in Boston, but in the world, — the Masonic Mirror, — in which, to the best of my ability, I fought the battle of Masonry against Anti-Masonry from that year up to 1834, and sustained it subsequently till 1841, in the Masonic Department of another paper. In November of the latter year I started the Freemason's Magazine, as an exclusively Masonic publication, and the only one then in. the world based on that principle.' It was continued without interruption until his death.

"In the year of his admission to St. Andrew's Lodge, 1822, Brother David Parker was its Worshipful Master. 'On the 12th of November of that year,' says Brother Moore, 'at the election of officers, Brother Parker, in making up his appointments, did me the honor to invest me with the jewel of one of the subordinate officers of the Lodge, I having then been a Mason but six months. I look back with a grateful pride upon that appointment as the first step of a long career of official duties; for, from that time to the present, a long half century of Masonic life, I have no recollection of ever having been free from official duties and responsibilities in some one or more of the various divisions or branches of our Institution.' He was elected Master of St. Andrew's Lodge by a unanimous ballot in November, 1832, and re-elected November, 1833, but having, in December following, been elected Recording Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge, he was under the necessity of resigning the office of Master — the two offices being incompatible. He was, however, the same evening, elected Secretary of St. Andrew's Lodge, which place he held for sixteen years, when he resigned.

"In 1826, that remarkable and most groundless persecution, known as the ' Anti-Masonic Excitement,' broke out in' the western part of the State of New York, and speedily spread itself over all the neighboring States. In 1830 and 1831 it raged with unmitigated violence and virulence in Massachusetts. Here, as elsewhere, it was carried into all the relations of social life; the ties of kinship and of friendship were rudely severed; the springs of sympathy were dried up; confidence between man and man was destroyed; the dark demon of persecution ran riot throughout the length and breadth of the land; members of the Masonic Institution were broken up in their business, denied the lawful exercise of their civil franchise, driven with ignominy from all public offices, from the jury-box and from the churches ; subjected to insult, injury and contumely, in their daily walks, hunted down as felons, and only saved at times from personal violence, through the cowardice of their wicked persecutors. It was at this time, and when mercilessly beset and assailed by their infuriate foes, that the Grand Lodge, through the expiration of its lease, was required to vacate the rooms it had occupied for some years previously in one of the public buildings of the city. It determined, therefore, to erect a Masonic edifice of its own. For this purpose it purchased the land on which the old Masonic Temple, on the corner of Temple Place, now stands, and immediately commenced the building. By its Act of Incorporation, granted in 1816, the Grand Lodge was authorized to hold real estate not exceeding the value of twenty thousand dollars, and personal estate not exceeding the value of sixty thousand dollars.' Anticipating no difficulty in obtaining a modification of the charter reversing the proportions named, the Grand Lodge went on with the building, and in March, 1831, petitioned the Legislature accordingly. 'The petition was immediately attacked in violent and abusive language by the Anti-Masonic members of the House, but was finally referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. The committee made their report, at the end of the session, in favor, as was expected, of the petition of the Grand Lodge. After a stormy debate, the report was rejected by a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight in the affirmative, to one hundred and thirty-three in the negative. A motion to reconsider was lost on the following day, and the Grand Lodge was left without its remedy. It had undeniably exceeded its corporate powers, and had thereby endangered its property. Remonstrances and petitions were prepared in great numbers, to be presented to the Legislature in case the Grand Lodge renewed its petition at the session of 1832, as was expected. But in this our enemies were disappointed; no action was taken.

"The year 1833 was one of great anxiety to the Grand Lodge. It had gone on with and completed its new Temple; the Legislature was to reassemble in January; the Grand Lodge had exceeded its corporate powers, and its property was still in danger. The inquisitorial committee, so pertinaciously asked for by its enemies, would then probably be appointed. Before that committee, the leading Masons of the State would, undoubtedly, be summoned; an oath would be proposed which they would not take; questions be put to them which they could not and would not answer. The only alternative was imprisonment! With few exceptions, the leading Masons in the city were prepared for this; others were not. All naturally desired to avoid the issue, if it could be done without dishonor. How was this to be accomplished?

"Councils and extra meetings of the Grand Lodge were held, various propositions were submitted, debated, and rejected. On the 20th of December (eleven days before the assembling of the Legislature), nothing had been decided upon. The committee, appointed at a previous meeting, reported that they had not been able to agree upon any course which they could recommend as free from objection, and they were discharged. Thereupon Brother Moore moved 'that a committee be appointed to consider the expediency of surrendering the Act of Incorporation of the Grand Lodge, and report at the next meeting.

"The members of the Grand Lodge were not disposed to surrender anything. Their temper had been sorely tried, and was now decidedly above fever heat. The resolution was adopted, and the following named Brethren were appointed as the committee: R.W. Brothers Francis J. Oliver, Augustus Peabody, Joseph Baker, John Soley, and Charles W. Moore; all being among the ablest, and the first four among the oldest members of the Grand Lodge. On the 27th of December the committee reported recommending the surrender of the Charter, and the presentation to the Legislature of a Memorial which Brother Moore had prepared. Both the recommendation and the Memorial were adopted by a unanimous vote of the Grand Lodge, without amendment. The memorial was presented to the Legislature by the Hon. Stephen White, of Boston, on the first day of the session. The surrender was accepted. The authority of the Legislature over the Grand Lodge was at an end; the property of the latter was secure, and the Fraternity of the whole Commonwealth could now sit down under 'its own vine and fig-tree,' regardless alike of legislative interference and of Anti-Masonic malice and impertinence.

"In the mean time the Masonic Temple had been conveyed to Brother Robert G. Shaw, an honorable and honored merchant of Boston, who, after the storm had passed, transferred it to Trustees for the benefit of the Grand Lodge. It has been well said that the Declaration of 1831, the Memorial of 1833, — both written by the same hand, — and the triumphant acquittal on a charge of libel, in the same year, of the author of these celebrated documents, were the three blows which killed Anti-Masonry in Massachusetts, and redeemed the Masonic Institution from seven years of obloquy and unparalleled opposition.

"From the History of Columbian Lodge, by R.W. Brother John T. Heard, we gather the principal facts of Brother Moore's Masonic life, as they were obtained from his own lips. In 1825, he was made a Royal Arch Mason in St. Andrew's Chapter, and having filled most of the offices in that Body, he was, in 1840, chosen its High Priest. He was subsequently elected Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter, in which he had previously sustained nearly all of the subordinate offices, including that of Grand Lecturer. He was made a Knight Templar in Boston Encampment in 1S30, and was its Grand Commander in 1837. He was afterwards Grand Commander of the DeMolay Encampment, of Boston. In 1841 he served as Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In 1832 he received the Royal and Select Masters' degrees in Boston Council, over which he presided for ten or twelve years. The Thirty-third Degree of the Scottish Rite was conferred upon him Nov. 13, 1844, and he afterwards served as the Grand Secretary General of the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the U. S. A. He held various offices in the General Grand Encampment of the United States, and was, for a time, its third officer. He was Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Grand Charity Fund for sixteen years, and afterwards of the Board of Trustees of the Masonic Temple. 'In short,' says Brother Heard, 'he has filled nearly every office in a Lodge, Chapter and Encampment, holding each several years. He has rarely failed to occupy less than three or four, and frequently five or six official stations at the same time.

"The funeral obsequies of our deceased Brother, on Tuesday, the sixteenth instant, at Emmanuel Church, in .this city, were attended by a large number of the Fraternity, and were deeply solemn and impressive. The following officers and permanent members of the Grand Lodge were present: —

The following Brethren acted as Pall-Bearers :

"The religious services with the family, at his late residence, 118 West Concord Street, were conducted by R.W. Rev. Charles H. Titus, who had made daily visits at his residence during his sickness. The Burial Service of the Protestant Episcopal Church was conducted at the church by

  • REV. BRO. THOMAS. R. LAMBERT, D.D., rector of St. John's Church, Charlestown, Past Grand Chaplain.
  • R.W. REV. E. M. P. WELLS, D.D., rector of St. Stephen's Church, Boston, Past Deputy Grand Master.
  • REV. BRO. JOSEPH H. CLINCH, Chaplain House of Correction, Past Grand Chaplain.
  • REV. BRO. JOHN T. BURRILL, rector of St. Luke's Church, Chelsea.

"The remains were conveyed to Mount Auburn, and interred in the family lot; the service at the grave being conducted by R.W. Rev. Charles H. Titus. I have caused the marble bust of Bro. Moore, which is placed near the station he so long occupied in the Grand Lodge, to be suitably draped, and the words IN MEMORIAM to be inscribed thereon. The Grand Master informed the Brethren that he had requested R.W. Charles C. Dame, Past Grand Master, to prepare resolutions upon the death of R.W. Brother Moore.

"R.W. Bro. Dame submitted the following RESOLUTIONS UPON THE DEATH OF R.W. CHARLES W. MOORE.

"The committee appointed to prepare resolutions on the death of R.W. Brother Charles W. Moore respectfully submits the following: —

"Whereas, by the death of R.W. Brother Charles W. Moore, this Grand Lodge is called to mourn the loss of one of its venerable and distinguished members, whose labors, for nearly half a century, have been so interwoven with its interests as to have become a prominent part of its history; whose devoted and unswerving attachment to our Institution during his whole life has endeared him to his Brethren ; and whose wisdom and ability have identified him with the Masonic history of the world, therefore,

"Resolved, That while our hearts are filled with sadness at the death of one who has been so long and so successfully associated with this Grand Lodge, we find consolation in contemplating the scenes of his well-spent life, the correctness of his views, the firmness of his purpose, the zeal of his labors, the strength of his attachment, and the wisdom and ability with which he applied himself to the cause of Masonry.

"Resolved, That we hold in grateful remembrance his untiring efforts in upholding the principles of our Order, and in protecting the interests and sustaining the honor and dignity of this Grand Lodge in its days of trial and adversity.

"Resolved, That the purity of his character, the sincerity of his motives, and the course of his whole life make him a bright example of the good citizen, the true man, and the consistent Christian.

"Resolved, That the teachings of our beloved Brother, both by precept and example, will continue as a beacon light to direct the steps of our future course.

CHARLES C. DAME,
Committee.

"The resolutions were adopted by a unanimous vote, and the Grand Secretary was instructed to furnish a copy of the same to the family of our deceased Brother."

NEW ENGLAND FREEMASON, 1874

From New England Freemason, Vol. I, No. 1, January 1874, Page 49:

Grand Orient, Boston, December 16, 1873, (E.^. V.^.)

The M.^. P.^. Sovereign Grand Commander, to all Freemasons of the A.^. A.^. Scottish Rite in the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States.

SORROW ! SORROW ! SORROW !

Brethren: A pillar of strength has fallen! The Nestor of our Supreme Council has becu taken from us. Our illustrious Brother, Charles Whitlock Moore, died on the twelfth day of the current month.

The Masonic labors of his life are familiar to us all. As the defender of Masonry in the darkest days of its history, as a firm supporter of the Ancient Landmarks, as a sound jurist, and as a faithful Mason in all the relations of life, his fame has spread throughout the Masonic world.

On the thirteenth day of November, 1844, he became a member of this Supreme Council; and immediately after was appointed Grand Secretary General, which office he held for nearly twenty years. His interest in the Rite was very great, and continued throughout his life; one of the last Masonic meetings he attended was that of a Body of our Rite, and it was with the deepest sorrow that he felt himself compelled, on account of the state of his health and the inclemency of the season, to be absent from our Annual Session, for the first lime within the memory of any of us who survive him.

But it was as a Masonic Editor, for nearly half a century, that he rendered services to Masonry, the effect of which will be known and felt as long as the Institution endures.

To your Grand Commander, his death is a heavy blow. From our earliest admission into the Order, we have studied his teachings; for many years and during the time of all our official labors, we have enjoyed the high privilege of an intimate personal friendship with him; we have leaned upon him for instruction, wise counsel, and fraternal assistance — and never in vain; we have lost at once, a Teacher, Counsellor and Brother.

In token of respect for his memory and sorrow for his loss, let the altars and working tools of the Bodies in this jurisdiction be draped with the violet badge of mourning for the space of sixty days, and these letters be entered of record in all subordinate Bodies of the Rite.

Given at the Grand Orient the day and year aforesaid.

Josiah H. Drummond, 33°, Sov. Gr. Com.

SUPREME COUNCIL, 1874

From Proceedings of the Massachusetts Council of Deliberation AASR NMJ, 1874, Page 42:

Ill. Bro. Charles Whitlock Moore, 33°.

The stately form of Charles Whitlock Moore has been such a familiar presence to all who, during the past fifty years, have been wont to be found in or about our various masonic temples, that, when they now meet, they cannot but miss him. Here to-day, elsewhere on many another day, with wistful eyes we instinctively look after this prominent object of interest and respect to two whole generations of our brethren; but we look in vain. Never again shall our gaze be fixed by his tall figure and weighty words in the council, or his genial face and flowing reminiscences at the banquet. So constantly and so long have we been accustomed to see him in the front group of every important gathering of our Order, that we shall look for him again and again, and feel, as we fail to find him, that his absence is strange and unnatural. Where is he? What has come of him, that he is not here? Ah! the Angel of Death, who has guided him away, answers not a word to our inquiries, but points upward, and leaves us to gather a reply from the silence of our hushed hearts. Brooding over that mystic and monitory silence, shall we not lake home the lesson it teaches of the common fate of man? The wisest and the weakest, the proudest and the humblest, arc all one before the level mandate of mortality. God alone is great; God alone exempt from change, throned in the inscrutable calmness of his eternity. There we believe He calls his wandering children home, when they grow weary and the shadows begin to fall. Therefore we do not mourn our illustrious brother as lost in decay and oblivion. We think of him as freed, and found in the immortal light of the divine kingdom; and our hearts joyfully leap up to greet him there, advancing before us in the endless degrees of celestial life.

In the crowded and hurrying moments which alone our Council can now assign to the office of commemorating the worth of the members deceased since its last meeting, it would be impossible to present any adequate sketch of the abounding labors, and brilliant Masonic career, of our distinguished brother. Nor is it requisite. His record is abundantly and imperishably preserved m annals for the past half century. Verily, if our annals are writ true, it is there how he fluttered the anti-masonic Volsces. We propose only to do ourselves�the justice of rendering to his memory such a fraternal tribute of affection and honor as he often paid to others, and as we may imagine he would like have paid to himself. No instinct is more touching in its appeal, or none more deeply rooted in the human heart, than the desire to be remembered and loved after we have passed away. The Council of Deliberation reverences this instinct, and will sacredly obey it.

Our lamented and far-renowned Brother was born in Boston in 1801, of English parents, in a good social position ; his father, before migrating to this country, having occupied an official post in the household of King George the Third. ]Ie inherited a constitution of remarkable strength and tenacity of fibre. In the public schools of his native city, and in his apprenticeship as a printer, he acquired the rudiments of a sound education; which, combined with his excellent qualities of character, his sober and balanced judgment, his great prudence, courage, and firmness, enabled him, through a long, conspicuous, and exposed career, to exert a commanding influence, and to effect signal results in the three distinct departments of social life, public action, and special literature.

At the earliest eligible age, he became a Mason. From that moment his destiny seemed determined. The characteristics of our Order fascinated his reason, his fancy, and his heart; and he devoted himself, body and soul, to its service. It would be wearisome and unprofitable to repeat here the dates and titles connected with the almost innumerable offices he held, duties he fulfilled, and honors he achieved, in Freemasonry. Suffice it to say this : he rapidly rose through all the degrees, put on the distinctive insignia, swayed all the prerogatives known to the Order, front the bottom to the top; and in every station his work and demeanor were pre-eminently becoming to himself, and creditable to the fraternity. To parallel, in another single person, within the entire history of our craft, the number of offices he filled, the length of time he filled them, and the amount of labor he did in them, on the whole, would be difficult, if not impossible. lie wrote, at the age of thirty, the famous “Declaration of Principles” issued by our Brethren in the midst of the furious crusade waged against them by their Political enemies, — a document of the extremest mark and importance in the history of American Masonry. He was also the sole author of another paper, scarcely inferior to the former in power and in value, namely, “The Memorial to Massachusetts Legislature, surrendering the Act of Incorporation of the Lodge.” He likewise edited, for thirty-two years, The Freemason's Monthly Magazine, the first exclusively Masonic periodical ever published in the world, the collective volumes of which compose an imperishable monument to his masonic learning, his varied ability, his consistent zeal, and his enlarged and elevated spirit.

For thirty-four successive years he filled the office of Grand Secretary of the Lodge of Massachusetts, showing himself a masterly expert, a man of strong will, a clear intellect, a full memory, a ready hand, a most watchful eye, and a brave heart full of tender affection overlaid with iron firmness. Then some who aspired to that post, aided by others whose imperfect acquaintance led them to take offence at his occasional pre-occupation of manner, his seemingly neglectful and distant bearing, succeeded in supplanting him. This was the severest blow he had ever received, in fact, the only one ever inflicted on him inside of the Order. He felt it profoundly, but gave no sign, nor abated one jot of his devotion. The brethren made haste to heap other honors, other marks of confidence and gratitude, on him. He was thus quickly consoled.

When he had passed his threescore years and ten in hale vigor the must brilliant and imposing event of his life came to him, an occasion of social glory and joy such as falls to the lot of few men. He had completed the fiftieth year of his membership of St. Andrew’s Lodge. The brothers, with unanimous consent, resolved by a Commemorative Banquet to testify the love they cherished for him, and the exalted estimation in which he was held by the craft at large. They issued their invitations to whatever was most distinguished in rank and talent within the broad folds of the fraternity. It was a superb affair in all respects. To the mind, to the eye, to the heart, it was a scene comparable, lesser scale, to the triumphal entry of a Roman General, if covered with sea yet glittering with the spoils of his conquests. It must have been an even: of supreme and unalloyed delight to our brother. How well he improved, as well as enjoyed it, is shown in the remarkable address he gave, printed in the unique volume in which St. Andrew’s Lodge has embalmed the fragrant memory of that rare event.

In the beautiful ode written for the occasion by our gifted and endeared brother, Henry Grafton Clark, it seems as if some prophetic shadow of the event then not far off had thrown itself into the heart of the poet: —

“What though his spring-time long has passed?
Still Joshua-like our Nestor stands;
And, where the combat thickens fast,
Deals stalworth blows with willing hands.
Breathe soft and low, O Autumn wind!
Loiter a while, October sun!
That He some tardy flowers may find
Ere Winter’s Solstice has begun.”

It was a sweet wish. And its kindly invocation was answered ; for the remnant of his days was as a long and gentle Indian Summer, basking in the unbroken sunshine of Masonic honor, love, and prosperity.

He had been severely ill for a few days, when the annual meeting of Grand Lodge was held. To the dense assembly, missing him with wonder, the Grand Master said, “Charles W. Moore is nigh unto death.” Every heart seemed to thrill with awe in the painful silence which reigned after these words. The pause was broken by a motion, unanimously adopted, to confer on the dying secretary, in recognition of his unrivalled services, the rank of Honorary Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. Winslow Lewis, the most tenderly attached and warmly cherished friend he had, was appointed to carry the message. He flew with feet of love, lest the grateful errand might be too late. As he advanced to the bedside, the dying man, seeing the most beloved companion he had known in all the long journey that lay behind, opened his arms to him. While he listened to the surprising announcement, his eyes gleamed, his failing features were lighted up, and he said, “This is worth living for, worth dying for.” Fortunate pair! Beautiful picture of Masonic friendship!

They buried him at lovely Auburn, with a funeral fit for a king. They strewed the acacia-sprigs lovingly on his grave, and spoke with tender charity of his few defects, but with generous fervor of his numerous virtues. Many tributes, in many places, were paid to his memory, and full justice was done to all his worth.

And now the years will pass on; and few men like him, taking him for all in all, will rise to walk with equal step in the paths he has illustrated. For many and many an anniversary yet to come, faithful hands will freshly lay the symbolic wreath of green where his body sleeps, and unforgetting hearts think of his soul as safely advanced to the bosom of his God. He rests secure in his high immortality alike in the Masonic Calendar below, and in the heavenly gathering above. Having taken all the initial degrees here, he has risen to the real ineffable ones there. Now indeed is he a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret; for he has thrown off the final encumbrance of earth, penetrated the last barrier of mortality, and grasped the destiny hidden behind the invisible veil, in the mysterious empire of eternity. One by one, as fast as we are called, and as far as we are fitted, we shall follow after him along the still way to the endless home unknown world which opens only to the initiates of the Divine Degree of the Resurrection.

Meanwhile, our risen brother adjures us to be true and earnest in all our relations with that great institution of Freemasonry, to which he was so devoted in life and death. No one with an adequate knowledge of the facts and philosophy of the subject, and with a spirit sufficiently expansive and sympathetic, can fail to see that, as an educational and benevolent institution, our Order is one of the mightiest means ever devised for promoting the progress of mankind, and that if its embers will only live up to its precepts, and combine to spread them into organized action, there awaits it a more glorious destiny than has ever yet fallen to the lot of any single institution in the world.

The church, by its verbal teachings, tells men what to do: Masonry, by its symbolic ritual, shows them what to do. Now let our great Democratic Brotherhood, scorning merely to say what ought to be done, not content longer with a dramatic exhibition of it, resolutely begin, with one mind and heart, to do it, in the actual sphere of private and public life; and Freemasonry, if not bearing off the diadem from the Church itself, shall, at least, be with it in the forefront, as no inferior champion in establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth. On the contrary, if the leading representatives of our Order throughout the world, reckless of the grand philanthropic and religious sentiments of morality and disinterestedness, so profuse on their lips, and in ceremonies, are absorbed in the pursuit of office, and selfish pleasure or advantage, the Institution, in spite of all its chivalrous associations, and delight memories, will be gradually shorn of its glory, and justly pass into oblivion.

Fraternally submitted, William R. Alger, 32°
Winslow Lewis, 33°,
William Sutton, 33°,
Committee.


Distinguished Brothers