^k^Z 
 
 049427 
 
CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Chronological History 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 TO THE MEMBERS OF 
 
 Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection 14° 
 
 ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE, 
 
 BY ' 
 
 James Stuart Gillen, 32°. 
 
 . N. .-. M. .-. J. .-. U. .-. S. .-. A. .-. 
 
 "Woe unto those who aspire to that for which they are unjitted." 
 
 ■Woe unto these who assume duties lightly, and afterwards 
 neglect them." ; 
 
 BROOKLYN, N. Y. 
 1891. 
 
 .:» 
 
 ^ 
 
a Cornell University 
 J Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030321883 
 
CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY 
 
 in re 
 
 James Stuart Gillen, 32° 
 
 Please Read this Carefully. 
 
 April 6, 1888. Address to the Lodge regarding the under- 
 standing with Mr. Trask. Vide Appeal to the Supreme Council 
 printed and submitted September, 1890, pp. 6-8. 
 
 April 5, 1889. The Lodge decides to consider a charge against 
 me for unmasonic conduct, predicated upon the assumption THAT 
 A PERSISTENT CONTEST, RESPECTFULLY CONDUCTED FOR A RE- 
 COGNITION OF A GUARANTEED RIGHT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION, 
 was an unmasonic act on my part. 
 
 May 3, 1889. Presentation of said charge with specifications. 
 Vide idem, pp. 20, 21. 
 
 May 13, 1889. Collateral evidence of an understanding between 
 the 111.'. Deputy and the management of the Lodge, in which there 
 is a statement that THERE WAS NO ESCAPE FOR ME FROM AN 
 ADVERSE JUDGMENT. Vide post pp. 22, 23. 
 
 May 18, 1889. Ex-parte trial in violation of any Masonic 
 Code, in which the so-called Commissioners of Trial BRING IN 
 A VERDICT ARRANGED SIX DAYS PREVIOUSLY, being the pro- 
 gramme outlined in the correspondence of May 13, 1889. 
 
 September 10, 1889. Report of the 111.-. Deputy to the 
 Supreme Council : 
 
 " /j conscious of inexperience, and distrusting my ability to make a proper 
 ■decision, venture to invoke an adjudication by the Supreme Council of the 
 important points involved." 
 
 He does not report to the Supreme Council that he had already 
 
 rendered a quasi decision ; and in fact had directed his friend and 
 
 -confidant to say : 
 
 " It is advisable for £ro.'. Gillen to at once take a dimit * * * 
 ■and not permit' His matter to go to trial, jov. he has no possible chance 
 
 TO COME GUT VICTORIOUS." - 
 
As I differed at the time, I still beg leave to differ from the 
 Illustrious: Deputy, with all his erudition, AS TO THE. .ABSURDLY 
 FRIVOLOUS CHARGE AGAINST ME. 
 
 September 19, 1889, The. Supreme Council sustain my 
 demurrer, and practically direct the Deputy to» annul' all the pro, 
 ceedings against me. 
 
 This he failed to do promptly, and it has seemed to me that 
 he deferred action in order that those antagonistic to me might the 
 better concert another scheme ; and this was found, they thought,, 
 in Section 15 of the Code, adopted by the Council of Deliberation 
 in 1885. This section was never intended for any such purpose as 
 that to which they tried to apply it ; and this could easily have 
 been found out without the delay of waiting for me to explain it. 
 
 October 4, 1889, Mr. Trask, certainly, and for no good- 
 purpose, took it upon himself, as I have been informed ; he wrong- 
 fully informed the Lodge that the Suprenie Council had sustained 
 the acts of the Lodge and that I was properly expelled. 
 
 November 2, 1889. The Deputy complied, upon this date, 
 with the directions of the Supreme Council, of September 19th, but 
 not until the substance of the orders in my case could not be 
 brought before the Lodge until December 6th, much to the surprise 
 of everyone. 
 
 November 26, 1889. The Deputy wrote personally and directly 
 to one of my friends : 
 
 " As an individual member of the Rite, and without an appearance of 
 being meddlesome, why not suggest to Bro. :. Gillen to dimit from all the 
 Brooklyn Bodies, as this can be done without a sacrifice of any kind, on the 
 part of anyone concerned.'" 
 
 This was the third time that this suggestion had come from 
 the Deputy, and doubtless with the hope or desire that I would 
 avail myself of it before the Lodge met on December 6th. 
 
 This was a confirmation to my mind of his instructions to one 
 F. on the evening of May 12th, which he seems to have forgotten. 
 
 This letter of November 26th points to the responsibility for 
 those of May 13th, and any disclaimer at this time is perhaps owing 
 to the rays of light contained in a personal and plain AnglO-Saxon: 
 letter written by me, dated April 24, 1891. Vide post pp. 16-18. 
 
The reply to this letter .of the Deputy, received by him Decern^ 
 ber 3, 1889, will be fqund on pp. 46-47 of the. Appeal of September, 
 1890, and it was entirely in keeping with my sentiments, as ex- 
 pressed in mine of May 13th, previous. 
 
 The question of a dimit was again broached to me on the 19th 
 day of September, 1889 (the same day on which the Supreme Council 
 adjourned), through other friends, and it was doubtless the expected 
 influence of these friends over me, anticipating their success in 
 carrying out the desire of. the Deputy^ that led Mr. Trask to. speak 
 so positively about my expulsion and of the Lodge's action being 
 sustained as he did at the October meeting. This occasion as you will 
 see by the date, tvas the second time. 
 
 My invariable answer ' to these, propositions was, that with 
 these charges against me I could not think of such a thing ; I ask 
 for the Rite, as well as for my.self, an honest trial, to be fairly tried 
 by unbiased, unprejudiced, honest men. No ! No ! ! I claim that as 
 you decided April 5th, 1889, to try me' for '' unmasonic conduct" 
 and have gone so far as tp prepare a " Charge and Specifications" 
 you MUST try me, and try me MasonicAlly' TOO, OR ANNUL, THE 
 WHOLE PROCEEniNGS: I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANYTHING ELSE. 
 
 The management have not the moral courage to do either, al- 
 though therehav.e been abuadant opportunities. The Deputy could 
 have done it; he could easily. have settled the whole matter, and 
 ended it. I know it, they know it, AND I WANT VOU TO KNOW IT. 
 
 The misuse of power, and undue official influence, with the 
 introduction of politics into Masoiiry, were the methods adopted 
 against me. THE SUPREME COUNCIL WILL SEE THIS.. 
 
 December 6, 1889. The Lodge had under date of November 
 22, been summOiie'd to meet upon this date (its regular meeting 
 night), "to take action upon' aft important comihumcation from 111..-; 
 John Hodge, 32'° Deputy for the State of New York." Perhaps 
 after the misrepresentations of' October in the- Lodge by'Mr. Trask 
 respecting the action of ..the Supreme Council, something had. to be 
 done to' mystify, the. ignorant an^ unlearned. ■ How absard ! ! What 
 giCtioh could be taken except to receive.it,.ahd.^spiread it iri full upon 
 the jmiriutes ? They did not dare to do anything.' else.' They did not 
 even dare.tQ discuss the'propriety of the brder,jvhich they knew the 
 
4 
 Deputy was compelled to issue, however much he disliked for their 
 sake to do it. That, sirs, was the mandate of the Supreme Council 
 whose Wisdom, Toleration, and Strength has been my only hope 
 since the time when they RUTHLESSLY and RECKLESSLY rushed me 
 into this strife. 
 
 I did not attend the meeting of the Lodge on this date, for the 
 reasons to be found on p. 49 of my Appeal of September, 1890. 
 
 December 9, 1889. I was summoned under this date to a 
 special communication of the Lodge to be held on Saturday evening, 
 December 21, to stand trial under Section 15 of the Code, " if the 
 Lodge of Perfection elects to so proceed." The Code provides a 
 different course, i. e., the accused shall be notified " that such 
 action WOULD BE taken." This do6s not leave it optional to take 
 it or not ; it is positive and mandatory. Special communications 
 in Masonry are summoned for specific purposes. This summons, you 
 will notice, was for a contingent or accidental purpose, and does not 
 specifically state " that such action would be taken" and " to appear 
 and answer ;" as required by the terms of this section. 
 
 I was not able to be there, owing to illness. 1 provided a 
 demurrer and sent it to be used in case of need. The object was to 
 show the Lodge the dishonesty of one and the same jury passing 
 twice upon the same subject matter. Could they for a moment be 
 expected to stultify themselves? We have here again, an adverse 
 verdict arranged before a so-called trial. 
 
 There was no occasion for the accused to appear ; and now 
 IT IS SAID THAT THE SUPREME COUNCIL WILL SUSTAIN THEIR 
 
 " ACTION OF December 2ist, 1889. 
 
 THERE WAS NO LEGAL TRIAL, but merely the form of one ; and 
 you can see that if these irregular proceedings had'then been recog- 
 nized, and not aemurred to by me in each case, I would now be 
 bound by the proceedings as if they were regular and lawful. 
 
 December 21, 1889. The record of this so-called trial, as fur- 
 nished to me under attestation (a copy of which I have kept for 
 future use), makes it quite clear that it was one dominant mind, and 
 not law or justice, that governed the proceedings. To establish all 
 my claims, nothing could be more perfect than this record, notwith- 
 
standing it has undergone subsequent pruning for appearance sake. 
 I had various records of information kept at the time, as to what 
 took place, and on some essential points the record furnished by the 
 Lodge to me is silent. A comparison with the stenographer's original 
 notes (if a complete record of the proceedings was taken down) 
 would be advisable, and I think instructive. 
 
 January lO, 1890. The Deputy quite unnecessarily approved 
 the findings, and the verdict rendered (the Code provides that a 
 verdict shall stand without his approval), and he is in such haste to 
 communicate the fact, that he invokes the aid of the telegraph to con- 
 vey the " glad tidings." There was no necessity for haste upon the 
 part of the Deputy acting for the Supreme Council ; the mail deHvery 
 was regular, and the Lodge members would not meet together 
 until the first Friday in February, when the information could be 
 given to the brethren. The Deputy was personally in a great hurry. 
 
 June, 1890. I was deprived of the privilege of using an 
 appeal prepared on my behalf to the Council of Deliberation, by 
 the neglect of the Deputy to call a meeting of the Council for the 
 year 1890 (the only time it has been omitted in many years). The 
 Council is usually convened during the time the Grand Lodge 
 of the State of New York is in session. If the omission in this 
 instance was intentional, zvas it a Masonic act towards a brother in 
 distress, and appealing for assistance ? 
 
 The neglect to call a meeting of the Council of Deliberation, 
 had not the effect to distress me, but forced an appeal, as one of my 
 reserved rights, as a Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret 32°, direct 
 to the Supreme Council. 
 
 There never was, on my part, the slightest shadow of expecta- 
 tion of justice outside of the Supreme Body, after the known posi- 
 tion assumed by the Deputy on the 12th day of May, 1889. I 
 treated him, however, with courtesy, but it was only due to his 
 exalted rank. His uncalled-for partisanship, and forgetfulness of 
 the dignity due the Supreme Council, of which he is the representa- 
 tive in this District, is to be regretted by every one. 
 
 September, 1890. The action of the Supreme Council at 
 Cleveland, Ohio, at this time, speaks for itself, and is fully discussed 
 hereafter, vide post p. Ii. 
 
June 3,- 1891. At the meeting of the Council of Dfeliberation 
 for this District; the parties heretofore controlling the matter were 
 again in- control, aind as was naturally to be expected, they secured 
 an endorsement of their own actions. In doing so they violated the 
 most sacred right of an individual Mason, and in fact evaded the 
 recommendation of the Supreme Council, whose reference of the 
 matter to the Council of- Deliberation was " for such hearing and 
 consideration as the laws provide." • 
 
 There was no hearing of the case, there was no consideration 
 of the case, except by a committee appointed- by the Deputy, if 
 they gave it any consideration at all. I have my doubts about it, 
 because of their action thereon. 
 
 I have been amused at the efforts of the ignorant to imitate the 
 learned; this case was no exception. 
 
 You will recollect that my Appeal of September, 1890, to the 
 Supreme Council, was referred to the Committee on Jurisprudence, 
 the report of which, and the conclusions arrived at, as well as its 
 recommendations, were adopted by the Supreme Council'. 
 
 Those managing the matter in the Council of Deliberation 
 assumed that they had a precedent for their guidance, and so 
 attempted to follow the action of the Supreme Council. 
 
 The cases were not analagous. In order to save the time of the 
 Supreme Council, each Active Member was furnished with two 
 copies of my Appeal, including all the data at my command. One 
 copy they had before leaving their homes, and the other was deliv- 
 ered to them at Cleveland, Ohio, so that they were "fully prepared and 
 able to act intelligently upon the matter when it came before them. 
 
 In the Council of Deliberation, however, the case was wholly 
 different: here there was but one copy, and that was in the hands of 
 the Deputy, for a hearing and consideration by all the members of 
 the QoM1\z\\oi'D^■i!o&x^.'dQ^^, and not ostensibly accessible only to those 
 who were most deeply interested in not having it read or a favorable 
 action taken thereon. ■ 
 
 I have been obliged to allude to the "Oath of Fealty" on several 
 occasions, and I desire herein to say that it is to be found in nearly 
 all of the printed publications of the Supreme Council, and is of 
 the Constitution. 
 
OATH OF FEALTY. 
 
 Art. 103, — An Oath of Fealty shall be taken and signed by every 
 brother admitted from another Jurisdiction, and by every candidate 
 receiving the Fourteenth Degree, and by every officer of every Body of 
 the Rite before he shall be installed, and may also be required by the pre- 
 siding officer or by the Body, of every candidate receiving the Sixteenth, 
 Eighteenth and Thirty-second Degrees. 
 
 When deemed necessary said Oath may, by the presiding officer of 
 any Body, be required of any visitor. 
 
 Such oath is in form as follows : 
 
 I, the undersigned, do hereby promise on my word of honor, and 
 swear true Faith, Allegiance and Fealty to the Supreme Council of Sov- 
 REiGN Grand Inspectors-General of the Thirty-third and last Degree 
 for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States of America, 
 sitting at its Grand East in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, of which 
 the Illustrious Henry L. Palmer (or the M.'. P.'. Sovereign Grand 
 Commander for the time), is the Most Puissant Sovereign Grand Com- 
 mander, AND WILL SUPPORT and abide by its Constitution, 
 Statutes, Orders, and Decrees. 
 
 That! will hold allegiance to the said Supreme Council and be loyal 
 thereto, as the Supreme Authority of the Rite, so long as I may con- 
 tinue to reside within its Jurisdiction ; will hold illegal and spurious 
 every other Body that may be established within its Jurisdiction, claiming 
 to be a Supreme Council ; and every other Body of said Rite within the 
 same Jurisdiction that does not hold its powers mediately or immediately 
 from said Supreme Council, and will hold no communication whatever 
 in Scottish Rite Masonry with any member of the same nor allow them to 
 visit any Body of the Rite of which I may be a member ; AND I WILL 
 DISPENSE JUSTICE to my brethren, according to the laws of 
 equity and honor. 
 
 And should I violate this, my solemn Vow and Pledge, I con- 
 sent to be expelled from Masonry, and all rights therein, and in any Body 
 of the Rite, and to be denounced to every Body of the Ancient Accepted 
 Scottish Rite in the world AS A TRAITOR AND FORESWORN. 
 
 AND MAY GOD AID ME TO KEEP AND PERFORM THE 
 SAME. AMEN. 
 
 I have specially indicated the parts to which I wish your par- 
 ticular attention. It is this " Oath of Fealty " that makes 
 YOU A Scottish Rite Mason, and any violation of it tacitly or 
 otherwise IS REPREHENSIBLE in the extreme. 
 
 The non-observance or setting aside of The Constitution and 
 Regulations of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite by the Lodge, 
 really takes its members out of the A. A. Rite of the Northern 
 Masonic Jurisdiction ; the act not being contumacious in intent 
 
8 
 
 may be pardoned ; yet a continuance would in fact be setting up a 
 new and irresponsible Body in Brooklyn to which the present 
 members owe no allegiance or fealty whatever. 
 
 The final adjuration in the Oath of Fealty precludes the coun- 
 tenancing in the slightest degree of any violation of your * - * 
 as a Grand Elect, Perfect and Sublime Mason. 
 
 This is the position the Lodge is placed in when its manage- 
 ment threaten you with a charge of unmasonic conduct simply and 
 solely because you insist upon the inviolability of the law, and the 
 obligation taken to maintain it. It is TO THE SUPREME COUNCIL 
 TO WHICH YOUR ALLEGIANCE AND MINE IS DUE; therefore we must, 
 while serving in the lower bodies, conform to the rules of good govern- 
 ment, giving way to the idiosyncrasies of the management if need be, 
 but there is nothing therein requiring the giving up of your manhood 
 or independence, TO the NEGLECT OF YOUR OWN SOLEMN DUTY 
 
 TO THE Constitutions as you understand them. Those 
 governing the Aurora Grata Bodies seek to place me as a delinquent 
 to my vows before the world; they expect the Supreme Council to 
 sustain them. Can they be serious in this expectation ? 
 
 It is lamentable to see with what rancor a member of the Rite 
 in this District can be persecuted for opinion's sake. It is degrad- 
 ing to any body of men to conceive, adopt, and work the schemes 
 that have thus far been successfully worked upon me in spite of all 
 my humble efforts to withstand the power and influence of ofifice to 
 put me in the wrong. Men with any instincts of honor would be 
 ashamed, and true Masons, above all, would never knowingly coun- 
 tenance the outrages. 
 
 I have fought against, and I still am contending with, bad men 
 for the proper maintenance of the teachings and the lessons required 
 to be inculcated, and expected to be honestly practiced by all in the 
 Rite, by the highest as well as the lowest in the ranks. • 
 
 The Supreme Council over which the Illustrious Henry L. Palmer 
 is the most Puissant Sovereign Grand Commander, is really supreme 
 in the fullest sense of the word, and governs in the Northern 
 Masonic Jurisdiction, to the exclusion of any other body or bodies 
 of the Rite, and to this Supreme Council I shall again present my 
 claim for the redress of grievances as I claimed from the very first. 
 
9 
 
 To The Members of AuROi^A Grata Lodge of Perfection, 
 Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. 
 
 Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U. S. A. 
 
 Resp. . ■ . Brethren : 
 
 In view of the representations made to you, in regard to the 
 object and aims of my efforts to bring about an observance of the 
 Constitution and Regulations of the Supreme Council in the Lodge, 
 it became necessary for me in September, 1890, to furnish you with 
 a history of the case, and of the various proceedings made on my 
 part, together with the correspondence, ofificial documents bearing 
 upon the subject, and the proceedings in the Lodge, so far as they 
 were accessible to me. 
 
 This was done with a view to having the matter simply, clearly 
 and conscientiously presented, leaving you to form such final judg- 
 ment as an intelligent mind freed from bias would determine. 
 
 My efforts have been to bring to your attention the result of 
 study and research into the fundamental principles and laws upon 
 which our Rite is based, and this has doubtless brought us to a 
 closer criticism of the methods practiced in our Lodge, practiced by 
 those under added obligations to observe the constitutional enact- > 
 ments adopted for the perpetuity of the Rite ; and the neglect of 
 which would naturally deprive us of the advantages and blessings 
 arising from a strict observance of the fealty due to the Rite, and 
 assumed by each one toward the other. 
 
 I became dissatisfied with the arrogant manner with which the 
 constitutional regulations were set aside and replaced by dictator- 
 ships, assumed by the few for entirely personal ends. The measure 
 of intelligence of these few, as to the aims and scope of the Ancient 
 Accepted Scottish Rite, was of a limited character, and to such an 
 extent only as to lead to unseemly administration in the presence 
 of those upon whose minds it was their duty at least, to endeavor 
 to impress the important teachings of the Rite. 
 
 There was also, as you well know, a deterioration in the personal • 
 element attempted to be introduced into the Lodge, through loose 
 and unmasonic methods. 
 
lO 
 
 This is, perhaps, the better illustrated by the narration of a fact 
 coming under my own observation within the first year of my 
 membership. 
 
 A member of the Lodge, who stands deservedly high in the 
 esteem of the fraternity, and whose name is a household v/ord for 
 all that is pure in Masonry, objected (as I have several times done 
 in a quiet way) to a candidate whom, for entirely personal ends, the 
 management desired introduced, the better to serve other md ques- 
 tionable purposes. 
 
 The Brother's reasons for objecting were such as justified his 
 action. 
 
 The terms of Article 90 of the Constitution of the Supreme 
 Council, adopted in 1885, gives the right to object, and prescribes 
 the method : Wouldn't a Mason be derelict in /ns duty if he failed 
 to object, to the introduction of a candidate whose life and character 
 he had reason to doubt or disapprove ? 
 
 In the case referred to, the Thrice Potent Grand Master calmly 
 informed the Brother that he was but one, and the candidate pro- 
 posed was good for at least forty more members. To this the 
 Brother simply replied, that in the event of that particular candi- 
 date being introduced for any such unlawful purpose, he would feel 
 compelled to quit the Lodge. 
 
 The candidate referred to was elected to membership upon an 
 occasion of the objector's absence, and the degrees to the i6th were 
 conferred upon him in ample form at special communications held 
 upon the same evening upon which the Chapter of Rose Croix met, 
 and to which the candidate was hurried, presented, and there con- 
 summated his membership in all the Aurora Grata Bodies on one 
 and the same evening. 
 
 1 have no doubt that the " forty more members " herein alluded 
 to, formed the larger part of the adverse seventy-one votes against me 
 in the Lodge having a membership of nearly or quite five hundred. 
 
 This incident only illustrates my reasons for opposition to 
 " QUANTITY versus QUALITY." 
 
 My "Appeal to. the Supreme Council" in September, 1890, 
 was referred to the " Committee on Jurisprudence," which upon the 
 17th day of that month reported as follows: 
 
II 
 
 I 
 
 Northern Mass.\ Jurisdiction of the U. S. In Supreme Council, 33°, 
 Annual Session at the city of Cleveland, Ohio, September 17th, 1890. 
 
 The Committee on Jurisprudence, to whom was referred the appeal 
 of James Stuart Gillen, 32", in regard to certain proceedings against him 
 in Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection in December, 1889, have duly con- 
 sidered the papers referred to them. 
 
 These papers are not in themselves sufiftciently complete as a record 
 to enable your Committee to pass upon the merits of the issue between 
 the member and the Lodge. 
 
 Nor could, in "the ordinary duration of the Session of this Supreme 
 Council, the records be so far completed as to enable the Committee to 
 carefully consider and report conclusions thereon. 
 
 The rules and regulations provide that appeals of the nature of this 
 one should be usually made in the first instance to the Council of Delib- 
 eration of the State where the matter arises, and the rules of the Council 
 of Deliberation for New York make other and further provisions for an 
 appeal to that body. 
 
 The statement of the petitioner is to the effect that more than five 
 members of that Lodge have joined him in preparing an appeal to the 
 Council of Deliberation ; thus in whatever light we view the effect of the 
 vote of the Lodge, as stated by him, the jurisdiction of the Council of 
 Deliberation for New York to entertain an appeal appears to be ample. 
 
 The failure of the Deputy for that State to call a Council this year 
 has not destroyed or impaired the right of the appellant to present his 
 case to that body fo.r such hearing and consideration as the laws provide. 
 
 Such a hearing can be had with less delay than the case could be 
 prepared by your Committee and reported to the Supreme Council, and 
 is the regular method of proceeding. 
 
 Your Committee recommend that the papers be referred to the Illus- 
 trious Deputy for New York, with directions also to receive from Brother 
 Gillen, and from any five or more of the Grand Elect, Perfect and Sub- 
 lime Masons, members of Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, such appeal 
 to the Council of Deliberation as they desire to make from the action of 
 Aurora Grata Lodge, and that in case such action is appealed from — he 
 convene the Council and report its proceedings to the Supreme Council 
 at its next annual session. 
 
 Respectfully submitted for the Committee, 
 
 CHAS. LEVI WOODBURY. 
 
 On motion, the report was received and the recommendations 
 adopted. 
 
 The foregoing is a true copy of the records. 
 
 A. P. MORIARTY, 33°, 
 
 [l. s.] . Assist .'. Gr .•. Secretary-Gen .'. 
 
12 
 
 I was not furnished with an official copy of this report until the 
 2oth day of December, 1890, and then only by order of the Sover- 
 eign Grand Commander, after application was directly made to 
 him. 
 
 I was not at all surprised by this too apparent attempt to thwart 
 and impede my proceedings, owing to my apprehension of the lean- 
 ings of officials in this District favorably towards the management 
 of the Aurora Grata Bodies. There were others of whosQ, action I 
 had the right to complain of, and which is made quite apparent 
 later on, wherever occasion made it necessary for me to ask for 
 advice or official documents that were my due. 
 
 There are many evidences of unfraternal action against me, and 
 against which I have had to contend, but I am patient and still 
 tenacious in defence of my personal rights. 
 
 At the meeting in October, 1890, the management of the Lodge 
 (as I am informed) took occasion to state that this, referring to the 
 action of the Supreme Council, " virtually ended the matter;" and the 
 Illustrious Deputy subsequently added, " that it virtually referred 
 the matter to him, to do what he liked with it." 
 
 I fail to view it in either light. 
 
 The Supreme Council, in the adoption of the report, not only 
 defined a duty but imposed one upon me, and I as soon as practi- 
 cable gave the report studious consideration, that I might fill my 
 obligations to the full measure. 
 
 To that end, on the 14th day of February, iSgi, I wrote to the 
 Lodge as follows : 
 
 To THE Thrice Potent Grand Master, Wardens and Brethren 
 OF Aurora Grata Lodoe of Perfection, A. A. S. Rite, 
 N. M. J. U. S. A. 
 
 Valley of Brooklyn, New York. 
 Respectable Brethren : 
 
 It is my intention to take the action that the Constitutions, Regula- 
 tions, Laws and Requirements of the Supreme Council of the Ancient 
 Accepted Scottish Rite in this Jurisdiction justify, direct and warrant 
 me in taking, in the defence of my personality. 
 
 To the end that justice may be done to all, and that my renewal of 
 appeal may be deprived of every ex-parte appearance, I respectfully ask 
 to be furnished, for the use as stated, with copies of the evidence, and 
 
'3 
 
 the full names of the several witnesses testifying May i8th and December 
 2 1 St, 1889, as well as with a copy of the record of the proceedings in con- 
 nection with the action of the Lodge June 7th and December 21st, 1889. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN, 32° 
 
 Ten days later, on the 24th, I received the following reply : 
 
 To Jas. Stuart Gillen, Esq. 
 
 Dear Sir : I have to acknowledge the receipt of your communica- 
 tion dated Feb. 14th, and have referred the same to the 111. Deputy for the 
 State of New York, John Hodge. 
 
 All matter referring to your case with the Aurora Grata Lodge of 
 Perfection is now in his hand's. By addressing him, care of Lockport, 
 N. Y., I feel quite sure the proper attention will be given to your commu- 
 nication. 
 
 Yours, etc., 
 
 EDWIN K.NOWLES, 33°, 
 T. P. G. M., Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection. 
 
 It is even in this shown that the official management consider 
 themselves (excluding all other memberships) to be the Lodge proper, 
 otherwise why this unusual assumption of responsibility in answer- 
 ing a communication addressed to the Lodge, and which should 
 have been officially submitted to it for a direction as to any action 
 in its name ! 
 
 This .same official, in ignorance of law, and in greater violation 
 of his duty, has at other times assumed to suppress communications 
 which were the property of the Lodge. 
 
 You must, I think, agree with me that it is this assumption of 
 authority and tacit freedom from accountability, that emboldens the 
 manageunent of the Aurora Grata Bodies in their proceedings ; they 
 in fact, ignore the Supreme Council by violating its Constitution and 
 Regulations, and by the assumption of functions reserved to itself 
 by the Supreme Council. 
 
 This is ignorance and not defiaace, but it is rebellion neverthe- 
 less, and you cannot put any other construction upon it. 
 
 On the stb day of March, I wrote to the 111..-. Deputy : 
 
14 
 
 John Hodge, 33°, III..". Deputy of the Supreme Council,- 
 Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic 
 Jurisdiction, U.S. A., for the District of New York. 
 
 LOCKPORT, N. Y. 
 
 Ven. .-. Bro. : Oa the 14th ultimo I wrote to the Thrice Potent 
 Grand Master, Wardens and Brethren of Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfec- 
 tion, as follows : 
 
 " It is my intention to take the action that the Constitutions, Regula- 
 tions, Laws and Requirements of the Supreme. Council of thft Ancient 
 Accepted. Scottish Rite in this Jurisdiction justify, direct and warrant liie 
 in taking, in the defence of my personality. 
 
 "To the end that justice may be done to all, and that my renewal of 
 appeal may be deprived of every ex-parte appearance, I respectfully ask to 
 be furnished, for the use as stated, with copies of the evidence, and the 
 full names of the several witnesses testifying May i8th and December 
 2 1 St, 1889, as well as with a copy of the record, of the proceedings in con- 
 nection with the action of the Lodge, June 7th and December 21st, 1889.''' 
 
 To which I have received reply over the signature of Edwin Knowles, 
 33°, under date of 24th ultimo : " I have to acknowledge the receipt of 
 your communication, dated February 14th, and have referred the same to 
 the 111. .'. Deputy for the State of New York, John Hodge. 
 
 " All matter referring to your case with the Aurora Grata Lodge of 
 Perfection is now in his hands. By addressing him, care of Lockport; 
 N. Y., I feel quite sure the proper attention will be given to your 
 communication." 
 
 It does not seem to me exactly the thing for you to be unnecessarily 
 burdened with the duties of the Lodge ; but I presume there is an under- 
 standing of some kind to justify this reference to you. 
 Respectfully, etc., 
 
 J AS. STUART. GILLEN. 
 
 The following reply was received on the 23d.: , . 
 
 Office of the 
 Deputy of the Supreme Council 33°. 
 FOR the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction 
 OF th-e U. S., District of New York. 
 
 LocKPORT, N. Y., March ig, iSgi. 
 James Stuart Gillen, Esq., 
 
 No. 59 Wall Street, , , 
 
 New York City. 
 Dear Sir and Bro..\—\oxix favor of the 5th iiist. at hand and con- 
 tents noted. I hold that the action of- the Supreme' Council, i 7th Sept. 
 1890 (see Transactions, pp. 41-42), in connection with your "Appeal" 
 exclusively defines my further official relations with the matter wherewith 
 my attention is invited. 
 
Henqe it would appear that I have no immediate Official Jurisdiction 
 ■ thereof, nor any case to pass or act upon any suggestions in connection 
 therewith. 
 
 Fraternally yours, 
 
 John Hobge, 33°.'. 
 
 Deputy for New York. 
 
 This letter as a philological production is unique, and it merits 
 study on the part of the reader. 
 
 The 111. .■. Deputy no doubt intended to inform me that he had 
 directed the documents to be furnished in part ? because on the 4tb 
 day of April, at 6 P. M., I received the following letter : 
 
 Valley of Brooklyn, April 4th, 1891. ' 
 James Stuart Gillen, Esq., 
 
 Sir :— At the request of the Illustrious Deputy, John Hodge, I here- 
 with enclose a copy of the minutes and proceedings of the special com- 
 munication of " Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection," Valley of Brooklyn, 
 which was held on Saturday evening, Dec. 21, 1889. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 Edwin Knowles, 33° 
 T. P. Grand Master Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection. 
 
 This was replied to on April 7th, 189 1 : 
 
 Edwin Knowles, 33° 
 
 T. .-. P. .-. G. .-.Master, 
 
 Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, 
 
 A. .-. A. .-. S. .-. Rite, N. .-. M. .-. J. .-. U. .-. S. .-. A. .-. 
 
 Valley of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 I am in receipt of yours of April 4th, covering "A copy of the Min- 
 utes and Proceedings of the Special Communication, of Aurora Grata 
 Lodge of Perfection, held on Saturday, December 21, 1889. 
 
 I notice, however, that the said document is not 9,uthenticated as it 
 should be for the purposes for which I intend to use it ; and I take this 
 opportunity to advise you of that fact. If you desire it returned to be 
 perfected, I will meet your wish ; otherwise I should be advised that no 
 question will hereafter be raised as to its correctness. 
 
 I am particular at this time, as circumstances I am advised justify me 
 in being exact in a matter of so much importance to the Rite. 
 
 I prefer that the minutes be fastened in usual manner, and bear 
 the seal of the Lodge, which would prevent any; doubt in the future as to 
 its authenticity. Awaiting your early reply, 
 
 I remain, etc., 
 
 JaS. 'STUAR^T GiLLEN, 32° 
 
I6 
 
 Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, 
 Valley of Brooklyn, April 13, 1891. 
 James Stuart Gillen, Esq.: 
 
 If you will return to me the copy of the minutes sent you some time ago, 
 I will see that they are properly approved by the Secretary and the seal 
 
 of the Lodge attached. 
 
 I remain, yours, etc., 
 
 Edwin Knowles. 
 
 10 Monroe Street,* } 
 Brooklyn, April 15, 1891. j 
 
 Edwin Knowles, Esq.: 
 
 Yours of 13th received, and in compliance with your request, you will 
 please find herewith the document received in yours of 4th instant. 
 
 Yours, etc., 
 
 James Stuart Gillen. 
 
 I gave the III. .•. Deputy's letter of 19th March consider- 
 able thought, and deeming it proper that some acknowledgment 
 should be made to it, I wrote to him unofficially as follows : 
 
 10 Monroe Street, ) 
 
 Brooklyn, April 24, 1891. f 
 III. .". John Hodge, 
 
 Lockport, N. Y. 
 Sir and Bro. — Your official communication of rpth (P. M. 21st) ulti- 
 mo, in reply to mine of the 5th of same month, came in due course of mail. 
 Illness has prevented a prompt acknowledgement of the very peculiarly 
 constructed communication, until I was able to give it studious and 
 thoughtful consideration. 
 
 On the 4th instant I was surprised to receive a registered letter 
 
 with the named contents as under : 
 
 "Valley of Brooklyn, April 4, 1891. 
 '■James Stuart Gillen, Esq., 
 
 " Sir: —At the request of the Illustrious Deputy, John Hodge, I here- 
 " with enclose a copy of the minutes and proceedings of the Special com- 
 " munication of Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, Valley of Brooklyn, 
 " which was held on Saturday evening, December 21, 1889. 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 " Edwin Knowles, 33° 
 " T. P. Grand Mailer, Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection?' 
 
 The document referred to therein was subsequently recalled for 
 purposes of attestation and has not been returned to me. 
 
17 
 
 It is gratifying at this late date to see any evidence of the proprieties 
 being invoked in the interest of this subject. 
 
 Now, Brother Hodge, your whole course towards me in this unhappy 
 controversy has been the reverse of brotherly. Wrong in your premises 
 and so vacillating withal as to make me feel that your acts were unworthy 
 of one occupying an exalted position in Masonry. 
 
 I am wearied of the unmasonic manner in which my claims to you 
 for fraternal protection have been officially ignored, and I am at last 
 forced to believed that your conception of official duties is to possess the 
 power and influence of office, anticipating favor from those interested in the 
 use of them and thus preventing my every effort to have a fair and 
 impartial trial, to which every honest man knows I am entitled by any and 
 all the principles of the A. A. S. Rite, its constitutions and codes. At this 
 late date, after two years' effort,'! see nothing encouraging for me under 
 your jurisdiction in this District. 
 
 The indifference of a majority of the Supreme Council leads me to 
 doubts, and why.' I will leave you to surmise; nevertheless I shall con- 
 tinue to demand an expression of opinion from the best legal minds in 
 the Rite. 
 
 I write to you now personally, in plain Anglo-Saxon, for I have noth- 
 ing to hide. I have been true to my principles all through, as you must 
 admit, and you ought to appreciate my frankness, when I tell you, that 
 you have evidently overlooked the fact that you outside of the A .". A .'. 
 S . Rite owe to me and to Masonry a duty, which duty outranks and 
 antedates other obligations and allegiances. I have endeavored from the 
 first to keep this plainly before your mind ; vide my letter to you of 
 December 27, 1889. 
 
 In this connection I would also call your attention to Article XIII., 
 Statutes of The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the 
 State of New York, which reads : 
 
 " When a duty is imposed, its neglect or violation, without excuse 
 "shall be considered an offense against Masonic law." 
 
 I have yet to find one intelligent Brother who is willing to make any 
 excuse for your unmasonic actions. 
 
 I find now that I shall be obliged to ask The Grand Lodge of Free 
 and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, in which we are on a 
 more equal footing, to investigate the subject of my grievances against 
 you as a Mason, and it is becoming in me, I think, to give you this notice, 
 that you may not be surprised or unprepared. 
 
 This course you force upon me, and I am really very sorry, but think- 
 ing Brethren agree, that whatever the consequences, you should not blame 
 
 me. 
 
 Perhaps it would appear right in your judgment that I should urge 
 you to resign ; but absurd as it is, to my mind, yet you are on record as 
 
urging and advising such a course in my case, which is equally absurd, 
 and perhaps you will now so see it. 
 
 Respectfully yours, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN. 
 
 The request of 14th day of February had only been partly 
 compHed with, so that I was obliged to write to the Lodge 
 
 To the 
 
 Thrice Potent Grand Master, 
 
 Wardens and Brethren, 
 of 
 Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, 
 
 A. .-. A. .-. S. .-. Rite N. .-. M. .'. J. .-. U. /. S. . . A. .-. 
 
 Valley of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
 Jiesp. .'. Brethren. — On the 14th day of February last I made applica- 
 tion to you for " copies of the evidence, and the full names of the 
 ■' several witnesses testifying May iSth and December 2 ist, 1889, as well as 
 " with a copy of the record of the proceedings in connection with the 
 " action of the Lodge June 7th and December 21st, 1889." 
 
 Those of December 21, 1889, I have already acknowledged receipt 
 of; those of May 18 and June 7, 1889, have not yet been furnished to me. 
 
 As only a limited time remains now for their use, no further delay 
 should occur in transmitting them to me; you having been previously 
 advised that they were necessary to my legal defence. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN, 32° 
 Brooklyn, May 6, 1891. 
 
 The needed documents finally came to hand on the even- 
 ing of May i8th. I had in the meantime abandoned the 
 expectation of getting them, fearing that the delay was inten 
 tional to prevent the proper presentation of my appeal to the 
 Council of Deliberation convened for June 3d. I hastened the 
 appeal with what was at my command, and forwarded it to the 
 Deputy on the 20th day of May, 1891. 
 
 The correspondence and the appeal speak for themselves. 
 
\ 
 
 19 
 
 10 Monroe Street, 
 Brooklyn, New York. 
 Ill .■. John Hodge, 33° 
 
 Dep7ay of the Supreme Council, A. :. A. :. S. :. Rite N. :. M. • J. .'. 
 U. :. S. :. A. :. for the District of New York : 
 Lockport, N. Y. 
 
 Sir: — In accordance with the resolution (in the matter of my appeal) 
 by the Supreme Council A./. A. .-. S. .-. Rite, N. .-. M. .-. J. .-. U. .-. S. .-. 
 A. .". adopted on the 17th day of September, 1890, at the annual session 
 held in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, 
 
 The undersigned sends herewith his appeal and that of more than 
 five Grand, Elect, Perfect and Sublime Masons, members of Aurora Grata 
 Lodge of Perfection, for presentation to and for the action of the Council 
 of Deliberation for the District of New York. 
 
 Unexpected and unnecessary impediments causing delay, in furnish- 
 ing properly attested documents necessary to be presented with these 
 appeals, have prevented a full compliance with the directions of the 
 Supreme Council at an earlier date. 
 
 The undersigned, therefore, respectfully requests that these appeals 
 and the accompanying documents be received ofificially by you, and duly 
 presented to the annual convocation of said Council of Deliberation con- 
 vened for Wednesday, the third day of June, rSgi. 
 
 The copies of evidence and record of proceedings of Aurora Grata 
 Lodge of Perfection, had on the 21st day of December, 1889, were 
 received on the 4th day of April last, but copies of the evidence and 
 record of proceedings of May i8th and June 7th, 1889, asked for in the 
 letter to you of March 5, 1891, were not furnished until night before last, 
 although another application to thei T. .". P. .". G. .'. M. .'. of said Lodge 
 was made as late as the 6th instant. I assumed that the said officer had 
 only partly complied with your instructions, hence my application to him. 
 
 You will please let this letter serve as an amendment of that part of 
 my appeal, so far as the same relates to the documents, just at hand, which 
 will be forwarded to you for attachment as Exhibit D to the other papers, 
 as soon as properly examined by me. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN, 
 Dated May 20, 1891. 32" 
 
 To the Council of Deliberation for the Bodies of the Ancient Accepted Scottish 
 
 Rite for the District of New York. 
 Illustrious Brethren : 
 
 In accordance with the views of the Supreme Council of Sovereign 
 ■Grand Inspectors-General, of the Thirty-third and last Degree of the 
 Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, for the Northern Masonic 
 
20 
 
 Jurisdiction of the United States of America, vide Exhibit hereunto 
 ,marked A : 
 
 And also in conformity with the requirements of Sections 6 and 7 of 
 Article loi of the Constitution of said Supreme Council, adopted in 1885, 
 hereunto attached and marked Exhibit B ■■ 
 
 ' The undersigned appellant herewith submits for consideration, a 
 transcript from the records of a communication held by Aurora Grata 
 Lodge of Perfection, Valley of Brooklyn, on the evening of Saturday, 
 December 21, 1889. 
 
 And I, Tames Stuart Gillen, 32°, feeling myself personally an(f mason- 
 ically aggrieved by the action of the said Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, 
 as set forth in the said transcript marked C, entitled " The record of the 
 trial of III. .'. James Stuart Gillen, 32° (as per attestation), and as a 
 Mason of the 32° of the A. .'. A. .". S. .'. Rite of this jurisdiction, respect- 
 fully complain of injustice generated wholly through either ignorance or 
 malice, and by these presents I fraternally ask and demand that the judg- 
 ment of expulsion recorded in said Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, be 
 set aside and declared null and void. 
 
 Fir-it. — Because the penalty inflicted is the extreme penalty for any 
 offence against Masonic law, and its infliction for the alleged offence is 
 absurd and unwarranted by the charge and specifications, as well as by 
 the recorded proceedings adduced in support of the same. 
 
 Second. — Because the charge and specifications as recorded zx^ friv- 
 olous and untruthful as to fact, and even if they were truthful and proven^ 
 are not in violation of any constitutional enactment of the Supreme 
 Council, or the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry. 
 
 Third. — Because this appellant has repeatedly "demanded a fair anl 
 honorable trial in accordance with the principles of the Order, as is his 
 constitutional right, and he has refused to submit to, or participate in any 
 other proceedings, because he knows that the methods adopted by Aurora 
 Grata Lodge of Perfection in the ex-parte proceedings, were for the pur- 
 pose of suppressing the truth, covering the ignorance of the management, and^ 
 intimidating this appellant, while they were well aware of his entire innocence 
 of the charge. 
 
 Fourth. — Because the said record shows (pages i and 2) that the said 
 proceedings and so-called trial claimed to be under the provisions of Sec- 
 tion IS, of the Code of Procedure, adopted by this Council of Delibera- 
 tion in 1885, which are alternative and to be legally availed of only in 
 strictly new matter. 
 
 It should be known as a matter of history that the provisions of this 
 section were enacted for a very different, and for a specific purpose, and 
 they are not intended to cover any such alleged offence, of which this appellant 
 is charged. 
 
21 
 
 /^i/M.— Because the provisions of Section 15 of the Code of Pro- 
 cedure adopted by this Council of Deliberation in 1885, are in violation 
 of the provisions of Article 103 of the Constitution of the Supreme Coun- 
 cil adopted in 1885 (subsequent to the adoption of the Code of Proced- 
 ure by this Council of Deliberation) and which Article consequently 
 takes precedence of, as well as annuls, said Section 15, inasmuch as the 
 said Article 103 of the Constitution requires all members of the Rite to 
 ■dispense justice to the brethren in accordance with the laws of " equity 
 and honor." 
 
 Sixth.— Because, even if the provisions of Section 15 w«re otherwise 
 applicable, they were used unconstitutionally and in violation of the terms 
 and requirements of Article 103 of the Constitution, inasmuch as the 
 Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection had already, six months previously, 
 passed judgment upon the same subject matter, say upon the 7th day of 
 June, 1889, and the Lodge could not, therefore, agreeable with the laws of 
 equity and honor " sit in judgment a second time upon what was virtually 
 the same charge and specifications ; the first charge and specifications still 
 remaining on record, and not having been either annulled or withdrawn. 
 
 Seventh. — Because, the Lodge violated the principles of the Code of 
 Procedure adopted by. this Council of Deliberation in 1885, which are "to 
 give the accused a fair and impartial trial, and at the same time carefully 
 protect the fair name, honor and integrity of the Order." 
 
 The transcript shows that these principles were entirely ignored, and that 
 prejudice and malice governed the entire proceedings. 
 
 Eighth. — Because, the Lodge violated the requirements of Section 15 
 of the Code which gives the right as well as the privilege of presenting 
 an excuse, the sufficiency of the excuse (this section provides) must be deter- 
 mined by the body. This privilege was availed of by this appellant, but the 
 sufficiency thereof was undetermined, and its- advantages denied to this 
 appellant. 
 
 This appellant coupled the communication to the Lodge with a 
 demurrer, which was to be presented to the Lodge at the proper time by 
 the hands of a 33° Mason. It was rudely taken from the S. .'. G. .'. I. .". 
 General by the Thrice Potent Grand Master, who not only refused the 
 usual permission to have the paper read at the proper time, but improperly 
 took possession, retained, and illegally suppressed it. 
 
 This the Thrice Potent Grand Master did in contravention of his duty 
 as Master under the law, which required him to submit it to the Lodge. 
 
 The document was officially addressed to the Lodge, and the record 
 IS PROOF, that neither the excuse or its sufficiency, was acted upon by the 
 members of the Lodge as required by the terms of Section 1^ of the Code. 
 
 Therefore, /i?/- this reason alone, the entire proceedings were defective, 
 improper, and irregular, and consequently void in law, as well as in 
 " equity and honor." 
 
22 
 
 Ninth. — Because the principal witness against me was, and is, 
 notoriously prejudiced, his testimony may be treated as absolutely fake, be- 
 ing such a malignant distortion of fact, and perversion of sense, as to make 
 the whole of it untrue, and because it was for the main part imagined and 
 fabricated for the purpose of injuring this appellant, masonically, and 
 otherwise. 
 
 The provisions of Section 7 of Article loi of the Constitution of the 
 Supreme Council, adopted in 1885, declare that " the Council of Delibera- 
 tion may grant a new trial for reasons not appearing in the transcript, if 
 IN ITS JUDGMENT justice requires it." 
 
 This appellant, therefore, presents other and additional reasons why 
 this Council of Deliberation should declare the entire proceedings and 
 judgment null and void. , 
 
 i^rj-^— Because the entire proceedings, with the judgment obtained, 
 are the result of a conspiracy entered into for the purpose of injuring 
 this appellant, masonically, and otherwise. 
 
 Second — Because in furtherance of the conspiracy, the Illustrious 
 Deputy of the Supreme Council was unduly and improperly influenced to 
 try, by every endeavor, to force this appellant to ask for a dimit from said 
 Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection, as if he were a public criminal. This 
 appellant was at the time laboring innocently under charges against which 
 he has only asked, and asks'again at your hands a fair and honest trial. 
 
 Third — Because anterior to the date of any so-called trial, say on the 
 x^th day of May, 1889, the Illustrious Deputy caused it to be written as 
 from himself : " /if is advisable for Bro. .'. Gillen to at once take a dimit, if 
 possible, from Aurora Grata Bodies of Brooklyn and not permit his matter 
 to go to trial, for he has no possible chance to come out victorious." 
 
 I scornfully answered this message, writing : 
 
 " / look upon this suggestion not to defend myself as an idea improper for 
 " any honest man to consider as otherwise than the emanation of a tnind 
 " cowardly by circumstances and corrupt by nature." 
 
 I was loth to believe that any exalted in the A. and A. Rite could be 
 found entertaining such ideas, the known possession of which under the 
 circumstances, should consign them to ostracism from the society of men 
 and Masons. 
 
 The writer of the message, fearing that the suggestion might be laid 
 at his own door, hastened to disclaim his responsibility therefor, writing 
 back upon the same day : 
 
23 
 
 Which suggestion CAME directly, solely and entirely /rt^w Mi? 
 Deputy of the State. Vou are at liberty to communicate with the 
 Deputy upon the authenticity of this mattery 
 
 I now know that my reply furnished grounds for additional virulent 
 animus on the part of the conspirators, men incapable of fully appreciat- 
 ing my sentiment, as they merely characterize my reply a rebuff. 
 
 There is no excuse for the Illustrious Beputy in his official position 
 unnecessarily and without warrant giving an approval to the proceedings 
 and judgment of December 21, 1889 (the Code provides that it would stand 
 without approval), and hastening to telegraph the glad tidings of his sub- 
 serviency to the Thrice Potent Grand Master of the Lodge on January 11, 
 1890, and failing to give me any notice of his action officially or otherwise. 
 
 You will learn with surprise that the message and my answer as 
 quoted above, were written early in May, 1889, and anterior to the first 
 so-called trial of May 18, 1889, and ratified by the Lodge on the 7th day 
 of June, 1889. 
 
 The Council cannot hut accept this as clear that the case against me was 
 prejudged, and that I was convicted by dictation before trial, in violation of 
 any masonic law, as well as in violation of all constitutional rights. 
 
 Fourth. — Because the Illustrious Deputy was derelict in his duty by 
 not forbidding, but rather countenancing and ignorantly encouraging 
 these proceedings after being put upon inquiry, and advised that the action 
 was illegal and wholly in violation of masonic law, and especially in view 
 of a probable violation of his /««//)' promised to and by all of the members, 
 one towards the other, of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in this 
 District. 
 
 Fifth. — Because the said Illustrious Deputy the second time (and after 
 the proceedings and judgment in the first ex-parte and so-called trial had 
 been declared "Void and of no effect," the virtual order of the Supreme 
 Council) did really, in effect, attempt to improperly influence him, this 
 appellant, to resign before a new trial could be had, by writing ^^ why not 
 suggest to Brother Gillen to dimit from all the Brooklyn bodies." 
 
 This was in November, 1889, and is a reiteration of the previous 
 declaration under the head of reason Third, showing a great lack of official 
 conscientiousness, a want of strength to stand up with manliness to defend 
 the oppressed, but weakly, continuing by the influence of bad counsel, to 
 aid the conspirators, those who were determined through him to avoid 
 before fair or reasoning minds, a proper trial. 
 
 The proceedings and judgment now under review by this Council of 
 Deliberation, by order of the Supreme Council, were, I am bold and frank 
 to say, instigated in the first instance solely for the purpose of intimidating 
 this appellant; they are wholly unmasonic, and without merit, as will be 
 proven to all fair-minded men if the opportunity is granted. 
 
24 
 
 Sixth. — Because the animus against me still exists, as is clearly shown 
 by the refusal of the Illustrious Deputy on the 19th day of March, 1891, 
 to furnish the needed copies of the record, or transcript of the proceed- 
 ings, had on the 1 8th day of May, 7th day of June and 21st day of Decem- 
 ber, 1889. 
 
 He knew, or should have known, that Section 7 of Article loi of the 
 Constitution, adopted in 1885, made copies of the said transcript a neces- 
 sary accompaniment of this appeal, and I was entitled to it as a matter of 
 right. ^ 5 
 
 Seventh. — Because, while for some reason the Illustrious Deputy sub- 
 sequently changed his mind, and directed this appellant to be furnished 
 with a copy of the transcript of the proceedings held on December 21, 
 1889, he has altogether neglected so far as I can learn, to instruct the 
 Lodge to furnish the needed transcript of the proceedings held on the 
 i8th day of May, and 7th day of June, 1889, all important to this appell- 
 ant to be attached hereto, inasmuch as the charge and specifications form- 
 ulated on the 3d day of May, 1889, and those formulated, on the 21st day 
 of December, 1889, are virtually the same, and consequently the transcript 
 withheld, being a part of the record, should also be presented to this 
 Council of Deliberation, and particularly as the charge and specifications 
 formulated on the 3d day of May, 1889, have never been, or were not 
 abrogated on the 21st day of December, 1889; the proceedings of that date 
 were simply continuous and the proceedings heretofore had have in fact been 
 but one. 
 
 Eighth. — Because this appellant holds evidence both documentary and 
 otherwise, to prove every claim made, and position taken herein', except 
 perhaps the construction of law, upon which he not only expresses his 
 opinion, but is confirmed in his judgment thereof by many learned 
 brethren of the Rite. 
 
 And now brethren of the A. .". A. .-. S. .'. Rite, to whom this petition 
 is presented and to whom it may hereafter be read, or to whoever may 
 hereafter peruse it, I desire to say that I have the fullest confidence in, 
 and admiration for, the teachings of Masonry, and especially entertain an 
 exalted opinion of, and a sincere belief in, the benefits to mankind in the 
 proper administration of the tenets of the Ancient Accepted Scottish 
 Rite. 
 
 The position I have beei) placed in by the malignancy of a voting 
 majority of the few brethren of my Lodge, has unfortunately been brought 
 about by the sacrifice of right, honor and justice ; for be it understood that 
 I have discountenanced, and forbidden my friends participating in the 
 proceedings, as only tending to create disturbances which would be out of 
 place in a Masonic Lodge. 
 
25 
 
 Whatever methods 1 may have tried to inaugurate for the government 
 of the Lodge within itself, and to correct irregularities, and violation of 
 constitutional regulations, were such, and only such as were prescribed 
 l>y the Supreme Council itself, and no one can gainsay it, no one could truly 
 say that the eflfect could be injurious to the Rite in any sense. 
 
 No one could say that the effects intended would not have been bene- 
 ficial. No one could say that any action of mine within the Lodge was 
 otherwise than the proper action of a man having the interest of his Lodge 
 truly at heart. 
 
 No one can say that I was ambitious, or desirous of preferment, and 
 no one thought me abandoned, or of such a standard, as to "be unfitted 
 for service in the Rite generally. 
 
 No one deemed me guilty of any crime. No,. brethren, No ! No ! ! I 
 have been abused, and Masonry itself has been mocked at, in the pecu- 
 liarly obscene way my personality has been attacked and defamed, the 
 principles of Masonry have been trodden under foot, opposing me for 
 purely personal ends ; animus and malignant prejudice has been nurtured, 
 and persevered in for unwholesome motives and ambitious designs. 
 
 My presence, my membership, my influence', my very self was a bar 
 to the few active managers who desired full control of the very consciences of 
 every one who came within the pale of the Lodge, and so every wicked effort 
 was made to remove what was deemed an obstacle to their designs, and 
 these designs were not above suspicion. 
 
 It was my continued and persistent endeavor to prevent the introduc- 
 tion of quantity in preference to quality. I fought against a lower standard 
 of character in the Lodge, and such is the true and fundamental princi- 
 ples by which all honest men should be governed. There was a certain 
 growing element that was perceptibly lowering the standard of the Lodge, 
 and the officers were too evidently influenced by the promises generally 
 relied upon through the mystical influence of One hundred G. .'. E. .'. P. .'. 
 and S. .". Masons. This had no attraction for me, nor could the antagon- 
 ism of the many swerve me from the path of duty. 
 
 The Rite is not benefitted by the egotistic desires of ambitious 
 
 Masons for rank and ofifice, and no one will deny, that the buying of favor 
 
 in masonry, in the expectation of power and influence, is on a par with 
 
 bribery and corruption in other matters, for which heavy penalties are 
 
 .properly inflicted. 
 
 This, brethren, is the true foundation of all there is to be said or 
 claimed against me, and for this I am expected to be patiently satisfied 
 and sacrificed, the latter not only within the body in which the wicked 
 animus emanated and exists,' but I am invited to permit myself to be 
 treated with ignominy ; to voluntarily go about outside the pale of 
 Masonry, to stay there at the will of unscrupulous and dishonest men, 
 
26 
 
 under the assumption that falsehood is truth, and that purity is error. I 
 cannot submit to this, and I do not in any event propose to do so. 
 
 I have asked for a fair and honest trial of the charge against me. I 
 have prayed the Illustrious Deputy to protect me; he did not know how. I 
 have appealed to the Supreme Council and I am referred to this Council 
 for relief. 
 
 I now ask that all the proceedings against me be declared null and 
 void, and that the same be by this Council of Deliberation duly certified 
 to the Supreme Council as required, and your appellant served with a 
 copy thereof. 
 
 My situation has forced me to strange thoughts, and perhaps my feel- 
 ings being wrought to a high pitch, by the treatment I have received, and 
 thoroughly wounded as I am at heart, perhaps an excuse may lie with you 
 for my earnestness in language and the force of it, but ere criticising, let 
 each one ask the question to himself, " What would T do if similarly situa- 
 ted?" It is evident that if the answer is not favorable to my de.vaa.n6. for 
 a fair and honorable trial, the answer must be against and prejudicial to 
 the Rite itself which denies it, and therefore I confidently rely upon your 
 fealty to it and to 
 
 Yours in the sacred numbers, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN, 32° 
 Dated Brooklyn, May 20, 1891. 
 
 III. .■. John Hodge, 32°, 
 
 Deputy of the Supreme Council A. .'. A. .'. ^5". .'. Jiite, N. .'. M. .". J. :. 
 U. .'. S. .'. A. .'.for the District of New York : 
 Lockport, N. Y. 
 Sir: — In accordance with the promise to you of 20th inst., I send 
 herewith "Proceedings of Aurora Grata Lodge of Perfection," May 18, 
 1889, with minutes of a communication of the said Lodge, held on June 
 7, 1889, both to be presented for action of the Council of Deliberation as 
 Exhibit D in connection with my appeal. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN, 32°. 
 Dated Brooklyn, N. Y., May 25, 1891. 
 
 I desire to call your attention to the parts of the appeal to 
 the Council of Deliberation that I have italicized. It will be 
 noticed that the appeal is based upon the following grounds : 
 
 First — That the charge and specifications are frivolous and 
 untruthful, and that no one act of mine charged therein, even if 
 true, is a violation by me of aijy rule or enactment of the Su- 
 preme Council, or of. the Ancient Landmarks of Freemasonry. 
 
27 
 
 Second— Th3it Section 1 5 of the Code under which the so-called 
 trial was held, was violated by the Lodge in its most essential 
 requirements. Tke record furnished by the Lodge is proof of this. 
 
 Third — That no unbiased, just mind can exonerate the 
 management of the Lodge, when from bad temper it attempts 
 for the second time to sit in judgment upon a matter, upon 
 which it had previously passed judgment. For this there can 
 be no excuse, inasmuch as there were other methods at hand 
 by honest effort to furnish a proper trial. 
 
 It is admitted, as I have been told, that the action taken by the 
 management from the first, and followed all along, was thought 
 advisable, considering official influence in aiding the accomplish- 
 ment of their desires. 
 
 Fourth — That the records as furnished under attestation, I 
 am prepared to show, are a wilful, malignant and intentional 
 misrepresentation of facts. The arbitrary acts of the officials secur- 
 ing a complete violation of my rights and privileges, such as are 
 always granted to an accused brother, and further, that an evilly- 
 disposed and dominant mind was the only law the management 
 felt under obligations to respect. 
 
 Fifth — Conspiracy : Webster defines conspiracy : 
 {a) A combination of men for an evil purpose : 
 (J}) An agreement between two or more persons to com- 
 mit some crime in concert : 
 
 {c) An agreement for the purpose of wrongfully prejudi- 
 cing another : 
 
 {d) To insult public justice: 
 [e) A plot: 
 
 Original documentary evidence, now conditionally in my pos- 
 session, has been seen and read by many of the brethren, and 
 which you will find partially quoted in my appeal under 
 the head of Additional Reason Third, but sufficient to sub- 
 stantiate the charge that a determination existed to force a 
 verdict against me by aid of official dictation. Triers thus se- 
 
28 
 
 lected were only automatons ; indeed, as /much as this has been 
 ingenuously admitted by one of those who sat in judgment upon 
 me on the i8th day of May, 1889. 
 
 Sixtk— That I am fully prepared, and I have been ready from 
 the very first, for the trial 'of any and every one of the frivo- 
 lous offences charged against me, provided it was done honestly 
 under the provisions made (and there is more than one provision) 
 through the laws of the Rite. 
 
 I have done everything that an honest man could do to obtain 
 such a hearing. I have furnished information as to the legal 
 provisions made for such cases, showing the particular parts of 
 the Constitution and Code bearing upon the subject, and of which 
 the management seemed to be unaware. I have been mis-under- 
 stood and encountered antagonisms and methods, that should 
 cause the brethren to blush with shame because of the indig- 
 nities attempted in the name of the Ancient Accepted Scottish 
 Rite. 
 
 The Council of Deliberation itself, or the object for which 
 it was instituted, has been subverted. There has been no delib- 
 eration in my case, as contemplated by the Supreme Council, but 
 only such a use of those parliamentary technicalities usually adopted 
 where it is deemed advisable to check debate, or prevent a ref- 
 erence for deliberation, or the discussion of matters before a body. 
 The appeal and accompanying documents were not as required 
 by the resolution of the Committee on Jurisprudence presented 
 nor even read in the body, but simply referred over to, and 
 passed upon in a Committee selected by the 111. .-. Deputy, without 
 a hearing or an opportunity for discussion pro or con ; and the ex- 
 parte recommendation of the Committee was put to vote, and 
 adopted by the Council, upon the mistaken belief that the Com- 
 mittee was dealing understandingly with all the matters. 
 
 To the reader versed in parliamentary proceedings, it will be 
 apparent that the object of the appeal and the intent of the 
 Supreme Council was ignored, and entirely frustrated by this 
 practical evasion of duty. 
 
29 
 
 The appeal inculpates the 111. .-. Deputy of the Supreme 
 Council, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of Aurora Grata 
 Consistory. 
 
 The first is accused with being weakly influenced to do me 
 harm, and that this is shown by letters of his confidante in this 
 matter ; I am informed that the Deputy denies having authorized 
 the writing of the letters, but admits having had an interview 
 with the writer of them on the I2th day of May, 1889 (the night 
 before they were written), parting only with the understanding 
 that his confidante was on the next day to visit Wall street in 
 furtherance of the plan of operations then agreed upon. I have 
 quoted sufificient extracts of these letters to show that unmasonic 
 proceedings were then and there inaugurated. The Deputy admits 
 this, but differs only as to the " modus operandi'^ by which his 
 object was to be accomplished : and my masonic standing impaired, 
 whether innocent or guilty. I may here say that it was the state- 
 ments in these letters, coming with the authority of the 111. .'. 
 Deputy ; that there was no escape for me from an adverse decis- 
 ion (mind you, before a hearing of my defense), that decided 
 the belief within me and my friends, that a fair trial was to be 
 denied me if possible. The effort has been successful thus far. 
 
 It may refresh the memory of the 111. .•. Deputy if I give 
 him the beginning of the first letter of May 13, 1889. I therefore 
 quote literally : 
 
 '''My Dear III. .'. Bro:—La.sl evig I had quite an exhaustive inter- 
 view with Bro. John Hodge, Deputy of S. N. Y. A. A. Rite. 
 
 I am instructed to confid.entiall)' write you that it is advisable," etc. 
 
 The balance of the sentence will be found pp. 22-23 under 
 the head of Additional Reason Third. The quotations given are 
 taken from the first page of the. .letter (it is composed of two 
 pages). In it the writer says, no less than three times, that he is 
 acting under instructions ! ! 
 
 I have no doubt, and never had, that the Deputy had my 
 reply to the letter in view, when he wrote to me on May 
 20, 1889 : 
 
30 
 
 " I regret exceedingly that you and the members of Aurora Grata 
 im of Perfection cannot make satisfactory adjustment of your differences." 
 
 This was not the first time that the writer of the letters 
 of May 13 had shown his mark in the interest of the element 
 managing the " Aurora Grata Bodies," after his own peculiar meth- 
 ods ; he is an Honorary? member of the Aurora Grata Lodge 
 of Perfection, and in this case did not merely write for the pleas- 
 ure of interfering in the matter, but at the instigation and in 
 somebody's interest, antagonistic to my interest. The 111. .•. 
 Deputy in manly enlightenment could have, and should have 
 interposed the strong arm of brotherhood and of justice, and 
 insisting that I should have a fair trial, securing one for me, and 
 then and there established the authority of the Supreme Council, 
 and thus preventing even a suspicion of wrong doing. It was then 
 and there that he committed the first overt act against me, and at a 
 time when he was not called upon to act at all, he could have acted 
 nobly and manfully in the interest of truth, but he didn't know how. 
 
 His neglect weakened my belief in ofificial honesty, especi- 
 ally in view of the correspondence herein referred to, and while 
 I was discouraged, he continued to do everything favorable to 
 encouraging the gross unmasonic proceedings against me, and 
 failed in every duty owing by him to me as a brother mason. 
 
 In my appeal it will also be noticed that I accuse the Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of Aurora Grata Consistory, with giving testi- 
 mony that in the main was imagined and fabricated. 
 
 The positive tone of my appeal warranted the Council in 
 giving me a hearing, thus determining the truthfulness of' my 
 statements ; I was not called upon to explain anything. 
 
 My charges of bad practices against these officers are too 
 serious, brethren, to be passed over by mere parliamentary 
 tricks, with the object of suppressing the truth. Until I am 
 properly righted, you may rest assured nothing can or will be 
 suppressed, if I can help it, and the shame must be spread and 
 shared wherever it may properly belong. 
 
 The order of the Supreme Council was respectfully obeyed 
 when I appealed to the Council of Deliberation in the form pre- 
 
31 
 
 scribed. It would have been folly, for me to expect justice in 
 a body that was for the most part controlled by those most active 
 against me, and particularly where the presiding ofificer was so 
 inculpated. Yet I complied as fully as I could, not doubting for a 
 moment the result would be just what I am told it has been. 
 
 The records of the Council as reported to me show' that mem- 
 bers of the Aurora Grata Bodies were the active ones in the 
 parliamentary movements, and that later on they were assisted 
 by a delegate from the interior, who has always been identified as 
 one of their most pronounced partisans. 
 
 It was evident that a programme was prepared and carried 
 out doubtless as originally arranged for, but I had already fore- 
 seen this adverse action, and in this I am on record as far back 
 as January last. Indeed so soon as the leanings of the Deputy 
 were manifested I abandoned all hope of justice unless it emanated 
 directly from the action of the Supreme Council itself. Even there, 
 some active members from this District, without having heard a 
 word of my defence, may be, but ought not to be opposed to 
 me. 
 
 I could not expect favorable consideration at the hands of 
 the Deputy, for in this matter of mine, he has already tivice 
 brought his actions under the keen criticism of the Supreme 
 Council. 
 
 First — In September, 1889, when he made ignorance the plea 
 for incompetency, expressing the desire that the Supreme Coun- 
 cil assume the functions of his office ; (see proceedings of Supreme 
 Council, 1889, page 63). The Council then directed him to annul 
 the action of the Lodge of May 18 and June 7, 1889. 
 
 5^to«^.— Because (see pages 41-42, proceedings,of the Supreme 
 Council for 1890) he did not call a Council of Dehberation 
 for that year, thus depriving me of the constitutional privilege 
 of appeal in which some of the brethren had joined, and grant- 
 ed by Section 6 of Article lOi of the Constitution, as well as 
 directed by the so-called Code adopted by the Council of Delib- 
 eration. 
 
32 
 
 You will see this clearly, when you read the report of the 
 Committee on Jurisprudence. 
 
 While the Deputy was thus instructed, and in consequence 
 thereof showing his vexation, it would have been folly to antici- 
 pate any favor at his hands. I expected the reverse naturally, 
 and I have probably inadvertently increased the existing animus 
 by my frankness, indifferenee, and independence. 
 
 The full powers and influence of his office have frofti the 
 very first been wrongfully used to my detriment. He has appar- 
 ently believed every ex-parte statement made by his confreres 
 against me ; he has neglected to thoroughly understand or study 
 my case, actually taking it for granted that I hadn't any defence, 
 and he is even now quite unaware of the nature of it, none 
 having been given or expressed, at any time on my behalf, for 
 the reason that no opportunity has yet been offered for my pre- 
 senting it, owing to irregularities on the part of the management 
 of the Lodge and the Deputy in not aiding, but preventing a 
 trial where the issues could have been met, fairly tried, and 
 determined; 
 
 The correspondence given herein will be amply sufficient to 
 prove to you that efforts were made on the part of the 111. .-. 
 Deputy, and the management to deprive me of the privilege con- 
 ferred by the Supreme Council in 1S90. 
 
 My appeal to the Council of Deliberation may be thought 
 too strong, perhaps, but I am able to prove every statement made 
 by me therein, and I court the fullest investigation. I was desir- 
 ous that the Council should see the propriety, if not the neces- 
 sity for granting one, so that the Deputy would be enabled by 
 its aid, to furnish the Supreme Council with reliable details. My 
 defence, to the charge against me, I have, for obvious reasons, 
 withheld for such an investigation, as well as for the trial that 
 I have constantly asked for, and which cannot longer with any 
 honor to the Rite be denied to -ine. 
 
 It is now two years in April last, since the proceedings were 
 inaugurated, and there has been no honest trial of the cause, nor 
 any attempt at a trial, such as honest men whether Masons or 
 
33 
 
 not, would be willing to sanction ; but a continued effort on the 
 part of the management and their official sympathizers to techni- 
 cally evade the real question at issue. 
 
 I am, however, as determined as ever that that issue shall 
 be properly met, or that the illegal acts shall be annulled. 
 
 The action of the Council of Deliberation under ex-parte 
 influence, and by the use of parliamentary tactics, has defeated 
 the object had by the Supreme Council. It will be noticed that 
 the Supreme Council distinctly says that the matter is referred 
 to the Council of Deliberation " for such HEARING and CONSID- 
 ERATION as the laws provide." And even the action of that 
 Supreme body has been discounted, as is shown by the officious 
 statement made to the Lodge on the 5th day of June, when the 
 Commander-in-Chief of Aurora Grata Consistory read the report 
 of the action in the Council of Deliberation, and said that with- 
 out doubt the Supreme Council would approve of the action of 
 the Council of Deliberation, thus ending the matter, etc. 
 
 How could he assume to speak for the Supreme body of 
 the Rite of which he is only an ' Honorary member ? At 
 the very best he is only permitted to participate in some of its 
 proceedings to a very limited extent, and without a vote upon any- 
 thing. You must bear in mind that the Supreme Council does 
 not meet until September next. 
 
 This was another evidence of the assumption of powers 
 and prerogatives on his part, to which he is not entitled by 
 the laws of the Rite. 
 
 You will agree with me that no such approval on the part 
 of the Supreme Council is certain under the circumstances ; on 
 the contrary, it is to be expected that full and unequivocal 
 justice will be done, and all the errors remedied by the Council. 
 
 The action of the Council of Deliberation upon the appeal, 
 without its having been read to the members forming the Coun- 
 cil, or in fact submitted for intelligent action thereon, or any formal 
 knowledge of its contents, except through the committee appointed 
 by the Deputy, 111. .-. B. B. .-. Benjamin Flagler, of Suspension 
 Bridge, Charles Elliott Ide, of Syracuse, and Arthur MacArthur, 
 
 3 
 
34 
 
 of Troy, who arrived at the conclusion that part of the appeal 
 was scandalous, without saying which pai-t. I have no doubt, 
 however, that it was the part referring to the proof of the 
 charge of conspiracy against the 111. .-. Deputy, and my charge 
 against the Commander-in-Chief of Aurora Grata Consistory. 
 
 I am pleased to have a corroboration of the views of myself 
 and friends from this committee of the Deputy's selection, 
 as we have from the very first and at every stage of the pro- 
 ceedings, not excepting the final action of this committee, 
 characterized the entire proceedings against me in this District 
 as scandalous in the extreme. 
 
 But, Brethren of the Committee ; in view of the serious 
 charges made against these officers', if you were just men, why 
 not inquire a little further, and try to find what evidence could 
 be brought to substantiate the charges ? Why this haste ? Are 
 you in the habit of passing judgment in this way ? Are you 
 in the habit of conducting your business in this way? What 
 would be your opinion of a court, in which a judgment was 
 reached in this way, if you were counsel for the defendant ? 
 Would you submit? You need not give me your answer. I 
 can infer it ; and yet you passed judgment upon an ex-parte 
 statement ; perhaps something more. I fail to say it although 
 you know 1 think it, and it goes without saying. Did it occur 
 to you that the Brethren of the Rite in this District should have 
 an opportunity of learning the contents of my appeal before being 
 asked to vote thereon ? 
 
 The Code provided that " any five brethren of the body shall 
 have the right of appeal from the action of the body or the decision of 
 the Deputy." 
 
 The Code did not permit of my presenting an appeal; the appeal 
 that you passed upon was but a privilged one, extended to me by 
 the Supreme Council, and by whose direction to the Deputy it was 
 prepared. While I may be indifferent personally to the action as 
 against myself, and which I had foreseen, because of the influences 
 at work in the Council of Deliberation ; I cannot help asking. What 
 became of the appeal of the Brethren that accompanied mine? Was 
 their humble and proper appeal of no account, and was their act not 
 
35 
 
 noticeable by you for a presumption on their part to question the 
 judgment of the 111. .-. Deputy and the management of the 
 Lodge ? 
 
 Remember, you had an appeal Inom five times five and " more 
 of the Grand Elect Perfect and Sublime Masons, members of Aurora 
 Grata Lodge of Perfection," and yet they have received no consid- 
 eration whatever at your hands. 
 
 To that appeal are attached the signatures of many more than 
 the required number. It is easy to find among them intelligent men 
 whose councils in commerce, finance and trade stand among the 
 highest. In your silence you have expressed an opinion that they 
 are not entitled to any consideration, as compared with those of 
 confessed ignorance regarding the simplest laws of the Rite. 
 
 Your action may be the innocent outcome of the introduction 
 of political methods into Masonry, and of a too great reliance upon 
 representations made to you by those in whom you have to this 
 time the fullest confidence. 
 
 Neither of you, if I am correctly informed, from your learning 
 and great experience in Masonry ought to plead : 
 
 " I CONSCIOUS OF INEXPERIENCE AND DISTRUSTING WtY ABIL- 
 ITY TO MAKE A PROPER DECISION." 
 
 It is due to all the members of the Rite everywhere that a 
 MORAL explanation be given by you as to the influences that pro- 
 duced upon your minds such an extraordidary effect, without per- 
 mitting any evidence on my side, or hearing in rebuttal. 
 You have acted as judges without a reference to yourselves 
 as such. 
 
 " The action of the Con:\mitee in the Council of Deliberation 
 was not original, as will be found on referring to "DeLeon's 
 Thirty Years on Three Continents, Vol. 2, pp. 253-254." 
 
 " A merchant of Bagdad, brought up to Stamboul an appeal 
 against an adverse decision of a Cadi's court in the interior ; the 
 Grand Vizier being regarded as- the highest fountain of justice, 
 next the Sultan, who is unapproachable. The Grand Vizier, 
 recently bullied by a foreign Ambassador, and in very bad humor, 
 summarily, in two minutes' time, dismissed the appeal without 
 looking at the papers. The merchant, to his great astonishment. 
 
36 
 
 commenced kissing the hem of his robe, and invoking blessings 
 on his head. 
 
 "But," exclaimed the astonished Grand Vizier, " Why do 
 you pour benedictions on my head ? What are you grateful 
 for ? I have dismissed your appeal. You have lost your case, 
 your time, and your money. Are these things to be thankful 
 for?" 
 
 "Highness," said the merchant, "I see that the Sultan 
 (whom may Allah protect !) calls only to your high post men 
 of lofty intellect. You have seen and judged my affair in two 
 minutes' time, and have condemned me. The will of Allah be 
 done ! The reason for my thanking you is, that another Grand 
 Vizier, with his ' Bakaloum-Bakaloum ' (we shall see about it), 
 might have kept me waiting for months to get the same 
 answer." 
 
 The proceedings of May i8th, June 7th and December 21, 
 1889, are not copied herein, because in commenting thereon, I 
 should necessarily be obliged to disclose all my evidence in re- 
 buttal ; I reserve them for future use, and for incorporation in 
 another and more complete document, now in preparation for 
 publication, and which covers matters not wholly incidental or 
 applicable to the above appeal, but all of which you are entitled 
 to have, as a part of the history of this controversy. 
 
 Adverse comments have been made as to the propriety of 
 publicity. I have nothing to fear, nor need any one if really 
 honest ; I never had anything to fear from publicity ; I am 
 courageous yet, and fully able to contend for the right single- 
 handed and alone, and being so, I am compelled to adopt this 
 course, for I am unwilling to be governed in my principles by the 
 caprice, and the whims of scheming and bad men. I believe 
 that truth and right will overcome might within the Rite. 
 
 I care not how exalted the rank, or however powerful the 
 influence, these can have no alarms for me ; I seek only to bene- 
 fit the many needing the loving teachings of the masters, good 
 masters, who at least try to practice what they teach. 
 
37 
 
 I still retain the esteem of my friends, and especially of 
 those of them who know the inwardness of the matter ; friends 
 who are really fraters in the faith, and among the best in its 
 ranks. 
 
 I have never humbled nor exalted myself. I have, according 
 to my circumstances, endeavored in all things to be ready and 
 willing to support the Lodge, especially in all that is respectable, 
 right and lawful. I have never sought for a too free association 
 with uncertain members, — life is too short for this, and I have 
 no time to waste. 
 
 Masonry has been degraded here, and " Aurora Grata " 
 is becoming a by-word in the mouths of residents in the 
 neighborhood of headquarters. This you know as well as I do. 
 
 The position taken by me, and which I occupy to-day, is 
 not that which the management would fain have you believe 
 it to be. Let me reiterate. The charges against me have 
 NEVER BEEN TRIED ; the most that can be said, is that there 
 was a verdict of prejudice against me, no hearing, and I believe, 
 there was no honest intention to give me a fair trial. The 
 Committee in the Council of Deliberation seem to think that 
 the form of a trial is all that is essential ; perhaps it was this 
 object the leaders in this District had in view. I have from the 
 beginning been contending for a fair and honorable trial, from 
 which I do not shrink, and I have no occasion to shrink ; 
 otherwise there must be an annulment of the charge as a mat- 
 ter of record ; and without either of which I will never let the 
 matter rest. / will not accept anything else. 
 
 Again I will not allow the Rite to be placed in the posi- 
 tion it \youId occupy before the Masonic world, were I to 
 accept anything else ; these positions are firmly taken, -because 
 I believe any other course is repugnant to a proper interpreta. 
 tion of the " Oath of Fealty," a careful re-study of which will 
 lead you to agreeing with me. 
 
 The Council of Deliberation, at its session on June 3, 1891, 
 I am informed, abolished the Code, adopted in 1885, and under 
 Section 15 of which it is claimed I was tried on December 21, 
 
38 
 
 1 889, of the charge against me. PLEASE think of THIS FOR 
 A lIttle while. This Code under which an attempt is made 
 to sacrifice me, is too wicked to longer remain on record as a 
 law for this District. Why? 
 
 I may hereafter take occasion to say something more to 
 you upon this subject. I learn that for the benefit of the 
 ignorant and unlearned ; the management of the Lodge has 
 characterized my pamphlet of September, 1890, "to be a tissue 
 of falsehoods." The same may be said again in regard 
 to this one, but that don't make them so. I have only 
 this to say, that I stand ready to prove everything stated, and 
 every statement made by me in connection therewith, without a 
 fear of an honest contradiction,; and tha.t the only falsehoods 
 to be found are in the charge and specifications, formulated by 
 the management of the Lodge, and their subsequent efforts to 
 substantiate the same. They seem • afraid to give me the 
 chance of rebuttal or an opportunity to put in my proof of 
 innocence. 
 
 My efforts have been to make this clear to you, and if 
 you do not see it now, I am convinced that a close and 
 chronological examination, and a study of the data furnished, will 
 be all that is required to prove the determination to sacrifice me 
 for the purpose of intimidating you ! ! !, BUT BE NOT AFRAID. 
 
 Anyone at all familiar with the management of the Brooklyn 
 Bodies will at once acknowledge the fact, that the methods pursued 
 towards me are characteristic of the Commander-in-Chief of Aurora 
 Grata Consistory, and so down through the entire governing list. 
 
 A score or more of good men and true, can be found within the 
 body of the Lodge to testify that INUENDO, misrepresentation, 
 and CALUMNY, are the weapons most frequently used for the ac- 
 complishment of the results desired for improper purposes and 
 influences. ' • 
 
 How many gentlemen, well known to you and recognized as 
 representative of all that is pure in Masonry, unambitious but 
 true to the. Rite, have appeared upon the fitful stage, and 
 because they were true to it and honor, have for " peace sake " 
 quietly dropped out of the arena. 
 
39 
 
 Why did I not pursue the same course? Simply because 
 naturally I could not, nor would I submit to what I considered 
 an evasion of a mutual obligation, entered into by all of us with 
 the understanding that a principle was involved, and that the 
 .teachings exemplified by the various degrees of the Rite meant 
 at least something. I was persistent and determined that the 
 Constitutions and Regulations of the Rite should be observed 
 and respected by all, or a satisfactory reason given to the 
 Supreme Council for a non-observance. I could not, and will 
 not stifle my conscience, by a hope of reward, or a fear of any 
 manner of punishment. 
 
 I will admit that I had no policy, in its ordinary sense. I 
 saw no occasion for it within the body of the Ancient Accepted 
 Scottish Rite. The Constitutions and Regulations ought to be 
 good enough, and as effective in the present for securing and 
 maintaining the right, as they were for the fathers before us. 
 
 I was always contented and happy to work for the Rite, in 
 season and out of season to the extent of my ability, as you know, 
 and the records of the Bodies will show, that I did so faithfully 
 and earnestly, and I am within the law in still striving to secure 
 " Order out of Chaos," and a constitutional trial in order to pre- 
 sent my defence to the charge unlawfully made against me. 
 
 The refusal to grant me a trial before COMMISSIONERS OF 
 Trial, as urged, begged, petitioned and prayed for from the first, can- 
 not but be deemed suspicious to any one with ordinary conscientious- 
 ness, especially in view of the fact that the Lodge could well afford, 
 if right, to accede to any one of my askings without any compromise 
 of its dignity ; but no, it is not the Rite nor any of its teachings, 
 but a personal animus of a clique, of no Masonic standing, deter- 
 mined while in control to both rule and ruin. 
 
 It is now nearly TWO MONTHS since the Council of DeHbera- 
 tion adjourned ; all this time I have been obliged to rely entirely 
 upon rumors, and the reports of my friends who were at the Coun- 
 cil, as to the action taken upon the appeals. 
 
 It naturally suggests itself, that common courtesy at least 
 would dictate some observance of propriety. I have learned, how- 
 
40 
 
 ever, to be patient and not to expect too much, relying upon HOPE 
 alone for improvement. 
 
 The Council of Deliberation has failed in due respect for itself, 
 inasmuch as no official advice of the things done in this matter has 
 so far been given ; only another evidence of carelessness of duty. ' 
 
 The methods pursued in this controversy by the management, 
 as you see and will admit, are really unmasonic ; these methods 
 if permitted to go unchallenged by the Rite, would be established 
 and perhaps acted upon as a precedent elsewhere. 
 
 These methods menace every member of the 
 Rite in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, imperil- 
 ing the influence of the Supreme Council, its Con- 
 stitutions and Regulations, as well as the principles 
 of Freemasonry itself. 
 
 Your Frater, 
 
 JAS. STUART GILLEN, 320. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., July 25, 1891. 
 
, GA¥lJ^MOUNT 
 
 ' PAMPHL-ETSINDER 
 
 /^ 
 
 ■ "Manufocltired by 
 
 GAYLORD BROS, tnc 
 
 Syracuse, J>J. Y. 
 
 .Stockton, Calif . 
 
 u«—.. —•??"!?" Un'vw'lty Library 
 HS778.B87 A92 1891 
 
 „ 3 1924 030 321 883 
 olln.anx 
 
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