fury, he was again clected Grand Master, and assumed the direction of the affairs of the Craft, then in a depressed and embarrassing condition; but which, through an indomitable firmness that nothing could shake, and an energy which nothing could tire, he restored to a degree of order and placed on a footing, the good effects of which were soon manifest in the revival and renewed prosperity of the Lodges throughout the jurisdiction. The Masonic Fraternity of Massachusetts owe him a large debt of gratitude. He was an able, true and faithful Brother,-a wise counsellor, and a safe leader." Such is the testimony of one who stood shoulder to shoulder with him in those trying times. We do well to cherish, by every means in our power, the memory of Brethren who rendered such important services to the Fraternity. To this formal communication of the thanks of the Grand Lodge, permit me to add the expression of my own grateful acknowledgments for your valuable contribution to our gallery of Masonic Worthies. Very truly and fraternally yours, SERENO D. NICKERSON, Grand Master. GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO THE MASTERS OF PENTUCKET, ANCIENT YORK, KILWINNING AND WILLIAM NORTH LODGES. WORSHIPFUL BRETHREN :-It is my pleasant duty to inform you of the acceptance of the portrait of R. W. William Sewall Gardner, Past Grand Master, and to communicate to you, and the Lodges you represent, the thanks of the M. W. Grand Lodge for this appropriate memorial of a Brother, whose labors in behalf of the Fraternity have been so recently bestowed as to be familiar to all his Brethren, and whose works in that regard are known and read of all men. The services thus rendered entitle him to an honorable place by the side of the excellent and illustrious men who have adorned the office of Grand Master. Be assured, Brethren, that we most heartily concur in your estimate of the character and labors of him whom you so justly praise and prize. The Grand Lodge will carefully preserve this expressive reminder of his usefulness and your affection. With the assurance of my own warmest gratitude and most affectionate interest in each of your Lodges, Believe me to be, dear Brethren, Very truly and fraternally yours, SERENO D. NICKERSON, Grand Master. The petition of C. G. Carr, for restoration to the rights and privileges of Freemasonry, was submitted to the Grand Lodge, and referred to R. W. Bros. Percival L. Everett and George E. Stacy, and W. Bro. William J. Stevens. The Committee on Trials presented their REPORT ON THE PROCEEDINGS OF BAY STATE LODGE IN THE TRIAL OF ADDINGTON D. WELCH. IN GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS, The Committee on Trials, to whom were referred the proceedings of Bay State Lodge, Montague, in the trial of Bro. A. D. Welch, having examined the record transmitted to the Grand Lodge in said case, respectfully report: namely, fraud That two charges against the respondent, and unmasonic conduct, each charge being accompanied with three specifications,-were filed, and a Special Communication of the Lodge for the trial of these charges was held on May 18th, 1874. There is nothing in the record to show whether the respondent was duly notified of the pending of the charges, but this may be considered as immaterial, because he was present at the trial, both personally and by counsel. To the first charge, the respondent pleaded, "Not Guilty," and inasmuch as upon this, he was acquitted by the Lodge, it need be no further con sidered. Upon the second charge, to wit, that of unmasonic conduct, under which were specifications of drunkenness, vehement mendacity, and abuse of family, the plea of the respondent was "Guilty," except as to the specification relating to abuse of his family. Upon this plea of "Guilty," the Lodge sentenced him to suspension from Masonry for the term of six months. The record in this case is by no means properly made, being deficient in many of the particulars necessary to constitute an accurate statement of a Masonic trial, yet inasmuch as substantial justice appears to have been done, your committee respectfully recommend that the proceedings of Bay State Lodge in this trial be confirmed. TRACY P. CHeever, Committee. The report was accepted and the recommendation adopted, confirming the action of Bay State Lodge, by which Bro. Addington D. Welch is suspended from all the rights and privileges of Freemasonry for the term of six months. On motion of R. W. John McClellan, Grand Treasurer, it was voted that five hundred dollars ($500) be appropriated to purposes of charity, to be disbursed under the direction and supervision of the Committee on Charity. The Committee on Trials submitted their REPORT ON THE COMPLETED PROCEEDINGS OF SAINT JOHN'S LODGE, BOSTON, IN THE TRIAL OF SOLON THORNTON. IN GRAND LODGE OF MASSACHUSETTS, The Committee on Trials, to whom was referred the record of proceedings of St. John's Lodge, Boston, in the trial of Bro. Solon Thornton, have attended to the duty assigned them and respectfully report: That the completed record of the proceedings of St. John's Lodge in this painful case having been presented, the whole case comes rightfully before the Grand Lodge for its final action. At the last Quarterly Communication, the record of proceedings of the trial held on March 27th, 1874, was presented, but the trial was not at that time completed, for the reason that the presiding officer ruled that a two-thirds vote of the members of the Lodge present, was necessary for the conviction of the respondent upon the charges filed. Under this ruling, a vote of the Lodge was taken upon the several charges, the result of which was, that only a majority of the members voted Guilty upon each charge, so that in the judg ment of the presiding officer, there was no conviction upon either of the charges. Therefore, further proceedings in the trial were stayed, and upon an appeal from the ruling of the Chair in respect to the number of members necessary for conviction, the record of the Lodge, presenting this single question, came up to the Grand Lodge. The ruling of the Chair was set aside as erroneous, and the case was then remanded to St. John's Lodge, for the purpose of completing the trial by the imposition of such sentence as that Lodge should see fit to render, after which the full record of the case was to be transmitted. The Grand Lodge having therefore decided upon the inspection of the prior record, that the respondent stood legally convicted upon the several charges, so far as the mere question of the number necessary to convict is concerned, the question now for consideration is, what judgment shall be rendered upon the entire record of the case? The charges against the respondent were as follows: First, "That the said Solon Thornton has committed acts and been guilty of conduct unbecoming a Mason, and in violation of his obligation as a Mason. "In that he has, with intent to wrong and defraud a Body of Masons, to wit, the Grand Council of Massachusetts, fraudulently received a large sum of money belonging to said Grand Council, to wit, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars. "And further, that the said Solon Thornton, with the intent to wrong and defraud said Grand Council, hath fraudulently concealed a large sum of money belonging to said Grand Council, to wit, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, and doth now conceal said sum. "And further, that the said Solon Thornton, with the intent to wrong and defraud said Grand Council, fraudulently used and appropriated to his own use a large sum of money belonging to said Grand Council, to wit, the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars, and though often requested, has refused to pay over the said sum to said Grand Council, and still refuses to make restitution thereof." Second, "That the said Solon Thornton has committed and been guilty of other acts unbecoming a Mason, and in violation of his obligation as a Mason. "In that the said Solon Thornton, with intent to wrong, injure and deceive the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of New Hampshire, wilfully made false and fraudulent representations as to the action of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in regard to an application made by one Seth Winslow. "And further, that the said Solon Thornton, with the like intent and with the intent to wrong and injure the M. W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, falsely represented himself to be an Officer of the M. W. Grand Lodge of Massachusetts; which said representation was made to Right Worshipful Brother Bell, then an Officer of the M. W. Grand Lodge of New Hampshire." Third, "That the said Solon Thornton has committed and been guilty of other acts unbecoming a Mason, and in violation of his obligation as a Mason. "In that the said Solon Thornton, having been duly elected and installed Secretary of St. John's Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, and while acting in that capacity, with the intent to wrong, injure and defraud said Lodge, kept false and fraudulent accounts of the moneys received by him as Secretary aforesaid, and especially of the moneys paid to him by Brothers |