of early days, this commission was styled a Deputation, and this word conveys the true idea of the Provincials' position. It was a Deputy Grand Lodge, with its various Deputy Grand Officers, convened by the power and authority of the Provincial Grand Master as the Deputy of the Grand Master. It possessed no sovereign power. The Lodges under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand Master were not necessarily registered in his Grand Lodge. They were returned to England, registered in the Grand Lodge there, and classified as we do our Lodges at the present day, as belonging to a certain District or Province. The Provincial Grand Master had power to appoint a Deputy and commission him, who in the absence, sickness, and disability of his chief, assumed his functions. The Grand Wardens and other officers he also had the exclusive right to appoint, although sometimes he nominated brethren to these offices and permitted the Grand Lodge to elect them. Each Lodge in the Province had the right of representation in the Provincial Grand Lodge, by its Master and Wardens or by a regularly appointed representative, and the expenses of the Grand Body were assessed upon the various subordinates. The right of appeal existed from every act and decision of the Provincial Grand Master or Grand Lodge, to the Grand Master of England, thus making the Provincial and his Grand Lodge subordinate to the power by which they were created. The allegiance of the Lodges and of the Craft was to the Grand Lodge of England, and to the Provincial Grand Lodge and Grand Master, through the parent Body. There was no direct allegiance to the Provincial from the Craft. It was a temporary power which he held ex gratia, and of which he could be deprived at the pleasure of the Grand Master by whom he was appointed. Thus it will be seen that the Provincial Grand Master was appointed for the convenience of the administration of the affairs of the Grand Lodge of England in distant parts, in the same manner that our District Deputies are appointed at the present time. The powers, however, in the one case, were more extended than they are in the other. The means of communication with London were not so easy and rapid as now, and the distance from the Grand East required that some officer should be stationed here, who should be invested with authority for sudden emergencies and instant action. The Provincial Grand Master having been regularly commis sioned and installed, could not resign his trust to his Provincial Grand Lodge. That Body had no power to accept it. His resignation must be made to the Grand Master from whom he received his commission. The Provincial Grand Lodge was the creation of the Provincial Grand Master, and was wholly under his direction and control. He appointed its officers, and summoned the representatives of the Lodges to assemble in Grand Lodge. In this Grand Lodge there was no inherent power, save what it derived from the Provincial Grand Master, by virtue of his delegated authority, thus making it the very reverse of a Sovereign Grand Lodge, the Grand Master of which derives his authority from the Sovereign Body by whose votes he is elected to office, and over which he presides. The Grand Master appointing his Provincial, could annul the commission at his will and pleasure. The officer being created by the pleasure of the Grand Master of England, all the adjuncts, appointees, and creations of the office depended upon the same pleasure, and existed during the will of the appointing power. If a Provincial Grand Master was removed, and his commission recalled, and the Grand Master declined to appoint his successor, it is clear that the Provincial Grand Lodge established by virtue of such commission would cease to exist. Such a Grand Lodge never possessed any vitality which would survive the life of the commission appointing the Provincial Grand Master. The death of the Provincial would also lead to the same result. The commission to him from the Grand Master would lose all its force upon his decease. his decease. Whatever act the Provincial performed, he did by virtue of the commission to him. His Deputy Grand Master and Grand Wardens, appointed by him, and not by the Grand Master of England, nor by his confirmation, derived their power and character as Grand Officers from the Provincial, and when the Provincial expired, their tenure of office expired also. To show that these conclusions are correct, I will refer to the authorities. The office of Provincial Grand Master was established by the Grand Lodge of England, as has already been stated, in 1726, and the first Deputation was granted May 10, 1727. Preston says of the office, at this date: "A Provincial Grand Master in that district |