PR E F A C E

W

E AST I NDIA UN ITED SERVICE CLUB ,

ST . J AME S’S SQUARE , S.W.

I HAVE been asked to write a Short preface to this

H istory of L odge R ising Star of Western India, and I do

so with great pleasure and a certain degree of confidence

because I was privi leged to be present in L odge on every

occasion , save one , when that history, compi led with

so much labour and devotion by R ightWorshipful Brother

D. F . Wadia,was read. L odge R ising Star, is , i f my

memory serves me right, the third oldest L odge under

the Scottish Constitution in India, but its claim to venera

tion rests upon higher ground than mere antiquity to

her belongs the great honour in the West of India, of

first enrolling Indian brethren in the Antient Craft, and

the outcome of that action as set forth in this history

the true mason ic spirit displayed over long years by

many of her Worthy sons— is in very truth more than

justification of her initiation . Were i t not invidious, I

could mention many names on her rolls— some here , some

gone—e whose work for the Craft is not only a measure of

their own merit b'

ut re'

doun‘

ds to thecredit of theirmother

L odge . F eeling as I do ! that Freemasonry in India has

a great future before it , and a great work to accomplish,especially in the inculcation of tolerance and the removal

of racial and relig ious prejudice , I can heartily commend

PR E F A C E

E AST I NDIA UN ITED SERVICE CLUB ,

ST . J AMES’S SQUARE , S.W.

I HAVE been asked to write a Short preface to this

H istory of L odge R ising Star of.Western India, and I do

so with great pleasure and a ce1 tain degree of confidence

because I was privi leged to be present in L odge on every

occasion , save one , when that history, compiled with

so much labour and devotion by R ightWorshipful Brother

D . F . Wadia, was read. L odge R ising Star, is , if my

memory serves me right, the third oldest L odge under

the Scottish Constitution in India, but its c laim to venera

tion rests upon higher ground than mere antiquity to

her belongs the great honour in the West of India, of

first enrolling Indian brethren in the Antient Craft, and

the outcome of that action as set forth in this history—a

the true mason ic spirit displayed over long years by

many of her Worthy sons— is in very truth more than

justification of her initiation . Were it not invidious, I

could mention many names on her rolls— some here , some

gone—d whosew ork for the Craft is not on ly a measure of

their own merit but re’doun

‘

ds to thecred it of theirmother

L odge . F eeling as I do ! that Freemasonry in India has

a great future before it, and a great work to accomplish,especially in the inculcation of tolerance and the removal

of racial and religious prejud ice , I can heartily commend

a careful perusal of this history to earnest brethren , who

seek to Spread the teachings of the Antient Craft. It is

a record of vicissitude and prosperity , of calm and stom ,

mayhap even of good and evi l , but through it all runs a

golden thread of honest endeavour, whose reward is the

high estimation in which the L odge is now held, and the

honoured place i t now‘

o’

ccupies on the rolls of the Grand

L odge of Scotland.

LONDON ,

May 13 th,

R . H . FORMAN ,

Grand Master of All Scot tish

Freemasonry in I ndia .

CONTE NTS.

CHAPTE R I .

1841 43. Movement f or fo undation of the L odge . Petit ion

to Provin c ia l Grand Master of West ern

I ndia— Agitation f or admission of I ndian

Gen tlemen in F reemas onary— I n it iative o f

Brother Maneckji Cur’setji—Reply of

Provincial Grand

CHAPTE R I I .

1843— 44. E stablishment of the L odge— First meeting in

the Town Hall—Warran t— First'

Bye-laws .

Form of declara tion to be sign ed by init iates .

Mr. Ardeshir Cu rsetji Wadia , the FirstI ndian gentleman (a Parsee ) and three

Mogu l Merchant s init iat ed—First ann iver

sary meet ing— Founder’s meda

’l , also called

Burne ’s or F undator’s medal in st ituted and

resolution s regarding same— Chart er f rom

Gran d L odge of Scot land—First two H on o

rary members of the L odge—Account of

in cept ion of the L odge by Dr Oliver in

Fre emason’

s Quarterly Review of 1844

Accoun t of amasonic ban quet in the BombayCourrier Frater’s let ter in the Freemason ’

s Quarterly Review 1844— meet ings

in “ L odge H ouse behind the Police OfiiceMazagon

CHAPTE R I II .Resolution about extramembership of members

of L odge Perseverance— Resolution of L odge

Perseverance reciprocat ing similar privilege .

— E lec t ion of Dr. Burnes as Honorary Master

of the L odge—Brotherhood of “The OliveBranch in the E ast .

”

CHAPTE R I V .

Brother L egeyt appointed master of the

L odge— R esolution of Grand L odge regarding

1— 10

11 42

43— 54

fees payable by the L odge and Royal ArchChap ter t o L odge Perseveran c e f or u se of

L odge Premise s eta — Founder‘

s medal re

ce ived f rom L ondon — Re solu tion s pre scribinghow and when it should b e worn by the

members of the L odge , and f or everyin it iat e being investe d therewith at the

t ime of in it iat ion l. 55— 60

CH APTER v.

1847— 49 . Resolut ions about reconstruc t ion of the L odge .

—L o.dge meet ings he ld in L odge Rooms N o. 5

Gran ts Buildings , Colaba— I n itiat ion of

B hugwandas B een eeram . a Jain— the firstH indu member of the L odge

— E lec tion of D r.

Burnes as H on orary Master of the L odge

f or lif e— The last meeting of the L odge

attended by him— L et t er to Secretary of

Nilgiri L odge , Ootacumand . . i 61— 68

CHAPTE R V I .

1850— 5 1 . Rep ort of Commit tee app oin t ed for examin ingaccounts f rom 1844 t o 1850— I n crease of

L odge f ees— D ifference s between the L oldge

and L odge Perseverance regardin g u se of

L odge p remises and dues payable t o L odgePerseverance— Corresponden c,e between the

two L odges thereon 69— 76

CHAPTE R V I I .

Set t Iement of differen c es w ith L odge Perseveranc e— Finan cial c ondit ion of the L odge

and inve st igat ion by a commit te e— Reportof commit t ee thereon an d on dispu te s w ithL odge Perseverance— Abrogat ion by L odgePerseveran ce

‘

of Resolut ion regarding extramembership acc orded t o members of the

L odge— Revision of B ye

-law s— app oin tmen t

o f 3 . F inance Commit tee— I n ciden t relat ing

t o Address pres en ted by L odge Perseveranceto Brother B lowers-7 Apology of Bro therA shburn er— Address p resen ted t o BrotherB lowe rs by L odge L ’An glaise St . JohnN o . 204. Bordeaux , France through Viscoun tde B 1 ons Cézérac

“ Grant s Bu ildingsColaba. hired f or meetings of Masonic bodies 77—8 7

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

PAGESstarted for the Grand L odge T emplle in

Scot land— Proposa l for bu illding a masonict emple in Bombay— Off er of a piece o f

ground by Brother Maneckji'

Cu rsetjil uponc erta in condit ion s whicH were n ot accept

able t o a commit t ee appoin t ed by the GrandL

'

o'

dge t o c on sider same— Bequest by a

Brother D . Set on t o the Old L o‘dge Per

severance f or the purpose of building !atemple at Bombay— Brother ManeckjiCurset J l elect e

‘

d Master f or the third t ime

I mprovin g finan cial condit ion of the L odgeR esolut ion s passed for holding meet ings at

Brother Maneckji Cu rsetji’s residen ce— R e

solut ions pas'

sed for p resen t ing BrotherMan eckji Cu rsetji with an address and a

Past Master’s j ewe landapron and for aper

trait of his being p laced in the L odge Rooms . 119— 126

CHAPTE R XIII .

1860— 62 . Address to Brother Cartwright and presenta

tion of F ounlder’s medal to him and c ont ri

but ion towards p late present ed t o himon

his retiremen t f rom his office of ProvincialGrand Mast er— Death of Brother L egeytResolution t o drink always t o his memory(at the fest ive-board— L odge f ees re

‘

ducedThe Ereemason

’s Quart erly,Maga zine subs

cribed— D onat ion to the Nat ional: Wallla ce

monument— Regime of Brother K . R . Gama

( 1862)— Revisionof Bye-laws and st rict em

f orcement o f all rules— Resolution passed f orprint ing Bye

-laws and compiling a sketch of

the hist ory of the L odgch F ine imposed on

members absen ting themselves f rommeet ings

withou t excuse -Address presen ted t o BrotherManeckji Cu rsetji— Complete set of D r.

Oliver’s Ma son icB ooks ordered ou t— Fund ofR s . subscribed f or bu ildmg a Mason ic

Ha ll for the L odge— Plan and est imate sub

mitted by L o'

dge Perseverance— L arge FolioVolume of Zend Aves ta by Prof essorWest er

giat‘

d p resent ed by Brother K . R . Cama to

the L edge— Death of D r. Bu rn es— Resolution

for coupling his name with that of BrotherL e Geyt always at the F estive Board 127— 140

AGE

CHAPTE R XI V .

0

Brother M. C . Marzban in itiated— Bro therManeckji Cursettji elect ed Honorary:Memberof L odge Truth-Rej ec tion of Brothers Ju dgeandWickhman a s H onorary Members of

the L odge— Corresponden ce thereon betweenBrot her Judge an d the L odge and between

Brother Judge an d Brother Man eckjiCu rsetji— Emergent meet ing held f or con

doling with Brother Man eckji Cu rsetji on

the death of his son Mr. H inaj i— Visit of

Brother C . J . Tarachamd to L odge L’Anglaise

N o . 204‘ of B ordea ux and presentat ion bythat L odge to himof a medal and a list of

its members— Scheme f or a common Mason ic

QHa lil f or the

,

u se of E nglish . Scotch or I rish

masons— The Ganj-nameh present ed byBrother M. C . I jangr

'

ana' to the L odge 141— 146

CHAPTE R XV.

1864~-65 . Brother A . F . Moos present ed with Burne’smeih l for tran slating Bye laws and gett ingthem printed Mason ic Manual! and “The

Scott ish Freemason’s Magazin e

”— R esolut ion of regret at the death of the Duke of

Athole , Grand Ma ster"

Mason of Scot land

T he F ramji Cawasji Ma sonic Ha ll— The

T he I ndian Journa l of Freemasonry— TheFreemason ’

s Magazine and Ma son ic

Mirror— Proposed init iat ion of DasturH oshangji Jamasji— H igh priest of the D ec

can— Past Mast ers of the L odge e lected byL odge Concord of I n struction a s it s Hon o

rary members— Resolut ion grant ing pre

villege of extra membership t o members ofother lodges resc inded— Offices of j ewe ller,

Architec t- Bearer of the Sacred Volume and

Organ ist instit uted— Prospectus issued in

c onnection with the scheme f or the F ramji

Cawasji Masonic Ha ll— Presen tat ion by B r’

o

ther C N . Gama of c lothing and jewels of

the Provinc ial Grand L odge Otfice—bearersPresen tat ion by Brother C . N . Cama of

c lothing of office-bearers of the L odge w ith

a set of jewels in silver—'

Th'

e L odge proceed

ings printed in. theMasonic Record 147— 152

start ed f or the Gran’

d L ofdge Temple in

Scot land—Pmposa l f or bu illding‘

a' masonic

t emp le in Bombay— Off er of a piece o f

ground by Brother Maneckji Cursetji uponc erta in conditions wh-icli were n ot a cc ept

able t o a commit t ee app oin t ed by the Gram !L odge t o c on sider same— Bequest by a

Brother D . Set on to the Old L ofdge Per

severance for the purpose of building latemple at. Bombay— Brother Maneckji

Cursetji elect efd aster f or the third t ime

I mprovin g financial c ondit ion of the L odgeR esolut ions pa ssed for holding meet ings at

Brother Maneckji Cu rsetji’s residen ce— R e

solut ions pa ssed for p resen t ing BrotherManeckji Cursetji w ith an address and a

Past Master’s j ewe landapron and for aper

trait of his being p laced in the L odge Rooms. 119— 126

CHAPTE R XIII

1860— 62 . Address to Brother Cartwright and presenta

tion of Founder’s medal t o him and c ont ri

but ion towards p lat e p resented t o him on

his retirement from his office of ProvincialGrand Mast er— Death of Brother L egeytResolution t o drink always t o his memoryat the f est ive-board— L odge f ees reducedThe Freemason

’s Quart erlyMagazine subs

cribed— Donat ion to the Nat ional Walla ce

monumen t— Regime of Brother K . R . Cama

(1862)— Revisionof Bye laws an‘

d st irict en

f orcement of a ll rules— Resol ut ion passed f or

print ing Bye-laws and compiling a sketch of

the hist ory of the L odge— Fin e imposed on

members absenting themselves f rommeet ings

without excuse -Address presen ted to BrotherManeckji Cu rse tji— Comple te set of D r

Oliver’s Ma sonic Books ordered out— Fund ofR s . subscribed f or building a Mason ic

Ha ll f or the L odge— Plan and est ima te sub

mitted by L o'

dge Perseverance— L arge Folio

Volume of Zend Aves ta by Prof essorWest er

gard present ed by Brother K . R . Cama to

the L odge— Death of D r. Burnes— Resolutionf or coupling his name with that of BrotherL e Geyt aflways at the F estive Board 127— 140

AGE

CHAPTE R XI V .

Brother M. C . Marzban in it iated— BrotherManeckji Cursetji elect ed Hon orary;Memberof L odge Truth-Rej ect ion of Brothers Ju dgean dWickhman a s H on orary Members of

the L odge— Corresponden ce thereon betweenBrot her Judge and the L odge and between

Brother Judge an d Brother Maneckji

Cu rsetji— Emergen t mee ting held f or c on

doling with Brother Maneckji Cu rsetji on

the death of his son Mr. H inaj i— Visit of

Brother C . J . Tarachand t o L odge L’Anglaise

N o . 204‘ of B ordeaux and presentat ion bythat L odge t o him of a. medal and a list of

its members— Scheme f or a common Masonic

Ha ll f or the u se of E nglish , Scotch or I rish

mason s— The Ganj-nameh present ed by

Brother M. C . I a ngrana to the L odge 141— 146

CHAPTE R XV.

1864 —65 . Brother A . F . Moo s present ed w ith Burne’smedal for t ran slat ing Bye laws and gett ingthem printed—

WMason ic Manua l) and “The

Scott ish Freemason’s M'

agazin e” -

‘

R e sol‘u

t ion of regret at .the death-of .the Duke of

At hole , Grand Maste r"

Mason of Scot land

T he F ramji Cawasji Ma son ic Ha ll— The

The I ndian Journa l of Freemasonry— TheFreemason ’

s Magazine and Mason ic

Mirror —Proposed in it iat ion of DasturH oshangji J amaSJ 1

— H 1gh priest of the D ec

can— Past Mast ers of the L odge e lected byL odge Concord of I n st ruction as it s H on e

rary members— Resolut ion grant ing pre

Vilege of extra membership t o members ofother lodges rescinded— Offices of j ew eller,

Architec t—Bearer of the Sacred Volume and

Organ ist instit uted— Prosp ectus issued in

connec tion w ith the scheme f or the F ramji

Cawasji Mason ic Ha ll— Presen tat ion by B rother C N . Cama of c lothing and jewels of

the Provinc ial Grand L odge Othee—bearersPresen 'tat ion by Brother C . N . Cama of

c lothing of office-bearers of the L odge w ith

a set of jewels in silver— The.

L odge proceedings printed in

'

theMason ic Record 147— 152

CHAPTE R XV I

1866— 67 . Brother Darasha R . Chichgur in it iated

Brother C . N . Cama appointed DeputeMast er and voted Burne’s med i l— Obj ect ionof the L odge t o L odge St . Andrews in the

E ast N o . 343 S . C . admit t ing residen ts of

Bombay— Rep resentat ion to the GrandL odge bn the Subject;Presen‘tat ion byBrother Man eckji Cu rse tji of a Scotch’ Mace

w ith silver mount ings f or u se of the GrandL odge— Silmer Vase p resented by the L odget o Brother C . N . Gama— Presen tat ion of an

address and a gold j ewel or p lat e voted toBrother R . B Barton— Mason ic L ibraryp roj ecte d and con tribut ion by the L odge

t owards its establishment— Dra ft T rust Deedand appoin tment of t rust ees of the land for

The F ramj i Cawasji Mason ic H all— Resolut ion of condolen ce on the death of BrotherDr. Oliver— E nquiry in to the c onduct of

Brother F ramji B omonji 153— 158

CHAPTE R XVI I . .

1868 . Mast ership of Brother M. C .‘Mu rzban

Brother Morland presen ted w ith Founder’smedal— Trial of Brot her F ramji B omonji

for a Mason ic offence and his expu lsionC '

ont ribution by Brother Meidinger to the

charity funds o f the L odge— Presentat ion of

gold plat e toT

B rother Barton in YarboroughL odge , Bright on ,

by Brother Dadabhai

Na orOJ i on beha lf of t he L odg%An a ccoun tof the proceedin g s in the Brighton Gazett eeof 24th September 1 868— Brother Murzban

re-elected Master 15 9— 169

CHAPTE R XVI I I ;

1 869 .P . M. Mehta initiat ed— Presen tat ion of

Past Master’s j ewels t o 5 Pa st Mast ers

Govermen t L oan Note of 4 p er cen t . of the

n omina l valu e of R s . 500 p resen t ed t o the

L odge by brother M. M, Sethna The Mer

chan t of Ven ice and a Farce Our N ew

Man p erf ormed by the Parsi E lphin s tone

Dramat ic Club at the Gran t Road Thea treunder the patronage of the R . W. M. Officers

AGESand Brethren of the L odge on 1 3th February1869 and a ttendance of Mason s in Ma son iccp stume— Burne’s gold meMF vot ed t o

B rotherC . N . Gama— L ec tures and I nst ruc

t ion meet ings— Three large tracing boa rds

handsomely illumina ted presen tedby BrotherPestonji H ormasji

: Cama to the L odge 171— 176

CHAPTE R XI X .

1870— 71 . Distribution of charity in distan t lands and

f oreign count ries— Presen ta t ion to BrotherMu rzban of Pa st Ma ster

’s jew el, Founder’s

medal and silver cup and his portrait hungin the Masonic Ha ll— Brother Morland the

Provincial Grand Ma ster p resented by a

Sp ecial Deputat ion from L odge Fe lixN o. 355

S . C . of Aden w ith a V elfilum Roll contain -o

ing his appointment as H onorary! Memberthere of— Meetings

‘in Ma son ic Ham at

Mazgaon in 1870— Trust Deed of the L anfl

endowed by Brother N. N. F ramji f or the

F namji Cawa sji Ma son ic H all executed infavour of Brothers K . R . Cama and M. C .

Murzban as trust ees for the L odge— Meetin gs

in Bungl‘ow at Gowa ilia Tank Road— Testi

monial to the E arl of Dalhousie , Past GrandMaster Mason of Soctland— Gold jewel consist

of akey with a suitable inscription and ap

ron with sash presented to Brother C N . Cama

and Founder’s medal to Brother D . R .

Chichgur— Reports of committe of represent

a tlves of the Scottish Masonic bodies anent

Masonic Hall and contribution by the L odge

towards the scheme propounded thereunder 177— 182

CHAPTE R XX .

1872— 73. Regime of Brother D. R . Chichg ur— L ec tures on

masonic subjectsf -R e-institution of a dinner

fee— Charity funds transferred to names of

f our trustees — Brother K . R . Cama presen ted

With Past Master’s c lothing and jewe l withfull mason ic honours— Address of condolence

t o L ady Mayo— Provincial Grand Master'

s

scheme for the f ormation of a general benevolent fund and building a Masonic Hall— First

9

PAGESvisit of a H indu Mason to the L odge— L etter

to L odge Cyrus about admission of Hindus intothe craf t— Brother P . M. Mehta Master during

1873— Brother D . R . Chichgur pres ented with

Past Master’s j ewel and t ime-piece by the

L odge and a valuable mason ic work by theRight Worshipful Master— Rec eption of B ro

ther Maneckji Cursetji as H on orary DeputeProvincial Grand Master with the GrandL odge

— Dinner fee abolished— Funeral L odgesheld for the first time since the establishment of

the L odge in memory of a member andan ex

member, who was a Past Master— Donation of

Rs . 500 made by Mr . Ardeshir Merwanji Settin memory of his father M. M. Set t .1 183— 1 90

CHAPTE R XXI

1874— 75 . Funeral lodges held in memory of a member findan ex-member— I nstalled Master

’s degree con

ferred— The J amsh’

edi Navroz Mason ic

Festival— Presentat ion of an address by;theGrand L odge A . S . F . I . and the DistrictGrand L odge and Masters Wardens and

Brethren of all E nglish and Scotch L odges in

Bombay on 11th November 1875 to H is RoyalH ighness The Prince of Wales as the Grand

Master of the United Fraternity of AncientFree and Accep ted masons of E ngland and

Patron of Scotch Freemason ry— The Burne’smedal presen tedby the L odge to H is RoyalHigh.

ness on the 11th November 1875 at the handsthe Grand Master, A . S . F . I on the occasion

of the laying of the Foundat ion Stone of the

Prince’s Dock by H is Royal H ighness accord

ing to masonic rites and ceremon ies— Presen tation of an address by the L odge to BrotherMorland on the assump tion of t itle of Grand

Master. A . S . F . I .— L odge Banner 191- 197

CHAPTE R XX I I,

1876 . Resignation of Brother Maneckj i Cursetj i andhis election as an Honorarymember— Conductof Brother Bamonji Cursetji Ashbu rner in

pub lishing a boolgon Freemasonry containinginsuniations against its princip les . etc

PAGESand reprin ted

— L ecture by Brother D . R .

Chichgur on“ Chemical facts illustrating

principles of Freemasonry ” —Grand L odge

scheme to f orm a j oin t stock company forthe constru ct ion of a Masonic H all, to be

called“ The F ramji Cawasji Mason ic H all

CH APTE R XXV .

1882— 83 Celebration of J amshedi N avroz FestivalE urop ean Bro thern j oin ing in it— Movemen t

and resolution of Grand L odge about placingBrother Man eckji Cursetji

’s p nrt rait i

‘

n the

Freemason ’s H all and committ ee appoin ted t o

carry out the obj ect— Scheme of BrotherK . R . Gama for life membership o f the

L odge— I nquiry into the c onduct of BrotherM. C . L angarana for unmason ic conduct— R e

solution of the L odge to sell the land conveyedt o its trustees— Mason ic H all project broughtt o a head— Scheme t o buy a bungalow at

Clare Road, Byculla , by f orming a j oint stockcompany to be called The F ramji Cawasji

Freemason ’s H all Assoc iation L d.

”another

project to build a Freemason’s H all on the

E splanade R 0 ad —a third projec t to build a

Hall on a p lot near the Young Men’s Christian

Association— Contribut ion by the L odge o f

the Nawroji N anabhai Trust Funds on certainc ondit ions— Sale of the land c onveyed t o theTrustees— Brother C . S . Patel Tyler of the

L odge f or 40 years present ed with a gold

wa tch— Donat ion t o the fund f or p resen t inga p ortrait of B rother Balfour on his retire

ment f rom office o f Grand Master— Burn e’smedal p resent ed and H onorary membershipcon f erred on H is Royal H ighness the Dukeof Con naugh t , K . G Pas t Grand Warden o f

the United Grand L odge of ancient , f ree and

accepted mason s of E ngland

CHAPTE R XXV I .

1884 . Mast ership of B rother R M. Chichgu r— Ce le

bration of the Jamshedi Navre z Fes t ivalDona tion of R s 500 by Brother N aorOJ i

F ardoonji— H is Royal H ighn ess the Prince

1886

PAGESof Wa les

’

p lumes in carved brass gilt and

s ilveredl. p resen t ed to the L odge by BrotherCharles B . L eonard, Gunn er of H . M .S

D ragon —Resolu tion for procuring a

n ew die of the F undator’s medal— L odge

Meetings a t H un t ley L odge Clare Road ,

Byculla— Brother M. C . Murzban made

H onorary Depute Gra nd Master and BrotherD . R

,Chichgur, H onorary substitute Grand

Master, A . S . F . I .

0 33— 34

CHAPTE R XXVI I .

B ro : R . M. Chichghur re-elec t ed Master— L ec

tures on Masonic subj ects— Gen eral M. Mu l

labymade H onorary Member— Death of B ro

C .N . Gama— Funeral L odge in his memory,Orat ion by B ro : Dadabhoy N aoroji— Deathof B ro : N awroji F ardoonji— L odge of sorrow

in his memory by" Grand L odge— Testimon ialand ban quet to Brother D .R . Chichgur

— Cele

bration of the J amshedji Navroze Fest ival 235 40

CHAPTE R XXV I I I .

Privilege c on ferred by the GrandMaster mason

of Scotland on Brother D .R . Chichgur of

w earing the Burn e’s meda l Within a wreath

of Roses and Thistles— Death of BrotherJames Gibbs- Brother Sorabji Sapoorji Bengalee and Pestonji Hormasji Gama. e lected

Honorary members-J amshedji N avroze Festival celebrated 241— 43

CHAPTE R XX I X .

Ban quet to Brother Sir H enry Morland— Cele

brat ion of the J amshedji N avroze Fest ivalDeath of Brother Man eckji Cu rsotji— Funeral L o

'

dge in his memory— Resolutions to p erpetuate his memory— Grand L odge

and Dist rict Grand L odge and daugh t erlodges in mourn ing— Resolu t ion to drinkalways to his memory at the Festive board 244— 47

CHAPTE R XXX .

Visit of H R H . The Duke of Connaught to the

L odge— H is elec t ion as an H on orarymember

Pic ture of B roth‘

er‘

D r Burnes presen t ed by

PAGES"

Mr C . M. Cursetji— Brother Sir WilliamClarke , Bart . and D r J ullin s Wilmot M. D .

elected Honorary Members— j ewel presented

to Brother D .R . Chichgu r by the Grand Mas

ter of E ngland— Celebration of the J amshefiji

Navroze Fest iva l f ollow ed by a Discourseand en tertainmen t— Freemason s Hall questionfurther discussed— Deaths of Brothers H . F .

Cooper— SB . T u rkhad and C . N . Pavri

B rother K . R . Cama made Depu te G randMaster A .S .F . I 248— 56

CHAPTE R XXX I .

1890— 93 Dona tion s by B rothers Malek-O-Tajjar (ex

G overner of Bushire) and M.M. Bhownugree

of R s . 500 each and by Brother H . M. Chich

g ur of R e l — Movemen t for portrait ofB rother

K .R . Cama to be hung in the Freemason’s

Hall and con t ribut ion by the L odge— Farew ell;en tertainment and conversazion e in honour of

H R H . The Duke of Connaught— L ec ture sby Brother T emu lji B . Nu rriman in

1891 on mason ic subjects— D ea th of the

Grand Master Captain Sir H en ryMorland on 27th July 1891— Con tribution bythe L odge of R s . 100 to the Henry Morland

Memorial Fund for p erp etuating his memoryand Resolution thereon— Hall Commit tee

scheme to buy the Nawab of Bella’s Bungalow

at Gran t mad— Resolut ion of the L odge to takeCoun sel' s op inion regarding the gift of the

N awroji N an abhai Trust ‘Funds amoun t ingt o R s . to the H all Comm ittee— Con gra

tu latory addre s s to BrotherD adabhaiN awroji

on his becoming a member of Parliamen t

Brother D . R . Chichgu r appoin ted GrandMa ster Depute— Ce lebrat ion of the 50 years’

Jubilee of the L odge— Bro ther F ramji D in

shew Petit J ubilee Master in stalled on 1 5th

D ecember 1893— Printed short sketch of the

history of the f oundat ion of the L odge pre

pared by Brothers P.M. Kanga and R C .

Sethna c ircu lat ed amongs t the members and

a short accoun t of the foundat ion of the L odge

given by Brother K .R . Kama— Jubilee medal

PAGESstruck and prominen t members a nd Masons

created H onorarylmembers to commemorate

the Jubilee— L etter to Brother W.L . H arveyMaster of L odge perseverance and his

reply— E ndowmen tiby the L odge of R s .

in memory of Brothers Dr Burn es and

Maneckji Cursetji— Donat ion of R s .

eaCh by Brothers F ramji D inshaw Pet it andSir Dinshaw Maneckji Pet it Bart — Secondcontribut ion by the L odge of R S . 500 t o the

MorlandMemorial Fund— L etters from the

GrandMaster Mason‘

of Scotland and the

Grand Mast er acknowledging the

prin ted pamphletof the history! of the F ounda

tion of the L odge and from various bodies andmasons congratulat ing the L odge on its Jubi

slee— Deaths of Brothers Hormasji Pestonji

Cama and Sorabji Sapoorji B engalee and

funeral L odge s in their memory— Donation of

R s. 500 by Brother Nawroji Pestonji CamaR s . endowed by the L odge in memoryof Brother S S. B engalee— Celebration of the

Jamsedji Navroze F estivaljfollowed by 9. Disc ourse The Poetry of the craf t and an

E ntertainment comprising a farce called“ A Sudden Arrival ” and a Commedietta

Marriage by Telephone ”— Attendance of

E uropean and Native ladies at the Banquetand E ntertainment 256— 274

CHAPTE R XXX I ICongratu latoryi address to Brother : Currim

bhoy E brahim on his donation of R s . 1 lac

for founding a Mahomed'an Orphanage

Donation by the Brother : of R s .250 to the

L odge— Ce lebrat ion of the JamshedjiNavrozeFestival f ollowed by a Dramat ic Performan ce— Att endance of L adies— Scheme of the

Joint H all Committee to acquire by hire or

purchase a bu il'ding or building Site for a

c ommon Mason ic Hall— Meetings in the Adel

phi H otel premises, Byculla— A rrival of the

Jubilee medal— Presen tat ion thereof and of

a past master’s j ewel and a walnut wood

writing desk and a walnut wood stand to

PAGESBrother F ramj i D imshaw Pet it at the I nstal

lat ion meeting of 1894— B rother F : D . Pet itmade substitute Gran d Master A . S , F .

D eath of Brother F ramji D inshaw Petit on8 th August — C0 ngratulat ions to BrotherM. M. B hawnuggree on his being elec ted a

memb er of the Brit ish H ou se of Commons

Presen tat ion of the Jubilee medal to BrotherC . D . Furdoon j i- Celebration of the Jamshe

‘

dji

fN avroze Fes tival Scheme of the H all Com

mittee t o acqu ire the p resen t site of the

Masonic Hall and its appeal to different lod

ge s Chapt ers and Bodies for help and to the

L odge for a g if t of the Navroji N anabhai

Trust Funds on c ondition of naming the large

B anq uett ing H all “The F ramji Cawasji Ban

q u e tt ing Ha ll”and putting up a suitable tablet— Resolut ion of the L od to file a f riendlysuit regardin g the gif t of t e N . N . TrustFunds a s advised by the Advocate-General 275— 28

CHAPTE R XXX I I Iof H . E . The R t . H onourable L ord Sandhurst ,Governor of Bombay and D istrict-Grand Mas

ter of Bombay E . C . on the occasion of the

I ns tallat ion of Brother P . M. Kanga— H isL ordship made H on orary member— Death of

Brother Abdulla Meheralli Dharamsey— Suit

N o 352 of 1897 filled by the L odge regarding

the N avroji N anabhaiTrust Fun ds— Nominat ion and I n stallation of L ord Sandhurst as

Grand Master A . S . F . I .

— Foundat ion Stonelaid by the Grand Master of the Mason ic

H all on 5 th June 1897— Brothers N .N . Wadia

and D .R . Chichgur app ointed Trustee s of theFreemason ’

s Hall— Second visit of H . E . L ord

Sandhurst to the L odge on the oc casion of the

I nstallation of Brother . P . C Sethna , BrotherH . M. Chichgu r made H onorary Subst ituteGran d Master A . S . F . I . Third contribut ionby the L odge of R s . 150

°

to the Henry Mor

lan d‘Memorial Fund 284— 289

Chapter XXX I V.

1 898-1900 Death of Brother Burjorji Pallonj i D ollimeherj i .

Funeral service in his memory and Orat ion by

PAGESBrother K . R . Cama— L ectures on mason ic

subjec ts— Decree in suit 352 of 1897— Gif t ofthe N awroji N anabhai Trust Funds to T heHall Comm ittee— Agreemen t between the

Tru stees of the Funds and The Hall Commit

tee— Brother K . R . Cama n ominated by the

L odge as its member of the Hall Committee

Te stimonial t o Brother JW. Smith I .P.G M.

Third visit of L ord Sandhurs t to the L odgeI nvestiture of Brother Dr. Pollen as GrandMaster D epu te A . S .P. I .

— B rothers Sir L awren

cc H . Jenkin s (Chief Justice of Bombay) Dr.

Po llen and I . M. Shields made H on orary members— The F ramji Cawasji Ban quet ing Hall

Tablet— Attempt to revive the Jamshedi Nav’roze Fest ival— Consecrat ion of the Mason ic

H all by L ord Sandi urst on 25-3-99—Ann ony

mous donat ion of R s .

— to the H all,

Building Fund to'

perpetuate H is L ordship'

s

Regime— One rupee test imon ial to Brother D'

.

R . Ch ichgur in rec ogn it ion of his services as

Sec retary to the Hall Committee and presenta

t ion of a silver bow l and cup to him— Deathsof Brothers N . N . Wadia, J . C . Cama and

Manekshaw Jehangirshaw T alyarkhan-Funerallodges in their memory— Farewell banquet toL ord Sandhurst on 9-2-1900— Presentationof an Autograph album to Brother D . R . Chi :

chgu r in spec ial recogn ition of his services toMasonry and particularly as Sec retary to the

H all Commit tee— Congratulat ions to BrotherM. M. B hownugree on his re

-election as a

member of Parliament— L ord Sandhurst su c

ceeded by L ord Northc ote as Grand Master

A S . F . I 290— 3 0;

Chap ter XXXV

1 90 1— 03 Death of H M. Queen Victoria -Resolution passedby the L odge thereon at meeting held on 9th

Febru ary 190 1— Death of Brother Capt ian C .

D . Wise— Con tribution by the L odge towards

the MemorialPurse fund.

raised by the GrandL odge A . S F . I — The F ramji Peti t Coun cilBrother M .

,M. B hownuggree made H onorary

GrandMaster Depute— Deaths of Brothers Dr,

xvii i

PAGESI smail Janmahomed— DossabhaiF ramji Kara

ka C . S . I . and Rahimtoola M. Sayani— Resolut ion regarding L odge L ibrary— L ectures on

masonic subjec ts— Complet ion of the6th decade

of the L odge on 15th. December 1903

CHAPTE R XXXV I

1904— 0 5 Attempt by Brother Maneck R . Sethna (R . W. M.

in 1904 ) to revive the Jamsedi Navroze Festival— Sort ing and locat ion of L odge Records— N ew die of the F undator

’s medal— Dea th of

B rother K . N . Kabraji— E le c t ion of B ro . R .

H J . R u stomji— L ive ly debat e thereon an d

retiremen t f rom m eeting of Brother K . R .

Cama. d u ring the ba llotn R esolu t ion c ong ra

t u la t in g Sir P M. Mehta on the Kn ighthoodc on f

°

rred on him by H is Maj esty the'

K ing

E mperor— Surp rise visit to theL odge o f the

c eremon ial c ommit t e e of the Grand L odge.

and the ir comp lete sat isfac tion w ith

its excellent working— C elebrat ion of the

Un ique even t of 50 Year’s Mason ic Jubile eof B rother K R . Cama— Resolut ion s of the

L odge at an emergen t meet ing held on 24th

Augu st 1904 c ongra tu lat ing Brother K RG ama an d rep ly o f Brothe r K .R . Cama

Appoin tment of H . E . T he R t . H on . L ord

L aming ton Governor o f B ombay as GrandMaster A .S .F . I — Marble bust of B ro therD R Chichgu r unveiled in T he Mason ic H all

by H is E xce llency on 4th August, 1 904Brother Sir L . H Jenkin s p resen ted W i th

the Burn e ’ s medal— L ord L amington e lec t ed

H on orary Member of the L odge— Resolut ionpassed at an emergen t m e e t i n g

c ongratu lat ing Brother Sir Currimbha i

E brahim on the knighthood bestowed on him

by H is Mag e s ty t he King Emp eror— Donat ion by S ir Currimbliai E brahim of R s . 500

t o the charity fun ds o f the L odge 310— 321

CHAPTE R XXXVI I .

19 06— 08 . First Official V isit of H . E . L ord L aming ton

Grand Mast er at the I n st allat ion of BrotherD . F . Wadia— Death of B rother H ormasji M.

nera Grand L odge held in his memory by theGrand L odge on 20th September1909 and Resolu tion s passed by Grand L odg e_ . S »tep s taken by the Most Worship fu l theGrand Master B ro ther Foreman f or p erpetn at in

’

g his memory by ( I ) the Cama Memo

rial Fund and ( I I ) a Memorial Table t— Résolutions passed by the L odge ou the dea th

of Brother Gama— Sermon by Brother D . R .

Chichgu r— R s . 1000/— set apart from the L odge

Charity Funds in his name a s an endowment to

be supplemen ted by don at ion s f rom individu almembers— Resolu t ion to drink to his memoryat the Fest ive Board— Public meeting held in

memory of Brother K . R Cama unde r thechairman ship of H . E . Sir George SydenhamClarke , Govern or or Bombay— Dea th

6

of

Brothe r D adabhai S . Mun sifl’na and a don

ation of R s . 500 in his memory by a respected

member of the L odge— Dona t ion of R s . 500/

by Bro ther Darashaw B ejonji Mehta

(R . W. M, 19 10 ) twards the charity fundsof the L odge

— Resolution congratulatingBrother Sir Currimbhai E brahim Bart . , on

his mun ificen t gif t of R s, 4 lacs for a Collegeof Sci ence and on the tit le of Baron e tcy c on

f erred on him by H . M. The King E mperor

Death of H is most Most Gracious MajestyE dward V I I on 6 th May 1910 and Reso lutionpassed by the L odge thereon

— The I n Memo

riam Table t of Broth er K . R . Cama w ith a

Medallion of the deceased Brother surmoun ting it erec ted and placed in the Masonic

Hall— H onorary membership conf erred on

M.W. Brother Colon el Forman and Burne’smedall presented t o him— Brother P . C .

Sethna made substitute Grand Mast er and

B rother Meherally Dewraj Master crea ted

H onorary Substitut e GrandMaster— H istoryof the L odge from 1843 t o 1910 compiled byB rother D . F . Wadia and presented to the

L odge at the I nsta lla tion meet ing held on l 6th

D ecember 1910— Resolu t ion of the L odge

f or publishing the H istory and presen ting anE tdit ion de luxe with the Resolution embodied

PAGES

AGE S

therein andalso a H isto rian’s j ewel comme

mora tive of the event to Brother D . F . Wadia— Dea th of B ro-ther A . F . Unwa lla -FuneralL odge held in his memory— Fu nd for p erpe t

uating the service s r endered by BrotherColonel Forman to Fre emasonry and f or

re tain ing a fit t ing memoria l of . same and .

presen ting a Souvenir to him and c on t ribut ionby the L odge there to

— Brother The H on’ble

D'

r. T amu lji B . Nariman app oin ted G rand

Master Depu te A . S . F . I . ( 191 1 )— Unveilingby him of t he marble medallion of

” B rotherK . R . Cama on 1 l th November 1911

H is tory of the L ozlge brought up to 331— 347

APPE ND I X A .

Charter of the L odge granted by the G rand‘

L odge

Scotland 348-36 1

APPE NDI X B

L etters from H on orary m emb ers of the L odge 35 1-35 9

APPE ND I X C

L et ter from B ro : Man eckji Curse tji to the SecretaryN’ilghiri L odg e 359-36 1

APPE ND I X DCorreSponden ce w ith L odg e Pers everanc e regardin g u s e

of L odge rooms 36 1-3638

APPE ND I X E

R eport of Sp ecial Committee on diff erenc es between the

L odge and L odge Perseveran ce 36 8-37 1

APPE ND I X FL etter of apology f rom B ro . C . E

APPE ND I X GTe stimon ial f rom L od

‘

ge L’A nglais ,

Bordeaux , t o B ro .

Blowers 372-373

APPE ND I X H

L ette r f rom Provincial Grand Sec retary t o the R . W.

Master of the L odge an en t e le c tion o f B ro. W. H S .

Crawford and B ro , M. Ma Settna’s statemen t 373-377

APPE ND I X I

B ro. Maneckj i Cursetji’s letter to Broa Barr on the

subjec t of ballot dated 20th July 1854

APPE ND I X JAddress presented to B ro. Man eckji Cu rsetJ i and his rep ly

385-388

APPE ND I X K

L ett ers f rom B ro..D r. Oliver and other! distinguished

mason s on p resen tation of the F oundator’s Medal, to

them 388-392

APPE ND I X L

Correspondence between B ro: Man eckji Cursetji land the

L odge and be tween him and B ro G . S . Judge , and

betwee the L odge and B ro . G . S . Judge 392-397

APPE ND I X M

L ette r f rom the Secretary of the L odge to the Provinc ialGrand Secret ary prote sting against L odge St . Andrewsin the E ast in it iating re siden ts of Bombay 397-399

APPE N D I X NTru st Deed dat ed 3rd May 1870 400-408

APPE ND I X 0

L ett er from the Master of the L odge to the W. M. of

L odge Cyrus 408-410

APPE ND I X PAddress p resen ted to B ro . The H on

’ble James Gibbs and

reply thereto 410-415

APPE ND I X QDec ree in High Court su it N o . 352 o f 1897 416-420

APPE ND I X RAgre emen t dated 18-1 1—1898 b etween the Ha ll

mit tee and th e Tru st ee s of the Trust Deed,3 5-1870 420-422

APPE ND I X S

Address presen ted to Bro . K . R. Carria

APPE ND I X T

C orresp o'

idence be tw ee n the R . W,Master of the L odge

and the Grand Mas te r and Sec retary, Grand L odg e on

the oc casion of the dea th of B ro . K . R . Came. 424-430

L I ST OF I L L USTRAT I ONS.

R t . Wor. B ro . D r. James Burnes Back of title page

R t . Wor. B ra) Maneckj i Cu rse tji

Burnes Medal, (Obverse and Reverse ) Facing p . 27

L odge Banner

Jubilee Medal (Obverse)

Do. do . (Reverse)

H is torian’s Jewel

R t . Wor. B ro. K . R . Cam I n Memoriam Tablet and

Medallion p . 340

Group of Members of the L odge

L I ST OF PAST MASTE RS OF THE LODGE .

From 1843 to 1911 .

Wor. B ro . D r. James Burnes . K H .

P. W. L eGey t

H . B . L ynchD r. James Burn es . K . H .

’

H . Barr99 W. B lowers

H .

"B . L ynch and M. Boyce

P. W. L eGeyt

M. O’Mealy

W. S . C rawford

9, John E van sMan ockjee Cu rsetjeeArdesir Jamsetjee BhajeewallaK

.R . Cama

Merwanjee Maneckjee Se t tnaN owrosjee Nanabhoy F ramjeeDossabhoy R . K olha

Curse tjee Jehangir Tarachand

R ustomjee Cawasjee Bahadu rjeeM. C . Mu rzban , C . I . E . Khan BahadurJehangir Gu stadje eJejibhoy Jehangir L am and Jehangir

GustadjeeDarasha R . Chichgar, Khan BahadurSir Pheroze shaw M. Mehta K. C . I . E .

Jamse tjee Dhu njfbhoy Wadia

D r. R u stomjee Jamsedjee Nadershaw

Darashaw D . Report erR u stomjee Ma rwanjee Pa te llH ormu sjee DadabhoyH ormu sjee M. Chichgar

C . F. Khory.

N ow rosjee F undunji. C . I .E .

Rustam M. Chichgar

Maneckshaw D . Doctora, Nanabhai R . Chichgar

PAST MAST E R— con td.

B ro . S irMunchershaw M. Bhownag ree , K .C. I .E .

Kaikhoshru N . Kahraj een D r. Temuljee B . Nariman , K . I .H .

Rustom K .R . Cama

F ramjee D . PetitMan eckshaw J . Ta lyarkhan

F azulbhoy V isram. C . I .E .

Pestonji M. KangaPhiroze C . SethnaSir DimshawM. Petit , Bart .

D r. F ramj i J . Pat elPherozeshaw N . PleaderCursetjee H . Cap tain

Man eck R . Settna

Ardeshir F . Unwalla

Dosabhoy F . Wadia

D r, D osabhoy C . S ethnaK ava sji B . ShroffDhunjibhoy R . Wa dia’

Darasha B azo nji Mehta

Dr. Sorab C . H ormu sje e

0 0 0 9’

PAST MAST E R— c on td.

B ro . S ir Munchershaw M. Bhownagree , K .C I .E .

Kaikhoshru N . K ahraj eeD r. Temuljee B . Nariman , K . I .H .

Rust om K .R . Cama

F ramjcc D . PetitManeckshaw J . Talyarkhan ,

F azulbhoy V isram. C . I .E .

H I STORY OF“LOD G E R I S I N G S T A R

OF WE ST E RN I ND I A No . 342 S C.

CHAPTER I.

L ODGE R is ing Star of West ern India, No . 342 , on the

R eg ister of the Grand L odge of Scotland, was specially

inaugurated and constructed for the admission of the

natives of’I ndia into the Mason ic Cra

'

ft . I ts foundationwas due to the late R ight Worshipful Brother ManeckjiCursetji. who started a movement which , with his indomitable energy and praiseworthy and unfiagg ing zeal ,he ult imate ly succeeded in carrying out . Before he wen tto E ng land , in the year 1841 , i t had b een suggested tohim by R ight Worshipful Brother Dr. James Burnes ,K . H who was then the most dist ingu ished Mason in

Western I nd ia. and a coadjutor of his , Brother P. W.

L e Geyt , that he should b ecome a Mason , and he made

an applicat ion to , and was proposed in , the old L odgePerseverance , N o . 546 , but the members of that lodgewho were then under the E ng lish banner objected to hisadmission , not on the ground of any personal disq ualificat ions or demerits , but solely because he was a nat ive ,

and they argued that if they opened the portals of

Masonry to one nat ive , they would be obliged to open it

to all. and would not know where‘

to end and therefore

demurred to his be ing admitted into the Craft. I n those

days it was rather difficult for members of the E uropeancommun ity to know the qualificat ions and decide on the

elig ibility of nat ives to entrance in the Order.

Therefore , whi le in E ngland , Brother Maneckji Cur

setji was to be made a Mason under the auspices of the

2 H ISTOR Y OF~

LODGE R ISING -STAR

Duke of Sussex , the uncle of Queen V ictoria , who was

then the Grand Master of E ng land, and had rece ived with

favour the ag itation for admitting natives , somet ime

previously carr ied on , but when he was there the Grand.Masterwas on the Con tinent and when Brother Maneckji

Cursetji lef t for the Continent the Grand Master return

ed to E ngland . H e was thus disappointed, but when he

subsequent ly went to Paris he achieved his aim and was

in it iated in L odge A . L a G loire de I’Univers , one of

the first lodges in Paris which worked under theWarran t

of D i spensation from his friend the Duke of Cazé, the

Most Venerable of the Grand Orien t of France , and was

therefore the first native gentleman of Wes tern Indiawho was admitted f in to our venerable Order and was

necessari ly the pioneer in the matter .

To the spirit of French Masonry, therefore , the nat ives

of I ndia, owe the kindling and diffusion of Mason ic

I n the meantime a great change had taken place in

Bombay. Brother Dr. Burnes, who had come out some

six or seven years before this t ime with spec ial powersfrom the then Grand Master of E ngland , the R ight

Honourab le James L ord R amsay , to create Provinc ial

Grand L odges , But upon the terms that they should beheld under the Gran d L odge of Scot land, had just then ,

on the l oth December, 1842 , const ituted certain Masonic

brethren of high position , who had previously belonged

to the old lodge Perseverance , but had left it and wereat the time unconnected with any Mason ic lodge , in to a

new , namely, the present L odge Perseveran ce, underthe Scottish banner.

A fter his return to Bombay, about the year 1843,

Brother Maneckji Cursetji was asked to Visit L odge

Perseverance and this he decl ined to do . He was then pro

posed as a join ing member in that lodge , but on a ballot ,which was taken on 3rd May, 1843 , he was rejected .

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 3

Brother Phi lip Wi l l iam L e Geyt , who was then the

Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Western India and a

member of L odge Perseverance . and many other dis;

t iniguished Masons then , it is said , came to the resolution

rather to resign the lodge , if Brother Maneckji Cursetji

was not admitted, and to Open a new lodge for the admittance of nat ives. The quest ion was thereupon seriously

discussed and the ag itat ion assumed -a definite shape .

Several members of L odge Perseverance , who were

prominent Masons at the time , and other Masons who

concurred in the views of Brother Maneckji Cursetji

and the Deputy Provinc ial Grand Master of Western

I ndia considered that it was but just and advisable in

the interests of the Craft that entrance in to the Ordershould not be refused to native gent lemen of recogn ised

respectabi l ity and character, and the happy idea was

c onceived of establ ishing a lodge spec ially for nat ives .

The dest in ies of Freemasonry in India were st i l l then

in the hands of the very sympathet ic and high-minded

Dr. James Burnes , as Provincial Grand Mast er of Wes

tern India , and he cordially encouraged the idea .

Under such favourable circumstan ces a requ isit ion

signed by twenty -seven leading Masons , most of whom

w ere members of L odge Perseverance , and dated the

1 9th November, 1843, was then presented to the Provin

cial Grand Master of Western India praying that the

signatories might be con st ituted by dispensat ion into a

lodge that he , the Provincial Grand Master, should g iveit a name and con st itute himse lf the Worshipful Master

t hereof, and nominate the first officers thereof and provide

them with a formal charter. Two more names were then

subsequent ly added to the requisition by direct ion of the

Provinc ial Grand Master. Some of the requisition ists,who were members of L odge Perseverance , were appre

hensive of an objection being raised by the Provinc ial

G rand Master to the granting of the request on t he'

4 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

ground that the new lodge , if estab l ished , would inter

f ere with that lodge , and in order to meet such object ionthey in antic ipation dec lared by the requ isit ion that they

had no intent ion of withdraw ing therefrom, and ple‘dged

themse lves not to grant any degree in Masonry in the

proposed lodge to any E uropean except with his (the

Provincial Grand Master’s) spec ial san ct ion .

The pledge , however, was not agreed'

to by six of the

brethren sign ing the requ isition , as appears from the

remarks made by them again st their s ignatures. The

requ isit ion was as fol lowsB ombay, 1 9 th N ovember, 1 843 .

To TH E R IGHT WORSH I PF UL BROTHERJAME S BURNE S , K .H

Provincial Grand Master of Western India .

R ight Worshipful and Dear Brother,We beg to represent to you that the time has , in our

Opin ion , arrived when , for the credit of the Mason ic

Craft itself as we l l as in justice to some highly esteemed

individuals , native gentlemen of recognised resp ectab i l ity

and character, such for instan ce as those who have been

selected by the Government to sit on the ben ch of

just ices , or others who can be well and worthi ly recom

mended as possessing a f ear of God, and a due sen se of

moral ob l igation should no longer be exc luded from our

lodges at this place .

2 . We are further of opin ion that the admission of

natives of the c lass we have ment ioned at the present

moment would g ive a decided impulse to the Craft atBombay , which would be advan tageous to every bran ch

of it throughout India.

3 . But after the unwill ingness which has been evinced

in the L odge Perseveran ce to the admission of natives,we conce ive that the object we have in View could only

be accomplished in a mann er sat isfactory to all partiesby the establishment of a new lodge in Bombay.

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 ~s .e . a

4 . We therefore request that you wil l erect and con

st itute u s by dispensat ion into a L odge , g iving aname to,

and consti tut ing yourself the Worshipfu l Master of the

same , nominat ing the first officers thereof and also provid

ing us With a formal charter at your early conven ience .

5 . The on ly object ion to this proposal which we can

ant ic ipate on «your part is that it may in terfere with theL odge Perseverance , but those of us who are members

of that L odge have no intent ion of withdrawing from it ,

that w e hereby declare our resolut ion to work in true

brotherly love with Perseverance . To showclearly , how

ever, our'

objec t and fee ling w e pledge ourselves , if the

n ew lodge is established,not to gran t any degree of

Masonry in it to any E uropean whatever un less under

you r‘

own spec ial san ct ion . The arrangement , there

f ore , so-far from injuring Perseverance would in all

probabi lity materially b enefit it by the spur it would

g ive to Masonry generally in Western India .

We are ,

R ight Worshipfu l and D ear Brother ,Your at tached and f aithful Brothe r,

P . W. L e Gey t , P ,M . I E dward F . Danvers ,

( My on ly d oub t is w he the r w e are Ju s t ifi ed in g ivin g th e p l edge con ta ine dI n para .

W. A . Purnell . W. We llis .

Georg e Bu is t . H .Gibb .

W . S im son ,R , Brown .

James Boyd . P . M. andG , P . S . B .

H ,

Barr ,( B u t I ob je c t t o th e p l edge con t ain ed in para .

A.Forst e r. R ,

A . an d P . M, George Row ley .

H . Faw ce t t .( Savin g t h e p l edge . )

D . Dav idson .

A .

Gregor Gran t .

A , S Unwin .

S p ence r Comp ton .

J . F . Merrier.

Savin g th e p l edge . ) Maneckj i Cu rse tj i .

M. Willoughby.

W. W. Cargill . ( Sub s cr ib e to a l l except para .

H . G . Gordon . I John Mu llahy.

J , C , I bbs , (B u t d isagree to t he p l edge . )

R . H . Davidson . W. B lowers.

G . Munbee . G,Kingstone .

6 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

The names of"

Brothers B lowers and Kingstone were

added by direction of the R ight Worshipful Provinc ial

Grand Master.

The signatories to the requisition , besides beingMasensof high standing and reput

’

e , were men occupying im

portant and responsible positions and offices under

Government and otherwise. Three of them, namely B ro

thers L e Geyt , Simson and Grant , were members of the

Civi l Service of the Honourable E ast India Company.

Ten belonged to the Honourab le E ast India Company'

s

Mi l itary Service;namely , BrothersWellis , Barr, F orster.

D . Davidson , Unwin , Wi lloughby , Mullahy , Munbee ,

R owley and Kingstone . One belonged to the Indian Navy .

n amely, Brother I bbs. Five belonged to the Medical

Service , name ly , Brothers Boyd, Purnell , G ibb , Brown and

Morrier. Two belonged to the judiciary, namely, Brothers

Spencer Compton and Danvers , who were mag istrates,and of the remaining brethren Bro therManeckji Cursetji

was an A ssistant Col lector, and BrotherW. B lowers was

Deputy Postmaster General, Brother L arkworthy was a

M .D ., Brother Buist was an L L .D . and the E ditor of the

B ombay T imes , Brother Carg il l was the Manag ing Direc

tor of the Bank of Western India, and Brothers Fawcett

and Gordon were merchant s . A s to Brother R . H .

Davidson it does not a ppear to what service , profession

or trade he belonged.

I t wi l l thus be seen how influential and representative

a body the requ isit ion ists formed .

A reply was sent t o the ir requisition by R ightWorship

ful Brother Dr . Burnes on l st December, 1843 , and it is

impossible not to b e struck with the high character and

lofty mind of its writer, or to beindelibly impre ssed withthe pronouncement of Mason ic principles and privi legestherein contained . To notice briefly or even to g ive a

short summary of , or scattered extracts from , that reply

would be doing the great est in just ice to that'

noble Mason

8 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE RISING STAR

a proceeding and the solemn responsibi lity which mustat tach

~to the members of such a lodge as you

contemplate to establish , which in consen t ing to reward‘

a few of the nat i ves most distingu ished for ho‘nour

and probity by admission to Mason ic privi leges , must

l ikewise be prepared vigorously to resist the influx of

many who may be urgent to partic ipate in , but whomit

'

may be necessary to exclude from , our venerab le

inst itution .

Thirdly.v -Although I have never contemplated anything

approaching to the free admission of nat ives into the

Craft , I have long looked f orward to the t ime when in

t he spread of c ivi l izat ion and to aid its progress it wouldbe becoming or rather imperative on u s , as en l ightened

men and Mason s, to throw our portals Open to particular

individuals, and I know no c lass from amongst whom a

se lection for this purpose may with greater propriety be

made than the highly respectable , intelligen t and enter

prising commun ity of Bombay;nor,I may be allowed to

add, any body of E uropean bre thren to whom the choice

of the native gent lemen to be so honoured may be more

safely entrusted than to yourself , and those who are

associated wi th you in the p resent requ isit ion .

F ourthiy.

— With these views of the subject , I have

desired the Provinc ial Grand Secretary to prepare at

on ce a dispen sation authorizing yourself and the various

other brethren who have signed the appl icat ion t o con

st itute yourselves into a new lodge which under the

p eculiar c ircumstan ces of its establishment will bedesignated

“

The R ising Star of Western India,

”and

f or which a regular charter wi l l be obtained withoutdelay , agreeable to your request.Fifthly.

-On an occasion like the present i t would not

become me to shrink from respon sibi l ity , and I cou se

q uently, on the same princ iple that I accepted the chair

o f Perseveran ce at 9. former t ime of emergency , now

OF WESTE RN INDIA NbTeI e 9

a ccept theh onour which you tender me of the master

ship of the new lodge request ing that you , R ight

Worshipful Brother, will personally aid me by offic iat ing

as P’ast Master.

Sixthly.

— You do me but just ice in an t ic ipating that

no agreement would be sat isfactory to me by which

injury would be inflicted on the L odge Perseverance ,t o the members of which the Craft gen erally of India ,

and myself personally , owe a deep debt of grat itude ,but far from be lieving that the establishment of the

n ew lodge wi ll in jure Perseveran ce , I concur in the

o pin ion expressed in your appl icat ion that it wi ll g ive an

impulse to othat lodge;and that such is also the con scient ious belief of some of those the most in terested and best

able to judge , is evident from the names of many of the

m ost prominent and zealous members of Perseverance

being attached to your requisition .

Seven thly— This fact , as well as the c ircumstan ce of

my taking the chair of the new lodge , will,‘

I trust , be an

earnest to Perseverance that the resolut ion is to work in

brotherly love and kindness towards her but to remove

all doubt on this point I now ,in availing myself of the

privi leg e you have g iven me of nominat ing the officers,beg to appoint the present Worshipful Master of Per

severance, BrotherA . L arkworthy, and the present Jun ior

Warden ,.Brother Spencer Compton , to be respect ively

the Sen ior Warden and Sen ior Deacon of the new lodge ,and Brother James Boyd, Past Sen ior Warden of Per

severance , and Brother W. Wellis, Past Sen ior Deacon

of the same , to be respec tive ly the Treasurer and Jun ior

Deacon of the same . To the vacant appointments of

Jun iorWarden and Secretary I also nominate Brothers

H enry Fawcett and Maneckji Cursetji, th e former being

well ent it led to office from his zeal and the latter beingl ikely to prove highly useful as Secretary to the new

lodge .

10 H ISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISING STAR

E ighthly.

-These arrangements wi ll , I conceive , so

completely blend the interests of Perseverance and

R ising Star of Western India together that I wouldsubmit to the latter the propriety of reconsidering at

its first meeting the pledge you have g iven in the 5th

para . of your requ isition which appears to be unsatis‘

factory to some of the brethren who have sign ed the

paper and the object of which may probably be obtained

by some other arrangement satisfactory to both lodges .

N in thly.

— I n conc lusion ,I would suggest that a code of

bye-laws defin ing c learly the rules under which native

gentlemen can be rece ived into the n ew lodge , should be

immediately establ ished not on ly requiring thp strictest

and most deliberate scrutiny into the character of all

candidate s but imposing such restrictions as may be

deemed requ isite to guard the interest and honour of

the Craft .

T en thly-Praying earnest ly, R ight Worshipful and

Dear Brother, that the Grand Architect of the Un iversemay prosper you, and all other brethren assoc iated with

you on the present occasion in this and all other laudable

undertakings,I beg to subscribe myse lf,

Affectionately and fraternally yours ,JAME S BuRN E s,

P. G . Master of Western I ndia.

B ombay , 1 st December, 1 843 .

A copy of this communication has been tran smitted tothe Worshipful Master of the L odge Perseverance forits in formation .

SPENCE R COMPTON ,

CHAPTE R I I .

TH E estab l ishment of the L odge was hai led with feel

ings of brotherly love by lodge Perseverance, for at ameeting held by them on 1st December, 1843 , a letter fromthe Provmclal Grand Secretary to them intimat ing the

grant of the dispensation to the lodge was read and a

resolutionwas passed by them al lowing the lodge to meetin their rooms

On the 1 l th December, 1843 , a circular was issuedoverthe signature of Brother. Compton , Past Provincial GrandSecretary , to the brethren who had signed the requisitioninvit ing them to meet the Provin cial Grand Master at

the Town Hall, on the 15th December, 1843, in order

that they might be duly cons tituted into a lodge to

be designated The L odge R ising Star of Western

India and intimat ing that at that meet ing it would be

submitted that the bye = laws Of L odge Perseverance (acopy of which was therewith c1rculated) should be im

mediately adopted for the government of the new lodge

except certain c lauses thereof particularly ment ioned , as.

to which the c ircular stated certain modifications (also

set out therein) would b e submitted.

A meet ing was accordingly held at the Town Ha ll , on

15 th December, 1843, at which there were present the

Provincial Grand Master of Western India '

, the Deputy

Provinc ial Grand Master of Western India , and Brothers .

Compton , Simson , D.Davidson , Maneckji Cursetji,

Barr, L arkworthy, Morrier, and Boyd . The requ isit ion

to the Provin c ial Grand Master and the reply thereto,as also the c ircular conven ing the meet ing and the

1 2 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

warrant prepared forthe lodge , were read and then the

Provinc ial Grand Master dec lared the brethren present

t o be a lawfully con st ituted L odge of Freemasons to

work under the Warrant and to be designated(”The

L odge R ising Star of Western India .

”The Warrant , as

is stated therein , was granted by the Provin c ial Grand

Mast er by'

virtue of the powers vested in him by a

«Patent (an attested copy whereof was, it is also stated

there in ,-furn ished to the brethren ) and authorized the

brethren to carry on in the lodge the work of the

three degrees of St . John or Craft Masonry , agreeablyto the rules and usages of our anc ient Order. I t was

signed and sealed by the Provin cial Grand Master and is

dated 15th December, 1 843 , A . D . , and of Masonry 5 843 .

T his Warran t is the birthright of the lodge and a full( copy of it is as follows

PROVI NCIAL GRAND L ODGE OF WE STE RNINDIA .

To all free and faithful brethren in the Craft Greet ing .

Whereas a representat ion has been made by the followingbrethren , viz P.W. L e Geyt , E . F . Danvers,W. A . Purnel l ,G . Bu ist ,W. Simson ,

James Boyd , W. Wellis , H . G ibb ,R . Brown , H . J Barr,

A . Forster, H . Fawcett , D. David

s on , Gregor Gran t , Spen cer Compton, A . L arkworthy ,

J . S. Unwin ,J . F . Morrier, Man eckji Cursetji , M .

Wi lloughby, W. W‘

. Carg il l , H . G . Gordon , John Mullaby,

J . C . Ibbs , G . B . Munb ee , R . H . Davidson , and George

Rowley, all of whom are known to me as true and faith

ful members of the Mason ic Fratern ity , and residents

of Bombay , that having the prosperity of Masonry at

heart , a nd the desire to promote and di ffuse its genu ine

princ iples they are solic itous of be ing formed into a

L odge of Freemason s at Bombay , and requ ired my con

sent and authority to that effect . B e it known , therefore ,that I having full and perfect confidence in the said

.brethren , do, in virtue of the powers vested in me by a

OF WE STE RN _I NDIA NO. 342 . S .C . 13

Paten t (an a ttested copy of which has been furn ished to

the said brethren) hereby const itute , erect and appointthem a lawful L odge of Freemasons to be held at B om

bayfl inder the designat ion and style of"L odge R ising

Star of Western India ”to carry on there in the work of

the three degrees of St . John’s or Craf t Masonry agree

ably to the rules and usages of our anc ient Order, and I

do further, in compl iance with the urgent request of the

said brethren , assume the office of the firstWorshipful

Master thereof and nominate and appoint the underment ioned brethren to be the other officers of the said

L odge R ising Star of Western India un t i l St . John’s Day ,

27th December 1844 , namely

P . W. L e Geyt Past Master.

A . L arkworthy Senior Warden .

H . Fawcett J uniorWarden .

Spencer Compton Sen ior Deacon .

W. Wellis J unior Deacon .

Maneckji Cursetji Secre tary.

James Boyd T reasurer.

I n witness whereof I have appended my hand and

seal at Bombay this 1 5th day of December in the year

of our L ord 1843, and of Masonry 5843 in the presence

of the brethren whose signatures are hereto attached.

James Burnes Provin cial GrandMas

ter ofWestern I ndia .

Spencer Past Provin cial Grand

Secretary.

W. A . Purnel l Past Provincial Grand

Senior D eacon and

Provin cial G r a n d

Marshal.

John Mullahy Past Provincial Grand

R egistrar.

Brother Maneckji Cursetj i had, it appears , undertakenwith the Provincial Grand Master and his deputy that he

14 H ISTORY OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

w ould see that nOne but the most worthy natives of the

c lass for whose reception the lodge was founded would

be admitted into its portals , and the records of the lodge

show how thoroughly he acquitted himself of that

responsibi lity to the best of his knowledge , power and

abil ity .

The Provincial Grand Master assumed the office of the

first Worshipful Master ’

of the L odge and appointed as

his first office bearers the brethren whose names with their

respect ive offices appear set . out in the Warrant . At this

meet ing three resolut ionswere unan imously passed, viz

( I ) That Brothers B lowers and Kingstone , whose names

were attached to the said requ isition after the dispensa

tion warrant had been prepared, be held to be the orig inal

m embers of the L odge ( II that the then existing bye

laws of L odge Perseverance with certain except ions, via ,

c lauses 1, 22 and 23 = should gu ide the lodge unti l the

St . John’s Day, 24th Jun e , 1844 and ( I I I ) that no

member should be required to subscribe month ly to the

lodg e who paid a monthly subscription to the Provincial

G rand L odge of Western India or the L odge Persever

ance of Bombay .

The excepted clauses of the bye-laws of L odge Persever

ance related to the holding of regular meet ings , the

in terval between each degree and the fees , and in regard

to those matters it was provided that the regular meet

ings should be held six t imes a year, namely, on the 15th

o f January , March ,May, July, September, andNovember,and if the 15th should fal l on a Sunday , then on the 14th

o f the same month , that the interval between each degree

should be three months , instead of one month , and that

the fees should be R upees two hundred for in it iat ion ,

R upees forty for the second degree , R upees sixty for

the third degree , and R upees fifty for join ing . The

c orresponding fees except for the second degree in L odge

Perseverance were much less . They were Rupees seven

16 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STA R

couragemen t.“

May the foundation stone prove the“superstructure of a bui lding that shal l endure for all

ages .

”

This last sentence afforded to an equally nob le minded

brother the theme for a lett er which he addressed then

to the E di tor of the Masonic Quarterly R eview under the

nom-de-p lume of Frater, and was publ ished at pages 36 5

6 7 of the . R eview, for 1844, and wi ll appear in extenso a

l ittle later.

During the year 1844, six regular meetings and two

special meetings of the lodge (of which one was the first

ann iversary meeting ) were held, and at all of them with

the e xcept ion of one meeting the R ight Worshipful

Master presided . A ll the meetings were convened by

c irculars which are set out in the minute book and were

held in the“L odge House behind the Police Office in

Mazagon , and the number. of members who attended

them was between twe lve and twenty and at every meet

ing there were some visit ing brethren . The degree work

during the-year consisted of e ight in itiat ions , five pass

ings and three raisings .

The first regular meet ing was held on the 22nd (and

not 15th ) January 1844, owing to the lodge rooms not

being ready , and at that meet ing after a prayer and

an address from the R ight Worshipful Master and

confirmat ion of the proceedings of the last meeting a

dec laration prepared for the natives of India to be sub

scribed previous to t heir be ing in it iated in the Craft was

approved of and thereaf ter Brothers Mirza Ali Maho

med Shoostry and Ardeshir CursetjiWadia subscribed to

the declarat ion and were ballotted for, duly e lected and

in it iated and the Sen iorWarden del ivered an address to

them after the ceremony . T here is no minute made of

the prayer and address of the R ight Worshipful Master,

but obviously they must have been said and delivered as

being appropriat e to the holding of the very first regu

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S C. 17

lar meeting of the l odge. A brother named Samuel“Chetham (a member of L odge Perseverance ) was duly

elected Tyler of the lodge and the lodge was adjourned

t o 1 the 15th March next . The dec larat ion as approved

w as'

in the same terms as the form annexed as Appendix

A to the existing bye-laws of the lodge , excep t that it

c ontained the words“

the on ly one true and l iving God”

instead of“the on ly on e true God

”and did not

c ontain any statemen t as to the candidate’s profession

and residence and declarations that he had n ever-before

applied to any lodge for in it iat ion and that he would

con form to the bye-laws of this lodge , which statement

a nd declarat ions are now requ ired. I t differed from

t he usual declarat ion then adopted in that it commenced

w ith I in the fear and bel ief of the only one

t rue and l iving God and of a state of reward and

p un ishment after l ife for deeds done in the flesh and

of the nature and import of a solemn obligat ion .

”The

departure seems to have been devised as a check

and a safeguard again st the dangers of an indiscri

minate admission of nat ives into the Order and in to its

secrets .

The second regular meet ing was held on the appointed

day, namely , 1sth March ,1844. Messrs . Mahomed Jaffer

and Hajee Hasham I shphan ee were in it iated after thEiyhad subscribed to the declaration and had taken the

n ecessary obligat ion . These two brethrenmust have beenballotted for and duly e lected at the last meeting though

the minutes thereof are si lent on the point. Four candi

dates (all again Persian Moguls) were duly proposed forbal lot at the next meet ing , namely,— Syed Hady bin Syed

Mahomed Takee , Mirza Mahomed R eza, Haj i Mahomed

Mehdi and Mirza Ahmed.

The R ight Worshipful Master announced at this

meet ing that he had ordered out from E ng land , a

complete set of jewe ls and aprons for the use of the

2

HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

lodge and thereupon the brethren passed a resolut ion

thanking him for the troub le he had taken and ordering

the Treasurer to pay for the whole set . A yisiting

brother named Brother M . O’Meally officiated as I i

‘lner

The lodge was closed and

The n ext meeting ,however, was not held on the

1 5th May“in consequence of the excessive heat of the

weather”but was held on 1 5th June 1844 . The four

candidatesproposed at the last meeting were all

ballotted for, severally introduced and regularly ini

after which an address was del ivered by'

pful Master fol lowed by a su itable

working tools and trac ing board by

Worshipfu l Brother L arkworthy .

any member of the lodge who

ster Mason with the badge of any office , yet

Shoostry and Mahomed Jaffer though they were entered

apprentices only w ith the jewels of the Sen ior Deacon ,

I nner Guard and D irector of Ceremon ies, respect ively, to

b sence of the brethren holdingofficiate as such in the

a

those offices , remarking that he had made an except ion

completed .

As the bye-laws of the lodge , as resolved at the meet

ing of 15th December, 1843 , were to be in force unti

2 4th Jun e, 1844 ,the brethren resolved at this meetin

to extend them ti ll 27th December, 1844, which was th

then en su ing St .John

’s Day.

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 SC . 9

The fourth regular meet ing took place on 15th July ,

1844,and was the only meeting during the year which

the Right Worshipful Master did not attend, and was

presided over by Worshipful Brother L arkworthy.

Brothers Ardeshir CursetjiWadia, Mirza A l li Mabom

ed Shoostry and Mahomed Jaffer were duly passed to therespectable degree of Fel low Craft Mason

‘s , and the

working tools and the tracing board were then explained

to the newly passed brethren by the offic iat ing Worshipful Master, It was the pract ice in those days that a

candidate before being advanced at a meet ing had to be

formally proposed at a previous meeting for b eingCrafted or

'

raised , and this pract ice cont inued t i l l the

year 1891 .

At the fifth regular meeting , held on l oth September,1844, it was reso lved to order out from E ngland the

whole of Brother Dr. George Ol iver’s works on Masonry,

and two gent lemen were proposed for in it iat ion , viz . ,

Meer Hyder, a respectable Persian merchant from Cal

cutta, an d Nabob Akbar A likhan . Brother Oliver’s workssubsequent ly arrived and some of them still form a part

of the l ibrary of the lodge .

The last regular.

meeting was to have been held on

15th November, 1844, but in order to enable the brethren

to meet Brother Fawcett , Jun iorWarden , (who was then

shortly leaving for E urope and was anxious to attend the

meet ing to bid farewel l to the brethren) it was held in deference to a request from him and Brother L e Geyt on 19th

November. The lodge passed a resolution unan imously

recording the regret which it fe lt at the departure of

Brother Fawcett , and thanking him for his services as

one of its Office bearers and the R ight WorshipfulMas-terconveyed the resolution to Brother Fawcett in a compl i

mentary speech .

The first ann iversary meet ing of the lodge was held

on l 6th December, -1844, and as it turned out was as

'

ao HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

memorable as the one he ld on 15th December, 1843 , at

which the lodge was brought into existence .

The R ight Worshipful Master and Bros. L e Qeyt ,P

. M. , and L arkworthy , S .W. , had so verymuch endeared

themselves to the nat ive brethren of the lodge ( the first

named for founding and conducting the lodge and the

s econd for his efforts for the establ ishment of the lodge

and the last named for his e loquent exposit ions of the

c eremon ies and princ i ples of Freemasonry) , that they

held a meeting of their own on 12th December, 1844 ,

under the Chairmanship of B rother Maneckji Cursetji,

and unan imously resolved thereat to commemorate the

foundation Of the lodge by striking a medal bearing on

one side the effigy Of the Founder and on the other a

su itable inscription indicat ive of the object, and to

present the medal in gold to the R ightWorshipful Master

and in si lver to Brothers L e Geyt and L arkworthy and

other distingu ished Masons , and appointed Brother

Maneckji Cursetji to present the resolut ions engrossed

on vellum to R ight Worshipful Brother Dr. Burnes with

a request to consent to accept the same .

The resolut ion s under the circumstan ces of the case

w ere but quite natural for the nat ive brethren to havepassed, and indeed they could not have done be tter than

t o approach the Founder of the lodge in the manner

they did . I t is not possible to cut out any port ions

from the resolutions, and to attempt to do so wouldbe towithold from it the expression so e loquent and

grateful which the nat ive brethren thereby gave to

the ir sincere and cordial feelings which when read

cannot fai l to inspire any reader with true Mason ic

f ee lings and the deepest reverence for the Craft

and its supporters. The resolut ion , therefore, wi ll befound set out in extenso a l ittle later as part of the

proceedings of the ann iversary meet ing of l 6 th Decemb er, 1844, together with the very splendid address which

OF WE STE RN I NDIA N o. 342 S .C. 2 1

Brother Maneckj i Curse tj i del ivered after readingthe resolutions to the E uropean brethren of the

Ridge . That address consists of two sentences but offortyys

'

EV en lines as written in the minute book of

the lodge and reveals in unmistakab le terms the .

genu ine character and the conviction of an un iversal

brotherhood.

The R ight Worshipful Master was at the ann iversarymeeting solic ited by the nat ive brethren to continue in

office for the ensu ing year, and their proposa l having been

supported by the other brethren and carried by accla

mat ion the R ight Worshipful Master accepted the office

but on condit ion (which the brethren accepted) that

Brother L arkworthy should be appointed Subst itute

Master with full authority to rule the lodge in his

absence. or even in his presence should he deem it

advisable , and Brother L arkworthy accepted the office .

The R ight WorshipfulMaster, Subst itute Master and

Treasurerwere then duly elected by ballot and the R ight

Worshipful Master nominated his Office-bearers for the

ensuing year amongst whomwas Brother Maneckji

Cursetji again appointed as Secretary to be invested on

St . John’s Day, 27th December, 1 844 .

The following n ine E uropean brethren were then affili

ated to the lodge and as a special case (the meet ingbeing the first ann iversary meeting) they were all

unan imously admitted as Orig inal Members of the lodge

without payment of the join ing fee , viz

Brother W. Crawford Brother J . Bird

W.Ward G . Jenkins

C. F . Stewart D . Graham

W. Pole H . B . L ynch

E . Downes

and out of them Brother Pole was appointed Sen ior Dea

con and Brother L ynch was appointed Interpreter and

Director of Ceremon ies .

22 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

Brothers Syed Tukee and R eza were duly passed, and

a very pleasing and important function then took place .

Brother Maneckji Cursetji stepped forward(

and

addressed the R ightWorshipful Master in nearly t hese

words :

R ight Worshipful and E steemed Brother“At a meeting of the native members of the L odge

‘

R is ing Star of Western India’

he ld on the 12th instan t,

i twas unan imously resolved to commemorate it‘

s founda

tion and at the same time to mark the ir sen se of

grat itude to you , R ight Worshipful , as its Founder, bystriking a medal bearing on one side your effigy and on

the other a su itable inscription indicative of the object,and that I have been commissioned to read the said

resolutions to you , which I beg to be permitted to do in

the presence of this assembly.

“I need scarcely assure you , R ight Worshipful , that

however grat ifying to my fee lings the performance of

the task thus entrusted to me , I fear my inabi lity to do

full justice to the very earnest fee l ings of respect ,friendship and regard, which I am req uested to represent

to your Worship , and in which I do most cordially

part ic ipate .

“That your Worship’s attachment to the cause Of Free

masonry, your zeal for the advan cemen t of its prosperity,and the very many most valuable services which you

have rendered to the Craft are too we ll known to need

recapitulation , whilst your worth and merits have been

appreciated and acknowledged by various bodies of the

fratern ity in India and E urope , but that this addit ional

act of yours , in throwing boldly and undisgu isedly Open

the portals of Freemasonry to the nat ives of India , and

which it is the object of these resolutions to com

memorate , w i ll , to u se the Oriental expression , render

your name resplenden t throughout the E ast, and ever

endear you to your nativ e brethren .

24 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

sanction of the Provinc ial Grand Master, be estab lished

henceforth as the badge of the L odge R ising Star of

Western India,to be worn by every member thereof ,

pendant to an orange-watered ribbon , and that for this

purpose the lodge be requested to accept from us the

dyes .

“F z

°

fthly.— That of the said medals in si lver one be

presented to our R ight Worshipful and dear Brother

L e Geyt , the Deputy Provinc ial Grand Master and our

Past Master, and one to our Worshipful and esteemed

Brother L arkworthy , our Sen ior Warden , to the former

in token of our appreciation of his efforts for the

establishment of our lodge, and to the latter in token of

the eloq uent. expos itions of the principles and ceremon iesof Freemasonry which he , at various t imes, has favoured

u s with .

“Sixthly.

— That steps , likewise , be taken to transmit

the said medals respect ively to the Most Worshipful the

Grand Masters of E ngland , Scotland, and Ireland , the

Duke de Caze , Most V enerable of the Grand Orien t of

Fran ce , the ir R oyal H ighnesses the Grand Masters of

the Order in Hol land and Prussia, the R ight Worshipful

Brother J Grant, Provinc ial Grand Master of Bengal ,and to the Most N oble the Provinc ial Gran d Master of

Madras and the three Princes of the Blood R oya l of

Persia, who are Freemasons , and to such other exaltedbrethren as the lodge may hereafter spec ify .

“Seven thlyr

—That Brothers Maneckji Cursetji Moha s

med Jaffer, Ardeshir Cursetji, and A l li Mahomed, .

E squ ires , do form themselves into a committee for the

purpose of g iving effect to the object we have in view , in

a mann er credi table to us and agreeable to the Provincial

Grand Master.

“E ighthly.

That these resolutions be fairly engrossed

on vellum both in the E ngl ish and Persian languages and

be presented to our R ight Worshipful Provincial Grand

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C .

Master, at the meeting of our lodge on the l6 th instant, .

with a sol ic itation that he wi l l obl ige us by consenting~

and giving effect to the same .

MAN E CK J I OUR SE TJ I ,Chairman of the said Meeting .

The R ight Worshipful brother then addressed the

nat ive brethren in Persian and afterwards addressed

the other brethren as follows .

My Brethren ,

— I have just endeavoured to explain to

our native brethren in the Persian language that I

must indeed be want ing in feel ings which should

characterise a man and a Mason , if I did not deeply value

the friendship and brotherly love which have induced

them to identify me with the measure now proposed,but that highly as I appreciate the dist inct ion to myselfconveyed in it , which is indeed most flattering and grater

ful , yet the proposal comes recommended to me on

grounds altogether apart from personal feel ings and

finds a cordial and unqual ified welcome to my heart,

chiefly from its exhibiting on their part so becoming a

reverence and homage to our Mason ic Craft , and thus I

have observed, instead of be ing a restricted complimen t

to an individual . already far over-rewarded for any

services he may have performed,it assumes an extended

form and object , which whi le they confer on those from

whom i t emanates infin ite credit and honour, c lothe it

with a value which wi l l render it precious and acceptable

to the Mason ic brethren of every tongue and nat ion

throughout the earth since it goes forth to the world as

a nob le proof that the élite and selected of the nat ive

gent lemen of Bombay , having been admitted in to our

Brotherhood and understood its tenets and purposes ,have marked the ir grat itude and exultat ion by a .

test imon ial altogether unprecedented in the E ast , but

which , after excit ing a widely spread and intense interest

in our own day and generation , wi ll survive and endure

2 6 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

as a lasting token of their Mason ic.

zeal and , fidel ity tomankind hereafter, espec ial ly endearing them to. those

who shal l succeed to our emblems and symbols long afterwe shal l have been in itiated, passed, raised, and it is

‘to

be hoped exalted on another lodge . Under this view of

the subject I have added that it does not become me to

interpose personal scruples or de l icacy to the execut ion

of a measure and duty highly complimentary certain ly

to myself, but which may material ly advance the inter

est of Masonry in India, and which , whi le it con fers a

high distinction on the L odge R ising Star of Western

India, wi l l ever reflect lustre and honour on the n ine

first native members rece ived into it . 0

No finer ormore e loquent tribute than this speech could

have been paid to the labours of the worthy Founder of

the lodge , and no more touching proof of the love and

regard he had inspired could have been g iven than the

d epth and sin cerity of grat itude which found such

genuine and spontaneous expression .

The following resolution was then proposed by E roi

ther Blowers , seconded by Brother Compton , and carried

unan imously :That the lodge do cordially hai l the resolution s

subm itted by Brother Maneckji Cursetji and the other

nat ive brethren rece ive with gratitude the medal dyes .

and, with the sanction of the Provinc ial Grand Master, do

establish the meda l as the badge in manner proposed by

the nat ive brethren .

That a committee to be nominat ed by the R ight

Worhipful Master be appointed to co-Operate with the

committee of the nat ive brethren , to assist them by

every means in their power in the object they have in

View.

”

This resolut ion shows how whole-hearted and sympa

thet ic was the un ion between the E uropean and N at ive

members of the lodge .

Burne’s Me da l— Obve rs e

Burne’s Meda l— Reverse

medal was

L oves RISING STAR AT BOMBAY

H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

The last meeting of the year was held on St . John’s Day,

2 7th December, 1844, and R ightWorshipful Brother Dr.

Burnes was duly reinstal led as Master, and he invested

his 11 office-bearers , via , subst itute master, past master ,

wardens, deacons, treasurer, secretary , interpreter and

d irector of ceremon ies , and guards with the respect ive

jewels of the ir office s . This was the largest attended”

meeting of the lodge of the whole year, and amongst the

visiting brethren were two distinguished personages, via ,

the Marqu is de Ferriere L a V oyer and L ord V iscount

Sandall (or as his name is g iven in the minute book L ord

Viscount Suirdale) and they were unan imously elected

honorary members, and then the lodge was c losed and

the brethren went from labour to refreshmen t . The

Marquis was in Bombay on his way t o France after

having creditably held the high office of Princ ipal

Secretary to the Embassy from the K ing of France to the .

Emperor of China, and had been that very n ight in itiated

into the order of Freemasonry in an E ngl ish lodge‘

through the courtesy of Dr Burnes . L ord Sandal l was

the grandson of the then late R ight Worshipful Grand '

Master of Ireland and was a very zealous Mason .

Certain proceedings recorded in the minute book , as,

supplementary proceedings of 27th December, 1844, showthat the lodge was then held in its very infancy

,

in very

high esteem by the lodges in the sister presidencies and

also in E ngland and Scotland . and also bring back to ,

memory the noble sent iments and cordial wishes of .the '

French nobleman which hitherto have remained hidden

in the records of the lodge .

A t the banqueting board a E uropean visit ing bro

ther proposed that the speech delivered that even ing bythe dist ingu ished French Marquis be tran slated from

French in to E ngl ish by Brother Maneckji Cursetji and

recorded in the records of the lodge , and the R ight

Worshipful Master accordingly directed that the toast

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 29

a nd the speeches which it e l icited in reply, in relat ion tot he lodge , be recorded which was done as follows

The n ext toast which the R ight Worshipful proposed

w asone , he said , of peculiar interest , it was“Prosperity

to the R ising Star of Western India,

”a lodge erected

under pecul iar c ircumstances, and of which the first

a nn iversary was celebrated lately. I ts working had

g iven him ,and all interested in its we lfare , entire

Isatisfaction , which must be attributed to the zealousexert ions of its officers , both E uropean and Nat ive .

Brother Comp ton returned thanks, in the absence of.t he Substitute Master, Brother L arkworthy , in the

n ame of the E uropean officers of the Star.

Brother Maneckji Cursetji, in doing the same on the

part of the Nat ive officers , said The nat iv e brethren

a re not insensible of the kindness which prompt ed the

R ight Worshipful the Provinc ial Grand Master never to

omit opportun ities , whenever he had any , of taking.such favourable not ice as he had that even ing done of

.the L odge R ising Star of Western I ndia. a' lodge ex

pressly erected , and for the first t ime in India, for the

.admission of nat ive gent lemen of ac knowledged int egrity .

‘

That it has already b een a source of self-gratulation to

t he native brethren to find that this , their infant lodge , I.has been kindly and favourably noticed, not on ly in the’

s ister presidencies, but even in several of the Provincial ‘

L odge meet ings in E ngland and Scotland;that from the

c ircumstan ce of the presence of the ir foreign visitor

Brother the Marquis De Ferriere , at the meet ing of the

S tar, and from what has b een witnessed by him, that it

was not improbab le it would attract like notice at the

.capital , and in the provirices of France . BrotherMan eckji

C ursetji wouldavai l himse lf of the opportun ity to say

how much he is personally indebted to the Spirit of Free

m asonry in France . Between some of the lodges there

a nd the R ising Star of Western I ndia there exists a


relat ion ship , for the first native member of the latter

was in itiated into one of the former,

“A la Gloire de

l’

Universe” under the warrant of dispensat ion from the

Most Venerable of the Grand Orient ,”his respectedand

distinguished friend the Duke of Caze. That there was

some difficulty as to the adm ission of nat ives in to our

Order b efore , but that d ifficulty was surmoun ted to a

great extent b y his (Brother Maneckji Cursetji’s) in it ia

t ion at Paris , and it therefore gave him no small

satisfact ion to have been in some degree instrumental

in introduc ing our newly elected Brother, the Marquis

de Ferriere , into our Order that n ight and who so justlydeserved the warmth of our gree t ings .

”0

The Marquis de Ferriere L aVoyer again rose to assure

the meeting that he was touched with all he heard so

flattering for himself and his country , and if anythingcould add to the emotion s exc ited within him by the

discourse to which he so badly rep l ied, it" would be

without doubt the words which their Parsee brother ,

(Maneckji Cursetji) had so eloquent ly pronounced. I t

was indeed to him (the Marqu is) agreeable thus farfrom France , and on a soi l where the tri-coloured flag

wafts but se ldom, to receive t estimony of such cordial

sympathy on the part of a member of that nat ion of

il lustrious exiles, which Fran ce on ly knows by name .

If he , the Marquis, was not mistaken , a Parsee , even who

had just addressed him in such a kind manner, went ,without be ing stopped by the obstac les which his relig ion

opposes to distant journey, even to Fran ce , where he

worthi ly represented his countrymen . I t was even in

F rance, under the auspices of the Most Worshipful

Grand Master, that he , the son'

of India , and the firstParsee Mason was invested with the insign ia of our

most holy Brotherhood in the same manner as. he, a

child of France , has been rece ived as an apprent ice in a

lodge of Bombay, by the especial favour of its learned

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C. 31 ,

and honoured Provincial Grand Master. That they see

at that moment a double example of the valuable effects .

of Masonry , the admingling together of members from

themost distant parts of the world . H e (the Marquis)said he was going to propose not a toast , but a wish that

they might see more frequen t ly in Paris and in L ondon

the Parsees of the E ast . Our esteemed brother had g iven

the first example , may that example be fol lowed , and his

compatriots bring back, as he has done, such good

recollect ions of , and such exten sive sent imen t in favour

of , the c ivi lizat ion of the inhabitants of E urope . A s to

the other part of his double toast , th’

e Marquis added

that he wasthere , a Fren chman , his first step in Masonry

was taken into an E ng lish lodge . Might he , therefore ,be perm itted to con sider this fact as a symbol of the

union of two empires which he ld in the ir hands the

peace of the world , this holy and distinguished object of

F reemasonry. H e , therefore , most cordially proposed re

p eated voyages of the Parsees to France and to E ng land,

and the frequent appearance of the flag which protects

the men and the manufactures of France in the ports of

I ndia . The Marqu is sat down amidst great applause .

Thus closed the first and very eventful . year of the

existen ce of the lodge with fifty members on its roll, of

whom two noblemen were honorary members , one a

French Viscount and the other an Irish Peer. No

statement of the funds or the accounts is g iven in the

minutes of this year, but from the minutes of the year

1851 , which wi ll be referred to in connect ion with the

events of that year, it appears that the total receipts

were R s .

‘

and that the total expenditure was

R s. -13-8, leaving a balance of R s . 206-2-4 to the

credit of the lodge .

By the end of the year the lodge also got its Charter

from the Grand L odge of Scotland. I t bears No.

403 and is dated “E dinburgh , 2nd December,

“


and was ordained to be issued by the Grand L odge

. assembled in the Freemason'

s Hal l at. E dinburgh upon a

pet ition presented to it on the same day in the name of

Brothers L e Geyt, Danvers and others who had signed the

orig inal requ isit ion to the Provinc ial Grand Master with

the necessary certificat es and was signed by the R ight

Hon . George L ord Glen lyon , the Most Worshipful the

Grand Master Mason of Scotland, and the SubstituteGrand Master, the Sen ior and Jun ior Grand Wardens

and the Grand Secretary and Grand Clerk . This Char

ter is kept in the custody of the Master andWardens for

the time being of the lodge and exhibited at every lodge

meet ing , so that the same may be better known and

more easi ly observed by all brethren . I t authorises the

lodge to enter apprent ices, pass fel low crafts and raise

master masons upon payment of composit ions at their

in it iat ion of not less than one gu inea, and in ter alia

enjoin s all brethren not to desert the lodge on any

account nor upon any pretext what ever to make any

separate or schismat ical meet ings independen t of the

Master andWardens for the t ime being , nor to introduce

any other orders of Masonry than those sanctioned, and

requ ires them to be bound at all t imes in full alleg ian ce

to the Grand L odge of Scotland and to obey all its acts ,

statutes and regulat ions , and to record it (the Charter)

and the minutes of the ir whole procedure from time t o

t ime in the books of the lodge;and to attend the Grand

L odge whole general meet ing or quarterly communica

t ion s by the Master and Wardens for the t ime being

as the ir representat ives or by lawful proxies in their

names . The Charter was appoint ed to be recorded in the

books of the Grand L odge , and g ives the lodge preceden ce

in the Grand L odge as from the date thereof . (See

Appendix A .)From the Freemasons

’Quarterly R eview (September

N umber) it appears that on 24th June , 1844, the Mason ic

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C 33

fratern ity ce lebrated the ann iversary of their patron

saint , St . John the Bapt ist. and that on that occasion

when the brethren ret ired from labour to refreshment

theqeight nat ive members of L odge R ising Star, inc luding

BrotherManeckji Cursetji, formed part of the company .

This was then a novel even t in the annals of Freemason

ry in Western I ndia and attract ed much publ ic attent ion .

The B ombay Courier, the dai ly E ng l ish n ewspaper of

the day , in its issue of 28th June, gave a short account ofthe meet ing , and there in an imadverted favourably on thebeaut ies of the Mystic Order which , i t said , brought to

gether in to one harmon ious whole the disciple of Zoroas

ter, the follower of the Prophet . and the Christian as

chi ldren of the same Father, though following differentrel ig ions and speaking different languages . The B ombay

Chabook, a dai ly vernacular newspaper, wrote an articleupon this, in which it gave a distorted version of the ao

count as appearing in the Courier, and took the latter

paper severely to task, and it went so far as to say that

the Parsees , who had become Freemasons and had taken

baptismal water and become Christians , were alike in its

opin ion no Parsees, because it was nowhere written and no

where en joined in or by the Parsee rel ig ion for the Parsees

to join any assembly celebrating a Christian fest ival or

to join with them in tak ing their meals, and that the cere

mony of the festival was on account of St . John , no

thing but St John’

s fest ival , and that those who could

worship St . John must once and a hundred and thousand

times over and over be considered as having separated

themselves from the Pafrsee tribe . Then after saying that

un less Parsees were prevented from join ing Freemasonry

the Parsee rel ig ion would be in five or seven years more

and more enfeebled and that of Christ abundantly spread

in its stead, the B ombay Chabook said Had any poor

Parsee , even mistaking ly , committed such an act , our bro

t her, the J am-e-J amshed, would have girded his loins.

3


with all the twelve weapons , flashed l ike l ightn ing , growl

ed l ike thunder and deluged him with rain , but different

has been the case . H ere , sons of Setts are eat ing dirt by

way of amusement , and our brother the J am-e-J amshed

be ing one of the e lect ed buffoon s of their table , he hashidden himself in the c louds l ike the moon in themonsoon .

”

The reference to the sons of Setts was clearly a hit at

Brothers Man eckji Cursetji and Ardeshir Cursetji Wadia

who had broken through the trammels of bigotry and join

ed the noble Order.

The whole art icle was full of unjust prejudice which in

those days fil led the native mind against Freemasonry .

The Courier vindicated itself by exposing the distort

ed version . The whole controversy, however, was very

interest ing and may be usefully read as contained in the

Freemasons’Quarterly R eview of 1844 , pp . 36 1 to 364 .

I t is also recorded in the Freemasons’Quarterly R eview

of 1844 , pp . 497 to 498 , that on 3oth July, 1844 , L odge

St . Andrews in the E ast of Poona gave a grand Mason ic

en tertainment to Dr. Burn es, and presented to him a

Kn ight’s Cross of the Guelphic Order handsomely set and

enriched with bri lliants as an appropriate badge or jewe l

to commemorat e his visi t to Poona and consecrat ion of

that lodge a few mon ths before . A t that entertainment

Dr. Burnes proposed The Mason ic L odges of Western

India ,

”and in doing so entered part icularly into the

reasons whichhad induced him to san ction the then recen t

e stablishment of the R ising Star for the admission of

native gent lemen into the Craft. L odge St . Andrews

in the E ast , Poona, comes next after R ising Star and

bears N o . 343 S . C .

The letter already referred to of Frater to the ed itor

o f the Freemasons’

Quarterly R eview was as follows

To the E ditor of the Freemasons’

Quarterly R eview .

Sir ,May this foundation-stone prove the super

structure of a bu i lding that shall endure for all a'

ges”


all of them certain foods are re lig iously forbidden , and

no two of them wi l l together participate of the same meal,

the Christian alone be ing above the prejudice , and freely

using all God’s creatures each sect looking upon another

with no little jealousy and some dread;the H indob and

Parsee st i l l recol lecting the horror and persecut ion of the

Mahomedan invasmn s, and all feeling the present

supremacy of the British power. With people then of

these different habits and feelings is the great soc iety of

Bombay composed;but it wi l l not be necessary for me

further to part icularize their pecularities, as I tel l you

why, and on what princ iple , the native lodge has been

founded . You w il l re col lect that , about the beg inn ingof the year 1843, the foundation-stone of

‘dhe J amsetji

J ijibhaii Hospital was laid in Bombay , with Masonic

honours , in the presence of the Founder and the Honourable the Governor, and nothing of the sort having been

“

w itnesse‘d there before that impress ive ceremony , which

was beautifully performed by the R ight Worshipful theProvincial Grand Master of Western India, and a large

assemblage of brethren , it made a considerable impressionupon the wondering natives , and nothing more so than

by observing the high and wealthy of the presidency in

such close commun ion with their more humble brethren;and constant and earne st were the after-enquiries

respecting the mystic tie that could b ind them so

int imately together. To the 1nq u 1r1ng m ind the Craf t

have ever been ready and wi lling to explain to the

un in itiated the grand princ iples upon which our Order isfounded, nor were the Bombay brethren to be the first

exception , and the result was that many became eager

for the privi lege of wearing the badge of innocence , and

to be received into the fratern ity , some of whom were

men of we ll-known talent, en terprise and honour.

This feel ing being observed and examined, some of

the leading brethren in Bombay , after mature consider

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C . 7

a t ion , determin ed to grat ify the ir laudable inclinat ions ;b ut now appeared the difficulty for, on more than one

occasipn , the on ly lodge in work in Bombay had n egat iv

e d the admission of any nat ive , even as a join ingmember;therefore there could be no hope in that quart er, the opin ion of the lodge having been so decidedly

g iven . B ut however w e may admire the s incerity of

its members , w e may certain ly doubt the ir judgment

in the decision come to , and hope that, by the futurec ulture of Mason ic princ iple and observat ion of the f ruitproduced by the R ising Star, the Opin ion acted uponm ay be proved to be erroneous .

The on ly plan that could be adopted was to found a

n ew lodge for the purpose of the admission of nat ive

g entlemen , which was accordingly done in the manner

you have described in your former number, doubly

guarding each of the grand landmarks of our Order,e very responsib le office be ing filled by tried men and

true , t ill others shal l be found to be worthy One thing ,

however, admits but of little doubt , that R ising Starwi ll , before many years shal l have passed away , have

1

gained such alt itude in the heaven ly sc ience , that it wil l l

s hed a bri lliancy over the whole of Western India, re- l

turn ing in tenfold degree the l ight it is now borrowingfrom the E urop ean Brotherhood ;for lodges in India

generally have not been able long to sustain a character

t hey have , for the most part, ephemerally or acc identally

acquired. F or in India most men are but mere birds of

passage , here to-day and gone to-morrow, and although

a lodge may have been ably and zealously presided over

for a t ime , the Master, even before his term has expired,

has perhaps been ordered off to a distant stat ion , where

he may possibly be the on ly brother. On the contrary

the greater number of the brethren be long ing to a lodge

in E ngland are permanent res idents, who can not only fi ll

the various jun ior offices in the lodge , but after they

38 H ISTORY OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

have received command, can remain to teach the princi

p les and doctrines they have learn ed, and ever af ter

wards to watch over the we l l-be ing of the Craft in f theirimmediate ne ighbourhoods . I n this way, too, may we

h0 pe to see the L odge R ising Star, in after years . The

majority of its members be ing residents it wi ll remain

as a depository for the Mason ic lore of Western India ,

and by the correctness of its ceremon ial and accuracy of

its working , become a means of permanent instruct ion

that has been but too seldom avai lable in this distant

land .

Our anc ient charges having particularly guarded us

against admitt ing anyone to a partic ipation of our'

secrets , who , we have not good ground for bel ieving ,wi ll

ultimately reflect honour on the Craft , would of course in

duce an attent ive listen ing to all the dangers and incon

ven iences attending the admission of the native of India

into our lodges , that were made by some anxious a nd

zealous brethren , and every precaution that f oresight and

knowledge could take have been adopted to sustain the

purity of the sanctuary , and consequently two or three

deviations from the usual customs have been adopted

for instance , the declaration commences‘

I -in the fear

and belief of the on ly one true and living God, of a state

of reward and pun ishment after life , for deeds done in the‘ flesh , and of the nature and import of a solemn‘

ob l igat ion .

’Then fol lows the usual one , p . 85 , para . 3 of

t he Const itutions , which is not only signed in E ngl ish ,

but the vernacular of the candidate , af ter a viva voce

examination'

b y a brother in whom confidence can be

p laced. Again , an examinat ion is entered into regardingthe nature and import of the serious promise before it isl made a solemn obl igat ion , so that no part of it may be

by any possibi lity misunderstood , or rashly entered into.

but impressed with all the solemn ity that part of the cere

mony is so pecul iarly capab le of rece iving . B ut the great

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o 342 S .C. 39

point , the obligat ion , how is that admin istered? I n every

respect in the usual way;but again with an addition , for

each is re-obl igated on what he considers as most bindingon hi s conscience . F or instance , the Mahomedan , althoughhe believes in the Old T estament , does not believe in the

divin ity of Christ;therefore , any obligation taken by him

on the Gospe ls would not be binding on his conscience ,as is the case with an obl igation taken on the Korantherefore . he is re-obligated upon that book,

in the same

way as the J ew is re-obl igated on the Pentateuch . A s

Masons, the Bible is ever open before us , it is our

great light— the light of the L aw and the Prophets;butas Christ ians we have also the light of revelat ion attach

ed to it, to gu ide us in our pi lgrimage of l i fe , and whichis necessary for the obl igation of a Christian Mason , as

no other would b e binding on a Christian’s conscience ,

but which would not be so e ither on the Mussalman or

the H ebrew, the one in his faith stopping short , and the

other going beyond it . These deviations, or ratherI

addit ions, were considered necessary and proper, and to Iafford a sufficient additional safeguard for the keepinginviolate our sacred mysteries , and were determined on ]by those who have taken the responsibil ity of the nat ive '

lodge upon their shoulders , and who wi l l not leave their

brethren with a bare in itiation in to the ceremon ial

mysteries of our Order, but who can and wil l carefully

instruct them in the principles and in the working out

of the grand end and aim of the institution , to show

them that there is at least one place here on earth where

men of"

every denomination may meet on terms of

brotherhood and equal ity,whatever may be his colour.

Or whatever may be his creed, so long as he bel ieves in

the one true and l iving God , looks forward hereafter for

reward or pun ishment for deeds done in the flesh , and

l ives an honest and upright life .before his God, and withhis neighbour : and to prove to them, that although

40 H ISTOR Y OF'

L ODGE R ISING STiAR

the ir different prejudices wi ll not allow them to eat

together, they may advan tageously join together in the

performance of good works, and in the cult ivation of

every virtue , that brotherly love may b e encouraged ,

1 relief practised, and truth be triumphant ;that they may

be taught to despise the l i ttleness of sectarian prejudices

and to view in every son of Adam a brother of the dust .

At the first regular meeting of the lodge two in itia

tions took place one a Parsee , the other a Mahomedan ,

both of them of the most respectab le of their own people ,the former a particularly intel ligent and clever man , a

F. R . S and possessing considerable sc ientific acqu ire

ments , but unfortunately those who are nearest and dear

est to him are not qu ite so en lightened as himself , andcannot be brought to look with complacency on the step

he has taken, and consequently he has been subjected toconsiderable annoyance , so much so that others have

shrunk from encountering it . But this is nothing more

than Freemasonry has been accustomed to in all ages

from the powerful ignorant and the bigot , and what is

not even discontinued by the enlighten ed ( l) E uropean

in our own day, as so recently exhibited to the world at

large in the Malta Pastoral therefore , it is not to be ex

pected that its course could be more smooth and even

among a new people, wi th manners and habits so differ

ent from E uropean nations. Nor are we aston ished or

surprised at finding some of the old but most influentialnat ive gentlemen put ting , as far as they can do so, a

direct veto on those over whom they have influence fromentering into the Order, whilst the on ly reason ass igned

is that it will bring them into too near a contact withE uropeans, and that they maybe led to eat and drink withthem;and most Indian fami lies be ing st i ll conducted onthe patriarchal princ iple , and -all branches of it general lyresiding under one roof, this check has had some influ

ence , especially amongst the Parsees . Sti ll , however, there

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C. 41

have been already eight init iations of native gentlemen

intoour Order, and others have gone through prel iminaries

that w ill enable them to be introduced at subsequent meet

ings”, and their conduct and example will _ no doubt ulti

m ately soften down , if not en tire ly do away with , exist ing

p rejudices which a want of knowledge alone has g iven

b irth to, for the bright light of truth must one day c lear

away the dark and dismal c louds of calumny, superst ition

a nd ignorance .

N evertheless, the Bombay brethren do not look for

ward to , or wish for, either a great influx of members ,or a rapid advancement of them through the different

degrees;ori the contrary , they are most careful and

caut ious in their select ions . I t is not to allwho knock that

the door is opened;but most anxious are they that no

objectionable person should gain admittan ce . The f ee is

high , and the scrutiny severe , whi lst the exam inat ion

before advancement is crit ical and searching , and a good,

pract ical knowledge of one degree is required before a

second step is g iven , the bye-laws requ iring a much

longer period to elapse than stated by the Constitu

t ions .

One point more , and I have done for the present . The

L odge R ising Star ranks under the banners of the

G rand L odge of Scotland, in common with all the lodges

at present working inWestern India. Unnatural mothersw i ll ever produce undutiful chi ldren;the Grand L odge of

E ng land having proved herself an inattent ive and dis

oblig ing guardian , a foster-mother has been found, who

wi ll watch more carefully over her adopted children . To

the c it izen of the world it l ittle sign ifies under what banner he ranges himself , provided it be a truly Mason ic one

and whether the Rose , the Shamrock , or the Thist le beemblazoned upon it, he can still work on with that love.and harmon y that should ever characterise free and ac

cepted Masons . B ut with age parents become feeble and

42 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STA R

often disabled . I t , therefore , behoves them to cherish

their offspring so that in the even ing of weakness and in

trouble , youthful and wi lling L ewises may be found to

lend their strength and support when“

needed .

c

But

chi ldren cannot always endure neglect , even from the ir

parent much may be borne ;but there is a point at

which even fil ial love wi ll cease .

B ombay, J une 1 9 , 1 844. FRATER

Brother A . C . Wadia and Mirza A li Mahomed Shoos

try were the first two members in itiated into the lodge ,

and they are the Parsee and Mahomedan initiates refer

red to in para. 7 of this admirable letter.

4 4 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

Secretary of that lodge with the following coveringletter :

B ombay, 1 5 th March 1 845 .

Dear Sir and Brother, —I have been requested by theWorshipful Master of L

‘

odge Perseverance to forward to

you , for the informat ion of the R ight Worshipful Master,

»oflicers and brethren of the L odge R ising Star, the

a nnexed copy of a resol ution which was unan imously

p assed by the brethren at the last lodge meeting of

Perseverance of the 3rd in stant , and at the same time to

state that it wi l l afford the members Of that lodge thehighest grat ificat ion to welcome amongst them the nat ive

brethren of the L odge R ising Star in the prosperity of“which Perseverance cannot but fee l a deep in terest .

Yours fraternally ,

A . HUGH THOMAS ,

Secy. , L odge Perseverance .

BRO. MAN ECK J I CURSE T J I ,SE CY. TO L ODGE R I S I NG STAR

OF WE STERN INDIA.

R esolution unan imously passed by the brethren of the

L odge Perseverance , at its meeting on the 3rd March ,1845 .

That the actual members of the L odge R ising Star of

West ern India be considered extra members of L odge

Perseverance , be warned of its meet ings , and be ent itled

to all the privi leges of ordinary members except ing that

o f speaking and vot ing on quest ions before the lodge .

The fol lowing reply was sen t to this letter .

B ombay, 1 5 th March, 1 845 .

BRO. HUGH T HOMAS ,SE CY L ODGE PERSEVE RANCE .

Dear Sir and Brother, —I have the pleasure t o acknow

l edge the receipt of your letter of the‘ 15th instan t


enclosing for the informat ion of the R ight WorshipfulMaster, Officers, and members of the L odge R ising Star

of Western India a copy of the resolut ion passed by oursister, L odge Perseveran ce , to the effect that the actual

members of the L odge R ising Star of Western India be

considered extra members of Perseverance , be warned

of its meet ings , and be ent it led to all the privileges ofordinarymembers , except ing that of speaking and vot ingon quest ions before the lodge .

Through some mistake your kind commun icat ion under

reply did not reach me t ill af ter our meet ing of the 1 5 th

instant , but it is now in the course of circulat ion for the

informatiqn of the actual members of the L odge R isingStar of Western India.

I t affords me sincere grat ificat ion in the meant ime to

acquaint you for the information of the WorshipfulMaster, officers and members Of the L odge Perseverancethat a resolut ion simi lar in every respect to the one you

enclosed me has been unan imously passed at a meeting of

the L odge R ising Star of Western India, on the 15th in

stant , according the same privi lege to the members of thePerseverance in our lodge which they have so kindly

accorded us into theirs , the object being rec iprocally to

advan ce the interest of Freemasonry .

I have , by the command of our R ight Worshipful , to

add, that the members of the L odge R ising Star of

Western India wi l l always with delight welcome the

members of the L odge Perseverance at our lodge meet

ings of which you shal l be regularly kept acquainted

for their informat ion , and am , Dear Sir and Brother

Secretary,Yours fraternally ,

MANE CK J I CURSE T J I ,Secy. , R ising S tar of Western I ndia.

The letter of the Secretary of L odge Perseverance re

fers on ly to the native brethren of this lodge but that


must have been for the simple reason that they were theon ly brethren to be admitted as extra members as the

E uropean brethren were the act ua l members of that body .

After the passing of the resolution by the lodge , the

members of L odge Perseverance attended its meetings as

extra members and some of them at t imes even offic iatedas office-bearers.

The two new members in it iated were Brot hers MirzaAli Akbar, Khan Bahadur. and Aga Mahomed BankerKhan . The former was the Munshi to the Government of

Sc inde and was on a short visit to Bombay and was desir

ous of being admitt ed in to the lodge . I t was , however,not possible for him to remain in Bombay f ormpre than a

f ortn ight, owing to the exigenc ies of publ ic service , and

he therefore applied to the Provin cial Grand Master to

gran t him a spec ial dispen sat ion so as to allow of his be

ing in it iated at once af ter being brought to the ballot .

H is appl icat ion stated as his recommendat ion that he was

connected with the public service and had been publicly

ment ioned by H . E . Sir Charles Napier and H . E . the

Governor-General-in-Coun c i l . Brothers Man eckji Cur

setji and Mahomed Jaffer supported his applicat ion,but

not unt il after the former had by command of the

R ight Worshipful Master in st ituted an inquiry into his

character and qualification s of R ight Worshipful Bro

thers Captain s L amart and Barr, who were supposed to

know him, and had received a favourable report . The

applicat ion was entertained by the Provincial Grand

Master and the candidate was then brought to the ballot

at the lodge meet ing , which , to su it his conven ience , was

held on l oth May in stead of 15 th May ,1845 . The app li

cation , the letter of inquiry and the repl ies thereto were

read, and thereupon two visit ing brethren ,namely , B ro

thers L ieut . G . D . Byng , A ide-de-Camp to H . E . the Gove

rnor of Sc inde , and Captain St . Berry of H . M.

’

s 87th

R egiment , addressed the lodge in support of the applica

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C . 47

t ion of the candidate , describing him as an individual ine very way worthy of admission into the order of Free

masonry . The candidate was then duly e lected and in i

t iated. Copies of this applicat ion and Brother Maneckj i

Cursetji’s letter of inquiry and repl ies are set out in the

minute book and show how highly the privi lege of be

long ing to the lodge was valued by the appl ican t and

also how , even though the lodge was on ly a year old

and must have acquired a good number of members for

being able to maintain itself , strict were the princi ples

on which admission was granted . They are qu ite worth

a perusal .The threeJ joining members were Brothers Charles

B erry , H enry Conybeare and Dr.W. S . Stuart .

The seven honorarymembers were Bros . Capt . Frederick

W. Birch , Dr . George Ol iver, C . F . Crucifix, J . L amart ,

D e Caravon , L ord E lphinston e , and the V ery Worship

f ul Brother W. A . L aurie .

Brother Captain Birch was an emin ent and zealousMason and was then late Ofliciating Provincia l Grand

Master of Bengal , and according to R ight WorshipfulBrother Dr. Burnes , upon whose proposal he was en

rolled as an honorary member, had been watching the

proceedings of the lodge with the greatest interest . I n

a letter written by him to Brother Secretary acknow

ledg ing the high honour done to him he w ished success tothe lodge which he said he regarded as a means of great

good in bring ing into immediat e contact and mutual

apprec iat ion worthy men whom prejudice and habit had

hitherto kept asunder.

Brother L amart was the Past Master of the lodges

Orien t in the E ast of Poona and of Hope of Karachi,and was a visit ing brother at the lodge meet ing of 1 5th

March , 1845 . The R ight Worshipful Master expressed

h is great grat ificat ion at his presence and requested him

to officiate as Past M aster which he did . I t seems that a


visiting brotherOf high standing was in thosedays accord‘

ed spec ial honour by be ing requested to offic iate as Past

Master so as to regard him as a brother the very next

in rank for the time being to the presiding Officer at

the meeting , for at another meet ing held on 15 th Sep

tember, 1845 , R ight Worshipful Brother Buchanan ,W . M .

of L odge St . Andrews in the E ast , also avisiting brother,

had the same honour ;and at a meeting he ld on 13th

February, 1846 , Brother Gran t , also a visiting brotherwho

was created an honorary memb er, officiated as a Past

Maste r. Whi le return ing thanks for his kind reception

Brother L amart expressed a desire to be admitted an

honorary member of the lodge and the R ight, Worshipful

Master promised to bring his sol ic itat ion to the not ice of

the lodge on a su i table opportun ity . This however was

not long in coming , for at the very next meet ing held on

l 6th May , 1845 , t hat brother was duly proposed , ballotted

for and unan imously e lected as an honorary memb er.

I t was at the same meeting that B rother Cruc ifix ,who was the editor of the Quarterly R eview , and Brother

Dr. George Oliver, the eminent historian of the Craft ,and the VeryWorshipful BrotherW. A . L aurie , the Grand

Secretary of the Grand L odge , of Scot land , were alsounan imously elected honorary members;and i t appears

that Brother Cruc ifix was so e lected in consequence of a

letter written by him to the R ight Worshipful Master,and an extract from which , the minut es say, was read at

the meet ing . That brother, in acknowledg ing by letterthe compl iment paid to him , said it was indeed an honour

most gratifying ,emanat ing from a lodge where such

pract ical proof existed of the universally phi lanthropiccharacter of our g lorious institution , acknowledg ing no

other distinctions amongst men save those devoted to

virtue and integrity .

Brother D e Caravon was the nephew of the Duke de

Cazé the Most Venerable of the Grand Orient of France .

OF WE STE RN IND IA N o . 342 S .C . 49

He was present , as a visiting Brother, at the second

anni versary meet ing he ld on 1sth December, 1845 , and

was unan imously elected thereat an Honorary member .

He .was therefore the second Frenchman who became a

member of the lodge .

The R ight Honourable and Right Worshipful Brother

L ord E lphinstone was then the E x-Governor of Madras

and Provinc ial Grand Master of that Presidency and

was the nephew of the Governor of Bombay the

Honourable Mountstuart E lphinstone . He was on a visit

to Bombay in December 1845 , and an invitat ion was sent

to him by the lodge , but owing to the shortness of his

stay he was unab le to accept it and was besides preventedby other unavoidable engagements from be ing present

at the second anniversary meet ing of the lodge which

he would otherwise have been most happy to have done

as expressed in a note to Brother Secretary . The R ight

Worshipful Master suggested at that meet ing that the

least thing the lodge could do to mark its sen se on the

occasion of H is L ordship be ing amongst them and in

addit ion to the ground of his having he ld the exalted

office of Grand Master among the fratern ity of Madras ,

that of his be ing the n ephew of the Governor of Bombay ,

would be to e lect him an Honorarymember and to present

him w ith its medal . The following resolut ion was then

proposed by R ight Worshipful Brother Dr. Burnes, se

conded by Brother Maneckji Cursetji, and supported by

the Wardens , and unan imously passed by acclamation

That the lodge records its sincere regret that

un avo idable c ircumstances as explained in his note to

Brother Maneckji Cursetji have prevented the R ight

Worshipful Brother L ord » E lphinstone from visit ing us

this even ing . That His L ordship be e lected an Honorary

member of this lodge and that the compliment be aecom

panied by a gift of the lodgemedal to His L ordship. The

present resolut ion to be commun icated to H is L ordship by

5 0 H ISTOR Y .OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

B rother Man ecl Cursetj i with an assurance of our

friendly regard in referen ce t o H is L ordship’s note of this

date to him .

”

The resolu tion was in due course commun icated to

Brother L ord E lphinstone and he vouchsafed the follow

ing reply :Parel, 1 7 th December, 1 845 .

T o MAN ECK J I C 'UR SE T J I E SQ.

My Dear Sir,The resolut ion of the L odge R ising Star of Western

India,which you have been so good as to commun icate to

me , does but increase the regret that I f ee l at not

having been present at its ann iversary meet ing on

Monday .

I shall b e proud to rece ive at your hands my D iploma

and the Medal of the L odge which wi ll always remind

me of the great and unmerited dist inction and kindness

w ith which I have b een treated by my brother Mason s

a t Bombay, which assuredly wi ll not be the least amongthe many grat ifying remin iscen ces which I shall retain

o f this place .

I remain , My Dear Sir,Your fa ithful servant and Brother,

E L PH I NSTONE .

The V ery Worshipful Brother W. A . L aurie was the

Secretary of the Grand L odge of Scot land and was the

first Brother holding that office who was brought on the

rolls of the lodge .

Against the addit ion of twe lve members the lodge

sustained the loss of one by death , namely of Brother

Ward , who was the brother-in-Iaw (wife’s brother) of the

R ight Worshipful Master Dr . Burnes .

There was always a fairly good attendance of members,extra members and visitors at all

'

the“

regularmeet ingsand ‘besides the visiting Brethren , of whomment ion has

52 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I NG STAR

from the Grand Master or the Provinc ial Grand Master,

dec laring the case to be one of abso lute necessity .

It is man i fest , therefore , that even were it not the

bounden duty of the office to which I have been elevated

in the Craft to maintain strict ly its rules and ordinances ,

I could not permit myse lf to be put again in nomination

for the Mastership without issuing a formal dec larationto g lorify myself, and deprec iate my Brethren , in other

words to pronounce myself the on ly member of the

lodge qualified for the chair.

But this is a g laring absurdity , dear Brethren , which

you wi l l not con ceive me capab le of con templat ing , and

I on ly make this allusion to it in order that I may follow ,

it up with the request that no Brother wi ll vote for me

at the approaching e lection , since ne ither con sistent ly

with my fee lings as a Mason , nor my ideas as a gen tleman , could I again accept office .

“

The lodge conta ins many able and eminent Brethren ,

quite wi l ling I am sure , to forego personal conven ience to»

accept the on erous but at the same time most

honorable office of Master ,some of them , I hesitate not

in truth to say, far better in structed Mason s than I am

and better able to perform the duties . Of these, one

B rother has been too con spicuous not to have attracted

un iversal observat ion , my select ion of him to be subst ituteMaster suffi c iently indicates my personal apprec iation of

his merits and qualificat ions and his c laims to the cous i

derat ion of the lodge were acknowledged in a remarkablemanner at our last ann iversary by the vote to him of a

medal which through some mismanagement has not yet

reached us , but which I have reason to bel ieve is now

on its way from E ng land .

N evertheless , Brethren , the Provinc ial Grand Master

of Western India has a l ittle right to interfere with thef reedom of e lection and the integrity of the ballot as the

last received apprentice , and it is to your a lready unbias


e d suffrages that I leave the select ion of him who is to

r ule over you , never doubt ing that you w i ll ever keep in

v iew the Mason ic maximthat it is on real worth and

personal merit on ly that all preferment amongst Masons

.is grounded.

I have on ly to add that I cannot relinqu ish the chair .

o f the L odge R ising Star of Western India without con

gratulat ing the Brethren on its steady progress, the

g reat interest it has exc ited throughout the Mason ic

world , and the vast advantages it now promises to hold

f orth in the objects which the Craft has in view in a n ew

and mighty sphere .

Two great causes have Operated sin ce the establ ish

ment of the lodge in producmg these happy results ,and on these also I sincere ly congratulate you L ong

may they continue to influen ce us , need I say that I al lude

t o the undisturbed unan imity which has prevailed amongst

the members , and to the act ivity and mason ic propriety

which has characterised the conduct of the officers .

Both have been a source of sincere cont inued grat i

fication to me supporting me in try ing c ircumstances ,

a nd drawing more c losely the bonds of brotherly love

between us, and from my heart I thank you all and

individually for the affectionate and truly mason i c

manner in which they have been exhibited .

”

This remarkable address as tru ly mason ic as was the

r eply from the same dist inguished brother to the requ isit ion for the establ ishment of the lodge (and for that

reason never to b e forgotten ) seems only to have furthe rdec ided the brethren in insist ing upon the ir request butas the object ion of the R ight Worshipful Master couldn ot be overcome and as there was not a large attendanc e

of the members at the meet ing it was resolved that theelect ion of the Master should be postponed t ill 27thDecember 1845 , on which day a spec ial meet ing should bec alled for the purpose .

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI N G STAR

The L odge accordingly met on 27th December. The

R ight Worshipful Master again dec lined acceptan ce of‘

the chair as be ing contrary to the Const itut ions but the

Brethren again urged upon him strongly to waiva his

object ion to grant ing the dispen sation even though it be to :

re-elec t him to the chair for the third year, but upon the

R ight Worshipful Master st i l l refusing the honour, the

Brethren unan imously and by acclamat ion elected him

H onorary Master of the lodge and then e lected Brother

L arkworthy as the n ew Master.

The receipts during the year were on ly 846 which with

the last year’

s credit balan ce made up a total of

R s .

-2-9 . The disbursements amounted to R s .

-15-9 so that R s . 152-1 3-0 stood to the debit .

Brothers Maneckji Cursetji and Mahomed Jaffer were ,

itmay here b e noted two out of the twenty-four promotersof a new order cal led The Brotherhood of the Olive

Bran ch in the E ast which Dr. Burn es was endeavouringabout the end of this year (1845) to estab l ish in Western

India with the object in ter alia of g iving a fresh impulse

to truth , charity and en l ightenment , by increased spread

of mason ic principles and prac tice , and to supply to

nat ives of the E ast who were Masons , a subst itute of

the higher chivalric degrees , the ir exclus ion from whichhad created heart-burn ing . I n the Freemason

’s Quarterly

R eview , 1845 , pp . 377-8 is g iven a short not ice of this

proposed order, which however does n ot seem to have

been actually inst ituted .

5 6 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G STAR

dec l ined in a le tter of which the following has been

recorded as a copy3

The R ightWorshipful P . W. L E GE'

YT,Dy. Pro . Grand Master of Western I ndia, B ombaya

”

B ombay 1 9 th, August 1 846 .

R ightWorshipful my dear and esteemed Brother,

Deep ly do I apprec iate the honor which my valued

Brethren contemplate forme and which .you have tendered

to me in such terms of marked kindn ess , but s ituated‘

as I am, it is altogether out of my power to accept it . I

am on ly directing the removal of my baggage to start

on an urgent duty to Gujrat . I expect to qu it Bombay

on Saturday and there is no t ime thus at hand now for

arrang ing such an entertainment as you refer to .

I ask you to express to the Brethren with my fraternal

and affectionate regards my deep regret . I am forced

to part from them and that before day,so I am unable

even in person to say farewell to them and to thank themfor all the ir love and brotherly kindness to me .

I ask you also to rule over them in peace and charity

as my delegate and representative taking upon yourself

the office of Provin c ial Grand Master the dut ies of which

you are so we l l ab le to f u lfil . Praying that) the Grand

Architect of the Un iverse may bless you and them.

I remain , R ight Worshipful Brother,Your affect ionate friend and faithful Brother,

JAME S BURNE S .

R ight Worshipful Brother L eGeyt was then duly

placed in the chair at the meeting following his elect ion

and as the minutes show , whi le the lodge was workingin the 1st degree and the office-bearers of the precedingyear were requested by him

‘

to continue to act unt i l thethen ensu ing St . John’

s Day.

There was no degree work done during the year there

being no in it iates and there were on ly four, meetings

held during the whole year.

OF WE STE R N INDIA N o . 342 S .C . 57

The four join ing members were R ight Worshipful

B rothers Brett , Joseph G len . , W. G . A llan and Capta in

F orster. Brother Brett was the Worshipful Master of

L odge St . John , SindH yderabad and Brother G len was the

Provinc ial GrandWarden of Western India and Brothers

A l lan and Forster were members of L odge Perseverance

w ho were already extra-members of the lodge .

The Honorary Members were the fol lowing1 . R ight Worshipful Brother,

The R ight Honorable

James Andrew , E arl of Dalhousie ,Past

Grand Master Mason of Scot land.

2 . H is E xce llency L ieutenan t-General Sir Thomas

McMahon ,Bart . ,

Commander-ih -Chief of

the Bombay Army.

3 . SirW. C . Harris , Past Provin c ial Grand Master of

Western India.

4 . John Grant , Provinc ial Grand Master of Bengal and

Past Provinc ial Grand Master of Western India.

5 . W. C . B lacq uierre , Past Provin cial Grand Master

of Bengal and also Past Master, L odge Star in

the E ast , Calcutta.

6 . L ieut .

-Colonel Wi lliam Burlton ,C . B . Deputy Pro

vincial Grand Master of Bengal .7 . Very Worshipful Brother John Cameron ,

Honorary

Provinc ial Grand Superin tenden t of Works ,Western I ndia .

8 . Very Worshipful Brother Dr. M . De K erwang ( a

Fren chman ) .

9 . Very Worshipful Brother James Burnes , Past Mas

ter,

“L odge, St . Peter

’s Montrose ,

”N o . 154 S .C .

10 . Very'

Worshipful Brother Adam Burnes, Past

Master,

“

L odge , St . Peter'

s Montrose”No. 154

S .C .

1 1 . VeryWorshipful Brother John Holmes of Karachi .1 2 . Very Worshipful Brother James Anderson of

Arbroath , Scot land .

58 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G STAR

13 . Very Worshipful Brother Charles S . E vans of

L ondon also a member of L odge Perseverance .

The list of honorary members was on e of exalted and

dist ingu ished as also esteemed and emin en t Freemason s

holding very high and responsible posit ion s in the craf t .

I t in c luded an E arl a Baronet and a Kn ight all of E ng

land and also Brethren hai ling from Fran ce and other "

places on the Cont in en t and I ndia all of Whom were also ;

presen ted with the founder’s medal to be worn by them

on all occasion s of mason ic ceremony .

R ight Worshipful Brothers, The E arl of Dalhousie , Sir

Thomas MacMahon , Gran t , W. C . Blacq u ierre and L t .

Colonel Burlton rece ived the dist in ct ion on accopnt of the ir

exalted posit ion s , the very Worshipful Brother Cameron

in recogn it ion of services rendered by him to the Craf t

of Bombay and Brothers James Burnes , Adams Burnes ,Holmes and Anderson because they were re lat ives of the

founder and evident ly out of regard for that R uler in the

in fan t stage of the lodge . Brother Sir W. C . Harris was

rewarded in apprec iation of the valuab le assistan ce he

is stated to have g iven in superintending the execution

of the founder’s medal in E ng land and Brother E van s

for the troub le he took in expedit ing its despatch after

Brother Sir H arris had quitted E ng land . Brother Dr .

K erwang , it appears , was on ly a year-old Mason but he

eviden tly received the honor because of his hai ling from

Fran ce .

(V ide appendix B , for replie s received from Brothers

Burlton ,K erwang , Forster,

McMahon ,H arris , E vans

and A nderson and from Brothers Birch , L amart and

D r. Oliver, who were made Honorary members last

year) .

Brother L arkworthy , who was on e of the original

m embers , resign ed during the year.

The medal was struck in L ondon under the direct ions

of one Mr. Shephard and arrived during this year and

t6 0 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

I t would seem however that upto this t ime L odge R isingStar was using the lodge rooms without: any payment .

T he number of members at the c lose of the year was 76 .

T he lodge was financ ially worse off at the end of this

year than it was at the end of 1845;for the disbursements

were R s. 879 while the rece ipts were only R s 340 and the

rdebit balance of R s . 152-13-0 , was st i l l unpaid to Brother

Maneckjee Cursetjee , so that on the whole the lodge owed

that Brother R s . 69 1-13-0 . But as the proceedings of 185 1

wi l l show Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee was himse lf

r esponsible for the ebb in the finan ces, as he was neg li

gent in the recovery of dues during the t ime he was also

Act ing Treasurer in addit ion to being the Secretary of the

l odge.

CHAPTE R V

1847— BROTH E R L e-Geyt was rein stalled into the chair

and was Worshipful Master for the second t ime in 1847 .

Theminutes again show that the installat ion took p lace in

the first degree . On ly two meet ings were held duringthat year, namely, on 30th March and 1 5th September

and the latter was held in the new L odge R ooms No . 5 ,

Grant’

s Bu i ldings , Colaba. Brother G ibbs of the Civi l

Service was e lected as a join ing member this year.

1848— I n the year 1848 there was n e ither increase nor

decrease in the number of members and the’

meet ings

held were also only two . Brother L eGeyt havingresigned Brother L ynch was at the first mee ting held on3rd January , 1848 ,

unan imously elected R ightWorshipfulMaster for that year, and after he subscribed to the usualcharges was installed into the E astern Chair, and appoin ted his Offi ce-bearers ( of whom Brother ManeckjeeCursetjee was again Secret

’

ary) who, were all invested at

the next meet ing he ld on 3rd February, 1848 .

The f ee for jo in ing members was reduced from Rs . 50

to R s . 5 . during this year,

1849— I n the year 1849 , the lodge en tered upon the 6 thyear of its existence . I t appears that all the golden grainhad been gathered by that t ime in the t en nativeBrethren inc luding Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee admitted there in and the mead threatened to look bare as more

nat ive gentlemen of the'

c1ass for whom the lodge wasestablished were not forthcoming . The matter engaged

the serious atten tion of the Brethren and the prosperity

and cont inuance of the lodge were for the first t ime

threatened and BrotherMan eckjee Cursetjee and some of

‘62 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

the other Brethren thought that the crisis would be avert

e d by the lodge being empowered to admit E uropean s.as well as Natives and being reconstructed on that

basis. R ight Worshipful Bro ther Dr. Burnes was thena gain stationed in Bombay and taking advan tage of that

c ircumstance the Brethren at the ir very first meeting held

o n 3rd January again unan imously e lected him to be the

Master (though he was under a previous resolut i'

on‘

itsHonorary Master ) in place of Brother L ynch ,

“

who

e vident ly resigned the chair to him. I t was at the same

meet ing that Brother Man eckjee Cursetjee brought

forward certain. resolutions for the recon struct ion of the

L odge and establ ishing it on a sound basis .

“

They"

were

seconded by the R ight Worshipful Brother L ynch"and

w ere as follows

That it be ing man ifest that e ither the L odge R ising

S tar of Western I ndia cease to exist on accoun t of t here

b e ing n ot elig ible N at ive candidates to admit in to“

it or be recon structed on another princ iple than the

.orig inal one is so far as receiving on ly N atives there in it

is proposed that the fol lowing resolut ion be adopted at

t he n ext meet ing of the lodge .

Firs tly.

—That the R ight Worshipful the Provin c 1a]

G rand Master under the condition s espec ially defined in

o ur letter to his address of the 1 1th December 1843 ,

request ing him to establ ish the lodge be sol ic ited to

empower us to receive E uropean as well as Nat ive

candidates for Masonry into our lodge .

"

Secondly.

— That the in itiat ion passing and raising

f ees be reduced to one-half and that the join ing fees be

raised to one gold mohur or R s . 15 .

Thirdly.

—That all the members of the L odge Rising

Star of Western India shal l pay a monthly fee of R s . 3 .

each under the penalty prescribed in its bye-law's .

F ourthly.

-That these resolut ions be commun icated to

all the members of the lodge with a request that they

6 4 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

the faith thereof the warrant had been granted . I t alsodoes not apppear why the in itiation passing and raisingfees were reduced and the join ing fees were raised;forno discussion thereon is recorded in the minutes .

‘ The

f ees in the former case were not at all prohibit ive;yetthe reduct ion was resolved u pon by one-half and thatmust have been probably with the object of throwingopen the portals of the lodge on easier terms so far. F or

the first time therefore the total f ee for the three

degrees was fixed at Rs . 1 50 the join ing fee was raised

from R s . 5 to R s. 15;but it was stil l kept at much less than .

the orig inal fee which it wi l l be remembered was R s . 50 .

This year there was an increase of three’members , of

whom one was a join ing member and two were ordinarymembers so that the number of members on the rol l at

the end of the year was 79 .

The join ing members was Brother Dr. James WWin chester, Provinc ial Grand Secretary of Western

India , and the ordinary members were Bhugwandas

B eeneram and Cawasji Sorabji Patel.

The circumstances of the in itiat ion of Bhugwandas

B eneeram are rather interest ing and show that though

the lodge was in n eed of members yet it did not admit

anybody even in such crit ical t imes except af ter the

strictest scrut iny in to his prin ciples , faith and character

and paid a rig id attent ion to quality not sett ing any

value upon quan t ity alone . The candidate was a H indoo

professing the Jain re l ig ion and belonged to the Dhondia

sect amongst the Jains and was a partner in a big and

respectable banking firm at Ahmudnagger in the Centra l

Provinces . H e was extremely anxious to become a Free

mason and had come all the way from there to Bombay

at con siderable expense for that purpose . I t appears

from a letter written to Brother Dr. Winchester by one

Brother C . E . Anderson , of the First Sweepers Poona.

that there was no native in any of the lodges existing in

OF WE STE RN I NDI A N o . 342 S .C . 6 5

Poona, where the candidate first betook himself , and thatthe candidate was referred to him for advice in the

matter. The candidate made an applicat ion in writ ing inGuja rati , a tran slation whereof is in the fol lowing terms

“

To the Worshipful Master and officers and membersof the L odge

'

R ising Star (of Western Ind ia ) at

Bombay . Written by .— I , Bhugwandass B eeneeram the

undersigned earnestly represen t that there are three

d ivisions of tribes of the Jain s : Sw itambari, D igambari

and Dhondia tribes and that I am a member of the

B hondia tribe . That w e of the Dhondia faith have no

relat ion of any k ind soever with e ither the H indu faith

or t heir Shastras but that our belief on the contrary

is quite Opposed to them . That w e Dhondias are even

d ist in ct from other division s , Sw itambari and D igambari,

of the Jains and observe non e of the ir ceremon ial forms

and adorat ions of images . That w e of Dhondia tribe

save and except our Bhagwan ( Supreme Be ing ) the L ord

of the Un iverse and all that appertains to the same ,

an imated and inan imated , recognise none else . We neither

worship nor adore any image or object of any kind

soever under any c ircumstances . N or in our Thanuk

( place of worship ) wal ls we suffer any such thing to be

worshipped or adored. Our J u tees (priests ) when we

gather in our Thanuk recite lectures on the good deeds

of those who existed and departed from this world and

descript ive of the moral code to guide u s in our pursuits

of l ife .From whatever our J utees have explained to

us we firmly believe that the Bhagwan who is the first

cause of everything created and would create hundreds of

millions of worlds and that we consider all the stars

of the firmament to be as many worlds and that Bhagwan

has so created them as by his wisdom of con struction ,

they exist and perish and that none but He alone can

comprehend the phi losophy of such creat ion . That human

be ings are endowed with sense to know what is good and

6 6 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

what is bad and that they wi ll merit rewards and

pun ishments in the world to come according to what

they do in this. Bel ieving in this we reckon all: mankind

to be equal and of on e stock, be what their creed or caste ,

and love others as w e would regard our own se lves and

under any c ircumstances not to destroy or in jure any

be ings whether of human or brute creation . This is the

sum total of our faith and to which I consc ient iously

adhere .That I am above the age of twenty-one years

dependent on no on e and fee l ful ly desirous of be ing

admitted in to your assembly of Mason s . I sol icit this

admission neither at the sol icitation of any one nor under

any improper idea of any worldly expecta t ion but on

the contrary from the knowledge of the favorable reports

I have heard of your inst itution and a desire to obtain

and prosecute knowledge and researches and that I wi l l

cheerfully conform to all the rules and regulat ions of

your lodge . I n witn ess thereof I subscribe my name

on this 15th day of September 1849 .

Witn ess , B n'

UGWANDAss B E E N EERAM .

MAN E CK J E E CUR SE T J B E , E SQR .

The candidate had'

obtained certificates as to his res

pectability from Mr. F . Man isty,who was then the Civi l

Surgeon of Ahmednugar, and Captain J . W. .A uld, who

was the Police Superin tendent of that place and at tached

to the Bheel Corps. These certificates were forwarded

through Brother H . E l lis of the Civi l Service to Brother

Dr. Winchester and were submitted by the latter toBrother Maneckjee Cursetjee for» considerat ion and his

view as to whether the candidate shon ld be admitted into

the order.

Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee inst i tuted independent

inqu iries into the qualificat ions of the candidate and

o btained satisfactory replies from residents of Ahmed

nugar of his aq uaintance . H e was also sat isfied from

68 H ISTOR Y OF'

L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

of this lodge in particular, wi th it s sincerest wishes for‘

his future health , happiness and success in l i fe and

resolves upon e lect ing Brother Burnes its founder to be

its Honorary Master for l i fe , all the lodge rol ls and .

returns being headed by his name .

This was the last mark of respect and esteem of the

lodge towards its worthy founder, a mark fullydeserved.

Brother Burnes thanked the lodge , and in doing so said

the honour was peculiarly gratifying to his feelings as it

maintained his name in connect ion with the lodge and

that he would ever continue the deepest interest in the

prosperity of the lodge which he took pride in founding

and which by its construction had practical ly demons~

trated the principles of Freemasonry .

I n the m inutes of this meet ing is a copy of a letter'

addressed to the Secretary, N i lgiri L odge , Ootacamund,on 5th N ovember, 1849 , by Brother Maneckji Cursetji as

Secretary to the Provincial Grand Master for native

corresponden ce and Sen iorWarden of the lodge , on the

subject of the proposed admission of a Parsee into the

Order. I t is a short letter but its value consists in the

enunciation of the strict and noble prin ciples followed by

the lodge . (V ide Appendix C . )

CHAPTE R VTI .

1 85 0 .

-I n the year 1850 four meetings were held of

w hich on e was an emergent meeting , and there were two

init iations and one passing . There was an addition a lso

of three memb ers against the loss of two whose names

were struck out for default in payment of their sub

s criptions , and one of whom had also died .

The three new members were Moosa Khan , assistant

moonshi to the Persian Secretary to Government ( who

w as an in it iate) and Brothers Musgrave and Harrison ,

who were join ing members .

Brother Barr was the R ightWorshipful Master duringt he year and Brother Maneckji Cursetji was again the

S en iorWarden . The new master was elected and instal l

e d at the first meet ing held on 8th January 1850 ,and the

office-bearers of the year were also nominated by him at

the same meet ing . F or the first t ime mention is made

in the minutes of t hat meeting of anofficial visit by the

Provinc ial Grand L odge .

The accounts of the lodge had, it appears, been care lessily kept and were in a con fused state and had been

examined by a committee of four members and theirr eport was that Brother Maneckji Cursetji had expended.out of his own pocket a sum of R s . 6 19 over and above the

receipts that had come to his hands as acting Treasurerduring the year 1844 to 1850 , and that as against that

.s um there were outstanding dues of the amount of

R s. 333 which st il l left a balance of R s . 386 due to

B rother Maneckji Cursetji and that that Brother had

k indly agreed to g ive up the balance to close the accounts.


I t has already been seen that at the.

end of the year ‘

1846 the lodge owed Brother Maneckji Cursetji

R s . 591-13-0 . There were no receipts in 1 847 and 1848 ,

whi le those in 1849 and 18 50 amounted to R s . 300 .

q

The

disbursements during the years 1847 , 1848 , 1849 and 1850

w ere R s. 227-10-2, so that at the end of 1850 the debit ,

balan ce was R s . 6 19 .

I t was also stated in the report that as the lodge

had scarcely worked during the preceding two years ,

and as no part icular expenses had been incurred

the members had not paid their subscri ptions for

those years , they not having been cal led upon to »

do so.

C

1 85 1 .

—I n 185 1 the number of members increased by'

five, be ing one join ing memberand four in itiates . Duringthe year, on ly three meet ings were he ld inc luding the

ann iversary meet ing he ld on St . John’s Day. The

join ing member was a Brother named Marcus Joseph .

and the in it iates were Mirza Hoesan Khan (Persian :

Con sul in Bombay) and Mahomed Saduck, and H aj i

Mehedy Shirazi (two leading Persian Mogul merchants)and Maneckjee L imjee

'

Anteria , assistan t to Messrs .

Jehangir N usserwanjee Co .

A t the very first meet ing Brother B lowers was e lected

R ight Worshipful Master and he reappointed and con

firmed as his office-bearers the brethren who had held'

office during the preceding year. E vidently there being

no work the n ext meet ing was he ld on l 6th December

185 1 , and at that meet ing Brother L yn ch was e lected

master for the ensu ing year. The finan cial condit ion of

the lodge had, it appears become very unsat isfactory by

this t ime and Brother Maneckji Cursetji with the object :

of preventing a recurrence of any loss and plac ing the

lodge on a safe and sure foot ing read at the meet ing of

l 6th December 185 1 a memorandum referring to the

state of the accounts and embodying the followin g


The proposit ion was seconded by R ight WorshipfulBrother L e Geyt , who was then the Provinc ial Grand

Master of Western India, and left over to be considered

at the next meet ing.

f'

On 27th December, St. John’s Day, t he next meet ing

was held, and the Master-elect, Brother L ynch , was duly

instal led in the chair, and delivered an.address in Persian

explain ing the working tools appertain ing to the first

degree . The four new members were a lso all b’

alloted forand elect ed and in itiated on the same n ight .

Brother Maneckji Cursetjee’s proposi t ion was then

brought on , discussed and approved of .

An unpleasan t i nc ident ,which threatened to ‘

disturb the

harmony subsist ing between the lodge and L odgePerseve

rance , happened about this t ime;and was evidently due to

a misunderstanding on the part of L odge Perseveran ce .

The commun icat ions of the lodge were usual ly dated and

its meet ings were summoned to be he ld at the L odge

Rooms, Colaba, and in consonan ce with that practice

Brother Maneckji Cursetjee , who was then offic iat ingSecretary in addit ion to be ing Sen iorWarden , had issueda circular, dated 20th December,

185 1 , dated at and con

vening the ann iversary meet ing of 27th December at the

L odge R ooms, and this c ircular had, as usual , been sent to

L odge Perseverance for its in formation , and had come to

the knowledge of its Master, R ight Worshipful Brother

C . A shburner, who thought that Brother Maneckji

Cursetjee had no authority to so date the commun icat ion

and summon the meeting without his consent and

previous commun icat ion to him.

It appears that the mat ter(

was discussed personally

between Brother Mane ckji Cursetjee and Brother

A shburner, and the latter was informed of the resolution

which was passed by the Provincial Grand L odge on 24th

N ovember 1846 , whereby the lodge was to have the use

of the L odge R ooms and was not to pay anything for rent

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C. 73

servants’wages and l ighting expenses, which were all to

b e paid by L odge Perseverance , and for that accommoda

the same . The L odge Rooms were also then under repairs ,

.and L odge Perseveran ce intended to hold a ball there on

or about the 7th or 12th January, which , of course ,was

:n ot a mason ic purpose .

Further, it appears that L odge Perseverance had not

.rece ived fees from this lodge since the year 1848 , and

R ising Star had not been paid its share in a sum of

R upees five hundred which had b een left by the Mar

.qu is of Dalhousie , the Governor-General of India whi le

h is L ordship was in Bombay in the year 1850 ) in the

.hands of L odge Perseveran ce for distribution amongst

t he lodges in Bombay for charitable purposes , and those

c ircumstances the Master of L odge Perseverance thought

.showed that the L odge R ising Star was defunct . The

p oin ts requ ired further discussion , but as the anniversary

mee t ing was t o come off on the 27th December, and the

(objection Was not withdrawn , Brother Maneckji Cursetjee

amended the c ircular of 20th December 185 1 , by adding

a postscript ”

dated 24th December 185 1 stat ing that

.u nder the circumstances to be brought to the notice of .

and to be discussed by the lodge the ann iversary meet

ing would be he ld at Brother Ali Akbar Khan’s Babula

T ank H ouse in stead of at the L odge R ooms.

Besides the personal discussion there was offic ial corres

1pondence between the Secretary of L odge Perseverance

and Brother Maneckji Cursetjee and the masters of

both the lodges .

The Secretary of L odge Perseverance , Brother W. M .

E llis, had addressed a letter 130 Brother Maneckji Curs etjee , inquiring why the commun icat ions were dated and

t he meet ings summoned at the Dodge Rooms, and BrotherManeckji Cursetjee replied poin ting out

’

that the lodge

74 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SIN G STAR

and L odge Perseverance were both working under the

same authority and in the same rooms, where they had

severally their warrants deposited and hang ing up in

frames , and that sin ce the establ ishment of the lcdge

no previous con sen t had ever been obtained , or had been

considered necessary to be obtained,from the Worshipful.

Master of L odge Perseverance , and that all that was .

n ecessary to be done was for the Secretary of the lodge

to int imate to the Secretary of L odge Perseverance the

date and t ime

'

of its meet ings .

H e also enclosed a copy of the correspondence and

resolutions passed by and b etween the lodge and L odge

Perseverance and the Provin c ial Grand L odge , and added

that the privi lege of holding its meetings in the L odge

R ooms had not been accorded to the lodge as a favour or

without any considerat ion , for the furn i ture in the L odge

R ooms had been paid for by the three lodges in certain ;

proport ions , and the proport ion of L odge R ising Star of

Western India was by far the larger of them , that up to

1847 the lodge had paid its quota of ren t and expen ses ,

that sin ce then it had litt le or no work and met but on ce ,

or so a year at daytime and not at n ight for form sake ,and not having been cal led upon to pay had not under

the c ircumstan ces paid anything to L odge Perseverance ,

and that the decoration s in the L odge Rooms were thepersonal property of R ight Worshipful Brother Dr.

Burnes , who had presented same on his departure for the

use of the Provincial Grand L odge , L odge Perseverance ,and L odge R ising Star, and of the Chapter.

Four candidates had then been already proposed, and

Brother Man eckji Cursetjee in t imated in his reply that

should they be elected and init iated at the ann iversarymeet ing , L odge Perseveran ce would , as amatter of right ,

g et half of the fees amoun t ing to rupees four hundred,

and that for a day’

s use of the rooms , and last , thoughnot the least , BrotherManeckji Cursetjee expressed his


A copy of the correspondence is set out in AppenndiX D.

Some letters in addit ion to those recorded had passed

and L odge Perseverance had made a c laim which the

lodge thought was not sustainable , and it st i l l engaged

the attent ion of the lodge , and it wi l l be seen was in the

n ext year discussed in a thorough manner.

CHAPTE R V I I .

1852— The next year was an eventf ul one , and the .

subjects that were brought up in the firs t few meetingsrelated to the financ1al condit ion of the lodge and thedifferences with L odg e Perseverance . During the year '

twelve meet ings were held , inc luding the insta llat ionmeeting and three extra meetings .

The first meet ing was held on 1 5th January 1852 atBrotherManeckji Cursetjee

’s

“B yculla Vi lla , and the

correspondence that had passed by that t ime between thelodge and L odge Perseveran ce , regarding the use of theL odge R ooms , was read and considered thereat , and twaresolut ions were passed as follows

That the meet ing observed with regret the exist ing'

differen ces between the two lodges which appear t o ,

have been based upon a misunderstanding on the partof Perseverance and is easy of sett lemen t .

That there be ing no fund belong ing to thehand , the lodge be ing sti ll in debt to B rother officiat ingT reasurer for the past year , and though the L odge Perseverance could have no claim,

justly Speaking , to a’

moiety of the rece ipts of the four in itiat ions on the27th ult imo, when the ceremony thereof took place 3 15other than the L odg e Rooms , the use of wh

'

lodg e im

'

78 H ISTORY OF L ODGE R I SIN G STAR

The lodge thanked Brother Maneckji Cursetjee for

his generous offer to accommodate the differen ces and

recorded its apprec iat ion of the same .

After these resolut ion s were passed BrotherMal lQCkJ I

C ursetjee c losed the matter as stated above .

At th is meet ing a quest ion was raised by Brother

Wellis as to the legal ity or otherwi se of adm itt ingmembers on payment of a compos it ion money or withoutany payment at all, as resolved upon at the last meet ing ,

and suggested that sect ions 13 and 14 of the Byl aws

should be so amended as to bind the lodge in the

spiri t of mason ic constitution , and that the subject

should be reconsidered at the n ext meet ing , and con

sequent ly the proceedings of the last convocat ion were

confirmed but with the exception suggested .

An extra meet ing was then held on 8th March in a

room above the Post Office , and at that meeting a

r committee con sisting of the R ight Worshipful Master

and Brothers Barr, B lowers , Wellis , and Maneckji(Cursetjee , was appointed to ascertain and report to the

members generally the exact posit ion the lodge was then

in , in respect to its working and pay ing members, and

whether c ircumstances had occurred to render any alter

at ion in its By-laws or rules expedien t , and to offer

s uch suggest ions as the committe e m ight think advisable

for the good of the lodge . This committee (which had on

i t two members who were then past masters of L odg e ,

Perseverance ) resolved that as L odge Perseverance had

apparent ly lost sight of the compact, which was entered

into between the two lodges at the suggest ion . of the late

and the then Provinc ial Grand Masters, the lodge shouldthenceforth be under no restrict ion as to the admission of

E uropeans as Well as N at ives to the benefit of the Craft ,subject to its fundamental rules as laid down in the

const itut ion , and that with that view it was expedien t to

reconstruc t the lodge upon an amended princ iple to what

80 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI N G STAR

been prepared,were submitted at the meeting , and after'

discussion and del iberation were fully approved and una

n imously passed for the f uture government of the ‘lodge .

The meet ing also appointed a finance committee in

addit ion to appointing a Treasurer, for b etter control over‘

the rece ipts and expenditure , an d that the financial condi

t ion of the lodge might not again suffer.

L odge Perseverance had, it appears, resc inded aboutthis t ime the resolut ion it had passed on 3rd March ,

1 845 , and resolved that memb ers of L odge R ising Star

wishing to join that lodge ,must be ballot ed for and pay

the join ing fee .

The differences between the two lodges and the,c laims

preferred by L odge'

P erseveren ce had not then been final lyadjusted , and the abrogat ion of the reso lut ion of 3rd

March 1845 , in the then state of Circumstances, appears

to have caused dissat isfaction to the lodge .

A letter from the R ight Worshipful Master of L odge

Perseverance was read at this meet ing of 20th Apri l ,in con t inuation of the correspondence previously recorded,

and a committee was appointed of the R ight WorshipfulMaster, and Sen ior and Jun ior Wardens and Sen ior

Deacon and Secretary with power to add to the ir number'

to inquire into and report on all matters touching them isunderstanding existing between the two lodges witha view to the same be ing honourably adjusted.

This special committee considered the whole. correS v

pondence that had passed between the Worshipful)Masters and Secretaries of both lodges , and submitted

their report to an extraordinary meeting of the lodge

held on l oth May 1852 .

I t is stated in the report that the committee great ly

regretted that the Worshipful Master of L odge Perv

severance should have thought it n ecessary to address

such a letter to the Worshipful Master of the L odge

R ising Star as the one dated 30th January, 1852 (which

OF WE STE RN I NDIA N o. 342 S .C. 81

is not avai lable) which from the tone and sp irit they

t rusted had not been written w ith the concurrence and

approbation of the brethren of Perseveran ce in lodge

assembled, and that they con sidered the reply thereto as

characterised throughout by the mi ld and truly mason ic

f eeling which should always mark commun icat ions , per

sonal or o therwise , between members of the Craf t and

espec ially be twe en the masters of the different lodges,.and expressed the ir opin ion that the R ight Worshipful

Brother Boyce had taken a fair and just view of the

c laims of L odge Perseverance , and that the finan cial

result shown in his letter was quite correct , and express

e d their concurren ce with and approval of his said

letter .

A s regards the future course of the lodge , the Com

m ittee were of opin ion that as the payments of L odge R is

ing Star of half it s rece ipts to L odge Perseveran ce , under

the resolut ion of the Provincial Grand L odge ,were wholly

disproport ionate to the accommodation and benefit received by her for one or at most two n ight s in the month of

the lodge rooms and paraphernalia (the proprietary rightin which , however, was vested in the two lodges , and theProvin cial Grand L odge and R oyal Arch Chapter ) and

a s the effect of the resolut ion was to divert in fact the

greatest port ion of her funds in to the treasury of L odge

Perseveran ce and to benefit L odge Perseverance at the

expen se of L odge R i sing Star, which could not have beenthe desire of either the Provincial Grand' L odge or of

L odge Perseveran ce , the said resolution should be modi

fied , and that an immediate appl icat ion should be made

to the Provin c ial Grand Mast er for that purpose , and

recommended that an arrangement should be placedbefore the Provinc ial Grand L odge and L odge Perseverance for the ir consideration on the basis that the

,lodge

should cont inue to have the use of the lodge rooms ,furn iture and refreshmen t kit , and in consideration of

6

82 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G STAR

such accommodat ion should pay such rent and cost of

establishment as may be determined upon by the

Provincial Grand L odge and L odge Perseveran ce, in

addit ion to a monthly allowance for the use of theekit

and all expenses attending its meet ings on account of

l ights ,extra servants and refreshments , and that a

Committee con sist ing of two members of both bodies

shou ld be appointed to sett le the matter with one officer

of the Grand L odge as Umpire or Presiden t .

Advert ing to the abrogat ion by L odge Perseverance of

its resolut ion of 3rd March 1845 , and the new resolutionpassed by L odge Perseverance under which any

' member

of this lodge desiring to join it was requ ired to be

bal loted for and to pay a join ing fee , the Committee in

the ir report expressed the ir regret that that should have

been done , and recommended that as both lodges werebonded together for the promot ion of the b est interests

of Freemasonry in I ndia,and the good f eeling which the

lodge had always had for L odge Perseverance st i l l existed ,

the privi lege which the lodge, by its resolut ion also of

3rd March 1845 had accorded to the brethren of L odge

Perseveran ce , should be cont inued and remain in full

force ”

The report was signed by Brothers B lowers , Wellis,

Kin gston ,M . O’Meally and Maneckji Cursetjee .

The extraordinary meet ing approved of the report and

unan imously adopted it , and resolved that the suggestions

therein made should b e submitted to the Provinc ial GrandMaster and that a copy of same should be forwarded to !

the master and brethren of L odge Perseverance . (F or a

copy of the R eport vide Appendix E . )

R ight Worshipful Brother Boyce , who during his short

tenure of office had taken up so warmly the cause of the

lodge , and asserted its position and c laims with prompti

tude and firmness , and had endeared himself to the

brethren , was just then about to go to E ngland fer a


shipful Master of R ising Star, and as such a style as that

adopted by the former is great ly to be deprecated, and

as it is desirab le to prevent future misunderstanding ,

the brethren resolve to discont inue the use of the rooms

of L odge Perseveran ce .

“3 . That an appl ication be made to the Worshipful

Master of L odge Perseverance to del iver up such articles

o f furn iture as might be found to belong to R ising Star

and that Brothers Berry , O’Mealy and Maneckji Curset

jee be appointed a Committee to act in con junction with

such brethren of Perseveran ce as might be appointed by

that lodge to settle this point .

”

The next meeting , which was held on 7th August , was

held at the residence of Brother Maneckji Cursetjee and

at that meeting a Committee consisting of that Brother

and Brothers Smith and Harrington was appointed to

purchase the necessary kit and furn iture of the lodge ,and Brother Cross was authorised to print the new Bye

laws of the lodge .

An inc ident occurred during this year which concern

ed Brother B lowers and L odge Perseverance . A s that

B rother was , however, the offic iat ing master of this lodge ,

it was not allowed to pass unnot iced , but was men t ioned

at ameeting of the lodge held on 20th August, 1852 , and a

resolut ion was passed thereon .

Brother B lowers had been the Worshipful Master of

L odge Perseverance in the years 1845 , 1848, and 1850,

and on his vacat ing the chair ln the last men tioned year

some of the brethren of that lodge had determin ed to mark

the ir sen se of grat itude to him for his long-continued

exertions in the cause of Masonry , and especial ly as

conn ected with that lodge , by presen t ing to him a jewe l

and an address engrossed on ve l lum . The address bore

the names of those who had join ed together to present it,

and foremost among them was the name of Brother

Ashburn er, who was then the Master of L odge Persever

OF WE STE RN I ND IA N o. 342 S .C . 5

ance , and had been presented to Brother B lowers on the

12th February , 1852 , but shortly before presentat ion it

had got soi led, and at the request of Brother A shburner

and another member of L odge Perseveran ce , had been

returned to them for being engrossed on a fresh sheet of

vellum, and afterwards signed by the brethren who had

signed it orig inally, but though repeatedly appl ied for it

was not return ed to Brother Blowers t i ll 13th August ,1852 , when , to his great astonishment and regret , he

found that Brother A shburner’s name had been scored

out with a pen .

Brother Barr, who was the Past Master of the

lodge and also a Past Master of L odge Perseverance , was

present at the lodge meet ing of 20th August , 1852 , and

he said he wan ted to ment ion the matter, whereupon B ro

ther B lowers vacated the chair temporari ly and invested

him with the Master’s j ewel and installed him and with

drew from the meet ing . Brother Barr then narrated all

the c ircumstances stat ing that he felt himself bound to

do so in just ice to Brother B lowers , who was then pre

siding over the lodge with a view to obtain from them an

expression of their opin ion as to what course that worthy

Brother should adopt in the matter, and added that as it

might be invidious e ither in the lodge or Brother B low

ers to attach the blame of the act that had been com

mitted to any individua l , the best and the most mason ic

course in his opin ion was for the lodge to express its

sympathy with Brother B lowers , and to strongly urge

upon him the necessity of laying the mat ter before the

Provincial Grand L odge with a view to its be ing properlyinvest igated into by that body , and such ulterior steps

being taken as the Provinc ial Grand Master and officers

and members of the Grand L odge might deem proper,

and the lodge then passed by acclamat ion a resolut ion to

that effect , after which Brother Blowers returned to the

lodge , and on being informed of what had taken place

86 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

thanked the brethren and expressed his determin ationto fol low the advice g iven to him .

A t the meet ing held on 2 1st September, 1852 ,Brother

B lowers announced that Brother A shburner havingwrit ten to him a letter expressing his regret that in a

moment of exc itement he had erased his s ignature to the

address and offering his sin cere apology for the act , he

had relinqu ished his intention of appealing to the Pro

vincial Grand L odge . (Brother A shburner’s letter is set

out in Appendix F.)Another incident which directly con cerned the two

lodges is also recorded in the m inutes of the same meet

ing . L odge Perseverance had contemplated in it iat ing a

Nat ive gent leman residing in Bombay . The offic iat ingR ight Worshipful Master thought that such a pro

c edure was contrary to the mutual understandingarrived at between the two lodges , when the lodge was

founded expressly for the purpose of in it iat ing Nat ive

candidates whose character L odge Perseverance had not

the same mean s of scrutin ising so as to preven t the

admi ssion of unworthy men , and on his proposition

seconded by Brother Maneckji Cursetjee, the lodge

passed a resolution that a su itable letter be addressed to

the Worshipful Master of L odge Perseveran ce request inghim in the even t of his persist ing in the in it iat ion to

defer doing so unt il the decision of the Grand L odge

could be obtained. The minutes do not contain any

further al lusion to t his matter.

A t this meeting the lodge also resolved on the proposal

of the Worshipful Master , seconded by the Provin cial

Grand Master, who was present thereat , to hire c ertain

apartments in“

Gran ts Bui ldings then about to be va

catedby Brother Barr in conjunct ion with the R oyal Arch

Chapter, as they were well adapted for Mason ic purposes .

During this year there was an increase of 2 4 members ,

of . whom four were in itiates , 19 join ing members and one

CHAPTE R V I I I .

1 853 .

— The year 1853 , on the whole , passed off better

than the previous one . I n all thirteen meet ings were

held, of which three were emergent meet ings and were

convened for working off arrears of work . Therewas an

in crease of 28 members, being 1 1 in it iates and 17 affiliates

and join ing members;against this increase there was on edeath and three resignat ion s , of which ,

however, on e did

not coun t , as it was of BrotherW. M . Wellis, one of the

founders of the lodge , who, in considerat ion of that c ir

cumstance and also of the zeal he had throughout his

membership and his holding offices in the lodge ,evin ced

to promote its best interests was upon his resignat ion

elected an honorary member by a spec ial resolut ion

recording the apprec iat ion by the lodge of his services

and help .

The new in it iated members w ere Meer J afferalikhan

Bahadur,Merwanjee Maneckjee Sett , Aga Syed Hoosein , .

Nusserwanjee B omonjee , Merwanjee H eerjibhoy Patell,Sorabjee H eerjibhoy , P . A . R odrigues . Cawasjee H irj i~

bhoy ,A .P, Carvalho , N owrosjee Nanabhoy F ramjee and.

E duljee Pestonjee . Brother R odrigues was the firstChristian member, not a E uropean , in itiated in the

lodge followed by Brother Carvalho . Brother SorabjeeH eerjibhoy. was elected after three ballots were taken . I t

appears that he was first balloted for at a meeting heldon 2 1st January , when , on the result being found un favourable , BrotherWellis be ing of opin ion that black ballsagainst him were pu t in by mistake , the ballot was goneover again and proved favourab le . Then the Secretary

R I SIN G STAR OF W. L,N o . 342 s . a. se

brought to the notice of the Worshipful Sen ior Warden

who was presiding over the lodge a feel ing against the can

didateman ifested by some of the brethren , and thereupon

a third ballot was taken which proved unfavourab le .

Then at the next meet ing held on 2 1st February it was .

stated to the Worshipful Sen ior Warden by Brother

O’Meally that Brother Sorabjee H ormusjee ,who was then

acting as Outer Guard, had influenced some brethren to ,

black bal l Brother Sorabjee H eerjibhoy under the im

pression that he was unworthy of admission , and that he

seemed anxious to have him again brought to the bal lot .

Brother Sorabjee Hormusjee was then cal led to the

pedestal to explain his inconsisten t conduct , and he

stated that he had been moved to thwart Brother Sorab

jee’s entrance pending the consent of his parents, whose

feelings , he said, were held in the lodge as worthy of

be ing consulted and for no other reason . Consequent

upon that explanat ion Brother Sorabjee H eerjibhoy was

again balloted for and unan imously. e lected .

The join ing members and affiliates were Brothers J . V .

V inay , H enry Conybeare , Parry Jones , J . G . Mitchell ,

Frederick Darby , James King , G . F. R emington ,Mac

kenzie .W. M . E llis, L . Kobs , Franc is Clough , R ichard

N ewby , E dgar Whittaker, W. H . S . Crawford and G . .

V olkart (all of L odge Perseverance ) and Anthony Gar

jola of L odge St . Andrews in the E ast and Brother A . G .

R ousacc .

Brothers Garjola and Rousac were subsequent ly passed

and raised in the lodge .

A gent leman of the name of E dward Trench was pro

posed for in it iation , but the proposal was withdrawnupon the decision of the Grand L odge restrict ing in itiat ion in the lodge to N at ives on ly.

During this year a resolution was passed by the lodge »

which provided that , in addition to the entrance fee of

rupees five paid on affi l iat ion , those members of L odge

90 H I STOR Y‘ OF L ODGE R I S I N G STA R

Perseverance Who were original members thereof wouldb e

'

liable to pay from 1 st March , 1853 , a monthly sub

scri pt ion of one rupee .

The custom of sending to the Secretary of the I fodge

Perseverance the summons conven ing the lodge meet ings

had not been observed then for some t im e past , and on

the mat ter be ing men tioned at a meet ing held on 18 th

Apri l it was unan imous ly resolved to revive that old and

good custom , and at a sub sequent meeting were recorded aletter from the Secretary of the lodge to the Secretary of

L odge Perseveran ce request ing an interchange of circu

lars and express ive of the desire of the members of the

lodge to rece ive those of'

L odge Perseverance at their

banquet at all t imes , and a letter in reply from the

Secretary of that lodge accept ing the cordial invitat ion

and rec iprocat ing the same . These were undoubtedlydesirab le steps on the part of both lodges towardsmaintain ing harmony and peaceful re lations , which dur

ing the preceding years were somewhat un fortunately

disturbed.

B ut while the re lations between the two lodges were

smooth those between the members of the lodge

themselves were a l ittle disturbed , and in consequence of

an un fortunate misunderstanding on the part of some

members a charg e was laid again st Brother Man eckji

Cursetjee and was invest igated into by a Committee

specially appointed for the purpose .

I t appears that one Mr . Rustomjee Merwanjee was

brought to the ballot bu t the result was unfavourable , and

as soon as it was known Brother Maneckji Cursetji

addressed the lodge saying ,he had been charged in

conversat ion with some brother (whose name he did not

g ive ) with having attempted to form a cl ique in the lodgeagainst the rej ected candidate , and proceeded to deny

.and defend himself against the charge . Brother Cross then

o pposed Brother Maneckji Cursetjee and said he

92 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

Some of these art ic les may be short ly referred to here

for informat ion sake .

Bye-law 2 provided that in order to render the brethrenas efficient as pract icable in the ir mason ic dut ies

, a‘lodge

of instruct ion should‘

be held once every month .

Bye-law 5 specified the hours of assembl ing and c losing ,

via , 7 p . m . or such other hour as the master might

appoint to 1 1 p . m .

Under Bye-law 22 three n egat ives or black balls were

necessary on a bal lot for rejecting a candidate .

Bye-law 27 provided that the total fees for the three

degrees should be rupees one hundred and twenty-five

and the join ing fees rupees five and monthly subscript ion

rupees three for every resident member except the

orig inal members of the lodge who were paying members

of L odge Perseverance or any other lodge .

B ye-law 41 provided that the lodge should hold a .

Spec ial convivial meet ing in each year to celebrate the

ann iversary of St . John the E vangelist .

Bye-law 44 provided that all fin es levied in the lodge

should be placed to the credit of the lodge and applied tocharitable purposes .

A s to the monthly subscript ion of orig inal membersreference has already been made to the resolution passedduring the year by which those members were requ iredto pay one rupee per month .

A mason ic banquet was g iven this year to Brother the

R ight Honourable L ord Fitz-Clarence , the Commander

in-Chief of the Bombay Army , and a Past Grand Master

of the Grand L odge of Scotland , and the lodge paid

rupees 226-7-8 being its share of the expenses thereof.

Previously thereto an address of welcome from the

Scotch Masons had been presented to his L ordship , and

the office-bearers of L odge R ising Star had the privi legeof sign ing it on it s behalf as one of the bodies present

ing it .

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o . 342 S .C . 93

The Provinc ial Grand Master. Brother L eGeyt , was

p roceeding to Poona , and that c ircumstance was announ

c cd at the lodge meet ing of the 7th Apri l by Brother

B lowers , who proposed that the lodge should pass a

resolut ion expressing its confidence in that worthy

Brother, and that they were undesirous of any change so

long as he cont inued within the limits of that province . On“

this occasion BrotherManeckji Cursetjee , while secondingthe proposal af t er it had rece ived the approbat ion of the

brethren by cheers , said that for his own self and the

Nat ive brethren he would add that in R ight Worshipful

Brother L eGeyt they recogn ised not on ly. the orig inator of

L odge R ising Star ofWestern I ndia,but its firm supporter

through good report and bad report , its patron in its

poverty , its friend in its strength , and its coun sellor and

guide in all season s , and it therefore became the membersof the lodge to deprecate the ret iremen t of so true a

friend from a posit ion in Masonry which was due to his

mason ic merit and those merits could not be acknowledgedtoo often .

Those words were bu t too truly spoken for the minutes.are a proof of the great and warm interest which BrotherL eGeyt took in the we lfare of the lodge during the t ime

he was its member and master. The resolution was duly

c onveyed to the Provinc ial Grand Master by a deputat ionconsisting of Brother B allingal ( substitute-Master) and

B rother Man eckji Cursetjee .

Brother M. O’Mealy w as at the last meet ing of the year

(1854) elected and in stalled as the Master of the lodge

for the en suing year . The fi rst thing that he did was toconvene a meet ing of the lodge on 3rd January , 1854 , to

c ons ider the necessity and advisability of represent ing tothe Grand L odge the frequ ent supposed abuse of the

ballot . At that time he read a letter which embodied the

94 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

views of himself and his wardens as to the supposed

causes leading to the practice , and suggested the abolit ion

of the ballot as one of the remedies to put a stop to the

abuse . An an imated discussion took place and a proposi

t ion for postpon ing the consideration of the quest ion for

three months was brought forward but lost . Then the

sen se of the meet ing was taken as to the n ecessity and

efficiency of the proposed remedy , but was found to be

against the proposit ion , whereupon the R ight Worshipful

Master remarked that in the absence of any other advice

he fe lt it to be his duty to report to the Grand L odge that

he bel ieved the ballot was abused and to appeal to that

authority for some remedy . The letter read in the

meeting is not set out in the minutes nor is the discussion

that took place thereon . From the minutes of the n ext

year’

s meet ing it appears that the R ight Worshipful

Master had appealed to the Grand L odge , and the members

of the Grand L odge Comm ittee were to consider the ques

t ion ,but the minutes do not contain anything furtherabout

the matter, and it does not appear what remedy the Grand

L odge suggested. At th i s time BrotherManeckji Cursetjee

wrote a letter on the subject of the bal lot to Brother Barr,who was the Chairman of the Grand L odge Committee,which is dated 20th June 1854 . I t is an excel lent

commen tary on the prin ciples of the ballot , and embodies

sound views and also con tains informat ion otherwise not

availab le as to the then state of the lodge . I t is set out

at length in the minutes of 2oth August , 1857 .

The drastic remedy proposed by the R ight Worshipful

Master and Wardens was not accepted by the lodge . B ut

the trouble st i ll unfortunately continued. During thisyear six candidates were rejected on the ballot , and B rother Bhajiwalla, who had proposed two of them , stated at

on e of the meet ings at which they were rejected , that a

con spiracy had been formed by certain members to black

bal l the candidates proposed by him, an d that consequently

9 6 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G STAR

t he character and posit ion of every candidate previous tohis name be ing brought forward at the meeting . On theresult of the inquiry be ing favourable he be proposedand seconded at a meet ing to be balloted for at the next ,and not to be in itiated unt i l the proceedings be confirmed

at the third following meet ing .

Secondly— That no join ing member be balloted for on

the n ight of his proposition , but at the n ext regularm eeting , his names and the name of the Brothers by

whom proposed and seconded appearing in the meantime

o n the summons .

During the year sixteen meetings in all were held , of

which five w ere emergent meet ings convened for workingoff arrears . This was the largest number of meet ings

held in a year s ince the establishment of the lodge .

There was an increase (if 17 members , of whom 7 werein it iates, one a rejoin ing member and the rest affiliates .

A gainst this increase there were two resignat ions , one of

them be ing of Brother Barr, one of the orig inators of thelodge , which was accepted with regret , and after the

lodge had recorded its apprec iat ion of his past services .

A t the end of the year, therefore , the lodge was sti l l better

o ff by 15 members , one of whom st i l l con t inues to be borne

on its rolls as an honorary member and the oldest mem

b er , and the other of whom unt i l 2oth August 1909 con

tinued as the oldest subscribing member of the lodge .

T hey were Brother Dadabhoy Naorojee , the Grand Old

Man of I ndia .who subsequent ly as is we l l known became a

m ember of the Brit ish House of Commons and attained

the highest distinct ion which a N at ive of India can aspire

to . and in other ways has most honourably distinguishedhimself as a great public man , and R ight Worshipful

Brother K . R . Kama , who had during his mason ic career

become a worthy pattern for imitat ion and had proved

himself a staunch champion of mason ic rect itude and in

t egrity and a firm supporter of the interests of the Craft

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C. 7

in general and this lodge in particular. The 24th of

A ugust 1854 was indeed a lucky day for this lodge , as onthat day the lodge hai led and admitted within its sacred

walls Brother Kama ,who ever since reflected great credit

and honour on the lodge which was always justly proudto own him as its chi ld. The other new members were

Haj i Mirza Mahomed, Aga Mahomed Gazin i , Rustomjee

Byramjee , Nowrojee Maneckji L ungrana and Hormusjee

Pestonjee F ramjee . The rejoin ing member was BrotherFrederick Darby. The affil iates were Brothers E dward

R oussac , John Evans,William Johnson , Cursetjcc Bomonjee

Panthucky, Muncherjee Pestonjee Sethna, W. H . Macdo

nald,J. J

‘

amieson , J . B . Stainbank and D . Campbell . B ro

ther Muncherjee Pestonjee Sethnawas on ly an entered apprent ice hai ling from L odge Zetland, S ingapore , and took

his second and third degrees in the lodge . I n this year

two Hindoo gentlemen were proposed for in itiation , and

a discussion arose as to the ir elig ibility so long as they

adhered to those who professed polythe ism. No satisfac

tory conclusion having been arrived at , the Worshipful

Master, with the concurrence of. the brethren general ly

agreed to el ic it the opin ion of the Committee of the

Provincial Grand L odge who were then , as stated

before , also to consider the question of the ballot. But

there is no further record about the matter in the

minutes . The two gentlemen do not appear to have been

elected.I t was in

‘

this year that the lodge unan imously passeda resolution at its meeting held on 20th February for theformation of a charitable fund cal led The R ising Star

Charitable Fund,

”on the same -basis as that of the L odge

Perseverance . The Bye-laws in force at this time did notprovide for the setting apart of any portion of the lodgefees for charitable purposes . This resolution was a step

in the right direct ion , being in furtherance of one of the

first teachings of masonry, via , RE L I E F .


F or the first t ime t he lodge presented in this year a

Past Master’s jewel . It does not appear to have been

done before. This was a jewe l presented t o R ightWor

shipful Brother B allingall as part of a testimon ial stated

to have b een voted to him as a s l ight token of the appre

ciation of the lodge of his services during the past year

and of the ir sense of esteem for the ablemanner in which

he had fulfilled his duties.


The ground of the complaint is not set out in the

minutes of t hat meet ing , but it appears from subseq uenet

proceedings that the ground was that proxies were

improperly admitted to the bal lot box at the e lection

contrary to the Const it ut ions and the Bye-laws of the

lodge . The B ye-law which regulated the elect ion of the

Worshipful Master was Bye-law No . 8 , which prescribed

election by balilot .

Bye-law 38 distinct ly requ ired an appeal by any”

Brother to the Provinc ial Grand L odge again st any"

dec ision or proceedings of the lodge to b e preferred

through the Worshipful Master of the lodge , and under

Bye-L aw 43 any Brother wi lfully infring ing any Bye-law

could be fined or dealt with according to the decision of

the majority of the lodge . I t also appears that Brother

Merwanjee Maneckjee after making the complaint did .

not attend the regular lodge meetings pending the '

decision of the Provinc ial Grand lodge .

A t the next meeting he ld on 20th February the report

o f the Comm ittee on the subject of Brother Merwanjee

Maneckjee’s complaint that the election of the R ightWor

shipful Master was i llegal was read and the‘

R ight Wor

shipfulMaster intimated that he would send that reportand’.

the complain ing Brother’s letter to the Provincial Grand

L odge and would commun icate the result to the brethrenin due course and that meanwhi le he would defer takingany further not ice of that Brother

'

s irregularities . The

matter was according ly placed before the ProvincialGran d L odge and that body dec ided that proxies werenot admissable to the bal lot-box and could not b e p er

~

mitted in the election of a master and that the ir intro

duction in the case in question was contrary to the

un iversal practice of the Craft, to the spirit of the :

constitution s ,andin defian ce of the Bye-laws of the lodge ,and pointed out that the lodge having fallen into the

error the e lect ion of the Worshipful Master could not be


r egarded as valid and that the lodge should therefore

p roceed at the n ext regular meeting to a re-elect ion of a

master in due and anc ient form af ter 7 days’

not ice to“

the members of such meet ing .

The Grand L odge at the same t ime guaranteed t hevalidity of Brother Crawford’

s acts during the t ime he had.acted as Worshipful Master and expressed their Opin ion"

that Brother Merwanjee Man eckjee’s conduct in not

o beying the summon s sent to him was contumac ious asit was in violation of the princ iples of Freemasonry

which required spec ially the exercise of three excellen cesof character, Secrecy , Fidel ity , and Obedien ce , and

that he should therefore be admon ished in Open lodge.

I n accordance with the dec ision of the Grand lodge a

ballot was again taken for a master at a lodge meet inghe ld on 23rd A pri l , and B rothef Crawford was e lected

by a majority of votes and after his e lect ion , was saluted:ih due and anc ient form . H e

’

then at the same meetinga dmon ished Brother Merwanjee Maneckjee as directed

by the Grand L odge , whereupon the Secretary with the

permission of the Worshipful Master read a statement ,

w hich had been prepared by BrotherMerwanjee Man eckji

for the occasion , and which he wanted read as con tain inghis explanat ion in the matter.

I n the statement Brother . Merwanjee Maneckjee

averred that but for the command of the Provincial

Grand L odge whose authority he was bound to obey he

would have said a great deal to show that Brother

Crawford, and not he , should have been reprimanded for

infring ing the most fundamental principle of the Order

and that the Grand L odge had been obviously (whether

intentionally or not he could not say) misled as to

matters of fact on a very simple question at issue be

t ween him and the R ight Worshipful Master and the

b rethren who supported him unconst itut ionally in the

c hair and which had been decided in his favour. H e

102 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SIN G STAR

explained that having' questioned the lega l it y of the

e lection of the R ight Worshipful Master and protested

throughout aga in st his acts he could not consistent lyand consc ientiously attend any meet ing , or any body of

'

brethren met by his order or by any resolut ion passed bythe lodge of which he had been i llegally elected master,

and that i f the Grand L odge thought otherwise all he

could say was , he was sorry for it . Then as to B zye-law

38 he explain ed that he had not at all in fringed it for

the complaint was forwarded by him to the Secre tary of

the lodge .for be ing transmitted by him to the Grand

lodge and a’ ‘

copy of it was sen t by him to the Provinc ial

Grand Secretary as the Provin c ial Grand L odge was thenabout to meet in a f ew days and was not to meet againfor three months, and he wanted to take t ime by

,

the

fore lock and that he had sent to the Provinc ial Grand’

Master a copy of his protest again st the lodge proceed

ings pending the dec ision of the Grand L odge which he

had found it indespen sable to send to the Secretary of the

lodge with some observations of which he had made no

secret, and that he had therefore stri ct ly fol lowed rule

38 in sending his complaint and protest through the

lodge .

This explanation was it wi ll be seen an attempt on

Brother Merwanjee Maneckjee’

s part to just ify his con

duct and a commentary on the dec ision of the Grand‘

L odge . A ft er it was read R ight Worshipful Brotherl

H .

D . Cartwright , who was then the offic iat ing Provin cial

Grand Master and was present throughout the proceed

ings,addressed the lodge and in so doing stated that the

Provincial Grand L odge had to set as ide the e lection as

proxies had been admitted to the bal lot-box , contrary to

the spirit of the bal lot, to the Bye-laws of the lodge;andto the un iversal custom of the Craft, but: at the same

t ime they recogn ised that the error had been uninten-w

t ionally committed and confirmed Brother Crawfords‘

1 04 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

regard to the holding of private meet ings outside the

lodge to discuss proposi tions laid or to be laid before the

lodge at its regular meetings on the ground that such

meetings were irregular and unconstitutional and sub

jected the brethren attending them to suspension or

expulsion , and the B rother calling them,to a charge of

forming a cl ique in the lodge . I t is recorded that at the

first mee ting of the year Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee

p roposed that the discussion of the said propositions of

which he had g iven notice at the c lose of last year

should be postponed owing to the lateness of the hour, as

he had to offer a long explanation and stated that in the

meant ime and before the proposi tions came up for dis

c ussion he would call a private meeting of the native

brethren at his bungalow and prepare them for the

discussion by explain ing to them his grounds therefor.

Brother O’Meally and two other E uropean brethren

expressed their disapprova l of the course proposed an dtwo of them said that such a course was not on ly

unconst itutional but was dangerous. BrotherManeckjee

Cursetjee defended his view and in support thereof c ited

and relied upon precedents which , he said, were furn ished

by the pract ice of high functionaries l ike Brothers Burnes ,L eGeyt , Blowers , and others , and also the R ightWorship

f ulMaster in the chair, and the A ct ing Secretary , Brother

O’Meally, with whom, he said , he already had interviews

for explain ing the grounds of his propositions in question .

N o rul ing was, however, asked for from or g iven by the

R ight Worshipful Master.

During the year R ight Worshipful Brother L eL eyt

resigned his office of Provincial 'Grand Master and an

address was voted to him by the Provinc ial Grand L odgeand L odge R ising Star was at the suggest ion of BrotherCartwright. the Deputy Provinxcial Grand Master, g ivenan opportun ity of join ing in the address when regularlyengrossed on parchment , to testify to the masonic feelings

OF WE STE RN IND I A N o . 342 S .C. 105

a nd regard of the brethren for the ret iring brother, and

a draft of it prepared by the Provincial Grand Secretary ,BrotherB lowers,was read at the lodgemeeting held on 2oth

March . At this meeting a resolut ion was passed author

ising the circulat ion amongst the brethren of a l ist of

subscriptions to a fund started by some of the brethren

for present ing a jewel to R ight Worshipful Brother

O’Meally for his valuable and zealous services during his

mastership , the jewel to be of small value , as desired by

that worthy Brother, and the surplus after purchasingthe jewel to be set aside for a chari table fund. I t may

be men tioned that at a meeting held on 20th A ugust the

R igh tWorshipful Master had announced that the chari

t able fund of the lodge had been fairly started and that

R s . 250 were already to the credit of that fund in the

Bank .

I n all ten meetings were held during the year and

.almost all of them were largely attended. The degree

work done was on ly one in itiat ion , one passing and three

raisings. The number of new members was seven , of

whom six were affi liates and join ing members and on ly

one was an initiate . B ut against this increase there weres ix resignations . The in itiate was Dossabhoy Byramjee

Pesikakana.

-The affiliateswere BrotherH . D . Cartwright ,who was the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, and also

«officiated as the Provincial Grand Master of Western

I ndia, Brother C . M . I . Pol lock, then the Provinc ia l

Grand Sen ior Warden of Western India , and a Past

Master of,L odge St . George , Brothers G . Craig , R . T .

.Yui ll , Kobs, and J . G . L awrence .

Brother Cartwright was uanimously elected as a join ingmember at his own desire

'

open ly expressed to the lodgeat a meeting at which he was present and had st ated

t hat he fe lt great interest in the success and prosperity

o f the lodge and hoped he would b e balloted for at the

n ext meeting .


A s to Brother L awerence there was a difficulty . He

was proposed for affi liation at a meeting held on 2oth

October and was a lso put t o the ballot at the same

meeting . Brother L awerence was present at this meet

ing as a visitor. Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee protested

against the immediate ballot as be ing in violation of the

B sye-law which was passed by the lodge only on the 23rd

A pri l preceding , under which a B rother proposed for

affiliation could not be balloted for on the n ight of his

proposit ion . The new Baye-law had, it appears, not yet

then been confirmed by the Grand L odge . There was

some discussion but Brother Man eckjee Cursetjee’s pro

t est was not allowed . The votes were taken and Brother

L awerence was declared e lected by 1 1 votes against one

and the one dissenting vote was of Brother ManeckjeeCursetjee and was recorded by him (as he said at a

subsequent meet ing ) wi th the avowed object -of puttingin a b lack bal l as a protest against the Brother

’s election »

under the c ircumstances . At the next meet ing of the

lodge he ld on 2oth November, Brother Maneckjee Cur

setjee after the minutes of the last meeting were read,

objected to that part in which Brother L awerence -was

declared a member of the lodge on the ground that the

elect ion was in opposit ion to a B ye-law of the lodge and

could not be recogn ised in the proceedings. Brother Kobs

argued that the new Bye-law was of no consequence as the

Worshipful Master had the powerof plac ing the Bye-laws

in abeyance . The Bye-laws of the lodge did not g ive any

such power to the Worship ful Master. Brother O’

Meally

argued that the Bye-law could not be rel ied upon by

BrotherManeckjee Cursetjee , first because at the t ime « it

was passed it was not ascertained whether the votes in its:

favour were as two to one against it as required by. Bye

law 45 , and secondly because it had not yet then been

recogn ised by the Grand‘

L odge . Brother Cartwright

who was present at this meet ing expressed his opin ion

1 08 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G STAR

arrears of the lodge dues . A t themeet ing he ld on 20th

J anuary 1855 some correspondence between that Brother

and the Secretary was read and ordered to be recorded

and probab ly that was correspondence in which Brother

Maneckjee Cursetjee rendered his explanat ion . Brother

B omonjee N owrojee’s name was withdrawn at this meet

ing by Brother H . P. F ramjee . H e was, however, again

proposed (and the minutes say for affil iation ) on 23rd

A pri l 1855 by Brother E van s and seconded by Brother

Darby and was brought to the ballot at a meeting he ld

o n 2oth May. Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee objected to his

admission on the ground of his be ing once black-balled and

t hereupon Brother E vans withdrew his name though no

o ther member of the lodge objected. The proposals and

u n favorable bal lot for Messrs . B illimoria , Kola, Saher

and Hannah were not attended with any c ircumstances

d eserving any notice but the rejection of Brother

McKenzie showed that the trouble regarding the ballot

was increasing and brought matters to a crisis. That

Brother be longed to L odge Perseverance and was proposed

by Brother E vans and seconded by Brother O’Meally and

was bal loted for at the meeting held on 2oth December

and with an un favourable result. The R ightWorship ful

Master on the ballot be ing unfavourable a'

ddressedthe lodgeand in doing so said that Brother McKenzie who was his

friend and resided under the same roof had applied for

affiliation from a desire to support the lodge and was a

worthy member of soc iety and was not int imate ly known

to any one in the lodge except himself and that under

t hose c ircumstances, his good character, and the fact

that he was nearly a stranger, the ballot should be tried

again . This was done but the Brother was rej ected by

f our votes.

Brother O’

Meally then said that after that result

there could be but l ittle doubt that the ballot was

a bused and that there was no alternat ive but to have

OF WE STE RN I NDIA N o . 342 S .C . 109

the lodge closed and its charter returned, and that he

would therefore movefithat at the next meeting the lodge

should decide whether the bal lot was or was not abused.

The motion was supported by Brothers Jordan and

Maneckjee Cursetjee .

At this meeting Mr. Muncherjee R atanjee Bilimoria ,

who had been rejected on the ballot taken at the

meeting on 20th December, was again proposed for

in itiation .

During the year the lodge had resolved strict ly to

enforce its Bye-laws 24 and 29 which dealt with members

committing default in payment of lodge dues and had

actual ly ordered the privi leges of two brethren to be in

abeyance pending liquidation of lodge dues owing by

them.

Brother Dadabhoy Nowrojee, it appears, went to E ng

land shortly after his becoming Secretary and Brother

O’Meally was appointed to fil l the office in his place .

The following resolution was passed by the lodge by a

majority at a meeting held on the 2 l st May 185 5 , via ,

That the monthly subscription of join ing members from

the sister L odge Perseverance be raised from R upee one

to R upee one and annas eight , being half the regular

monthly subscription .

”I n connection with this propos i

t ion there was a l ittle discussion between the R ight

Worshipful Master and B rother Maneckjee Cursetjee

which is recorded in the m inutes in the form of a

dialogue. Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee had proposed

an amendment that the join ing members from L odge

Perseveran ce should pay the same amount as was leviedby L odge Perseverance from members of L odge R isingStar on their join ing it.

)

H e was asked whether the

amendmen t should have retrospective or prospect ive

effect , and he said that that question would be mooted,

after the amendment was dec ided on the ballot as a

distinct proposition , and further he wanted to know

1 10 H ISTOR Y‘ OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

Whet her the orig inal proposition was to have a retros

p ective effect or prospective effect . Brother O’Meally

s aid that it was not usual to answer a question by a

q uestion whereupon Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee said

that i f that was so, it was not right to put a question .

The quest ion was. however, again put tolBrotherManeck

jee Cursetjee from the chair, and he had to complete his

amendment by inserting the amount and providing that

it was to have effect as regards brethren who had

already joined or might thereafter join the lodge . His

amendment was negat ived as also was another amend

ment which was proposed by Brother O’Meally providingthat the future join ingmembers should pay Rupees three

per mon th whi le the members who had then already

been affil iated should pay on ly R upee one and annas

e ight per month .

On 2oth September 1 855 , a resolut ion was passed by

the lodge again by a majority instituting a dinner fee of

R upee one and annas eight from each member remain ingfor dinn er. The practice up to this t ime must evidently

have been for the lodge to defray the dinner expenses .

B ut as the finances were very low this fee appears to

have been devised by the R ight Worshipfu l Master, at

whose instance the resolution was passed as a relief

to some extent .

T he first part of the Indian Freemason’s Friend,

p resen ted by the E ditor and favoured by Brother

L awrence , was laid before the lodge in the b eginn ing of

this year.

Brother E vans was elected and instal led at the last

meeting he ld on 20th Decemb er as the R ightWorshipfulMaster for the ensu ing year and Brother

‘

O’Meally was

again appo in ted Secretary .

A report was rendered by the retiring master of his

s tewardship and is set out in the minutes of thismeet ing ,

and this appears to have been the firSt report ever ren

CHAPTE R X .

'1856 .

— The minute book does not contain any minutesof meetings held during the year 1856 . There is, however, a loose sheet of paper which contains the record of

’

a meeting he ld on 20th February 1856 , and i t appearstherefrom that a letter from the Grand Secretary ofthe Grand L odge of Scotland enc losing a certificateenabl ing the lodge to work ti l l St . John’

s Daywas read.

Bal lots were taken for three gentlemen , viz Muncherjee

R atanjee Bilimoria, Mahomed Gulam Hoosein , and

Hormusjee Bomonjee Kaka, who had been proposed for

admission at the last meeting held in the previous year,but the result was unfavourable in each case .

H ere Brother O’Meally rose in support of his motion

That in the opin ion of the lodge the ballot was abused,but was interrupted by the R ightWorshipful Master who

after consulting Brothers W. H . S . Crawford and

B allingallobserved that there was no use going into details

on such a question , that the result of the ballot had c learly

established the fact , and that with the concurrence of

the Past Masters and Officers of the lodge he would c lose

the lodge pending the decis ion of higher authority as to

the propriety of its ever being again opened, and the lodge

was then closed in solemn form . Brother Maneckjee

Cursetjee was also present at this meeting . A fter this

no meeting appears to have been held during the rest of

the year nor unt il the middle of the next: year, unti l when

the lodge remained c losed, and when fortunately it was

resusciated. After an existence of a decade and two

years during which it had its good days and bad, the

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C. 1 13

c limax was reached and misfortune so overtook the

lodge that for a t ime its onward career was checked. At

this t ime there was also a great pauc ity of members

which was another circumstance , that in a way neces

sitated the closing of the lodge .

CHAPTE R XI .

1857 .

— I n the year 1857 the first m inutes recorded are

o f a meet ing held on 29th July at the residen ce of Brother

Maneckji Cursetji. I t was presided over by the R ight

Worshipful Master Brother J . E van s , and had been cal led

for the purpose of e lect ing a master for the en su ing year.

T he Provinc ial Grand Master was present at thi s meet ing .

A t the commencement of the proceedings the R ight

Worshipful Master rem inded the brethren that his term

o f office had long sin ce expired , and that it had been a

source of great regret and disappoin tmen t that obstacles

had been thrown in his way which had preven ted him

from working the lodge , but that he hoped, however, that

h is successor would not have to encounter the same

d ifficult ies and that the lodge would in future work

harmon iously . Brother Man eckji Cursetji was then

u nan imously elected Master for the en suing year . The

Provinc ial Grand Master thereupon expressed his

sat isfaction at‘the result of the bal lot and in congratulat

ing the Worshipful Master-elec t expressed his hope that

as they had met again all dissen sion s and unpleasan tness

that had previously prevailed would cease to exist and

that the lodge would be worked with increased zeal.

Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee , in acknowledg ing the

honour conferred upon him ,said that considering the

posit ion the lodge was then in , and be ing second to non e

in his zeal in the cause of Freemasonry in general and thelodge in part icular, he could not refuse to accept the mas

tership as he had done on a former occasion , but would

do his best to render the lodge prosperous. These minutes

1 16 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

Dr.Burnes and L eGeyt when the lodge was established;

he concluded by promising that he would not suffer the

harmony of the lodge to b e on any accoun t disturbed

were it in his power to prevent it , nor do aught dis

pleasing to or against the wishes of the brethren , nor'

countenan ce any measure contraven ing the const itut ions

and B ye-laws , nor in short do anything to impair the

prosperity of the lodge or credit of the Order.

The first thing that Brother Man eckji Cursetj i did on

his assuming the government of the lodge was to revise

the code of B ye-laws reviving the principles and rules on

which the lodge was orig inally founded in consultation

w ith the past and subst itute masters and the principal

officers of the lodge and these revised Bye-laws were

discussed and unanimously adopted and approved of at a

meeting held on l t September 1857 , sub j ect to the

confirmat ion of the Provmcial Grand Master, and as

appears from what Brother Man eckji Cursetji stated at

the time , in no way materially differed from the Bye

laws of L odge Perseverance with the exception of the

rules relat ing to the admission and inclusion of members

At the meeting held on 20 th October an addit ional

B ye -law was passed in the follow ing terms — viz

it would be left optional with those E uropean members .

on the existing rolls of this lodge who have been affiliatedfrom L odge Perseveran ce to pay e ither the full amount

of the subscrip tion R upees four as now ruled, or the

reduced subscription of R upees two p er mon th , theyhaving joined the lodge on the understanding that

they have to pay half subscription ;but that thisprivilege be not accorded to members hereafter to be

affiliat ed from Perseveran ce or any other working lodge

or to the rejoin ing members .

During this year there was on ly one new membe

enrolled , name ly Brother Cursetji Nusserwanji Cama

while three brethren resign ed, namely. Brothers Comp

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C. 1 17

t on , Yu il l and Carvalho . I t was stated by the R ightWorshipful Master, whi le Brother Compton

’s resignat ion

was accepted, and with regret , that he was then the

“on ly remain ing Brother among the orig inal E uropeanmembers of the lodge .

I t appears from the minutes of the meeting of 20th

N ovember that Brothers Craig , Cross , and O’Mealy had

b een suspended , and the ir names withdrawn during thes uspension sometime previously, and that at that meet ingt hey were re-enrolled as members as they had been

restored by the Provin cial Grand L odge to'

the privi legescof Masonry .

The m inutes do not state the cause of suspension , but

f rom The H istory o f Scot tish Freemasonry in India,

”

written by Brothe r I . M . Shields and prin ted in The I ndian

F reemason and Mon thly Miscellany, V ol. XL , pp . 154-5 ,

it appears that about the m idd le of the year 1856

s erious di sputes had arisen between L odge Perseverance

and the Provin c ial Grand L odg e in conn ect ion with the—

u se of the lodge rooms permitted to L odge St. G eorge,

t he on ly E ngl ish lodge then work ing in Bombay by the

various Scotch bodies joint ly occupying the Free Masons’

Hall , and L odge Perseverance obj ected to this on the

ground that the u se was allowed in vio lat ion of the

arrangemen t which had b een made in 1853 by the

various Scotch bodies for hi ring the lodge rooms . B ro

xther G . S,Judge was at this tim e the Worshipful Master

of L odge Perseverance and Brother Cartwright was the

Provin cial GrandMaster, and the lat ter was charged with

collusion with the Worshipful Master of L odge R ising

Star and wi th the Principal of the R oyal Arch Chapter,Perseveran ce in the matter. L odge Perseverance

d eclared the conven tion dissolved and even objected to

‘

the Grand L odge meet ing in the lodge rooms . I t is

r ecorded that con s iderable acrimon ious corresponde nce

p assed between the Provinc ial Grand L odge and L odge

1 18 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SIN G STAR

Perseverance and the Provin cial Grand Master had

f ormally suspended L odge Perseverance from working ,and its master and officers from office , and that commu

n icationswere also addressed by both bodies to the Grand

L odge of Scotland and pet it ion s and memorials had alscr

b een presen ted by the Worshipful Master and office -bear

ers of L odge Perseveran ce to the Grand L odge of Scot-a

land and that the latterdismissed all the p et it ions and re

establ ished the authority of the Provin cial Grand Master

which had been called in qu estion , and cons idering that

the case required the exerc ise of wholesome severity

suspended from all mason ic privi leges certain members ;

of L odge Perseverance including Brothers Craig , Cross

and O’Mealy . I t is also recorded in the said history

that subsequen tly L odge Perseveran ce loyally accepted'

.

the decision of the Grand L odge of Scotland and the

suspended members (except Brother Judge) having made :

reparat ion were restored by the Provin c ial Grand L odge

to their membership and offices .

As a fact Brother Craig was present at the meet ing of'

L odge R ising Star held on 2 1st N ovember and expressed

his g ladness to cont inue as a member of the lodge .

I t may here be noted that with the except ion of

B rother Crawford (Substitute-Master) and Brother Jordan

(Secretary) all the other office-bearers during this year'

were nat ive brethren . Harmony seems to have b een

once again restored after the trouble the lodge had

undergon e in the previous years .

A resolution was passed by the lodge unan imously'

on

2 1st September, by which it resolved to pay R s . 2 0 per'

mensem as its share for the u se of the rooms of L odge

Perseverance and kit , etc .

A t the last meet ing he ld during the y ear R ight .

Worshipful Brother Maneckji Cursetji was re elected

Master and Brother Jordan was elected Treasurer for'

the ensu ing year.


b e so much under an ob l igat ion to the lodge as the

lodge must be under to him . Brother Hazelles was

appoin ted upon the terms on which his predecessors had

h eld the office , viz at his opt ion of charg ing no fees and

paying no subscript ion , or, as in L odge Perseverance ,charging his usual fees each n ight of his attendance and

p aying the entrance f ee and subscript ion of R upees four

a month as an ordinary member of the lodge .

The rejoin ing members were Brother Mir J afferalli

(Khan Bahadur) and A li Akbar. The firs t-named was

e lected a member on 2 1st January 1853 and took his

first degree on 7th Apri l fol lowing . The records between

1853 and 1858 do not show that he had withdrawn from

the lodge but as he was e lect ed as a rejoin ing member

during this year he must have previously resigned . H e

was this year passed five years after he was made an

E ntered Apprentice .

There were five resignation s during the year, me of

Brothers Cowasji H irjibhoy Cola and Short as ment ioned

above and of Brothers W. H . S . Crawford and O’

Mealy .

The last named B rother was upon the acceptan ce of his

resignation elected an honorary member of the lodge .

By the end of this year the few E uropean brethren who

were st i l l members of the lodge had one af ter the other

n early resigned and of those that were st i ll borne on the

rolls none was sen ior to BrotherManeckji Cursetji orn one who could work the lodge or ac t as a Past Master.

The lodge was now better off finan c ial ly than before . It

had during the year made a contribut ion of R upee s fifty

t owards the purchase of a bui lding in E dinburgh and fit

t ing it up as a temple for the Grand L odge of Scotland

in response to the appeal for that purpose forwarded tothe Provinc ial Grand L odge of Western I ndia from

that body , which con tribut ion was supplemented by indi

vidual donat ions by the members amoun t ing to R upees one

hundred and twenty-eight . A f ter paying this contribu

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C. 121

t ion and all disbursements during the year there was

s t ill at the end of the year a credit balance of about

R upees six hundred not taking into account arrears

amounting to about R upees three hundred,This state of

t he finances was then considered highly sat isfactory,

c ontrasted no doubt with the deplete state of the treasury

when R ight Worshipful Brother Maneckji Cursetji

a ssumed the government of the lodge eighteen months

(before which showed a debit balance or deb t of R upees

.f our hundred to R upees five hundred , The Treasurer,B rother Jordan , had in his department shown good

work and was at the end of the year re-ele cted to the

r esponsible office of T reasurer. At the meet ing at whichthe Rupees fifty towards the fund started for the Grand

L odge T emple in Scot land were voted the R ight Wor

s hipful Mas ter stated to the lodg e that the pos it ion of

t he fratern ity in the Presidency town of B ombay was

very in congruous , for whi le the other Presiden cy and

several of its provin cial towns could boast of possessingt emples of their own

, the Mason s at Bombay had to holdtheir meet ings in rented houses and had done nothing to

wards having a mason ic temple erected in Bombay ,t hough the subj ect had been discussed for years and at

one t ime a large fund had been bespoken and some

brethren had also promised to g ive some ground . Brother

O’Mealy promised then to collect all in format ion relat iveto the past proceedings and to draw up a scheme or pros

pectus regarding the same and was requested to lay it

before the S tanding Commit tee in view of its beingplaced before the Provincial Grand L odge and the other

lodges working in and out of the Bombay Pre sidency.

A visiting B rother of the name of Fogerty , who was pre“

sen t at that meet ing , then in formed the R ight Worship

ful Master that a: princely sum of R s . existed in.deposit with the Accountan t-Gen eral , be ing the princ ipal.and accumulated interest for a number of years of a

122 H ISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISIN G STAR

bequest made by a Brother named D. Seton to the old“

L odge Perseverance under the banners of E ngland forthe purpose of bu i lding a temp le at Bombay and was

requested to supply the Committee with the part iculars

of the deposit .

a

Brother Man eckji Cursetji himself hadalso offered a piece of ground at Byculla for the purpose

of erect ing a mason ic temple upon certain condition s

and a Committee had been appointed by the Grand L odge

to report upon it but the Committee did not recommend

the acceptan ce of the offer chiefly on the ground that the“

situation of the land was undes irable and the condit ion

attached to the offer might cause some m isunderstandingin future as to the ownership of the land . The offer was

therefore refused with thanks .

B rother Maneckji Cursetji was at the last meet ing of

the year re-elected master of the lodge but he did not .

agree to accept the office again for the third t ime until

after he was assured by the Provinc ial Grand Master

that such acceptance would n ot b e incon sist ent with

mason ic laws and usages and un t i l he could obtain the

ass istan ce of some Brother experien ced in the workingof the lodge in his absence and aiding him when present

H e at the , same t ime open ly avowed that though personal

c onsiderat ion s might influen ce him in resign ing the chair ,the mason ic and other con siderat ion s involving the sta-bi-r

lity and permanency of the lodge would not make him .

shrink from the respon sibi lity and that he would not be

backward in do ing his best in the in terest of the lodge

whether in or off its chair . This indeed was character

i stle of B rother Maneckji Cursetji -for not on ly did he

strive his best for the advancement of the lodge and’

promotion of its welfare , whether in wea l or woe , sunshine

or shade ,but such leve l best was performed in a whole «

hearted and sin cere , and at t imes when occasion requ ired

in a vigorous and emphat ic manner. H e accordinglyaddressed a letter on 12 th December 1858 to the Pro-r

H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STA R

”

had discharged up to now his dut ies as Treasurer veryeffic iently, with hearty interest and creditably to himself

a nd advan tageously to the lodge and was t herefore

presented at the last meeting of the year ( at which he

had again consented to continue as Treasurer for the

en su ing year) with the Founder’s Medal .

On 25th July 1859 a resolut ion was passed by the lodge

that its future meet ings should be held generally at the

residen ce of Brother Man eckji Cursetjiwhen there shou ld

be no particular occasion to resort to the rooms of L odge

Perseverance , and that a letter should be addressed to

the Worshipful Master of Dodge Perseverance cordial lythanking that lodge for the readiness w ith which they

allowed the use of their rooms and kit for R upees twenty

p er month and requesting him to obtain the sanct ion of

his lodge that in future the lodge should b e allowed to

pay R upees ten instead of R upees twenty for each meet

ing to be held at the ir rooms .

This resolution was passed with a two-fold object , viz . ,

( 1) to effect some saving in the lodge expen ses, and (2 ) to

. su i t the convenien ce of the nat ive members who f ound it

troublesome to attend at Colaba,the E uropean brethren

then attached to the lodge being but very f ew , and as a

matter of fact some meetings during this year were held

at BrotherManeckji Cursetji’s residen cewhich was kindly

placed at the d isposal of the lodge for that purpose .

R ight Worshipful Brother L eGeyt paid the lodge a

vis it during this year and was received with all honours

due to him as Past Provinc ial Grand Master and

Past Master of the L odge . A deputat ion of the L odge

Con cord also paid a visit and was formally rece ived at a

meet ing held on 2 9th October .

A n ew su it of c lothing for t he lodge offi cers from the

lodge funds was voted during the year.

R ight Worshipful Brother Cartwright was e lected

master for the ensuing year, but he declin ed to accept the

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C . 125 ”

honour owing to his other engagements and therefore

the lodg e elected Brother Ardesir Jamse tji Bhajeewalla

to that exalted office .

Brother Maneckji Cursetj i presided as the WorshipfulMaster for the last t ime at the meet ing at which Brother '

Cartwright was elected to succeed him . and the brethren

one and all presen t thereat , with on e voice and by

acclamat ion passed a resolution to present to him - in

addi tion to an ordinary master’s j ewe l and apron , some

thing substant ial , worthy of the donors and the acceptor,

as might b e agreeable to the latter, e ither in the shape

o f a plat e , a cup , a portrait or a medal spec ially to be

struck in his honour from the lodge funds or part ly

from lodge funds and part ly from its members , and a

Committee consist ing of the Worshipful Master-elect , .

the Warden s, Secretary and Treasurer was appoin ted to '

g ive effect to the resolut ion in such a manner as would beacceptable to B rotherMan eckji Cursetji and the meetingalso resolved that an address in suitable terms engrossed

on vellum conveying the resolut ion be presented to him

sign ed by all the exist ing members and that the retired

members of the lodge be requested to sign the same .

This indeed was a fitting recogn it ion of the very

laudable endeavours made and the act ive part taken by

that worthy Brother in founding the lodge , and con

tinuing to take thereafter the most ardent in terest in its .

progress and prosperity in every way and the masterly

manner in which he had acquitted himse lf while in the

chair which he fi lled for more than two years with greatcredit to himself and honour to the lodge . He had

attended every meet ing of the lodge during the period

of his mastership and was ass isted by a E uropean Brow

ther who acted as Past Master, Secretary and Treasurer

and at t imes also acted in other offices . The harmony of

the lodge was maintained and his reg ime was in everyway a marked success , and i t must have been a matter '

126 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STA R

of no small gratification at any rate to the nat ive mem

bers of the lodge to find that one of them , who was

the first to become a master of the lodge , so ably and

sat isfactori ly discharg ed the duties undertaken by him .

BrotherManeckjiCursetji su itab ly thanked the brethren~whi le accept ing the high compliment pa id to him and

con sented to a portrait of his being placed in the lodge .

if it. could be done without any large out lay, to remind

t hem in after days of him as one who had don e his hum

b le part in assist in g others in establ ishing this excel

len t in stitut ion for the spec ial ben efit of his coun trymen .

H e did not con sen t to a medal being spec ially struck in

his honour, for his services , he said , were not deserving

of such reward, and as to the plate or cup he said that he

could not accept the on e as he was not a great eater,

nor the other,for he was a tee totaller from his in fan cy ,

and either art icle cou ld not be used to his liking . B ut

he gave his con sent to the portra it on the underst anding

that he should be allowed to presen t a purse to form a

.Charitab le fund appertain ing to the lodge to which he

said he would like to see the reserve fund of the lodg e

.added for be ing devoted to mason ic and charitable

p urposes

128 H ISTOR Y OF L OD GE R ISIN G STAR

Provin c ial Grand Master and it was announced by the

latter that in future the lodge should not be opened in all

degrees on the occasion of the installat ion of a master as

had been hitherto done , as it was not necessary to do SG‘

in lodges working under the warrant of the Grand

L odge of Scot land . The const itut ion s at the present dayrequ ire the lodge to be open ed in all degrees . Brother '

Jordan was presented in open lodge with the Burne’sMedal which was voted to him last year.

A t ~a meet ing held on 2 1st May the lodge passed a reso

lution on a proposit ion which was brought forward.

by

R ight Worshipful Brother K . R . Cama that the in it ia

t ion f ees should be reduced f rom Rupees two hundred to

R upees one hundred and the other fees also propor

t ionately re .duced

R ight Worshipful Brother L eGeyt died during this

year, and his death was regarded as an un common loss ,an d with the object of commemorating it and keeping the

memory of that revered and exce l lent Mason a live for

ever the lodge at its meet ing held on 2oth July unan i

mously re solved t hat the brethren should n ever cease

whenever they met at the fest ive board of the lodge todrink to his memory in solemn s i len ce .

The financ ial condition of the lodge was steady , for at

the close of the year the f unds amounted to R s .-6-0 .

Brother Bhajeewalla was re-e lected Master for the

ensu ing year by a majority of votes and was duly rew

in stalled at the last meet ing of the year.

— The ' year 186 1 passed off q uletly . Thirteen

lodge meet ings an d seven Standing Committee meetings

were he ld . E leven members were added to the rol l , of whom

one was a rejoinin g member, namely , BrotherMoosaKhan .

Five‘were jo in ing members , via , Brother J. Slynn , J . H .

I rvine , H enry Bowman ,“ H . Hodgart and A . Faulkner, and

the remain ing five were in itiates, name ly, Khaja Moohtas

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .E . 129

Shah, Sorab31 J ijibhai Moogana, Burjurj 1 SOI ‘abJ I A shburner, Dossabhai F ramji Karaka and F ramji Bomanji. Of

these Brothers Moosa Khan and Khaja Moohtas Shah

and Faulkner resign ed within a few months . Brother

Wilkinson also resigned . Brother KhajaMoohtas Shah took :

on ly two degrees and as he did not understand E ng lish"

the proceedings were interpreted to him in Persian .

Brother Hodgart had just then passed the chair of LodgePerseverance and was an old and experienced Mason

and Brother Irvine had, it is stated, rendered many a

good service before to the lodge and both were e lected

by acc lamation without be ing bal loted for. Brother

Faulkner w as also simi larly e lected. There were three

in itiations and three passings and two raisings during the

year. The finances stood at the end of the year at

R s.-15-2 , and which sum inc luded R s . 636-1 being

the cost of the Founder’s Medals which the lodge had

ordered out formembers who would l ike to purchase themand were then on hand . A resolution was passed at the

beg inn ing of this year that the Freemason’s Quarterly

Magazine should be sub scribed for by the lodge and c ircalated among the members.

Among the visit ing brethren this year were brethrenfrom L ion and L amb No . 227 E . C. , St . Mary’s Chapel ,E dinburgh , Derby L odge No. 102 and L odge FelixNo. 355 , A donat ion of R upees fifty was also made in

this year to the N at ional Wallace Monument.

R ight Worshipful Brother K . R . Cama was e lected

Worshipful. Master for the next year by a majority of

votes and he was duly instal led by the Provincial Grand

Master.

1862 .

-The year of office of this worthy Brother was

full of events and work and was prosperous in all ways .

H e began his admin istrat ion in a truly mason ic spirit

and showed by his work and the manner in which he did

9

"130 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

it that he was a strong discipl inarian who had laid'

dowh

for the guidance of himself and the lodge an’

unbendingrule of undeviating obedience to and ob servance of the

Bye-laws of the lodge and the fundamen tal principles on

wh ich the lodge was estab l ished, and strove in every

respect tomaintain the harmony and in tegri ty of the lodge .

He was un erring in his dec isions , which he always gave

unhesitating ly and enforced strictly , but at times the

rigour of his'

action was tempered with len iency engen

dered on ly by a desire to do what was best in the int erest

of the lodge and tended to promote the diffusion of the

genu ine tenets of the Order. H e showed a firm grasp"

of

all problems and questions that came up b efore e ither the

lodge or the Standing Committee and had on all occasions

the courage of his convictions, and if one could truly say of

a Brother, he could certainly so say of this distingu ished

Brother, that he was the second man and mason after

Brother Maneckji Cursetji who, walking in the path of

mason ic rectitude and measuring his steps on sure and firm

ground and gu iding the thoughts of himself and ‘the

.brethren in general , whose happiness was his great

design to promote , within the very compass of propriety

held himse lf forth and justly proved by his fair and

square conduct a worthy pattern for imitation , and if

proof were wanted in support of all this it was furn ishedby the fact that the brethren over whom he ruled

“

for

twelve months re-e lected him the Worshipful Masteru for

the succeeding year.

H e was present at every meeting both of the lodge“

and

the Standing Committee anda t all the meetings usefu l

work was done . I n all twenty meetings of the general

body were held , of which e ight were emergent and the re

main ing twe lve were regular meet ings. The StandingCommitteemeetings numbered fourteen . There were tenin itiat ions, five passings and four raisings , and everyBrother in itiated, passed or raised had invariably

‘

the

132 H I STORYOF LODGE R ISING STAR

nal consideration with which Brother Maneckji Cursetj 1

was received by his Grand L odge whi le that BrothervisitedWarwickshire during this year. Four members

resigned during the year, via , Brothers Bhajeewalla, S . C .

Sayer, Angus and Balmore . The address and apron and

jewel which had been voted to Brother Maneckji Cursetji

on 19th December 1859 had for some reason or other not

been presented to him yet He was going to “E urOpe on a

six months’

leave to seek rest and recreation from official

work (for he was at and for some years before this timea

_

judge of the Bombay Smal l Causes Court ) and for the

education of his chi ldren and occasion was thereforetaken to present the address before his departure and

this was done at an emergent meeting held on 25th Apri l

which was largely attended by almost all the members

and a large number of visiting brethren . A copy of the

address as also a copy of the reply thereto by,Brother

Maneckji Cursetji are set out in A ppendix J , The addressrecounted the valuable services which had been rendered

by the worthy Brother to the Craft and the lodge and saidthat he was a perfect ashlar whereupon to try and adjustthe mason ic opin ions and actions of the brethren and had

been a sincere friend of the lodge as much in the days

of its adversity as in those of its prosperity .

T he apron and jewel had not arrived from E ngland andthe portrait was also sti ll coming from China and therefore the former could not be presented or the latter hungup in the lodge rooms . Brother Maneckji Cursetji re

plied in su itab le terms and referred to the facts relat ingto the foundation of the lodge and his humble efforts in

that behalf and assured the brethren that his connection

with the lodge would never be severed and said that hewould place in the hands of the Secretary a sum eq uiva

lent to the amoun t spent by the lodge on his portrait toforma nuc leus fund for charitable purposes, and m

order that the lodge funds might not suffer, and the

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C’. 133

lodge subsequently did get fromhim a donat ion of Rupeestwo hundred and fifty . He then also proposed that theBurne

’

s Medal should be presented to the Grand Master

of England, Brother George Ol iver, the H istorian of

the Craft , and to theWorshipful Master of the L odge L a

Glorie de l’

Univers de Paris in which he first saw the

light of Freemasonry. The R ight Worshipful Master

doubted whether such a proposition could be made at an

emergent meet ing and said that at the‘

next meet ing he

would see that it was made and if carried that he would

forward the medals to him in E ngland for presentat ion ,

and at the next regular meeting resolutions were passed

for presenting the medals to those distingu ished Masons

and also to the Grand Master of French Masons, and to

a Brother named T . P . Sirget , Worshipful Master of

L odge Sincere and Am ity ,who got the medal in recogni

tion of the brotherly regards he had shown to the

R ight Worshipful Master while in Paris in 1859 .

Brother Oliver had, it appears , taken a not ice of the

lodge in very flattering terms in his new edition o f

Preston just then published.

Brother Maneckji CursetjiWas then duly commissionedto presen t the medals in person to the dist ingu ished

brethren and he executed the commission by making the

presentation to Brother Sirget in person and to the others

by letters as he could not see them. The presentation

was acknowledged by letterswhich were handed byBrother

Maneckji Cursetji to the lodge on his return to Bombay ,and were read at the meeting held on 2oth N ovember and

copied in’

the minutes thereof and are in very touchingand cordial terms. (See Appendix K. ) Brother Maneckji

Cursetji was present at this meet ing and was thanked for

the exce llent manner m which the commiss ion had been

carried out by him and he informed the lodge that he hadbeen rece ived by the Grand L odge of Warwickshire and

particularly by its Grand Master, L ord L eigh ,

'

withmarked

1 34 H ISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISING . STAR

attention and fraternal regards;whereupon L ord L e igh

was upon his proposition elected an honorary memberand was voted the Burne’s M edal .The revision of the Bye

-laws of the lodge was the first

thing taken in hand by R ight Worshipful Brother KAR .

Cama at the commencement of his office. An emergent

meeting was cal led by him for the purpose and the

Bye-laws were discussed thereat and a number of

l

modi;fications and alterations were proposed for consideration

at the subsequent regular meeting , and one of them was

to raise the standard of fees for the three degrees and

for affiliation by exactly doubling them and reduc ing the

rejoin ing fee from R upees fifteen to ten and raising the

fees of R upees forty-five and fifty-five for passing and

raising a Brother initiated in another lodge to Rupeesfifty-five and R upees seventy-five respectively. A t the

next regular meeting the revised Bye-laws were discussed

and passed except the one relating to the alteration in the

fees . At a subsequen t meeting held on 21st Apri l , 1862 ,

it was resolved that the Bye-laws should be printed and

a sketch of the history of the L odge be added to i t and

the R ight Worshipful Master undertook to compi le it and

to see the same go through the press. The year wen t by

bu t as the Worshipful Master stated whi le rendering an

account of his stewardship , the Bye-laws were not printed

because the translat ion thereof was not ready and he , the

R ight Worshipful Master, could not compi le the sketch

because he found the old papers in a mess, all in a heap,

and not arranged properly though he had“

, he said, takendown notes and references which he intended to g ive to

the next coming master for being expanded . R evision

of the Bye-laws was accompan ied by a rig id observance

of them and here the presiding ofiicer was a task-masterthough strict , yet just . The members had become

somewhat indifi'

erren t as to regular attendance :and

did not send excuses for their non-attendance at L odge

HISTORY' OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

t ime tendered his resignation because he was fined. The

R ightWorshipfulMaster accepted the explanat ion and said

that the fine i f recovered should be refunded but a t the

same t ime said that though the member had shown very

l itt le attachment to the lodge by. tendering his resignation

and the lodge would lose very little by his withdrawal

(for he had attended a meeting on ly once in three years);

yet he thought he would be encourag ing members to re

sign at trifies i f he allowed that resignation to be accept

ed andmade a precedent of and desired that member to r e;‘

consider the resignation which was characterised as being“

due to his imperfect acquaintan ce with the anc ient mason ic

charges which requ ired a Mason at all times to belong to

some lodge or other;and the resignat ion was not accepted.

"Another Brother who was fined wrote two letters which

it appears contained matter, which if placed before the

lodge , would have induced it to dec ide against the

Brother and probab ly to expel him from the lodge , _ but

the“Right Worshipful Master who was supported in his

views by Brother Maneckji Cursetji did not al low the

letters to be read in open lodge though“

one Brother

wanted to know what they contained and gave that

Brother a week to withdraw the letters with a distinct

int imat ion that if he fai led to do so they would be read

m open lodge as a matter of course and dealt with in the

proper way, and stated to the lodge that he had made per

sonal efforts in bring ing round the erring Brother to the

right path of respect , duty and al leg iance towards the

lodge , and his efforts did prove e ffectual in the end ,for,

that Brother paid the fine imposed on him with a letter

submitting to the Bye-laws and explain ing the cause of

his absence for which he was fined. The letter was read

and the explanation accepted at the meet ing at which

R ight Worshipful Brother K . R . Cama rel inquished his

office and he open ly said that he retired from the chair

qu ite content with all brethren , without exception .

OF WE STE RN I NDI A NO.

—

342 S .C. 137

The Bye-laws were also strictly enforced in the matterof fees and admission of members .

Before his t ime a ll affiliates‘

had been somehow or other

charged only R upees two per month contrary to the

Bye-flaws and he therefore announ ced at the very second

meet ing of the year t hat he would in confirmity with

the Bye-laws enforce in regard to them the month ly sub

scription of R upees four without any d ist inction .

A s regards admission . of n ew members his view was

that the lodge should not be sorry if n inty~nine good

men out o f hundred men were rejected in order that even

one bad person might not by chan ce b e admitted into the

Craft and his procedure was to obtain . from a proposer

the name of his candidate then to submi t the name to the

semor office-b earers and to make due enqu iry as minutely

as he could in to the soc ial status and personal characterof the candidate , and if approved of , then to

’

allow him

to be proposed in open lodge . A ccording to the B ye

laws the proposition'

would again go before the StandingCommittee for report and here was another opportunity

of approving or rejecting a candidate , according to the

resu lt of further inqu iries or upon such informat ion as

might then be ava i lable . This in a great measure prec luded the chances of a candidate being b lack-balledand en sured the admission of g ood men and true .

An in stance occurred which showed how strict the

R ight Worshipful Master was and a lso his sense of

just ice . A candidate who had been favourab ly reported

upon by the Standing Committee was to be balloted for at

a meeting . That very day the R ight Worshipful Master

had received some in format ion prejudicially affec tinghis character and he therefore proposed that the ballot

should be postponed pending further inquiries which he

and others would make , as that would better serve the

in terest of the candidate than taking the ballot imme

diately , and after some discussion the proposer and

138 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

seconder agreed to the postponement . I n the meant ime

the R ight Worshipful Master ma‘

de further inquiries and

found that the in format ion g iven to him was not correct .

The candidate was brought up for ballot again and

before it was taken the Worshipful Master said his

inqu iries had resulted favourably to the candidate . The

ballot was taken and there were two blac k-balls . I t was

therefore suggested that th ere was some mistake and

the ballot should be taken again . The R ight Worshipful

Master rose equal to the occasion and repeated his own

bel ief that the cand idate was worthy of being admitted

and ordered a second ballot but reminded the brethren‘

at

the same time that it was the ir imperative’duty to exc lude

improper and unworthy men and to reject the candidate

if they suspected aught again st him . The second ballot

was qu ite clear and the candidate was duly e lected and

he in course of t ime had an opportun ity of rul ing the

lodge and serving it in more ways than one and to its great

advan tage . H e has since settled his c laim of mortal i ty

and has lef t his name imperishab le in the l ist of the Past

Masters of this lodge . H e was Brother Jehangir

Gustadji.

Brother K . R . Cama also wanted the brethren to be

efficient in the ir work and in candidates for the three

degrees he exacted a strict examination o before advan

c ing them from on e degree to another. Wi th that V iew

he used to hold private meetings regularly every week

with the princ ipal office-bearers at which E n tered A p

prentices were invi ted to rece ive instruct ion . H e was

in the first place not anxious to increase the number

indiscriminately and in the second place not to conf er

degrees without sat isfying himself that a Brother real ly

deserved advan cement . The proceedings of some lodge

meet ings were also interpreted in Persian and Gujarati

for the edification of those members who understood

E nglish imperfectly .


A Brother was not al lowed to be rai sed during this

year as it appears he had said something derogatory

to the lodge to some gentlemen , non-Masons , and

though cal led upon to withdraw his aspersions had

declined to do so .

Brother K . R . Cama was re-e lected Worshipful Master

for the ensu ing year by a large majority of votes . H e

was reluctant to accept the honour but on being earnest

ly asked to do so did not press his refusal . Circumstan

ces however soon changed . He had to leave Bombay on

a tour in India and he therefore cal led an emergent

meet ing for the purpose of e lect ing a new master. Here

again a question arose as to whether a master could be

e lected at an emergent meeting , and Brother Cama ruled

that that could b e don e and in that Opin ion the lodge

concurred . Brother M . M . Sethna was e lected master

by a magority of votes and was duly installed at the last

meeting of the year he ld on 20th December , 1862 , by the

ret iring master. , who took that occasion also to impress

on the installed Worshipful Master and the brethren his

views about govern ing a lodge and en forcing disc ipl ine

among the members and promised the brethren that

he would in future always work and ass ist them to the

best of his abi lity , a promise which it must b e admi tted

he most amply fulfilled t i ll his death in 1909 . He was

highly applauded by the brethren andvoted a Past Master’

s

Jewe l and Apron and he in his turn presen ted the large

folio vol. of the Zend Avesta by Professor Westergard

on which have been obligated the Parsi brethren of the

lodge up to the pres ent t ime .

A t this meeting the lodg e recorded its deepest regret

at the death of Rev. Brother Dr. Burnes , which was an

nounced by Brother Maneckji Cursetj i who also suggested

that his name should be coupl ed in solemn silence at the

fest ive board with that of the late R ight Worshipful

Brother P . W. L eGeyt .

CHAPT E R XI V .

1863— A s predicted by the R ight Worshipful BrotherCama,

his successor -was not strict in the enforcement of

discipline and the result of his laxity was that the

members were again irregular in their attendance at

lodge meet ings .

During his reg ime there was not a single resignat i on

whi le the addit ion to the roll of members was e ight of

which three were rejoin ing members , viz" Brothers D .

B . Pesikakana, Dadabhai Nowroji and J . B . Kola — fourwere in it iates , namely , Messrs . Dossabhai Hormusji l.

Cama, Jijibhai Jehangir L am , Muncherji Cowasji Murza-l

ban and F ramji Nusserwanji Sett , and one was an

honorary member.

Brother M . C . Murzaban came with a letter of recom

mendation on R ight Worshipful Brother K . R . Cama

f rom Brother J . D . Sharman the Worshipful Master o f

L odge St . Andrews in the E ast which was p laced before

the lodge , whereupon and upon the R ight Worshipful

Master’

s statemen t that he was on enqu iry found worthy

of being admit ted into the fratern ity he was formal ly

proposed thereaf ter and duly elected. H e at present is

the oldest , subscribing member of this lodge and will

complete his 50 years of mason ic life on the 20 th of

August , 19 13 .

The honorary member was R ight Worshipful Brother

R ichard Bolton Barton ,who had just then become

Provinc ial Grand Master of Western I ndia on Brother

B allingal re linquishing the office of Offi c iat ing Provinc ial

Grand Master of Western I ndia which he had filled from

142 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I NG STAR

186 1. That Brother attended thereaf ter severalMeet ings

of the lodge and took a keen interest in its affairs and

as will be seen later on rece ived spec ial recogn ition from

the lodge .

The degree work done during the year consisted of

three in it iations, four passings and three ra isings .

L odge T ruth had then b een recently consecrated and

Brother Maneckji Cursetji had the honour of be ing elect

ed‘

an honorary member thereof and he thought that the

L odge R ising Star was bound to rec iprocate the compl i

ment on personal as wel l as mason ic grounds and with

that View proposed two brethren of eminence and stand

ing and we ll-ski lled in the Craft who were Past Provin

cial Grand Masters of Bengal and also members of L odge

Perseveran ce as honorary members , namely Brothers

Judge and Wickham as, though those brethren

,

under the orig inal compac t with L odge Perseveran ce

(whi ch at this date was still observed by L odge R isin gStar

'

in spite of L odge Perseverance having resc inded

it eviden tly under an impression that its numbers who

then mustered about e ighty would inconven ience them)

were ent itled to attend the meet ings of the lodge as

extra members , felt a delicacy , which was but quite

natural, to attend too often . The Master supported the

proposit ion as did.

also another member. The feelin g

was however not unan imous , whereupon the proposit ion

was abandoned and Brother Maneckji Cursetji left the

meeting as he took their rejection as an insult . I t ap

pears that Brother Judge was proposed without his con

sent and in order therefore that his high position in

masonry might not suffer by reason of the mi stake o f

the Brother who had made the proposition a memb er

proposed at a following meet ing that the minutes regard

in g the elect ion should be expunged from the records.

A discussion ensued bu t the minutes were'

confirmed a s

the lodge was not in fault for having‘

voted and the

HI STORY OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

asserted that the master had a perfect right to cal l such

an emergent meet ing and that th e brethren were bound

on any occassion arising to show to the world by the ir

actions that they were not Masons inname on ly bu t were

Mason s in spirit and real ity who rej oiced with a Brotherin his joys and mourned with him in his sorrows and that

it did not follow , as some bre thren thought , that because

such a meet ing was held in one case that it should‘

neces

sarily be he ld in another, but that each case stood upon

its own circumstan ces and a B rother who had don e

service in a marked mann er was entitled to rece ive

sympathy at their hands in the same man n er. H e quoted

the instan ce of a lodge in France to which he was affili

ated in which a Brother’s wi fe be ing sick during labour

a deputat ion was actually sen t from the lodge to make

inqu iries after her health;and when she was -safely de l i

vered the b rethren test ified their joy by g iving a battery

of salute . The brethren assembled then unan imously.

passed a resolut ion recording the ir deep regret and

sorrow at the lamentable death and offering Brother

Maneckji Cursetji the ir heartfe lt condolence and sym

pathy . On ly a f ew days before that the lodge had passed

a resolution at a regular m ee t ing condoling with Brother

K. R .

Cama in his bereavemen t caused by the death of

his wife .

During the year Brother J . C . Tarachand who was

travelling on the continent , visited L odge Ang lais No . 204

of Bourdeaux at a special Convocat ion called in his

honour and was received with marked attent ion , and

that lodg e in token of their love for L odge R ising Star

presen ted a medal to him and also handed another

and a list of its members to B rother Tarachand to be

presen ted to the lodge . Brother Tarachand in advan ce

of his return sent both the medal and the list to the

lodge through Brother Dadabhoy Nowroji who was then

in E ngland, and on his return carried out his mission by

OF WE STE RN I NDI A No . 342 S .C. 145

making a presentation of the Medal to the Worshipful

Master in Open lodge assembled and the lodge passed a

unan imous vote of thanks to L odge Anglais for the honourand fraternal affection shown by them .

B rother Tarachand had also been treated very kindly

by V iscoun t‘de Brons of Bordeaux and L odge Mareschal

Magiria at Paris .

The Mason ic T emple quest ion was again mooted this

year, and discussed at the lodge meet ing held on 2oth

August . The represen tatives of. all the E ngl ish lodgesit appears had dec ided at .

a meet ing that a Mason ic

Temple should be bu i lt for the use of all bodies whether

under the E ng lish , Scotch or Irish Banner and appointed

a deputation to wait on H is E xcel len cy the Governor of

Bombay requesting him to become the Patron of the Orderin Bombay and his co-operat ion in the selection of a site

for‘

the T emple and a further meet ing was to be he ld on

28th August . BrotherKing , the Grand secretary, who was

present at the meet ing referred to the subj ect and askedthe lodge to depute a represen tative at the said meeting .

I t appears that another scheme had also been started

in which the Worshipful Master had been invited to join

and‘

the project of Brother Cama had been allowed byh im to drop and the Worshipful Master said it was

difficult to decide what to do

Brother Cama whi le apprec iating the idea and em

phasising the common desire of all Masons to have a

Mason ic Hall expressed his opin ion that to cut the gordion

knot it would after all“

b e be tter for the lodge to bui ld a

hal l of its own which could b e used by all other masonic

bodies under any banner on payment of a small rent , as

he be l ieved that the members who had last year at his

in it iative subscribed Rupees forty thousand could i f they

so chose consummate the proj ect by employing the ir

money. or lands in the erect ion of a T emple which after all

would be a paying investment . Brother Cama was how

HISTOR Y OF L ODGE RISIN G STAR

ever deputed to attend the meeting to see what was bestto be done under the c ircumstances .

Two of the visiting brethren this year hai led from

L odge Dido Paix and L odge St . David,Dundee .

Brother Muncherji Cowasji L ungrana presen ted to the

lodge this year a copy of his valuable work“The Gan j

Nameh .

148 HISTORY OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

ambition was and would be to see that the lodge attained

perfection under nat ive office -bearers.

Brother A . F. Moos was presen ted with the Founder’s

medal in recogn it ion of the trouble taken by him in tran s

lating the Byev law s and gett ing them prin ted . There are

at present in the lodge library several printed copies of

these Bye-laws with their Gujrat i tran s lation .

Brother Cowasji Sorabji Pate l requested the lodge to

b e al lowed to dedicate to it a work he had written on

Chronology but the dedicat ion was refused with

thanks on the ground that the work did not relate to a

masom c subject .

Mason ic Manual presen ted by a Brother named

Hains was accepted with thanks and the lodge became a

subscriber to the Scottish Freemasons’

Magazin e from

the very beg inn ing of that Journal and the proceedings

of the lodge ,‘

it was resolved, should af ter approval

thereof by the Grand Secretary be furn ished to the

Magazine .

H is Grace Augustus Frederick John,the Duke of

Athole ,K . T .,the Grand MasterMason of the Grand L odge

of Sco tland and the be loved and i l lustrious head of the

Craft at'

the t ime, had just then passed away in to eter

n ity and the lodge f eeling itself bound by every motive of

duty and gratitude passed a resolut ion at its meet ing held

on 20th February recording the melan choly event with

deep regret‘

and paid fun eral honours to the deceased in

solemn si len ce .

L odge Perseverance asked this year for an increased

rent for the use of the lodge rooms at Colaba and it was

agreed to .

I t was announced that the n ecessary land for the

erection of a Mason ic T emple had been agreed to be

purchased and that the T emple would b e called The

F ramji Cowasji Mason ic H al l after the illustrious

grandfather o f the Worship ful Master who though not

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .C .

in it iated into the Craft was by his acts and deeds a

Mason

The financ ial condition of the lodge was now again bad.

I t was on the wrong s ide but it must b e said that the

lodge had made substant ial donat ions in charity during the

yearwhich must have in a degree contributed to this fall,

TheWorshipful Master in ret iring from the chair made a

donation of Rupees two hundred and had also previouslyadvanced a loan of R upees five hundred to defray the

current expenditure .

I n order to meet the increased expenditure the

monthly subscript ion was raised from R upees four to

R upees five and all the other fees were doub led.

1865 . Brother D . R . Kola was the Worshipful

Master in the year 1865 . During his reg ime the lodgebecame a subscriber to the Indian J ou rna l of Freemasonry and the Freemasons

’

Magazine and Masonic

Mirror published in L ondon and the members continued

to take an interest in mason ic journals and were it

seems making use of the lodge l ibrary .

Four Brothers were affiliated, namely,B rothers F . L .

Brown , H . H . Avron , Dadabhai D insha Ghandhi, and

H enry Prescott . There was on ly one in it iate and he was

the lateMr. F ramji R ustomji V icaji, B arrister-at-L aw ,

who as is wel l known passed away from this mortal

world in July 1908 . Brother BurjorjiSorabji Ashburner

rejoined whi le Brother J . H . Irvine resigned . Brother

Prescott presented to the lodge a picture of Brother Dr,

Oliver which wasthankfully accepted.

The late eminent high priest of the Deccan , Dastur

Hoshangji Jamaspji, was proposed this year for in it iation

by Brother K . R . Cama but as in those days there

was st i ll in the nat ive mind a prejudice against Free :

masonry general ly and the orthodox sect ion of the Parsi

commun ity had a bel ief that it had a great affin ity to

Christ ianity the proposal was al lowed to stand over for.

150 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

two or three months in order to allow the news to spread

and to enab le the learned Dastur to gauge the views of

his const ituents by the subject be ing fully vent i latedand then to decide final ly Whether he wou ld join the

Order or not . Subsequently however Brother Cama

withdrew his proposition but the fact that the eminent

Dastur had al lowed it to be made was indeed a great

refutat ion in itse lf of the bigoted view taken against

the nob le institut ion of Freemasonry .

I n all there were 13 lodge meetings and 10 standingcommittee meetings . There were two in i tiat ions three

passings and three raisings . The finances wen t however

from bad to worse and subscriptions had to be raised

from amongst the members to pay off debts and to

leave a smal l surplus in hand . But at the same t ime

it appears the lodge had all along continued to make

charitable donations and did not alter the Bye-laws

under which one-fourth of the subscriptions went to the

charity fund though some of the members wanted theproportion stil l further reduced .

All Past Masters of the lodge were elected by L odge

Con cord of instruction as its honorary members duringthis year.

The Bye -laws of the lodge were amended at a lodge

meet ing held on 20th November and inter aiia those

relat ing to the extra-membership granted to members of

other lodges were resc inded , so that from thi s time for

ward the members of other lodges were admitted as

affi liates upon the same terms as the intrants . The rule

relat ing to honorary membership was also now altered

by providing that a proposition for the same should be

dec ided by ballot and not by show of hands as before and

the rule re lat ing to the holding of ann iversary meet ings

was amended by providing that they should be held on

1 5 th December in each year, that b eing the ann iversary

day. The present rules in these matters are to the same

152 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISI NG STAR

not in the least mean to insinuate against any particularlodge as permitt ing the object ionable practice but

would instance , as an example of what should be done ,

the L odge R ising Star where the strictest scrutiny wasmade before a candidate was proposed or in itiated .

Brother Cursetji N usserwanji Cama offered this year

to present to the lodge the n ecessary c lothing of office

bearers and members with a set of jewe ls in silver and

this munificen t offer was accepted with‘

a request to that

Brother to allow the in script ion“ Presen ted to L odge

R ising Star of Western India N o . 842 by Brother C . N

Gamaj i being engraved i f not on all the jewels at leaston those of the Master and Warden s . That worthyBrother at first objected but ult imate ly re luctan tly as

sen ted to the request and the c lothing and jewe ls were

in due course ordered out from E ngland. The c lothingat that time inc luded sashes for the office-bearers .

Bro NOWI ’Olji Nanabh i F ramji was selected Worship

ful Master for the next yeai by a majority of votes but

he decl ined to accept the ofiice and thereupon‘

the

brethren proceeded to a fresh e lect ion at which

Brothers K . R . Cama and C . J . Tarachand got an equal

number of votes . Brother Cama then said that the .Past

Masters of the lodge were its pillars and the greater the

number of them was the better the strength of the lodge ,and it was not. therefore advisable to elect a Past Master.

The ballot had therefore to be gone over again and

resulted in a majori ty of votes for Brother Tarachand

who was subsequently duly installed by the Provinc ial

Grand Master. A t the end of the year there were

forty-two subscribing members .

CHAPTE R XV I

1866 .

—The year 1866 was not very eventful , but it wasfull of work , viz , seven in it iat ions, five passings and four

raisings . I t also attracted fifteen new members of whomn ine were in it iates and six affiliates .

The in itiates were Messrs . Darasha Ratanj i Chichgar

( who has sin ce proved himself an ardent and useful

member ) , Cursetji Rustomji Sethna ( the father of our

present members. R ight Worshipful Brothers P . C . Sethna

and D . C . Sethna J amsetji Dhanjibhai Wadia, Dr.

Rustomji Jamsetji Nadirshaw ,Hormusji Dadabhai then

a pleader and later on a Judge of the Bombay Small

Causes Court Dr. Cursetji F ramji Khory, Pestanji

Dajibhai, R ustomji Sorabji Panegar and Sorabji Palanji.

B rother Dr. Nadirshaw entered the lodge under circumstances similar to those which had happen ed in the case

of BrotherJchang ir Merwanji Plead’

e’

r. H e had been

disapproved at two consecut ive ballots”

taken'

When'

he

was prew ously proposed e levenmonths before this , and

his disapproval had“

been t he occasion of an'

animated

animadvfersion by some”

membiers on the conduct of. the

brethren who had exerc ised their right of Veto:

The affiliates we‘

re Brothers F ramjiDorabjiB ahadurji,Nowroji Dajibhai Unvalla and Hormusji Nowroji

Saklatwala, all hai ling from L odge Zetland of Hongkang ,

China , No . 525 E . C . , Brother E dulji Cowasji. J ussawalla,

an in itiate of L o'

dgje' Morn ing Star of L ucknow N o. 552 ,

Brother Rustomji Hirjibhai Wad ia hai ling from L odge

Mountbank No.286 of the Un ited States of America,and

Brother Rustomji Pestonji Soorfiy of L odge‘

G resham

HISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISING STAR

No . 869 E , C. , Brother Jussawalla subsequently took his

second and third degrees in the lodge .

Brothers Aaron , Prescot, F. L . Brown , Cursetj1

F rommurze , Muncherji F rommurze , Hodgart , A . M .

Gubbay, and Jalbhai Dorabji Umrigar resigned . Brothers

Bowman ’s and Solomon David’s names. were struck out

for de fault m paymen t of: lodge dues .

The clothing and s i lver jewels which Brother C . N .

Cama had ordered out arrived from E ng land this year

and were presented to the lodge which out ofi gratitude

conferred on him the ti tle or appellation of Honorary

Depute Master of the lodge and also voted to him the

B-urnes Medal. B rother K . R . Cama was sti l l holdingthe office of Depute Master since it was created He was

also, during this year, the Provincial Grand Secretary .

Brother N . N . F ramji had by th is time purchased a

piece of land at B ellassis Road, admeasuring about

square yards for the benefit of the lodge which hehad , however, not conveyed to the lodge . Subsequently

to the purchase , however, he unfortunate ly fel l on bad

days with others with whom he was previously carryingon business but this did not preven t his carrying out his

obligation and he offered to convey the land to the lodge

along with the trustees of . his estate and, as, wi ll be seenlater on , the conveyance was duly taken .

I t had come to the not ice of some members that certain

native residents of Bombay fai ling to get admittance int o

the lodge or apprehending from common reports"

of the

lodge being very strict in its choice of members that they

would not be accepted even if theymade an attempt wereproceeding to Poona for the express purpose of becomingFreemasons by gett ing themselves admitted in L odge

St . Andrews in the E ast N o 343 , working under the

Scotch banner and were then visit ing the lodge freely

after their return ta Bombay . This they thought was a

yery objectionable proceeding which at the same time


complaint to him and requested him to take up the matter

in the interests of Craft Masonry and to make some

arrangements for putt ing a stop to -the practice . Brother

Barton , whi le conceding that the lodge must have a true

cause for complaint expressed his opin ion that the Provin

cial Grand L odge could not interfere in the matter, but he

trusted that the Brethren of L odge St , Andrews would

not be wanting in the exercise of their good sense in the

choice of native candidates from Bombay , and be it said

to the credit of these Brethern that they did thereafter

discontinue the pract ice of initiating nat1ves of Bombay

whose character and antecedents they could have no

means of knowing , and promised not to admit natives

who’

were not actual residents of Poona as the result of

commun icat ions addressed to them .

Brother F ramji Cowasji Mehta rece ived this year the

Burnes Medal from the lodge with a su itable inscript ion

in recogn ition of the services rendered by him as Steward

for four or five years .

BrotherManeckji Cursetj1 presented this year a Scotch

mace with s ilver mountings for the use of the Grand

L odge .

The finances of the lodge were at the c lose of the year

in a healthy condition and stood at the good figure of

R s. 3 104-15-1 on the cred it side .

1867 . This prosperity was maintained dur lng the year

1867 for after meeting all expenses and donations in

charity there was an increase of over a thousand rupees .

TheWorshipful Master was Brother R . C . Bahadurji.

A si lver vase with a su itable inscript ion was presented

this year to Brother C . N . Cama in further recognitio

his gift of mason ic jewels and clothing .

The Provinc ial Grand Master Brother Barton proceed

ed to E ngland for a few months for the benefit of

his health , but before he did so

'

Lodge Perseverance

had start ed a movement for getting up a suitable

OF‘

WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S.C . 157

test imon ial to him, and the lodge was asked to join

but whi le fully partic ipating in the desirabi l ity of the

movement, it chose -to? act independent ly not from

any mot ives of invidious distinction but from thesol e desire to act) prominently in doing honour to a

Brother Who had individually special claims on’

their

grat itude and had always extended the right hand of

fe llowship to them. T he lodge did accord ingly act in a

marked manner. I t presented a Special address and

voted a gold jewe l or plate as Brother Barton might

decide cost ing about £s 45 and the brethren also met

Brother Barton personally at a meeting appointed to

rece ive -him in response to his own desire to meet

them in open lodge assembled before leaving“

Bombay .

At that meeting which was very largely attended andwas thorough ly representat ive , Brother Barton

“

paid a

high compl iment to the L odge and said that in admittingmany Parsi brethren into the Provincial Grand L odgethat lodge had profited by importing into it muchrespectabi l ity , sagac ity, and intelligence possessed by

the brethren of the R ising Star. The address was

presented by a special deputation and the plate was

presented in E ng land in due course in the followingyear through Brother Dadabhai Nowroji as Brother

Barton had in the meantime left Bombay .

The work of instruction which was done in previousyears had not been performed for a year and a half and

arrangements were made during the year for reviving it .A Mason ic L ibrary was also projected during this year

and a committee”

was formed and R upees fifty were con

tributed by the lodge as a donation in aid thereof.

The draft of the Deed of Conveyance by Brother N N .

F ramji of the land to be held in trust by the lodge for

the erection of the F ramji Cowasji Mason ic Hall wassubmitted and the lodge resolved that the names of

Brothers R . C . Dahadurji M. C . Murzban and Jehang ir


Gustadj i be embodied in the Deed as its representatives,and Brothers K . R , Cama and Murzban be nominated as

trustees of the land. This matter was thus pushedforward year after year.

Twelve regular meetings of the lodge and fourteen

standing committee meetings were held and there

were five in itiations , seven passings and six raisings

during the year and seven new members were

admitted, of whom five were in itiates, and two

join ing members. The in itiates were Messrs . L imj i

Dinshaw Furdoonji , Cooverji Coyaji, H i-rjibhai F ramji

Cooper and Doctors Burjorji F ramji L all i and Rustomji

Nusserwanji Khory . The join ing members were Bro

thers James McKinlay and R obert L . K ing , both

hold ing high posts in the Provincial Grand L odge

and Past Mas ters of L odge Perseverance . Brother

McKinlay was affil iated on the proposal of Broth er

K . R . Gama who at the t ime of his e lection said

that he regretted that the Brethren of L odge Persever

an ce invariably refused to affil iate the members of

L odge R is ing Star and advised the lodge not to

re taliate but to extend the right hand of fel lowship

to all worthy Masons .

Brother McK in lay resigned within a few months

owing to i l l health . Brothers D . F . Karaka, Sorabji

Pestonji F ramji and A . F . Moos also resigned . The L odge

had this year to perform the melancholy duty of mourn

ing the loss of Brother Oliver, the H istorian of the Craft ,

and to condole with his nearest re lat ives .

F or the first t ime since the lodge began to dispense

sums in charity a Parsee Brother, who was a very old

member of the lodge, being in distressed circumstances

was assisted out of the charity funds .

A Brother whi le a member of the L odge had used before

Brothers Cursetji F ramji Khory, Darasha R . Chichgar

and Cursetji Rustomji Sethna (whi le they were not

CHAPTE R XVII .

1868.—Brother Murzban was the Worshipful Master

in 1868 and his ru le was marked by a thoroughness' of

purpose and a strong determmation to uphold the

integrity of the craft and the prestige of the lodge . The

brethren were happy under his sway and the lodge

maintained steady progress . There were five in itiat ions ,five passings , and seven raisings.

The accession on the rol l of members was seven ,being

five in it iates , namely Cooverji Sorabji Nazir, ManeckjiR atanji Reporter, Jamsetji N owroji Unwalla, R ustomji

Merwanji Pate l and Merwanji Shapurji B ahadurji, one

affil iate , via , Brother Darasha D orabji R eporter from

L odge Concord and one Honorary Member R ightWorship

ful Brother, Captain (afterwards Sir) H enry Morland , who

was then the Officiating Provinc ial Grand Master of

Western I ndia and Master of L odge Perseverance . Bro

the’

r J . H . Irvine who was a member from 186 1 to 186 5

and had resigned was e lected an Honorary Member in

recogn ition of the interest he was ever after his ceasing

to be a R egular Member taking in the we lfare of the

lodge .

Broth er Morland was also presented with the Foun

der’s Medalwhichwas the g ift;of Brother R . C. Bahadurji .

Brothers R . H . Wadia and Sorabji F rommurze res ign ed

and Brother F ramji Bomanji, whose conduct in another

connection was the subject of an inqu iry last year on

some further complaint of forg ing certain passages dr

sentences in a letter of Brother“

Nowroji F urdunji anddated 16 th August 186 1 , and two letters or Cert ificates

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .E . .16l

from Mr. C . A . B eytes dated 18th April 1857 and 3rd

August 186 1 , and published in a book of testimon ials was

expelled from the lodge . E ver since the establishment

of the lodge this was the first in stance of an expulsion

which was dec ided upon af ter a regular trial as of a

criminal offender by a regular Court of Just ice .

I t was first reported at a lodge meeting that Brothers

Rustomji N usserwanji Khory and Cursetji F ramji Khoryobj ected to sit with Brother F ramji Bomanji and that allefforts to bring about an amicable set tlement of the

differences between them had proved unavailing . The

R ight Worshipful Master thereupon allowed on e of the

comp lain ing brethren , Cursetji F . Khory , who held an

Office ,to attend the meet ing and ordered that Brother

R ustomji N . Khory who did not hold any Office and the

offending Brother should not enter the room lest the

harmony of the lodge should be disturbed . L ater on

c ertain written statements tendered by the tw o complain

ing brethren were read to th e lodge but the comp lain ingBrothers’ letter was not read.

Thereafter the complain ing Brethren and the Brother

charged were ordered by the Standing Commi tte e to

appear before them , the former with all oral and docu

men tary eviden ce in substan t iat ion and the latter in

disproof of the a’ccusat ion .

They according ly appeared at a Standing Committee

meet ing . The Worshipful Master presided and opened

the proceedings and stated the charge and asked the

accused Brother to state whether he was guilty or not .

H e declin ed to an swer the quest ion con tending he was

under no obligation to do so un til and un less his accusers

made ou t a case again st him . The Master and the

members of the Standing Commi ttee were of opin ion

from a mason ic poin t of V iew that this attitude w a

unwarrant ed and un just ified and the accused Brotherwas bound to plead guilty or not and the Worshipful

1 1

H ISTOR Y.OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

Master then repeated the quest ion : A s Master I

ask you , if you are gu i lty or not of these accusations

and then the answer was“N o . Thereupon further

quest ions were put to him which he an swered and the

complain ing brethren put in as evidence on their behalf

the issues of the R est Goftar n ewspaper of 14th and

2 1st September and 5th , 12 th and 19th October, 1862;and

copy of a pamph let with the tit le page Testimon ials and

R eview by the E ditor of the R est Goiter on the said

T est imon ials”

and a book cal led “The L ights and

Shades of the E ast”and concluded their evidence and

observations with a remark that they were not satisfied

with the defence as pub lished in the B ombay Samachar

of 15 th October, 1868 . The offending Brother was then

cal led upon to answer to t he charges and he argued that

the in terpolat ions wi th which he had been charged had

not been proved to have been made by him and dec l ined

to disc lose any matter connected with his defence or.to

enter into his defen ce or to produce test imony , Verbal or

documentary, in his Vindicat ion . The members of the

Committee retired for de l iberat ion and af ter a f ew

minutes resumed the ir seats , and then the Worshipful

Master asked each of them whether he bel ieved and

found the offend ing Brother g ui lty or not gu i lty and the

answer was Gu ilty .

"The Worshipful Master then said

he was of the same opin ion,and then a resolut ion was

unan imously passed as follows“That looking at the whole of the evidence in the case

and taking in to cons iderat ion the kind of answers g iven

by Brother F ramji to the several quest ions put to himduring the progress of the trial , the line of defenceadopted by him and his broad refusal to en ter into the

p art iculars and the merits of the case the members of theStanding Committee unan imously come to the conclusionthat Brother F ramji B omanji is gu ilty of having forged

or caused to be forged certain passages or sentences , via ,

H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISI NG STAR

say why pun ishment should not be awarded to him for

commission of the offence brought home to him but he

made no reply . Then by a majority of votes a resolut ion

was passed excluding the Brother from a part icipat ion of

all rights and privi leges appertain ing to the members of

the lodge .

The offending Brother had , af ter the report of‘

the

Standing Committ ee . sent in his resignat ion , bu t it was

not accepted . H e was in arrears of lodge dues and i t

was resolved that he should be finally cal led upon to

pay them and g iven not ice that in default his name

would be struck off the rolls .

A f te r the lodge passed the resolut ion of expulsion the

said Brother wrote a letter of protest which was couched

in very discourteous language . I t was brought up at a

subseq uent’

meeting , and the lodge resolved that he ‘

should

b e called upon to withdraw it and to tender an apology

for having sent it , and that in the event of non-compliance

with the requisition the letter should be forwarded to theProvincial Grand Master for disposal . The expulsion

was in due course confirmed by the Provinc ial Grand

Master.

R ight Worshipful Brother Ballingall d ied during the

year and the lodge recorded its regret'

in su itable

terms .

During the year presents were made to the lodge of

the photo of a lodge room by Brother Jamsetji Dhan j i

bhoyWadia , an elegan tly bound copy of the Khordeh

Avesta by Brother R . C . B ahadurji, a handsome cushion

for placing thereon the sacred volume by the Worshipful

Master’s wi fe , and a sum of rupees fifty by a Brother

named E . Meidenger who had left Bombay;contributed tothe Charity Funds through Brother Aaron as a slight

token of the es teem and respect. in which he held the

lodge for its admirable working , for the hospitality

and broth erly fee lings always shown to visitors at its

OF WE STE RN IND I A N o . 342 S .C.

meet ings , and for the truly mason ic spirit in which the

lodge was worked .

The plate voted to Brother Barton last year was

presented this year in Yarborough L odge at Brighton by

Brother Dadabhoy Nowroji on behalf of the lodge , and anaccount of the proceedings of that lodge in the B righton

Gazette of 24th September 1 868 was read at the lodge

meeting held on 20th October, and that lodge was in due

course thanked for allowing the jewel to be presented at

the ir meet ing .

A t the same t ime that this presentat ion was made the

test imon ial got up by the other lodges was also presented .

The following account is taken from the I ndian Free

mason and Mon thly Miscellany,Vo lume X I , pp . 32-3 .

An interest ing ceremony took place at the annual

in stallat ion meeting of‘

The Yarborough L odge No . 811,

Brighton , in the presence of R ev. John Griffith (Principal

of Brighton Co llege ) Master of the L odge , L ord Pelham .

M . P and E . J . Turner, E squ ire (Grand Master and

D epute Grand Master of the Provin ce of Sussex ) and a

large number of visit ing brethren . This was a presenta

tion to Broth‘

er R . B . Barton , Provinc ial Grand Master of

Western I ndia, of a magn ificent ornamen t consist ing of an

E pergne for flowers on the centre pedestal and four

branches for candles on each side of the same supported

on a neat but elegant base carrying on the side the crest ,

ribband and motto of the rec ipien t , and on the reverse the

following inscript ion

Presen ted to R ichard Bolton Barton , E squire , L L . D .

,

Barrister-at-L aw , Provinc ial Grand Master for Western

I ndia , and late A ct ing Chief Mag istrate of Bombay , as a

mark of esteem , affect ion and regard by the members of

R ising Star No . 342 of Bombay in st ituted for admittingthe nat ives of I ndia in to the mason ic brotherhood, Sep

tember 1867 , with a beautifully mode lled figure in dead

si lver represent ing a Parsee Mason with elbow lean ing

H ISTOR Y OE LODGE R ISING STAR

On a mason ic pil lar, the hand poin t in g to a Provinc ial

GrandMaster’s jewe l lying at the foot of the pi llar forming

the centre and princ ipal object of the piece of plate . The

testimon ial also inc luded a handsome 22-in ch oval si lver

waiter chased with a laure l l‘eaf border , the centre be ing

engraved with a crest,ribband and motto of the rec ipient

and the fol lowing in scri ption : Presented to R ichard :

Bolton Barton , E squ ire , L L . D . , Provincial Grand Master

ofWestern I ndia,late A ct ing Chief Mag istrate of Bombay ,

by the underment ioned lodges : Provinc ial Grand L odge

of India, St . A ndrews in the East , Poona Perseveran ce ,Bombay;Hope , Kurrachee;St .Paul , Mhow;in test imony.

of their high apprec iation of the services rendered b y

him to the lodges of Western India 1868 surrounded

by an elegantly engraved border of oak leaves and

laureL

Brother D adabhoy Nowr0 j1 , who attended as a deputat ion for the Bombay lodges, expressed thanks on theirbehalf for al lowing the opportumty to be made in the

Yarborough L odge of noti fy ing the ir testimony t o the

esteem and regard in which Brother Barton was held in

the province over which he so ably presided . He cont inu

cd—“

L odge R ising Star, Worshipful Master, is the first

lodge founded for admitt ing the nat ives of I ndia to the

privi leges of Freemasonry . A t the time of its inst i tut ion

in 1843 there were supposed to be many difficulties in the

way : difficult ies of race . difficult ies of social custom , of .

polit ical equality , d ifferences of en lightenmen t and

perhaps many others . But there were stout hearts

who headed by James Burnes , maintained and desired

to prove that Masonry be longed to no creed or colour,to no c limate or race . I t was the un iversal patrimony . of

mankind. I t was the one touch of nature which makes

the whole world kin and L odge R ising Star thus came

into existence . The foundat ion of that lodge has broken

the spel l .of ages .


Star, he has nursed it , strengthened it and en couraged it

in its'

forward course . The members desirous of show

ing their esteem , specially wished that a native should

presen t this testimon ial . I t is my sincere wish in which

a ll my nat ive brethren hearti ly join that you may l ive

long t o en joy the con sciousn ess that you have done your

duty as a man and Mason .

The Worsh ipful Master then presented the Salver on

behalf of the other lodges wi th some appropriate remarks .

Brother Barton in respond ing thanked the brethren for

having elected him a memb er of the Yarborough L odge

and permitting their hospitable board to be made the

medium through which he said these test imon ials are

presented tome by dearly loved friends thousands of mi les

away . The Mason s of Western India would f ee l grateful

and although this presen tation comes from lodges holdingunder the Grand L odge of Scot land it is evident that no

matter the colour of the banner the hearts of Mason s are

allof the one true mou ld and brotherly love abides there in .

The recep tion of my esteemed Brother and friend

Dadabhoy Nowrop here to-n ight and the admirable man

ner in which he addressed you wi ll make not a few think

that after all great as E ng land is there are other

countries beyond its own pale cliffs and people who on ly

requ ire kindn ess , considerat ion and just ice to place them

on a leve l with the most favoured nation s of the earth .

I have already conveyedmy thanks to all the lodges under

my jurisdict ion in Western India , but this I must say by

on e and all of them I have been treated for years with a

kindness, courtesy and forbearan ce that no words of

mine can express .

The funds at the end of this year amoun ted to R upees-15 -5 , of which R upees -4-0 stood to the credit

of the Charity A ccoun t .

A t the meet in g he ld for the election of the Master for

the ensuing 12 months , a Brother with the Worshipful

OF WE STE RN INDIA No . 342 S .C. 169

Master’s permission de l ivered an elaborate discourse on

the qualificat ions requ ired in a ruler of the lodge and

proposed in very eulog ist i c and expressive language that

Brother Marzban should be re-elected Master by accla

mat ion as he said the Star never shone more resplen

dent than during his rule . The Worshipful Master

objected to the proposal on principle saying that some

members would not have courage enough to speak in

opposit ion to it while by al lowing it they would be doing'

in justice to other worthy members elig ib le for the chair

and requested the brethren to proceed with the elect ion

in the usual manner and thereupon BrotherMurzban wasre-elected by a majority of votes .

CHAPTE R XV III .

1869 .

— This choice for the second time was fully just i

fied for Brother Murzban added fresh laurels to his

a‘

chievements of the past year by his perseverance in

mason ic duties , his earnestness of purpose in all he did,

his enforcement of disc ipl ine and his zealous endeavours

in all other matters respect ing the advancemen t of the

welfare of the lodge . H e drew forth unstin ted praise

and admirat ion for his work and when he was about to

lay down the hiram after a second year’s arduous labour

some brethren suggested his e lection as Worshipfu l

Master for the third time but he stepped in and as the

records show prevented this endeavour bearing fru it on

the ground that other members were entitled to occupy

the chair, The lodge'

however on his retirement from

office resolved that a full-sized portrait of his be placed

in the lodge rooms, the cost to be defrayed by subscrip

tions amongst the members , and voted to him the

Founder’s medal in addition to a Past Master'

s jewel .

I n numbers the lodge did not gain but in the quality of

members it did this year. Two brethren namely Brothers

(now Sir) Pheroz sha M . Mehta, ha i ling from L edge

Marqu is of Dalhousie , L ondon , and J amsetji JahangirPan thkey of L odge E astern Star, Bombay , were affiliated ,the former of whom now adorns our list of Honorary

Members in which he was placed in the year 1893 . Mr.

Ardesir Jchang irWadia was the on ly person in it iated.

There were two resignations, men

-

of Brothers Pestonj l

Dajibhoy Unwalla andMerwanji Bomanj, so that the net

increase was only one.

172 HISTOR Y or L ODGE RISING STA R

was nothing to prevent theirh e lping non-Masons i f they

chose to do so . F or the first time a sum of R upees two

hundred was lent out of the charity funds to an

E uropean Brother to enab le him to start in business and

also a mon thly stipend of R s . 25 was voted during such

time as the Standing Committee might think fit to

continue it for the support and education of the son (if a

Parsi Brother who had d ied some years ago .

The presentation of Past Masters’ jewels' to Brothers

Merwanji Manekji Sethna , N owroji N . F ramji,Cola, C . J . Tarachand and R . C . Bahadurj l was made at a

meeting which was very large ly attended by the members

and a large number of visit ing brethren_

who had been

invited to g ive eclat to the proceedings fol lowed by

a banquet , the expense of which was to a great extent

defrayed from subscript ions raised from amongs t the

members pursuant to a resolution of the lodge passed

With the object of encroaching as l itt le as possible upon

the lodge‘

funds . Brother M . M . Sethna presented‘

on

that occasion a Government 4 per cent . Promissory L oan

N ote for R s. 500 upon condition that it should remain as

a permanent endowment , the income thereof to be applied

towards the charity funds of the lodge , and thus laid thefoundation of endowment funds .

The Amateurs of the Parsi E lphinstone Dramatic C lub,

by the special desire of . their Secretary, Bro . Cooverji S .

N azir, who then was a young budding Mason , gave a

performance of Shakespeare’

s Merchan t of Ven ice (in

E ngl ish ) and the Farce of. Our N ew Man under thepatronage of the R ight Worsihipful Master, ofiicers and

bre thren of the lodge on 13th February 1869 at the

Grant Road Theatre and the net proceeds of the

performance , amounting to Rupees. four hundred and

fifty-seven , were handed by the c lub to be placed to thecredit of the charity funds of the lodge , for which theclub

'

and the Secretary were“

duly thanked by special


resolut ions . On this occasion a dispensat ion was obtain ed

by the R ight Worshipful Master from the Provincial

Grand Master for all brethren under the Scot ti sh

banner to appear at the performance in mason ic costume .

There was another occasion on which the Parsi brethren

of the lodge were requested by the R ight Worshipfu l

Master to bedeck themselves in mason ic costume in

public and that was the J amsetji N owroze (the Vernal

E quinox ) kep t by Zoroastrians un iversally as a f estive

day . Many brethren des ired that the Parsi brethren

should march in procession (laid“

down by the Constitu

t ions ) from the lodge to some conven ien t Fire-templeor A g iary in mason ic costume . The Stand ing Committee

warmly supported the, recommendat ion which was then

brought before the lodg e and that body by a majority

passed a resolut ion acc epting it .

Two in struc tive lectures , one called A Mason ic

L ecture and the other“

L ecture on L andmarks of Free

masonry were del ivered by the Worshipful Master

and were highly applauded and some instruct ion meetings

were also, it seems, held during this year.

Brother C . N . Cama had already b een voted the

Founder’s medal and honoured with the ti tle of Hono

rary Depute Master, but it was considered that that

honorary appel lation could nOt be continued permanently ,and as the lodge had in 1867 resolved to do somethingsuitable in return for the mun ificen t g if ts he had made

of mas on ic jewels and c lothing and noth ing had be endone t i ll then a resolution was passed that the mere

us ual Burn e’s medal be ing inadequate a Burne’s gold

medal of the same size as the silver on e should be struck

with a su itable in script ion and presen ted to him .

Presents of an elegan t substan t ial black-! mod box

from Brother Jamsetji Dhanjibhai Wadia and of a bookcal led “Mason ic Harmon ia ”

from Brother H . H . Aaron

were thankfully received and the book was lent to the

174 H ISTOR Y OF LODG'

E’

R I S I N G STAR

Organ ist o f the lodge to further his progress in mason ic

m’

usi'

c :

Bro ther Pes tonj i Hormusji C ama'

also presented -to

the lodg e thre e large trac ing boards handsomely illumi

mated and had a frame set at his expense to R ight

Worshipful Brother Maneckji Cursetj i 8 oil paint l ike-ness .

The Provin cial Grand Master had now returned toB ombay

'

and paid a visit to the lodge at one of its regular

me etings and expressed that he was eminently satisfied

at the way in which the lodge was worked and thath e

had seen many lodge s in E ng land , Ireland and other

places . but that he had n ever witnessed greater caution ,

strictn ess and“

truly mason ic spirit anywher’

e'

elese than

in the lodge , and at another meet ing he in formed‘

t he

brethren that Brother Dadabhai N owroji had astounded

the E uropean brethren of L odge Yarborough by his neat

and e legant Speech and the comp lete satisfac tion he gave

him whi le presenting the plate on behalf“

of the ledge .

I n advance o f his visit Brother Barton had sent to'

the

lodg e a photo of his taken wi th the plate presented to

him by the‘lodg e with a lett er and the pho to was ordered

to be framed and hung in the lodge room .

Brother DadabhaiNowroji was at this t ime in India for

a few mon ths again and at the very first meet ing of the

year which he attended he wa s formally introduced and

then rece ived with mason ic honours for dist inguishinghimself as a benefactor of . th e people of India in a far

distant country and for his .valuable exert ion s in all t hat

was truly great . Brother Dadabhai had then alreadymade

E ngland his home , and was more there than in India and

had also his firm of Messrs . Dadabhai Nowroji Co . ,

carrying on business there . H e had devoted himself to

the service of h is countrymen and had by reason of his

public life f ew opportun i ties for dist ingu ishing himself

in Masonry . Yet the Star, his mother lodge , had a place

176 HISTORY OF L ODGE RISING STAR

The draft trust deed of the land for the F ramj i Cowas

j i Mason ic H al l was re-submitted by Brother N . N .

F ramji and was final ly approved by the lodge and it is

stated that Brother Jehang ir Merwanji P leader had

helped in the matter with his legal advice . The repre

sentatives on behalf of the lodge were dropped and

Brothers K . R . Cama and Murzban were nominated

Trustees as resolved in 1867 . The project of the Masonic

H al l was thus making progress but Was no way near

complet ion . The lodge found the rooms where it assem

bled unsu itable and had to write to L odge Perseverance

and also to the Provinc ial Grand L odge more than once

complain ing of insuffic ient accommodat ion and want of

punkhas and mason ic pavement and l ights in the E ast ,

South andWest , but the grievance was not remedied.

CHAPTE R XIX .

1870 .

— Brother Jehang ir Gustadji was e lected Masterfor the year 1870 and R ight Worshipful Brother K . R .

Cama, who was at this t ime Substitute Provincial Grand

Master of Western Star, duly in stal led him by desire ofthe Provinc ial Grand Master, who was also present at themeeting .

The system introduced last year of using spare time

when no work was done in g iving lectures was continued.

Brothers Murziban and J . J . L am delivered mason ic lec

tures whi le the Worshipful Master en lightened the bre

thren by reading passages on Masonry from Dr. Ol iver’sworks .

The degree work done was 7 in it iations and 6 passings .

N ine new members were enrol led while 7 resigned, and of

the n ine , seven were in itiates, one affi liate and one join ingmemb er. The in it i‘ates were Bomanji Cursetji A shburner,

B urjorji Pallonji Dolimeherji and his brother Sorabji,Hormusgu Ardeshir Suntoke, Jehangir RustomjiMody and

Burjorji Dorabji Pate l and his brother Nusserwanji, and

the affi l iate and join ing members were Brothers Pestonji

DinshaAdenwalla from L odge F elix°

No . 355 S.O. of Aden

and Rustomji Hormusji Mistrina of L odge E astern Star.

Brother Adenwala had already been proposed for in itia

tion and elected a member on 20th January 1869 but he

subsequently seems to have left forAden and entered L odge

Felix and now became therefore an affil iated member.

The resign ingmembers were Brothers J . F . Unwa lla, D .D .

Ghandhi, JchangirMerwanji P leader, Dossabhoy B . Pesi

kaka, N .M. L ungrana, F . C . Mehta and H .N . Saklatwalla .

12


The medal voted in 1868 to Worshipfu l Brother F . C .

Mehta was presented to him this year. The gold medal

voted to Brother C . N . Cama had not yet been presented

to him for there was none to spare and the medal diewas missing and the lodge thereupon resolved that if thedie could not be found a testimon ial in form to be approv

ed by him should be presented to that worthy Brother ofthe value of R s . 250 , and according ly later in the year

a gold jewe l consist ing o f a key beautifully engraved

and e legant-look ing and having a su itable inscription .

a Master Mason’

s highly fin ished and e legant apron and

a sash in accordance with the Scotch Constitution and

interlaced in front with si lver thread were ordered out

for him from Scotland.

Brother J . D . Wadia presented to the lodge this year

a c igar box for the use of the E uropean brethren and

Brother Hormusji Pestonji F ramji had the aprons and

jewels repaired and put in order at his own expense .

The quest ion of the Past Master’s jewe l which had been

voted to Brother A . J . Bhajeewalla on his retirement

from the E astern Chair but had been w ith-hel d was again

brought up this year and it was resolved after some dis

cassion that it should be sent to him w i th a letter from

the Standing Committee , but this too was not done and

the subject came up again in 1872 .

There was a judic ious distri bution of the charity

funds this year as in the past and destitute orphans left

by Masons and non-Masons in a far distant country~

l ike

Singapore and the poor Zoroastrian s of Persia were

amongst the objects of the boun ty of the lodge. Not on ly

this , bu t the sympathy of the lodge was extended in the

common idea of an un iversal and . benevolent institut ion

to the succour and re l ief of the widows and orphans of

the soldiers who had perished in the dreadful E uropeanwar which was then ra

’ging On the Continent and R upees

three hundred were voted out of the charity funds . one


ing the day for holding meet ings was according ly altered

and subsequently approved by the Grand L odge and from

this time forward the regular meetings have been held on

the first Saturday of every month .

L odge Perserverance also was trying to secure a su ita

ble and central hall for all lodges under the Scott ish

banner to meet , and the lodge was asked by that body to

nominate its representat ive on the ir Committee appointed

for considering the subject, and b eing sti l l of Opin ion

that if all the Scotch lodges were to meet in one common

hal l. L odge R i sing Star would not keep aloof provided all

terms were su itable . The lodge nominat ed Brothers Murz

ban , M . M . Sethna, J . J . L am, H . P. F ramji and Darasha

Chichgar as its representat ives on L odge Perseverance

Committee . The Mazagon Hal l was , however, used for

a very short t ime . Brother Darasha Chichgar had

shown a great interest in the int ernal economy of the

lodge and had proved a very earnest and zealous Secr

etary during this and the preceding years and he was

duly rewarded by a Founder’s medal being voted to him

in return .

The tran sact ion re lat ing to the land for the F ramj i

Cowasji Mason ic Hall was completed this year. The

necessary Trust Deed was executed by Brother N . N .

F ramji and the Trustees of his estate and together wi th

the munimentls of title was handed over to the lodge .

The Trustees, as already stated, were Brothers K. R .

Cama and M . C . Murzban . (A copy of the Trust Deed isset out in Appendix N .)1871 .

—The year 1871 was more or less a qu iet year

but the lodge unfortunately lost very much in numerical

strength ,for four of its most sympathetic , efiicient , useful

and energetie Past Masters, via ,Brothers M . M . Sethna,

N . N . F ramji, C . J . Tarachand and D . R . Cola resigned .

Brother L . R . King , who was almost always present atall the lodge meetings and took an interest in all affairs

OF WE STE RN INDIA NO. 342 S .C. 181

appertain ing to the lodge , also resigned, having had to

proceed to E ngland, and upon his resignation be ingaccepted it was proposed he should be made an honorary

member, but that Brother on coming to know of it

wrote decl in ing the honour with thanks as he wished at

some future t ime to b e a vot ing member again . Further,Brothers N . M . Wadia , F . D . Bahadurji, Hormusji

Pestonji Cama, Sorabji J ijibhai, Merwanj1 Shapurji

Bahadurji, Dadabhoy Nowroji and Nowroji Furdoonj i

also resigned, and of these , Brother Dadabhai Nowroji

was elected an honorary member.

The R ight Worshipful Master resigned his office dur

ing the middle of the year in the interest of the lodgeas owing to certain anxiet ies which followed upon the

adverse decision of a c ivi l su it in the H igh court against

him he was unab le , he said, to discharge his dut ies efficiently . He also resigned his membership at

“

the same

time and Brother Jehang ir Gu stadji was elected to fill

the office of Worshipful Master for the rest of the year.

Against the thirteen resignations there were two

additions , namely of Mr. Rustomji Muncherj i Chichgar

and Dr.

‘

Dossabhai Pestonji, of whom the former has

sin ce cont inued wi thout a break to be a subscribingmember and has , as wil l be seen later on , rendered

good and substantial service to the lodge .

The lodge now again removed from the beginn ing of

this year from the Mazagon Hal l -to a bu i lding at

Gowalia Tank Road iniconsequence of new arrangements

made by the Provin cial Grand Master.

A testimon ial was got up this year to the Past GrandMaster Mason of 5Scotland , the E ight Honourable the

E arl of Dalhousie, and the lodge contributed its mite

thereto .

The go ld jewel and apron voted to Brother C . N . Cama

and Founder’s medal voted to Brother D R . Chichgar

were presented to them during this year.

HISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISING STAR

The committee of representatives of the Scottish

mason ic bodies had submitted during the year three re

ports anent the proposed Mason ic Hall and the lodge

adopted them and invested Rupees five hundred in fif ty

shares of the Mason ic Hall under the scheme put forward

by the Committee and appointed the Worshipful Master

and Brother D . R . Chichgar its representatives on that

Committee . Brother Murzban was the Honorary Secre

tary and"

Treasurer of the Committee at this date .

Amongst the rec i pients of charitab le donations this

year was a French Arab of the name of Jose Ben Teddo ,

who was helped upon the recommendation of Brother

L . A . L essingndt , then Vice-Consul for France , to enable

him to proceed to G ibraltar.

184 OF ' WE STE RN INDIA No. 342 S .C.

The general! funds of the lodge were now again at an

ebb and showed a debit balance of Rs . 400 . Measures

were adopted for t iding over the difficulty by curtai lingthe expenditure and increasing the income by imposing a

dinner fee per head until such time as the finances

improved and borrowing from the charity funds to

meet immediate necessities . The charity funds sti l l

stood at a good figure in spite of donations and monthly

st i pends paid out of i t amoun t ing to about Rs.

and were now formally transferred to the names of

Brothers Murzban , D . R . Chichgar, R . C . B ahadurji

and C . N . Gama with power !to any two of them to

endorse them .

The lodge had to perform the melancholy duty of

condoling with the Provin c ial Grand Master on the loss

sustained by him in the loss of his wi fe , and a resolut ion

was passed in that behalf at an emergent meet ing, a copy

of which was handed to him persona l ly by a deputation

consist ing of the members of the Standing,Committee .

The lodge also jo ined this year all the sister lodges

workin g under the Scott ish Jurisdict ion in response to a

suggestion from the Provinc ial GrandMaster in a su itable

address of condolence to L ady Mayo in her then recent

bereavement caused by the assassinat ion of L ord Mayo

at the hands of a convict in the Andaman Islands, and

contributed its mite towards the cost therof.

The Past Master’s c lothing and jewel which had

been voted to Brother K . R . Gama when he retired from

the Master’s chair were presented to him this year with

full mason ic honours, and whi le su itab ly acknowledg ingthis mark of esteem and fraternal regard he again

assured the Brethren of his desire and readiness at all

times to assist the lodge to the best of his power and

abi l ity.

Brother J . Gustadj i was also presented a t the same

time with a Past Master’s jewe l .

HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR 185

The Past . Master’s j ewel voted to Brother A . J . Bhajee

walla had not been sent by the Standing Committee to

him with a letter as dec ided in the year 1870 . The R ight

Workship ful Master with the sanction of that body

presented the j ewel this year to Brother Ardesir at one

of the lodge meet ings , as the c ircumstances under which

the previous resolut ion on the subject had been passed

had, it was explained, ceased to exist .

The Provincial Grand Master had formulated a scheme

for the dispensat ion of charity by all the lodges in the

Presidency and the format ion of a General Benevolent

Fund for that purpose and it was personally put for

ward by him before the memb’

ers at a lodge meet ing .at

the end of the year. I t included the bu ild ing of a

Mason ic Hal l as one of its objects . I t was discussed in

the Standing Comm ittee , to which it was referred, and

was approved in its general features . I t then came

before the lodge but was opposed by Brother P. M . Mehta

and others who doub ted its effic i en cy and thought that

the bestowal of charity under it cou ld not be carried on

as advantageously as by the individua l lodges themselvesand that at any rate the bu ilding of a Mason ic Hal l

should not have been included in it . Brothers K . R .

Gama and M . G. Murzban an d others were in favourof the scheme but by a majority of votes it was not

adopted . Within a few days thereafter an emergent

meet ing was called at the request of several brethrenfor recon sidering the matter , and upon the proposit ionof Brother P . M . Mehta, duly se conded , the lodge passeda resolut ion thereat unan imously approving the schemebut with a re commendat ion that it would b e advisableto keep the subj ec t of a Mason ic H all apart from it ,and Brother K . R . Gama expressed his ent ire satisfact ion at the result .

Brother P . M . Mehta was this year nominated the representative of the lodge on the Mason ic Hal l Committee .

14

186‘

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .E .

Only two new members , namelyE, Manekj1 Hormusu

Masan i , an in itiate , and Brother Sherifali Salemahomed

an affil iate from L odge H armony of Kurrachee , join ed,while four members , viz . Brothers D . H . Gama, Cooverji

Coyaji, Gumrudin Tyebji and Hormusji Pestonj i F ramji

resigned the lodge .

F or the first time it was in this y ear that a H indu

Brother named Harichand C ‘hintaman sought admission

in the lodge as a visitor . A s on the ground of their be ingpolytheists -and not monotheists— the H indu s were not

taken in the Order, a discussion arose but ult imately the

Worshipful Master admitted the Brother as he belonged

to a regularly constituted lodge of Mason s in E ngland and

also held a cert ificate from the Grand L odge .

I t had come to the knowledge of theWorshipful Master

that some H indu gentlemen were about to be in it iated

in L odge Gyrus H e therefore without losing time wrote a

letter in his official capacity after consul ting many of the

oldest members of the lodge to Worshipful Brother J . N .

Dady , the Master of that lodge , in forming him that the

question of adm i tting H indus in to the craft had engaged

the serious attention o f several individual lodges but

had not b een defin i tely settled and that the concensus

of Opin ion was that it shou ld be solved by all the

lodges col lectively and sugg esting that before he took

any steps in the matter, it would be bet ter for him

to hold a' conference with all the sister lodge , both

E ngl ish and Scotc h and discuss the subj ect as it affected

the interest of every Freemason throughout the g lobe ,

and requested him to read the letter to his lodge

before proceeding to bal lot for the candidates . (See

Appendix

The minutes do not contain any further al lusion to

this matter, but the following extract from Worshipful

Brother H .W. Barrow’s contribution

'

prin ted in the Gama

Mason ic Jubi lee Volume shows what was done‘

by the


J . D . Wadia, Jehang ir Gustadj i and J . C . Gama . Brother

D . R . Chichgar was thi s year appointed the representa

tive of the lodge in future on the Mason ic Hal l Com

mittee and a Past Master’s jewe l and a t ime-piece voted

to him by the lodge in recogn it ion of his exert ions and

zeal in its interests were presen ted at a lodge meet ing ,at which the Worshipful Master also presen ted to him a

valuab le mason ic work as a sl ight token of the esteem in

which he held him and of the services rendered to him in

the general working of the lodge .

Brother ManeckjiCursetjiwho w as at this t ime holdingthe high post of Honorary Depute Provin c ial Gran d

Master of Western India had,af ter a long-cont inued

absence , attended the first meet ing of the year,which

was the instal lat ion meeting , as a Grand L odge Officer

with the Provinc ial Grand L odge , and the minutes state

that a pecul iar in c iden t of the even ing was the warm

and en thusiast ic welcome accorded to him and his being

greeted with grand honours as the founder and patriarch

of the lodge .

The finances were again in a good condit ion and the

d inner fee of R upee one was abolished .

T en n ew members were enrol led , of whom five were

i 'n it iates and five affiliates . The in it iates were Mr. (now

Sir) Muncherjee Merwanji Bhownugree , Maneksha

Dhanjishaw Doctor, K aikusroo N owrojiK abraji , Manekji

Cowasji E ntee and Shripad Babaj i Thakar (C . The

affiliates were Brothers Jamsetji Curse tjiGama,Hormasji

Muncherji Chichgar , Bala Mangesh Wagle . Shan taram

Narayen and Ganesh N ilkant . Death c laimed amongst

its victims two good Masons this year, on e of whom was

a member of the lodge and on its rol ls at the date of his

death and the other one of its most d ist inguished Past

Mast ers who had resigned on ly two years before his death ,and for the first t ime in its history ,

the lodge performed

the melancholy duty of holding funeral lodges in their

OF’WE STE RN INDIA No . 342 189

memory . The member who died was Brother Rustomji

Hormusji Mistry who during the brief space of three

years and a quarter that he was a member of the lodge

had served it as a steward and had made himse lf useful ,and had impressed the bre thren as a good Mason , so

much that three brethren in commemorat ion of his

demise contributed sums of money to the charity funds

of the lodge . A t the funeral lodge he ld to mourn his loss

( and that was the very first on e held by the lo dge) the

lodge passed a resolut ion condoling wi th the widow of

the deceased which was duly handed to her by a spec ial

deputation .

The Past Master in whose memory the second funeral

lodge was held . was R ight Worshipful Brother M . M .

Sethna . A regular lodge meeting convened before his

death was postpon ed, and , under dispensat ion from the

Provincal Grand M aster ( which had to be obtained as

the deceased Brother was not at his death a member of

the lodge ) an emerg ent meet ing was held for the funeral

service in his memory as an exceptional case , and aft er ,a

very solemn ceremony and after drinking to his memory

in sacred s ilen ce the brethren passed resolut ions recordingthe ir deep regret at his death and their sense of the loss

to the nat ive fratern ity by the death of such an amiable ,esteemed and influent ial Mason and condoling with the

family of the deceased, and these resolut ions were handed

to his son and he ir Mr. A rdesir by a special deputat ion

consisting of the R ight Worshipful Master and Brothers

K . R Gama , Murzban , D . R . Chichgar and others . The

lodge also passed a resolut ion that in order to perpetuate

the deceased’s memory , a subscription should be raised

amongst the members and the amount thereof should be

added to the promissory loan notes for R s . 500 presen t

ed by him some years ago as an endowment fund subj ect

to the same condit ions as attached to the said loan note ,

and the whole fund should be named The Merwanji


Manekj i Set t Chari ty Fund . This was a fitt ing tribute

to the memory of the deceased who was no doubt a

warm-hearted and sin cere friend of the lodge .

Mr . Ardeshir Merwanji Sett thanked the lodge for its

condolence and at the same t ime handed a Government

Promissory L oan Note for R upees Five Hundred as a con

tribution to the fund resolved to be raised to perpetuate

his father’s memory . This was the second endowment

after the first one made by Brother M . M . Sett himself.


There was on ly on e in itiation during the whole year.

L ectures were delivered on the tracing b oards by Bro

ther R . C . Nadirshaw and one interesting lecture on"5

pointed stars”was del ivered by Brother D . R . Chichgar.

F or the first t ime in the annals of Freemasonry in Bom

bay and for the matter of that in India, on ,the 2 1st of

March this year was celebrated a f estival under the name

of“

The Jamshedi Navroz Mason ic Fest ival , under the

auspices of the lodge and the three other native lodgesthen working in Bombay . The idea of holding the f esti

val originated with Brother K . R . Gama and had suggest

ed itse lf to him from the annual ce lebrat ion of the festi

val of the V ernal E qu inox by the French Masons called“The V ernal E qu inox Fete of which he knew . Brother

Gama read a discourse on the occasion and therein he

showed how the festival notwithstanding any external

appearance to the con trary and the general be l ief that it

was pecul iarly appropriate to the Parsees alon e was a

truly mason ic one though promulgated under the novel

designat ion which was then appl ied to it for the first

t ime . The discourse was af terwards printed and publ ish

ed for the use of the subscribers to enable them the

b etter to discuss and digest the matters there in contain

ed . I t was stated there in that it was King Jamshed . the

second monarch of the old Peshdanian dynasty , who in

troduced the Solar year in the anc ient Persian Calendar

and ordained that the first day of it , namely l t March,

should b e kept perpetually fixed at the Vernal E qu inox

when the Sun enters the first point of the sign Aeries of

the Zodiac,when spring set s in and all nature looks

regen erated and reawakened from its long winter sleep ,

and that that practice was continued regularly for ages

t ill the downfall of the anc ient Persian Empire and the

ext inct ion of t he power of the anc ient Persian race

brought on a temporary interrup t ion , for the conquerors

of the land reckoned no Solar year in their Calendar but

OF WE STE RN INDI A N o . 342 193

counted upon the moon and the Jamshedi N avroz conse

quent ly ceased to be a national holiday t i ll anothermonarch who ascended the throne of modern Persia

‘ordained his subj ects on a memorable Vernal E qu inoxday to beg in a n ew era in his name from that day and

the Jamshedi Navroz festival became again a nation alone in Persia wi th this difference ,

however, that as it was

introduced by the Sultan of Persia it was styled the

Su ltan i Navroz in place of the Jamshedi Navroz . I t was

further stated that the Jamshedi Navroz had re lation

with Freemasonry in that Freemasonry en join ed its

professors to study nature and scien ces,including the

science of astronomy , which laid down the Vernal andAutumnal E qu inoxes and the summer and winter solst icesas accurate turn ing points of the weather, the Vernal

E quinox, being the most marked as being the very first

quarter and that high fest ivals were held to ce lebrate

these turn ing points and in a special and eminent

manner by Freemasons from the earliest ages, that inFrance all the seasonal fest ivals were ce lebrated by their

proper names and on the ir own proper days by the

Mason ic fratern ity as laid down in the Book of Constitu

t ions of the Grand Orient of France , under which the

Vernal E qu inox was celebrated by all the Chapters , the

Autumnal E quinox by the H igh Grades , E ncamp ed,

Counc ils , e tc . , and both the solstices by the B lue L odges ,that in Ireland the Mason ic year as regards the proceed

ings of the Supreme Grand Counc i l commenced under the

Book of Const itut ion s of the Grand L odge of Ireland at

the Vernal E qu inox or l t March , and that under the

Con stitution s of R oyal Arch Masonry Grand Office

b earers were e lected and instal led on the Vernal E quinox

day and the Office-bearers of the subordinate Chapters on

the Autumnal E qu inox day . L astly it was shown in the

discourse that B lu e'

L odges which had the solst ices were

always dedicated to the two Saints , via , St . John the13


B aptist and St . John the E vangelist , the Patron Saints

of B lue Masonry ,and that the festivals of these Saints

fell , of one, on 24th June in the Summer Solstice and of

the other on 27th December in the Winter Solstice ,that installation meet ings of all lodges were held on

those days or as near as possib le thereto , and that the

Grand L odge of Scot land used to have a grand festival

on Saint John the B aptist’s Day unti l it was dec ided at a

quarterly commun ication held on 13th A pri l 1837 to

ce lebrate the annual election not on that day but on the

3oth November,the birthday o f St . Andrew,

the titular

Saint of Scotland .

I n this connection it may be noted here that under the

old By-laws of L odge R ising Star the Master was instal

led on St . John the E vangel ist’s Day and the members

were en joined to hold a spec ial convivial meeting in each

year to celebrate the ann iversary of that Saint .

The Provin cial Grand Master had intimated to all

the lodges this year that they should have a banner of

the ir own to represen t them at the Provin c ial Grand

L odge and as an established custom all B lue L odges

under the Sun were requ ired to have their banners .

The lodge therefore commiss ioned Brother Murzban ,

who was then shortly proceeding to E ng land, to have a

banner made there .

I n this year’s report of the Grand L odge it was stated

that L odge R ising Star was very admirably managed

and was in a most’

flourishing condition both as regards

members and funds and was the premier Nat ive L odge .

1875 — Brother R . J . Nadirshaw was the Worshipfu lMaster in the year 1875 . This yearwas amemorable on efor the lodge , as it was for the whole of India . His Royal

H ighn ess the Prince of Wales was on a visi t to India and

during his stay in Bombay laid the foundation stone of the

Prince'

s Dock on 11th N ovember 1875 according to Maso

nic rites and ceremonies . His Royal H ighness was the

196 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE RISING STAR

Royal H ighness was grac iously pleased to say I have the

greatest pleasure in accepting it .

”

Brother James G ibbs , the District Grand Master of

Bombay and its territories and one of the Judges of the

H igh Court of Bombay ,who was an affiliated member

ever since 1847 was elected an honorary member this

year.

The banner of the lodge arrived this year and cost

R upees 164. I t is Of an un ique design . It consists of

two parts, an upper and a lower one , which are held to

gether by a brass rod. The upper part is in the shape of

a triang le , the lower one in that of an apron . On the

two sides of the triangle are depicted the 12 signs of the

Zodiac and within it is the figure of a temple in Persepo

lis . On the flap of the apron are shown the Sun and

the Moon with the altar between them , emblematic of the

three greater lights in Masonry . I n the body of the

apron is a represen tation of Mt . E lburz and on the border

are the volume of the Sacred L aw lying open with an

unsheathed sword and its scabbard on on e side , and a

dagger on the other The apron is rounded off at the

lower ends , after the shape of an apron said to have been

found from among the ru ins of Persepol is .

From an inventory inter aiia of the L odge c lothingtaken this year it appears that up to this time sashes

st ill formed part of it .

I t was this year that , under a commission issued in theearly part of the last year, the Grand L odge of Scot land ,

the G . L . A . S . F . I . was inaug urated and Brother Morland as the head of the const itut ion assumed the title

of G . M . A . S . F . I . Brother P.M.Mehta presented to the

Grand Master, on behalf of the lodge , an address voted

to him by the lodge congratulating him on the dign ity,

conferred on him by the Grand L odge of Scotland.

R ightWorshipful Brother P . M . Mehta was presented

with a Past Master’

s c lothing and jewe l .

OF WESTE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C.

There were three in itiations , two passings , and two

raisings and lectures were del ivered including a lecture

on ballot by Brother D . R . Chichgar which was

ordered to be publ ished .

Three new members were enrolled, viz” J ugjivan

Atmaram, Rahimtulla Mahomed Sayan i (Sol ic itor) and

Dr. Atmaram Pandurang . Brother Pestanji Dajibhai

Unwalla rejoined whi le Brother Sherif Salemahomed

resigned the lodge .

CHAPTE R XXII .

1876 .

— The next year 1876 ,during which Brother

Darasha D . R eporter was the Master, brought in e ight

new members , of whom three were affi liates and the rest

in itiates. The affi liates were Brother Bomansha Gowasji

of L odge E astern Star and Nusserwanji Pestanji

Gama and Nowroji Pestanj i Gama of L odge Marqu is of

Dalhousie , L ondon . The in it iates were ' F azulbhai Cas

umbhai Gangj i , D r. Succaram Arjoon , Cursetji Manekji

Sett, Moreshwar A tmaram Tarkhad and Krishnaji L ax

man . Against this increase there were , however, four

resignations, via , of Brothers Dossabhai F ramji Karaka

(again on account of il l health);Brother Maneckji Cursetji

Bomanji Cursetji A shburner and Manekji Ratanji R epor

ter. Brother Maneckji Cursetji was, immediately after

his resignation , unan imously elected an honorary member

of the lodge in recogn ition of the signal services ren

dered by him.

Brother Bomanji Cursetj i Ashburner or Bhandupwalla

had joined the lodge in 1870 , and had rece ived his first

degree in that year and was passed during this year.

Before he could be raised an unpleasant incident happened. This Brother had published a book on Freema

soury in which he presumed to make insinuations aga inst

its prin cipiles and to crit icise the conduct of the brethren

and hadmade use of words such as mockery, disgrace, etc . ,

in relation to the conduct of the brethren in lodge assem

bled . Brother P . M . Mehta brought up the matter at a

lodge meeting and made a vehement attack on‘

the book

and its author. B rother Bomanjiwas present and said he


The Navroz festival was held also during this year

and the lodge took part in it .

I t is recorded that at a meeting held on 5 th February .

the Worsihp ful Master signed diplomas of two brethren ,

L ien tenan t B iddie of the S . S . R ale igh and Brother

Schull , and one or two other E uropean brethren certify ing

to their iden t ity;they were admitted into the lodge that

even ing as visiting brethren .

Brother Darasha R eporter was a capable and an

earnest Master and his reg ime,which was otherwise ful l

of success and happiness , was marred by two unpleasant

inc iden ts , which not only brought him into d isfavour

with on e of the best friends of the lodg e , namely , the

Grand Master,Brother Morland, bu t also threw the

lodge , though for a very brief space of t ime , under a

cloud from which happily it came forth again with its

former lustre and credit untarn ished .

The'

first inciden t was the writ ing of a letter by the

Worshipful Mast er to t he Grand Master, in which the

latter’s non-attendan ce at the installat ion of the former,

af ter being twice request ed by him personally to attend ,

was considered a small matter, and the ceremony was

stated to have gone off equal ly wel l . This was consideredoffensive by the Grand Master.

The second in cident was connected with the foundat ion

of L odge Islam . A t that t ime besides L odge R ising Star

there were three other nat ive lodges work ing in Bombay,namely , L odge R ising Sun and L odge E astern Star underthe E ngl ish b ann er and L odg e Cyrus under the Scottish

jurisdict ion . Brother Morland , who had for some t ime

then an in tent ion of founding a Mahomedan L odge ,

granted a warran t for the establi shmen t of L odge Islamfor Mahomedan s . The ex is ting native lodg es were not

consulted in the matter. The sub ject was con sidered as

on e of great importan ce and aff ec ting the interests of

Freemasonry amongst natives generally , and such as

OF WE STE RN IND IA N o . 342 S .C. 01

should be taken up by all the native lodges in co-opera

tion . Some'

members considered that a representation

should be submitted to the Grand Master by all the

lodges but on Brother K . R . Cama pointing out that the

Grand Masterhad! supreme control and that steps should

be taken in a regular and temperate manner the idea

was abandoned. Brother Cama then himself carried on

correspondence with the Grand Master and also argued

the matter with him at personal int erviews and detai led

all the c ircumstances and’the purport of the correspond

ence at an emergent meeting called for the purpose , at

which the following resolution was passed That

although this lodge is of opin ion that no necessity for

Open ing an additional nat ive lodge in Bombay has

been proved and the opin ions of the existing native

lodges were not invited, as was desirab le, before grantlingdispensation for such new lodge , sti l l considering that

such dispensat ion has already been granted and such

new lodge has by the name of Islam already com

menced work under such dispensation— this lo'

dge

deems it conduc ive to the intere sts of Freemasonry towelcome and co-Operate with such new lodge and

trusts that such new lodge would co-Operate with this

and the other nat ive lodges in Bombay in striving to

carry out the grand design of Freemasonry in genera l

and to main tain the character, position and reputationof our Holy Order in the estimation of the native

commun ity by enforcing judic ious and discriminate

management in the lodge and exemplary conduct in theindividual memb ers thereof .

”

One member thought that the correspondence between .

the Grand Master and Brother Cama showed that there

was nothing like a guarantee that in future full inqu iries

would be made before granting a dispensation , and

another concurring in that view expressed the opin ion

that the establ ishment of a se ctarian lo'

dge was subver

16


l' sive of the nob le principles of Freemasonry and that it

was absurd to found a lodge for a part icular sect exc lu

‘sively . Copies of the whole proceedings of the even ingwere forwarded to the Grand Master and L odges R isingSun , E astern Star, Cyrus and Islam .

Brother Morland attended at the next meeting at

which the proceedings were confirmed,but as an hono

rary member, and acknowledged the moderation of the

view taken by the lodge and that the resolution was a

very commendable one but he was much offended by the

remarks about there being no guarantee for thle future

and the absurdity of a sectarian lodge and at the pro

ceedings being publ ished by being transmitted not on ly

to the new llodge but also to the lo'

dges under the sister

constitution . Thereupon correspondence passed between

the Grand Master and the Worshipful Master personally

in which the Grand Master cal led upon the Worshipful

Master to recall the minutes and to strike ofi‘

certain

portions which he considered disrespectful , and the

Worshipful Master decl ined evident ly to do it by reason

of which the Grand Master was much put out . After

this a summons convening a lodge meeting was issued

which the Grand Master considered was as regards on e

item of business specified thereon in very objectionable

terms , and he therefore in his offic ial capac ity attended

the meeting with his Grand L odge Officers to see that

item d iscussed in his own presence . That item had

evidently reference to the correspondence between the

Grand Master and the Worshipful Master of the lodge ,and the Worshipful Master considering that it would beindel icate to d iscuss the matter in the presence of the

Grand Master and also as the hour was far advanced

did not proceed with it . The Grand Master objected to

this and made certain remarks imputing intentional

delay, whereupon Brother P . M . Mehta: spoke strong ly on

the right of the lodge to d iscuss matters of importance

CHAPTE R XXIII .

1877 -The year 18 77 thus opened ominously but bywise and tactful means adopted by the Master, Brother

R . M . Patel, the consideration of the subject which

had so much excited the members in the previous

year,

was deferred from time to time and ultimately

al lowed to drop . The correspondence between the Grand

Master and the Immediate Past Master was more thanonce cal led for and attempts were made , and not without

reason , by some members to have it read and discussed

but the Immediate Past Master was advised to make up

matters which had become so personal between him and

the Grand Master and to avoid further friction . Wisercounse ls prevai led with the result that he did c lose the

matter very. soon with the Grand Master to the latter"

s

satisfaction and the correspondence was not brought out

and no discussion took place thereon . The Grand Master

thereafter sent back for the F undator’s medal and

very shortly afterwards attended a meeting at whichhe instal led Brother R . M . Pate l in the E astern

Chair with the medal bedecking his breast and took

occasion to say that he was very proud to instal a mem

ber of an old family and one of l iterary fame as the

Master of a lodge whose loyalty was unswerving and

was composed of such a large number of members from

the d ifferent professions the R ight Worshipful Master

had named (via , the Bench , the Bar, E ngineering ,

Medicine and Commerce ) and added that he was de

l ight ed to have been again present in the lodge and

wished them every happiness and prosperity . He

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o. 342 . 205

also on a subsequent occasion when he attended as an

Honorary Member suggested that a Past Master’

s

jewel should be presented to Brother Darasha R eporter

(about which there had been . some discussion , of which

however he was not aware ) and the jewe l was in due

course voted to that Brother.

‘

A Past Master’

s jewe l and c lothing were presented toBrother Jamsetji Dhanjibhai Wadia and the F undator

’

s

medal was presented to Brother R . J . Nadirshaw .

Brother Cursetji Nusserwanji Cama was appointed

Substitute Master this year and therefore vacated the

post of Treasurer which he had held for fourteen years ,and a Treasurer

’

s jewe l was voted to him in furtherrecogn ition of his valuab le services as Treasurer.

The Naoroz festival was held also during this year

and the lodge took part in it ,The numerical strength decreased this year. There was

an addition of on ly one member whi le there were

five resignation s . The new member was Mr. Ardesir

Merwanji Sett and the resign ing members were Brothers

F . R . V icaji, E . C . J ussawalla, F . N . Sett, B . D . Patel andH . A . Suntoke . The degree work during the year

consisted of two in itiations, five passings andfive raisings.

The finances were in a healthy condition . From N ovember of this year the lodge removed from the Gowalia

Tank Road building and began to assemble‘

in a_

bungalow in N esbit L ane , Mazagon , known as the Nawab’sBungalow.

1878 — The lodge was presided over in 1878 by

Brother Hormusji Dadabhai. I n all. twelve regularmeetings and n ine Standing Committee meetings ,

were

held and there were two in it iations, two passings and

two raisings and some lectures were g iven . Three newmembers were enrol led

,via , Dr. T emulji Bhicaji Nari

man (who is sti l l on the rol ls) and Horinusji, ~ Shapt‘

lrji

(Sol icitor) as in itiates and R ight Worshipful Brother


Mackintosh Balfour as an Honorary Member. Brother.

Morland had resigned the office of Grand Masterlast year

and Brother Balfour, who was his deputy , was now

hold ing that exalted office .

I n compliance with a request made by the Worshipful

Master of L odge Mooltan ,the Worshipful Master of

L odge R ising Star presented at a regularmeeting a com

plimentary letter received by him to a Brother of the

name of Dadabhai Manekji, Past Sen ior Warden of that

lodge, which was voted to him w ith a jewe l by that

lodge in recogn ition of his services to it .

Thi s year also the lodge took part in the Naoroz festival. A sword was presented to the lodge by Brother

Sorabji J amsetji Mehta.

The Past Master’s jewel and c lothing voted to Brother

R .M,Patel were duly presented to him.

The lodge was, however, very unfortunate in losingthree good members, two of whom were its very ener

getic and useful Past Masters, via , Brothers R . C .

Bahadurji and R . J . Nadirshaw , at the commencement of

the year, and the third was Brother A . M . Sett , who was

but only a year-old Mason and died when the year closed .

Funeral service was held in honour of the Past

Masters at a regular meeting which was attended by a

very large gathering , inc luding the Grand Master and the

Past Grand Master, Brother Morland, and resolutions

were passed recording the loss sustained by the lodge

by the death of these two warm-hearted friends who

had endeared themselves to the brethren by their devoted

faithfulness to the principles of our noble Order and

won their great esteem and re spect and extol ling theirattainments and virtues, and offering condolence to

their widows and chi ldren , and the resolutions wered irected to be pub l ished in the BombayMasonic Standard;

V ery touching observations were made on this occasionby Brothers Mackintosh and Morland and some excellent

208 H ISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISING’

STAR

d ictions were then meeting in one and the same bui lding ,retired from service and left the shores of Bombay.

Before his departure, however, a farewel l demonstration

and banquet were given in his honour by the D istrict

Grand L odge as also by the Grand L odge A . S. F . I . , in

which the L odge R ising Star was invited to join and

d id so . But as that distinguished Brother was a member

of the lodge ever since 1847 , first as an affil iated and lat

terly as an Honorary. Member and had always taken an

abid ing interest in its welfare , the lodge presented to

him an address at a farewel l: meeting he ld on l st March

which was numerously attended . (F or copies of the

address and Brother Gibb’s reply to i t see Append ix P .)He spoke in terms of very high praise and with a sense

of pride at having been connected with the Star for

over 30 years, and said he hoped to hand down the

address to his chi ldren after him and possibly to his

chi ldren’s chi ldren , so that it would at all events serve

as a memorial to inform them that their father and pos

sibly the ir ancestor was a member of L odge R ising Star,

so highly he valued the membership of this lodge .

”

The second pleasing function was the conferring by

Brother D . R . Chichgar as offic iating Worshipful Master

at a regular meeting of the lodge held on 1st November

of the instal led Master’

s degree on two brethren who had

served as Masters of L odge Fe l ix of Aden , No. 355 S. C

namely , R ight Worshipful Brothers Charles Mounstuart

E rskine and Pestonji Rustomji Toorkey. This was done

in response to a request made by the Grand Secretary .

I t was indeed a matter of congratulation that this lodge

should have been e lected to p erfom the function . Brother

E rskine on that occasion made a small‘donat ion to the

charity funds of the lodge .

The Committee to revise the By-laws which was ap

pointed in the year 1873 did not appear to have done

anything and,a fresh Committee was therefore appointed

orWESTE RN INDIA No. 342 S .C. 09

for the same purpose consisting of the Worshipful

Master and Brothers K. R . Gama, D . R . Chichgar, R . M .

Pate l , H . M . Chichgar and M . M . Bhownugree . This

Committee revised the Bye-laws which were circulated

amongst the brethren for cons ideration before be ingbrought up for adoption ,

It was resolved this year that the T reasurer’

s accountsand the quarterly audits should show the endowmen t of

Rupees five hundred made by the late Brother M . M .

Sethna separate from the other charity funds .

I t was also resolved that it should . be lawful for the

R ight Worshipful Master to appoin t a Brother Mason to

the offi ce of Organ ist of the lodge and such Brother

should during the tenure of his offi ce be an ex-oflicio

member of the lodge and be exempted from payment of

the lodge dues but should have no right to Vote . This

was done with the object of providing music during the

working of the subl ime degree in order to make i t all the

more impressive . Brother K . N . Kabraji was appointed

in due course to this honorary post .

Amongst the charities dispensed this year was a do

nation made to the fund raised by the Italian Consul at

Bombay for the re l ief of the poor and distressed inhabi

tants of districts round about the provinces of Mentowa ,

Perara Modena, in the Island of Sic ily , who had been

reduced to great privations by the overflowing of certain

rivers and the violent eruption of Mount E tna.

CHAPTE R XXIV .

1880 .

— Brother Hormu sji M . Chichgar was e lected

Worshipful Master for the n ext year by a majori ty of

votes. The e lect ion was by m istake made while the lodge

was open in the first lodge and this be ing con trary to

the Constitut ion s it had to b e val idated by a special dis

p ensation from the Grand Master.

Brother Hormus31 Dadabhai who had very effic ient ly

worked the lodge during the preceding two years had

also to work it during the year 1880 , as the Worshipful

Master was for the greater part of it unab le to attend

the meet ings owing to i lln ess . This worthy Brotherwas voted a Past Master

’

s jewe l and c lothing for his

services .

Brother C . N . Cama rece ived this year a further token

of the appreciation of his services to the lodge in the

shape of a gold chain and pencil presen ted to him by the

unan imous vote of the brethren .

The N aoroze festival took place also thi s year and the

act ive management thereof had devolved on the lodge

according to turn . The orig in of the f est ival and

it s commen cement were both ident ified with the lodge ,

and this t ime all past members o f the lodges were also

invited to meet and ren ew old fe llowship of brethren in

the Craft .

A Brother named Peston ji Sol‘al Anderson , Master

Mason of L odgeWestern Star N o . 1049 of Cannanore , was

allowed to sign at a lodge meet ing a cert ificate from the

Grand L odge of E ng land t est i fying to his be ing a regu

larly made Master Mason . I t appears that this Brother

212 HISTOR Y OF LODGE RIS ING STAR

mittee by another providing that no Freemason , residing

iri Bombay but not a subscribing member to some lodge,should be permitted or invited to visit the lodge more

than twice a year. The Worshipful Master thought the

Bye-law was altogether unnecessary as i t const itued an

encroachment on a right which was the Master’

s absolute

prerogative and besides was in conflict with the

Const itut ions and spirit of the Order which made it

unmasonic to c lose the portals of a lodge to anyone

seeking admission . The brethren thought the clause was

congruous with the Spirit of the Constitutions and

landmarks of the Order and was necessary for checkingthe evil . Ult imately theWorshipful Master consented to

the Bye-law being passed making its final retention in the

book of Bye-laws dependent on the verdict of the Grand

Master of A ll Scott ish Freemasonry in India to whom

he proposed referring the question as to whether the

c lause was an encroachment on the Master’s prero

gative and whether the words permitted or invited ”

made the c lause inconsistent with e ither the landmarksof the Order or the Const itutions, and which of the two

words should be retained .

Under another Bye-law one-fourth of all fees and not

on ly of the mon th ly subscriptions was to be set apart

for charity . This was an advance upon the then existingBye

-law on the point under which all degree fees wen twholly to the g eneral funds for the maintenance of

the lodge itse lf. A Bye-law was also passed g ivingpower to the Worshipful Master to adjourn a regularmeeting , should the qual ity or nature of the

‘businessto be transacted thereat render an adjournment neces

sary , to any day prior-to the assembl ing of the succeeding regular meeting . This was passed in order that a

regular meet ing instead of being held on the day

fixed for it by the Bye-laws might be held on any other

day that might su it the conven ience of the brethren , for

OF WE STE RN INDIA No. 342 S .C . 213

it many t imes happened that in January and June

members were usually away from Bombay and the

attendances were thin .

The finances of the lodge were in a prosperous

condition when the year ended and there were two

initiations, four passings and three raisings . Two new

members were admitted , namely, Manekj i Hormusji

Maju and R ustom K . R J Cama , the latter of whom was

introduced by his venerable father and has, fol lowingin his wake so far, been a subscribing member of the

lodge these thirty years, and Brother S heriff Salemahomed rejoined but against this addition of three

there were four resignations, namely , of the Brothers

Dollymeherji and Sorabji Jamse tji Mehta and Succaram

Arjoon . Amongst the office-bearers this year was

Brother Atmaram Pandurang , appointed as Bhagwat

G ita bearer.

188 1 .

— Brother H . M . Chichgar was re-elected Worshi pful Master for the year 188 1 by a majori ty of votes .

The second year of this Brother’s rule saw the nume

rical strength of the lodge st i ll further decreased for on ly

one new member was admitted, name ly , Brother Cursetji

CowasjiMehta, whi le three members re signed. name ly,Brothers H . A . Kanga , F. C . Gan j i and Nowroji Dajibhai

Unwalla .

The finances however remained steady .

The degree work done consisted of one in it iat ion , one

passing and three raisings , and a lecture was del ivered

by Brother Darasha R . Chichgar on certain chemical

fac ts i llustrat ing the several mysteries of the sc ience of

Freemasonry .

The Bye-laws of the lodge which were -revised lastyear were approved by the Grand L odge with certain

variations and passed and prin ted during this year. The

Grand L odge had disapproved the Bye-law g iving the

Worshipful Master power to adjourn a regular meeting.

214 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISI N G STAR

to and‘

ay priorto the day fixed for the n ext regularmeet ing on the ground that in Masonry it would b eun lawful to adjourn a regular meet ing fixed by the

Bye-laws , but that the Master could call emergent meet

ings for considering any business remain ing unfin ished

at a regular meet ing .

A further B ye-law was therefore passed dur ing this

year empowering the Worshipful Master to summon the

January and Jun e meetings on any conven ient day instead

of the regular meet ing days fixed for the rest of the

year.

The c lause re lat ing to visi t ing brethren was approved

by the Grand L odge, modified on ly so far as it cut down

two visits to on e visit on ly during the year, and the

ground g iven was that a non-affiliat ed Mason residingin Bombay for more than twelve mon ths without join ingsome lodge would violate his ob ligat ion .

Some B ye-laws were amended during the year, on e of

them being that relat ing to the a llocat ion of the f ee s

between the general and the charity funds which now

a'

gain provided that one-fourth of the mon th ly subscrip

t ion s on ly should be set apart for chari ty and the Other

re lat ing to the particulars to b e ment ion ed in a summon s

conven ing a meet ing regarding a proposed candidat e

by which the age and occupation of the candidate werealso requ ired to be spec ified.

Besides the B ye-laws one o ther matt er occupied the

at tent ion of the lodge and was discussed at several

meet ings both of the lodg e and of the Standing Com

mit tee .

The vacan t land Which had been presented by Brother

N owroji N anabhai F ramji to the lodge and had been

conveyed to the T rustees for the lodge on 3rd May 1870,

and was then est imat ed to be of the value of R s .

had been~yie lding at first an income of ab out R s . 55 to

6 0 -

per annum , then of R s . 1 15 to 120 , and latterly about

216 HISTORY OF LODGE R I SI NG STAR

was present at the last meet ing at which the resolutionwas discussed,

suggested to the Worshipful Master that

the lodge should postpone the discussion thereon and

the suggestion was adopted by the lodge and the t e

solut ion was for the time being abandoned . I t appears

that sub sequently at a Grand L odge Convocat ion heldon 29th October 1881 , it was resolved on the motion of

the Grand Master to form a J oint Stock Company for the

construc tion of a Mason ic Hal l to be cal led The F ramji

COwasji Mason ic Hall ” and some arrangement was

made for handing over‘

the land to the Company to bu i ld

a T emple thereon . A t this Convocat ion , Brother J . D .

Wadia was appoin ted Honorary Grand Master Depute

and Brother D . R . Chichgar was appointed Grand Sen ior

Warden and a Committee was appointed consist ing of

Brothers K . R . Cama Murzban , D . R . Chichgar and

R . V . R eid to draw up Artic les of Associat ion of the

proposed Company .

Whi le , however, this question was vexing the brethrena proposition was also made and discussed for invest ingthe lodge funds in the purchase or mortgage of real

estate in the City of Bombay with the Object Of enabl ingthe lodge to lend moneys thereout tothe T rus tees of the

land in case i t‘

became necessary to do so for defray ingthe cost of the fil ling in of the land. This propos i tion

was opposed by Brother P . M . Mehta on the sol id ground

that the lodge funds should be of a permanent character

and kept free from all risks , being made to last as long as

the Sun and Moon endured and should not be hazarded

in investments of a speculative character for therewere

always fluctuat ions of a serious and grave character in

the value of real properties . This proposit ion was also

thereupon dropped .

The j ewel voted to Brother Darasha Reporter was

presented to him at the c lose of this year and a Past

Master’

s jewel was voted to Brother H . M . Chichgar,

OF WE STE RN INDIA NO. 342 S .C . I 7

who had proved a very energetic and painstakingmaster.

I t seemed to be the pract ice of the lodge to raise the

Substitute-Master to the throne , but this year the Brotherwho filled that Office came forward most modest ly and

argued that owing to his youth and inexperien ce he

should be passed over and his wish was complied with ,and Brother Khory , who for several years now had the

con trol of the finance department , was e lected to fillthe chair.

CHAPTE R XXV .

1882 .

—This year there was on ly one in it iat ion , one

passing and on e raising , and one n ew member , Mr.

Nowrosji Man eckji Contractor, was adm itted while three

Brothers, name ly ,Brothers F . R . V icaji Burjorji, P .

Dollimeherj i and H . N . Saklatwalla rejoined. A gainst

this there were four resignations, name ly of Brothers P .

M . Mehta,C . C . J ussawall, J , J . Panthakey and Dr.

A tmaram Pandurang . Brother Saklatwalla died within

a short time after he had rejo in ed .

The financ ial condit ion was much in the same state .

The Jamshedi N aoroze f estival was celebrated this year

also , and a grat ifying c ircumstan ce of the celebrat ion

was that a good number o f E uropean brethren joined

in it

A very laudable movement was set afoot this year by

and under the auspices of the Grand L odge . A resolu

t ion was passed by the Grand L odge on 22nd April 1882

upon a proposit ion of the Most Worshipful the Grand

Master, seconded by Brother H enry Morland, that

Brother Man eckji Cursetji should be reque sted to sit for

h is portrait , and that it be hung in the Freemasons’Hal l ,

and a Comm ittee consisting of Brothers Morland Jam

shedji D hunjibhoy Wadia , Darasha R . Chichgar, .M. C .

Murzban ,I . Y . L ang , E . R . F reeborn and others was

appointed to carry out the obj ects .

The Most Worshipful the Grand Master in moving the

proposition said

I n our venerable and esteemed friend you see the

father, the pioneer of Freemasonry among the N ative

220 H ISTORY‘ OF L ODGE R ISIN G S TAR

ings Of the Craft was honoured, esteemed and respected

by his fe llow-brethren

This was a fitt ing memorial of the Craft in recogn it ion

of the great and eminent services rendered by Brother

Man eckji Cursetji, to the Mason ic Order, more espec ial ly

as the pioneer of Freemasonry to the nat ives of Western

India , which deserved commemorat ion , and subscriptions

were invited by a Spec ial Committee consist ing of Brother

Morland and others appointed for the purpose from all

the daughter lodges for the purpose of defray ing the cost

of the portrait . The lodge joined in and con tributed to

the memorial fund but being of opin ion that a better

memorial than that was desirable it suggested to t he

Grand Lodge that in addit ion to a portrait such a Scholar

ship prize or medal in conn ection with the A lexandra

Nat ive G irls’ Inst itution in that Brother

’

s name should be

estab l ished as the funds to be subs cribed for by all the

lodges under the auspices of the Grand L odge would

permit in view Of the connect ion he had with that Insti

tution . Members also individual ly subscribed to the fund .

Brother Maneckji Cursetj i then gave a s i tt ing and his

portrait was presented subsequent ly at a Grand L odge

Convocation and hung in the Mason ic H all .

Brother K . R . Cama had brought forward a

'

scheme for

li fe-membership on payment Of a sum of R upees six

hundred invested in Government Paper yie lding 4 per cent .

and a proposit ion was brought forward providing for

same and that the sum so secured should be kept intact ,the income on ly being used for the current expenses o f

the lodge . An amendment increasing the amount toR upees one thousand two hundred was also broughtforward by B rother D . R . Chichgar but was not seconded .

Brother Cama’s view was that by a member paying a

lump sum in composition of his monthly dues he wouldcon t inue a m ember t i ll his death and would not be induced

at any time to resign or be compel led to do so in case of

OF WE STE RN I NDIA NO. 342 S .C . 22 1

distress or bad circumstances , while at the same time the

lodge funds would acqu ire a permanency and continue to

rece ive an income even after the member’s death . But

the proposit ion was not passed .

The lodge had by this t ime subscribed R upees four

hundred to the Scott ish Ben evolent Fund'

, being R upees

two hundred in its own name and R upees hundred in the

name Of B rother K . R . Cama and R upees hundred in the

name of B rother Murzban and had become ent itled to

claim l ife-membership of the fund for itself and the two

worthy Past Masters . The amoun ts of R upees hundred

each were not , however, a l lowed up to now to be credited

in the names Of Brothers Cama and Murzban but were

credited in the name of the lodge . This was due to a

misreading of the rule of this fund but at this t ime the

po int was cleared and the amounts were credited in the

names of the said two Brothers and they became life

members of the fund in addit ion to the lodge be ingent it led also to -

a membership . and out of the other sum

of Rupees two hundred a moiety was tran sferred into the

name of B rother D . R . Chichgar, who also thus became a

life-member and in order to en title all the three brethren

to sit on the Benevolent Fund Committee the lodge also

agreed to pay annually the sum Of R upees e ighteen out of

the Charity Funds . be ing ten per cent . of the ir annual

subscriptions on their behalf in accordan ce with the rules

Of that fund.

This year the lodge embarked into an inquiry into the

unmason ic conduct of a mason who at one t ime was a

member. I t arose out Of the libe l case in which BrotherM. C . L ungran a alias Munsookh was at that t ime con

victed by the local Presiden cy Mag istrate’s Court of

having defamed Brother K . N . Kabraji and a member Of

his fam ily in a vile mann er in his newspaper The SatyaMitra . Brother H . Mu Chichgar laid a formal charge

in writing and signed by him in the fol lowing terms;

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G STAR

That Brother Muncherj i Cowasji L angrana , a f ormer

member of this lodge residing in the City of Bombay

having ,on the 4th day Of July 1882 , been convicted in

due course of law of an Offen ce under the Indian Penal

Code ,name ly of having defamed Brother K aikhosru N .

Kabraji, the Honarary Organ ist of this lodge , and'his

family , I Hormu sji Muncherji Chichgar, Immediate Past

Master of this lodge , do upon the complaint of the said

Brother K aikhosru N . K abraji, charge the said Brother

Muncherji Cowasji L angrana wi th the commission of the

said Offence , the same be ing conduct unbecoming and

unworthy of a Mason , and I c laim that the said Brother

Muncherji Gowasji L angrana may be tried and pun ished

on the said charge according to law , A s Witness my handthis second day of September 1882 .

The indictmen t was then read in open lodge and

Brother Hormusji c ited several mason ic authorit ies to

show that a Mason though not a subscribing member of

any lodge at the t ime of his mason ic trial for a m asonic

offen ce could st i ll be tried and pun ished by the lodge with

in whose geographical jurisdict ion he resided for he b eingonce a Mason ,

always remained subj ect to the government

of the Order and also mason ic dut ies and Obligat ions

save those re lat ing to lodge organ isat ion s and that the

relat ion being on e of a child to its parent , could n ever be

dissolved except by an expuls ion which was recogn ised as

a mason ic death and that a Mason whether affiliated or

not could even af ter having undergone the penalty of

the laws of his country be st ill tried by a lodge for the

same offen ce and pun ished a second t ime . The au tho

rities quoted were Paton’s Jurispruden ce , pp . 16 0 , 842-3 ,

345-6 and 349 and Mackay’s Jurisprudence , pp . 2 69 and

5 07 and the an cien t in stallat ion charges in the t ime

of King James I I , and the regulat ions of the Order

expr f

ssly prohibiting a Mason from showing a want of

courtesy or k indness to the brethren , speaking calum

H I STOR Y OF LODGE R I SING STAR

lodge was of opin ion that the explanat ion rendered was

untruthful and i f al lowed would reflect on the Mag is

trate who tried the case and on Bri tish just ice as well .

Issues were then formal ly framed and the trial was duly

proceeded with and several brethren took part in it and

in the end Brother L angrana was found by the lodge

gui lty Of the charge laid against him and resolution s

were passed unan imously for reprimanding him for his

unbecoming and unworthy conduct as a Mason and a

Brother and expressing profound sympathy with Brother

Kabraji for all that he had suffered at the offendingBrother’s hands .

The land quest ion aga in came up this year, and the

lodge unan imously passed the resolut ion which had been

recommended by the L and Sub-committee , and a furtherresolut ion that a requ isit ion in writ ing signed by the

members of the lodge , as required by the Deed of Trust ,b e sent to the Trustees empowering them to sell the

trust premises on such terms as to them m ight seem meet .

The Scott ish Mason ic Hal l proj ect was also brought to

a head. The Grand L odge Sub-committee had prepared

a report con taining a scheme f or the purchase for

R s . Of abungalow at Clare R oad, Byculla ,

”

by

forming a Join t Stock Company to be called “The F ramji

Cowasji Freemasons’Hal l A ssoc iat ion , L td . , and the

Grand L odge had submitted this re port to,L odge R ising

Star and written a letter inqu iring whether the lodge

would l ike to have a Joint Mason ic Hal l together w i th

the E ng l ish Masons or a separate hal l for them under the

Scott ish jurisdict ion on ly , and the Hal l Committee had

also asked the lodge to choose a s i te for bu i lding a hall .

Whi le the matter was be ing considered by the lodge the

Sub-committee’s report and the letterwere both withdrawn

by the Grand L odge;as in the meantime it appears theSub-committee propounded another scheme for bui lding a

Freemasons’ Hal l at a cost of R s . on a plot of

OF WE STE RN IND IA NO. 342 S .C . 5

ground on the E splanade adjacent to what was then

known as the racquet court , which Governmen t were

wi ll ing to sel l at R s . 20 per square yard , and the scheme,

with some mod ificat ions as to the deta i ls , was accepted

by the Freemasons’H all Committee . This scheme was ,

however, not put through , as the Most Worshipful theGrand Master and his immediate predecessor had found

another su i table plot near the Young Men’s Christ ian

Association site admeasuring about square yardsat 6 annas per square yard, and that site was con s idered

more suitable than the on e near the racquet court , bu tit was dec ided by the Grand L odge to bu ild a joint Mas on ic

Hall with the District Grand L odge (E . C .) instead of

erect ing one for the Scott ish bodies on ly .

At a Grand L odge Convocat ion , held on 22nd July 1882 ,

the followihg two resolutions amongst others were pass

ed at the instance Of B rother Morland, via , That the

District Grand L odge under E ng land and the Hal l Com

mittee be informed that in terms of a resolut ion passed on

the 29th October last the Grand L odge desires to g ive effect

to the intention s of the late Brother Nowroji N anabhai

F ramj i and to uti lize to its best advantage his assignmen t of land towards the erection of a Mason ic Hall, wi th

which view the Offer of a'

most desirable si te on highly

favourable terms has been obtained from Government

and has been condit ionally accepted;that it is hoped thebu i lding wi l l be put in hand as soon as a reply to a

reference which is about to be made to the mason ic

bodies Of the S cott ish Obedien ce is rece ived;that although

by the terms of the deed of gift the hal l must n ecessarily belong to the Scottish Const itution this Grand L odge

trusts it wi ll not preven t t he bodies under the E ng lish

Con stitution meet ing therein as at presen t , and that the

arrangement will further promote the fraternal feelingswhich already exist between the brethren of the Craf t

under the two Const itution s. (2) That a special letter15

226 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

be addressed to L odge R ising Star,in the members of

which lodge the disposal of the moneys expected to be

derived from the sale of the land assigned for the erec

t ion of a Mason ic Hal l for the Scott ish Const itution rests,invit ing its hearty cO-Operat ion in the undertaking whichis so eminen tly suited to secure the wish Of the

‘

donor,

the late N owroji Nanabhai F ramji, and stating that it

is proposed the hal l should be named the F ramji Gowasji

Mason ic Hal l in considerat ion of the funds to b e derived

from the sale of the land be ing con tributed towards the

erection of the hal l .”

The resolutions were supported in the Grand L odge by

Brother K. R . Cama and the Worshipful Master and

Brothers Murzban and D . R . Chichgar.

Subsequen t ly the lodge was requested to inform the

Gran d L odge what amoun t it was prepared to invest in

the building of the join t Mason ic Hall out Of its general

and charity funds , and the matter having been considered

Brother K . R . Cama gave not ice Of a mot ion in the

fol lowing terms

That L odge R ising Star proposes to make a free g ift

e ither of the land held in trust for it from the late

Worshipful Brother N owroji Nanabhai F ramji or the

proceeds Of the sale thereof , if the same is'

in the mean

t ime sold .to the Freemasons

’HallfCommitteeHwho have

power from both the G . L . Of A . S. F . I . and the District

Grand L odge of Bombay to frame a scheme for the

erection of a join t Mason ic Hal l ) for the purpose Of

Bu i lding a Mason ic Hall to be for ever cal led by: all the

mason ic bodies holding meet ings there in ,The F ramji

Cowasji Mason ic Hall and that in order to carry out the

intent ion of the donor and of this lodge in its integrity ,this lodge should appoint two Of its members to

represent this lodge on the Joint Hal l Committee or the

Boardof Trustees or such other body as may be hereafter

appointed to manage and con trol the concerns of the Ha l l

228 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE RISING STAR

Hal l Committee and did not recommend that the proposI

tion submitted by the lodge should b e accepted .

The lodge considered the scheme and in due course

s ign ified to ‘ the Hall Comm ittee the ir acceptance of it

subject to certain statedmodification s and int imated that

the members would b e prepared to subscribe debentures

to the e xten t of R s . or thereabouts , subject to

certain spec ified conditions , and in regard to the obj ections

of the Sub committee regarding the name to be g iven to

the hal l the Committee’s atten tion“

was drawn to the re

solutions passed by the Grand L odge on 22nd July 1882

which in it iated the proposal to g ive the name of“The

F ramji Cowasji Mason ic H all” and regarding the objec

t ion to the appointment of twomembers perman ent ly on

the Hal l Committee they reminded the Committee that such

appo intmen t had already b een con sidered necessary ”by

the Grand L odge as appeared from the resolution s passed

by them on 29th October 1881 . A t the same t ime the

lodge intimated that it would be happy to consider any

proposal which the Hal l Committee might make to

effectuate the same purpose .

The land was also sold this year and the n et sale proceeds

were invested in Government of I ndia L oan N otes in the

names of the T rustees as requ ired by the Trust Deed.

B rother Hormusji M . Chichgar’

s firm of Messrs . Nanu

Hormusji had acted as the Sol ic itors for the Trustees

without charg ing any costs and a cordial vote of tlhanks

was passed in recogn it ion of the ir service s in the mat ter.

A su itable present to B rother Hormusji M.Chichgar was

also proposed. but that Brother,true to the best tr

’

adi

t ions of his honourable pro fession as to the noblest prin

ciples of the mason ic order, objected to it on the groundthat he had a partn er in the firm who was assoc iated in

the matter and a presen tation would be un usual .I n order to enable the lodge , if need be, to uti lize a

part of its funds in the bu i lding of the -Mason‘

ic Hall,

OF WESTE RN INDIA N o. 342 S .C . 9

Bye-law 68 was amended by providing for the investment

of the funds also in and towards the bu i lding of aMason icHall, etc . , with the consent of the L odge in addit ion tothe investments permitted by that Bye -law .

The lodge contributed R s 100 to the Scottish Mason ic

B enevolent Fund , this t ime honouring Brother JehangirGustadji who , according to the rules of that fund,

became

its li femember and also ent i tled to vote on its Committee .

The Grand Master, Brother Mackintosh Balfour (whowas also an honorary memb er of the lodge ) had resigned his exalted post at the end of the last year and BrotherMorland again became the Grand Master. A fund was ,

up on his suggest ion , inaugurated to defray the cost of a

portrait of B rother Balfour for which he was , pursuant

to a resolut ion passed by the Grand L odge , requested to

g ive a sitt ing , and the lodge subscribed to the fund and

test ified to the high esteem and aff ection in which it held

that worthy Brother and to its appreciation of his many

and valuab le efforts for the promot ion of the we lfare

of the Craft .

A si lver calabash with a su itable inscription was voted

to Brother D . R . Chichgar as a -memento of his zeal for

the good of the lodge and his readiness to assist the bre

th‘

ren at all times , but was not presented, as that Brother

declined to accept it '

con sidering that the confidence the

lodge had in him was in itse lf a more than suffic ient

reward for what l itt le he had done for the lodge and

further that the presentat ion would be a drain on the

General Funds of the L odge which just then cou ld not be

spared for presentat ion purposes, and no doubt that was

so , for the numerical strength of the lodge was decreas

ing , old members were resign ing, new members were not

coming in any large numbers and one-fourth of the

subscript ions had to go to charity account and the

remain ing three-fourths was just suffi c ient to maintain

the ordinary expenses of the lodge , and the brethren were


seriously considering how to help the General Funds and

in fact proposals were made and di scussed for reV 1S1ng

the allocation'

of the in it iat ion and other fees and month

ly subscriptions which would have had the effect of cu t

t ing down to some extent the proportion set apart for

charity, but even then the majority of the brethren did

not like to touch the charity proportion and left it un

affected and tried to find out other ways and means for

increasing the General Funds but happi ly the state of

the finances again improved by the end of the year and

it was found unn ecessary to consider the matter

further.

Brother CowaSJ l Sorabji Patel who for nearly 40 years

was the T reasurer of the L odge resigned the Office owingto i ll-health and the lodge in recogn it ion of his long

services voted him a gold watch as a memento of its

apprec iat ion thereof and regard for him .

The Naoroze festival took place and the lodge joined

in it this year also.

Brother M . M . Bhownagree , who was at the t ime in

E ng land , was nominated Proxy Master to represent the

lodge in the Grand L odge‘

of Scotland .

F or the first t ime , the Annual Certificate o f the Grand

L odge of Scotland, was read and recorded at a lodge

meet ing c ert ifying that the lodge had compl ied with the

whole requ isit ion of the A ct of Parl iament ent it led An

A ct for the More E ffectual Suppression of Societies ,established for Sedit ious and Treasonable Purposes ,etc. , and also with the resolutions of the Grand L odge of

5th August 1799 and authoriz ing the lodge to exercise

the ir whole powers and funct ions of Freemasons ln terms

of and con forming to , the Charter of Constitution and

erect ion .

An importan t presentation was made th is year and

for the second t ime in the history of the lodge to a

member of the Blood Royal of E ngland. I t was of the


and for the lodge furn iture and jewels be ing draped in

mourn ing unt i l the next regular meeting . This Brother

was known for his truthfulness and independent spirit

and was acknowledged to be a good Mason and true , and

to his noble traits a fitting testimony was borne at the

meet ing by the Past Grand Master, Brother M . Balfour,

who though then on the eve of his departure from India

had at great inconven ien ce attended the funeral service .

I n place of the Past Master’

s jewel which had be en

voted before to the deceased Brother, the lodge made a

contribut ion to. a fund which was got up by his friends

and admirers to perpetuate his memory .

The minutes show that theWorshipful SubstituteMaster ,

Brother R . M . Chichgar, had presided at many o f the

meetings during this year owing to the absence of the

Worshipful Master on account of i l lness and other causes ,

and g iven ent ire satisfaction to the brethren ,who rightly

rewarded his zeal and abi l ity by elect ing him to the chair

for-the fol lowing year.

CHAPTE R XXV I

1884 .

—This Brother'

s reg ime‘

s-was “ marked . by

peace and prosperity . The finances were in -a more

flourishing condi tion than before and in the ro lL of

members there was a pretty larg e and , des irable acces

sion .

Brothers Hormusji Dadabhai Kahraj1 and E . S .

J ussawalla rejoined. Khan S aheb R atanji E duljiK an ga ,

Dr. Hormasji Nusserwanji .Seevai -and . -Manecksha

J ehangirsha Talyarkhan w ere in it iat ed.» whi le Brothers

R atansha Dadabhai, Shapurj 1 S orabji, Khodabax -Sher

mahomed, Hormusp Nusserwanji Vaki l ,‘

R ehmubhai

A llana, Mulji J ivraj and Sorabj 1 Dadabhai Dubash

were affiliated . Two members resigned, via , Brothers

Temulji Dhanj lbhoy E ngineer and Pestanji Dajibhai

Unwalla and two were removed by death, viz , Brothers

Balfour, an honorary Member of the L odge and Gowasji

Sorabji Patel . Tyler for more than one third of a

century .

R esolutions were passed recording . the .regret of - .the

brethren at these deaths and condoling with their families ,

and. a funeral service at a spec ial .meet ing was also held

in memory of the deceased Brother Tyler. There were

three in i t iat ions and an equal number of, passings and

raisings during the year.

The Naoroze fest ival was celebrated as'

in f ormer

years and the lodge partic ipated in it .

Worshipful Brother M . M . Bhownugree was again'

appointed Proxy Master to represent the lodge in the

Grand L odge of Scotland.


The lodge subscribed R s. 200/ to the Scott ish Bene

volent Fund and Brothers Jamsetji D. Wadia and H . M .

Chichgar were nominated life members thereof.

Worshipful Brother Nowroji Furdoonj i was voted . a

Past Master’

s j ewel . He, however, while accepting it

presented a Government L oan Note for R s. as a

donation to the lodge charity funds with a request that the

interest thereon only should be appl ied for chari table

purposes.

Among the offi ce-bearers for the year was Brother

Shripad'

B . Thakur as G ita-bearer.

A Brother named Charles B . L eonard Gunner of H . M’s.

S . S_

. Dragon” presented to the lodge His Royal H ighness

the Prince of Wales’

plumes in carved brass g i lt and

silvered which were thankfully received .

I t was resolved to procure a new die of the F undator’

s

medal at an outlay of about R s . 400 / as the orig inal die

was missing .

The affi liation fe e was this year raised from R s . 10/ to

R s . 25 1. From N ovember of this year the lodge removed

from the N esbit L ane Bungalow and began to assemb le

at“

Huntley L odge”, C lare Road, Byculla, in pursuance of

an arrangement made by the Freemasons Hal l Committee for the assemb l ing of all bodies there .

Brother D . R . Chichgar had during this year acted as

Grand Secretary for some months during the absence of

that office ‘bearer in E ngland . Brother D . R . Chichgar was

at this t ime Honorary Substitute Grand Master whileBrothers Manekji Cursetji and K . R . Cama were already

Honarary Depute Grand Masters . Brother Murzban was

this year created also an Honorary Depute Grand Member

in recogn ition of his labours in Freemasonry which were

deemed cons iderable and always of great advantage to;the G1 and L odge .

236 H I STOR Y OF'

L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

in E ngland and Australia, and was a keen and enthu

siastic mason of . 37 Years’standing and it is recorded

that in recommending the proposition for elect ing that

distinguished Brother as an honorary member, Brother K .

R . Cama, cited him as a Mason who had set an example ,

worthy of imitation ,of earnestness and zeal for Masonry

by attending all the way from Mhow , hundreds of mi les

away from B ombay, to discharge his . duties as Grand

S sniorWarden whi le he occupied that post at the Con

vocat ions in Bombay of the GrandL odge of which he

had been a member for about 10 years by never keepingaway whi le others more favorably situated would keep

away on slight excuses . I t was af ter a lapse of 7 years

that an honorary membership was conferred this year

and on such an i llustrious Mason , and he personally ex

pressed to the brethren at a lodge meeting that he valued

the exceptional honour beyond any other, done as i t was ,by the lodge which was special ly honoured among native

lodges .

Worshipful Brother Dadabhai NOWI 'OJ I was at this

t ime in Bombay and attended some of the lodge meetingsand was special ly we lcomed. and promised to attend

whenever he could find t ime to do so . A t a meeting he ldon 7th November a resolution was passed congratu latinghim in very flattering t erms on his elevat ion to a seat

on the L eg islat ive Council of the Governor of Bombay .

I t appears that the lodge never m issed an occasion whenever it got one of expressing its special gratificat ion and

pleasure at this worthy Brother’s presence at the meetings

he at tended and congratulating him on the even ts in his

pub lic .l ife .

But whi le the lodge rejoiced at the accession of members

and their continued connect ion it equally grieved on losingthem, specially by death ,

and the losses this year in that

direction were such as the lodge c ould ill afford. Brothers

C . N . Gama and N owron F urdonji died,the former at


the commencement and the lat ter about the end of the

year.

Brother Cama was an unostentatious man and mason

of many s ided activities, who thought rightly and acted

we ll and wisely and was not deterred from a determina

tion to do good either by Opposing prejudice or crude

ignorance but always threw his heart and soul in every

good undertaking and lent his helping hand in every

cause of public benevolence , charity and uti l ity imbued

with a strong sense of duty and the righteousness of his

own action . He had rendered himself particularly usefu l

in educational mat ters and reforms and considered himself

qu ite happy in assisting in their deve lopment , acting on

the true mason ic principle of rendering oneself extensively

serviceable to his fel low-creatures and having always

present to his mind a state of reward and punishment

in after life according to the deeds done in the flesh

inculcated by the declaration subscribed to by every

Mason on admission into the Order.

A funeral lodge was held in his memory which wasvery largely attended and after the service was concluded

Worshipful BrotherDadabhaiNowroji , who had been early

associated with him , chiefly in connect ion with the

establishment of the G irls’ Schools by the Student'

s L it

erary and Sc ientific Soc iety under the A lexandra Nat iveG irls’ Inst itut ion , read a splendid oration (which has been

recorded as a part of the minutes) in which he forciblydepicted the character of. the deceased Brother by

enumerating at great length the many valuable services

rendered by him to several public and charitable institut ions and gave a very elaborate and historical sketch of

his pub lic deeds and act ions as well as an accuratedelineation of his private life , giving instances i llustrat iveof his wide intelligence , cathol ic sympathies and his

courage never to submit or yield , bu t“l ike the Knight

not to look round him but Win the treasure .

"He also in


that oration paid a high tribute to the worthy departed

Mason ’

s'

enthusiasm to labour in a good cause,his wise

counsels , well considered views, and independence .

R esolutions were passed recording in feeling terms the

sorrow of the lodge at the death of the worthy Brother

and condoling with his widow and fami ly,including his

son"

Brother J . C . Cama who was then already a member

of the lodge ,and some te ll ing speeches were delivered

in which references were made with general approbat ion

to the unst inted and ungrudg ing services rendered to

the lodge by the deceased during his long t connection

of 28 years, for the greater part of which he had fi l led

with credit and honour the post of Treasurer. H e had

latterly been Substitute Master and but for his diffidenee

in addressing the brethren in E ngl ish , would have also

passed the Chair. A resolution was a lso passed that the

furn iture and jewels of the lodge be draped in mourn ingtill the next regular mon thly meeting . A memorial fund

for perpetuat ing the memory of the deceased was also got

up between th e members of the lodge .

Brother N owroji Furdoonj i was the Immediate Past

Master and an act ive and zealous member of the lodge

and was also Substitute Grand Master at the time of his

death . The Most Worshipful the Grand Master had

issued a circular the next day af ter his death to all the

lodges of his obedience announ c ing the death and ex

pressing profound grief at the loss of one"

who. was a

faithful and zealous member of the Craft , whose memory

was ent it l ed to be honoured as that of all men who l ive

honest ly and honourably and do the duties of life and of

their station zealously and faithfully , not for gain or

profit , not for reward , honour or emolument , but because

they are duties in this world , and by whose removal the

pil lars of the Grand L odge were shaken .

” The c ircular

also int imated that the obsequies due to the exalted rank

in Freemasonry of the deceased Brother . .would in due

240 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STAR

thus testifying to their sense Of appreciation of that

Brother’

s work . A banquet was also g iven to him whichwas large ly at tended by members Of several lodges who

also contributed their mite to the testimonial fund.

This year a lso the lodge contributed as usual R s . 100

to the Scottish Benevolent Fund, assoc iat ing the name Of

Brother R . M . Chichgar as life -member thereof. A Past

Master’s jewel was voted to B rother R . M . Chichgar.

who during his two years’

regime, had proved himself by

common consent quite worthy Of the chair.

The Naoroze fest ival was celebrated th is year under .

the mangement Of the lodge .

CHAPTE R XXVIII

1886— BrotherManekshaw D . Doctor succeeded Brother

R M . Chichgar in the governmen t Of the lodge and held

the rem s as ligh tly and creditably as his illustrious

predecessors had done . Though engaged in a service , theexigen cies of which demanded his atten t ion at all times Of

the day or n ight , he was almost always found at his post

and did goodWork . I n his t ime there were one in itiation .

3 passings and 3 raisings and some spare t ime was uti

lised by his del ivering a discourse on the Antiqu ity and

Un iversal ity of Masonry . One n ew member was initiat

ed, namely, Mr. Pestanji Gowasji (Solici tor) . Three bre

thren were affil iated, via , Brothers Ardesir Gowasji

Homji, Nowroji Pestanji Vaki l’now O. I . E .) and Dr. K. R .

Kirtikar, and Brother D . Murray L yon , the Grand Secre

tary Of the Grand L odge Of Scotland , was made an hono

rary member in recogn it ion Of the very eminen t and

valuable services rendered by him to Freemasonry in

general and as a token Of the appreciation Of the lodge Of

the marked atten t ion he had paid to those Of its members

who had the Opportun ity Of visiting the Grand L odge Of

Scot land. Brother Bhownugree who had now re turned

from E ngland andwas present at the first meeting he ld inthe year certified f rom personal knowledge derived by hlScontact wi th that worthy Brother and his attendan ces

in the Grand L odge of Scotland to the fact that BrotherL yon was taking a deep interest in and paying great

attention to the affairs and welfare Of the lodge .

Brother D . R . Chichgar had also returned from

E ngland and’

was present at the regular mee t ing1 6

242 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SING S TAR

held in March and reported to the lodge that he had been

very warmly and hearti ly received in the Grand L odge

Of Scotland which he had the honour to v isit during his

sojourn in E dinburgh and that by a special resolution a

high privi lege had been conferred on him by the Most

Worshipful the Grand Master Mason Of Scotland, B rother

Sir Archibald Campbel l Of B lythwood, Baronet , namely ,that Of wearing the fundator

’

s medal , w ithin a wreath Of

roses and thistles emblematic Of E ng land and Scotland.

.The lodge thereupon passed a resolution recording its

great gratification at the cordial reception of Brother

D . R . Chichgar and the particular mark of favour con

ferred on him by a special ordinan ce to denote the interest

which Brother D . R . Chichgar had taken in both the

C onstitutions as the Honorary Secretary Of the Joint

Freemasons’ Hall Commi ttee, and also its sense Of the

high honour done to it by that body and also resolved that

the Worshipful Master be requested to forward a‘

cOpyOf the resolution engrossed on parchment to the MostWorshipful the Grand Master Mason Of Scotland.

Brother James G ibbs’

died this year, and a vote Of con

dolence was recorded on account of his death and a re

solution was passed sympathizing with his widow in her

heavy bereavement . Brother Jehangir Gustadji also died

,this .year, and in memory Of the latter a special funeral

! dodge was held at which resolution s were passed deeply! lamenting his death and condoling with his son Mr .

Manekji J. Gustadji and for draping the furn iture and

jewels Of the lodge in mourning for one month . This

departed Brother was a very amiable , useful , zealous and

faithful.member Of the lodge and had made himself very

popular during the 25 years that he was a subscribingmember and his place was fi lled next year by his son .

m.The names Of Brothers Sorabji Shapurji B engalee , C . I .

.E '

, and Pestanji Hormusji Cama, C . I . E . , were this year

translated into the honoured listi

’

Of honorary members .

CHAPTE R XXIX .

1887 .

— BrotherN anabhai R . Chichgarwas theWorshipful .

Master in the year 1887 . Three new members joined the

lodge , be ing one in it iate and two affiliates . The in itiate was

Mr. Manekji Jehangir Gustadji, the son of the late Brother

Jchangir Gustadji w hose death the lodge mourned on lythe preceding year, and the affil iates were Brothers currim

bhoy Ibrahim and F azulbhai V isram. Brother Currimbhai

Ibrahim was an acquisition and to this day has been a sub

scribing meniber Of the lodge . I t was not in his own selfthat he added t o the strength Of the lodge numerically and .

o therwise but also in the introduction in the years follow

ing Of his five worthy sons one after the other, and by his .

benefactionsWhich in later years recive’

d due applause and

recogn ition from the lodge , he has shown himself a good

Mason and true , faithful to the tenets Of our excellen t

Order and e ver anxious to practise them in their broad

teachings .

This yearalso the Naoroze festival was held, the lodge

taking part in it .

This was the year of the Golden Jubille Of Her late

Majesty Queen V ictoria, when she assumed the ti tle Of

Empress of India , and the GrandMaster-A . S . F . I . ,Brother

Henry Morland, who was at the time the President of theMun icipal Corporat ion Of Bombay , was honoured with a

Kn ighthood by the august Sovereign . A mason ic banquetwas g1ven to him by the Scottish Fratern ity under the

auspices Of the Grand L odge and the superintendence Of

an E ntert ainment Committee , which included Brothers

K. R . Game. and D. R . Chichgar as two Of its members. The

OF WE STE RN INDIA NO. 342 S .C. 245

brethren joined in the banquet to do honour to their worthychief and the lodge also passed a special vOte Of congratulation which was conveyed to him in a letter.

H . R . H . the Duke Of Connaught whowas now the Com

mander-in-Chief Of the F orces in India, was on the 12 th

Of November 1887 installed as D istrict Grand Master Of

B ombav and its territories . The lodge had the honour Of

be ing represented on the Occassion and Brother F akirjiDinshaw was the Director Of Ceremonies on behalf -Of the

lodge in the ceremon ial Of I nvestiture .

All the recipients Of chari tab le contributions from the

lodge had this year the benefit Of a’

free supply Of tea

from Brother Manekji Hormusji Maju ,

'

a member whose

generous Offer to do so was thankfully accepted by the

lodge and duly recorded in the minutes.

Brother Maneckji Cursetji had passed through a very

serious i llness and at one time a rumour had gone abroadthat he had died ,which happilly had proved to be false : fortheworthy Brother was present thereafter at a R egularmeeting Of the L odge held on zud Apri l ,

'

1887 , and was ao

corded a special welcome by the brethren ,and in thanking

them for their solic itude and kindness forhim he assuredthem Of his readiness to do what lay in his power to furtherthe int erests Of Freemasonry. But this was not to be , forDivine Providence had disposed otherwise . This meetingOf 2nd Apri l , 1887 , proved to be the last meeting at whichthe en l iven ing influence and pleasant intercourse Of thatWorthy Brother were to be eXper,

ienced, for within a short

time he left“

this earthly tabernac le and his soul took wmgsto. the Sublunary Abode and the Grand L odge above to

seek rest and peace in etiernity , af ter a bri lliant and use

ful mason ic carreer Of 43 years . dating from 1843 ,when

this lodge saw the light through his exert-ions. The Bro

ther’s death having taken place before the Installation

Meeting;that meeting was postponed unt i l next year, andthe lodge went into mourhing . The Grand LOdge

' Of All

246 HI STOR Y OF L ODGE RISING STAR

Scottish Freemasonry in India went also into‘

mourning'

with all its daughter-lodges and the District Grand

L odge was also pleased to pay a like compliment to his

memory. Bro ther Maneckji Cursetji was sti ll at the t ime

Of his death Honorary Depute Grand Master Of the Grand

L odge Of A ll Scottish Freemasonry in India.

A lodge of sorrow was held by the lodge in his memory

on 7th January 1888 at which the Most Worshipful the

Grand Master Of A ll Scottish Freemasonry in I ndia w ith

about 30 members Of the Grand L odge was presen t! in

addition to a very distinguished and‘

repr‘

esen tat ive

congregation Of about two hundred Masons, comprisingE uropeans, Parsis , H indus and Mahomedans. A fter the

funeral service was performed Brother M . M . Bhownugree

de livered an oration which conc isely yet very prominen tly

recounted the early laudable and successful e fforts Of

the lamented Brother in open ing the portals Of Free

masonry to his countrymen in Western Ind ia with great

perseveran ce and unselfishness and with '

a fearless and

courageous spiri t and against the Oppos i tion made by

some Of the leading E uropeans of the time against

fratern ising w ith nat ives and in the face Of contempt

and ridicule Of members Of his own commun ity who in

those early times did not view the Masonic Order any

way favourably . I t also paid a fitt ing tribute to the seru

pu lous and st rict scrutiny which the deceased Brother al

ways made and enforced into the qualifications and eligibi

lity of a candidate and the generous spirit with which hehelped the lodge for nearly 20 years Of its early career

and through its vicissi tudes both in point Of members and

funds and above all his strict fidelity to the lodge . By

the death Of this Brother,whoseaims , as tested by time andc ircumstances , were solid and benevolen t and on whom

honours had fallen thick and fast and who had won , and

most deservedly, the love and esteem Of Mason s both Scotch

and E nglish alike who knew him then by the fami liarly

CHAPTE R XXX .

1888 — The Installation Meeting which had to be post

poned was under a dispensat ion , held on 23rd February

1888 . Brother M . M . Bhownugree , C . I .E . (who was by

this time Past Grand Steward Of the Grand L odge Of

Scotland) was instal led in to the E astern Chair and the

occasion was one which will: be long remembered and look

ed upOn with feelings of utmost pride and gratification by

the lodge , for it was graced by the presence of H is R oyal

H ighness the Duke of Connaught , K .G D istrict Grand

Master of Bombay and its territories , who had been

I pleased t b honour the lodge by a special attendan ce wi th

his‘

District Grand L odge Officers . This was the first

visit Of His R oyal H ighness to a Native lodge and

special preparations were made to receive him. The

Most Worshipful the Grand Master Of A ll Scott ish

Freemasonry in India also paid an Official visi t with his

Grand L odge Officers and H is R oyal H ighn ess was received by a deputat ion of the Grand L odge Officers and

introduced into the lodge by Brother Hormusji Dadabhai .The Worshipful Master Brother N . R . Chichgar accorded

H is R oyal H ighn ess a fitting and cordial welcome on

behalf Of the lodge both as a Brother Mason occupyingthe most exalted Office in the sister Constitution and as a

son Of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen V ictoria,whose

namewas a household word throughout the British Empire ,

and thanked H is R oyal H ighness for the high honour done

by him and hoped that he would whi le in this part of the

country condescend to honour them wi th visi ts in the

future .

OF WE STE RN INDIA NO. 342 S .C . 249

The lodge at that very meet ing elected H is R oyalH ighness an honorary member by acc lamation and the

dist inct ion was very graciously accepted and in honour of

the Occasion the lodge subscribed R s . 200/ being double

its customary donation to the Scott ish Benevolent. Fund

(associat ing this t ime the names Of Brothers R ustomji

Merwanji Patel and N . R . Chichgar) .

The august Duke was pleased to say a few words in

praise Of the excellent working of the lodge and to con

gratulate it: on the prosperous condition of its Charity

Funds

I t was also at this meeting that a portrait Of Brother

Dr.Burnes ,

presented by Mr. C . M . Cursetji, a son Of the

late Brother Manekji Cursetji, was thankfully received,

and a reso lution was passed for putting a su itable in script ion thereto and requesting the Hall Committee to allow

it to be hung in the Hall

This year two other distinguished Masons were also

elected honorary membe rs , namely , R ightWorshipful Bro

ther Sir William C larke , Baronet , then District Grand

Master Of E ng land and Provinc ial Grand Master Of Scot

land and I reland at Melbourne ,and R ight Worshipful

Brother Dr. Jullins Wi lmot , M.D Past Grand Deacon

of the E nglish Constitut ion and Past D istrict Grand

Sen iorWarden of Victoria . These brethren had shown

great courtesy to Brother D . R . Chichgar and received him

very kindly in their Grand L odge while he was at Melborne about three months before this and had also elected

him an honorary member Of the Grand LOdge , and Brother

SirWi lliam Clarke had further presented to him a jewe las a token Of esteem and brotherly love evinced by him

during his sojourn in that distan t part of the country .

All this was personally testified to and reported by Bro

ther D . R . Chichgar on his return at a meet ing held on

2nd June ,when he a lso informed the lodge that the

'

jewe lpresented to him was the second Of its kind presented by

250 H ISTOR Y OF LODGE R ISIN G STA‘

R

the Grand Master Of E ngland to amember Of the Craftthe first being one , then recently presented to the Earl o f

Carnarvon . The courtesy and honour were duly recipro

cated, as they deserved to be , by these two brethren be

ing'

borne on the list Of honorary members .

Besides the two'

distinguished honorary members , therewere six affiliates and one;in itiate . The affiliates

were BrothersF ramji B insha Petit , Hormusji Dossabhai

Cama , Dorab Jams‘

etj i Tata (since created a kn ight ) , Gor

dhandas Khatau Makanji, C . N . Pavri and Narayen

Ganesh Chandavarkar (also since created a Kn ight and

a Judge Of the H igh Court Of Bombay) while the sol itary

in itiate was Mr. Ardesir F ramji Bahadurji. B rother‘

B .

D . L am was the on ly member who resigned .

The N aoroze festival took place also this year and the

members Of the lodge partic ipated in it .

A Past Master’s jewel was voted to Brother N . R .

Chichgar.

A lecture was de livered by Brother R ustom K . R .

Cama On The E nd and Objects Of Freemasonry .

”

I n regard to charity funds it was this year resolved thatso lOng as they continued in their then state , a sum not ex

ceeding R s . 50/permensem should be expended in stipends

and that no monthly stipend should exceed Rs.

A quest ion had arisen as to. whether a ballot taken for

a candidate at a regular meeting be fore confirming the

minutes Of a previous regular meet ing was val id , for this

had happened in the case Of the gentleman in itiated this

year. BrotherSecretary contended that it was irregular,

being against. mason ic usage and custom and therefore

i llegal , and brought forward a proposition to that e ffect .

which ,however , on a division was lost. Subseq uently it

appears the Grand L odge published a ruling by the Grand

L odge of Scotland on the subject Of the reading of the

minutes at lodge meet ings which laid down that at all

Stated meetings Of a lodge before transact ing any business

2 52’

H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R IS I N G ST-AR

whole bui ld ing it was thought would cost about one L ac

of R upees . The subject was freely discussed at an emer

gent meeting , and the papers relating to the moneys he ld

in t rust by the lodge were referred to the StandingCommittee with ful l powers to deal with the quest ion of

disposing of the funds . The lodge also appointed the

Worshipful Master and Brothers Hormusji . Dadabhoy,

T emulji B . N ariman , M . J . Talyarkhan and Currimbhai

Ibrah im as de legates representing it as requ ired by the

Hall Committee -and subscribed R upees worth Of

debentures out of the Charity Funds and individual

members also subscribed deben tures to a large amount .

The Stand ing Committee on a full consideration Of the

subject Of the disposal of the trust-funds were Of

opinion that no, act ion could be taken unti l the lodge was

advised by Counse l as to. the legal ity or otherwise Of

the preposed appl ication thereof for the purposes of the

Hal l and recommended that Coun sel’s opin ion should be

taken in the matt er.

1889 .— The R etiring Master was re

-elected to fill the

chair for another y ear. The prosperity of“

the last year

did not however attend his ren ewed rule . On ly two new

members were admitted, namely , Dr. B . S . Shroff -and

Mr,Jafferbhai L udha ChatOO, but three resigned,

namely ,Brothers Sorabji D . Dubash , R ehemoobha A l lana and

HormuSJ l D . Cama, whi le death robbed the lodge Of three

more , namely Brothers H . F . COOp er, S . B . T urkhud and

C . N . Bavri . Brother Cooper had during his membership

of 22 years filled various Offices and was holding the post

of Secretary at his death and a special fun eral lodge was

held in his memory at which resolut ions were passed

recording the sorrow of the lodge at his death and the

heavy loss sustained by it , as the deceased Brother had byhis zealous conduct , unosten tat ious and simple manner ,

his heart for work and great punctuality and constant

attendance tO‘

masonic duties , proved himself to be an ex

OF WE STE RN INDIA NO. 342 S .C . 253

amplary member Of the Order and had won the love and

esteem Of all alike . The lodge also passed resolutions

condol ing with the family Of the deceased and wen t into

mourn ing for on e month . Brother Turkhud followed Bro

ther COOp er within two,months to seek the same eternal

rest . He had been a member for a litt le over 15 years .

during which period he had endeared himself to the bre

thren by his literary and other achievements and gen ial

manners and showed himself to be every inch a good man

and Mason . I n his memory also a spec ial funeral service

was he ld at which Brother K irtikar del ivered an orat ionin which he splendidly recoun ted that Brother

’

s attain

ments ,-l iterary , mason ic , and otherwise , referring to his

knowledge of 14 differen t languages Of the E ast andWest ,

and portrayed him as a Brother whom it was better to

have loved and lost than not loved or known at all, meek

and humble , n ever boastful Of what he knew ,never. jealous

Of. a rival or afraid of being beaten and great in his

honbur and in tegrity , his truthfulness , and a high and con

trolling sense Of duty.

The oration contained .also a sonnet by Brother Kirti

kar to the memory Of the late lamented Brother.

Other speakers also supported the estimate g iven by

Brother K irtikar in n eat;little speeches , feel ing ly expres

sive Of the Brother’

s high genuine and noble mason icqualities and the lodge passed resolutions recording the

irreparable loss sustain ed by his death and condo lingwith his mother and widow and for going in to mourn ingfor a mon th .

Within 5 months again the lodge had to mourn t he lossOf Brother C . N Pavri, whom the same fate overtook .

His death took place at the close Of the year and a special

funeral service in his memory was held in the next year

and resolut ion s were passed recording the regret of the

lodge and sympathising with his fami ly . H e was , it is re

corded ,a picture Of modesty and pre

-eminently a man of

254 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISI N G STAR

whom one could truly say that he was throughout his l ifeunostentatious and had performed.his dut ies well

‘

w ith an

unswerving devotion to Freemasonry .

T o add to the loss of the lodge , Brother Rustom K .

R . Cama had sent in his resignat ion but at the des ire

of Brother D . R . Chichgar the consideration of it was

deferred and ultimately it was not pressed and to this day'

this amiable and energet ic B rother has in his wisdom and

unerring fide lity stuck on with credit to himself and ad

van tage to the lodge .

The Grand L odge of Scotland had now held against'

the

holding in duplicate of the higher Offices in the Grand

L odge of All Scott ish Freemasonry in India and therefore

Brother J .W. Smith , who was Depute Grand Master with

Broth'

er K'

. R . Cama and Brother D . R . Chichgar,who

was on e of the Subst i tute Grand Masters, resign ed their

respective Offices . Brother K. R'

. Cama was reinstalled .

as D epute Grand Master and Brother C hichgar was

nominated Honorary Depute Grand Master.

Brother K . R . Cama’

s was the first instan ce of a

Native of India be ing solely appointed to perform the

dut ies of the h igh offi ce of Depute Grand Master and the

lodge felt just pride , in seeing one of its most esteemed

Past Masters so honoured by'

the Most Worshipful the

Grand Master and spec ially recorded the e lect ion with

acclamat ion in the form of a letter and handed same over

to Brother Cama besides congratulat ing him in open

lodge on the merited dist inction . The Brethren felt no

less grateful to the Most Worshipful the Grand Master

for his recogn it ion in such a marked degree of Brother

Cama'

s labours in the cause of Masonry and the honour

don e thereby to the lodge .

H is Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught was at the

Grand L odge fest ival of this yea’

r lwhich was held on zud

December to suit his conven ience and to allow of his longlooked-for visit to be paid) made an Honorary. Past

CHAPTE R XXXI .

1890 .

—I n the year 1890 , the lodge was ruled by Brother

K. N . Kabraji. I t again sustained a heavy loss , Brother

Cursetji Maneckji Sett , who was the T reasurer for 8years , had,

owing to cont inued i ll-health , resigned his office

at the close of the preceding year and his meritorious

services were fittingly recognised by a resolution record

ing the deep sense of grat itude , thanks and esteem of

the lodge for the marked abi l ity, unremitting care and

anxious sol ic itude with which he had husbanded the

resources and otherwise managed and controlled the

disbursements of the funds and expressing a sincere

hope for that”

Brother’s recovery. But thi s hope was not

real ised, for within '

a very short t ime , Brother Sett

obeyed the imp erial mandate of death - the dread messen

ger against whose free en trance within the c irc le of

mason ic fratern ity the barred doors or Tyler’

s weapon

can offer no impediment. The lodge he ld a spec ia l

funeral service in memory of the beloved Brother and

passed resolut ion s deploring his death , condol ing with

his family and for going into mourn ing for one month

and for draping the furn iture and jewels in mourn ingduring that period. Save this loss by death and the ,

resignat ions of Brothers Pestanji M. N icholson , Hor

mussji Dossabhai Cama and Nanabhai R . Chichgar, the

year passed off well. Six new members were admitted ,

being one affil iate , namely Brother Dr. Ismail J anma

horned , and five in itiates , namely , Messrs . D insha Ardesir

Talyarkhan (Mun ic ipal Commissioner, Baroda), Dhan j i

shaw Hormusji Karaka (A ssistan t Political Agent ,


Kathiawar) , HaJ l Mahomed'

Mehdi Malik-o-Toj jar(E x-Governor of Bushire) and Mahomedbhai Currim

bhai I bhrahim and Haj i Mirza Abbas (merchan ts).The proceedings of the meet ings at which Brother

Malik-o-Toj jar recieved his three degrees were interpre

ted to him in Persian , owing to his imperfect knowledgeof the E ng l ish language .

Brother Mal ik-o-Toj jar presen ted to.

the lodge on t heday that he was rais ed the sum of R s . 500/as a donation

to the charity. funds which was thankfully accepted and

lit was resolved that the amount should be invested in

Government paper and held as an endowment from

Brother Mal ik-o -Tojjar.

Brother H . M . Chichgar presented the sum of one rupeeto the charity funds of the lodge and B rotherBhownugreemade a g if t of R s . 5 00/ to the lodge on account of theintimate and kindly feelings which had marked ,

his

relations with the Worshipul Master Brother K . N .

K abraji since they both had been 1n1tiated into the

mysteries of Freemasonry and also on accoun t of the

prosperity which the lodge had at tain ed during Brother

K abraj i’s s tewardship . This gift was associated wi th the

name of Brother Bhownugree’s deceased sister, Miss

Avabai M .Bhownugree , and upon condit ion that the

income thereof on ly should b e used for charitab l

purposes .

Brother F akirj i D insha presented to the lodge a por

trait of Brother M . C . Murzban whi ch the lodge received

with thanks and an assurance that it wouldmost carefully

preserve it .

Brother K . R . Cama was n ow about to vacate the

honourable post of Depute Grand Master and there was a

gen eral desire to comm emorate his services to Free

masonry and Brother D . R . Chichgar brought forward a

proposition for voting a sum of R s . 50/ for a portra it of

that Brother to be hung in the Freemasons’ Hal l . The

17

258 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING"

STAR

MostWorshipful the Grand Mast er, Sir Henry Morland ,

whowas present at the meeting at which the pr0 po'

sal

was made as an honorary member of the lodge , said

that several other lodges and Masons shared in the desire

to get up a token to Brother Cama in recogn it ion of

the eminent services ardently and faithfully rendered by

him to the cause of Freemasonry in India and that it

w ould be but fair that they should be al lowed to

subscribe to the portrait . This suggestion was accepted

and the proposition passed. Brother Cama,who was

present, said he felt greatly honoured by the resolution,

all the more so , because it was an unexp ected mark of

good fee l ing shown to him by the lodge .

A farewel l entertainment in the form of a conversazion e ,at tended by Masons of both Con stitutions and also non

Masons of both sexes , was held at the Secretariat on 7th

March 1890 in honour of H is Royal H ighn ess the Duke of

Connaught, the D istri ct Grand Mas ter, on his leaving the

shores of India, and the lodge , though it was in mourn ingat that time , took part in that function to do honour tothat i l lustrious personage .

Among the recipients of charity this yearwas a Brother

named B omanji H ormusji, belonging to L odge A lexanderof N ew South Wales, Australia, who had fal len on evi ldays and was helped with a sum requ ired for setting himup in his business of a Photographer.

A Past Master’s j ewel was voted to Brother Kabraj i ,and the usual contribut ion of R s . 100/ to the Scottish

Benevolent Fund was made at the instal lation meet ingassociating his name therewith .

' 1891 .

-Brother Dr. T emu lji B . Nariman (now a mem

ber of H is E xc ellency the Governor’

s L eg islat ive Council)succ eeded Brother K ab raji and kept up the h igh state of

effic iency in which the lodge had unti l then been main

tain ed . H e , l ike his predecessors ,did not rest conten t with

the customary work of conferring degrees on ly, but'

,

HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

brightest ornaments of the Craft , who during his longand memorable connection with it ex

‘

erted himse lf to the

.best of his power to spread its princ iples and d iffuse the

blessings espec ially c oming to natives of this country , who

worked with unerring fide lity to.maintain its high charac

ter and dign ity , whom this lodge had always been proud to

ackn owledge as one of its best friends , and whose last ingand valuable services rendered to it wi ll always be che

rished with the most sincere grat itude by its members .

I n seconding this resolut ion which was in fitt ing terms

proposed by Brother T . B . N ariman , Brother K . R . Cama ,

as the oldest member of the lodge said ,

“I t was Sir Henry

who had first pu t him in the way of becoming useful as a

Mason and had encouraged him by appoint ing him to an

offi ce under him in the Grand L odge . The speaker had

constan t opportun it ies of finding that Sir Henry Morland’

s

heart was always in = Masonry . H e worked for,

it with

some intermissions for twen ty-eight years and although at

t imes he felt weary ,he never spared himself in promoting

the . interest of the Craft .‘

D uring his reg ime , Freemasonry

flourished so highly that he had now lodges in almost

every part of India. H e was so popular that he never

came into conflict with any of the lo'

dges under him . H e

took very particular in tersest in this lodge and often

Spoke of it as N o 1 L odge .

”

The lodg e also passed resolution s condoling with L ady

Morland and her ch ildren and also the Grand L odge of A ll

Scottish Freemasonry in India .

The resolutions , tog ether with the proceedings of the

even ing wer'

e ,'

as further resolved by the lodge, duly com

mun icated to the Grand Secretary for being placed at

the funeral service which was then to be held and was

subsequen tly held on zud August by the Grand L odge in

memory of the deceased. A memorial fund was also

raised under the auspices of the Grand L odge and thi s

lodge subscribe R s . 100 t hereto , on condition that -it

OF WE STE RN IND I A NO. 342 S .E .

should be applied towards perpetuat ing the memory of '

the

deceased Brother.

Sir H enry had very much int erest ed himself in the

Joint Mason ic H all quest ion , but the project was not pu t

through whi lst he was alive . The Government had« dec lin

ed to give the si te n ear the Young Men’

s Christian

A ssoc iat ion premises for which n egot iat ion s had been for

some t ime carri ed on by S ir H enry , except upon s uch

terms as it gave Governmen t lands to p ub lic bodies , and

expressed its inability to make any concessions to the

two Grand L odg es . The Hall Committee h ad another

scheme now and that was to buy a bungalow at Grant

Road, known as the Nawab of B eila’s bungalow, and in

View of that scheme and in order to be able ‘to know how

far that could be pu t through , they had addressed a letterto the lodge inquiring whether it would make a free

g ift of the N owroji Nanabhoy Trust Funds -which then

amoun ted to about R s . The quest ion of these

funds was then discussed and it was resolved that as the

subject was one involving certain legal aspects which

requ ired careful con sideration , opin ion of some Counse l

should be taken and the funds should not be disposed

of unti l af ter Counsel was consulted and as he might

advise . Brother H . M . Chichgar, who had all along takena very keen in terest in the matter, volunteered to obtain

the Opin ion of Mr. Farran , then a leader of the Bombay

B ar, who later on became a Puisne Judge and then theChief Just ice of the H igh Court of Bombay .

Brother H . M. Chichgar was now Sen ior Grand Ward

en and Brother R ustom M . Chichgar, A ssistant GrandSecretary .

Upon Brother Morland’

s resign at ion , Brother J . W,

Smith was nom inated to the H igh Office of Grand Masterby the Grand L odge of Scot land . H e had, it may be

said , the . strong recommendat ion of his immediate predecessor and the common consent of all the lodges under

262 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

the Scottish banner to the appointment which he so wel l

merited, and he was duly installed in Ofifice at a quarterly

commun icat ion of the Grand L odge held on 23rd January

1892 by Brother K . R . Gama, as Past Grand Master

Depute .

1892 . Brother T . B '

. Nariman had so much won the

esteem and good opin ion of the bre thren by his steady

and energetic conduct of affairs during the year, that he

was re-elected the Master for the next year and he

maintained his previous good record.

Brothers J . J . Guzder (Barrister-at-L aw) and Shapur

N . Bhedwar were affiliated and Mr. F azulbhai Meherally

Chinai was in itiated whi le Brothers G . K . Makanji,G . G . T ejpal and B . F . L alee resigned during the year.

The degree work consisted of one in itiation , three

passings and four raisings.

I t was in this year that Worshipful Brother Dadabhai

Nowroji‘

was elected a Member of Parliament. He was thefirst native of India who secured a seat from the consti

tuency of Finsbury in that august assembly the doors ofwhich unti l then were taken as locked to Indians . and the

lodge unan imously voted an address to,

h1m which was

duly transmitted to E ngland expressing its great joy at

the event which marked a new era in the history of India .

‘

Brother Meherally Devraj Mas ter was known to be ever

ready at a moment’

s notice to serve in any offi ce in the

absenceof the in cumbent or in any case of any emergency

and had by his services so wi llingly and always efficien tly

rendered, meri t ed recogn ition which at the installat ion

meet ing held on 15th December 1892 was marked by a

special unan imous vote of thanks .

Brother D . R . Chichgar was this year appoin ted, to the

high office of’

Grand Master Depute . R s . were againthis year voted to the Scottish Benevolent Fund in thename

‘

of Brother Nariman , who was also vot'

e'

d a PastMaster

’

s jewel and apron .

64 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI N G STAR

en titled “Brother Pestanji Hormusji Cama Charity Fund

endowed by his son Brother Nowroji Pestanji Gama.

Within three months , Broth er B engalee fol lowed B ro

ther Cama to the eternal man sions on high , leavingbehind his mark as a public spirited c itizen of known .

fame and populari ty . The most e loquen t test imony to his

worth was furn ished by the immense gathering that

mustered unusually strong to pay its last respects at the

time of his funeral and extended from his res idence in

Parsi Bazar Street (not far from the Bai Bhikhaji G irls’

School which he had then but on ly a few years ago

endowed) right up to the premises of Messrs . Kemp

Co . and by his full size statue in marbl e raised by

public subscriptions which now adorns one of the most

promin ent sites in Bombay n ear the Bandstand and the

Governmen t Secretariat bu i lding .

A spec ial funeral lodge was held in his memory by the

lodge, which was numerously attended by members of the

fratern ity under both juri sdictions , including the Most

Worshipful the GrandMast er o f A ll Scott ish Freemasonry

in India and his officers . The ceremony was performed in

the customary way, after which Brother K . R . Cama

delivered an orat ion in which he gave a short sketch of

the life of the deceased, holding up his example as one

worthy of imitation , and resolut ions were passed

expressive of the deep gri ef of the lodge at the loss

sustained by it and sympathizing with his fami ly in the ir

afflict ion .

The lodge also unan imously resolved that out of the

charity funds a sum of R s should be se t apart to

form an endowment fund b earing the name of the

deceased Brother.

Brothers Chandavarkar , J . J . Guzder and H el p Ismai l

Hassam ,resigned. But the decrease in the numerical

strength caused by deaths and res ignat io'

ns was almost

counterbalanced by the admisson of three new members ,

OF WE STE RN I NDIA N o . 342 S C . 265

namely, Messrs . Abdulla Meherally Dharamsi, Gulamhus

sein Allana and Dr. F ramji J ivanji Patel, Den

tist , of whom the first named two have died since , and thelast named has cont inued as a subscribing member ti l lthis day.

The banner of the lodge having been out of order it

was resolved that it should be refitted .

The R igh t Honourable L ord Saltoum who was then

Substitute Grand Master of Scotland and four years latersucceeded to the exalted throne of Grand Master Mason

of Scotland , was in Bombay , and honoured the Grand

L odge of India of A ll Scott ish Freemasonry in India with

a visit on 6th Apri l 1893 ,and on that occassion a deputa

t ion from L odge R ising

L

Star on the invitation of the

Grand L odge had the proud privilege of meeting H is

L ordship , and to commemorate the visit , Brother F ramji

B insha Pet i t made a hand somedonat ion of R upees three

hundred to the fundsi

of the Scott ish Mason ic Benevolent

A ssociat ion in India.

Three in it iations , two passings and two raisings const i

tuted the degree work done during the year.

The Jamshedi Naoroze fest ival was held on 2 l st Mar ch

under the ausp ices of L odges R ising Star, R ismg Sun ,

E astern Star, Cyrus , I slam and Aryan and under the

managemen t of R ising Star, at the Mason ic Hall. The

programme in cluded the usual prayers and hymns and a

Discourse on the Poetry of the Craft” by R ight Worship

fu l Brother P . N . Wadia , and an entertainmen t which

comprised a farce ent it led “A Sudden Arrival” and a

comedietta Marriage by T elephone .

” With the object

of making the fest ival as attractive and p opular as

possib le the Committee had invited ladies to the banquet

and entertainment and a very large number of them, bOth

E uropean and N at ive ,had responded t o the invitations ,

thus lending additional eclat to the en tertainment by

their presence . Brother Phiroze C. Sethna played an

24

H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

important character in The Sudden Arrival He was“

0

Cornel ius Cocker”(an e lderly gentleman with a

partiality for zoolog ical investigations) and Brother

J . K . R . Cama had the r61e of Marmaduke Twist ” (hisnephew , with an inc linat ion for c

'

onv'

ivial assoc iation) .

I n the comedietta Brother J . K . R . Cama was E dwardHoneysuckle ”

As was customary , the lodge bore a deficit which this

year amounted to about R upees n inety-six . as it had the

management of the festival .

The Jubi lee of the lodge was celebrated with great eclaton 15th December 1893 , in the Freemasons

’Mason ic Hall

the extensive compound of which was transformed into a

gai ly decorated and extensively i lluminated shamiana ,

the whole of the grounds being carpeted with rich Brussel

carpets and the ground floor rooms be ing converted into

a luxurious drawing-room with any amount of floral

decorations and the wal ls ‘being covered with mason icdevices woven in flowers and evergreens and the words

Jubilee of L odge R ising Star were emb lazoned in

flowers on a p1ece of red cloth which served as a screen in

front of the main gate .

Broth'

er F ramji D insha Petit was instatled at the

meeting held on the same day in the presence of a . large

gathering of the members of the Fratern ity under the

Scotch and E ng lish const i tution s, in cluding the Most

Worshipful the Grand Master of A ll Scott ish Freemason

ry in India and representatives of the‘ District Grand

L odge .

To commemorate the occassion a printed short sketch

of the historry of the foundation of the lodge prepared

by the Secretary , Brother P. M . Kanga , and the Sen ior

Deacon ,Brother P . C . Sethna , was c irculated amongst the

members previous to the holding of the meeting , and

Brother K . R . Cama , in addit ion gave at the meeting an

account of the foundation of the lodge . H ere this Worthy

268 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STlAR

celebrity , the lodge enrolled as honorary members

R ight Worshipful Brothers the Honorab le Mr. (now Sir)Pherozsha M . Mehta and the Honourable Mr. W. L .

Harvey , I . C . S C . I . E . , Worshipful Bro thers Jehang ir

Manekji Cursetji andW. H . Barrow, and Brothers A . F .

Moos , Dossabhai F ramji Karaka ,R ahim tulla Ma

homed Sayan i and Dr . A tmaram Pandurang .

Wi th the exceptions of Brothers Barrow , H arvey and

J . M . Curse tji, the other brethren were previous lymembers of the lodge who one and all

,especially

Brother P . M . Mehta,had done much to main tain an d

advance its status and prestige Brother Karaka made a

donation of R upees fif ty to the Charity Funds of the

L odge which was gratefuily rece ived in the following year.

Brother Harvey was at this t ime theWorshipful Master

of L odge Perseveran ce and his election was attended with

special interest as it was made with a special object .

Brother K . R . Cama in the account that he gave of the

history of t he lodge , af ter recount ing in brief the help

of the members of L odge Perseveran ce in estab lishingthe L odge in 1843 and the fellowship and good will and

brotherly love that had throughout the long p eriod of

half: a cen tury marked on the whole the relat ions between

these two sister lodges, each of which fe lt its happinessincomplet e without contribut ing to that of the other, said

that on the occasion of the Jubi lee ce lebrat ion festival

th e lodge had considered it fit and proper that it should

recogn ise its oligations to L odge Perseverance for g ivingit a start fifty years ago by electing its Worshipful

Master as an hon orary member

Brother R ustom K . R . Cama as the Worshipful Master

of the lodge , wrote a letter to Brother H arvey communi

cat ing the e lect ion which was made on zud December)and it evoked a more than hearty response from that dis

tinguished and Worthy Brother and from his lodge . At

a meeting held on 12 th December,L odge Perseverance by

OF ' WE STE RN IND I A N o. 3 42 S .C . 269

acclamation passed a resolution That a letter of

congratulat ion be addressed to L odge R ising Star on the

o ccasion of its attain ing its Jubilee ,”and this resolut ion

was (on the 14 th Dec ember) conveyed to Brother R . K . R .

Cama by Brother H arvey in a lett er which was read at

the meeting and recorded in its minutes in which afterreferring to it and to the close conn ection between thelodges and the privi leges of extra-membershipwhich theyhad recogn ised for s everal years and the temporary

estrangement which had at one t ime exist ed but had longsince been consigned to obl ivion ,

he wroteThe present members of L odge Perseverance have

every reason to rejoice in the action of the ir predecessors

of fifty years ago in sign ing the requisition for the foundat ion of L odge R ising Star as it has been fully justified by

the successful career of a lodge that has g iven Scottish

Freemasonry in India some of its most distinguishedmembers and has ever main tain ed the high princ iples

which actuated its founders , and they have no less reasonto rejoice in the fact that after fifty. years of existence ,

during which both lodges have experienced many vicissi

tudes,the friendship and brotherly love which bound them

in the ir infancy st ill un ite them in the years of their

maturity.

’

The letter concluded with the heartiest

congratulations and most cordial good wishes from L odge

Perseverance which indeed were highly apprec iated

Brother Barrow was then the Depute District Grand

Master, E nglish Const itut ion , in charge of the D istrict and

had dist inguished himself in the mason i c world and had

established so great a claim on the E nglish Const itution

by his valuable and unstinted labours and services that

the District Grand Master, His R oyal H ighness the Duke

of Connaught , had , it. is said, resolved to make him a

permanent fixture in his high office . H e had also always

taken a keen intere st in the welfare of the lodge and more

than merited the honorary membership.

270 H ISTORY OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

Brother J . M . Cursetj i , then Past Master of L odge E ast

ern Star No . 1189 ,E ng l ish Const itution ,

was conferred

the distinct ion with the object of preserving the connection

of his father Brother Manekji Cursetji’s name with

the lodge.

To mark its deep sense of the grat itude it owed to

Brothers Dr. Burnes and Manekji Cursetji and to carry

out its pious desire to preserve their names in their books

for ever ,the lodge also passed a resolution for transferring

a sum of R s . out of the avai lable Charity Funds to be

transferred to an account to be opened in their names

with a proviso that in case of emergency , the principal

amount might itself be ut ilized when ever deemed neces

sary . That amount '

was subsequently transferred and

st ill stands in these two brethren’s names and i t is hoped

wi ll for ever so continue so as to keep evergreen the

memory of those two departed souls . Brother Manekji

Cursetji was not spared by Providence to be present at

the Jubi lee celebration , but the brethren , not unmindful of

the necessity of his form in any shape being before them

had obtained his bust from his son Mr. C . M . Cursetji as a

loan for the occasion and exhibited it very prominently .

A contribut ion of R s . 500 from the Charity Funds in

addition to the sum previously voted by the lodge was

made on this occasion to the Morland Memorial Fund, to

further mark the sense of esteem in which the late Grand

Master of A ll Scott ish Freemasonry in India was held ,

and the names of Brothers M . C . Murzban , R . M . Patel,Hormusp Dadabhai, Maneksha D . Doctor, and R ustom

K . R . Cama were associated therewi th, as L ife Governors

of the fund .

A Past Master’s jewel was voted to Brother R ustom

K . R . Cama, and he no doubt most richly deserved it , for

the records show that he governed the lodge not on ly welland wisely , under he watchful eye and careful, gu idan ceof: his venerable father, though he , con trary to the usual


of the lodge ,during their stay in Bombay whi lst touring

round the world .

A spec ial f eature of the even ing was agam the pre

sence of Worshipful Brother Dadabhai Nowroji, M.P.

Brother K . R . Cama in the course of the history that he

narrated had made spec ial ment ion of this Brother whom

he thrice welcomed to his mother-lodge and said that a

man of his determinat ion and courage as shown .by the

public movements of the time in which he took a promi

nent part, was sure t o have rendered vast services to

Masonry , but that unfortunately however for Masonry in

general and this lodge in particular, but happi ly for

himself and his countrymen , he had a Mission to leave

India for E ng land just at the time when he was pitch

forked in to the Secretaryship of the lodge , soon after his

be ing made a Master Mason , that whi le there he joinedL odge Dalhousie and became its first native Master , and

thereafter became an active member of a couple of lodgesin Finsbury (which to the gratification of the teemingmi l l ions of India returned him to the British Parl iament ,to enter which seems to have been an ambition of his l ife )always keeping his interest in the Craft up to date

,

Brother K . R . Cama’

s con cluding words were :“

I n c losinglet me as my last words send up a fervent prayer to the

Great Architect of the Universe'

that some of our young ermembers present here to-n ight may be granted long l i fe

to enable them to join the c elebration of the century of

this lodge on 15 th December 1943 L et it be hoped that

that prayer wi ll he granted by the Most H igh .

Thus c losed the memorable Jub ilee even ing with sixty

three subscribing members on the roll and several dis

tinguished honorary members , of whom any. lodge may be

proud. and funds amoun ting to n early R s .

Printed pamphlets of the history of th e foundation of

the lodge were in due course sen t to the Most Worshipful

the Grand Master Mason of Scotland , Sir Charles Dal

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o .

‘

342 273

rymple , Bart . , and R ight Worshipful Brother the R ightHonourable L ord Satton , the Grand L odge of Scotland. the

Most Worshipful the Grand Master of A ll Scottish Freemasonry in India, and the Grand L odge of All Scottish

F reemasonry in India. and L odges Perseverance, Islam,

R ising Sun , Caledon ia, Cyrus, E astern Star, Aryan ,

Truth , Zoroaster, and other lodges . who one and all

su itably acknowledged the same . The Most Worshipful

the Grand Master Mason of Scotland was gracmusly

pleased to indite an acknowledgment to the Worshipful

Master as follows

New Hai les, Marlborough , E . N .

Scotland.

F eBruary 8 th, 1894.

Dear Sir and Brother,

I have to thank you for so kindly sending me copies

of the history of your L odge R ising Star of Western

India and I shal l read with much interest what has been

written on the subject ,I shall take care that the other copie s besides that

which I shall keep for myself are sent to Grand L odge .

‘

I think it very kind of you to send me this notice of!

the fiftieth ann iversary of your lodge and I beg to ex

press for myself and for the Grand L odge of Scotlandour sincere congratulations on this occasion and our best

hopes for the continued prosperity of your lodge .

I remain ,

Dear Sir and Brother.

Yours fraternally ,

CHARL E S DA L RYMPL E .

GRAND MASTE R MASON or SCOTL AND »

The Most Worshipful Brother J W. Smith , the Grand

Master of A ll Scottish Freemasonry in India , was pleased

to wri te also personal ly to the Worshipful Master saying ,

I have read the history with the greatest interest and

35

274 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISIN G STAR

congratulate you on your be ing the Jubilee Master of a

lodge wi th so exce llent a record.

The pamphlets were also sent to the Indian Masoni c

J ournal , Madras, and The Freemason , L ondon , for pub liMation . Brother D . R . Chichgar was this year appoin t

ed Grand Master Depute of the Grand L odge of All

Scottish Freemasonry in India while Brother F . D . Pet i t

was appointed Jun ior Grand Warden.

276 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R ISING STsAR

him written in gold on parchment and this worthy Bro

ther whi le acknowledg ing the high compliment paid to

him presented to the lodge a sum of R s . 250 to be credit

ed to the Charity Funds .

The Jamshedi Naoroze festival was held this year

under the management of! L odge E astern Star. and this

t ime also ladie s were invited to the entertainment which

formed a part of"

the usual programme and consi st'

e'd of

vocal and instrumen tal music and a dramatic perfor

mance . A considerable number of. the members partic i

pated in the fe stival

The Joint Hall Committee were sti ll evolving some pro

ject for a Mason ic T emp le , and in order not to allow any

opportun ity to pass without being avai led of and to be

able to act on the spot withou t delay and c ircu itous action

resolutions were passed in the beg inn ing of the year by

the Grand L odge of A ll Sco ttish Freemasonry in'

I ndia ,

authorising it s representatives on the Committee or any

Sub-coniittee appointed by them acting in conjunction with

the Board of. General Purposes of the Di strict Grand

L odge or its Sub-committee ,

to acqu ire e ither by hire or

purchase any bu i lding or bui lding site , etc for a common

Mason ic Hal l with the concurrence of a majority and the

Grand Masters of the two constitutions or their deputies

or representatives in charge .

The great, i f not the chief. stumbl ing , block in the wayof having a mason ic hal l , was not so much in raisingfunds as in raising the ren ts of the different

b

bodiesunder both constitutions meet ing there in suffic iently toenable the Hall Committee to pay,

the inte rest on the

debentures t’

o be issued and to provide a sinking fund

with which to. liqu idate the capital debt in ‘

due course .

There was no difficulty about getting the debenturessubscribed , but the different lodges had demurred to

having . their . rents raisedf To surmount this difficulty .

and to get together a fund on which no interest would

J us tic e“

Medal-“ Reverse

OF WE STE RN INDIA N o . 342 S .E . 277

have to be paid the Grand L odge at a Communication

he ld on 5 th November 1894 passed a resolution on the

motion of R ight Worshipful K . R . Cama that circulars be

se nt.

to the daughter-lodges inviting subscriptions to the

Hal l Fund, and in order to start the fund it also subs.

cribed R s 5 00 thereto .

The Hall Committee did not renew the lease of the

Hun tly L odge at Clare R oad which expired in October of.

this year,bu t rented other premises ,

in the Ade lphi Hote l ,Byculla, where all the bodies thereafterme t .

They had previously been negotiating for the purchase

of a suitable property and in anticipation of. their makinga call , in the event

‘

of the negotiations being, completed,

upon L odge R ising Star for the Nowroji Nanabhai T rus t

Funds, the lodge appointed a Sub-committee consisting,of

the R ight Worshipf ul Master Brother F . D . Pet it and

Brothers K . R . Cama , M . C . Murzban , D . R . Chichgar.

H . M . Chichgar, Hormusji Dadabhai, R . M . Pate l .M . J Talyarkhan and Rustom K . R . Cama to consider the

Trust Deed with reference to the proposed scheme .

The Jubilee Medal voted for presentation to Brothe r

F D . Peti t was ordered out from Messrs . George

Kenning , of Aldergate Street , L ondon . I t was in gold ,

and forty more medals for the brethren in si lver alsoarrived with it . On the obverse of all the medals , is the

effigy of Brother F ramji Dinsha Petit and the inscri ption

Jubi lee 15th December 1893 , L odge?R ising Star of

Western India No 342 ' S C . on the rim, and on’

the ré

verse is shown a star rising from the sea;and the inscription on the rim of a llmedals except the presentation

“

one

Brother F ramji Dinshaw Peti t instal led 15th DecemberThe presentat ion medal bore on its rim on the re

verse which was made broader than that of the othermedals the following inscription

To R ight Worshipful Brother F . D . Pe tit from L odge

Rising Star No . 342 S C .

, Bombay, l 5th December 1893


~The medal was pre sented to Brother Peti t at the

installation meeting , in the presence of a large and distin

guished gathering ,at the hands of the MostWorship ful the

GrandMaster of A ll Scott i sh Freemasonry in India who in

a short bu t f elic itous Speech p aid a high and fit tingtribute to, the sterling mason ic qualit ies of the recipient

of the honour who , he said, was a“ bri lliant star in the

masonic firmament emulating a brightness of the heaven

ly bodies from which the E astern S tar, of which he was

a child since 1883 , and the R ising Star, to which he was

affiliated five years later, had derived their names .

”

Brother Petit had during his '

regimé estab lished more

than ever before his c laim to the esteem and regard of.

the brethren over whom he ruled and whose happiness , it

is said, by all the means in his power he strove to ad

vanc e, and to mark such esteem in a permanent form, the

lodge voted a Past Master’

s j ewe l and presen ted to him

at this installation meeting a walnut wood writ ing-desk

costing R s . 832 and a walnut wood stand with chimingbe lls . The desk was to. remind him that labour was the

lot of man and that whi le it was day he must work

and also that it was made from a tree which was a na

t ive of. Persia , as all Parsis were , and that it was a large

tree ,with spreading branches , which would always recal l

to his mind that ~ from the strong trunk L odge R ising

Star, other native lodges had emanated , and further that

l ike the t imber of the walnut , which was very durable ,

reliable and could take the fin est pol ish , good Masons

could become highly polished g entlemen and valuable

members of society if they only paid proper attention to

the useful lessons laid down in the rituals. The chiming

bells were to serve as a remembrance of the many plea

sant‘ hours spent by the worthy Brother within the sacred

walls of the lodge and also to bid him a ttend a cal l to

duty and that of human ity and thereby g iving him an

Opportun ity of doing good to his fellow-creatures in the

280 HI STORY OF L ODGE RISING STAR

as often as he could wish owing to the heavy cal l on hi sattention to his professiona l work he always looked

with a watchful eye to the best interests of the lodge . I t

i s wel l known that i n work ing the degrees he d id not

adhere to the stri ct letter or form of the ri tual , but

carri ed out conci sely and substantially the spirit thereof

B rother M . M B hownugree was the second native

ofi I nd i a,who this: year succeeded in entering the B riti sh

House of Commons from B ethnall Green , and .the lodge

rej oi ced at thi s event which brought the highest honours

again to one ofl its, members , and addressed to him

a sp ecial let ter of: congratu lation and i t a lso passed

a special resolution ofi welcome when thi s B rother

visited it after his return from E ngland in the following

year .

R ight Worshipful B rother Cowasji Dadabhai F urdoonp(known fami l iarly as B irother C . D . F urdoonj i) who is a

prominent figure in the Craft in Bombay and can claim

connection wi th more lodges than one either as F ounder

or Member,Ord inary or Honorary , had unti l now (as’he has

also since) favoured Lodge R i s ing Star wi th hi s vi sits

whenever sought , and even served i t on occas ions . H is

name as a' Vi s i ting B irother can be traced in the records

of the lodge so far back as 1869 . Great service was ren

dered by him on the occasion ofi the Jubi lee when he and

B rothers Murzban and D . R . Chichgar looked af ter thedecora tions and exhibited not only good aestheti c tasteand arrangements but left nothing undone to make the

occasion a great‘ success from every point of;view . I n

token of the appreciation of hi s servi ces on that memorable

occasion the lodge presente d to him a silver Jubi lee

Me‘

dal which he was k ind enough tb accept

The lodge took part‘

in the J amshe‘di Naoroze festival

which was celebrated this year under the management

ofi Lodge R i s ing Sun and in the same manner as duringthe preced ing two years .

OF WESTERN I ND I A N o . 342 S .C . 281

‘

1896 .

— The year commenced with 54 members on therol l of whom 42 were full paying members . B-ro therF azalbhai V isram was insta lled in the E astern Chair onl st F ebruary 1896 . During hi s regime the numerica l

strength decreased by one member . The re was one resig

nation an'

d two deaths and one member’

s name was

struck off for default in payment of lodge dues and these

were counterbalanced by two affil i ations and one initiation

The res igning member was Brother (now Sir) Dorab J

Tata and the member struck off was B irotner Muljibhai

Jivraj while the two that passed away from thi s transi

tory world were Barothers Pestanji Mun cherji N i cholson

and NanabhaiM . Banaj i . The latter was the very young

est member,who had joined the lo

'

dge only’

four months

before,and was a promising B rother who , it l i fe had been

spared to him , would have made a valuable and useful

Member of the Craft, and on hi s death the lodge duly

recorded a vote of. sympathy with the family of the

deceased in their sad and deplorable loss . The affil i ates

were B rothers Dha‘njibhaiMerwanji Jijibhaiand.Ratansha

Kershaspji Dadachanji and the initiate was Mr . Manekji

Cowasp Petit

A Past Master’

s j ewel was voted to Barother M . J .

Talyarkhan and R s . 200/were contributed to the Scotti sh

Be nevolent A ssociation of I ndiaThe Jamshedi Naoroze festival was held thi s year

under the management of Lodge Cyrus and the members

of the lodge largely participated in it'

.

The Masonic Hall question was now nearing a definite

solution after several years’labour and discussion . The si te

on which the Hall now stands was pointed out. by Worshipful B arother G . O . W. Dunn , then D epute D i strict Grand

Master of Bombay, and an energeti c member of the Hall

Committee . and on the same being approved negotiationsfor acqu i ring it were carried on and brought to a head

through Broth'

er the Honble . Nowroji N .Wad i a wi th

26

282 H I STORY OF LODGE R I SI NG STAR

Government, and the Hal l Committee had formulated a

scheme for the acqu i sition and construction of the H all ,and in order to enable it to carry i t out had i ssued circu

lars in the beginning of the ye ar to the d iff erent Lodges ,Chapters

,and Bodies working under the two constitutions

as wel l as others meeting in the H all , i nqu iring what

amount of debenture s the members ind ividually. would

take and whether their char itable and other funds could

be rel ied upon to take debentures at 4 per cent. per

annum and to what extent

The' H all Committee then also inqui red of the lodge

whether i t would hand over to them ' the Nowroji N ana

bhai Trust F unds and what memorial would be requ i red

to fulfil the T rust .

The matter was then discussed and. the lodg e reso lved

to take the Opinion of the A dvocate-General as to whether

the T rustees ofi the fund could give i t to the Joint Hall

Committee for the bu i lding of the proposed Hal l and i t

unanimously resolved to invest R s . out of the Char

i ty funds in the 4 per cent. d ebentures and further made

a donation of R s . 500/ to the Bu i lding F und out of i ts

Chari ty funds .

Counsel’s Opinion was acc ordingly taken on a case

submitted by B rother H . M . Chichgar’

s firm of Messrs .

N anu and Hormusji and the H all Committee were there

after informed that the fund-s would be handed over but

that the land for the new Masoni c Hal l should be acqu i red

in the name of theGrand Lodge ofAllScotti sh F reemasonry

in I ndia and that the H al l should he named the “F ramji

Cowasji Masoni c Hall .

Thereupon correspondence took place between BrotherH , M . Chichgar and Brother R ichard Snea‘de B rown

(the President of the H al l Committe e) who was a zealous

and hardworking Mason and cordially advanced the

scheme, and also between the H all Committe e. Secretaryand the Trustees of the F und . The Advocate General

CHAPTE R XXX I I I .

1897 .

-At the instal lati on meeting held on 1 5th DecemO!er at which Brother P . M . Kanga was instal led as Wor

shipfu l Master , the lodge had the honour of a visi t from

Worshipful Brother H is E xcellency the R ight Honourab leLord Sandhurst , G . C . I . E Pro-D i stri ct Grand Master of

Bombay E . C . H is Lordship was the first Governor of the

Presidency of ' Bombay who graced the lodge wi th hi s

presence and was accorded a hearty and fitting we lcome ,and in acknowledging it in a fel i citou s short speech ,

wi shed the lodge every success . H is E xcel lency’s kind

ness was appreci ated al l the more h ighly as he had , as

was. then wel l known , attended at great personal in conve

nience and when he could spare but l i tt le time owing to

hi s multifarious publ i c duti es which engrossed hi s sym

pathetic and c lose attention in the amel i oration of the

distress then general ly prevalent .

H is Lordship was at thi s very meeting proposed as an

Honorary Member and was early in the fo llowing year

duly elected as such and wa s p leased to convey hi s

acceptance of. the honour in a letter addressed by him to

the R ight Worshipful Master .

Brother N owroji N usserwanji Wadia , C . I . E . (now a

member of, the Legi slative Counci l of H is E xce llency the

Governor of Bombay) and Brother B ejonji Nanabhai

Kapadi a both since gone to the Grand Lodge above )were afli liated and Mr . Sarosh K . a third son of

B rother K . R . Cama and introduced by the latt er , was

initiated thi s year . B ut the lodge was again unfortunate

in having to suffer by the deaths of B rothers the Honour

OF WESTERN INDIA N o . 342 S .C.

able Abdu l la M,Dharamsi and Dhanjibhai Merwanji

J ijibhai, and further Brothers Shapoor N . B hedwar ,

Ardesir C . Homji, D . H . Karaka and F azalbhaiM . Chinai

resigned during the year .

Resolut ions of regret were duly recorded in the minutes

of the lodge on the deaths of Brothers D . M . J ijibhai

and Dharamsi.

The affil iation fee was ra1sed from R s . 2 5 to R s. 75 ,

and the joining fee from R s . 5 to R s . 15 as from October

of thi s year .

The friend ly su it for the administration of the N owroj lNanabhai T rust F unds was fi led about the midd le of thi s

year . I t was su it N o . 352 of 1897 , and at the end of the

year sti l l awaited t rial .

Messrs N anu and HOI ’I’HUSJ I , Sol icitors , were the attor

neys for the lodge as also the T rustees of the F und .

F or the first t ime i n the hi story‘

of F reemasonry inI ndia both the E ngl i sh and Scotch constitutions were

placed under the presidency and government of one andthe same B rother . That unique position fel l to the lot of

R ight Worshipful Brother Lord Sandhurst who, on R ight

Worshipful Brother J . W. Smith , then Grand Mas-ter ofA llScotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia , reti ring , was nominated in

hi s place to fil l that exa lted posi t ion by the Grand Lodge

of Scotland on 4th June 1897 . H is Lord ship was duly lnstalled in hi s high office at a specia l convoca tion of the

Grand L odge held on that day at the N ove lty Theatre ,which was converted into a masoni c temp le for the occa

sion , and Lodge R i sing Star took part in that p leasingfunction . The union of the two highest posts in the

srster constitutions in the person of such a high and

eminent Mason meant, as was later on evidenced ,by a

sti ll closer union than then exi sted between the bod i es

under either banner and the individual members thereof .

H is E xcellency in spite of the vari ous cal ls on hi s atten

tion owing to pub l i c exigencies was sti ll ab le,as he was

286 H ISTOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

at the same time a lways anxious , to devote some time to

masoni c affairs , and it was to hi s great impetus and

encouragement that the Masoni c T emp le became in hi s

time an accompl ished fact .

On 5 th June 1897 , H is E xce l lency as the G rand Masterof All Scotti sh F reemasonry. i n I ndia and Pro-D istri c t

Grand Master of Bombay , laid the foundation stone of the

Masoni c Hall in the presence of a large and distingu i shed

gathering of the members of the fraterni ty and the

publ i c . A special convocation of the Grand Lodge was

held again at the N ove lty Theatre , si tuate opposi te to the

site of the Hall . After both the Grand Lodges were

Opened and temporari ly adj ourned , and the brethren had

in two columns abreast marched f rom the theatre to the

si te where the stone was p laced , the Grand Master

arrived in a process ion and w ith a l l customary forma

lities laid the foundation stone . Lodge R i sing Star was

largely represented on the occasion . A t the ceremony a

hi story of the movement for a j oint masoni c ha l l compi led

by R ight Worshipful Brother J . W. Smith was read in

whi ch the fol lowing remarks were in ter alia made

The Masoni c F raternity at the same time are grateful

to the T ruste es and Members of Lodge R i sing Star of

Western I ndia N o . 342 , Scot tish Constitution , for thei r

co operation and for the condi tional promi se of thei r

handsome contribution of about Rs . being the

T rust money left by the late B rother N owroji Nanabhai

F ramji B anaj i for bu i lding a H al l to be cal led The

F ramji Cowasji Masonic Hall .’The terms on which Lodge

R i sing Star i s wi l l ing to part with the money are that

after the institution of a fri end ly su i t tthe H igh Court

shal l permit the admin istration accordingly of the T rust

F und of t he Nowroji N anabhai Settlement provided

that the Banqueting H all be cal led the F ramj i Cowasji

Banqueting Hal l , that a su itable tab let bearing th e said

title be affixed at the entrance to the said hal l or on a


D , R . Chichgar were appointed by the Grand Lodge T rus

tees of the N ew H al l .

The instal lation meeting was held on 15 th D ecember

and the lodge had the honour of a s econd visit from,the

Most Worshipful B rother H . E . Lord Sandhurst. I t was a

matter of pecul i ar gratification to the lodge to find that

that was the first officia l vi sit of the Most Worshipful theGrand Master of A ll Scottish F reemasonry in I ndia to a

daughter-lodge at i ts instal lation meeting after assuming

the reins of hi s exalted offi ce . I n spite of the numerous cal ls

he had necessari ly to attend to in the di scharge of hi s multi

farious duti es in the government of the Pres idency ,H is

Lordship had readi ly re sponded to the cal l of his masoni c

duty and by hi s presence invested the proceed ings of the

evening with special i nterest , to the great gratification of

the brethren . A fter the retiring Master , B arother P . M .

Kanga,had rendered an account of hi s stewardsh ip H is

L ordship ' addressed the brethren and in doing so shared in

the regret cau sed by the deaths of the late B rothers the

Hon . Abdulla Dharamsi and DhanjibhaiMerwanji J ijibhai,and paid a tribute to the former who , he said , was not only

a distingui shed ci tizen but was also a clever and ski lfu l

professional man and a z ealous and painstaking member

of the Legislative Counci l . H is E xcel lency a l so paid a

spe cial comp l iment to the lodge on the prosperou s cond i

tion of i ts finances , which now , after al l d isbursements

and donations, stood at R s .

-6 -0 genera l account and

R s .

-7-2 chari ty account . H e then introduced to th elodge a di stingui shed Mason , namely , Brother E . F . G .

Hatch ,M . P . for the E astern D i vi s ion of Lancashire , who

was then on a vi sit to I ndia and was a guest at Govern

m ent H ouse, and in conclus ion observed that he had been

look ing forward then for some t ime to vi sit the lodge and

that the large number of brethren he saw before him

outdid hi s expectations, and that he was pleased to observe

that in the lodge E uropeans , H indus , Mussalmans, and

OF WE STE RN I ND I A No. 342 S .C. 289

Parsi s al l united together in one bond of fri endship and

that a better ver ificati on of the many advantages of

F reemasonry could not be found .

B rother Hatch , on being requested by the Worsh ipfulMaster to address the brethren , said that i t had given himgreat pleasure to attend the lodge

,where he was glad to

observe the representatives of the d iff erent commun iti es

of B ombay,and that he was glad that H . E . L ord . Sand

hurst had given him an oppor tunity of seeing the inside

of a native lodge ,and that he would carry home wi th him

a pleasant impression of his visi t as i t was one of the

most interesting sights he had yet seen in I nd ia .

The MostWorsipful the Grand Master as also B rother

Hatch were su i tably thanked by the newly insta lled Mas

ter , Brother Phiroze C . Sethna,who in the course of hi s

remarks al luded in becoming praise to the great abi l i ty

and”

judiciousness shown by the Grand Mast er in the

advancement -of both sections of the Craft and the impe

tus given to the development of Masonry in a marked

degree and hi s encouragement in the matter of the Maso

nic Hal l and above al l his great urbanity. large-hearted

ness , and benevolence of spirit which had won for him

amongst the Masons of hi s generation ungrudging regard ,esteem, and attachment, and concluded by saying that the

Masons of the next generation might we ll refer to him

and say that heAbove the restI n shape and natu re proudly emin en tStood like a tower .

”

At the insta l lation meeting a third contribution of

R s . 150 was voted to the H enry Mor land Memorial

F und and a Past Master’s Jewel was voted to'

Bro’

ther

P. M . Kanga .

Brother H . M . Chichgar was now H onorary Substitu te

Grand Master'

of All Scottish F reemasonry in I ndia .

CHAPTE R XXX I V .

1898.

—The,year 1898 began with 56 members on the rol l

and 5 more were added during the year, via . Mr. Pirosha

Dadabhai Manekji Sett , Dr. Dossabhai Cursetji R ustomji

Sethna and Dr. Dhanjibhai Rustomji ArdesirWad ia whowere initiated and Brother Pestanji Cowasji Pallonji

Sethna , affil iated from Lodge R oya l Sussex of Shanghai .

China , No 501 E . C., and Brother Kavasji Byramji Shroff

who came as a joining member from Lodge Hami lton ,

N o. 584 S . C Surat .

There was not a single resignation but there were two

deaths . Brother B urjorji Pallonji Dollimeherji d ied on

23rd F ebruary 18 98 and a special Lodge of Sorrow was

held in hi s memory on the 5th March fol lowing. After the

funeral service was performed in the cu stomary manner

Brother K . R . Cama del ivered an oration su i table to the

occasion , i n which he d ifferentiated between Masons of

a day who gave up after being initiated , Masons who

worked up to the Master’

s chair and whose interest the re

a fter ceased , and Masons who continued active members

of their lodge al l thei r l ife . and he he ld forth to"

the

younger Masons the instance of the deceased Brother who

was initiated in the lodge so far back as 20th May 1870

and who although he had never occupied the"

chai r had

yet continued to be an active member up to hi s death and

had all a long proved his usefu lness in a quiet , unostentatious manner. He also recounted the many good q ualities

of the late lamented Brother and interposed hi s oration

with much‘ masoni c knowledge . R esolut ions were a lso

passed recording the great regret of the lodge at the

292 HI STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

masonry in I ndia . The poin t was di s cussed in the Stand

ing Committee and they were in favour of a proposal,to

submit every year names of three or four members , of

whom one should be selected by the Grand Master, and

Brother H . M . Chichgar (who had returned from E ng

land ) was authori sed to make the necessary a lterations

in the draft received back from the H all Committee . and

a communi cation on the subj ect was also addressed to the

Grand Secretary with a view to its being placed before

the MostWorshipful the Grand Master , whi ch proposedthe arrangement that t he member from Lodge R i s ing

Star should a lways be annua lly selected by the lodge itself

and that his name should be submitted for nomination tothe G randMaster at least one month before the time fixed

for the e lection of members of the H al l Committee by the

Grand Master. and that in case of the death , resignation ,or other incapacity of such member , a fresh selection

should be made , the lodge submitting for nomination

the name of another member within two months from the

happening of such death , resignation , or incapacity .

The Grand Master was pleased to sanction this arrange

ment , al lowing the nomination of a member on the Hal l

Committee to rest with the lodge .

The agreement ( t ide Appendix R ) was then in due

course drawn up and executed and the balance of

the T rust F unds , consi sting of Government Paper of the

St per cent , of the nominal va lue of R s. and cash

amounting to R s .

-7-1 (b'

eing R s . the sale pro

ceeds of the land originally held on trust and accumu lated

interest thereon ) after deducting R s . 672-12-0 for

out-of—pocket costs only in connection with the fri end ly

su it,were handed over to the Hal l Committee in October

1908 . Brother K. R . Cama was appointed the member

from the lodge on the H al l Committee pursuant to the

arrangement which was sancti oned before“

by the Most-Worshipfu l the Grand Master.

OF WE STE RN I ND I A No . 342 S .C . 293

The lodge a lso recorded a resol ution in the minutes ,when the funds were handed over , thank ing the Trustees

for the abi l ity , the zeal . and the judiciousness wi th which

they ‘had carr ied out so long the management of the Trust

F unds .Brother Hormusji M . Chichgar and his firm were also

thanked for the services rendered by them in connec

tion with the friend ly su i t and the carrying out of the

decree passed therein .

A testimonia l was got up by Lodge Perseverance to

R ight Worshipful Brother J W. Smith , Immed iate Past

Grand Master , ln recognition of the se rvices rendered by

him to the Craft , and was to consi st of an oi l-painting of

that Brother, and the lodge subscribed its mite thereto .

R s. 100 were as usua l subscribed this year also to the

Soottish Benevolent A ssoci ation of I ndi a .

F or the third t ime the lodge had the honour of being

visi ted by His E xcellency Lord Sandhurst at the instal la

tion meeting held on 15 th December , when Brother P . C .

Sethna was re-installed in K ing Solomon’s chair, that

Brother having by his conduct in it, during the preced ing

twe lve months , won so far the esteem and approbation of

the brethren as to merit being entrusted w ith the hiram a

se cond time . I t wa s announced at thi s meeting i n the

course of the account of theWorshipful Master’s stewardship that in addition to the N owroji Nanabhai Trust

F unds , amounting to R s. the munificent sum of

R s. had through the medium of the lodge been

subscribed to the Mason i c Hal l Bu i ld ing F und by

individual members and others connected w ith it,via ,

Sir Dinsha Manekji Petit , Baronet ( who had made hand

some donat ions to perpetuate the memory of his son the

late Brother F ramji B insha Petit ) Sir Jchangir Cowasji

Jehangir and others and that the lodge had made a fur

ther donation of R s . 300 since the donation of R s . 5 00

made in the,

preceding year, and ! the members had

294 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE -R I S I NG STAR

amongst themselves subscribed a fur ther sum of Rs . 5 00

in commemoration of His E xcel lency’s vi sit that evening,both of whi ch sums were intended to be presented to theN ew Temp le which was thus getting nearly one-fif th of

the total outlay on it from and through Lodge R isingStar.

At t his meeting the Most Worsh ipful the Grand

Master p aid the lodge special honour by obl igatingR ight Worshipfull Brother Dr. Pollen as Grand Master

Depute of all Scottish F reemasonry i n I ndia .

H is E xcellency addre ssed the members at some lengthand m doing so pai d Brother P . C Sethna a high compl i

ment for the abi l i ty and preci sion wi th which he had per

formed the ceremony that evening , and congratulated the

lodge on the harmony and good-fel lowship that prevailed

therein and the large and representative gathering of

Masons such as he had never wi tnessed , he said , in any

other lodge,and the generous way in which they had

contribut ed to the new Mason ic T emple .

I t might here be mentioned that in consideration of the

substantial contribution by the Peti t fami ly towards the

Bu i ld ing F und and as a mark of respec t and esteem for

the late R ight Worshipful Brother F ramji Dinshaw

Petit the H all Committee resolved that the second D ining

Hall o r Committee R oom should be cal led the F ramji

D inshaw'

Petit Banqueting Hal l and that a su itab le

tablet bearing an inscription to this effect be placed in the

said room . Th is was done and later on a medall ion of

the late Brother was presented by his widow Bai Awabai

to be placed in the H al l with a marble tablet as was

proposed by the H all Committee with a su i tab le inscript ion

,and this meda l l ion has since been pla ced in that

H al l .Brother M . C. Murzban was now Honorary Grand

Master D epute and Bro ther H . M . Chichgar Substi tute

Grand .Master and B rother Pestanji M. Kanga was

296 HI STOR Y OF LODGE R I SING STAR

of al l Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia , on oondition that

the Temp le shou ld be named after His E xcel lency and

that no individual’s name should be thereafter associated

with the entire Masonic H a ll . The T emple was accordingly named ,

Lord Sandhurst Temple . I t may be noted

here that the very first meeting held by a daughter-lodge

in theMasonic Hal l was he ld by Lodge R i sing Star.

I t had occurred to some members of the F raternity that

that occasion would be a fitting one to reward BrotherD . R . Chichgar for the valuable services rendered by him

as Honorary Secretary to the H al l Committee ever since

i ts formation and to show the esteem in which he was held ,

and a circu lar was i ssued to al l the lodges in both cons

titutions;over the signatures of RightWorshipfu l B rothersDr. John Pollen and I . M . Shields , inviting subscriptions ,l imited to one rupee per member , from whi ch i t was

proposed to present a testimonial and an album containing

the autographs of al l the subscribers thereto . The circular

was very hearti ly responded to and the subscriptions

enabled the promoters of the movement, which . it may be

stated , had the hearty support of H . E . Lord Sandhurst

as the head of the two. consti tutions , to purchase a si lver

bowl and cup , and the arti cles were presented to Brother

Chichgar by the Grand Master at the consecration cere

mony of theH all as a fitting token of the d istingu ished and

valuable services rendered by him for over 20 years to the

F raternity at large and parti cularly the Hal l Committee .

The fo l lowing sums were voted by the lodge this year ,1 m :

(1) R s. 10 per mensem t o the A . F . Solon Memorial F und ,which was started by Lodge R is ing Sun to afford rel i ef

to the fami ly of B rother A . F . Solon , one of its Past

Maste rs and 1 Grand Senior Warden of A ll Scottish

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o. 342 S .C . 297 .

F reemasonry in I ndia ; (2 ) R s .10 (second donation)

towards the cost of th'

e oi l painting of Brother J . W.

Smi th,Past Grand Master , and (8 ) Rs . 200 to the

Masonic Hall Bu i ld ing F und .

The brethren had between themselves raised subs

criptions in honour of the vi sit of the Most Worshipfu lthe Grand Master , L

'

ord Sandhurst . again at the in o

stallation meeting this year and the R s . 200 voted by,

the lodge were added thereto to make up R s .

which entire sum was devoted to the funds of the H al l

Committee wi th a request to the T ru stees of the_

Ha‘ll

to credit the amount in the name of Brother Darasha

R . Chichgar. This was the farewel l vi sit of His E xcel

lency to the lodge , for early next year he rel inquished

the reins of government and , wi th that , _

of hi s of fice

as the F i rst Mason in the Presidency . _During the year

two donations were made to the Charity F unds of the

lodge , viz R s . 200 left by the late Brother Dr. A tmaram Pandurang as a bequest to the lodge by hi s last

will and received from his executors , on condi tion that

the amount should be credited in an account to b eopened in the name of that deceased Brother and the

interest thereon should be uti l ized for charitable purpo

ses , and R s . 15 0 from Brother A . F . Unwalla in memory

of his late mother Bai B inhai . F urther . at the installation meeting Brother J . F . Peti t, who was instal led in

the E astern Chair , presented to the lodge the handsome

sum of R s 1 ,000_

as a contribution to the Charity F unds .

A t the close of the year the funds stood at R s . 6 9-13-4

in the general accoun t and R s.

-13-2 in the charity

account making a grand total of R s -10-0 . Brother

P . C . Sethna was voted a Past Master’s j ewe l and apronin recogniti on of the abi l i ty and zeal w i th which he hadgoverned the lodge during two years .

Brother K . R . Cama was nominated to represent thelodge on the Hall Commit tee ,

HI STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I NG STAR

Brother MC . Murzban was now H onorary Grand Master

Depute I t was resolved about the close of thi s year that

a new banner should be ordered out for the lodge and

that the work should be entrusted to some artist in B ombay , the design of the old banner being retained as far a spossible, and the matter was referred to the Standing

Committee and that body entrusted the work to a Sub

Committee consi sting of Brothers K . R . Cama , M . C .

Murzban , and D . R . Chichgar.

1900 .

—I n the commencement of Brother J . F .Petit’s

rule , the lodge suffered a heavy blow in the death of a very

useful member, namely, Worshipful Brother the Hon’

ble .

N . N . Wadia , C . I . E ., whi ch took p lace on 19th D ecember

1899 .This Brother was an eminent citizen of rea l worth

and was possessed of attainments of a very high order

and above all of that virtue which i s the di stingu i shing

characterist i c of a F reemason’s heart, namely , charity . H e

had identified himself wi th several insti tutions in Bombay

and was known for hi s good work not easi ly to be

forgotten , and in Masonry he had left hi s mark, not easi ly

to be effaced . A special Lodge of Sorrow was held in his

memory on 13th January 1900 , at which after the custo

mary servi ce was performed and an oration suitable to

the occasion was del ivered by Brother D . R . Chichgar,

the lodge passed resolutions expressing its deep grief at

the death of . the departed Brother and condol ing wi th hi s

fami ly . Within three months the lodge had again to mournanother lossxuiz of Brother Jamsetji Cursetji Cama , whose

agreeable and pleasing manners and qu i et and unostenta

tious deportment and read iness to do al l he could for the

brethren after the noble example his late lamented father

Brother Cursetji N usserwanji Cama had set before him ,

had won the affection and esteem of the whole lodge . H is

face always wore a laugh , and he was never known to

frown , and whether at the meetings or at the festive

boards his genial personali ty always made i tself felt. He

H I STORY OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

Brothers R . K . Dadachandji and A . F . B ahadurj l and

Hormusji Dadabhai resigned .

Brothers Jehangi r B omanji Petit , Noshirwan Pirosha

Dubash , and Abdeali M . Kaj ij i (Barri ster-at-Law) were

affil i ated, whi le Messrs . Jamshed Maneksha Doctor and

Dossabhai Dadabhai Allbless and Dr. Sorab Gowasji

Hormusji were initi ated thi s year . N umerically there

fore the lodge stood at the end of the year as at the

commencement thereof.

The degree work cons isted of three initi ati ons and a

l ike number of passings and rai sings .

H . E . Lord Sandhurst was about to depart from

I ndia in the beginning of the year, and the E ngl ish and

Scotti sh Grand Lodges had j ointly recorded a resolution

expressing thei r regret at his intended departure and

their sense of appreci ation of the servi ces rendered by

him during hi s reg ‘imé to the F raterni ty at large . His

E xcellency was also. entertain ed at a farewel l banquet

followed by a reception on 9th F ebruary 1900 , at the

Masonic Ha l l . On this occasion H is Lordship presented to

Brother D . R . Chichgar an autograph album in recogn i

tion of hi s work in the cause of F reemasonry and the

Masonic H al l , and as a testimony of the good wi ll and

good wi shes of all Masons in I ndia , and in making the

presentation said :“H is masonic work you know full well

,and indeed i f

we are comp aring note s as to whom thanks are due for

the existence of this H all I wi ll certain ly put R ight

Worshipful Brother Chichgar at the top of the poll . I

think I said at the opening of this Hall that if’I had

been lacking i n my subscription to the funds of theHal l and I had my hundred rupee note i n my pocket andI had seen R ight Worshipful Brother Chichgar I shouldhave taken to. my hee ls as fast as I could

,for I am

perfectly. certain that he could have got it out , of myinnermost pocket.

OF WESTE RN I ND I A N o . 342 S.E'

30 1

To the reception,which was largely attended by Masons ,

the ladies of their fami l ies were also invited .

H is E xcel lency was succeeded in the post of the Most

Worshipful the Grand Master by his s uccessor in the

office of the government of the Presidency,namely, the

R ight Honourable H enry S tafford Baron Northcote,C . B . ,

who was duly instal led therein on 17th

December 1900 , having been appo inted to fi l l that office

by a commission issued under the signatures of the

Honourab le James Hozier,M . E , Grand Master Mason ,

and D . Murray Lyon, Grand Secretary , under date 31st

May 1900 . Lord N orthcote was Provinci al Grand Master

for Devonshire and also D istri ct Grand Master of .

Bombay and i ts territori es . Again therefo re and for

the second t ime the two Grand Masterships were embodi

ed in the person of the Governor of Bombay , to the great

advantag e and advancement of the Craft in general .

Brother J . W. Smith ,Past G rand Master of A ll

Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia,died on the 2 1st July

1900 and the lodge duly recorded in the books votes of

condolence with the Grand Lodge of A ll Scotti sh F reema

sonry i n I nd ia and the deceased’s fami ly and also went

into mourning w ith the si ster-lodges for a period of

three months under d irections from the Grand Master

Depute then in charge of the Grand Lodge of All Scotti shF reemasonry in I ndia .

Rupees Two H undred were voted this year to the

Scotti sh Benevo lent A ssociation and a foreigner named

Jacob David , M . M . of Lodge V iconde De R is Branco

Braz il Constitution , was helped wi th a sum of money

towards providing for his passage to the T ransvaal , his

native place,which he had left during the war

Brother Bhownugree was this year for the second timereturned to Parl iament by h is N orth Bethnal Green

constituency,and the lodge passed a resolution expressing

satisfacti on at the re-electi on and voting a letter of

HI STOR Y OF LODGE R I SI NG STAR

congratulat ion to the d istingu i shed Brother and request

i ng him to convey to h is electors the best thanks of the

lodge for the honour . The funds at the close of the year

stood at the high figure of Rs -4-6 , of which the

charity funds amounted to R s .

-8-10 . A Past

Master'

s j ewel was voted to Brother J . F . Petit .

304 H I STOR Y OF L OD GE R I S I N G STAR

our H onorary Member , H is R oyal H i ghness the Duke of

Connaught

I n common with the I ndian publ i c the lodge grieved

wi thin 4 months more at the sad death of Sir D in sha

Maneckji Petit . Bart , (the venerab le grandfather of

our good Brother, who has since assumed hi s name

and title) . The deceased was a great phi lanthropist

and though not one belonging to the F raterni ty , was

in realty, i n .fact , and at heart, a true and genu ine

Mason who perhaps more than ever practi sed the excel

lent virtues inculcated by Masonry than any man Of

his time , and , above all, benevo lence and chari ty . H is

handosme donations to the Craft in general and Lodge

R i sing Star in parti cular were too we ll known and hi s

name has for ever remained written i n the b ooks of the

lodge and the Grand Lodge of A ll Scotti sh F reemasonry

in I ndia and w i l l a lways be revered and cheri shed . A t

the meeting held on 1st June 190 1 the lodge passed

the fol lowing resolution“

The brethren of thi s lodge unanimously desi re to

place on record the1r feel ings of the deepest reg ret and

profound grief at the demise of so noble a philanthropi st

and publ i c benefactor as Sir Dinsha M . Peti t , Baronet .

”

I t also passed the usual votes of condolence w ith themembers of his breaved fami ly.

Brother Captai n C . D . Wi se , the indefatigable Grand

Secretary of A ll Scottish F reemasonry in I ndia , also

died ab out July of thi s year and the lodge passed

votes of condo lence w ith hi s w idow and chi ldren and

also w i th the Grand Lodge of A ll Scotti sh F reema

sou ry in I ndia on the loss to i t of an energetic"

and

zealous officer. Thi s Brother was exact and precise

in the performance of hi s masoni c dut ies and was at

the same time exacting in the performance of them

by others , and at all times rendered help to those who

appealed to him for the same by reason of hi s experience

OF WE STE RN I ND I A No. 342 S .C.

and peculiar knowledge . His loss was one the F raternity

could ill afford .

A Memorial Purse F und was start ed by the Grand

Lodge for the benefit of the widow of the deceased and

the lodge subscribed its mite thereto .

I t was brought to the notice of the brethren thi s year by

Brother D . R . Chichgar that a Counci l existed under the

style of The F ramji Petit Counci l the object of whi ch

was to instruct the brethren with sti l l higher knowledge

of the Craft than what was imparted in the lodge , and

exhorted the brethren to keep the memory of Brother F .

D . Petit evergreen by joining the Counci l which , he said.was doing good work . A sum of Rs . 270 was sub scribed

by the brethren for defraying the cost of provid ing a

new frame and varnishing and retouching the picture of

Brother Manekji Cursetji hung up in the F re’

emasons’

Hal l , as i t was in a very old state and needed to be repair

ed and r'

eframed so as to be in keeping with the otherpictures in the room, and the amount was handed over for

the purpose to the Joint Hall Committee who expendedR s . 225 for the purpose and devoted the balance to the cos t

of a silver engraved plate to be affixed to the framework .

The short method of rai sing and lowering the lodge was

in pursuance of a resolution of the Grand Lodge of Scot

land di scontinued from thi s year.

Brother Sir M . M . Bhownugree was thi s year appointedHonorary Grand Master Depute of All Scottish F reema

sonry in I ndia and this was a compl iment as much to. that

Brother as to his mother-lodge.

The'

charity funds of the lodge now amounted to

R s .

-9-7 , the latest contribution having been of

R s. 150 by Brother A . F . Unwalla . made in the name of

his late father and to be added to the f und then standing

in the name of his mother.

R upees One Hundred were voted by the lodge to the

Sco tti sh Benevo lent A ssociation in I ndia and a Past39

306 H I STORY OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

Master’s j ewel was voted to;the retiring Master , B roth

‘

er

F . J . Patel .

1902 — Brother Pheerozeshaw N . Pleader was instal led

as Worshipful Master on 7th December 1 901 , having been

elected previously to fi ll that exalted post by the unani

mOus votes of the brethren;and as the records beartestimony he worked most zealou sly and hearti ly and

succeeded in maintainin g the prestige of the lodge and

its high s tate of effi ciency of working. Besides hi s own

Brother,Broth

'

er Ardesir N . P leader , he admi tted into

the mysteries of F reemasonry Mr . Gullamhussein Currim

bhoy I bhrahim,a third son of our be loved B rother Sir

Currimbhai I bhrahim ,Bart . BrotherSpittam K . R . Cama ,

a lso a third son of our equally beloved and venerable

Brothéf’

rK‘

. R .

‘

Cama ,was affil i ated to the lodge and Brother

Hormusjé‘madabhai rejoined the lodge .

This accession was however more than counterbalanced

by four resignations and three deaths , being of one sub

scribing member and two honorary members .

The resigning members were Brothers Bomanji D in

shaw Petit , the Hon’

ble Justi ce Sir N . G . Chandavarkar,

Dr. M . R . Sethna. and E dulji Cowasji Jussawalla , and the

subscribing member who left thi s world and , with it, the

brethren ever to mourn hi s loss , was Brother Dr. I smai l

Jan Mahomed , who was affil iated from Lodge I slam eleven

years before .

H e was of good repor t and had during hi s membership

laid a strong hold on the good-wi l l and regards of the

brethren , who recogni sed in him a genuine man and a

true Mason who loved and served hi s countrymen as he

did his B rother-Masons . A ll who knew him appreciated

his sterling worth and a lways admired him . H e died on

28th January 1902 and in hi s memory a special Lodge

of Sorrow was held on 2 1st F ebrua ry fol lowing at which

the customary servi ce was performed and a su itable

orat ion paying a due meed of praise and a tribute . to his

308 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

The questi on of the location of the lodge library

troubled some brethren thi s year and was accord ingly

d iscussed at a lodge meeting and then referred to the

Standing Committe for final disposal , and that body

reso lved that the masonic books belongi ng to the lodge

should be handed over to the H al l Committee wi th a

request that a masonic library be establ i shed i n the

F reemasons’

Hal l , the lodge wi shing that the other lodges

would assi st the scheme in the most su i tab le manner, and

thi s resolut ion was adopted by the lodge . I t appears

that before th is the H al l Committee were contemplating

the equ i pment of the Masonic Hal l w i th a reading room

and l ibrary but were not able to do anything for want of

funds at their d i sposal . A fter thi s they appointed a Sub

Commi tt ee consisting of Brothers R . S . Brown , D . R .

Chichgar, S. B . Salts,and Sorab K . Nariman to report

as to the ways and means for carrying out the obj ect ,and they drew up a report in the following year.

I t was reso lved again this year to revi ve the F unda

tor’s Medal the origi nal die of whi ch had been lost .

Attempts had also been previous ly made to revive the

medal and one of the originalfmedals which belonged to

the late Brother Nowroji N anabhoy F ramji was obtained

as a loan from his widow through her son Mr . Limj i

N owroji Banaj i and sent to E ngland to Messrs . George

Kenning with the obj ect of getting another di e struck

therefrom . The estimates were obtained and the meda l

lent was in due course returned to the custody from

which i t came but the di e was not struck and no further

meda ls were got out . The subj ect again vexed some ofthe members and again therefore a resolution was passed

for.

reviving the medal .The charity funds received thi s year the fo llowing two

donations for whi ch the donors were duly thanked :

(1) R s . 5 00 from Surgeon-Major Cowasji Sanjana in

return for aid rendered by the lodge in former years to

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o. 342 S .C. 309

a member of his fami ly and (2 ) R s . 500 from Brother

Captain on the day of his retirement from the E astern

Cha i r as an endowment in the name of h is father .

At the end of the year after taking i nto account

Rs. di sbursed in charity, the chari ty funds amounted

to R s .

-8-1 1 and the genera l funds to R s .-9-1

and the number of members was 64 against 63 at the

commencement of the year .

R s . 100 were as usua l devoted to the Scotti sh B enev

olent A ssociation of I ndia .

Broth 'er Captain was on rel inquishing office voted

a Past Master’

s j ewel wh ich he so wel l merited . The

lodge now completed its s ixth decade .

CHAPTE R XXXV I .

1 904.

— B rotherManeck R . Sethna was the WorshipfulMaster in 1903-4 . He set to work right earnestly and took

up questions whi ch had been di scu ssed but left undisposed

of in previous years . The first thing he d id on assuming

office was to make a laudable effort to revive the Jamshedi

Naoroze Masonic F estival , wh ich had been in abeyance for

over four years,and resolutions were passed on the recom

mendation of the Standing Committee that the lodge

should take the initiative in holding the festival on the

occasi on of the Vernal E qu inox and that the Masters, Past

Masters, Wardens , and Secretaries of the different native

lo’

dges should be requested to form themselves into a

committee for the purpose of inaugurating the festival ,and that al l expenses of the festival should be defrayed out

of subscriptions . He was“

helped i n his efforts by Brothers

K .R . Cama and Jivanj i J amsetji Mody. but the response to

the movement was not hearty and the matter was dropped .

The o ld records of the lodge next attracted the atten

tion of the R ight Worshipful Master and the question ofhousing and locat ing them and keeping them in order

was di scussed and the office of Brother P . C . Sethna it

was resolved should be a safe repository for them .

Brother M . R . Sethna found the records , it is stated , in a

heap lying scattered and in disorder and he sorted and

arranged them in regular order. I t must have been a

work of great labour and he deserved the best thanks of

the lodge for havmg done it .

Next an old F ounder’s Medal was purchased by the lodge

from a Brother M . C . H iramanek for Rs . 30 and was sent


him , contributed to the success of the festivals . H is was

a loss the lodge could i ll afford . He was G rand Junior

Warden at the time of hi s death , and Brother R ustom

K . R . Cama was appo inted by the Grand Lodge to fill his

place duri ng the rest of the year, and at the request of

the Grand Lodge was ob l igated as such in Lodge R i s ing

Star.

Mr. R . H,J

'

. R ustomji’s election was the subject of a

rather warm discussion . On the summons convening the

meeting at whi ch he was to be ba lloted for , h is residence

was not specified , but at this date , the lodge Bye-laws d id

not require any such specification . When the ballot wasabout to be taken , R ight Worsh ipfu l Brother K . R . Cama

asked that it should be adjourned ti ll the summons was

amended by the residence of the cand idate being specified ,

wh ich he said ought to have been done,and in support of

his views he quoted passages from Chamber’

s Patons

F reemasonry and its juri sprudence (p . A s the

candidate was genera lly known to come from Kurrachee

Brother Cama also contended that i t was not right for

the lodge to in itiate him when there were four lodges in

Kurrachee , especially as he was , according to h is informa

tion , on a short visit to Bombay and was not a resident of

the place,and supported his arguments by quotations

from the same author at pp . 6 5-6 which laid down that a

candidate should apply to a lodge near to his place of

residence so that al l proper inqui ries could be made,but

,

at the same time, he stated that no express law on the sub

ject was to be found ei ther in the ancient landmarks orin the old consti tutions and that its positive sanction as a

law in any jurisdi ction must be found in the local enactments of the Grand Lodge of that jurisd i ction . He alsoquoted from p . 13 of the same book a passage stating that

no lodge could interfere w ith the b usiness of another‘lodge ,

and thi s he . said was undoubted ly an ancient landmarkfopnded on the great princip les of courtesy and fraternal

or WE STE RN I NDI A M1 342 S .C. 313

kindness , the very foundations of the instituti on . He

had, he said , no persona l obj ection to the candidate but he

wanted to make hi s own position clear and wou ld retire

from the meeting if the bal lot was st i ll proceeded w ith.

.Brother Phiroze C . Sethna , who supported the appl i cat ion for initiation , pointed out that i n the absence of anyBye-law of the lodge or of the Grand Lodge requiring a

candidate’s resi dence to be specified on the summons , the

action of the lodge was qu ite justified , and urged that th ecandidate was as much a resident of Bombay as of Kur~

rachee , as he had. place of business and abode in both

p laces and l ived i n Bombay some part of the year and

should be balloted for . Brother Cama was not convinced

by the argument. and sti l l contended that any Bye-laws

which were not in accordance w i th the articles laid down

at large in F reemasonry we'

re inoperative . The rest of

the brethren were Opposed to hi s views and he thereupon

retired from the meeting and the bal lot was then taken .

The particular Bye-law wh ich related to the prOposal of

a candidate as also the usual declaration made by him

were after this duly altered by hi s residence being also

requ ired to be stated along wi th his age and occupation .

Brother the H onourabl e Mr . P . M . Mehta , C . I E

received the honour of Kn ighthood from H is Majesty

the King-Emperor thi s year and the lodge passed by

acclamation a specia l congratulatory resolution which was

duly conveyed to and su itably acknowledged by him . A

surpri se vi sit was paid to the lodge by the Ceremon ia l

Sub-committee of the Grand Lodge at a regular meeting.

and the Grand Secretary wrote to. the R ight Worshipfu lMaster thereafter as follows

I am directed by the Ceremonial Sub-co1nmittee ,of

which there were two members present at the meeting of

your lodge on the 6th instant , to congratulate you and

your office-bearers 0 11 the excellence of your degree work

as wi tnessed on that occasion . The Committee were glad40

314 HI STOR Y OF L ODGE RI SING STAR

to see the trad it ions and prestige of Lodge R i sing Star of

Western I ndi a “ so ably maintained , and Wish it every

success .”

The greatest event of the year however was the 50

years’masonic jubi lee of B rother K . R Cama . I t was an

event which not on ly concerned the lodge but was an

unique event in the history of F reemasonry in I ndia . Our

veteran mason completed fifty years of a subscrib ing

membe rship a nd career fraught wi th most honourable and

useful masonic work on 24th August 1904, and the lodge ,before the happy day arrived , determined to celebrate itin a fitting manner . Brother. Cama was present at themeetings of the Stlanding Committee and took part in the

del iberations of that body on the subject,and when a grand

banquet in hi s honour was proposed he expressed himself

against the idea and the brethren had to drop it . He ,

d isdaining a l l show and desiring that something should be

done which would be of permanent benefit to the Craft ,suggested out of hi s genu ine and deep-seated love for i t

that the event should be celebrated by i ssu i ng a j ubi lee

memorial vo lume on masonic subjects , and the suggesti on

was adopted by the lodge , and the Secretary , Brother

J ivanji J . Mody , was requested to edit the volume, which

he Wi ll ingly undertook to do . The lodge also held an

emergent meeting on 24th August , which was open to al l

Masons , and passed the fol lowing resolution

The Lodge R i s ing Star of Western I ndia records itssense of gratification at the fact that one of its members ,R ight Worship ful Brother K . R . Cama , has thi s day

completed the fift ieth year of hi s mason ic l i fe . This lodge

congratulates itself and congratu lates the R ightWorshipful Br other on this auspi cious occasion .

The fact of a paying member completing his fifty years

of masoni c l ife i s an unique event i n the masonic hi story

of I ndia . I t is very gratifying to note that‘

R ight

Worshipful Brother Cama has been an exemplary Mason ,


Comm ittee wi th a Viiew to increase the strength and

efficiency of the Grand Lodge and hi s suggestion was

adopted and he became h imself a member of the Grand

Committee and continued as such ti l l the day of hi s

death .

I n 1865 whi le he was sti l l Grand Secretary the Grand

Lodge passed a code of Bye-laws upon its being pointed

out by Brother Cama that i t had none . Great trouble

was taken by him in comp il ing the Bye-laws and since

then he has been a member and the pres ident of;the

Bye-laws Commit tee . At a Grand Lodge meeting held

on 25th June 1869 i t was the proud privi lege of BrotherCama as the first I nd i an and a Parsi to pres ide over the

brethren in the lodge in h is capacity of Substitu te

Grand Master of All Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia ,and

when he vacated that post the Grand Lodge passed aresolution recording, the va luab le servi ces he had ti l l then

rendered to Scotch F reemasonry in I nd ia whi ch was

conveyed to him engrossed on vel lum .

Whi le Grand Master D epute, Brother Cama was in

charge as Grand Master of All Scotti sh F reemasonry in

I ndia for a few months whi le the Most Worshipful theGrand Master Sir H enry Morland was away from I ndia .

I t also appears that B rother Cama was , prior to 1879 ,

made by the Grand Master an honorary member of the

Grand Lodge with al l the benefits of a ful l member w i th

the object that the consti tution should not be deprived ofthe benefit of hi s great experi ence and knowledge

,as he

gave the most careful l attention to the many subj ects,

often intri cate and difficult, that came up before the

body.

H e and Brother John Y . Lang were a lso appointed a

Sub-Committee in 1879 to devi se a better mode of keeping

the Grand Lodge accounts so as to secure a bet ter check

than was pos sible under the then exi st ing system and

they formulated a‘

scheme wh ich met with approval .

OF WE STE RN I NDIA N o. 342 317

Brother Cama had also had the unusual honour of

being the first I nd ian Grand Superintendent of Scotti shR oya l A rch Masonry in I ndia . being re-elected to that

office three times in succession at the end of every five

years .

I t was his sterl ing unbroken servi ces, for help render

ed— not only to Lodge R ising. Star, but to the Craft in

general— that the lodge des i red to commemorate the

event by celebrating hi s mason ic jubi lee . T he 24th ofAugust 1854, when B rother Cama

’s knock at the door of

the lodge was happi ly responded to , was indeed one of

the lucki est days for the lodge . for a s the address of

the R i ght Worshipful Master at the emergent meetingof 24th August 1904 showed , i t brought wi thin it and thebrotherhood in general

,one . who , it might be truly said ,

above al l , prized honour and vi rtue as his best possessionsand showed how noble and excellent an institution F ree

masonry i s . Congratulatory messages and greetings

were received before and at thi s emergent meeting

from several individual Masons , Lodges , and Chapters

which all breathed of the most fraterna l feel ings of love ,esteem

,and regard for our beloved Brother , and compl i

men ted the lodge on possessing him as its most valuable

asset .

Brother Cama, submitting to the demand of the oc

casion , denied himself the right to attend the emergent

meeting, and the resolution was conveyed to him in wri tingand he duly acknowledged same by a letter in which he

,

in ter alia,wrot e as follows

Your lodge’s prayer , that I may be enabled by

Grace to be useful more than ever to the lodgeduring the very short period I may be permitted

to l ive , has my heartiest echo , for it has a lways

been my del ight and profit to be regular in my

attendance so that I may be enabled on each

occasion to, give to my heart the noble and

318 H I STOR Y OF’L ODGE R I S ING STA R

benign lessons which its work inculcates on al l

who give a wi ll ing and devoted attention to the

masonic precepts with which every degree i s

replete . May the lodge continue to spread

the invaluable tenet of the fatherhood of Godand brotherhood of man;that every: Masonmay be enabled to hope to part icipate in the

work of the Grand Lodge above when he haspassed through sublunary probat ion and gained

the passport to the portals of that Subl ime

Lodge .

”

An address was to be presented at the same time that

the resolution was passed , but the presentation was, at

the desire‘

of Bro ther Cam‘

a , postponed ti ll the completion

of the jubi lee volume .

His E xcellency the R ight Honourab le Lord Lamington ,

G .C .M .G Governor of Bombay and Pro . D i strict

Grand Master E . C . , was instal led as the Grand Master

of all Scotti sh F reemasonry in India at the annua l con

vocation of the Grand Lodge held on l st December 1904 ,

under a Commission i ssued by the Honourable Charles

Maule Ramsay , Grand Master Mason of Scotland , on 4th

August 1904. On that occasion , His E xcel lency unvei led

the marble bust of Bro . D . R . Chichgar, which was a

part of the testimonia l subscribed for by the members of

the F raternity on the occasion of the completi on of the

Masonic Hall . The bust was located on the first landing

of the main staircase , which prominent place it sti ll

occupies . The effigy i s a remarkably good l ikeness of

our worthy Brother and the following i s the inscripti onon the pedestal on which i t rests

The Honourable R ight Worshipful Brother

Darasha Ratanj i Chichgar (Khan Bahadur , J . P . )

Past Grand Master D epute, S . C . , Honorary

Senior G . W. , E . C . ,H onorary Secretary , F ree

masons’

Joint Hall Committee.

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S ING STAR

happiness of the brethren . H e was a fami l i ar fi-gure not

easily to be forgotten . By hi s courteous deportment ,genial and affab le manners and accommodating nature he

had endeared himse lf both to ‘

the young and the old , i n

the lodge room as in the outer world , and hi s untimely

death when he was in the very prime of l i fe , was a

distinct loss to the lodge which duly recorded in the

minutes its deep sense of gri ef and sympathy with hi s

sorrow ing fami ly and w i th Brothers Shapurji Sorabji and

N owrosji Hormusji. hi s near re lations and members of

the lodge .

There were three in itiations , one pass ing , and on e

rai sing during the year , and some u seful lectures about

The General A ssumption about F reemasonry and

The H i story of F reemasonry were del ivered by

Brother J . J . Mody .

The affil iation fee was thi s year rai sed from Rs . 75

to R s . 1 50 .

A revi sed edition of the book of constitutions and the

laws of the Grand Lodge of Scotland was i ssued thi s year,and in order to b ring the lodge Bye-laws into accordance

w ith same a Sub-Committee consi sting of the R ight Wor

shipful Master and Brothers K . R . Cama , D . R . Chichgar ,

R ustom K . R . Cama’

, Pestanji M . Kanga , and Sorab Cow

asji Hormusji (Secretary) was appointed to revi se them .

Brother M . C . Murzban was appoi nted by G overnme nt the

H igh Sheriff of Bombay for the ensuing year, and a

special vote of congratulation was passed compl imenting

thi s worthy Brother , the next oldest subscri bing member

of the lodge after R ight Worshipful Brother K . R . Cama,on the honour conferred upon him .

Brother Currimbhai I bhrahim rec e ived the very high

honour of Knighthood from our beloved Sovereign H is

Majesty the King-Emperor , which wa s personal ly con

ferred upon him by H is R oya l H i ghness the Prince of

Wales , who was then in Bombay in the course of hi s

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o . 342 S.C . 321

I nd ian tour . As i s wel l known the d istincti on came to Sir

Currimbhai i n recognition of the munificent gift made

by him of the prin cely sum of Rupees Three Lacs , i n

honour of the visit of His Royal H ighness the Prince of

Wales and his Roya l Consort to I ndia, as a contributiontowards the Prince of Wales Museum, inaugurated by

Bombay to commemorate the same vi sit . Thi s was only

a further instance of Sir Currimbhai’

s benevolent nat ure

and phi lanthropy and the lodge fe lt justly proud in having

such a brother as one of its members . An emergent meet

i ng was held at which a congratulatory resolution was

passed , and thi s worthy B rother’s virtues and charities to

mason ic and non-masoni c bodi es were appropriately

acknowledged and praised . I n honour of the occasion

Brother F azulbhai Meheralli Chinai , a former member of

the lodge , made a donation of R upees F ifty to the CharityF unds of the lodge and later on Sir Currimbhai himself

made a donation of R upees F ive Hundred to the Char ity

F unds .

CHAPTE R XXXV I I .

1906 .

— The Most Worshipfu l the Grand Master LordLamington paid hi s first offic ia l vi sit to the lodge at

its i nstallation meeting he ld on 1 5th D ecember, when

Brother D . F . Wadi a was installed in K ing Solomon’

s

Chair . I t was at thi s meeting that H is E xce l lency most

graciously presented to R ight Worshipful Brother Sir

Lawrence H . Jenkins the Burne’s Medal on behalf of the

lodge and also presented the Past Master’s j ewel to B re

thers R . M . Chichgar, M . D . Doctor, P . M . Kanga , P . C .

Sethna ,F . J . Patel , P . N . Pleader , and C . H . Captain , wh ich

though‘

duly voted to each of them on hi s retirement from

the chair had not yet been presented . The General F unds

of the lodge now amounted to R s .

—3-6 and the

Charity F unds to R s .

—14—1 , after taking into

account Rs . and upwards expended in charity

during the year,the usual donations to the Scott i sh Bene

volent F unds and Grand Lodge of Scotland Charity

F unds . The Most Worshipful the Grand Master was

pleased to express his very great sati sfaction at the

prosperous condition of the finances and the harmony

prevai l ing amongst the brethren,and in referring to hi s

honorary membership, said he persona lly highly va lued

the privi lege of being an honorary. member of the lodge ,which he said was the premier native lodge in I ndia , and

hoped that he would be able to pay more vi sits to thelodge .

l,The year 1905-6 began wi th 66 members on the roll .

Brothers. Byramji H . J . Rustomji and Dhunjibhai H . J .

Rustomji resigned;Brother B ejanj i N . Kapadia di ed;and

324 H I STOR Y OF L OD GE R I SI N G STAR

Standing Commit t ee were adopted and passed by the

lodge,amended in some respects , at an emergent meeting

held on 17th N ovember 1906 .

Before the by laws were passed , two new offices were

created thi s year , viz” those of Chaplain and A ssi stai t

D i rector of Ceremon ies and appointments had a lso been

made to these offices , but when the new by-laws were

passed the Chaplain’s office only was reta ined and that

of the A ss i stant D irector of Ceremonies was abol i shed .

By the new by-laws the fees were rai sed from R s . 300

to R s . 400 for the three degrees , at which figure they -at

present stand .

An A ffi l iat ed Member was for the first time obl igated

thi s year and a form of the obl igation was annexed to

the by-laws .

n Brother C . H . Captain , in the course of his travels

ithis year paid a vi sit to Lodge Benjamin B . F rench

No . 15, Washington . U . S . A . , and that lodge was p leased

ito notify the vi sit by a letter which a lso contained its

cord ial i nvitation .to the members of the Lodge R i sing

Star happen ing to be in that great Continent to vi sit. it .The lett er was duly repl i ed to by the R ight Worshipful

Master who therei n extended the invitation of thi s lodge

to the members of Lodge Benj amin B . F rench , when

happening to travel in I nd ia . Brother Captain after hi s

return spoke of his reception by that lodge as having

been very warm and cordial .

The foundation stone of the SirWi l l i am Moore Oper

ation Theatre at the Sir J amsetji J ijibhai Hospita l was

laid with masonic rites on 2 5th September 1906 , byR

Most

Worshipful Brother H is E xcellency the R ight HonourableLord Lamington

, Governor of Bombay and Grand Master

of All Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia,and the lodge

was represented in thi s. functi on .

Brother D . F . Wadia laid down office at the i nsta llationmeeting held on l st December 1906 , and the number of

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o . 342 S .C . 325

memb ers on the rol l was then 67 and the funds were

R s . 16 ,72 1-5-4, of which R s .

-0-0 stood to the

credit of the charity account , to whi ch on his reti rement

he made a donation of R s .

- 0 ( i n Government

paper) to b e credited in an ac count in the name of

his father the late Mr . F ramji D ossabhai Merwanji

Wadia , the income thereof on ly to be devoted for

purposes of chari ty . During the year R s .

- 0 - 0

were d isbursed in charity . R ight Worshipful BrotherColonel Robert H al l F orman represented the Grand

Lodge of All Scottish F reemasonry in I ndia at‘

thi sinstal lation meeting in hi s capaci ty of Substitute Grand

Master with the Grand Lodge officers and was pleased

to express hi s great gratification at the prosperous

condition of the lodge and the peace and goodwi l l

which prevailed therein , and in a lluding to the pos i

tion it held in the Craft said that i n his opinion the

R i sen Star was now a more appropriate name than

R i s ing Star , for the star that was ri s ing in 1843 had

firmly maintained i ts posi tion in the masonic firmament

during its long existence of over 60 years and wa s

occupying a premier position amongst native lodgesin Weste rn I nd ia .

”The lodge could not be too thank

ful to thi s wor thy Mason for his k ind utterances on

thi s occasion .

The question of equ ipping the Masonic H al l wi the lectric l ight and fans was now mooted and was under

consideration of the H al l Committee . The lodge voted

at thi s meeting as its first contribution towards the cost

of the fittings the sum of R s . 100 . The usual donations

to the Grand Lodge of Scotland Annu ity F und and theScotti sh Masoni c Benevolent A ssociation in I nd ia were

also made at thi s meeting,and a past master’s j ewel was

vot ed to the reti ring Master .

1907 .

—Brother D . C . Sethna succeeded Brother D . F .

Wad ia in the Master’s chair .


The Cama Masonic Jubi lee Vo lume , ed ited by Brother

J . J . Mody ,was now ready . A special presentation volume

neatly got up and handsomely bound i n morocco was

prepared and the presentation was made by the lodge to

Brother K . R . Cama at the hands of Most WorshipfulBrother His E xcel lency Lord Lamington , Grand Master

of All Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia , at a meeting held on

12th March 1907 , which he had very graciou sly attended

for the purpose , respond ing to the request of the lodge in

that behalf as the brethren were anxiou s to see honour

paid to the recipient thereof through the highest masoni c

functionary in the land . A long with the Memorial

Volume , an address prepared by a smal l Sub committee

consi sting of the R ightWorshipful Master,the Immediate

Past Master, and Brother J . J . Mody was a l so presented

to Brother Cama signed by the Master , office-bearers

and members of the lodge and fixed in a beautiful and

arti stic frame . (See Appendix S . )

The Most Worshipful. the Grand Master whi le makingthe presentation recounted the variou s servi ces rendered

to the Craft by Brother K . R . Cama and held him up as a

model F reemason and expressed hi s great pleasure at

having had the Opportuni ty of making the presentati on to

a worthy Brother .

The Jubi lee Volume consi sts of 18”

papers on differ

ent masonic subj ect'

s , two of whi ch are from the pen of

the E ditor himself and the rest by d ifferent members of

the F raternity. I t also contains appreciation of Brother .

Cama’s past services by, several brethren one of them

being our Honorary Member , R ight Worshipful BrotherW. H . Barrow,) and the address that was del i vered

by R ight Worshipful Brother Manek R . Sethna at the

mee t ing held on 24th August 1904, tlo celebrate the

Masonic Jubi lee . Brother Barrow’s paper , it may be

noted , contains reference to the ini ti ation of the first

H indu Bhagwandas B en eram i n the lodge

328 H ISTORY OF L ODGE RISING STAR

that it was resolved that it should be printed and circu;

lated among the members and that a specia l day should

be appointed on wh i ch there would be no l odge meeting,when F reemasons from al l lodges should be invited and ? ”

the lecture should be repeated by Brother Mody . Brother

K . R . Cama characteri sed the lecture as a very unique one ,and paid a high tr ibute to the learning shown by the lec

turer. . Brother Mody a lways took del ight in entertaining

the bre thren'

whenever he could get the Opportunity of

doing so , with instructive di scussions on masonic subj ects

and hi s efforts showed great industry and deep search at

the fountai n sources . H e was an useful member but the

lodge was no longer to profit from him . He resign ed

shortly after he del ivered hi s last lecture , and the lodge

accepted the resignation with great regret . Brother Jeban

gi r B . Peti t also resigned and Brother J amsetji N . Un

wa l la was , i n pursuance of a resolution of the Grand Lodge

in that behalf, suspended for be longing and refusing to

sever h is connection wi th a spurious body working under

the juri sdiction of a body styl ing itself Supreme Counci l

Universal M ixte de D roit Humaine,of Paris , under the

terms of the conference between the Grand Lodges of

E ngland , Scotland and I reland .

1908 .

—Brother Dr. D . C . Sethna vacated office on 14th

December 1907 , when Brother Dr K . B . Shroff was in

stal led as'

Master . On thi s occasion again the lodge was

official ly vi si ted by R ight Worshipfu l Brother Colone lF orman ,

but this time as Substitute Grand Master in

charge as Grand Master of A ll Scottish F reemasonry in

I ndia , as the Most Worshipful the Grand Master LordL amington had before that to leave suddenly for E ngland ,

resigning hi s post of Governor of the Presidency owing to

the seri ou s i l lness of Lady Lamington . A fund had been

started for defraying the cost of an oi l-painting of Lord

Lamington to be hung up in the Masonic H al l and at, thi s

meeting the lodge voted i ts share thereto . The customary

OF WESTERN I ND I A No. 342 S .C.

donations to'

the Scottish Benevolent Associ ation and the

G rand Lodge of Scotland Annu i ty F und were a lso madeand Brother Sethna was voted a‘ Past Master’s jewel .The in -coming Master on the very threshold of hi s

government made a donation of R s . 500 ( in Government

paper) to the Charity F unds of the lodge to be credited

in an account in the name of hi s deceased niece Mrs .

Bhikhaji B omanji R agh i , the interest only to be devoted

to charity . The Genera l F unds after al l expenses made

amounted to R s .2 ,501-1 1-1 and the Charity F unds ,

exclus ive of. the last donation but after deducting

R s . 1 ,275 d i sburse’d in chari ty during the year , tota lled

R s .14 ,407-1-10 . The number of members was 64.

There was an addition of two during the Year, namelyDr. B omanji Byramji Darabsett , Deputy Health Officer ,Bombay Municipalty,

and Dr. Dossbhai R ustomji Bardi ,F . R . C . S . (E dinburgh ), but the lodge again had to suffer a

loss by the death of Brother Dossabhai Dadabhai A llbiless

on 24th May 1908 and of Brother Surrosh K . R . Cama .

Brother Allbless was the very type of a Pars i of the

orthodox school , yet , held to the most modern ideas,

was severely plain and unassuming and was possessed

of a very ki nd and generous nature and was candid and

scrupulous , honest in his intenti ons and acts , and every

inch a true Mason . He practised , unobserved and to a

large extent, the principles of charity and benevolence .

The lodge duly passed resolutions expressing its gri ef at

the death and condol ing wi th the deceased’s fami ly .

The degree work was two initiations , one passing, and

one rai sing, and lectures on the tracing boards were deliv

ered by Brothers P . C . Sethna and S . C . Hormusji and a

lecture on G leams and Sidel ights of F reemasonry by

Brother D . R Chichgar which were much appreciated .

Brother J . J Mody sent i n August of thi s year 50 copiesof the Cama Masoni c Jubi lee Volume and two sums of

Rs .42-5 -0 and R s , 16 80 , aggregating R s .58-13-0 .

42

HI STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SIN G STAR

The lodge made a further contribution thi s year of

R s .400 to the E lectri c F ans and Ligh ts F und and subs

cribed R s . 50 to the Hyderabad R e l i ef F und started in

Bombay for affording rel ief to the peopl e in Hyderabad

(D eccan) who had suffered by the floods there

A complete register of the members of the lodge commenc

i ng from 15th D ecember 1843 (the date of its establ i sh

ment) to the date of the installation meeting held'

ou 15th

December 1908 was compi led by Brother D . F . Wadia (theauthor of this H i story) and handed by him to the lodge

at that meeting. Two donations of Rs .500 each were made

to the lodge at the same meeting , one by Brother Phiroze

C . Sethna and the other by Brother Dr. D . R . Wad i a , whowas instal led as Master for the succeeding year .

Broth'

er Sethna’s endowment was associated wi th the

name of hi s late father Brother Cursetji Rustomji Sethna ,who from the early sixti es was a member of the lodge for

over a quarter of a century , and was made to perpetuate

hi s memory and upon condit ion that the corpus should

always remain intact and the interest only should be u sed

for charitable’

purposes . Brother Wadia’s donation was

made to perpetuate the memory of his paterna l grand

father the late Brother A rdeshir Cursetji Wadia ( whowas the first I ndian member initi ated in the Lodge in

the year 1844 and was for severa l years the T reasurer of

the lodge) and upon l ike cond ition .

The lodge was at thi s Anniversary Meeting paid hi s

first offici al visit by the Most Worshipful Brother Colone lF orman , who was now the Grand Master, w ith his G rand

Lodge Officers,and before thi s was honoured by h im by h is

nominating Brother R ustom M . Chichgar, Honorary Sub

Grand Master. The year closed w i th 62 members on the

roll and the financia l condition was as prosperous as before .

The G eneral F und was R s.

— 15 - 7 and the Charity

A ccount stood at R s .

-0-6 after taking into account

Rs .1’

,400 and odd di sbursed thereout during the «year .

HI STORY OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

and enable them a lways to tread in the path'

of rectitude

and propriety . I n the prev ious portion of th is hi story

references have beenmade to, the period of h is Mastersh ip

and the lessons that he then and a lways thereafter inculca

te'

d and the example he set of strict di scip line , regu lar

attendance , and high Masonic ideals , as also to the high andresponsible posts enjoyed by him in the Provincia l Grand

Lodge and Grand Lodge of A ll Scottish F reemasonry i n

India up to D epute Grand Mastership and to the honour

(whi ch has rare ly , i f it has ever, fal len to the lot of. anI nd i an) of being in charge of Grand Lodge whi le Substitute

Grand Master and to preside at its meeting . H is adviceand assistance in the Provincial Grand Lodge and GrandL odge of All Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia were always

considered valuab le and esteemed accordingly. He was

also at h is death Past Honorary Grand Junior Warden ofthe Grand Lodge of Scotland , PaSt H onorary Depute F i rst

Grand Pr incipal of the Grand Chapte r of Scotland , and

Past Grand Superintendent of Roya l Arch Masonry in

I ndia . H e wasa persevering and unweari ed champ ion of

proj ects intended to promote benevolence and charity and

laboured long i n the cause of Masonry equal ly as he did

in matters of thé outer world , and invariably prac ti sed

what he preached and never contented himself with l i p

profession s but with a kind ly heart was known to aid -by

his private purse the objects wh ich he favoured and

supported by h is presence . H e exerci sed a considerable

influence over the thought and culture of the day and

turned to advantage every circumstance that education ,talent and station could bestow without a tinge of van ity

or a parti c le of self-esteem , and with - a fairly attuned

mi nd did his duty manful ly and courageously and with a

singular honesty of purpose , not craving for popular gazeor applause but always imbued with a deep sense thereof.I n later

‘

l ife he was natural ly labouring under disad

vantages due to. the weight of years. but still he showed

OF WE STE RN I NDIA N o . 342 S C”

.

the vigour and strength of youth in all he‘

did , and though

a profound scholar was always in search of further know

ledge l ike a student , and the cultivation of the perspectivefaculti es which to the end of hi s days he was possessed

of. H e was an ardent advocate of l iterature , arts and

sci ences, was a ' great ori ental scholar and lectured and

wrote numbe rs‘

of books on various subj ects , including

religion , and was for a very large number of years“

and

up to the date of his death either the President " or the

Secretary or Member of the Managing Committee or in

some way or other actively connected wi th a considerab le

number of educationa l , rel igi ous , benevolent and other

insti tutions , and by dint of hi s knowledge, acqu i red by a

sound education and ripe experi ence , ever usefully exerted

h imself towards the promotion of thei r welfare anddeve lopment . To the end of hi s l ife he was a great fri end

of the poor and the help less and formed and maintained

sol id and honourable friendships which death alone

dissolved .

I n the lodge he was a regular and punctual attendant

at all meetings whether of the G enera l Body or the

Standing Committee , and he kept himself in evidence ti l l

the breath of li fe departed . Wi thout the least fear ofdeath overtaking him , he met his fate even in harness,for, i t i s known that on the morning that he d ied he was

preparing to l eave home to attend his duti es as an Hono

rary Magi strate when suddenly h e fe ll and lay prostrate ,

never to ri se again .

The news of hi s death filled every heart wi th deep

and genu ine regret , more so hi s brethren in the Craft and

most of all the memb ers'

of thi s lodge , for in thei r case

it was at once fe lt as if an ind i spensable gu ide had goneand the greatest and safest beacon-l ight they a lways look

ed to for safe passage had d i sappeared . The large as

semb lage that was w i tnessed at h is funeral bore e loquent

testimony to his sterl ing worth . Meetings after meet ing s

334 HISTOR Y OF L ODGE RI SING STAR

wereheld for months succeeding his decease by various

publ i c and pr1vate associ ations and bodies . and even a

pub l i c meeting of the citizens of Bomb ay wa s held to paya fitting tribute to hi s memory , whi ch was presided over

by no less a personage than H is E xce l lency Sir George

Clarke , the Governor of Bombay , at whi ch it was unani

measly said that the deceased was real ly a great and good

man , and itwas resolved that an Ori enta‘l I nstitute shouldbe founded wi th pub l i c subscriptions to perpetuate hi s

memory .

But i n the inner circ le of F reemasonry — a testimony

as great , i f not greater , was b orne to the merits of our

departed Brother, at the instance of the gr eatest Masonin the land , name ly , R ightWorshipful Brother Colonel R .

H . F orman , G rand Master of A ll Scottish F reemasonry

in I ndia . Soon after h is death a circular was i ssued

under the order of the Grand Master deeply deploring

it - an‘d the loss caused thereby and placing Grand Lodge

and al l the daughter-lodges in mourning up to 3oth

September 1909, and a Spec ial F unera l Grand Lodge

Meeting was also held on 20th September ‘

1909 , i n

hi s memory , which was pre sided over by the Most Wor

shipful the Grand Master and at which a very large

number of brethren under both th e consti tut ions attended

to, show the i r last mark of respect for our much lamentedB rother . The Most Worshipful the Grand Master in thecourse of his address on that occasion very truly said thatthe memory , the loyalty and the example of our worthyB rother would never be forgotten , and that h i s blame less

l ife was at once an incentive to emulation and an assu~

rance that al l was we l l wi th him and that thi s generation

of F reemasons in I ndi a would never see hi s equal . A

resolution was a lso passed by the Grand Lodge plac ing on

record“

i ts deep sense of the loss sustained in the death

of the deceased Brother and its abiding gratitude forthe unselfish and earnest Masonic work done by h im

HISTOR Y on L ODGE RISING STAR

~Wi th the obj ect of further perpetuating his memorythe brethren resolved that whenever they met at the

festive board they should drink to hi s memory in solemnsi lence .

Such was Brother K . R '

. Cama, the s econd man and

Mason aft er Brother Maneckji Cursetji who d id al l he

could for F reemasonry and d id i t wel l and hearti ly . The

following l ines most appropri ately appl i ed in his caseT o say w ell is good, bu t to do is bet ter ,

‘D o w ell

’is t he spirit and ‘

say w allf is the le t t er,I f

‘do Well’and ‘

say we ll’w ere filled in one frame ,

A ll were one , all were done , and got w ere all the gain .

Brother Cama was one of the T ru stees of the Lodge

F unds and also a member of the F reemasons’Ha l l Com

mittee on behalf of the lodge and these p laces rendered

vacant by hi s death have smce been filled by Brother

R ustom K . R .

“ Cama . (F or the Grand Master’

s lett er to

the Lodge anent Brother Cama’s death and reply see

Appendix T . )

The degree work done during the year was two 1n 1

t iations and an equal number of passings and rai sings and

the year closed with sixty-two members on the ro l l and

a total fund of B s . l 8 ,549-5 -1 1 , of which R s .

-10-1 1

stood to the credit of the Chari ty account . A t the insta l

lation meeting held on 15th D ecember 1909 , Brother

Darasha B ezonji Mehta was instal led as the R ight Wor

sh ipful Master for the next year,1910 .

19 10 — I n all twe lve meetings of the Genera l Body , ih

elu s ive of the 67 th anniversary meeting , and eleven meet

ings of the Standing Committee were he ld thi s year and

there were one initi ati on , one pass ing and one rai sing .

Two memb ers d i ed , namely Brother W. L . Harvey (who

was an Honorary Member ) and Brother Dadabhai S.

Munsifl’na . Dr . A rdeshir Cowasji T urner , A ssi stant

Chemical Ana‘lyser to the Government of Bombay, was the

only member initiated . The Charity F unds increased by

OF WE STE RN IND I A No . 342 S C 337

R s . being Rs . 500 contributed by the ‘

R igh t

Worshipful Master and R s . 5 00 contributed by a

respected member of the lodge in memory of the

late Brother Munsiffna which have been added to

the endowment fund associated with thename of Brother

K . R . C‘ama .

Two congratulatory resolutions were passed during

thi s year , one congratulating Brother Sir CurrimbhoyE brahim on the mun ificent gift of R upees F our Lacs

to a proposed Col lege of Science and the other on

his having received a Baronetcy from H is Majesty the

King-Emperor .

The lodge a lso had the p leasure of passing votes con

gratulating Brothers Dr . T ehmulji BhicaJ l N ariman and

F azulbhoy Currimbhoy E brahim on thei r being appointed

Members of the Legi slative Counci l of His E xce llency the

Governor and Brother Kaj ij i on hi s being appointed to be

the Prothonotary and A dmiralty and T estam entary R e

g istrar of the H igh Court of Bombay .

H is Most G racious Majesty King E dward V I I , Pro

tector of the Craft and Patron of Scotti sh F reemasonry ,

died on 6th May 19 10 . A t a meeting‘held on the fol low~

ing day at which a ll notified business was suspended , the

lodge passed a resolut ion recording thi s most melancholyevent with the sincerest regret and deepest sorrow . I t

also went in to mourning for six months along with the

Grand Lodge of A ll Scotti sh F reemasonry in I ndia and

al l daughter-lodges under the orders of the Most.

Wor

shipfu l the Grand Master .

The inscription on the I n Memoriam Tab let of Brother

K . R . Cama was very k indly referred by the.

GrandMast er

to the lodge for its approva l and was settled between

them so as to incorporate therein certain suggestions made43


hy the lodge , and i t has s ince been erected and runs asfollows :

I n Memoriam .

R ight Worshipf ul Brother and Most E xcellent Compan ion

KHUV SHEDJ I RUSTOMJ I CAMAHonorary Grand Warden of the Gran d L odge of Scot land,

Past Grand Master D epu te , G rand L odge of A ll Scot tish F reema

sou ry in India .

Honorary D epute F irst Gran d Prin c ipal, Grand Chapter of

Scotland.

Past Grand Superin ten dent , R oyal Arch Mason ry in India u nder

Scotland.

Past Mas ter and for 55 years an A c tive Member of L odge R ising

S tar of Western India N o . 342 S . C .

B orn , N ovember 11 , 1 831 .

In itiated, 24th Augu st 1854 in L odge R ising Star.

D ied, 20t h Augu st . 1909 .

We ll done,thou g ood and faithfu l servan t .

R . I . P.

The lodge has a lso placed a medall ion of the deceasedB rother over the tablet wi th the concurrence and approva lof the Grand Master , the cost thereof laving been defrayed out of subscriptions made by the members .An H onorary Membership was conferred and the

Burnes’ or F undator’s Meda l was presented by the lodgethi s year to a distingu i shed Mason , he being no otherthan Most Worshipful Brother Colonel F orman . Thi sBrother, a staunch Mason , having a 27 years

’previous record , had , when Substitute Grand Master , i n which capacityhe was , on Lord Lamington

’s departure from the I ndianshores , in charge as Grand Master , establ i shed an indisn

putable claim to the G rand Mastership wi th which he wasultimately by common consent endowed . A fter his e levation to the exalted office he del ivered an address from the

throne of the Grand Lodge which dealt e laborately wi ththe d ignity and status of F reemasonry in I nd i a and theuniversal ity , teachings , and ethi cs of F reemasonry andstruck , as i s wel l known and recogni sed beyond doubt , akey-note to the true understanding of the tenets and or

'

d inances of our anc ient and noble I nstitution and i s in

340 H I STOR Y OF LODGE R I S I N G STAR

Bro ther D . F . Wadia presented to the lodge also atthis meeting a bound type-written vo lume of th is history .

and the lodge whi le accepting i t passed the fol low ing

R eso lution , viz . :

“That the offer made to the lodge by R ightWorshipfu l

B rother D . F . Wadia to make over to it the manuscriptof hi s “

H istory of Lodge R i s ing Star ofWestern I ndiaNo . 342 S . C . (1843 be accepted wi th gratefu l

thanks,that the lodge desires to place on record its

S incere and lasting appreci ation of the loya lty and attach

ment of R ight Worsh ipful B rother Wadia to hi s motherlodge in rescu ing from obl iv ion the unique hi story of its

rise and progress and thereby rai s ing the lodge in the

estimation of the masonic world to its true worth further

that the lodge pub l i sh the H i story at its expense and

present to R ight Worshipfu l Brother Wadi a an edition

de June with thi s R esolution embodi ed therein and also

present him w i th a H i stori an’s Jewel commemorative of

the

1911 .

— This year there was an accession of 4 members

via , Mr . H ormusp R atanshaw Dadabhoy (Merchant)Mr . Kaikhusro Manecksha Taliyarkhan (Pleader of the

H igh Court , Bombay) Mr . D imshaw Dadabhai Daruwalla,

L .OE . , A .M . I .C E . ( A cting D rainage E ngineer to the

Bombay Municipal ity ) and Dr. Maneckji Pirosha Kera

wal la , M. D F . R . O. S . E dinburgh of whom the first

named two are lew iises . Two members resigned , namely ,

Brother B S . Shroff and Abdul H use in Abdul Currim ,

and two members , namely, Brother .Ardeshir F ramji

Unwalla (who was also a Past Master) and BrotherB ehramji H . J . Rustomji died . A lodge of sorrow was

held by the lodge in B rother Unwalla’s memory and a

Brother contributed R s . 5 0 to the Charity F unds of thelodge also in his memory . The degree work done during

the year consi sted of 4 initi ations , 2 passings , and 2

rai sings . I n al l 12 meetings of the general body and

B rother D F . Wadia to make over to itof his .

“History of L odge Rising Star of

No. 342 S . C . ( 1843 he accepted With gratef ul

lodge in r e scui

that the lodge pub l ish the H

‘

de lame with this R esolution .

present ,him wifi l a H istorian

the event .

”

me Mr. Hormusp Ratanshaw

B rasher -B S. Shrofl’and Abdul Huae i

man na (who was also a Pas t

Behramji H. J . Rustomji d ied. A

Broth'

er m tributed R s;5 0 to the

OF WESTERN I ND I A Nb. 3 42 341

13 meetings of the Stan ding Committee were held. A

fund was started this year in appreciation of the servicesrendered by R ight Worshipful Brother Colon e l R . H . F or

man to F reemasonry and for retaining a fitting memoria l

of same and presenting a souveni r to him , and the

lodge cont ributed R s 5 0 thereto . During the year

R s . were disbursed in charity and at the end of the

year the funds after'

a l l disbursements and the usual

donat ions to the G rand Lodge of Scotland Annui ty F und

and the Scottish Masoni c Benevolent A ssociation stood

at R s .

—15 - 2 , b eing Rs .

-6-0 i n genera l. account

and R s .-9-2 in charity accoun t . Brother the

H onble . Dr. Temulji Bhicaji N ariman was thi s year ap

pointed to the high offi c e of Grand Master Depute,

A . F .S. I and Brother D . F . Wadia was invested as H onorary Grand Senior Warden , by the Most Wor

'

shipfu l the Grand Master at a special communication of

the Grand Lodge he ld on 4th March 1 911 , in recognition of

his labours in compi l ing thi s hi story . The marble meda l~

l ion which was erected by the ‘

lodge in memory of the

late R ight Worshipful Brother K . R . Cama was unvei led

on 1 l th N ovember 1911 by Brother T . B . N ariman on

behalf of the lodge in the presence of a very large and

di stingu i shed gathering of F reemasons . I t i s a faithfu l

l ikene ss of that emi nent Brother and surmounts the

Memorial Tab let put up last year in his memory and

occupies a prominent position in the Masonic H al l . A

photo of the medall ion i s at p . At the installation meet

ing held on 15 th December 1911 , Brother D . F . Wadiawas presented with the H i storian’s Jewel (which wasvoted to him last year ) by the Substitute Grand Master

on behalf of the lodge . A photo of the j ewel i s at pggfi-T

Brother Sorab Cowasji Hormasji was acknowledged”by common consent to be an energeti c and able Masterwho had d i scharged hi s duties in an eminently satisfactory manner and was unanimously voted a PastMaster’

s

342 H I STORY OF L ODGE R I SI N G STA R

j ewel . Wi th hi s retirement the lodge entered on the

69th yearof its ,

existence under the Mastershi p of R ight

Worsh ipful B rother Nosherwan Piroshaw Dubash .

To summarise what has been already stated in the

briefest compass poss ible — The lodge was launched on

its career and '

established chi efly for the reception of

nat ive gentlemen on 15th De cember 1843 in the year of

Masonry 5843 wi th 27 leading men and Masons of the

day, . all (except one , viz Brother Maneckji Cursetji ) be

ing E uropean members of‘ Lodge Perseverance who had

signed the memorab le requ isi tion for found ing the lodge

and most of whom were in the rCivil, Mi l i tary , N aval , and

Jud icia l servi ces of the B ouble . the E . I . Company wh ile

some,

were connected wi th Commerce and Journal i sm .

B rother Dr. James B urnes , the then Provincial Grand

Master of Western I nd ia, who granted the warrant of

d i spensation , was: the first Master and subsequently

became its Honorary Master and later on i ts H onorary

Master for l ife , and by h is di rection two more names

were added to those of the requ i s itionists before the grant

of the warrant, and nine more brethren who were affiliat

ed ou the 1st Anniversary Meet ing were in commemora

tion of the event admitted also as Origina l MembersThe times were then unfavourab le . The bitterest pre

jud i ce begotten of bigotry and false notions that

Christianity was the moving spirit and the end and aim

ofMasonry, then prevailed and made the task under

taken one of the g reatest difficulty . But the redoubtable

Mason B rother Maneckji Cursetj i who undertook it

pushed,

i t on disregarding rid i cu le , even hatred andcontempt, a nd the movement atta ined the success whichit seé eminently deserved . By the time the sixth year of

existence Was reached it seemed there was no prospect of

get ting ,more native gentlemen as members than the

lodge then alreadyh ad and an ineffectual attempt was

made to reconstitute it on the basis that it should be per

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I NG STAR

glance at the R egi ster of Members . Members of thi s

lodg e’

are men who have ri sen to be Members of the

British House of Commons (namely , Bros . Dadabhoy

N ewman and SirM . M . have attained

the first ci tizenship of Bombay and become Presidents of

the jBombay Muni cipal Corporation and Town Counci ls

and Standing Commit tees and H igh Sheriffs , have s at

on the i L egislative Counci ls of the Governors of Bomb ay

and also of the Governors-G eneral of I ndia , have become

Judges of the H igh Court of Jud icature at Bombay and

the Smal l Cau ses Court and also Presidency Magi strates ,have rendered and are sti l l rendering eminent servi ces

to the ir country and mother-land and have been and

are men of l ight and leading l ike the Grand O ld Man

of I ndia , Sir P . M . Mehta , the late Bros . K . R .

Cama , N owroji F urdunji, (who was popularly and justly

known as the T ribune of the peopl e ) , Sorabfi

ji Shapurji

B engalee , Pestonji Hormusji Cama , Dossabhoy F ramji

Karaka , and others who in thei r d ifferent professions , such

as Law , Medicine , Sci ence , and th e rest and i n trade and

commerce and other walks of l i fe have been and are

shining l ights and have di st ingu i shed themse lves in

various ways .

Up to now , meetings have been held , being 6 15

regu lar meetings and 71 special extraordinary or emer

gent meetings of the General Body,534 meetings of the

Standing Committee and'

Sub -Committees , and 67 i nsta l la

tion or anniversary ~ meet1ings . Of these the highestnumber of meetings

,viz . 37

,was held in the year 1906 , the

next highest , via , 34 , in 1862 ,and the smal lest number

mien, 1 , in 1 856 . I n al l there have b een 1 93 i ni ti ations, 182

pass ings , and 180 ra i s ings . A modest beginning was

made in the yegr 1854 in the way of inaugurating a

Charitable F und w ith R s . 250 or so as the first total amountof subscriptions

.Off and on add i tions were made there

to , but it was not unti l by‘

the Bye-laws i t was laid down

OF ’WE STE R N I ND I A N o . 432 S .C. 345

i n comparatively recent t imes that a certain proportion

of the fees should b e devoted in charity that any rea l

advance was made . T hereafter the Charity F unds have

stead i ly increased and at the present day. they amoun t to

R s . and odd , after taking i nto account ab out

Rs . to di sb ursed in chari ty b y thi s time .

The lodge has struck two medals , one cal led the

Burnes’ or F ounder’s or F undator’s Medal , to comme

morate its foundation and Dr . Burnes’ connection there

wi th , and the other cal led The Jubi lee Meda l ,” to com

memorate the celebration of its 50 years’

jubilee . T he

B urnes’Medal has been presented up to now to 30 bre

thren , seven of them being members at one time or ano

ther . Two of these medals in gold were presented to B ros .

Dr. James Burnes and Cursetji N usserwanji Cama . The

rest were presented in si lver . Our late beloved Sove

reign K ing E dward V I I had grac iously done the lodge

the very high honour of accepting the F undator’

s Meda l

whi le in Bombay in 1875 as the Prince of Wa les,and an

other recipient (a member of the Roya l fami ly) who haspaid the lodge a similar compl iment is H is R oya l H igh

ness the Duke of Cannaught . The E ar l of Da lhousi e

(once the Vi ceroy and Governor-General of I ndia )Lord E lphinstone once the Governor of Madras )Lord Le igh

,Dr. G eorge O l iver , the eminent H i sto

rian of the Craft , the Grand Masters of E ngland,

Scotland , and I reland , the Duke de Caze, the Most

Venerab le of the Grand Ori ent of F rance,thei r R oya l

H ighnesses the Grand Masters of the Order in Ho lland

and Prussia and the Princes of the B lood R oya l of Persi awere amongst others presented w ith the meda l besides

being made H onorary Members . The last presentationwas in 1 908 to Sir Lawrence Hugh Jenkins , the present

Chief Justi ce of Bengal,before the lodge presented

it to the Worshipful the Grand Master , on l 6 th

December 19 10 . 44


The Jub i lee Medal ha s been presented since 1893

when it was struck , on ly to two brethren ,

— one in gold to

the jub i lee year Master Brother F ramj i D in shaw Petit

and the other in s ilver to a fami l iar figure i n F reemason

ry, viz , Brother C . D . F urdoonj i .

The lodge has , since the estab l i shmen t of the Scotti sh

Masoni c Benevolent A ssociation to i 5th December 1911 ,subscribed to the funds thereof R upees and odd

'

but has not taken any benefit thereou t ti l l thi s date .

I n the matter of the Masonic H a l l the lodge has

rendered very active and substantial assistance and has

made a donat ion of Rupees being the N owroji

Nanabhoy T rust F unds contributed by one of its members ,bearing the name given to it , and also out of its funds

and~ donations made by its ex-members and fri ends con

tr ibuted another sum of R upees (fift een thou sand).

Under one of the conditions on whi ch the Nowroji N ana

bhoy T rust F unds were handed over , a member of the

lodge nominated by it and then appointed by the Grand

Master i s a lways a member of the Hal l Committee and

the large Banqueting H a l l i s named “The F ramji Cowasji

Banqueting Hal l .” Brother K . R . Cama was such member

representing the lodge ti l l hi s death , and smce then hi sc son Brother Rustom K . R . Cama has fi lled hi s place .

The members of thi s lodge'

have held high offices in

the Grand Lodge , and Brothers K . R . Cama , M . C . Murz

ban , and D . R . Chichgar have rendered valuab le and

enduring servi ces to the Grand Lodge wh ich have been

more than once cordial ly appreciated , as appears from

its records . Brother Darasha R . Chichgur has al so b een

Secretary of the Joint F reemasons’ Hal l Committee for

nearly th i rty years .A s the outcome of the Opposition of the then Lodge

Perseverance;to admitting I ndian gent lemen wi thin its

portals, thi s lodge was founded and it has existed and

flourished thes‘

e sixty-eight ye a'

rs,and accord ing to the

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APPE NDI X— A .

GRAND

LODGE OF SCOTLAND .

TOAL L and SUN

DRY to whose know

ledge these presents

shal l come GR E E T I NG

in GOD E V‘

E RL AST

I NG— Whereas upon

the second day of D e

cemb er on e thousand

eight hundred and

forty-four -a Petiti on

was presented to the GRAND LODGE of SCOTLAND

in name of P . W. L eGeyt , E . F . Danvers , W.A . Purnell ,G . B u i st , W. Simson

,James Boyd

, W. Wellis., H . G ibb ,

R . Brown , residing in Bombay and others PRAY I NG the

sa id GRAND LODGE to grant a: CHARTE R of. Constitu

tion and E rection in the usual from for ho lding a Lodge

under the name and t itle of THE R I S I NG STAR OF WE STE RN I ND IA and Proposing the persons after mentioned

to be the first Office Bearers thereof,viz , R . W. James

Burnes , K . H . P . G . , Master of Western I ndia , etc . , etc .

,

etc .

, to be Master ;P. W. L eGeyt , Past Master , A . Lark

worthy, Senior Warden;H . F awcett , Junior Warden ,

S . Compton , andW. Wellis , Deacons;M . Cursetjee , Secre

tary;J . Boyd, Treasurer . Which Petition wi th the requ i s ite

Certificates , therewith produced , having been duly considered in GRAND LODGE assembled , they were pleased

to ordain a charter to be i ssued in the terms under written

KNOWye therefore that the MostWorshipful the GRANDMASTE R MASON of SCOTLAND and TH E GRAND

LODGE thereof have consti tuted , erected and appointed ,

OF WE STE RN IND I A No. 349

l ike as they hereby constitute erect and appoint the Mas

ter, Wardens and Brethren above named to b e now and

in all time coming a true and regular Lodge of free and

accepted Masons und er the name , s ty1e and title of TH E

R I S I NG STAR OF WE ST E RN I ND IA in Bombay. and

Appoint and Orda in al l regular Lodges to hold and

respect them as such,giving , granting and commit

ting to them , and those to be afterwards a dmitted

Members of the said Lodge ful l power and authority

to meet,assemble and convene as a regular Lodge ;

and to enter A pprentices , pass F el low Crafts , and

raise Master Masons , upon payment of such compositions ,for the support of their Lodge , as they shal l see convenientbu t which compositi ons at their initiation shal l not be

under the sum of One Gu inea AND wi th power also

annua lly to elect and choose MASTE RS , WARDE NS ,and

other Office Bearers , recommend ing to the B rethren of the

said Lodge to reverence and obey their Superiors , in al l

things lawful and honest, as becometh the honor and

harmony of Masonry : AN D the said Brethren becoming

bound on no account to desert thei r own Lodge ;N or

upon any pretext whatever to make any separate or

Schi smatica l meetings independent of the Master and

Wardens,for the time N or to in troduce any other orders

of Masonry than those sanctioned by the Grand Lodge

Nor to col lect funds separate from the common-s tock of

their Lodge to the prejudice of the Poor thereof AND

DE CLAR I NG that the said Lodge and whole constituent

members th‘

ereof now and in al l time coming, shal l by ac

cepting this present CHARTE R'

be bound in fai thful al le

giance to th e said G rand Lodge as HEAD of the Masonic

body in Scotland AND shall be obl iged to obey and pay‘due regard to al l ACTS , Statutes and R egulations of the

said GR AND LODGE already made and‘enacted or here~

after to be made and enacted for the uti l ity, welfare and

prosperi ty of Masonry;AND general ly to pay and perform

HI STOR Y on. L ODGE R I SI NG

whatever i s requ ired from them for the support. and d ig

nity of the Grand Lodge : AND PART I CULARLY to ac

count and p ay i nto the fund of the Grand Lodge , at least ,the sum of four shi l l ings and s ix pence sterl ing, bes ides

the usual fee of on e shil l ing to the Grand Secretary

and Grand C lerk for each member initiated in the ir

Lodge from and after the date hereof which sums they

sha l l cause to be annual ly remitted to the Grand Sec

retary at E DI NB URGH and at the same time transmit to

him a li st of the names of the MEMBE RS i nitiated . i n

order that the same may b e recorded i n the Books of the

Grand Lodge : and THE BR E THR E N of said L odge shall be

bound to record in the Bo oks of the ir Lodge (which Books

they are hereby authori sed and enj oined to keep ) th is

present CHARTE R , their own regulations and bye-laws ,minutes of their who l e procedure from time to time , so

that the same may be better known and more easi ly

observed by the Brethren , Subj ect always nevertheless

to the review and control of the GRAND LODGE And the

said B rethren are hereby requ ired to a ttend the whole

General Meetings and Quarterly Communi cations of the

GRAND LODGE , by their R epresentatives , being their

Master and Wardens for the time, or by lawful proxies intheir names (provided such Proxies be Master Masons of

some establ i shed Lodge holding of the Grand Lodge ) so

that they by the ir sa id R epresentatives may act and

vo te in the Grand Lodge and be duly certiorated of the

proceedings thereof : DE CLAR I NG the said Lodge’s prece

dency in the Grand L odge to be from the date hereof

AND for the more effectual preservation of these presents,

the same are hereby appointed to be recorded in theBooks of the Grand Lodge .G IVE N at the GRAND LODGE of SCOTLAND held in

F RE EMASONS‘

HALL in the C I TY of E D I NBURGHthe second day of D ecemb er

,in the year of OUR LORD

one thousand(

eight hundred and forty-four

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

I trust that opportuniti es may occur,of wh ich I sha l l

glad ly avail myse lf, of proving the interest I feel i n thewelfare of Lodge R i s ing Star of Western I ndia .

A l low me to reciprocate your expressi on of kindnessand esteem and bel i eve me .

My dear Sir and B roth er,

F raternal ly and S incerely yours ,

F . W. B IRCH ,

S P R as

Mr . MAN ECK J E E CURSE T J I ,

Secretary, Lodge R i sing Star of Western I nd ia .

Scopwick Vicarage , J une 24th 1 845 .

Dear Sir and B rother ,

The unequ ivocal te stimony which ;the Worshipfu lMaster

,Officers , and Brethren of the Lodge R i s ing Star of

Western I ndia h ave given of the approbation of my

labours in behalf of the servi ce of F reemasonry,by e lect

ing me an honorary member of the lodge, i s pecul i arly

gratifying to my feel ings and I request that you wi ll

communicate to them my unfeigned thanks and grati

tude for the d i st inction which they have conferred upon

me .

I became attached to the Order at a very ea rly age ,and a more intimate acquaintance wi th its humanising

principles have g iven me no reason to think that the time

I have devoted to its study and development has been

unprofitably bestowed . A nd the unqual ified approval of

many learned and judicious members of the Craft has

assured me that my earnest endeavours to expla in i ts

doctrines and to disseminate its sacred truth have not

been unproductive of sol id and substantial good .

OF' WE STE RN I ND IA NO. 342 S .E . 353

Wi th fraterna l regards to the members of your lodgeboth Native and E uropean .

Bel ieve me , D ear Sir,

Your fa ithful B rother,

GEO. OL IVER .

MAN E CKJ EE CURSE T J I , E SQRE .,

Secretary ,“

Lodge R i s ing Star of

Western I nd ia .

B ombay, I st October 1 846 .

My dear Sir and B rother,

The handsome compl imen t paid me by theWorsh ipful Master, Officers and , Members of the Lodge R i sing

Star in the E ast, demands my sincere and continued

grat itude, and it i s with feel ings of the highest pride

and sati sfaction I accept this d i stingu i shed mark of

thei r favour and brotherly love .

I t i s indeed an honour most grati fying , emanating

from a lodge where such practi cal proof exi sts of the

universal ly phi lanthropic character of our glorious insti

tution ,acknowledging no other d istinction among men ,

save those devoted to v irtue and integri ty .

”

Yours fraternally

On the Square

J . R . L AMAR T .

H onorary Member .

Lodge R i sing Star in the E ast .

BROTHER MAN E CK J E E CURSET J I ,

Secretary,

Lodge R ising Star

in the E ast .


Poona, 1 9 th J une 1 846 .

R ightWorshipful and D ear Brother,I had yesterday the greatest p leasure in rece mg

your letter of t he 16th instaint , in whi ch you enclosed me

an extract from the proceedings of a meeting of the

Lodge R i sing Star of Western I ndia , held at Bombay onthe 15th of this month, at which it was resolved that I

should be elected an honorary m ember of it, and req uest

ed to wear its meda l on al l occasions of ceremon ies .

May I beg that you wi l l have the goodness to take

the first Opportunity which may b e conven ient to the

lodge and to yourself to express on my par t the ob l iga

tion I feel under,for the great kindness which has been

so fiatteringly extended to me , and I must not omit to add

how thankfu l I am to you for the part you have taken on

this , to me , most gratifying occasion .

Bel i eve me to be ,R ightWorshipful and Dear Broth‘er ,

Yours very Si n cerely ,THos . MC MAHON .

F rom

BROTHER COL ONEL BURL TON .

Calcu tta, 28 th J une

My dear Sir and Brother,

I t i s wi th feel ings of pecul i ar gratification that I domyself the honour of acknowledging the recei pt of your

k ind letter of the 16 th instant annexing copy of a R eso

lution passed at a Meeti ng of the Lodge R ising Star of

Western I ndia e lecting me one of its honorary members .I beg you wil l do me the favour to assure your R ight

Worshipful Master'

as wel l as the Officers and Members

of the Lodge that I gratefu l ly feel and fully appreciatethe compl iment wh ich they have been so k ind as to payme and that I shal l be proud to wear its Meda l on al lMasonic occasions . I trust I may not be deemed presum

356 HI STOR Y. OF L ODGE R I SI N G STAR

who have in a flattering manner e lected me to be an

honorary member that I shal l wear i t amongst my most

valued j ewe ls on al l occas ions of masonic ceremony .

I am , Dear Sir and B rother ,

Yours F aithfu lly and F raterna l ly,

WIL L IAM HARR I S .

D . P . G . M .

BROTHER MAN E CK J E E. CURSET J I , E SQRE .

THE SECRE TARY or THE LODGE R I S I NG STAR , BOMBAY .

F rom

DR . M . DE K I RWANG .

13 th J u ly 1846 .

Dear Sir and Brother ,

The honour whi ch the Worshipfu l Maste r and the

Brethren of the Lodge R i sing Star have been pleased to

confer upon me i n affording me the t i tle of an Honorary

Member of the said lodge was too much unexpected and

undeserved and is too much appreciated by me , that Ishould not have the des ire of. having i t more evident to

my own lodge . Consequently I beg leave to reque st of

your kindness thait you would have thi s t i tle made author

itical for me under the form of a d iploma , the possession

of which I wou ld consider as a new favour afforded .

To enab le you to draw i t , I have to state that I belong

to the Scotch Lodge of Par is N o . 6 of Moun t Seuai i n

which I had the honour of. being admitted as a member

on the 20th day of June 1845 .

As I am about to leave th is country by the next steam

er to Suez and perhaps shal l not have any opportunity

of meeting again the brethren in the lodge previ ou s .to

my departure , I should fee l much obl i ged to you i f you

would kind lyexpress to the Worshipful Master and thebrethren my best thanks and gratitude for al l the kind

OF WESTE RN I ND I A N o . 342 S .C . 357

ness and partia l ity they have di splayed Upon me , request

ing them at the same time to be we l l convi nced that the

lasting recollection of these favours shal l a lways be the

most gratifying to me in al l the ci rcumstances of my l ife .

Now ,Dear B rother , let me add the fervent express ion

of my best wi shes for the happiness and prosper ity of al l

the Brethren of the Lodge and may the Great A rchitectof the Un iverse bless you and every one of them .

A l low me to enclose my modest offering to the poor anddi stressed .

I remain ,

Yours faithfully,

M . DE K I RWANG.

L oudou , 1 9th August 1 846 .

F rom

BROTHER CHARL ES S . E VANS .

D ear Sir and Brother ,I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your very pol ite

favour dated the l 6th of June last together wi th a copy

of the R eso lution of the Lo dge R is ing Star he ld on the

day previous conveying to me the gratifying intel l i genceof my having been unanimously elected an Honorary

Member of the Lodge R i sing Star ofWestern I nd ia .

I request that you wi l l b e pleased to tender my grateful

thanks for the honour thus con ferred on me and assure

the lodge that I shal l be proud on al l occas ions of mason

ic ceremony to wear the medal pres ented to me .

I remain , D ear Sir and Brother ,F aithfully and F raternally yours ,

CH‘ARL ES S . E VANS .

BROTHER MA N E CK J E E CUR SET J I ,Secretary , Lodge R i sing Star ofW. I .

358 H I STOR Y OF L ODG‘

E‘

R I SI N G‘

ST-AR

ARERo'

ATH , SCOTL AND ,1 l th Sep tember 1 846 .

Dear Sir and B rother ,

I had the honour of] receivingfiyour k ind note dated l 6th

Jurne , i nforming me that I had been elected an H onorary

Member of“

the Masoni c Lodge R ising Star of WesternI ndia . I have since received one of the beautiful Medals

which I shall have great pride and pleasure in wearin g

on masonic occas ions . When a su itab le opportunity

occurs , I beg , you w il l offer to the -members of the Lodge

assemb led my warmest acknowledgments for the honour

they have conferred on me , and to yourself personal ly

for your kindness in communicating to me , I can only

tender my best thanks .

A lthough it may never be my good fortune to meet

with any of the native gentlemen who are members of

the Lodge , I can truly say , for I feel sentiment in my

heart, that my fervent wi shes for thei r happi ness wi l lever be borne towards them .

I have the honour to be ,


Yours F aithfully and Affectionately ,

JAMES ANDE R SON .

K arachi, 1 0 th J anuary 1 847 .

Dear Sir and Brother ,I had great p leasure in receiving your note of the 17th

December last from my friend A ll i Akbar B ahadur inti

mating to me my having been elected a member of the

Lodge R i s ing Star. Obl ige me by offering to the Wor

shipful Master , Wardens , and B rethren of your Lodge mygratefu l thanks f or that honour .

I have a lways taken a deep interest in the welfare of.the Craft . I t

‘

i s not on ly here where we see the Native

of I nd ia, being w ith the white of E ngland that Masonry

HI STOR Y OF L ODG’

E R I SI N G STAR

questionab ly el igib le provided they are in a respectable

social position and posses sed of a due sense of mora l

rectitude .

I n the Lodge R i s ing Star of Western I ndia we requ i rethem to testi fy to those points before giving them the

obl igation in their appl i cation to be admitted as wel l

as in answering the question they are ob l iged to reply

before receiving the obl igation which otherwi se i n itself

d iffers in no respect to that given to our Chri sti an

bre thren .

They are obl igated,however

,on the Zend Avesta

(the sacred book of Zoroaster) the scripture of the F ar

sees , a copy of wh ich I have the pleasure to transmit

with a request that your Lodge wil l accept it as a token

of my fraternal regard .

I have it also in command from the R ight Worshipfu lthe Provincial Grand Master to forward copies of the

correspondence which led to the erection of the Lodge

R i sing Star of Western I nd ia for the purpose of admiting nat ive gentlemen into the Craft

,and to observe

that the principles therein lai d down have been stri ctly

maintained and the admission on ly given to those of

unblemished integr ity and acknowledged positi on in

Society .

The subj ect engrossed the earnest attention of our

most eminent brethren in thi s quarter , who considered

the step as one fraught w ith mos t'

important results

either for good,or evil to F reemasonry , and we have , there

fore,continued to exerc ise the strictest scrutiny in the

reception of candidates . Thi s you w i ll best understand

when I infornnyou that inclusive of myself, who am a

Master Mason of F rench Creation,having been in itiated

at Paris , the Lodge R ising Star does not number more

than ( 10) ten Native Brethren although i t has been in

OF WE STE RN I N D I A No. 3 42 S .C. 86 1

existence nearly five years . I remain with sentiments of

fraternal regards .

Yours F aithfu l ly,

M . CURSE T J E E ,

Secretary to t he P . G . M . f or the Native

Correspondence , and Senior Warden,

Lodge R i s ing Star, Western I ndia .

BROTHER THOMAS HOI ROX ,

Secretary , N ilgheree Lodge .

APPEND I X D .

LODGE PERSEVERANCE ,

Colaba, 24th D ecember 186 1 .


Wi th reference to your note to theWorshipful Master

of thi s lodge , dated from the Lodge R ooms,5 Grant

Bu i ldings , and intimating the intention of Lodge R ising

Star ” to meet in these rooms , which are at presentoccupied by Lodge Perseverance , I am desi red to ask by

what authority you thu s date you r commun ications or

summon meetings of your lodge to ho ld in our rooms

wi thout having previously communicated with and oh

tained the consent of the Worshipfu l Master of LodgePerseverance to your so doing.

I remain , Dear Sir and Brother ,

Yours very F raternal ly,

W. M . E L L E s ,

Secretary, Lodge Perseverance .

MAN ECK J I CURSET J I E SQR

Secretary,Lodge R i s ing Star.


Villa B ycu lla, 25 th D ecember 1861.

Dear Sir and Brother ,I have the pleasure to acknowledge the rece lpt of your

letter of. las t evening and refer you to the enclosed copy

of the R esolutions and correspondence passed by and

between the Lodge Perseverance,the R i sing Star,’

and the

Provincial Grand Lodge w i th the view to cementing on

firmer footing the relati onship that exi sted , and ,un less I

am very much mistaken,stil l exists between Perseverance

an‘

d R ising Star of Western I nd ia, both working under

one and the same authori ty, in one and the same rooms ,and where they severally have their warrants deposited

and hung up in frames .

That no previou s consent was ever before obtained

or was at all thought necessary to obtain , for the meeting

of the Lodge R is ing Star in the Lodge R ooms from the

Worship ful Master of the Perseverance s ince the construc

tion of the former,in 1844, I can confidently assert . All

that was necessary to be done on the occasion of such

meetingwas for the Secretary of R is ing Star to intimateto the ~WorShipful Secretary or Worshipfu l Master ofPerseverance

,the day and time of i ts meeting and this,

to my certain knowledge , was invariab ly done .

The Worshipful Master of the Lodge Perseverancewas , as he told me , not aware of th is unti l I mentioned

the above circumstances to h im and read the : papers

regarding the same a few mornings ago when he

favoured me with a visit at my house .

I may as wel l add that the pr iv ilege of holding its

meeting in the Lodge R ooms was not accorded to R i s ing

Star as a favour or wi thout any consideration . The

furn iture in the Lodge R ooms was paid for in 1844 by

Lodge R ising “Star, Perseverance , and the ProvincialGrand Lodge in certain proportions

,and of which the

quota borne by R is ing Star was by far larger than theother two. The Star paid the quota of the Lodge rent

HI STORY OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

P . S ,

— Since writing the above I received a note fromtheWorshipful Master of Perseverance , and under thecircumstance therein stated , I am directed to enclose you

our amended ci rcular for the information of the members

of Perseverance extra members of the Lodge , and you

wi l l observe therefrom that we shal l meet on the 27th , at

6 P.M ., at the Baboola Tank House i nstead of the

“Lodge

R ooms .”

MAN E CK J I CURSE T J I .

My, Dear CLl l' SetJ l ,

When your note reached my house to day I was absentand when your messenger came afterwards for a reply Iwas unfortunate ly on the point of going to parade so that

I could not answer i t . I requested our Secretary '

to reply

to your circular , for our records do not contain the

information you were good enough to read to me last

Sunday. morning, and it is advi sab le , I think ,that we

Should have a copy of its. T imes have much altered Since

1846 and ,of course , we have not been unaffected. I

question very much indeed whether the present members

of Perseverance wil l deem the former understanding

binding on them , the more par ti cularly as it would appear

that R i sing Star has paid no fees . I n fact it was consi

dered defunct or i t wou ld have rece ived a portion of the

R s . 500 left by: Lord Dalhousie for d istr ibution amongst

the lodges in Bombay . H owever,there wi l l be p lenty of

time to d iscuss al l these points hereafte r .

I should have mentioned to you that we cannot spare

our Lodge R ooms on Saturday for they are in course ofpreparation for our Bal l . We do not meet on that day ,but may probably meet on the 7th January , i f not, cer

tainly on the 12th ,our usua l day .

Our party i s(

not qu ite l imited to the Brethren , but as

much so as we can possib ly manage,and I fear the

Committee wi l l i ssue no more invitations . You shou ld

OF WE STE RN I NDI A N o : 342 SC . 365

have subscribed and then no doubt some cards wou ld havebeen grant ed . Severa l of the Brother-guests have been

refused on the plea that we would admit no more .

Yours Sincerely ,ASH BURN ER .

24th D ecember, 9 P.M.

My dear A shburner,N ot knowing where Brother E lles i s residing I send

the enclosed unsealed to yoiu answering an officia l com

mun ication from your Lodge, and than what i s mentioned

in the enclosures I have nothing to add in rep ly to your

note of last night , I received thi s morning .

Yours Sincerely,

MAN E CK J I CURSE TJ I .

LODGE R OOM S , COL ABA .

8 th J anuary 1 85 2 .

Worshipful Sir and Dear Brother ,Various causes have hitherto, prevented a reply being

before thi s time forwarded to a“

letter from Brother

Maneckji.Cursetji, Secretary to Lodge R ising Star , dated25th ultimo , to the address of Brother E lles , Secretary to

the Lodge Perseverance , over whi ch I have the honour

to preside . I much regret the delay which has occurred,

but i t was unavoidable . I deem i t advi sab le to reply to

the letter in question myself, i n order to assure yourself,your Wardens , and the rest of the Brethren of “

R i s ing

Star, how d esirous the Brethren of Perseverance are,

that the friend ly relationship which has h i therto existed

between the two lodges should be prese'rved .

Wi th thi s intimation and to avert the possib il ity ofyour being ever again di sappointed in obtaining the use

of our Lodge R ooms I would suggest the propriety of the

Worshipful Master of R i sing Star fixing on the days

366 H I STOR Y OF LODGE R I SI NG STAR

of the meeting of that Lodge, i n previous communication

wi th myse lf or the Master for the time being of Lodge

Perseverance ” so that the two Lodges may not each fix

on the same evening for the ir meetings .

Connected in an intimate degree with the cord i a l

reciproca l good understandings between the members ofthe

_two Lodges i s that of several of the Brethren of the

R i sing Star b eing ex-officio, extra members of Per

severance and vice versa . I n order, therefore, that the

R esolution passed by the Brethren on the 3rd March 1845may be acted upon in future

, I shal l esteem it a favour i f

you wi l l forward me at your convenience a l i st of such of

the members of R ising S tar” as were on your Lodge rolls

at the time of the R esolution , al luded to , being passed .

I ava i l myself of thi s opportunity of begging you

wi ll do me the kindness of d irecting the T reasurer ofLodge R i sing Star to pay over to me the moiety of the

receipts of your lodge which have accrued since last pay

ment . I n calculating the arrears I propose credi ting“R i sing Star w i th Rupees 83-5-4, being its half of

one-third share of R upees 500 , which was deposited by

the most nob le,the Brother Lord Dalhousi e for the

purpose of Masoni c Charity in the hands of Lodge Per

severance and which with this appropriation wi ll have

been divided between “ Lodge Saint George ”, Lodge

R i s ing Star, and the“Charitab l e F und of Perseverance .

”

Wi th every fraternal regard I b eg to sub scribemyse lf , Worshipful Sir and dear Brother,

S incere ly yours ,

G . E L L IOT A SHBURNER ,Master of L odge Perseverance.

TheWorshipful Master ofLodge R i sing Star , No . 342 .


have much pleasure in fixing wi th you,a s you suggest

,the

days of meetings of the Lodge R i s ing Star,in order to

arrange the time most convenient to you .

Wi th fraterna l regards ,Worship f 111 and dear B rother .

Yours F raternal ly,

M . BOYCE .

(APPE ND I X E . )

Proceed ings at a meeting of the undersigned Brethren

of Lodge R i sing Star appointed as a Specia l Committee at

the last Lodge Meeting on the. 20th Apri l 1852 .

1 . R ead the correspondence which has passed between

Lodges R is ing S tar and Perseverance regarding, the

claims of the latter agains t the former Lodge .

The dates of the letters are as fol lows

F rom - S ecretary of Lodge Perseverance. to Secretary of

Lodge R i sing Star , dated 24th D ecember 185 1

R eply— of Secretary of Lodge R i s ing Star,dated

.

2 5th

D ecember 185 1 .

F rom— The Worshipful Master of Lodge Perseverance tothe Worshipful Master of Lodge R ismg Star

,

dated 8th January 1852 .

F rom— The Worshipful Master of Lodge R i s ing Star tothe Worshipfu l Master of Lodge Perseve rance ,dated the 18th and 22nd January 1852 .

! F rom— The Wershipful Master of Lodge Perseverance to

the Worshipful Master of Lodge R i s ing Star,dated 3oth January 1852 .

! F rom -Th‘

e Worshipful Master of Lodge R i sing Star totheWorshipfu l Master of Lodge Perseverance,dated 10 th A pril 1852 .

These let ters are missing .

OF WESTERN INDIA No. 342 S .C . 69

2 . The members of the Committee having perused thecorre spondence with much attention , proceed to submit

thei r sentiment and Opinions as to the lodge’

s futu re

course for the consideration of the members of R isingStar.

3 . The Committee greatly regret that the WorshipfulMaster of Perseverance should have thought i t nece ssary

to address such a let ter to Worshipful B rother Lynch as

the one whi ch bears date , the 3oth January last,and

which , from its tone and spirit , they trust was not written

with the concurrence and approbation of the B rethren of

Perseverance in Lodge assembled.

4 The Commit tee consider the reply dated the 10th

April of the Worshipful Master of R i s ing Star as

charactefi zed throughout by the mi ld and truly Masoni c

feel ing wh ich should always mark communications, whether personal or otherwi se , between members of the

Craft , and especia l ly between the Masters of d ifferent

Lodges .

5 . The Committee are of opinion tha t the Worshipfu lBrother Boyce has taken a fair and just V iew of the

claims of the Lodge Perseverance against Lodge R i sing

Star, and that the financia l result shewn in hi s letter

i s qu ite correct.

6 . The Committee beg to record their entire concurrence

in, and approval of, the Worshipful B rother B oyce’s

letter to the Worshipful Master of Lodge Perseverance .dated the l oth Apri l .

7 . As regards the future the Committ ee are of opinion

that the R esolution passed by the Provinci al Grand Lodge

on the 24th November 1846 should be modified and that

an immed iate appl i cation be made for that purpose to the

R ight Worshipfu l Brother L eGeyt , Provincial Grand

Master.

370 HISTOR Y OE L ODGE R I S I NG STAR

8 . A ccord ing to that R esolution one half of R i sing ,

Star’s receipts are to be made over to Perseverance

R ising Star having the accommodation of the Lodge

R ooms .

'

The Committee are of opin ion that R i sing Star’

s

payments , under the R esolution in question , are whol lyd isproportionate to the accommodat ion and benefit re

ceived by her from the u se for one or at most two nights

i n a month of the Rooms and Lodge paraphernal i a ( the

proprietory right in whi ch being vested in the Provincial

Grand Lodge , R oya l Arch Chapter, Perseverance , and

R i sing Star) in Grant Bu i ld ings , and that the effect of the

R esolution i s to d ivert, in fact, the greatest portion of her

funds unto the treasury of Lo'

dge Perseverance .

9 . A s the Committee are Of Opin ion that i t cannot be

the desire of the Provincia l Grand Lodge or Of theB rethren of Perseverance . that Perseverance should gain

at the expense of R i s ing Star, they b eg to propose the

fol lowing as the basi s of the arrangement to be submitted

for the cons ideration of the Provinci a l G rand Lodge

and Perseverance

i . That R i s ing Star continue to have as heretofore

the use of the Lodge R ooms , Lodge F urniture

and lodge R efreshment k i t .

11. That in cons ideration of such accommodati on

L‘odge R i sing Star pay such portion of the rent

and cost of estab l i shment as may be d eter

mined upon by the Provincial Grand Lodge

and Perseverance in add ition to a monthlyal lowance for the u se of the kit , etc .

i i i . That R i sing Star pay al l expenses attending her

meet ings on account of l ights , extra servants ,refreshments , and

iv . That a Committee consi sting of two members of

each Lodge be appointed to settle the ma tter, an

Officer of the Grand Lodge being appointed as

Umpire or President.

HI STORY OF ' L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

APPENDI X F .

B ombay, 2 0 th Sep tember 1 852 .

S I R AND BR OTHER ,

I exceed ingly regret that i n a moment of exc itement I

so far forgot myself as to erase my s ignature to a

mason ic address presented to you in the Rooms of L odge

Perseverance on the 12th F ebruary last and beg to offer

my s incere apology for the act .

Yours obed iently,

G . E . ASHBURNER

W. B‘

L OWERS , E SQR

&c .

, &c

Bombay.

APPE ND I X G .

'

B rother,— Wi ll you permit us to send you a sl ight

testimony of our esteem and our l ively sympathy.

There i s among you a Mason whose vi rtue and whose

wisdom are known to you . He has pres ided over your

labours , he has made himself remarkable by hi s en l ight

ened zeal for the good of F reemasonry . H e is good ,generous

,and f ri endly; i n one word , a true Mason .

Cede to us the right of sharing with hi s mother-lodge

the honour of reckon ing him among the number of our

children .

“The E ngl ish Lodge No . 204 at its meeting of the 27th

day of the second month of the year 5852 of the true

light accorded to him the title of Honorary Member ;i t

sends him a jewel in testimony of it‘

s affection of its

esteem and of ‘

its gratitude .

”

OF WE STE RN IND I A No .

‘

342 S .C . 373

The j ewel is the symbol of a master of a lodge

bears the followi ng inscriptions , on one side ,L ’

Anglaise No 204 St . John Bordeaux .

Hon : Membe r W. Blowers,and on the other

L a L’

Anglais e (Bordeaux).

and W. B lowers (Bombay) .

E stime , Affectionet R econnaisance .

The jewel is suspended from a blue co llar w i th

l ines .

APPEND I X H .

F ree Masons’

H all, 1 1 th April 185 5 .

WORSHIPFUL SI R AND DE’

AR BROTHER ,

I am di rected by the R ight Worshipfu l Officiating Provincial Grand Master of Western I ndia to acquaint you

that the whole of the correspondence forwarded by you

under cover of your lett er of the 26th F ebruary last hasbeen laid before the Provincial Grand Lodge .

The Provincial Grand Lodge are of opin ion that inas

much as proxies are not admissib le to the ba l lot box , they

cannot be permitted i n the election of a Master and that

their introduction in the case referred to was contrary to

the un iversal practi ce of the Craft, to the spi r it of the

consti tution and i n defiance of the Bye-laws of the Lodgeover wh ich you preside

The Provincial Grand Lodge would therefore desi re to

point out to Lodge R i sing Star that they have fa llen

into error and that the election of Brother Crawford can

not be regarded as val id , and the Provincial Grand Lodge

request that the members of the Lodge wil l at the ir nextregular meeting proceed to the re

-e lectionOf a Master in

due and anci ent form , the Secretary taking care that

seven days’noti ce of the business of the meeting be given

to each member.

.HI sTOR Y OF LODGE R I SI NG”STAR

The Provincial Grand Lodge guarantees the validi ty ofall B rother Crawford

’s acts Wh ilst fill ing the Cha ir of

Lodge R ising Star.

The Provincial Grand Lodge desire to express the irOpin ion that Brother Merwanjee Maneckjee, who hasbrought this subj ect to the i r notice

,has been contumaci

ous in hi s behaviour in refusing to obey the summonsessent to him and they request that he may be admonished inopen Lodge that such conduct is a v iolation of the

pri nciples of F reemasonry, which require espec ial ly. the

exerc ise of three excel len c ies of character, Secrecy ,F idel ity, and Obed ience

”.

The documents referred to in the last paragraph of yourletter are returned as requested .

I have the honour to be ,

Worshipful Sir and Brother ,Yours faithfully and fraternally ,

W. B L OWERS .

Provincial Grand Secretary.

The Worsh ipful Master ofLodge R ising Star ,

Bombay.

(BrotherM. M. Settna’

s R ep ly.)

Brethren, — I have l i stened with attention to the repri

mand just admin istered from the Chair . Had it not been

the command of the Provinc ial Grand L odge , Whose

authority I am bound to obey, I should have said a greatdeal to show that i f one of the two , that is Brother Craw

ford or I , deserve severa l ly to be repr imanded for our

supposed m isdemeanour, it was he and not I shou ld have

been subjected to a trial l ike the present for infringing

the most fundamental principle of our Order, but as i t

376 HI STORY OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

of Western I ndia such appea l being preferred through

the Worshipful Master of the Lodge .

Now , my complaints have b een addressed to the Prov incial Grand Lodge and sent to the Secretary of our Lodgefor transmission , and I , to take time by the forelock and

as the Provincial Grand Lodge was t hen about to meet ina few days and not to meet again for three months , fur

nished its Secretary with a copy or dupl i cate of my said

complaint transmitted , as beforesaid , through the channel

prescribed in rule No. 88 above quoted . And when

I had found i t indispensab le to transmit to the Secretary

of the Lodge my formal and solemn protest against theproceed ings of the Lodge whi le the question of the legal ity

or i llegal ity of the election of the Worsh ipful Master wasdecided by the Provincial Grand Lodge , I sent a copy of it

to the Provincial Grand Master wi th an observation or

two therein of which I kept no secret wi th the Lodge , for I

had communicated i t the very next instant to the Secretary

of the Lodge . I have thus shown that the pos it ion I took at

the outset I maintained throughout to the end , from whi ch

the result of my appeal to the Provincial Grand Lodge

far from shaking. me , have confirmed me in . Secondly ,

that I have not d irectly corresponded with the Provin

e lal Grand Lodge but through the med ium of this Lodge ,

only furni shing the executive of the former w i th copi es

of my said representation sent through the channe l of

the latter.

I hearti ly regret the existence of any unfri end ly or

unbrotherly feel ing among u s but I consider I did my

duty to the Craft in genera l and thi s Lodge in particular

in thus bringing forward thi s vital question for the final

deci sion of the s uper ior authorities at the risk even of

incurring personal il l-w i l l or unfriendly feel ing of others

towards me,though on my p art I dec lare as a man and

mason , I have none towards any of the brethren .

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o. 342 377

I f Brother Crawford be thi s day re-elected to the Chai rof the Lodge in a constitutional and not unconsti tutional

manner I shal l be bound most cheerful ly to obey h im and

lawful commands that wou ld emanate from him or of the

Lodge of wh ich he may be so elected as a master .

APPEND I X I .

VIL L A BYCUL L A ,

2 0 th J u ly 1 854.

My D ear Bar,

The question now under our considerati on . or rather

of the Grand Lodge Committee of which you are the

Chairman , and to wh ich Blowers asked me to attend , i s ,I think , of the greatest importance , greater perhaps than

the general i ty of the exi sting members of both the R i singStar and Perseverance commonly comprehend . I t i s a

question that goes to the very root of the constitution of

our order,and i f not cautiously approached and calmly

di scussed , and grappled wi th firmness , i t might tend to

subvert not only the main obj ect for which Lodge R is ing

Star was formed b ut to destroy the very landmark of

masonry .

I thought at first not much of the squabb les between

members of both the Lodges , which commenced on

Brother A shburner taking the Chair of Perse verance two

years ago , and from that time might be dated the

black bal l ing of the members of the one into the other

when proposed .to be affi l i ated . But matters have

arrived at a crisis now ,so much so that the exi sting Wor

shipful Master of the Star gave out that he would rather

have,or recommend the ba l lot to be done away with , or

increase the number of the negative bal ls , which , in other

words,amount to the same thing

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I NG STA R

And i f thi s i s done , what next ? Our landmark b eing

removed , that i s , stri ctest scrutiny the due and on ly

safeguard against questi onable admittance d ispensed

wi th , any person , no matter who or what he may be , can

obtain easy admittance into our temp le . All that he w i l l

be requi red to do i s to get one to propose and another to

second him , for he is sure to secure the preponderance o f

the white ba llot for him . I doubt of it's exped iency in

respect even to E uropeans , most solemn ly protest inrespect to the admittance .of natives .

The pecul i ar circumstances under which the native

lodge was , for the fir st time,here erected , the serious

difficulties we have had t o battle w i th , the utmost anxiety

we manifested on the one hand to guard against any

untoward event by an i nflux of intrants , wh i le on the

other to keep up the Lodge in its purity of purpose , you ,who are one of the two or three of its original members

now here , who took very active part i n its construct ion ,

know so we l l that I need not enter into hi storical deta ils .

Bu t I must not omit to remind you of the degree of res

ponsibility I then undertook upon myse lf , or rather our

late and present R ight Worshipful Past Grand Mastersthrew on my shoulders in Opening the portal s of masonry

to the j as and khas .

”I pledged to acqu i t myself of that

responsibi l ity to the extent of my knowledge , power and

abi l ity . Though poor in the latter two , I was not wanting

in my zeal for the cause we had undertaken , and how I

performed my part of the same I leave the Lodge records

to speak and testify .

That I would not have a candidate proposed w i thoutthe most stri ct and searching scrutiny into hi s moralwor th , mental capacity and personal fitness on which ,

particularly the first requ i rement , you and others know

how very tenacious I have a lways been you mayremember in some instances I had written to enqu i re of

you touch ing the fitness of the appl i cants of whom you

380 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STA R

thought it might advance the cau se of our order i f we

could admit a few of the young Bombay whose mora lworth would stand the requ ired test of exami nation .

But the present move among some of the members of the

Lodge i s to place a l i t tle or no l imit to the freedom of

admi ssion,or in other words , reverse the motto ,

“

quantity

not‘ qual i ty” of intrants

,at least it would seem so .

On leaving Bombay last year, our dear e steemed Bro .

L eGeyt placed me in the Chai r of the Star . I refused to

take i f for several reasons ;among others , a worthymember , Brother Ballingal, was ready to take it , and I

cheerfully vacated i t in h is favour . I was on that occas ion

particularly enjoined by the R ightWorshipful seriouslyto continue guardful of the admiss ion Of cand idates .

But when I found it was imposs ib le for me to do

so from having no means of knowing aught'

about

a candidat e,except reading hi s name , in the ci rcular

sent round a few evenings previous to h is being

ballotted for,I Of course wi th in such short interva l

would scarcely have time to enqu i re as to hi s

whereabouts and whatabouts and finding that an

attempt was made to ba l lot for an obj ectionable candi

date one even ing, a l though the suinmons convening that

meeting made no mention of the candidate to be so bal

lotted for that night (happy , on thi s lega l objecti on hiselection was deferred when on a ballot though tw i ce

repeated on the appointed night the candidate in question

was rej ect ed ). The obj ection did not or iginate wi th me ,but with others for which , however , I saw good ground .

I thought it advi sable to addres s our R ight Worshi pful aprivate note on the subj ect wi th twofo ld obj ects to exonorate myself of the respon sibil i ty being imposed on me and

to point out a means by which the position of the Lodge

might b e guarded against dang er of wh ich‘

note I w i ll

j ust give you an extract or two . I said , Masonry is indanger . I conscientiously aver, i f cand idates such as the

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N O. 342 S .C . 881

one I have ment ioned (of whom Bro . L eGeyt happened to

know something) , we got into our temple , where would

you stop ? I cannot be expected to be a lways attending

the Lodge or to command attention from its members

general ly . There must be a watch-guard , I therefore

suggested .

On these several premises I would propose that there

should be a committee , a stand ing one , a lways appointed

in the Lodge consisting of two E uropeans of whom its

Worshipful Master be one wi th a casti ng vote,one

Mahomedan and one Parsee to enqu i r e first into the

character and position of every candidate , whetherh e is an

independent or dependent man . or p laced under fami ly or

other influence , and into hi s moral worth generally , before

hi s name i s to be brought forward,and , secondly , that

no candidate i s to be initiated on the nigh t Of hi s election

but at the sub sequent monthly meeting when and afterthe minutes of the preceding meeting are confirmed .

The Objectionab le cand idate, as I have above said , was

on ballot rej ected . The objection d id not originate wi th

me , though I concurred in the weight of that obj ection ,

and yet directly was I char ged by one of the members

to have put up others to black bal l the objected candi

date How I met my accuser , how on hi s own ground I

floored him,I leave you to sati sfy by the perusal of the

accompany ing. The th ing was beneath my further notice ,and I took none about it afterwards .

Since the above , ten members of R i s ing Star on beingproposed for affil iation at Per severance , were , I heard ,

invariably black bal led , and there has been black bal l ing

who lesale in R is ing Star , both for candidates proposed for

affil i ation and initiation , w i th both of which directly or

indirectly I have had no concern . I was absent on some

of the stormy nights from our meetings,and when I was

present some of, the candidate s , though not proposed and

seconded by me bu t whom I strongly supported by re

382 H I STORY OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

commending them by an address to the attention of the

meeti ng on several grounds , were rej ected . I demanded

repetition of the bal lot , thinking there might have been

some mistake The next time there were more black

bal ls than at first . Th is had the appearance , at l east , of

the existence of party feel ings , and i t has been asserted

that thi s was owing to some d ifference among the mem

bers of Perseverance and R i s ing Star confined , as they

said , to the rupee-payi ng members of both . How far

these statements are correct I have no means of judging,not having had any concern in the matter , d irectly or

indi rectly .

I strongly am against the wholesale system of black

b al l ing in any Lodge , whether our own or Perseverance ,and although I concur in the advi sabi l i ty of adopting a

measure calculated to smother , not inflame , the existence

of any angry feel ing between Masons and members of

one or other Lodges , yet doing away with the hallowed

privi lege, the sacred right of each member to vote , ac

cording to his l i ght or vi ew . of the propri ety or otherwise

of electing any member , or any other question to be

decided by bal lot, or by enlarging the numb ers of the

nagative bal l , which I contend i s the same th ing as doing

away with the bal lot , would be the most obj ectionable

mode of accompl i shing the obj ect,and it would be mak ing

bad worse again . I f, as I heard it suggested , the nega

f ives are requ i red to stand up , say , re q u ir ed to give in open

Lodge the reasons for obj ec ting to a candidate , in the one

case the very principle o f bal lot i s rendered void of util ity ,

by letting everybody know that A and C blackbal led B ,

which A and C for reasons of thei r own would be the last

men to l ike or to b ecome an open enemy of the par ty black

bal led or Of hi s advocates and fri ends,and in the other ca se

i t would be vesting a Master of a Lodge wi th an extraordi

nary power of getting out every family secret o r private

history or character of every rej ected candidate which

384 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I NG STAR

wou ld never b e too watchful . A word of a Mason is a

safeguard from an E uropean member,i f he vouches for

the admissi on of an E uropean cand idate of whom he may

be supposed to know much . But vouchsafing for a native

candidate by an E uropean who i s not supposed to be so

conversant as a native , requ i red to be most carefu l ly considered. I f the sl ightest shade of obj ection i s raised to

impugn the propriety of admitting a native cand idate byone of our members

,whether native or E uropean

, I would

not be acting to my duty i f I supported such a candidate .

A native cand idate need only not be . l iving under the

tongue of good report, but also he must be beyond even

the shade of a supposition to the contrary .

The case between a native and E uropean Lodge i s

widely d ifferent , and should not be conducted under oneand the same rule or precedents .

The more I think of thi s as a man and a Mason , the

greater I feel the responsibi l ity we have assumed to our

selves in throwing open and'

wi d ening the portals of

masonry to the natives of thi s country,and in corres

ponding ratio the greater degre e of ci rcumspection i s

requi s i te than in the cases of E uropeans to guard against

any untoward mishap which those who originally opposedus in th is undertak ing made u s beware of

I think I have done my duty in letting you know so

fully and so unreserved ly my feel ings and sentiments on

the subject , and as the Chairman of the Committe e you

are welcome to (and I shal l be glad i f you wi l l ) lay this

before Brothers Compton and B lowers , who appear to me

to be the only remaining origina l members of the Starnow here who took an active share in debating the ques

tion when first started , now 10 years ago .

MANECKJ E E CURSE TJ EE .

P. S — I commen ced wri t ing this le t t er last n ight and did no t

fin ish it t ill past this morn ing . I shall cau se a copy t o be kep t e re

ending it t o you .

L

OF WESTERN I ND I A Na. 342 S .C.385

APPE ND I X J .

MANECKJ E E CURSETJ EE SHROF 'F, E SQR

B OMBAY .

B ombay, 25 th April 1 862 .

R ight Worshipful S ir and Brother ,We

,the undersigned Master , Officers and Past and

Present Memb ers of Lodge R i s ing Star of WesternI ndia , No.

~342,in pursuance of a R esolution passed at

the regular meeting of the Lodge on the night of the 19th

December 1859 , avai l ourselves of thi s opportunity to

present you thi s address, expressive of the many obliga

tions and sincere esteem we feel and entertain for you on

account of your exertions on behalf of Masonry in

general , and of the Lodge in parti cular .

You,Worshi pful Sir,

have been the d ist ingu i shed

Native Gentleman on thi s side of I ndia who has been

fortunate to be the first to receive the glor ious Masoni c

l ight and who has thereby laid Open the porta l s of thi s

anc ient and honourab le F raterni ty to every‘

good and

respectable N ative Gentleman .

You, Worshipful Sir , have been , moreover , the main

cause of the erection of thi s Lodge .

A t the latter end of the year 1843 R ight WorshipfulB rother Burnes , the then Provincial Grand Master of

Western I ndi a , in conjunction wi th the R ight WorshipfulBrother the late lamented Brother L eGeyt founded the

Lodge w ith the eminen t assi stance of your Worshipfu lself the only Native Gentleman who then belonged to our

Mason ic Craft .When governing the Lodge as the Worshipful Master

in the Cha ir you have showed and proved to the Brethrenthat your heart and head were gu ided by the Masoni cvirtues .

You were a perfect Ashlar whereupon to try and

adjust our.Mason ic opinions and actions.

386 H I STORY OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

I n short, Worshipful Sir, you cannot but spon taneouslyexact from u s our deep-felt esteem , love , and grati tude

for the severa l and valuab le services rendered by you to

the Lodge R i sing Star ,” e ither as one of its originators

or as its oldest member who remained attached to i t un in

terruptedly from its very commencement to the present

moment or as its staunchest and s incere friend as much.

i n its days of advers ity as in i ts days of prosperity .

Worshipful Sir, we are sensible of the loss the Lodgeshal l sustain during your temporary absence f rom th is

country . We shal l have the conso lation, however, inyour ab sence of looking upon your l ikeness (which is

expected back shortly from China) with pleasure and

del ight , as i t wi l l remind us of a d istinguished Brother

whom we feel proud to honour this even ing .

Had the j ewel and apron . voted to you, arri ved f rom

E ngland ere thi s i t would have given us great pleasure

in having them presented to you th is even ing to be car;ried by you to E ngland , whi ch when worn by you there ,

would have reminded you in that d istant country of your

loving brethren of. thi s Lodge .

I n conclusion, accept our sincere wishes and may the

Great Architect of the Un iverse guard you and your

ch i ldren and keep you i n H is Holy she lter , and may thebond of friendship and good f e llowship whi ch subsi stsbetween you and the members of the Lodge be neversevered ti ll we are called upon to vi sit the Grand Lodgewhere the Great A rchitect of the Universe is the supremeruler and Great Grand Master .

R ep ly.

The Worshipful Past Master , Brother Maneckjee

Cursetjee, i n returning thanks to the Worshipful Masterand Brethren fo r the honour they had done him, said as

follows

I am obl iged to you , brethren , for the very kind

manner in which you have appreciated the little I have

88 H I STORY OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

ship and bonds of fellowship in a society m ixed like

thi s .

I am glad to say that the e fforts have originated in

the erection of thi s Lodge,in

/

wh ich I am proud to se e so

many of my native fri ends in the t ie s of fr iendship and

fellowship . I deserve no thanks for what -I have done .

A goblet or a plate would have been of l i ttle use to me ,but as you have been pleased to have my p i cture put up

here I proposed then that a BrotherArtist 'was in poor

c i rcumstances and a few rupees this way put into hi s

hands would not be i l l-spent , and that t he Lodge funds

might not suffer I proposed'

to con tribute a purse , and

Brother Secretary , you sha l l rece ive from me a sum equ i

va lent to money spent on the picture,to form a nucleus to

a fund for charitable purposes . D ear and Worshipful Sirand Brethren , my short stay in E ngland wi l l not sever

my connection from the Lodge , and I hOp e to see you one

and al l in good health and prosperi ty after my return .

”

APPE NDI X K .

E ast Gate , L incoln ,

Sep tember 12 th, 1 862 .

To THE' WORSH IPFUL MASTER , OFFICE R , AND BRETHREN

on THE LODGE R ISING STAR or WE STERN I NDIA .

My dear Brethren ,

I t has been remarked by. a profound moral i st that a

token of respect to a man advanced in years'

conveys

more real gratification to his mind than would have

been produced at any earl i e r period by a simi lar demonstration .

Your kind app rova l of my labours , communicated by

our worthy and esteemed Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee ,accompanied «by a vot e of a Burnes’ Medal , affords a

striking i llustration of the above truth .

OF WE STE RN IND I A N o . 342 S .C. 389

As you justly observe in the R esolution . I have laboured for more than half a century in the cause of Masonry

and I have endeavoured to i llustrate its transcendent

beauties and to pla ce it on its legitimate basi s as a bene .

volent institu tion calculated to improve the morals and

en l i ghten the understanding of all worthy men of wha t

ever cl imate or rel igion who have accepted it as al ight to

gu ide them through the devious wi lderness of this world

in thei r progress to another and a better .

Under the impression that the Lodge R i sing Star of

Western I nd ia i s prosperous and flouri shing I sincerely

pray that a lthough the distance -prevents us from becoming

personally acquainted with each other here,

-we shal l

meet in a more perfect state of happiness in the Grand

Lodge above .

Bel ieve me to be,my dear brethren , ever truly yours ,

GEo. OL IVER .

Grand H otel,

Paris,2 0 th Sep tember 1 8 62 .

MONSIEUR L E MARSHAL L .

Most venerab le F rére ,

I have the honour of sending Your E xcel lency the

enclosed from Lodge R is ing Star ofWestern I ndia con11)

veying i ts reso lution to present you wi th one of its medals .

I have been depu ted to present that meda l to you,

which I shal l feel great gratification in doing in amannermost acceptabl e to you . F riday you were out of Town

when I enqu ired at your Hotel , whi le my stay in Pari swi l l be but of a very short duration . I trust to your

affording me an early opportunity of enab l ing me toexecute the commission wi th which I have been chargedby the brethren .

D

You may l ike to know someth ing of thi s Lodge. I t

is one of pecul iar, or rather I should say formed under

peculiar circumstances .


There were obj ections (unmasonic ones of course)sta rted b y some of the E uropean Masons to the admis

sion in the portals of our beloved Order of the Natives of

I ndia there being no preceden t to gu id e the i r course

therem. I was the first Native of that country who when

first travell ing i n E urope in 1841 was ini tiated in Paris

i n the Lodge A l’

Gloire de l’Universe under the auspices

of one of your predecessors , my deeply lamented friend

Duc de Cazé, and I subsequently have been in a measure

instrumental in found ing the Lodge aforesaid‘

for‘

the

recepti on of my countrymen , and the medal of which one

I have been deputed to present to you was struck i n hon

our and commemoration of the advent so interesting in

the annals of F reemasonry .

You wi l l thus observe, MostWorshipful Sir, that to thespirit of the F rench Masonry our N ative brethren in I nd ia

owe the k indl ing and d iffusion of the light among them .

Wi th consideration of high respect and fraterna l fee lmgs ,

I remain , Dear Sir and Most Worshipful B rother ,Yours devoted to servi ce ,

MANE CK J EE CURSET J E E .

Son E xcellence

Monsieur le Marshal l

et haut Venerabl e F rére Magnon

i l lustrious et haut Grand Master F rance, etc . etc . etc .

Place V endomme,L’amitre Parfait e ,S . L. A . D . G . 0 . De F r.

Or . de Paris le 24 Sept.

The R espectable L ODGE R ISIN G STAR or BOMBAY ,

Worshizpful Master , Senior and JuniorWardensand the rest of the Brethren .

Being overwhelmed wi th the kind reception g iven me

by the most respectable and dear Brother Maneckjee


and health and that I may have often the occasion to give

you a substanti a l proof of my attachment towards you .

Most i l lustrious Worshipful and respectable Brethrenreceive my S incere ly masonic expression of my eterna l

gratitude for the d i stingu i shed honour you have done me

of which I shal l be proud .

I n the mysterious numbers which you know

Your Most D evoted Bro

Med ing 30.

R eprese ntative of the Grand Lodge of Saxony

in the Grand Orient of F rance .

APPENDI X D .

V illa Byculla, 1 9 th March 1863 .

S i rs and Brethren ,

Wi th reference to what occurred at the last regularmeeting of Lodge R i sing Star of Western I ndia , and

before confirming i ts proceedings at the ensu ing meeting

summoned to be held to-morrow I feel const rained to ask

you to read before the Lodge the enclosed true transcript

I send of the correspondence b etween R t . Wor. Bro .

Judge and me .

I f the subj ect-matter of the said correspondence or

any trace of i t remain recorded or be al lowed to remainrecorded i n the minutes of the Lodge , then ,

in justice to

thi s.distingui shed Mason and a Worthy Brother, I

request the Lodge to have embod ied in its minutes ofproceed ings what he wrote to me

,my answer and hi s

reply . (V ide the enclosed .) But i f otherwise , i f the

records of the Lpdge bear no mention of the subject ,then

,the enclosed need not be embodied i n the minutes

but merely read in open Lodge and recorded amon g its

miscellaneous correspondence ,

OF WE STE RN I NDI A No. 342 S C . 93

I wi ll not and I regret considerably,conveni ently I

cannot attend Lodge meetings.

Your faithful servant and brother,

MAN ECK J E E CURSETJ E E ,

Past Master of Lodge R i sing Star of Western I ndia .

TO

SECRETARY , LODGE R ISING STAR OF WE STERN I ND IA,

Lodge R ooms,Colaba .

Transcrip t of the enclosures to R t . Wor. B ro . Maneck

jee Cnrsetjee’

s letter, dated 1 9 th March 1 863 .

2 7 th F ebruary 1 863 .

My dear Maneckjee,

Barton informs me that you proposed me as an Honorary

Member of Lodge R is ing Star and that I was unanimously

b lack-bal led , there not being a s ingle whi te bal l in the

box . I s thi s information correct

I f i t i s correct , wi ll you have the kindness to inform

Lodge R i sing Star that as you proposed me wi thout

having first obtained my consent,they had no right to

ballot me and that their bal lot by al l the rules and

customs of the Craft i s void and that they have no

right to record it upon the ir minutes .

0

I trust to you to see this act of justice done me i f

Barton’

s information i s correct,because you had no

ri ght to propose me to the Lodge , either as an honorary

or joining member without my permission .

I am utterly at a loss to understand however why the

members of R ising Star do unanimously entertain i llwi l l towards me

,for I am not aware of having ever given

any offence to any of them and I certainly never intended to do so .

I am ,afraid thei r minds have been poi soned

against me by some vi le traducer who ought to be un

masked .

394 H I STOR Y OF LODGE R I SI NG STAR

I t occurred to me as poss ib le that they b lack bal led

me in revenge for the wholesale b lack bal l ing of the

members of R i s ing Star by Lodge Perseverance when

they appl ied to j oin that Lodge , but i f so thei r ideas of

j ustice must be very strange , for as I am not a member

Of Lodge Perseverance I could not have had anyth ing todo with black-ball ing any of the members of R i s ing

Star in it,but Barton had , for he was the prime mover

in the b lack-bal l ing by hi s own admission in open Lodge ,

and yet R i sing Star unanimously black-bal led me when

you proposed me as an Honorary Member and unanimously elect Barton to be recommended to be appointed

Provincial Grand Master of Western I ndia under Scot

land at one and the same meeting.

Yours truly ,

G . S . JUDGE .

P. S .

— I hOpe you wil l ascertain for me the reason

for this unanimous black-ball ing , for I have a right to

know i t as i t i s an unmerited insult a imed at one ever

respected by the rest of the Craft .

MANECK J EE CURSET J EE ,E SQR .

Villa Bycu lla,

F ebru ary 28 th ,1 8 63 .

My dear '

J udge ,

I have the pleasure of your note . I f Barton told you

you were unanimous ly black-bal led on my proposal i n theStar ” to elect you an H onorary Member , he told youwhat i s not qu i te correct . I n the first place there was no

bal lot , but on the Show of hands the proposition was lost

because there were some pros , some cons , and because

H onorary Members must be e lected by acclamation and

unanimously .


I must st i l l , therefore , ask you to arrange that nei

ther the proposa l of my name as an Honorary Member of

Lodge R is ing Star nor its rej ection shal l be recorded in

the minutes of your last meeting , as the proposition wa s

made w i thout my consent having been first obtained,and

I shal l attend the next meeting of the R i s ing Star when

I hope you wi l l accompany me to se e that i t i s not

recorded .

Yours tru ly ,G . S . JUDGE .

MAN E CK J E E CURSE T J E E ,E SQR . .

(T rue copies .)

MAN E CK J E E CURSETJ EE .

B ombay, 1 9th March 1 863 .

To

T HE WOR SH IPFUL MASTER OF LODGE R ISING STAR ,

BOMBAY .

Vorshipfu l Sir and Brother ,

I have been informed that at your last meeting Wor

shipful Brother Maneckjee Cursetjee proposed me for

e lection as an Honorary Member Of your Lodge and that

the proposition was rejected because the ba l lot was not

unanimous . A s that proposition was made wi thout my

knowledge or consent , the voting upon it was null and

void and I therefore protest against any record of the

transaction being entered upon your minutes .

I confess I should have been surpri sed at your having

committed the irregularity, and to say inj u st ice of taking

the opinion of your Lodge upon the question of my ma

soni c worth in the form of an election as an H onorary

Member w i thout my consent, i f I did not bel i eve that your

desire to Show kindness to me prevented the irregularity

of the proceed ing from occurring to your mind ,

OF WE STE RN I ND I A No. 342 S c . 397

Whilst protesting against any record of the above

mat ters being en tered in the minutes book of your Lodge

and maintaining the irregularity of the whole transaction ,

I am duly sensib le of the honour which Worshipful Brothers Maneckji Cursetje e and those who voted with him

intended to confer upon me , and I am duly grateful to him

and them for the ir kind inten tions .

I remain ,Worshipful Sir and Brother ,Yours fraternal ly ,

G . S . JUDGE ,

D epu ty Provincial Grand Master of B ombay

under the Grand L odge of E ngland .

APPE NDI X M .

LODGE R ISING STAR OF WESTERN I ND IA No . 342 .

B ombay,22nd October 1 8 6 6 .

WORSH IPFUL BROTHER K . R . CAMA, Secretary ,

Prov incial Grand Lodge ofWestern I ndia underScotland .

Worshipful Sir and Dear B rother ,I am desired by the Worshipful Master of Lodge

R is ing Star of Western I ndia N o . 342 to request you to'

bring to the prominent notice of the R ight WorshipfulProvincial Grand Master of Western I ndia under Scotland an obj ectionable practice latterly fol lowed by LodgeSt . Andrews i n the E ast w i th respect to initiating nativeresidents of Bombay in that Lodge .

You are aware that Lodge R i s ing Star was founded

expressly for the reception of Native Gentlemen of um

doub ted good character,an

'

d an espec ial covenant wasentered into between this Lodge and the then only exi sting

Lodge , which was Perseverance , restricting the former to

the initiation of Native Gentlemen only ,and the latte r to

398 H I STOR Y OE L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

that of E uropean Gentlemen , for the most obvious reason

that members of each community can only be wel l known

wi thin itself . On the bas i s thu s laid down,both lodges

have worked harmoniously to thi s day wi thout in the least

i nterfering wi th each other’s work . Thi s Lodge has,I am

happy to say , constantly kept before it th is important

obj ect for which i t was estab l i shed,and has refrained

most consci entiously from initiating any candidate who

was l ike ly to prove himself unworthy of thi s lodge and a

di sgrace to the honoured Craft . This accounts for the

paucity of the members of thi s Lodge and for the non

increase of other Native Lodges . Whi le we are thu sexerci sing a strict caution in our own sphere

,we are

gri eved to learn that Lodge St . Andrews in the E ast freely

initiate native cand idates from Bombay who have been

either refused admi ssion or have not dared to ask for it

wel l knowing from common reports that thi s Lodge i s

very stri ct in i ts choi ce of members . I f thi s system

is allowed to continue we shal l be soon inundated with

the vi sits of im’

proper persons w i th whom we should

certainly Object to meet on a footing of equal ity . I t has

already come to the noti ce of some members of thi s

Lodge that , encouraged by the successful att empts of

k

certain native candidates in getting admittance into

F reemasonry at Poona , others of the same stamp of

character hav e resolved to make a trip to Poona with the

express obj ect of getting themse lves admitted into the

Poona Lodge . Thi s circumstance has , therefore , become

a source of great anxiety to members of thi s Lodge , for her

vital ity depends on the maintenance of the high position

which she has enjoyed and which i s l ikely to be under

mined if disreputab le persons go abou t in the native

community styl ing themse lves F reemasons . Not on ly

wi l l thi s Lodge be in‘

danger of losing i ts character bu t

F reemasonry°

wi l l be brought into contempt in Bombay

if every person who could afford to pay his entrance fee

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I NG SrA R

conveyed released and assured or expressed and intended

so to be agreed prior to the insolvency of h is said firm to

H'

A t tconvey the same to trustees upon

seal; greemm Othe trusts hereinafter expressed and

declared concerning the same for

the benefit of the members of the MASON I C LODGE i n

Bombay cal led“

R I S I NG STAR OF WE STE RN I ND I A

N o . 342 or such other lodge as i s hereinafter referred

to but no conveyance or deed of trust was ever executed

AND WHE RE AS at a meeting of

SefiigffsngF ggn

0

51132? the creditors of the sa id firm ofA ct 28 of 1865 . S . and N . NANABHOY convened

under Act XXV I I I of 1865 of the

Legi slative Counci l of I ndi a and held on the twenty-first

day of May one thousand eight hundred and sixty-six it

was resolved ( in ter alia) by a majority in number and

unsecured value of cred itors present or represented at

the said meeting that the estate of the Said firm of“S . and N . NANABHOY should be wound up

’

under the

management of trustees in accordance with the provisions

Of the said A c t XXV I I l of 1865 and that an appl i ca

tion be made to the H igh Court for

51

315 116 6 5 that purpose and that R OWLAND

HAM I LTON PE STONJ E E NOWs

0

ROJ E E POCHAJ E E and SEWJ E E

Hgglnfi

égl

ffion

of 33;WE L L J E E Should be appointed suchresolu tion s to Wind trustees AND WHE R EAS by an

“P'

order of the H igh court of Judi

cature at B ombay dated the twenty

fi fth day of May one thousand eight

hundred and S ixty-six the said

resolutions were confirmed AND WHE R EAS by anotherorder made by

‘the said H igh Court of Judicature at

Bombay in the said.

matter on the fifth day of June one

thousand eight hundred and sixty-six WI LLI AM JAME SBE ST . and the said KURSONDAS NENSE E were

Su b s t i t u t i o n of

w in fding u p tru st ees .

OF WE STE RN I NDI A N o . 342 401

substituted'

for the said PE STON J E E NOWROJ E EPOCHAJ E E and SEWJ E E WE L L J E E as trustees of the

said estate AND WHE REAS by anorder of the said H igh Court of Judi

cature at Bombay dated the Twenty-second day of

December one thousand eight hundred and sixty—six it

was ordered that the said JOHN ALE XANDE R JAME S

SHAW be appointed a trustee in the p lace and stead of

the said WI LLI AM JAME S BE ST resigned AND

WHE RE AS by an order of the said H igh Court of Judicature at Bombay made on the Thirtieth day of Marchone thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine it was ordered

that the said ROWLAND HAM I LTON be permitted to‘

resign the trusts of the said estate and that any Act by

the provi si ons of the said Act requ i red or authorized

to be done by the trustees . might be done by the

remain ing trustees the said JOHNAgreemen t Of said ALE XANDE R JAME S SHAW and

Eio‘

ts

x

feriiu sif

’ c onveyKURSONDASS NENSE E AND

WHE RE AS the said JOHN ALE XANDE R JAME S SHAW and KURSONDASS NENSE E

have consented at the request of the said NOWROJ E ENANABHOY F RAMJ E E to convey the said piece or

parcel of land and heredi taments to the said KUR

SHE D J E E RUSTOMJ E E CAMA and MUNCHE RJ E E

CAWASJ E E MURZBAN thei r heirs and assign s upon

the trusts and to and for the ends intents and purposeshereinafter declared and contained concerning the same .

N OW T H I S I N D E N T U R EWI TN E SSE TH that in pursuance of

the said agreement and in consideration of the premises

they the said J OHN ALE XANDE R JAME S SHAWand

KURSON DASS N E NSE E do and each“ of them doth

hereby grant rel ease convey andassure and the said NOWROJ E E

NANABHOY F RAMJE E doth hereby grant release51

Fu rther su bst itu t ion .

Testatum .

Gran t .


convey assure and confirm unto the sa id KURSHE DJ E ERUSTOMJ E E CAMA and MUNCHE R J E E CAWASJ E E

MURZBAN their heirs and assign s

mgnr

t

‘

fsmes Of S et tle

AL L THAT piece or parce l of

foras freehold land or ground and

prem ises formerly and now vacant situateat B ellasisR oad on the South side of the sa id

road in the sub-d istri ct of Mazagaon

i n the I sland of Bombay containing by admeasurement T en

thousand and eight hundred square yards or thereabouts

regi stered in the books of the Col lector of Land R evenueunder Nos . 100 and 101 and bounded as follows — that i s

to say on the E ast and N orth by property be longing to

the Bank of Bombay on the West by property belongingto J ehangeer Nusserwanjee and on the South partly by.

property belonging to the estate of the late L uxuman

Govindjee and partly by property belonging to the said

Bank of Bombay TOGE THER WI TH al l ways , waters ,wel ls , trees , l iberties , privi leges , ease

ments ,advantages and appurtenances

whatsoever to the said pi ece or parcel of land and premi

ses hereby granted released conveyed assured and con

firmed or expressed and intended so to be or any of them

or any part thereof belonging or in any wi se appertaining

AND AL L THE E STAT E right

title and interest whatsoever both

at law and in equ ity of them the said JOHN ALE XAN

DE R JAMES SHAW;KURSONDASS N E NSE E AND

NOWROJ E E NANABHOY F RAMJ E E or of any of themin to or out of the said pi ece or parce l of land and pre

mises and every part thereof TO

HAVE AND TO HOLD the sa id

piece or parcel of land hereditaments and premi ses hereby

granted released conveyed assured and confirmed or

expressed and intended so to be wi th the appurte

nances UNTO AND. TO THE USE of the Said

Parcels .

Gen era lWords

E state C lau se .

Habendum .

404 HISTOR Y OF LODGE R I SI NG STAR

other hered itaments upon such terms and under such

cond itions as the said KHURSHE DJ E E RUSTOMJ E E

CAMA and MUNCHE R J E E CAWASJ E E MURZBAN orthe survivor of them or the heirs of such survivor shal l

think fit and may revoke the trusts and powers then

subs isting in the hereditaments so sold or d isposed of

in exchange and appoint the same to such uses and in

such manner as shal l be expedient to effectuate such sale

or exchang e AND I T I S HE RE BYR eceipt of tru stees DE CLAR E D that the rece ipt of the

said trustees or trustee for any

monies paid to them or him upon any sale or for equal i ty

of exchange under the power of sale and exchange here

inb efor'

e contained shal l effectual ly discharge the persons

paying the same therefrom and from being concerned to

see to the appl i cation thereof AND I T I S HE RE BY

DE CLARE D that the said trustees or trustee shal l at

the l ike request lay out the money

ceEIIgStiff

ex

s

c

a

h

l

gnpg

r

e

o

d received uponO

any sale or for equal ity

lanrd,of exchange e1ther ln the purchase of

land in the I sland of B ombay to be

settled upon the trusts and subj e ct to the powers herebyl imited or in the erection or towards the erection of a

bu ild ing on any land belonging to, the Mason ic Body 1

Lwork ing under the Grand Lodge of Scotland subject to

the cond i tion that such bu i ld ing shal l be called THE

F RAMJ E E CAWASJ E E MASON I C HALL‘

AND I T

I S HE R E BY F URTH E R DE

I nte l’im investment CL ARE D that until the money to b e

rece ived upon any sale or for equal“

i ty of exchange shal l be laid out a s aforesaid the sai d

trustees or trustee maywi th the consent of the maj or ity

of the said members invest the same in the ir or his names

or name in Promissory Notes of the Government: of I nd ia

but in no other mode of investment AND I T I S H E R E BYDE CLARE D

”

that unt il the said build ing to be called

OF WE STE RN I ND I A NO. 342 S .C. 405

THE F RAMJ E E CAWASJ E E MASON I C HALL

shal l be erected the said trustees or trustee shal l applythe income to ari se from the said

Use of in come of land or land taken in exchange ortru st prenu ses ‘ from the securitie s on which the

proceeds of land sold shall be invest

ed in or towards the payment of the rent of a bu i ld ing to

be cal led THE F RAMJ E E CAWASJ E E MASON I CHALL ” to be u sed for the purposes aforesaid I ROV I D

E D ALWAYS and it is hereby further declared that if

the said LODGE R I S I NG STARU lt imate tru st

.

ln OF WE STE RN I NDIA No. 342event of dissolu t iono f L odge R ising Star. shal l from any cause whatever cease

to exi st the said trustees or trusteeshal l stand seized or possessed of the said land or any land

to be taken in exchange as af oresaid and the proceeds

of any land sold and so far as they can of the b u i lding to

be erected and called THE F RAMJ E E CAWASJ E EMASON I C HALL for the members for the timebeing or such other Lodge working under the Grand

Lodge of Scotland as the said tru stee or trustees shal l

think fit upon the trusts and to and for the ends intents

and purposes and wi th under and subj ect to the powers

provisions and declarations hereinbefore contained or

such of them as shall be then subsi sting or capable of

taking effect AND I T I S HE RE BY DE CLAR E D that if

the said trustees hereby appointedAppOintmen t or e ither of them or any trustee or

n ew t ru st ees.

trustees to be appomted as herein

after is mentioned shal l d i e or des ire to be di scharged or

refuse or become incapable to act then and so often the

majority of the said members or in the event of the di s

solution of the said Lodge the surviving or continu ing or

the executors of the surviving trustee , may appoint a new

trustee or new tru stees in the stead of ) the trustee or

trustees so dying or desi ring to be di scharged or refusing


or becoming incapable to act and upon every such appoint

ment the said trust premi ses shal l be so;transferred that

the same may become vested in the new trustee or

trustees jointly with the surviving or continuing trustee

or solely as the case may requ ire and every su ch new

trustee shal l (as well before as after the said tru st

premi ses shal l have become so vested ) have the samepower authoriti e s and di screti on as

Indemn ity Of Tru s’

i f he had been hereby original ly

appointed a trustee AND I T I S

HE REBY DE CLAR E D that the trustees for the time

being of these presents shal l be respectively chargeab le

only with such monies as they respectively shal l actual ly

receive and shal l not be answerab le for each other nor

for any banker broker or other person in whose hands

any of the trust moneys shal l be placed nor for the in

sufficiency or defic iency of any securities nor otherwi se

for involuntary losse s and that the said trustees may

respective ly reimburse themselves out of the trust pre

mises al l expenses incurred in OrCoven an ts again s t about the execution of the aforesaid'

;gggfgfmfi e

birfl

‘

s

‘

i trusts and powers AND each oftees of his firm them the sa id JOHN ALE XANDE R

JAME S SHAW KURSONDASS

NENSE E and NOWROJ E E NANABHOY F RAMJ E E so

far as relates to h is own acts doth hereby for himself hi s

he irs executors and administrators covenant with the said

KHURSHE D J E E RUSTOMJ E E CAMA and MUNCH E R

JE E CAWASJ E E MURZBAN their he irs and assigns

that they the said JOHN ALE XANDE R JAME S SHAWKURSONDASS N ENSE E and NOWROJ E E NANA

BHOY F RAMJ E E respectively have not done or know

ingly suffered or been party or privy to anything where

by the said piece or parce l of land and premises herein o

before described and hereby granted released conveyed

assured and confirmed or intended so to be or any part


R egi s tered No . 32 A at pages 136 to 145 ,Vol . 16 Of

Book 1 .

(Signed ) B . DADABHOY ,

R egistrar of B ombay .

30th May 1870 .

R egister No. 3 Col lec tor’s No . 100 and 101'

Old Survey No . 82 and N ew Survey No.

The foregoing deed of tran sfer of land has been duly

registered in the R egister Book (marked letter A ) of the

F oras F reehold property in the I s land of Bombay,whi ch

I hereby certi fy.

(Signed ) F . F . ARBUTHNOT ,

Collector.

B ombay, Collector’s Ofiice, 12 thMay 1877

R egi stered .

S 721- 2000 ~ 277

APPE NDI X 0 .

B ombay, 1 8 th D ecember 18 72 .

J . N . DADY, E so.,

Worshipful Master , Lodge Cyrus .

Dear Sir and Worshipful Brother

I t has recently come to my knowledge that some H indugentlemen are about to be initiated i n Lodge Cyrusof which you are the Worshipful Master .

The subj ect of. admitting H i ndus into F reemasonry

has been very frequently d i scussed without any definite

result . Very great and careful consideration has at alltimes been paid to thi s important question by i ndividual

Lodges , and it has been vi ewed in the most favourable

light possible, but the conclusions arrived at, by each

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o.342 S .C .

body , was that no methodical or systemati c rules cou ldbe laid down by one parti cular L odge

'

how and in what

manner H indus could be admitted into F reemasonry ,

and each Lodge thought that such a quest ion could not be

settled by one single Lodge but by al l the Lodges meeting

on thi s side ofWestern I ndia .

0

I therefore deem i t my: paramount duty to acquaint you

that thi s q uesti on has already been discussed by? indivi

dual Lodges , in the hope that you may not take any hasty

step in a matter which req uires'

to be carefully arranged

and systematical ly put through .

I think your Lodge would be incurring a grave responsib ility were you not to pay any attention to the experi

ence of the past and proceed to initiate the cand idates

f in quest ion.

I n my humble Opinion i t would be better i f you were tohold a conference w ith your si ster Lodges , both E nglish

and Scotch , and there di scuss thi s subj ect which ,as it

does , affects the interest of every F reemason throughout

the globe

No one I S more w i l l ing than myself to see the H indus

enrol led amongst u s , fo r I cannot shut my eyes to thefact that i f thi s can be done without doing any violenceto the

‘

spirit of our Order , al l the caste prejudi ces which

grind down the H indus would me lt away under the benign influence of F reemasonry and create a social revo

lution i n I ndia .

The great importance that'

I at ta ch to thi s subject i s

my on ly apology for troubl i ng you with this long letter ,and I have to request you to be good enough to read

it to your Lodge before you proc eed .

,to ballot for the

candidates .

I have not had time to communicate w i th al l the mem

bers of my Lodge upon the subject , but I have consu lted52


wi th many of theOldes t members and they are al l at onewi th me .

I remain,

Dear Sir and Worshipfu l Brothers ,Yours fa ithfu l ly ,

D . R : CH I CH GUR ,

Worshipful Master, Lodge R i sing Star .

APPEND I X P

Lodge R ising Star of Western I ndia ,N o .

°342 S . C .

B ombay , I s t March 18 79 .

To R ight Worshipful Brother

The Hon’

ble JAMES G IBBS,

D istri ct Grand Master of Bombay,E . C . ,

H onorary Member of Lodge R i sing Star ofWestern I ndia , etc .

R ight Worshipful Sir and B eloved Brother ,we, the Master , Past Masters , Officers and Members

of R i s ing Star of Western I ndia , i n open Lodge assemb

led, greet you with mingled feel ings of de l ight and regret

on thi s , probably the last.

occasion of your atten dingamongst us in your capacityof a fe l low-member .

Your h igh position in our venerable Order , harmonious ly

blending Wi th your d is tingu i shed publ i c and Social

rank,

‘ has demanded from”

you , R ight Worshipful Sir,

towards the d ischarge of your high Masonic function s , the

continued exercise of rare qual iti es both of the head and

the heart for a series of years . The abi l ity , the zeal ,and the j ud i c iousne

’

ss which you have invariably broughtto bear on the admini strati on of that section of the Craft

wh ich has had the good fortune to enj oy your ru le , have

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R ISI NG STAR

the Craft to the sons of I ndi a . f rom a date when many

of i ts younger members were not born . Your wide sym

pathic s with the people of the country , and your far

reaching endeavours to secure thei r wel l-being, have

imparted ' to your name a character whi ch eminently ‘

j ustifies its appearance among the names of those who

under the leadership of its eminent and Worsh ipfulBrother Doctor Burnes , threw Open to them the portals of

Masonry now thirtyefive years ago . And your unbroken

connec ti on with this lodg’e heretofore is a ci rcumstance

whi ch , while i t testifies to’

your zea l in advancing the .

cause whi ch the Lodge represents , proves , we venture to

bel i eve, that throughout i ts long career , it has stri ven to .

do its work and ma intain the prestige of its au spicious

origin jn a manner which has enl i sted the approval of so

eminent a Mason as yourself .

Some years ag o, R ight Worshipful Sir, your fel lowmembers expressed thei r recognition of your unswerving

attachment to thi s Lodge and of your high Masoni c

worth, by t ran slat ing your name to the l i st of its hono

rary members and by vo ting you the highes t honour i n

their gift, the F undator’s

.

Medal . These measures have

so far rivetted your connection wi th th is Lodge that no

d istance of situation can make a difference in the relationship which i t c laims wi th you . And though we sincerely regret your approaching departure from theseshores , i n that

‘we sha l l miss your genia l presence and

mature judgment on important occasions in future , !we

glad ly seize .thi s opportunity of assuri ng you , R ight

Worshipful Sir, that as in the annal s of thi s Lodge , so in

the recesses of our hearts , your beloved name wi ll al

ways be fondly retained . We now bid you farewel l and

earnestly pray the (Brand A rchi tect of the Universe thatHe may be pleased to grant you , i n your honoured retire

ment, many years of enj oyment and u sefulness in a yetbroader Masonic sphere .

oF WESTERN I ND IA NO. 413

A ccept , R ight Worsh i pfu l Sir, the parting assuranceour deep attachment and fraternal regard, ,

and

Bel i eve us to remain ,

With profound respect,

Your faithfu l Brethren ,

HORMUSJ I DADABHOY

H E NRY MORL AND

M'

AN E CK J I CURSET J I

K . R . CAMA

M . C . MURZBAN

D . R . CH I CHGUR

P . M . MEHTA

R . M . PATE L L

NOWROJ I F URDOON J I

J . D . WADIA

J EHAN J I R GUST 'ADJ I

H . M . CH I CHGUR

R . M . CH I CH GUR

M . M . B HOWNAGRE E

M . D . DOCTOR

and others .

The Worsh ipful Master then handed the address toR ight Worshi pful Brother G i bbs amid loud applause .

R ight Worshipful Brother James G ibbs ,whose ris ing

was loud ly cheered , then said that when he looked backto the time , the first occasion that i s , when he attendedLodge R i sing $tar , which

.

was so far as he recollected inAugust or September 1847 , he recol lected that there werethen in it only a f ew members of the Par’See communi tyand one or two of the Mahomedan , Lodge R ising Star was

H I STOR Y OF LODGE RI SING STAR

then,as they were probably aware , a si ster Lodge to Per

severance,the members of which were also members, of

Lodge R i sing Star. When he looked back to those days herecol lected that there was then on ly one E ngl i sh lodge in

Bombay and one for the admission of natives . Now

he found that among the number of Lodges over which

he had the honuor to rule these nine years , there

were two Parsee,one H indu , and e leven E uropean

Lodges. H e was glad to mention in pass ing that

within the last few years E uropean Lodges had a l so

multipl i ed,so that there was some inherent good

agency.

at work in F reemasonry i f i t could induce

E uropeans not on ly to bring masonry into thi s country

and p racti se it , but practise i t so as to impe l the .natives

to seek admission under its banners . The ' humble

servi ces which he (the speaker) had rendered to the cau se

were di lated upon in very flattering terms in ' the good

address which they had ju st heard read . I n whatever

posi tions he happened to b e pla ced , he endeavoured to

perform his dut ies d i l igently , and if his exertions had

been attended by success that fact was mainly due to

the zea lous support of h i s collaborateurs , both E uropean

and native . I f , again , hi s relationship w i th the natives

had been p leasant and such as to meet with their ap

prova l , it was owi ng, i n the first instance , to h is having

been brought up at home under those,and second ly

,to

his havi ng passed the first years of hi s servi ce in thi s

country under men wi th whom th e welfare of the natives

of I ndia was a principa l aim . H e had tried to fol low in

the footsteps of his unc le , who belonged to the Civi l

Servi ce in I ndia, .and who rose to be the Governor ofBombay . H e was a l so i ndebted for hi s hab its of ki nd ly

intercourse with the people of thi s country to other

connec tions of his , principal ly the father of the Brigadi er-Genera l commanding this d ivision . F rom them he

learned the good old-fashioned feel ing the E uropeans in

H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S I N G STAR

APE PE NDIX Q.

I N THE H I GH COURT OF JUD I CATUR E AT

BOMBAY . ORD I NARY OR I G I NAL C IV I L

JUR I SDI CT I ON .

SU I T NO. 352 OF 1897 . Coram— F ulton , J .

( 1 ) Pestonji Manockji Kanga , of ]Bombay

,Parsee , an attorney o f this

H onourab le Court, resid ing in Bombay ,

at N o. 39 ,Charni R oad , wi thou t the

F ort (2) J ijibhoy F ramji Petit , a lso

of B ombay, Parsee , residing inV i ctoria by the

B ombay, on the Altamount R oad, Grace of God of

wi thout the F or t;and (3) F ramji the United KingJ ivanj i Pate l , a lso of Bombay,Parsee , dom of Great Brires iding in Bombay , at No . 10 , Church ftain and I reland ,

Gate Street, wi th in the F ort,the 3Queen , D efender

Master , the Senior Warden and the of the F aith . EmJuniorWarden , respectively , of Lodge 3 press of I ndia .

R ismg Star of Western I ndia, No . ‘

342 , on the R ) lls of the Grand Lodge

of Scotland for themselves and on

behalf of a l l Other members of thesaid Lodge R i sing Star of WesternI ndia . J

V 3 .

(1 ) Kharsedji R ustomji Camaqof Bombay , Parsee, residing inB ombay , at Malabar H il l

,wi thou t

the F or t ;and Khan Bahadur ! D efendants .

Mun cherji Cowasji Murzban ,Com

panion of the Most Eminen t Order of)

Plaintiffs .

OF’

. WE STE RN I NDI A N o .

‘

342 S .C.

the I ndian Empire,residing in

?Bombay on the E splanade Road ,I

wi thout the F ort,T rustees of the D efendants .

I ndenture of Settlement hereinafter

referred to . J

The p laintiffs pray that the defendants may be direct

ed to transfer and make over to the Committee , referred

to in paragraph six of the plaint , the monies and

se curiti es held by them as T rustees of the I ndenture of

Settlement of the thi rd day of. May , one thousand eight

hundred and seventy (less their and the defendants’

costs , charges , and expenses) upon the members of the

said Committee (not as such members only but for and

on behalf of the persons for the time being owners of the

Masonic T emp le referred to in the fifth paragraph of theplaint and so as to bind the said temple) agreeing in

writing to name the Banqueting Hal l of the said Temp le

The F ramji Cowasji Banqueting H al l” and to erect and

maintain a tablet in a conspi cuous part of the said Hal l

bearing an inscription in the words or to the eff ect

of the re solution set forth in the letter of the Honorary‘

Secretary to the Hal l Co'

r'

n'

mittee to the defendants,

dated the twelfth day of May, one thousand eight

hundred and ninety-six , copy whereof i s annexed as

E xhibit D to the p laint, and further agreeing to suchother proposals for the due carrying out of the said

agreement of the said Committee as to the said Lodge

R i s ing Star may seem proper . (2 ) That the,costs

,

charges,and expenses of thi s su i t may be provi ded for

.

(3) That a ll other proper di rections may be givenand orders made as to this Honourable Court may seem

meet . And the su i t being th is day ca l led on for hearing

and final disposal , the plaintiffs and the‘defendants

appearing respectively by Advocates , andrupon hearing

evidence and perusing exhibits and upon hearing the

said Advocates , This Court doth ordera nd decree that53


upon the members of the said Commi ttee (not as such

members only but for and on behalf of the persons for

the time being owners of the said T emple and so as to

bind the said T emple) agreeing i n writing wi th the

defendants as T rustees of the said I ndenture of the third

day of May , one thousand e igh t hundred and seventy .

copy whereof i s annexed to the p laint and marked A , to

name the Banqueting H a l l of the said Temple “The F ramji

Gowasji Banq ueting H al l and to erect and maintain a

tab let in a conspicuous part of the said Hal l bear ing an

inscription in the words or to the effect of the resolution

set forth in the letter of the H onorary Secretary to the

said Committee to the defendants , dated the twelfth day

of May , one thousand eight hundred and nine ty-six (copy

of which i s hereto annexed ) and upon the said Committee

further agreeing in writing to such other prOposals for

the due carrying out of the said agreement of the said

Committee as to the Lodge R is ing Star in the plaint mentioned may seem proper, the defendants do transfer and

make over to the said Commi ttee the monies and securities

held by the said defendants as T rustees of the said

I ndenture of Settlement of the third day of May , one

thousand eight hundred and seventy (less the saiddefendants’ and plaintiff s’ costs

,charges

,and expen ses) ,

and T hi s Court doth further order that the receipt of the

sai d Committee for the time being shal l be a sufficient

discharge to the said defendants as T rustees in respect

of the said monies and securi ties directed so to be

transferred and made over as aforesaid , and thi s Court1doth further order that the costs of thi s su i t of the

p laintiffs and the defendants as between attorney and

cli ent be paid out of the said trust funds , and thi s

Court doth resertve further d i rections and any of the

parti es shal l be at liberty to apply to the Court as

there may be o ccas ion . Witness , Sir Charles F rederickF arran ,

Kn ight , Chi ef Justice at Bombay, aforesaid , thi s


posed site from Government on a leasehold tenure of 200

(two hundred ) years , and the erection of the Hall the

R s . about held by you on the trusts created by the

late Wor. Bro . N . N . F ramji of Lodge R i s ing Star ofWestern I ndia , or that amount less the expenses of obtaining advi ce and sanction

,the Sub-Committee wi llundertake

that there shal l be erected in theH al l a tablet bearing the

following inscription

The F ramji Gowash Mason ic Banq ueting H al l .

Part of the expenses of the erection of this Hal l was met

by th e contribution of funds held on the trusts created by

the late Wor. Bro . N . N . F ramji of Lodge R i sing Star ofWestern I nd i a , N o . 342 S .C .

,and by the leave of the H igh

Court in accordance with which thi s H al l i s to be cal led

by the above name .

”

I t i s essentia l that the Sub-Committee should be

informed at an ear ly. date whether the proposed under

taking wi l l be sati sfactory to you and whether they may

count on receiving the donation .

Yours fai thfully and fraternal ly,

DARASHA R . CH I CHGUR ,

H onorary Secretary,F . J . H . Committee .

APPE ND I X R .

Cou rt

E ight of Anna sIndia .

B ombay, 1 8 th N ovember 1 8 98 .

KHARSEDJ I RUSTOMJ I CAMA , E SQR ., and

KHAN BAHADUR MUN CH E R J E E COWASJ E E

MURZBAN , C . I .E

T rustees of the I ndenture of

Settlement dated the 3rd day‘

Of May 1870 , and made be‘

or WE STE RN IND IA Na 342 SC . 4211

DEAR SIR S ,

I n consideration of your having transferred and made

over to us the monies and secur ities held by you as such

T rus tees as aforesaid after payment of the costs , charges ,and expenses of H igh Court Su i t N o . 352 of 1897 as

directed by the Decree therein , bearing date the 17th day

of January 1898, which monies and securities are

specified in the Schedule A , hereto annexed,we , the

undersigned members of the Committee which has charge

of the erection and management of the Masonic T emple

now in course of erection on the E splanade in Bombay

(not as such members only , but , for and on behalf of the

persons for the time being , owners of the said T emple

and so as to bind the said T emple) , hereby agree with

you as such T rustees as aforesaid and the T rustees for

the time being of the said I ndenture that the Banqueting

Hall of the said T emple shall for ever be named and

called simply The F ramj i CowaSJ i Banq ueting Hall

without any add ition or qual ification whatever,and that

’

a su itable tablet bearing the said title shal l be affixed at:

the entrance of the said Hal l or in a conspicuous part

thereof, and that such tablet shal l be at all times properly

maintained and , further , that a member of Lodge R i s ing

Star , to be nominated upon the election of the said

Lodge by the Grand Master of A ll Scottish F reemasonry

in I ndia for the time being, shall be at all times a member

of the H all Committee .

tween John A lexander James

Shaw and Kursondas N ensey

of the first par t, Nowrojee Na

nabhoy F ramjee of the second

part,and yourselves of the

third part .

422 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I S ING STAR

I n Schedule B hereto i s contained a description of

land on whi ch the said temple i s to be erected .

Yours faithfully ,

R . S . B rown .

I . M . Shields .

A . Pell .P . D . Sopariwala.

D . Gostl ing .

C . D . Wi se .

J . A . Brandon .

E dw . J . Smith .

W. L . H arvey .

W. E'

. Jennings .

James Dunlop .

A lex . McKenzie .

D inshaw Dorabjee Mistry .

Nowrosji N . Wadia .

R . M . Chichgur.

J Ghanasham N ilkan th N adkarni .H . R . Hoyles .

J . W. H epwor th .

H . J . Gordon .

Mirza Hoosein Khan .

P . N . Wadia .

Anandrao H . Kothare .

F ramroz R . JoshiN . J . Gazdar .

Hormusjee M . Chichgur.

Darasha Ruttonje e Chichgur.

K . R . Cama.

C . D . F urdoonjee .

SCHE DULE A .

Government securities of the nominal value of Rupees

thirteen thousand and four hundred,R upees one thou

sand five hundred and twenty-one , annas seven and pie

one in cash .

SCHE DULE B .

(D escription of land . )

424 H I STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI N G STA R

the Craft in general , and th is your Mother-Lodge in par

t icular, and to be useful to your fellow-brethren to the

Honour and Glory of the Most H igh .

DOSABHOY C . SETHNA , W.M.

DOSABHOY F RAM J I D I N SHAW PETIT , P.M.

WADIA,I .P.M. PH I ROZSHAH NUSSERWAN J I

RusTOM M . CH I CH GUR ,PL EADER ,

PM .

MANBOK D . D OCTOR , MANE CK R . SETTNA

TEMUL J I B H I CA J I ARDESH IR F . UNWAL L A

NARIMAN R . M . CH I CH GUR , A cting

R USTOM K . R . CAMA Secretary

PE STON J I M . KANGA SORAB C . HORMUSJ I , S.W.

PH I R‘OZE C . SETHNA JAM SHE D M . D OCTOR , J. W.

F RAMJ I J PATEL

B ombay,12 th March 1 9 07 .

APPE NDI X T

N o . 447 .

GRAND LODGE OF AL L SCOTT I SH F RE EMASONRY

I N I ND I A .

Grand Secretary’s Office ,

Wallace Street, F ort ,B ombay,

Augu st 24th, 1 9 09 .

TH E R IGHT WORSHIPFUL MASTER ,Lodge R i sing Star of Western I ndia

, No . 342 ,

B ombay .


I am d irected by the most Worshipful Grand Master toconvey , on hi s behalf and that of Grand Lodge , thei r most

sincere sympathy in the i rreparable loss that has so

recently befallen“

your L odge . I t i s hardly necessary to

OF WE STE RN I NDI A N o. 342 S .C. 425

dwel l upon the late R ight Worshipful Brother K . R .

Cama’s merits as a Mason , on hi s. fidel i ty to the princi

ples of our Order— they are household words to everyF reemason in I nd ia . F or fifty-six years , thi s Grand

Old Man in the Craft held h igh the banner , never falter

ing or fail ing. A nob le , wel l-nigh an unique example .

F ul l of yea-rs and honour he has gone to hi s re st and , who

can doubt it,to hi s well earned reward . G od rest hi s soul .

I am further to intimate that so soon as the necessary.

arrangements can be made , the Most Worshipful GrandMaster has instructed me to summon a Specia l Communi

cation of Grand Lodge for the purpose of giving expres

sion to our sorrow . Though your Lodge is ind ividual ly

affected,the death of thi s great and di stinguished B rother

has a farwider signification . F or very many y ears he

was one of the pi l lars of Grand Lodge , -earnest, zea lous ,whole-hearted : hi s loss. wi ll leave a gap which can never

be fi l led in Scottish F reemasonry in I ndia during thi s

generation .

F urther noti ce of the Specia l Commun ication wi l l be

given you in due course .

Wi th sincere sympathy,I remain

,

Yours fraternal ly,

ARTHUR W. WISE ,G . Secretary.

Lodge R i sing Star ofWestern I ndia,

No . 343 S . C

4th September 1 9 09 .

MOST WORSH IPFUL’ BRO. COL‘

. R . H . F ORMAN,

Grand Master , A . S . F . I .

Most Worshipful Sir,I am in receipt of the Grand Secretary

’s letter of the

24th ultimo , bearing No , 447, conveying to my Lodge the

54


condolence of yourself and of the Grand L odge in our

bereavement caused by the death of the late R . W. Bro .

K . R . Cama .

We are deeply touched by the very sympathet ic references made by. you to our deceased b rother

'

and hi s work

as a Mason , during the whole of . hi s masonic career of

over hal f a century , and I beg to express to you and the

Grand Lodge our sincere acknowledgment of the cordial

way in wh ich your and the i r hearts have gone forth

toward s us in this dark hour of our gr ief.

The loss to the Craft is indeed great, but to our Lodge

i t is spec ia l ly so and qu i te i rreparable . The deceased

was the ch ild of our Lodge, and from the day he entered

its sa‘cred wal l s in 1854 he continued to be a subscri bing

member thereof until hi s death , which a lone has now

separated him from us .

F rom the very commencement of hi s Masoni c l i fe , heshowed signs of a vigorous and heal thy emu lati on to do

what was best for the greatest good,and evinced a strong

desire to maintain inviolate and spread the genu ine tenets

of the Order fearlessly and steadfast ly , and worked with

a whole heart to promote the we lfare of the Lodge , and ,

above a ll,strove to maintain its reputation and prestige

,

which he regarded and taught every one of u s to regard ,

as“a sacred trust . The Masonic detai ls about our d i stin

guished Brother wi ll bear the closest scrutiny , and wi l l b e

vouched by the b est sources of authori ty and will be

found to be ful l of interest and i nstruction and a fit

subj ect for study .

As a F reemason he was , we venture to say,one

of the most accompl i shed craftsmen , and at the sametime

,thoroughly earnest in all he did , s incerely

anxious to be helpfu l , and coura geous in the expression

of his convictions which were always honest and

well-founded . H is sage counsels , born of h is grea t

knowledge and experience , hi s independence of

HI STOR Y OF L ODGE R I SI NG STAR

i n the Masoni c world and h is loyalty to hi s mother Lodge

and the Grand Lodge of A . S . F . I . and the Grand Lodge

of Scotland was deep-sea ted , cons istent , steadfast and

unswerving. H e was , if I may be permitted to say so , a

beacon -li ght in the Craft, at al l times according safe

guidance .

Always ful l of vigour and desirous of being usefulhe, as is well known , was most regular and punctual in

hi s attendances and never omitted to attend a meeting

e ither of the Lodge or of the Stand ing Committee or any

sub-committee and i t may be noted here that he attended

even the very last mee ti ng of the Lodge a fortn ight before

his death and of the Standing Committee only three days

before that sad event took place .

A Brother who was such a venerable and staunch

friend has left us , but w i th an undeniab le claim to our

esteem , veneration and gratitude foral l times . H e has

l eft us the res iduary legatees of hi s good wi shes and the

devisees of hi s Masoni c example .

Most Worshipfu l Sir, the death of a B rother such as ourdi stingui shed helpmate , who was one of the most i l lustri

ous Past Masters of our Lodge and was universally

admired and respected in the whole of the Masonic Sphere

where he made his power and influenc e fe lt in a marked

degree , cannot be too deeply mourned . To our Lodge it

has dealt a b low from which i t will be almost impossib let o recover . I t i s the severest blow , I may say , the Lodgehas suffered , ever since the demise of the late R ightWor

shipful Brother Maneckji Cursetji, the Patriarch andF ounder of F reemasonry for I ndians on thi s side of ourPres idency . I t wi l l thus be read ily understood how deeply

we deplore the loss. The Great Architect of the Un iversehas however in hi s E ivine D ispensation cal led our Brotherto the regions of E ternity where he will be ab le to render

an un impeachabwle account of himself and live for ever ' to

do much nobler work than that performed i n thi s transi

OF WE STE RN I ND I A N o . 342 S.C . 429

tory world . H is memory i s al l that now remains to us ,wi th his un dying work done ,

during l ife , and thi s “weShal l cheri sh for eve r and from i t we w i l l now se ek

l ight . May his remains find'

a peacefu l repose

Most -Worshipfu l Sir,we highly appreciate the honor

wh ich , as is intimated by the Grand Secretary , is .to be

paid to our deceased Brother a t a Special Communication

of the Grand Lodge,and in view of i t we have refrained

from hold ing in hi s memory a Lodge of Sorrow,a

merited tribute , which we would otherw i s e have paid to

departed worth .

We claim to j o in , wi th all F reemasons in the express ion of grief, but we al so claim to make the declaration

that our Brother’

s death has created a void Which wi l lnot readily be filled and that for the deceased to have

won go lden opimon from such author it i es as yourself i si tse lf sufficient prai se .

Againthanking you on behalf of myself and my Lodgefor your kind sympathy

,

I remain,

Most Worshipful Sir,

Yours fraternal ly,

D . R .V

V

AD IA, WM

20 , Queen’

s R oad , F ort , Bombay.

Sep tember 8 th, 1 9 09 .

Dear Brother Wadia ,I echo and endorse every word you have written

.

R ight Worshipful Brother Cama was indeed the type ofMason that every one of us should strive to emulate .

N atural ly , I did not know him as intimately as some ofthose who had been associated wi th him for many years

sti ll , I knew him well , and long ago, learnt to regard him

wi th the deepest respect , esteem and reverence. R . I . P.

430 H I STORY OF L ODGE R I SING STAR

I t’

was because his Mason ic influence was so wide

spread that I ventured to ask R i sing Star to waive

right on behalf of Grand Lodge in order that ,’ not on ly

the members of his own Lodge , but the whole F ratern itymight be accorded the opportunity of associating themseities w i th a ceremony designed to Show respect to his

memory and sorrow for h is loss . T hat “R i s ing Star”

acceded to my request is a source of me lancho ly satisfac

tion to me .

On Monday in Grand Chapter, I took the initia l step

towards perpetuating hi s memory . My own idea is‘

1 . That we should pu t up a memoria l tablet i n the

Hal l and preferab ly , i n my opinion , i n the Sandhurst

T emple .

2 . That Lodges , Chapters and individua ls should be

asked to subscrib e to a Cama Memori a l B enevo lent F und

to be handed'

over to the S . M . B . G . I . and admin i steredby it

The latter i s, I think , pecul i arly appropriate in that

he was so keen an educational i st, and I feel sure that ,were it poss ible to consu lt hi s wi shes now , he wou ld

emphatical ly endorse a propos ition which wou ld associate

h is name w i th the succour of the poor and needy , rather

tha'

h spendmmoney , which m ight be useful ly appl i ed , in

expensive portraits , or anyth ing of that sort .

Wi th re iterated and deepest sympathy ,

B e l i eve me ,

Sincere ly and fraternally yours,

R . H . F ORMAN ,

Grand Master.

Ihistory Lodge Rising Star Western India No. 342 S. C

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