Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

ecord no motion to secede until 11 March 1808. During the meeting, Lodge
Caledonian recorded that “no proof is adduced to establish that the Right
Worshipful Master [Dr. Mitchell] did make a proposal to secede from the
Grand Lodge.” 73 After the apparent fabrication of the secession charges, the
members resolved that the “sentence of the Grand Lodge is particularly
offensive to the Caledonian Lodge, as, in the whole of the persecution,
originating, as they deem, in party spirit…and, with a view to avoid further
persecution, they discontinue their connection with the present Grand Lodge of
Scotland.” 74
The decision to secede was not confined exclusively to the members of
Lodge Caledonian. Other masons, such as the Senior Warden of Mary’s Chapel
and the Junior Warden of Edinburgh St Andrew, also supported the secession.
The presence of an officer from Mary’s Chapel is important, for it suggests that
the lodge, still harbouring resentment over the precedence controversy, was
considering separation. Taking advantage of the dispute with Dr. Mitchell,
Mary’s Chapel now had the support of other lodges which were united in their
common dislike of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
Most damaging, however, was a pamphlet printed by Mitchell accusing
Grand Lodge officers of fraudulent voting practices, intentional falsification of
facts, and denying lodges equal representation in masonic affairs. According to
Mitchell, only “one imperfect proof copy of this circular letter [existed],” as “no
other copy was in print or circulation…[and] a worthy brother and member of
73 Caledonian Lodge Minutes, 11 March 1808.
74 Ibid.
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