Mark Coleman Wallace PhD Thesis - University of St Andrews

the Masonic Secession of 1808 would have never occurred. Alternatively, the
Grand Lodge could have retained the right to withdraw its support from the
motion, while still permitting Dr. Mitchell to send the address to the King
without its approval. Yet it was precisely these pretended powers that were the
focal points of the seceding lodges. Lyon succinctly emphasizes the mistakes
made by the Grand Lodge of Scotland, stating that “the Secession, though
precipitated by Grand Lodge’s unconstitutional interference in a petty quarrel
between the Lodges Caledonian and Roman Eagle, was doubtless the result of
several combined motives, in which politics and personal antipathies had a
share.” 136
Significantly, the prominent Whig members of both St Luke’s and the
Grand Lodge of Scotland did little to positively influence the outcome of the
trial. Party politics wavered, and the initial solidarity and strength of the Whig
party disintegrated. Although Wartski questions whether or not the Grand
Lodge “hoped to bulldoze its way through in the hope of frightening the
Seceders into submission,” 137 it is clear that such aggressive tactics and the use
of the Secret Societies Act both failed. Inevitably, political ambition conflicted
with the age-old pragmatism of Anderson’s Constitutions, and not surprisingly,
the Secession resulted in the public humiliation of Scottish freemasons and an
embarrassing defeat for the Grand Lodge of Scotland.
excuse: by 1796 the King was sick of the sight of them, and ordered that they should be sent
straight to Dundas without bothering him,” Fry, Despotism, 168.
136 Lyon, Mary’s Chapel, 306.
137 Wartski, “Secret Societies,” 61.
271