Freemasonary

Following the revolutionary disruptions in Europe and America, the British authorities became concerned that secret societies such as Freemasons, with their principle of brotherhood, might harbour radical dissidents. So, in the early 1800s, legislation was introduced to limit the secrecy of Freemasons. This concern seems strange, as Freemasonry in Scotland appears to have been quite open. This was a time when there was widespread interest in forming clubs and societies, and the masonic principles appealed as they appeared to reflect the Age of Enlightenment aspirations for a society of intellectual equality.

In 1889, William Fraser (Number 41), a solicitor, was invited to join the Supreme Council of the Sovereign Grand Masters; a special distinction as he is one of only 195 so honoured to this day. Fraser became involved in a long standing debate as to whether Robert Burns had been installed as the Masonic Poet Laureate. (Painting by unknown artist) Burns became a Mason in 1781, remaining active until his death, and it was partly because of his Masonic connections that Burns was so widely received when he arrived in Edinburgh in 1786. The claim that there had been a meeting at which Burns had been installed as Poet Laureate was dismissed by many as no minute of the event existed, but Fraser provided evidence in a letter he wrote from Albany Street: ‘ My Dear Sir and Brother, I have read the printed correspondence and all that has been said against the facts … and am surprised at so much being written against said facts to so little purpose. The following is a copy of the document you ask for, extracted from my private diary for 1853 - " On the 1st of March 1787, on the motion of Alexander Fergusson of Craigdarroch, Dumfriesshire, Master of Canongate Kilwinning Lodge, Brother Robert Burns was elected Poet-Laureate of the Lodge, an office which he held till his death in 1796. When I was Master of Canongate Kilwinning in 1853 I received corroboration of this well-known fact, from my brother-in-law, Mr James Veitch, Elliock, Dumfriesshire, and he had it direct from his cousin, Cutlar Fergusson, Younger, of Craigdarroch, who was present in the Lodge room on 1st March 1787."’ Whether or not the event did take place, Burns certainly celebrated freemasonry in his poetry:

Dr Alexander Mudie (Number 35) had previously lived in Jamaica where he had owned an estate, and there he had been an active Freemason. Being the sugar capital of the world, Jamaica had become a valuable British colony, and by 1813 was at the height of its dominance. Its commercial importance had spawned a wealthy and influential business class, many with direct family and business ties to Britain. Therefore, the Freemasonry of the time was predominantly white, upper-middle class, though a number of masons were Jewish. Jamaica offered Jews a freedom not yet available in much of Europe, and so many who had fled persecution in Portugal and other parts of Europe were attracted to the colony. With the outbreak of the revolutionary wars, anti-Freemasonry sentiment resurfaced, especially from the Catholic Church. Due to Freemasonry being viewed with suspicion by the authorities for political as well as religious reasons, some West Indian Lodges had to meet under the guise of an educational organisation offering lessons in Spanish and English.