Orange Order News

Parade celebrates centenary milestone

Mon, 21 May 2012 10:52:58 +0000

Parade celebrates centenary milestone
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/parade-celebrates-centenary-milestone-1-3864801

Presseye Ltd Northern Ireland 19th May 2012 Mandatory Credit - Photograph by Declan Roughan / Presseye Ulster Covenant parade - Belfast 19th May 2012 Ulster Covenant Parade makes its way down the Shankill Road in Belfast yesterday

Published on Monday 21 May 2012 08:26

ONLY tolerance of each other’s traditions will ensure a peaceful decade of centenaries, a senior Belfast Orangeman told the first major unionist historical rally that passed off peacefully at the weekend.

Presbyterian minister and County Grand Chaplain for Belfast, Mervyn Gibson, was speaking in Ormeau Park on Saturday at an event to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Balmoral Review.

The Balmoral Review, which took place on Easter Tuesday 1912, was a demonstration against a move to introduce Home Rule, potentially breaking up the Union between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It was attended by up to 200,000 unionists and was addressed by then Conservative leader Andrew Bonar Law as well as iconic unionist leader Edward Carson.

Ormeau Park hosted a community fun evening on Friday as well as being a finishing point for a major city centre parade to commemorate the centenary. It is estimated that 10,000 took part,

Thousands of Orangemen and unionists took part in a huge parade that started from three points in the city – Sandy Row, Shankill Road and Clifton Street Orange Hall – before walking a four-mile route through east Belfast to Ormeau Park.

Junior Minister Jonathan Bell took part in the parade along with DUP MPs Jeffrey Donaldson and Jim Shannon. Former Orange Order Grand Master and South Belfast MP Martin Smyth was also on parade.

Leading loyalist Jackie McDonald also took part in the parade.

Bands from across the Province, including Kilcluney Volunteers, took part as well as Orange lodges from Liverpool and London.

Speaking from the platform on Saturday Mr Gibson said there had been a lot of “misinformed rhetoric” about the event in recent weeks.

He said there had been a lot of “unfounded and mischievous rumours” about the event and claimed that “a lot of naysayers tried to stop us being here”.

He said: “Let me say very simply to one and all. We gather to celebrate the actions of our forebearers, who 100 years ago assembled in their tens of thousands at Balmoral on Easter Tuesday 1912 to demonstrate their opposition to Home Rule.

“It was their actions, their commitment, their tenacity that ensured we remain part of the United Kingdom.

“It was because of their actions that in a few weeks’ time we will be celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of our sovereign Her Gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – long may she reign over us.

“We come as a unionist community having put differences aside for today to honour those who played their part 100 years ago and saved Ulster for the British crown.

“We come not to offend, nor antagonise, nor annoy, we come as many will do over the coming years to celebrate the centenary of an important event in their history.”

Mr Gibson said that only by tolerating each other’s traditions can we all celebrate our culture.

“Only tolerance of each community’s traditions and commemorations will ensure that the remembering of these events contribute to a more peaceful future of understanding and acceptance,” he said.

“Today we gather unashamedly as Protestant and unionist communities honouring those who shared our politics and faith.

“No one has anything to fear from such a peaceful commemoration as this – other than their own insecurities and bigotry.”

The service finished with the singing of O God Our Help In Ages Past which Mr Gibson termed as Ulster’s traditional battle hymn that was sung at the start of the Balmoral Review in 1912, as well as Abide With Me.

The Ozone area of Ormeau Park was transformed into a tented village with four marquees filled with historical displays courtesy of War Years Remembered including a replica Covenant table where guests could sign their own copy of the famous document with a quill pen. The other marquees were dedicated to the Orange Order, the Apprentice Boys and the final marquee for outreach.

The commemoration started on Friday evening with a funfair and family atmosphere. Entertainment was provided by east Belfast singer Lisa Williamson as well as bands including the Shankill Road Defenders and Gertrude Star Flute Band.

The evening finished with a fireworks display.

The weekend’s events were organised by the Unionist Centenary Committee. All major unionist groups and organisations were given an opportunity to consult on the events being planned.

The next major event on the calendar will be the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant in September.

Sinn Fein anger over children`s Jubilee Orange parade in Castle Grounds, Antrim

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:42:31 +0000

Sinn Fein anger over children`s Jubilee Orange parade in Castle Grounds, Antrim
Friday, 18 May 2012

A proposed Orange parade in Castle Grounds in Antrim which would involve up to lodges and 40 bands to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee on June 2 has been slammed by Sinn Fein councillors in Antrim.

A meeting to discuss the proposals provoked a backlash of comments from nationalist councillors who continued to argue outside of the discussion chambers according to the Antrim Guardian. Sinn Fein councillor Anthony Brady hit out at plans: “I don't think millions were invested in the park to make a nice backdrop to a band parade," he said.

“If the chamber believes it is and pushes this through they will be setting a very clear precedent. They will be opening the doors for any group, from any tradition, to parade around Clotworthy House.”

UUP councillor Adrian Watson retorted that Sinn Fein ‘should hang their heads in shame’.

“Once again the Sinn Fein mask slips," he told the Antrim Guardian.

“Let's get one thing straight here. This is a Junior Lodge event, for boys and girls between the ages of seven and 16 - children from all over the province brought together to celebrate the remarkable reign of our Queen.

“I find it incredible that Sinn Fein are so intimidated by a gathering of children - and I find it disgusting that they would seek to politicise an event such as this.”

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/tempers-flare-as-antrim-councillors-hit-out-at-jubilee-orange-parade-16160584.html?r=RSS#ixzz1vJj8YZOW

Apprentice Boys of Derry: New flood lights for `The Mem`

Sat, 19 May 2012 11:39:38 +0000

Apprentice Boys of Derry: New flood lights for `The Mem`
http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/news/local/new-flood-lights-for-mem-1-3843136

Published on Friday 18 May 2012 11:23

THE Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall will soon be illuminated with new floodlights as part of Londonderry’s Walled City Lighting Strategy.

An application has been lodged for new external facade lighting as part of the wider Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 ‘Walled City Lighting Project.’

The famous Society Street building is one of a number of buildings due to be illuminated as part of the scheme.

The Londonderry Guildhall and Aras Colmcille will also be floodlit as part of the scheme.

Derry City Council believes that: “as well as highlighting the unique aspects and architecture of the historic Walled City area, the lighting scheme will also assist the evening economy through making the city safer and more vibrant at night.

“Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has awarded £1.4 million to Derry City Council to implement the Lighting Strategy which is currently at design stage with work due to start on installation in early 2012.”

Massive loyalist demonstration is litmus test for a decade of commemorative marches

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:55:00 +0000

Massive loyalist demonstration is litmus test for a decade of commemorative marches
Hopes for peace as 10,000 prepare for convenant parade

27 39ShareThis190
By Lesley-Anne McKeown
Friday, 18 May 2012

History in the making: left, a Belfast flute band in old-style costume, with UVF painted on their bass drum, marching last year on the 12th of July.

A massive loyalist demonstration through Belfast this weekend is the first major test of whether contentious historical commemorations can pass off peacefully in Northern Ireland, a UDA leader has claimed.

Up to 10,000 marchers, including UVF and UDA paramilitaries, are expected to take part in a parade on Saturday marking the centenary of the Balmoral Review which was held to oppose Home Rule in advance of the drawing up of the Ulster Covenant. Tens of thousands more are expected to be spectators.

Security is expected to be tight amid fears that dissident republicans could try to disrupt the event with protests or a series of bomb alerts.

UDA chief Jackie McDonald, who will be among the participants, said organisers were hoping the march would pass off peacefully, but measures had been put in place to reduce the potential for disorder.

“Because of our history you have to be wary of the dangers — dissidents and possibly the ‘blue bag brigade’,” he told the Belfast Telegraph. “But, anybody going there is going to pay respects and it will be dignified.

“Obviously if you live in the Short Strand you would be worried about what was going to happen. Nothing has happened in this way before. It is the first of the centenaries and it is important all round that it all goes according to plan. If everybody takes other people into consideration then you can ask the same in return when it comes to a nationalist or republican parade.”

The event, which organisers claim could be bigger than the Twelfth, will see about 70 bands make their way from Orange halls at Shankill Road, Sandy Row and Clifton Park Avenue from 10am through the city centre and east Belfast before converging on Ormeau Park for a religious service and festival from noon.

The UVF is expected to participate with some members dressed in the period costume of their forerunners the Ulster Volunteers — a militia which was set up in 1912 to oppose Home Rule.

A confidential UVF pamphlet, seen by this newspaper, said: “The organisation is not officially involved in the background or formatting of this event. However, we fully anticipate supplying 500 period dressed/uniformed men, to take part in the event, parading from the Ulster Hall to join with the main body at City Hall”.

Meanwhile, members of the UDA are also likely to attend and will be dressed in specially designed green blazers.

A source told this newspaper that the renegade UDA South East Antrim brigade would be in Belfast on Saturday.

“All of the UVF and UDA will not be there,” added Jackie McDonald. “There will be some representatives of course but there will be no paramilitary dress. I am sure the Somme Society will have military dress of the day, but paramilitary uniforms are a thing of the past.

“To be fair to the organisers, they have spoken to all the people they need to speak to and have taken every precaution. It seems to be a well-organised parade. But, you can never tell with outside elements. No one has any intention of wrongdoing. It is an Ulster Day, it should be dignified. It is for everybody who values their country and what people did for their country.”

Paramilitary emblems and regalia have been banned under a determination from the Parades Commission, which has also warned that no national flags should be burnt or defaced.

The Joint Unionist Centenary Committee (JUCC), an umbrella group for the County Grand Lodge of Belfast, Apprentice Boys, political parties, Independent Orange Order, the 36th (Ulster) Division Memorial Association and the Somme Association has appealed for participants and supporters to behave.

Stephen Gough, secretary of the JUCC, said alcohol had been banned from Ormeau Park and marshals will keep a watchful eye.

He added: “We are asking people to abide by a code of conduct.”

Background

The Balmoral Review saw 200,000 people gather at Balmoral on the outskirts of Belfast on April 9, 1912, to protest against the introduction of the third Home Rule Bill. The crowd marched from the city centre. The event was addressed by Sir Edward Carson, leader of the Irish Unionist Party. Ormeau Park was chosen as Balmoral Showgrounds were unavailable.

Optimism for a dignified day... key figures urge a show of respect on both sides

Mervyn Gibson, Spokesman for County Grand Orange Lodge of Belfast:

“We do not foresee any trouble. There is no indication that anybody that we have been talking to on the unionist front wants to create trouble and I do not think anyone from the nationalist side will want violence. But, you never know. There are always people who may want to drag us back to the past. There will be no paramilitaries on parade. It is a unionist parade and anybody who wants to celebrate the Ulster Covenant will be welcome.”

Stephen Gough, secretary of the Joint Ulster Centenary Committee:

“We have met as many people as possible and responded to all requests to explain what we are doing and why we are doing it. We want a peaceful parade. It is not about creating tensions, it is about putting a positive spin on our culture. We do not want anything to take away from the actions of our forefathers 100 years ago.”

Jackie McDonald, UDA leader:

“All of the UVF or UDA will not be there. There will be some representatives of course. There will be no paramilitary dress. I am sure the Somme Society will have military dress of the day but paramilitary uniforms are a thing of the past. You do not see any of them any more and I expect that people who show up will be properly dressed and will be respectful to the important nature of the day. I am not worried at all about disorder. You have to think because of our history that we must be wary of the dangers — dissidents and possibly the ‘blue bag brigade’. But anybody there is going to pay respects and it will be dignified. Obviously, if you live in the Short Strand you would be worried about what was going to happen. It is the first of the centenaries and it is important all round that it all goes according to plan. If everybody takes other people into consideration then you can ask the same in return when it comes to a nationalist or republican parade.”

Kate Mullan, SDLP councillor in south Belfast:

“In the spirit of the decade of centenaries, the SDLP in Belfast City Council has promoted the idea of agreed protocols for the use of council facilities over this period.”

Jim Rodgers, Veteran Ulster Unionist councillor in Belfast:

“I will be participating as a member of the Orange Institution. This is a very important occasion. It is not anything about triumphalism, far from it. I have no doubt it will pass off without trouble. I am aware of concerns being raised by the police and some nationalist representatives. I was aware that they (paramilitary elements) are going to participate and among certain sections of our community that will not go down well.”

Christopher Stalford, DUP councillor:

“I will be attending the event with my local Orange Lodge. I think the organisers of this event have done all they can to ensure no difficulties arise. They are to be commended for the efforts they have gone to — to explain beyond the unionist tradition why this is a significant anniversary.

Bernie McConnell, Short Strand community worker:

“We hope that the parade will be carried out with respect. We hope that they march with dignity and respect for the communities they are passing. From the organisers’ point of view, they have to be accountable for the people they bring along. There is no planned protest at Short Strand. In fact, we are having diversionary events, taking teenagers away for the weekend.”

Martin Og Meehan, Republican Network for Unity:

“RNU is talking among ourselves and will be meeting later in the week to discuss this issue.

“As yet, no decision has been made regarding any protests.

“Personally speaking, as long as they stay away from nationalist homes and nationalist areas, I have no issue.

“If people want to celebrate their culture, I have no problem with that.”

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/massive-loyalist-demonstration-is-litmus-test-for-a-decade-of-commemorative-marches-16160015.html#ixzz1vGiELIpp

A NEWSLETTER FOR THE SUPREME GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES

Thu, 17 May 2012 16:16:05 +0000

THE ORANGEMAN
A NEWSLETTER FOR THE SUPREME GRAND LODGE OF THE UNITED STATES

Volume 2, Number 4

SUPREME GRAND MASTER’S CORNER:

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

As my time as Worshipful Grand Master of the United States comes to a close I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the past two years.

During this time we have seen many changes in the Orange Order here in the United States, we have installed three new lodges,  Naples, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada and Thousand Oaks, California.

I would like to acknowledge and thank Past Grand Master's Jimmy Huey and Freddy Stewart for their time and work in Naples, Florida to install the lodge and officers and making that day a great success.

I would like to thank the Brothers of Ulster Scots LOL 1690 for all their hard work over the last year to helping to get Las Vegas and Thousand Oaks up and running and also Brothers John Stalling and Alex Buffalo from Patrick Henry lodge in Virginia for the great degree work they put on for these two new lodges.

During this past two years I have traveled to lodges here in the United States, as well as Canada, Scotland and Ulster to represent the United States and the Orange Order and at each lodge I was always warmly welcomed.

But my work is not done yet, I am still working with some of our Brothers of Orlando, Florida to try and get another new lodge opened there soon.  I will keep all informed as to our efforts there.

We will be holding our Grand Lodge meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia in August 2012,  let's make it a weekend to remember and I hope to see as many of you there as possible.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Brother John Whiteside for this time and the great way he puts together the Newsletter to help keep all informed what is going on here in the states among all the lodges; it is much appreciated,  THANK YOU  JOHN.
Also a huge Thank You to Brother Walter Wilson who always keep me up to date with everything within the Grand Lodge; it is also much appreciated since it takes daily time to keep everything in running order.

We have lost a few of our older members this last two years. Let us think of their loved ones who are left and keep them in your prayers and thoughts.

And let us always remember our men and women of our armed forces wherever they are to pray for their safe return home and always remember the ones who will never return home.

I will continue to work and do what I can to assist any lodges and to support in anyway our future Worshipful Grand Master and the Grand Lodge of the United States.

Thank you all for your trust in me the last two years and I hope I served the Grand Lodge of the United States with honor.

God Bless to you all    and God Bless the U.S.A.

Worshipful Grand Master
Samuel Stewart

BI-ANNUAL CONVENTION – WILLIAMSBURG, VA:

All Brothers and Sisters are cordially invited to attend the Bi-Annual Supreme Grand Lodge Convention being held in Williamsburg, VA in August, 2012. Our premier event is being hosted by Patrick Henry Lodge LOL 1105, and we are grateful for their hard work leading up to the convention. Your attention is directed below to the letter forwarded to each of you by the Grand Secretary. Please respect the registration and dinners deadlines and plan to attend now, sending your reservations to Brother John Stallings. Hotel reservations can be made as noted. As Supreme Grand Master Stewart said, “Hope to see everyone there!”
April 1, 2012

TO ALL LODGES UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE SUPREME

GRAND LODGE OF THE LOYAL ORANGE INSTITUTION, U.S.A.

Greetings:

Notice is hereby given that the 84th Biennial Session of the Supreme

Grand Lodge of the Loyal Orange Institution of the United States of

America, will be held at the Clarion Hotel Historic District, 351 York Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185 during the week of August 09^th thru 11^th, 2012

HOTEL RESERVATIONS

Reservations should be made by calling the hotel reservations department at 757-229-4100. You should identify yourself by stating that you are part of the LOYAL ORANGE LODGE. All reservations should be made by July 09th, 2012. The room rates are $89.00 single or double per night, plus state and local taxes, currently they are 10% plus $2.00 occupancy tax. All reservations must be guaranteed and accompanied by a first night room deposit or guaranteed with a major credit card.

CREDENTIALS

Credential blanks for the delegates have been forwarded to all lodges in accordance with Article 5, Sec. I, Supreme Grand Lodge Constitution. If you have not received a copy, notify the Grand Secretary and request one. The credentials are made in duplicate under the lodge seal. One copy is then forwarded to the Supreme Grand Secretary and the other is retained by the delegate for his identification at the Convention, file your credentials at the registration desk that will be set up for your convenience.

CHURCH SERVICE

A Church Service will be held on Thursday, August 09^th at 7:30 p.m., at the Clarion Hotel Historic District.

GENERAL INFORMATION

All Supreme Grand Lodge officers are request to attend the Grand Lodge sessions dressed in a tuxedo, which is the official dress of the Grand Lodge, or at least in a dark suit. Only officers and delegates have voice and vote in the Supreme Grand Lodge, however all Royal Arch Purple Marksman are entitled to attend the sessions, and a most hearty invitation is extended to them. Delegates are request to wear their respective lodge collars.

The Convention Committee has made arrangements to block off an area of rooms for our group, but again we must stress that your reservations must be in by July 09^th. The Clarion Hotel District has an indoor pool. The parking is free.

Colonial Williamsburg is one mile away, Busch gardens is two miles away, William and Mary College is one mile away.

The rate at the Inn will be extended to three days prior to the convention and three days after the convention.
The banquet will be held on Friday evening. The cost of the banquet will 35.00. If you plan to attend the banquet, you need to make your reservations now and send a check to cover your dinner.

Installation of officers will be held at the end of the business on Saturday afternoon.

If possible the Secretary should make copies of this letter available to the officers and delegates so that this information will be available to them.

Anyone needing assistance to the Hotel, contact John D. Stallings, 7715 Pine Street, Manassas, VA 20111 Telephone 703-795-1834. .

Fraternally yours,

Attest: Samuel B. Stewart,

Supreme Grand Master

Walter C. Wilson
Supreme Grand Secretary

SUPREME GRAND LODGE
CONVENTION COMMITTEE
MANASSAS, VIRGINIA
AUGUST 09-11, 2012

RETURN THIS FORM NO LATER THAN JULY 22, 2012

YOUR NAME___________________________PHONE NUMBER________________________

The 84^rd Supreme Grand Lodges Convention Committee welcomes you to the Williamsburg area. We hope you will enjoy your stay at the Clarion Hotel Historic District.

Friday, August 10^th, Grand Banquet, Cash Bar 6:00 p.m., Dinner at 6:30 p.m.

Please circle Choice of Entrée: Prime Rib: Garlic Studded, with au jus

Colonial Chicken: Grilled Chicken topped with Julienne Ham, Applewood smoked bacon, and smoked gouda cheese sauce

All entrees include Crisp Garden Salad, fresh garden vegetables, some type of starch, baked dinner rolls, and dessert

Banquet $35.00 I will attend_________________I will not attend________________
Please list names in your party.

If you plan to attend the banquet, YOU NEED TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW AND SEND A CHECK TO COVER YOUR DINNERS. We cannot guarantee your reservation if your check is
not received by July 22, 2010.

Please make checks payable to John D. Stallings, and return form and check to:

John D. Stallings, 7715 Pine Street, Manassas, VA 20111

LODGE NEWS:

Germantown Golden Star LOL #39 with Jenkintown True Blue LOL 76, in conjunction with the County Grand Lodge of Delaware Valley hosted a ham and cabbage supper on March 17, 2012, as is one of their traditions. Both lodges formerly marched in the St. Patrick’s Day parade held in the Horsham, PA area, in the vicinity of the former Orange Home.

Congratulations to our Brothers in Ontario West on the 90^th Anniversary of their lodge, with best wishes for 90 more successful years of service.
The Birchcliff Herald February/March 2012
90^th Anniversary of Birchcliff L.O.L. No. 2856
On Tuesday February 7^th the members of Birchcliff L.O.L. No. 2856 celebrated its 90^th Anniversary with a meeting on the exact date. In total 18 brothers were prsent at the evening including our special guest, Rt Wor Bro Alex Rough (PGM Ontario West, PCM Toronto and PM Highland Creek L.O.L. No. 2934). During the evening Rt Wor Bro Rough gave a history of the Orange Order in Canada and more specifically in the City of Toronto. Also the County Master of Toronto, MW Bro David Griffin presented Rt Wor Bro Rough with a plaque in recognition of serving as County Master of Toronto. Following the meeting an enjouable time of fellowship was had by all the members.

Our newest lodge, Las Vegas Purple Star LOL #212, recently set up at booth at the Vegas Scottish Games with information about the Orange Order. The booth was complete with a banner of King William of Orange, a vase of orange lillies, the Boyne flag, an orange collarette and brochures. Congratulations on your efforts, Brothers, to spread the word about our fine organization.

JOKE OF THE DAY: A little girl asked her father, “How did the human race start?” The father answered “God made Adam and Eve and they had children and so all mankind was made.” Two days later the girl asked her mother the same question. The mother answered “Many years ago, there were monkeys from which the
Human race evolved.” The confused girl returned to her father and said “Dad, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Mom said they developed from monkeys.
The father answered “Well dear, it is very simple. I told you about my side of the family and your mother told you about hers!”

BELFAST NEWS OF NOTE:

A historic manuscript containing details of every soldier who fought with King William of Orange in the Battle of the Boyne has been discovered during renovation work at Belfast City Hall.

The 320-year-old "account book" had been lying in storage at the building for almost a century without the authorities realising the significance it could hold for military historians and the Orange Order.
The parchment document was written by the Paymaster General Thomas Coningsby and includes a detailed record of each man in the 35,000-strong army which accompanied King William III to Ireland to do battle with his uncle and father-in-law, the deposed James II.
It was found when a range of artefacts were moved from the city hall to allow an £11m refurbishment to take place.

Belfast City Council has now presented the manuscript to the Orange Order.
Councillor William Humphrey, who is the chairman of the council's culture, development and arts committee, said officials knew that the book had been given to the old Belfast Corporation "way back in the mists of time". But he explained that the council "did not really appreciate just how much information there was in it, until we gave it a more detailed examination".
Dr Jonathan Mattison, who is a researcher with the Orange Order, described the discovery as "absolutely fantastic" and said they were indebted to the council for unearthing an "exciting piece of history".

"It shows the payments made to all the various regiments, units, individuals and suppliers during the year of 1690 when William III came over to prosecute the war with more zeal in Ireland, leading up to the Battle of the Boyne," he explained.

"Officers of high rank and even down to lowly rank are recorded in the pages of the manuscript itself and it's a fascinating book, a fascinating read," he explained.

"I think it will give us a greater insight into not only the political history of the time but also the social and economic circumstances and history that go along with any period of war or conflict, because obviously with 35,000 men under your command, people have to get paid.

"It gives the mechanics and economics of warfare as well as just the politics and events themselves," he said.

The book will eventually go on display at the Orange Order's headquarters in east Belfast.

SEE YOU IN AUGUST AT THE SUPREME GRAND LODGE CONVENTION!! BE THERE!!

Turning back the clock to signing of Covenant

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:11:11 +0000

Turning back the clock to signing of Covenant
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/turning-back-the-clock-to-signing-of-covenant-1-3849237

David McCallion, from War Years Remembered, with is recreation of the Ulster Covenant signing using dressed mannequins, on display at the Balmoral Review at Ormeau Park.

Published on Thursday 17 May 2012 08:19

A CENTURY on from one of the largest political gatherings ever seen in the British Isles, thousands of unionists are preparing to converge on Belfast’s Ormeau Park to commemorate opposition to Home Rule.

This weekend’s celebrations have been planned to mark the Balmoral Review of 1912 – a major event in the build-up to the signing of the Ulster Covenant.

Addressed by then Conservative leader Andrew Bonar Law and the legendary unionist politician Edward Carson, a reported 200,000 people at Balmoral pledged to resist the transfer of power in Ireland from London to Dublin.

The Balmoral Review centenary commemorations are taking place in Ormeau Park over two days and will consist of historical displays, musical performances and family-orientated attractions.

Organised jointly by the Unionist Centenary Committee and the County Grand Orange Lodge of Belfast, the 2012 celebrations begin tomorrow and continue until late afternoon on Saturday.

One of the highlights is the opportunity to relive a defining moment in history by signing a replica of the Ulster Covenant – using original inkwells and pens on a table draped with a Union flag dating from 1912.

The scene has been recreated by David McCallion, of the War Years Remembered mobile museum, using original clothing from the period to dress his modern day Carson.

“Anyone coming along to see the Covenant signing display will have the chance to sign a souvenir replica of the original using the pens and blotting paper as their ancestors would have done.

“They can also pose for their own photographs beside the Carson figure as they sign, and then take away their Covenant copy — all free of charge,” he said.

Mr McCallion said the significance of the original Balmoral Review and the subsequent events in 1912 cannot be underestimated.

“What we are commemorating this weekend has a much wider relevance given that it took place just ahead of such major world upheaval.

“The fact that tens of thousands of men in Ulster were already skilled and drilled to resist Home Rule meant that we were able to send some of the most battle-ready troops to face the early German onslaughts of World War One.

“The very outcome of the war could have been different if the men who made up the Ulster Division were less able, so their success is something everyone should be happy to commemorate.”

Addressing the vast crowds at Balmoral 100 years ago, Carson gave a stark warning of the lengths unionists would go to in protecting their birthright.

“Our demand is a very simple one. We ask for no privileges, but we are determined that no-one shall have privileges over us. We ask for no special rights, but we claim the same rights from the same government as every other part of the United Kingdom.

“We ask for nothing more; we will take nothing less.

“It is our inalienable right as citizens of the British Empire and Heaven help the men who will try and take it from us,” the unionist leader proclaimed.

Rudyard Kipling was inspired by the events of the time to express his support for the anti-Home Rule campaign.

In his poem Ulster 1912, Kipling wrote: “The dark eleventh hour, draws on and sees us sold, to every evil power, we fought against of old.

“Rebellion, rapine, hate, oppression, wrong and greed, are loosed to rule our fate, by England’s act and deed.”

Ballytober Orange Lodge raise money for Portrush RNLI Lifeboat

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:08:53 +0000

Ballytober Orange Lodge raise money for Portrush RNLI Lifeboat
http://www.ballymone...-rnli-1-3839998

THE Worshipful Master of Ballytober LOL 950, Br. Sammy Sharpe, and his Depputy Master, Trevor Thompson, present a cheque to Mr. Robin Cardwell of Portrush Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The amount of £300 was raised following a religious service in the hall in March.INBM20-12 228JC

Published on Tuesday 15 May 2012 11:01

MEMBERS of Ballytober LOL 1500 have made a valuable contribution to the work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

A religious service in the hall in March, conducted by the Rev. Philip Linton, yielded £300 which was presented to Mr. Robin Cardwell, Operations Manager at Portrush Lifeboat station.

The presentation was made jointly by the Worshipful Master, Bro. Sammy Sharpe and Deputy Master, Trevor Thompson, with Lodge members present.

This is the ninth year of fund-raising for charities by Ballytober with thousands raised for worthy causes.

Bro. Sharpe said the RNLI did a “fantastic job” and described volunteers as very brave men who went out in difficult conditions in rescue missions.

“We are delighted to give this money which will help with running costs,” Bro. Sharpe said.

Responding, Mr. Cardwell said the RNLI, unlike the Coastguard, depended solely on public subscriptions.

“We depend on people like yourselves to keep us going,” Mr. Caldwell told the Ballytober brethren.

He revealed that the cost of running the RNLI in the United Kingdom as a whole was £1m. every three days and that the average boat went through two gallons of fuel every minute.

Mr. Caldwell said the RNLI locally covered an area from Rathlin to Lough Swilly.

'Ardoyne-style talks' wanted at Drumcree

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:07:24 +0000

Video: 'Ardoyne-style talks' wanted at Drumcree

Published Wednesday, 09 May 2012

http://www.u.tv/News/Ardoyne-style-talks-wanted-at-Drumcree/636585e6-3dfc-417b-a49f-85c04f816293

Craigavon Council is set to ask the Parades' Commission to set up a new initiative - similar to one in north Belfast's Ardoyne - aimed at resolving the long-running Drumcree dispute in Portadown.

Orange Order parades have been banned from the Garvaghy Road since 1998 but, while violent scenes of the past have not been replicated in recent years, weekly protests are still held by members of Portadown District.

"I know there's a small number of people who think that the problem has gone away," the Ulster Unionist Party's Colin McCusker said, having put forward a motion on the issue on Tuesday night.

"But for the 900 members of Portadown District, their families and supporters, this problem still persists.

"We've had over 5,000 protests now - it's still ongoing and I want to see a resolution to it."

But according to the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, the issue has already been resolved.

Spokesman Breandan MacCionnaith told UTV: "Coming from the viewpoint of this community, Drumcree has been solved.

"There have been many initiatives over the years - I can't see what another one's going to bring to the table."

He added: "The Orange Order knows that they have a perfectly acceptable, viable route to take them back from Drumcree church into the town centre."

But Portadown's District Master Darryl Hewitt disagrees.

"I think any dispute, if one side is not happy with the outcome, then the situation hasn't been resolved," he said.

Portadown District certainly are not happy with the current situation and we seek to get a resolution that suits everybody - we have said for these past five years that we're willing to meet anybody with no pre-conditions.

"And that includes the Garvaghy Road residents."

The UUP's motion that the council write to the Parades' Commission was backed by the DUP and Alliance Party, but opposed by Sinn Féin and the SDLP.

SDLP councillor Joe Nelson said that his party didn't feel that mediation had worked in the past.

"Unless there's some new and radical thinking coming forward, we don't believe that the north Belfast model is particularly going to work in Portadown," he added.

The motion was passed by majority vote and a letter will be sent to the Parades' Commission.

Centenary of 1912 Balmoral Review & Rally

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:39:28 +0000

14 MAY 2012

Centenary of 1912 Balmoral Review & Rally

http://www.royalyork.org.uk/

Upcoming Special Parade

Centenary of 1912 Balmoral Review & Rally

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Assemble at Hopewell Avenue @ 9:45 am for 10:00 am parade.

Balmoral Review history website celebrating 100th anniversary in run up to the 1912 Ulster Covenant http://www.balmoralreview.com/

100 Years Ago
So just what where our forefathers doing in 1912 as they prepared for the Unionist Demonstration against Home Rule at Balmoral?

On the 4th March 1912 the Easter Demonstration Committee consisting of Sir James Henderson (Chair), Colonel Sharman Crawford, Major F Crawford, Major McCammon, Mr G S Clark, Mr R W Young, Mr Ed Sclater, Mr Lloyd Campbell, Capt F. Hall and Mr Dawson Bates met at the Old Town Hall in Victoria Street.  This building was donated by Belfast City Council to the anti Home Rule organisers.  It later became the headquarters of the Ulster Volunteer Force and still stands today.

The meeting in March just 5 weeks before the demonstration discussed the following subjects;

·      Platforms
·      Speeches
·      March Past
·      Roadways and Rails
·      Entrances
·      Route
·      Catering
·      Decorations

Under decorations the Committee decided;

“That the only decoration required in or about the Show Grounds shall be Union Jacks hoisted on the centre and corners of Grand Stands and at each entrance gate.  That a large flagstaff be erected at Stand C and the largest possible Union Jack be provided for same.”

Under the Route it was decided;

“That arrangements be made with Great Northern Railways to detrain all parties arriving by their line at Dunmurry – that the troops march in two columns of 4 from the city and also from Dunmurry – one column on each side of the road.  The columns were to be headed by No 1 District Belfast Grand Lodge and the other by Templepatrick Premier Unionist Club.”

Charges
The Committee also decided that parking for private carriages and motors would be 5 shillings and that 250 stand tickets would also be available to the Ulster Womens Unionist Council.

The detail and the planning for what was a huge demonstration was lengthy, detailed and at the end of the day effective.  Over 100,000 people attended what was a highly successful demonstration against Government plans to impose Home Rule.

If it wasn’t for these demonstrations in huge numbers by our forefathers and the superb leadership skills provided by the Unionist leadership of the time one wonders where would we be now if that stand had not been taken?

--------

Edward Carson

Carson was born at 4 Harcourt Street, Dublin, on 9 February 1854. His father was an architect and two of his uncles were Church of Ireland clergymen. His mother, one of the Lamberts of Athenry, Co. Galway, came from a landed family.  Carson was educated at Portarlington and Trinity College, Dublin.

Carson was an outstanding lawyer in an era of great lawyers.

Politically, he was very significant figure in British politics. He was a key player in the overthrow of the Asquith Government in December 1916. Between 1916 and 1917 he was First Lord of the Admiralty and between 1917 and 1918 he was a member of the War Cabinet.

Carson was the leader of the Ulster Unionism from February 1910 to February 1921. Carson was MP for Trinity College, Dublin, for 26 years and MP for the Belfast constituency of Duncairn only from December 1918 to May 1921.
He died on 22 October 1935 in Ramsgate.  His body was conveyed to Belfast for a state funeral – the only state funeral ever held in Northern Ireland’s history – in St Anne’s Cathedral where he was buried.

James Craig

Craig birth was born on 8 January 1871 in Sydenham, in east Belfast. He was the sixth son of James Craig, a millionaire Presbyterian whiskey distiller, and Eleanor Gilmore Browne. Both parents were of Scottish descent. He was educated at Merchiston Castle School, a Church of Scotland foundation, in Edinburgh.

He jumped at the opportunity to serve in the Boer War, joining in the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles and, subsequently, the 29th Imperial Yeomanry. He proved to be a good and popular officer and first exhibited that organizational flair – which would be placed at the disposal of the unionist cause – as Deputy Assistant Director of the Imperial Military Railways. The war also gave him a heightened appreciation of the Empire and Ulster’s role in it.
In the general election of 1906 Craig entered Parliament as the MP for East Down.

Craig possessed ‘in larger measure than most Ulster Unionists a marked administrative ability, ample reserves of determination, energy and patience and, surprisingly, an eye for the dramatic'.  As the third Home Rule crisis unfolded after 1910, Craig formed a very effective partnership with Sir Edward Carson in mobilizing Ulster unionist resistance.

At the outbreak of the Great War Craig recruited and organized the 36th (Ulster) Division, becoming a lieutenant colonel and the new division's Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster-General.

In the years after the War he sacrificed a very promising political career in London to become Northern Ireland’s first Prime Minister, a position that he held until his death.

Fredrick Crawford

Frederick Hugh Crawford was born into ‘a solid Methodist’ home and a family with a strong sense of their Ulster-Scots ancestry on 21 August 1861.
In Guns for Ulster, his account of the gun-running, Crawford wrote about  his Ulster-Scots ancestry: ‘From these settlers sprang a people, the Ulster-Scot, who have made themselves felt in the history of the British Empire and, in no small measure, in that of the United States of America.’

On another occasion, Crawford observed: ‘I am ashamed to call myself an Irishman. Thank God I am not one. I am an Ulsterman, a very different breed’
Crawford missed the drama of the first Home Rule crisis of 1885-6 through serving as an engineer with the White Star Line.  However, his return from Australia in 1892 to join the family business coincided with the onset of the second Home Rule crisis. He became convinced that if Ulster was to successfully resist Home Rule, Ulster must ultimately rely on armed resistance.

In 1894 he enlisted in the Mid Ulster Artillery. He subsequently was transferred to the Donegal Artillery. Like James Craig, he served in the Boer War. He achieved the rank of major, was decorated and mentioned in despatches. During the conflict he acquired a great deal of knowledge about modern weaponry and warfare.
On 28 September 1912 Crawford commanded the marshals who escorted Carson and the Unionist leadership from the Ulster Hall to the City Hall. The marshals, smartly turned out in their neat suits and bowler hats, were drawn from the City’s Unionist Clubs and the County Grand Lodge of Belfast. They ensured the smooth and efficient signing of the Covenant at the City Hall.

When the Ulster Volunteer Force was formally established by the UUC on 31 January 1913 Crawford became Director of Ordnance. This appointment would have made very little difference to Crawford because he simply continued doing what he had already been doing: quietly and efficiently importing arms.
in January 1914 that Carson and the Unionist leadership sanctioned Crawford to undertake a daring mission, worthy of a John Buchan thriller, to Germany to purchase guns and ammunition and land them in Ulster. Only twelve men knew about the mission. Carson told Crawford: ‘Crawford, I’ll see you through this business, if I should have to go to prison for it’. Those words meant a great deal to Crawford.

When Crawford died in November 1952 Basil Brooke, the then Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, accurately described him ‘as a fearless fighter in the historic fight to keep Ulster British’.

Thomas Sinclair

He was born in Belfast on 23 September 1838. He was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and the Queen’s College, Belfast.
Many regarded him as the best student Queen’s had ever seen, prompting the College authorities to confer the honorary degree of D.Litt. on him in 1882.
Sinclair was the most prominent Presbyterian layman of his time. From an early age he taught Sunday School. At 28 he was chosen and ordained an elder of the church and a year later he was appointed Clerk of Session in Duncairn Church.
The years 1868 to 1885, corresponding with Sinclair’s involvement in the affairs of the Ulster Liberal Party, marked the steady erosion of the Conservative Party’s long hegemony in Ulster and were years of advance for Ulster Liberals. While it would be wrong to suggest that the Liberal advance was due to Sinclair’s activities alone, Sinclair was recognised as a leader of Ulster Liberalism and a highly articulate critic of Conservatism. His contribution was considerable.
Sinclair in April 1886 forcefully enunciated the Liberal Unionist viewpoint: ‘We shall show the world that come what may Ulster will never consent to yield up her citizenship, or be expelled from the imperial parliament to be degraded to a junior partnership in a subordinate colony’.

For Sinclair and for Ulster’s Liberal Unionists, the bottom line was ‘there must be no Home Rule plank in the Ulster Liberal platform’.
For a man of his years, Sinclair was remarkably active during the third Home Rule crisis. He was present at the great Craigavon demonstration on Saturday 23 September 1911. He did not speak but Thomas Andrews spoke on behalf of Ulster’s Liberal Unionists. On the following Monday Sinclair set about drawing up the constitution for a provisional government. At the first pre-Covenant rally at Enniskillen on 18 September 1912 he explained the document that he had drafted and attended the eve-of-Covenant rally in the Ulster Hall.
Thomas Sinclair died on 14 February 1914.

Appeal over ‘last copy’ of Ulster provisional government proclamation

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:10:15 +0000

Appeal over ‘last copy’ of Ulster provisional government proclamation
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/appeal-over-last-copy-of-proclamation-1-3830561

Undated Bonhams handout photo of an extremely rare 99-year-old poster announcing the formation of a provisional government for Ulster, which is set to go under the hammer at auction. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday May 10, 2012. The copy of the 1913 proclamation by Edward Carson and other leading unionists in the midst of the Home Rule crisis is thought to be the only one of its type left in existence and is expected to go for a potential �30,000. See PA story ULSTER Proclamation. Photo credit should read: Bonhams/PA Wire NOTEhttp://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/appeal-over-last-copy-of-proclamation-1-3830561 TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

Published on Friday 11 May 2012 08:15

UNIONISTS have called for a 99-year-old poster, believed to be the last remaining original copy of the Ulster Proclamation, to be bought for future generations to share.

The Ulster Proclamation of a Provisional Government was produced the day after a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council on September 23, 1913.

Plans were drawn up at that meeting to form a separate government for the nine counties of Ulster if Westminster handed powers to a nationalist parliament in Dublin as was feared under Home Rule.

This was almost exactly a year after half a million men and women signed the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant or Declaration voicing opposition on September 28, 1912. But the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 meant plans for Home Rule were postponed.

The proclamation poster, dated September 24, 1913, and printed in blue, is estimated to attract bids up to £30,000 when it goes under the hammer at Bonhams auction house in London on June 12. It came from a private collector in Northern Ireland who wishes to remain anonymous.

Andrew Currie from Bonhams said: “This is a poster that was put up on walls so you can imagine with rain and the passage of time few survived. We believe this is the last one.”

TUV leader Jim Allister has urged the Government to buy the item: “It is, in my view, important that this document comes back to Northern Ireland and is placed on public display.”

An Orange Order spokesman said: “This is a very significant document. It is certainly something which the Government or the museum community should be considering acquiring so that it is in public ownership.”

Yesterday the Department for Culture, Arts and Leisure was unable to comment due to the civil service strike.

Do you know of any other copies of the Ulster Proclamation? If so contact Rebecca Black on r.black@newsletter.co.uk or telephone 02890 897728.

Front page of historic Ulster Covenant missing

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:08:28 +0000

10 May 2012 Last updated at 17:24
Front page of historic Ulster Covenant missing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18025716
By Mark Devenport
Political editor, Northern Ireland

Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of the historic first page of the Ulster Covenant signed by Sir Edward Carson at Belfast City Hall.
Preparations are underway to celebrate the centenary in September of the signing.

More than 470,000 men signed the oath. Women signed the the declaration, an accompanying promise of support.

However, the collection, held by the Public Records Office, does not include the page signed on camera by Carson.

Sir Edward put pen to paper on 28 September 1912, the first of ten unionist grandees to put their names to a pledge to resist what they called "the threatened calamity" of Home Rule for Ireland by "all means which may be found necessary".

The moment of defiance of the Westminster government was captured for posterity by both photographers and an early cinema cameraman.

Sir Edward Carson was the first to sign the covenant pledging to resist home rule for Ireland
The vast majority of those signatures are contained in dozens of boxes donated by the Ulster Unionist Council to the Northern Ireland Public Record Office in 1959.

However, the original page one of the covenant with its ten signatures appears to be missing.

Photographs exist of the page and there are also images of a souvenir parchment signed by Carson alone.

The Public Record Office told the BBC it has never held the first page signed by Sir Edward on a table which is now kept in the council chamber in Belfast City Hall.

It believes the Ulster Unionist Council held on to the front page and had it on display in their old offices in Glengall Street in central Belfast for many years.

However, the Ulster Unionists said they could not verify this.

The party no longer has an office in Glengall Street - it is currently based in east Belfast.

A UUP spokesman told me the party had deposited historic records with the Public Record Office in good faith, and was concerned and annoyed about the question mark over the whereabouts of the first page.

I met up with local historian Henry Bell in the Public Record Office reading room to get his take on the significance of the missing page.

Carson's signature was the first on the covenant
The history and politics lecturer told me that it was no coincidence that "the number one signature on the very first sheet in the very first folder was by Edward Carson.

"They had focussed in on Carson as the symbol of unionism and Ulster's resistance, so his signature would be the moment to start the whole process and I find it absolutely amazing that we are not looking at his signature in front of us," Mr Bell said.

He said that "to look at the actual signature would be absolutely wonderful" and he would love to see it discovered and put on display in time for the centenary.

Perhaps someone has the document and doesn't realise its significance.

Or could it be taking pride of place on someone's wall, without the knowledge of either the Public Record Office or the modern day UUP?

With the calendar ticking down to the 100th anniversary in September, the hunt for the covenant's first page looks increasingly urgent.

Just like their forebears, unionists may have to employ "all means which may be found necessary" to turn up the missing heirloom.

If you know where it is let me know via Twitter @markdevenport.

Have you seen the front page of the missing covenant? Do you know where the document is? If you have any other information you would like to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below.

New Welsh Orange Lodge opening in Cardiff to be called after Rawlins White who was burned at the stake in 1555

Sat, 12 May 2012 05:52:33 +0000

New Welsh Orange Lodge opening in Cardiff to be called after Rawlins White who was burned at the stake in 1555 http://j.mp/HgEFeN

It`s been 92 years since the last Orange Lodge in South Wales went out of business. Several members of The Somme Memorial LOL 842, Bristol are starting a new LOL which has been 2 years in the making. They are reviving the old Cardiff LOL warrant number (803) and the Lodge will open on 17th March 2012.

The Lodge will be named in honour of Rawlins White who was a Protestant martyr who was burnt at the stake in March 1555. The Lodge will open and they expect a large turnout of brethren and will have members there from all corners of the British isles.

In the evening they are having a social event with Corby Purple Star Flute Band and also some Lambeg drumming.

----------
http://www.exclassics.com/foxe/foxe279.htm

From Foxe`s Book of Martyrs
277. RAWLINS WHITE

The history of one Rawlins White, burned at Cardiff' in Wales about the month of March, for the testimony of Christ's gospel, reported by John Dane, being yet alive, who was almost continually with him during his trouble, unto his death.

ORASMUCH as we have here passed the history of Master Ferrar, burned at the town of Caermarthen in Wales,I thought to adjoin and accompany with the same the history also of one Rawlins White, a fisherman, who, both in the like cause, and in the same country of Wales, and also about the same month of March and year aforesaid, gave his life, like a valiant soldier of Jesus Christ, to martyrdom, and was burned at Cardiff; the process of whose story here followeth expressed more at large.
            This Rawlins was by his calling or occupation a fisherman, living and continuing in the said trade by the space of twenty years at the least, in the town of Cardiff, being (as a man of his vocation might be) one of a very good name, and well accounted amongst his neighbours, As touching his religion at the first, it cannot otherwise be known, but that he was a great partaker of the superstition and idolatry that then was used; I mean in the reign of King Henry the Eighth. But after that God of his mercy had raised up the light of his gospel, through the blessed government of King Edward the Sixth, here in this realm of England, this Rawlins began partly to mislike that which before he had embraced, and to have some good opinion of that which before, by the iniquity of the time, had been concealed from him: and the rather to bring this good purpose and intent of his to pass, he began to be a diligent hearer, and a great searcher-out of the truth.

            But because the good man was altogether unlearned, and withal very simple, he knew no ready way how he might satisfy his great desire. At length it came in his mind to take a special remedy to supply his necessity, which was this: he had a little boy which was his own son; which child he set to school to learn to read English. Now after the little boy could read indifferently well, his father, every night after supper, summer and winter, would have the boy to read a piece of the Holy Scripture, and now and then of some other good book; in which kind of virtuous exercise the old man had such a delight and pleasure, that, as it seemed, he rather practised himself in the study of the Scripture, than in the trade or science which beforetime he had used: so that Rawlins, within few years, in the said time of King Edward, through the help of his little son, (a special minister appointed by God, no doubt, for that purpose,) and through much conference beside, profited and went forward in such sort, that he was able not only to resolve himself touching his own former blindness and ignorance, but was also able to admonish and instruct others: and therefore, when occasion served, he would go from one place to another, visiting such as he had best hope in. By which his doing, he became, in that country, both a notable and open professor of the truth, being at all times and in all such places, not without the company of his little boy, whom (as I have said) he used as an assistance to this his good purpose. And to this his great industry and endeavour in the Holy Scripture, God did also add in him a singular gift of memory; so that by the benefit thereof he would and could do that, in vouching and rehearsing of the text, which men of riper and more profound knowledge, by their notes and other helps of memory, could very hardly accomplish; insomuch that he, upon the alleging of Scripture, very often would cite the book, the leaf, yea, and the very sentence: such was the wonderful working of God in this simple and unlearned father.

            Now when he had thus continued in his profession the space of five years, King Edward died, upon whose decease Queen Mary succeeded, and, with her, all kind of superstition and papistry crept in. Which thing being once perceived, Rawlins did not altogether use open instruction and admonition, as before he was wont; and therefore oftentimes, in some private place or other, he would call his trusty friends together, and with earnest prayer and great lamentation pass away the time, so that by his virtuous instructions, being without any blemish of error, he converted a great number; which number, no doubt, had greatly increased, had not the cruel storm of persecution been. The extremity and force whereof, at the last, so pursued this good father Rawlins, that he looked every hour to go to prison: whereupon many of those which had received comfort by his instructions, did resort unto him, and by all means possible began to persuade him to shift for himself, and to dispose his goods by some reasonable order to the use of his wife and children; and by that means he should escape that danger which was imminent over his head.

            But Rawlins, nothing abashed for his own part through the iniquity of the time, and nothing at all moved with these their fleshly persuasions, thanked them most heartily for their good will, and told them plainly, that he had learned one good lesson touching the confessing and denial of Christ; advertising them, that if he, upon their persuasions, should presume to deny his Master Christ, Christ, in the last day, would deny and utterly condemn him: "and therefore," quoth he, "I will, by his favourable grace, confess and bear witness of him before men, that I may find him in everlasting life."

            Notwithstanding which answer, his friends were very importunate with him. Howbeit father Rawlins continued still in his good purpose so long, till at the last he was taken by the officers of the town, as a man suspected of heresy; upon which apprehension he was convented before the bishop of Llandaff that then was, the said bishop lying then at his house beside Chepstow; by whom, after divers combats and conflicts with him and his chaplains, this good father Rawlins was committed to prison in Chepstow, But this his keeping, whether it were by the bishop's means, because he would rid his hands of him, or through the favour of his keeper, was not so severe and extreme, but that, if he had so listed, he might have escaped oftentimes.

            But that notwithstanding, he continued still, insomuch that at the last he, by the aforenamed bishop, was removed from Chepstow to the castle of Cardiff, where he continued by the space of one whole year; during which time, this reporter resorted to him very often, with money and other relief from this reporter's mother, who was a great favourer of those that were in affliction in those days,) and other of his friends; which he received not without great thanks and praises given to the name of God. And albeit that he was thus troubled and imprisoned, as ye have heard, to his own undoing in this world, and to the utter decay of his poor wife and children; yet was his heart so set to the instruction and furtherance of others in the way of salvation, that he was never in quiet, but when he was persuading or exhorting such of his familiar friends, as commonly came unto him: insomuch that on the Sundays and other times of leisure, when his friends came to visit him, he would pass away the time in prayer and exhortations, admonishing them always to beware of false prophets which come in sheep's clothing.

            Now when he had continued in Cardiff castle by the space of one whole year, (as I have said,) the time of his further trial was at hand. Whereupon the forenamed bishop of Llandaff caused him to be brought again from the castle of Cardiff unto his own house beside Chepstow; and whilst he continued there, the bishop assayed many ways how to reduce him to some conformity. But when all means, either by their threatening words, or flattering promises, were to no purpose, the bishop willed him to advise, and be at a full point with himself, either to recant his opinions, or else to abide the rigour of the law: and thereupon gave him a day of determination; which day being come, the bishop with his chaplains went into his chapel, not without a great number of other by-dwellers, that came to behold the manner of their doings.

            When the bishop with his retinue were placed in order, poor Rawlins was brought before them. The bishop, after a great deliberation in addressing himself, as it seemed, and silence forewarned to the rest that were there present, used a long kind of talk to him, declaring the cause of his sending-for, which was for that he was a man well known to hold heretical opinions, and that through his instruction many were led into blind error. In the end he exhorted him to consider his own estate wherein he stood "for," said the bishop, "Rawlins, you have oftentimes since your first trouble, both here in my house, and elsewhere, been travailed withal touching your opinions; and, that notwithstanding, ye seem altogether obstinate and wilful. Now hereupon we thought good to send for you, to see if there were any conformity in you: so that the matter is come to this point, that if you will show yourself repentant for that which you have done against God and the prince's law, we are ready to use favour towards you; but if by no means we can persuade with you touching your reformation, we are minded at this time to minister the law unto you -- and therefore advise yourself, what you will do."

            When the bishop had made an end of his long tale, this good father Rawlins spake boldly to him, and said, "My Lord, I thank God I am a Christian man; and I hold no opinions contrary to the word of God: and if I do, I desire to be reformed out of the word of God, as a Christian man ought to be." Many more words were in like sort between the bishop and Rawlins, which this reporter doth not well remember. But in the end, when Rawlins would in no wise recant his opinions, the bishop told him plainly, that he must proceed against him by the law, and condemn him as a heretic.

            "Proceed in your law a God's name," said Rawlins; "but for a heretic you shall never condemn me while the world standeth." "But," said the bishop to his company, "before we proceed any further with him, let us pray unto God that he would send some spark of grace upon him, [meaning Rawlins,] and it may so chance that God, through our prayer, will here turn and convert his heart." When Rawlins heard the bishop say so, "Ah, my Lord," quoth he, "now you deal well, and like a godly bishop; and I thank you most heartily for your great charity and gentleness. Christ saith, Where two or three be gathered together in my name, I will be in the midst of them: and there be more than two or three of you. Now, if it be so that your request be godly and lawful, and that ye pray as ye should pray, without doubt God will hear you, And therefore, my Lord, go to; do you pray to your God, and I will pray to my God, I know that my God will both hear my prayer, and perform my desire."

            By and by the bishop with his company fell to prayer; and Rawlins, turning himself to a pew that stood somewhat near him, fell down upon his knees, covering his face with his hands, And when they had prayed a while, the bishop with his company arose from prayer; and then also arose Rawlins, and came before the bishop.

            Then said the bishop, "Now, Rawlins, how is it with thee? Wilt thou revoke thy opinions, or no?" "Surely," said Rawlins, "my Lord, Rawlins you left me, and Rawlins you find me; and, by God's grace, Rawlins I will continue. Certainly if your petitions had been just and lawful, God would have heard them; but you honour a false god, and pray not as ye should pray; and therefore hath not God granted your desire. But I am only one poor simple man, as you see, and God hath heard my complaint, and I trust he will strengthen me in his own cause."

            The bishop, when he perceived that this hypocrisy of theirs took none effect, then with hot words he reproved him, and forthwith was ready to read the sentence. Howbeit, upon some advice given to him by his chaplains that were there present, he thought best, first, to have a mass, thinking that indeed, by so doing, some wonderful work should be wrought in Rawlins; and thereupon a priest began a mass.

            In the mean time poor Rawlins betook himself to prayer in a secret place there by, until such time as the priest came to the sacring, as they term it, which is a principal point of their idolatry, When Rawlins heard the sacring-bell ring (as the use was) he rose out of his place, and came to the choir-door, and, there standing a while, turned himself to the people, speaking these words "Good people! if there be any brethren amongst you, or, at the least, if there he but one brother amongst you, the same one bear witness at the day of judgment, that I bow not to this idol"-- meaning the host that the priest held over his head.

            The mass being ended, Rawlins eftsoons was called for again; to whom the bishop used many persuasions; but the blessed man continued so stedfast in his former profession, that the bishop's talk was altogether in vain, and to no purpose: whereupon the bishop caused the definitive sentence to be read. Which being ended, Rawlins was dismissed; and from thence he was, by the bishop's commandment, carried again to Cardiff, there to be put into the prison of the town, called Cockmarel; a very dark, loathsome, and most vile prison. Rawlins in the mean time passed away the time in prayer, and chiefly in singing of psalms: which kind of godly exercise he always used, both at Cardiff castle, and in all other places.

            Now, after he had thus continued a prisoner in Cockmarel prison at Cardiff, (as is aforesaid,) a good space, about three weeks before the day wherein he suffered, the head officers of the town, that had the charge of his execution, were determined to burn him, because they would be sooner rid of him; having not indeed a writ of execution awarded, as by the law they should have. Whereupon one Henry Lewis, the recorder of the town that then was, seeing that they went about to burn him without any warrant by writ, came to them and told them, that if they did burn him before they had the writ, De hæreticis comburendis, the wife of the said Rawlins would, upon just cause, by law, call their doings into question, Immediately upon this advertisement, they sent to London for the writ above-named; upon the receipt whereof they made some speed to the execution of the said Rawlins, Now, when the day was come wherein the good father should perform and accomplish the last act of this his worthy conflict, he was the night before willed to prepare himself.

            Now when he perceived his time was no less near than it was reported unto him, he sent forthwith to his wife, and willed her by the messenger, that in any wise she should make ready and send unto him his wedding garment, meaning a shirt, which afterward he was burned in: which request, or rather commandment of his, his wife, with great sorrow and grief of heart, did perform, and early in the morning did send it to him, which he received most gladly and joyfully, Now when the hour of his execution was come, this good and constant father Rawlins was brought out of prison, having on his body the long shirt, which (as you heard before) he called his wedding garment, and an old russet coat which he was wont to wear. Besides this, he had upon his legs an old pair of leather buskins, which he had used long afore, And thus being brought out of prison, (as I have said,) he was accompanied, or rather guarded, with a great company of bills and glaves; which sight when he beheld, "Alas!" quoth he, "what meaneth all this? All this needed not. By God's grace I will not start away: but I, with all my heart and mind, give unto God most hearty thanks, that he hath made me worthy to abide all this, for his holy name's sake."

            So he came to a place in his way, where his poor wife and children stood weeping and making great lamentation; the sudden sight of whom so pierced his heart that the very tears trickled down his face. But he soon after, as though he had misliked this infirmity of his flesh, began to be as it were altogether angry with himself; insomuch that in striking his breast with his hand he used these words "Ah flesh! stayest thou me so? wouldst thou fain prevail? Well, I tell thee, do what thou canst, thou shalt not, by God's grace, have the victory." By this time this poor innocent came to the very altar of his sacrifice, (I mean the place appointed for his death,) and there found a stake ready set up, with some wood toward the making of the fire; which when he beheld, he set forward himself very boldly; but, in going toward the stake, he fell down upon his knees, and kissed the ground: and in rising again, the earth a little sticking on his nose, he said these words, "Earth unto earth, and dust unto dust: thou art my mother, and unto thee I shall return." Then went he cheerfully and very joyfully, and set his back close unto the stake; and when he had stood there awhile, he cast his eye upon this reporter, and called him unto him, and said, "I feel a great fighting between the flesh and the spirit, and the flesh would very fain have his swinge; and therefore I pray you, when you see me any thing tempted, hold your finger up to me, and I trust I shall remember myself."

            As he was thus standing with his back close unto the stake, a smith came with a great chain of iron; whom when he saw, he cast up his hand with a loud voice, and gave God great thanks. Then the smith cast a chain about him; and as he was making it fast on the other side, Rawlins said unto him, "I pray you, good friend, knock in the chain fast; for it may be that the flesh would strive mightily; but God of thy great mercy give me strength and patience to abide the extremity!"

            Now when the smith had made him sure to the stake, the officers began to lay on more wood, with a little straw and reed: wherein the good old man was no less occupied than the best; for as far as he could reach his hands, he would pluck the straw and reed, and lay it about him in places most convenient for his speedy despatch: which thing he did with such a cheerful countenance and familiar gesture, that all men there present were in a manner astonished.

            Thus, when all things were ready, so that there lacked nothing but the putting-to of the fire, directly over against the stake, in the face of Rawlins, there was a standing erected, whereon stepped up a priest, addressing himself to speak to the people, which were many in number, because it was market-day, When Rawlins perceived him, and considered the cause of his coming, he reached a little straw unto him, and made two little stays, and set them under his elbows. Then went the priest forward in his sermon, wherein he spake of many things touching the authority of the Church of Rome. In the mean time Rawlins gave such good ear and attention, that he seemed nothing at all moved or disquieted, At the last, the priest came to the sacrament of the altar, and there he began to inveigh against Rawlins's opinions: in which his invection he cited the common place of Scripture, and thereupon made a clerkly interpretation.

            Now when Rawlins perceived that he went about not only to teach and preach the people false doctrine, but also to confirm it by Scripture, he suddenly started up, and beckoned with his hands to the people, saying twice, "Come hither, good people; and hear not a false prophet preaching:" and then said unto the preacher, "Ah, thou naughty hypocrite! dost thou presume to prove thy false doctrine by Scripture? Look in the text what followeth; did not Christ say, Do this in remembrance of me! "After which words the priest, being rather amazed than interrupted, forthwith held his peace.

            Then some that stood by cried out, "Put fire, set to fire;" which being set to, the straw and reed, by and by, cast up both a great and sudden flame. In the which flame this good and blessed man bathed his hands so long, until such time as the sinews shrunk, and the fat dropped away; saving that once he did, as it were, wipe his face with one of them. All this while, which was somewhat long, he cried with a loud voice, "O Lord, receive my soul! O Lord, receive my spirit!" until he could not open his mouth. At the last the extremity of the fire was so vehement against his legs, that they were consumed almost before the rest of his body was burned, which made the whole body fall over the chain into the fire sooner than it would have done. During which time of his burning, it cannot be said that he suffered or felt any great pain, considering that not without his perfect memory he abode both quietly and patiently, even unto the departing of his life, Thus died this godly and old man Rawlins, for the testimony of God's truth, being now rewarded, no doubt, with the crown of everlasting life.

            It is recorded, furthermore, of the said good father Rawlins, by this reporter, that as he was going to his death, and standing at the stake, he seemed in a manner to be altered in nature. For as before he was wont to go stooping, or rather crooked, through the infirmity of age, having a sad countenance and a very feeble complexion, and withal very soft in speech and gesture, now he went and stretched up himself not only bolt upright, but also bore withal a most pleasant and comfortable countenance, not without great courage and audacity both in speech and behaviour, He had -- of which thing I should have spoken before -- about his head a kerchief; the hairs of his head, (somewhat appearing beneath his kerchief,) and also of his beard, were more inclining to white than to grey, which gave such a show and countenance to his whole person, that he seemed to be altogether angelical.

            It is also said by this reporter, that a little before the fire flashed up to his body (as ye have heard) many of his friends came to him, and took him by the hand; amongst whom the reporter of this story held him so long by the hand, till the flame of the fire rose and forced them to sunder, In the mean time the priest, of whom I spake afore, cried out and said, that it was not lawful for any man to take him by the hand, because he was a heretic, and condemned by the church,-- The chief cause of his trouble, was his opinion touching the sacrament of the altar. He was, at the time of his death, of the age of threescore years, or thereabouts.

278. OTHER EVENTS OF MARCH AND APRIL 1555.

The sum of the words spoken by Queen Mary to certain of her councillors, March the twenty-eighth, A.D. 1555, touching the restitution of the abbey lands.

            Before I pass over this month of March, I cannot but leave a little memorandum of the words or consultation of Queen Mary, used to certain of the council the twenty-eighth day of the said month of March, touching the restoring again of the abbey lands; who, after she had called unto her presence four of her privy council, the day and month aforesaid (the names of which councillors were these, namely, William, lord marquis of Winchester, high treasurer of England; Sir Robert Rochester, knight, the queen's comptroller; Sir William Peter, knight, secretary; Sir Francis Englefield, knight, master of the wards); the said Queen Mary inferred these words, the principal effect and sum whereof here followeth:--

            "You are here of our council: and we have willed you to be called unto us, to the intent you might hear of me my conscience, and the resolution of my mind, concerning the lands and possessions as well of monasteries, as of other churches whatsoever, being now presently in my possession.

            "First, I do consider, that the said lands were taken away from the churches aforesaid in the time of schism, and that by unlawful means, such as are contrary both to the law of God and of the church; for the which cause my conscience doth not suffer me to detain them: and therefore I here expressly refuse either to claim or to retain the said lands for mine; but with all my heart, freely and willingly, without all paction or condition, here, and before God, I do surrender and relinquish the said lands and possessions, or inheritances whatsoever, and do renounce the same with this mind and purpose, that order and disposition thereof may be taken, as shall seem best liking to our most holy lord the pope, or else his legate the lord cardinal, to the honour of God, and wealth of this our realm.

            "And albeit you may object to me again, that, considering the state of my kingdom, and the dignity thereof, my crown imperial cannot be honourably maintained and furnished without the possessions aforesaid: yet notwithstanding, I set more by the salvation of my soul, than by ten kingdoms; and therefore the said possessions I utterly refuse here to hold after that sort and title, and give most hearty thanks to Almighty God, which hath given me a husband likewise minded, with no less good affection in this behalf, than I am myself.

            "Wherefore I charge and command, that my chancellor, (with whom I have conferred my mind in this matter before,) and you four, to-morrow together do resort to the most reverend lord legate, and do signify to him the premises in my name, and give your attendance upon him for the more full declaration of the state of my kingdom, and of the foresaid possessions accordingly, as you yourselves do understand the matter, and can inform him in the same."

            This intimation being given by the queen, first unto the councillors, and then coming to the cardinal's hand, he drawing out a copy thereof in Latin, sent the same to the pope; which copy drawn in Latin, and coming afterward to my hand, I have thus translated into English, as you have heard.

            Furthermore, here by the way is to be understood, that in the month before, which was February, and on the nineteenth day of the said month, the bishop of Ely and the Lord Montacute, with sevenscore horse, were sent as ambassadors from the king and queen unto Rome; for what cause, in story it is not expressed; but, by conjecture, it may be well supposed to be for the same cause of abbey lands, as by the sequel thereof may probably appear.

            For it was not long after, but the pope did set forth in print a bull of excommunication for all manner of such persons, without exception, as kept any of the church or abbey lands; by virtue of which bull, the pope excommunicated as well all such as had any of the church or abbey lands, as also all such princes, bishops, and noblemen, justices of peace and others in office, who had not, or did not forthwith, put the same bull in execution, Albeit this execution (God be thanked) yet, to this day, was never put in practice. Wherein again is to be observed another catholic fetch, not unworthy, perchance, of marking. For whereas this kind of catholics, by rigour and force, may overmaster, they spare for no cost, but lay on load enough. This well appeared, and still doth appear, in burning the poor patient Christians, whom because they see to be destitute of power and strength to resist them, and content with patience to receive whatsoever is put unto them, there they play the lions, and make no end of burning and persecuting. But where they spy themselves to be overmatched, or fear to receive a foil in pursuing too far, there they keep in, and can stay the execution of their laws and bulls, be they never so apostolical, till they spy their time convenient for their purpose, as in this case is evident for all the world to see. For notwithstanding that the pope's bull, coming down with full authority for restitution of abbey lands, did so thunder out most terrible excommunication, not only against them which detained any such lands, but also against all others that did not see the pope's commandment to be executed; yet neither Winchester, nor any of all the pope's clergy, would greatly stir in that matter, perceiving the nobility to be too strong for them to match withal; and therefore were contented to let the case fall, or at least to stay for a time, while time might better serve them.

            Yea, and moreover, under a crafty pretence that the nobility and men of lands, at the first coming out of the bull, should not be exasperated too much against them, they subtlely abused the pulpits, and dissembled with the people; affirming that the said pope's late bull, set forth in print, for restitution of abbey lands, was not meant for England, but for other foreign countries: whereas, in very deed, the meaning of that bull was only for England, and no country else, as both by this intimation of Queen Mary here mentioned, and by many other conjectures, and also by Master Feckenham's ballet of Caveat emptor, may appear: whereby it is easy for all men to understand what the purpose of those men was to do, if time, which they observed, might have served their devotion.

            But to let this matter pass of the pope's bull, the time now serveth to entreat of Pope Julius's death, forasmuch as he made his end about the latter end of this foresaid month of March. Concerning the deeds and acts of which pope, to make a full declaration, it were not so much tedious to the reader, as horrible to all good ears, Under this Julius flourished the archbishop of Benevento, a Florentine, named John de la Casa, dean of the pope's chamber, and chief legate to the Venetians; who, well declaring the fruit of that filthy see, so far forgat both honesty and nature, that he shamed not only to play the filthiest immorality himself, and to boast openly of the same; but also took upon him most impudently in Italian metre, to all men's ears, to set forth the praise and commendation of a certain nameless iniquity, saying that he himself never used other; and this book was printed at Venice by one Trajanus Nævus. And yet the pope could suffer this so great iniquity and shameless beastliness, even under his nose in his own chamber; which could not abide the true doctrine of Christ in Christian books.

            Amongst other pranks and deeds of this foresaid pope, in his Jubilee, and in the synod of Trent, and in confirming of the idol of Loretto, this is also reported of him in his life, that he delighted greatly in pork-flesh and peacocks. Upon a time when he was admonished of his physician to abstain from all swine's flesh, for that it was noisome for his gout, and yet would not follow his counsel; the physician afterward gave warning to his steward or orderer of his diet, that he should set no more pork-flesh before him. Whereupon when the pope perceived the said pork-flesh to be lacking in his accustomed service: "Where," said he, "is my pork?" And when his steward had answered, that his physician had forbidden any pork to be served; then the pope, bursting out into a great rage, saith these words; "Bring me," said he, "my pork-flesh, in the despight of God."

            At another time, he, sitting at dinner, pointing to a peacock upon his table, which he had not touched, "Keep," said he, "this cold peacock for me against supper, and let me sup in the garden; for I shall have guests." So when supper came, and, amongst other hot peacocks, he saw not his cold peacock brought to his table, the pope, after his wonted manner, most horribly blaspheming God, fell into an extreme rage, &c.; whereupon one of his cardinals, sitting by, desired him, saying, "Let not your Holiness, I pray you, be so moved with a matter of so small weight." Then this Julius the pope, answering again, "What," said he, "if God was so angry for an apple, that he cast our first parents out of Paradise for the same, why may not I, being his vicar, be angry then for a peacock, since a peacock is a greater matter than an apple." Behold here, good reader, by this pope, the holiness of that blasphemous see: and yet thou shalt see here what affection was borne to this pope here in England, bythe diriges, hearses, and funerals, commanded to be had and celebrated in all churches by the queen and her council, as may appear by the copy of their letters here following.

A letter from the bishop of Winchester (being lord chancellor) unto Bonner, bishop of London, touching the celebrating of the pope's funeral.

            "After my hearty commendations to your good Lordship: The king and queen's Majesties having certain knowledge of the death of the pope's Holiness, thought good there should be as well solemn obsequies said for him throughout the realm, as also these prayers (which I send you herein enclosed) used at mass times in all places at this time of vacation: and therefore willed me to signify their pleasures unto you in this behalf, that thereupon ye might proceed to the full accomplishment thereof, by putting the same in due execution within your own diocese, and sending word to the rest of the bishops, to do the like in theirs. Thus doubting not but that your Lordship will use such diligence in this matter at this time, as shall be necessary, I bid your Lordship heartily well to fare.
            "From my house at Esher, the tenth of April, 1555.
                        "Your assured friend and brother,
                                    STEPHEN WINTON, Chancellor."

A woman of St. Magnus's imprisoned for not praying for the pope.

            Upon this commandment, on Wednesday in Easter week there were hearses set up and diriges sung for the said Julius in divers places; at which time it chanced a woman to come into St. Magnus's church, at the bridge-foot in London, and there, seeing a hearse and other preparation, asked what it meant: and another that stood by said, that it was for the pope, and that she must pray for him, "Nay," quoth she, "that will I not, for he needeth not my prayers: and seeing he could forgive us all our sins, I am sure he is clean himself; therefore I need not to pray for him." She was heard speak these words of certain that stood by, who, by and by, carried her unto the cage at London-bridge, and bade her cool herself there.

Illustration -- The Woman in the cage at London-bridge.

A spectacle for all Christians to behold, and to take heed of the pope's blasphemous doctrine.

Y many and sundry ways Almighty God hath admonished men of all nations in these our latter years, to embrace, and not violently to repugn against, the light of his gospel: as first, by preaching of his word; secondly, by the blood of the martyrs; and thirdly, by terrible examples showed from time to time upon his adversaries, In the number of whom cometh here to he remembered the notable working of God's hand upon a certain priest in Kent, named Nightingal, parson of Crundal beside Canterbury; who, upon Shrove-Sunday, which was about the third day of the said month of March, and year of our Lord aforesaid, (rejoicing belike not a little at this alteration of religion,) began to make a sermon to his parishioners, taking his theme out of the words of St. John: He that saith that he hath no sin, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. And so upon the same very impertinently declared to them all such articles as were set forth by the pope's authority, and by the commandment of the bishops of this realm; saying, moreover, unto the people in this wise "Now, masters and neighbours, rejoice and be merry; for the prodigal son is come home. For I know that the most part of you be as I am, for I know your hearts well enough. And I shall tell you what hath happened in this week past: I was before my Lord Cardinal Pole's Grace, and he hath made me as free from sin, as I was at the font-stone: and on Thursday last being before him, he hath appointed me to notify (thank him for it) the same unto you, and I will tell you what it is."-- And so reading the popes bull of pardon that was sent into England, he said, he thanked God that ever he had lived to see that day; adding, moreover, that he believed, that by the virtue of that bull he was as clean from sin, as that night that he was born:-- and immediately upon the same fell suddenly down out of the pulpit, and never stirred hand nor foot, and so lay he. This was testified by Robert Austen of Cartham, who heard and saw the same, and it is witnessed also by the whole country round about.

John Awcock, martyr.

            In the beginning of April, and the second day of the said month, died in prison John Awcock, who after was buried in the fields; as the manner of the papists was to deny their Christian burial to such as died out of their popish antichristian church.

            Now, forasmuch as having passed the month of March, we are entered into the month of April, to set down in order, out of public records, what happened in the said month, here followeth to be noted: that the first day of April, A, D, 1555, a letter was sent to the sheriff of Kent to apprehend Thomas Wodgat and William Maynard, for preaching secretly, and to send them up to the council. The seventh day of the said month, another letter was sent to the said sheriff for the apprehension of one Harwich, who went about, with a boy with him, preaching from place to place.

            The fifteenth of April a letter was directed to Sir Nicholas Hare, and Sir Thomas Cornwallis, willing them to examine Master Flower (alias Branch) what he meant, by wearing about his neck written, Deum time, idolum fuge; and whom else he knew to wear the like: praying them also to speak to Bonner, bishop of London, speedily to proceed against him for his religion, according to the laws, and that the justices of peace of Middlesex should likewise proceed against him for shedding of blood in the church, according to the statute; so as if he continue his opinion, he might be executed at the furthest by the latter end of this week, and that his right hand be, the day before his execution, or the same day, stricken off.

            The twenty-second of April there was a like letter sent to the justices of peace of Middlesex, with a writ for the execution of the said Flower, commanding them to see his hand stricken off before his burning.

            The twenty-ninth of April, Master Robert Hornebey, servant then to the Lady Elizabeth, was convented before the council for his religion; and standing constantly to the truth, notwithstanding their threats and other persuasions, was therefore committed to the Marshalsea.

Unionist Centenary Committee

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:45:00 +0000

Unionist Centenary Committee
http://www.unionistcentenaries.com/

UUP to join Balmoral Review parade
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/uup-to-join-balmoral-review-parade-1-3824627

Published on Thursday 10 May 2012 08:20

THE Ulster Unionist Party will take part in a Belfast parade commemorating the centenary of the Balmoral Review.

One hundred years ago an estimated 200,000 unionists took part in the review, highlighting their opposition to Home Rule.

This week, UUP general secretary Colin McCusker told members in an email that the party has commissioned an Ulster Unionist Council covenant centenary bannerette to carry at the front of their delegation as they make their way to Ormeau Park.

Mr McCusker wrote: “The Ulster Unionist Party under the historic banner of The Ulster Unionist Council has decided to take part in the centenary of the Balmoral Review as a re-enactment of the events of 1912 that were instigated by our political predecessors, Sir Edward Carson and Sir James Craig.”

The parade will leave Clifton Street Orange Hall at 10am on Saturday, May 19 before arriving at Ormeau Park at noon.

The event is being organised by the Unionist Centenary Committee.

Commemorations will take place over two days from Friday, May 18. including a tented village of stalls and exhibitions at Ormeau Park.

l Balmoral Review wrist- bands are available. priced at £2. by writing to 209 Woodstock Road, Belfast BT6 8PQ or emailing secretary@unionistcentenaries.com.

Glasgow Council chief: City's parade plan is flawed

Wed, 09 May 2012 11:09:06 +0000

Glasgow Council chief: City's parade plan is flawed
http://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/opinion/council-chief-citys-parade-plan-is-flawed.17535913
Gerry Braiden

Local Government Correspondent
THE leader of Scotland's largest local authority has told the Orange Order his city's policy on parades was "wrong" and that it will be overhauled now Labour is back in power, The Herald can reveal.

GORDON MATHESON: Spoke to Orange Order about parades.
Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, was greeted with applause when he told a hustings of around 100 members of the Orange Order that he would "hold his hands up" and admit a groundbreaking approach to reducing marches in the city was flawed.

But last night the head of the organisation representing Scotland's rank-and-file police officers said it would be "perverse" to encourage further parades, while the Orange Order said it now expects Mr Matheson to deliver on his promise.

The pledge comes after Strathclyde chief constable Stephen House championed Glasgow's parades policy as the one best reflecting the police approach to marches, while encouraging other west of Scotland councils to follow the city's lead.

Mr Matheson, whose Labour administration was returned last Friday with an unexpectedly large majority, said the council should have done more to consult the Orange Order and he promised a senior councillor would oversee a review.

He also told the meeting – held before last week's election – that a vote for Labour would help safeguard the union and prevent the SNP using Glasgow as a stepping stone to independence.

The council has repeatedly hailed its approach to parades as a success, with almost all disputes with march organisers resolved before the event.

Introduced 18 months ago, the policy was aimed at reducing marches through the city centre and restricting start and finish times amid concerns over the impact on public resources, businesses and communities.

Climate protesters and trade unions have had demonstrations curtailed or re-routed, along with loyalist and Irish republican parades.

According to council figures, the number of parades by Protestant loyal orders in Glasgow outstrips the total number of marches in Londonderry and Belfast combined.

Calum Steele, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said: "Resources are finite and that's why reform of the police and fire service is under way.

"It would seem perverse if some kind of action is taken to encourage an increase in parade activities. This deprives communities of police officers."

Robert McLean, executive officer of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, said: "Mr Matheson admitted the policy was wrong and we're now hoping he will review the parades policy.

"We do not tell our members who to vote for but as a unionist organisation they should be supporting a unionist candidate."

SNP MSP Humza Yousaf said: "Gordon Matheson should urgently clarify whether he intends to allow more marches, with the implications that would have for policing resources."

David Meikle, Glasgow's sole Tory councillor, said: "Gordon Matheson pushed through the new parades code of conduct but it is now alleged he said he got it wrong.

"We need to find out from Mr Matheson what he got wrong and if he thinks the code of conduct should be changed. Clarity is needed so we know what the position is."

A council spokesman said: "Mr Matheson committed to no more than is stated in the policy – that there will be an annual review, which is under way."

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said the force's main concern was use of officers to police parades, adding the recent move by the Orange Order to provide stewards for their own marches was a positive step.

Working together to build better future

Wed, 09 May 2012 10:51:53 +0000

Working together to build better future
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/working-together-to-build-better-future-1-3815393

Published on Monday 7 May 2012 08:15

A single organisation has helped Co Armagh Protestants overcome reservations about community development and create some 70 groups since 2005.

The County Armagh Community Development (CACD) has been working hard since then to help many of its members engage in cross-community cultural exchanges with groups from across the border. The 70 groups CACD has helped get off the ground have brought in more than £3 million in funding across Co Armagh in the last three years.

But with its funding due to run out in July, its members fear that all the work to date could go to waste.

“Traditionally there has been a very low capacity for community work in the Protestant community and a great lack of self-confidence,” says David McMullen, CACD project coordinator.

CACD started in 2005 with two part-time staff and a second International Fund for Ireland grant. In 2009 a further IFI grant saw it expand to four part-time staff.

The first phase was to get 35 groups set up and the second, in 2009, was to build on this and focus on development particularly in the Portadown and Lurgan areas.

“We are now supporting almost 70 community groups who are primarily based in Co Armagh Orange halls,” Mr McMullen said.

Initially the remit was for community development based in Orange halls, although it is not a requirement to be a member of the Orange Order to take part.

“We can help people step outside the box,” he said. “Community development is a new thing for Protestant communities. During the Troubles, Orange halls became isolated and the shutters went up.

“Before that, they had been a common venue for many social events, whist drives, beetle drives, dances and quizzes.”

Some people from the Catholic community also took part – one Co Armagh SDLP councillor has said his father met his mother in an Orange hall.

Mr McMullen said: “Orange halls for many people were the centre of community life, especially where people had no transport.

“Before the Troubles, Orange hall activities had quite a cross-community aspect to them – there is a Lambeg drum from Poyntzpass that was shared by the Orange lodge and the Ancient Order of Hibernians.”

Development worker George Patton said: “We are going back to our roots but taking it into the 21st century. Our core values remain the same but we are doing things differently.”

The core values, he says, are “being good neighbours, building good relations and helping others”.

CACD says it can help people with no experience start a community group. This involves training in how to run a committee, team building, community audits and training needs analysis.

For more information, contact the CACD main offices at 27A Main Street, Markethill, on 028 3755 2103.

Council defers decision on Young Citizen Volunteers event but approves Ulster Covenant re-enactment

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:14:40 +0000

Council defers decision on Young Citizen Volunteers event but approves Ulster Covenant re-enactment
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/council-defers-decision-on-young-citizen-event-1-3795741#.T6EESdBhOIw.twitter

Published on Wednesday 2 May 2012 08:18

Sinn Fein Lord Mayor Niall O Donnghaile last night used his casting vote to delay a decision on whether an event commemorating the founding of the Young Citizen Volunteers should be allowed to take place at Belfast City Hall.

The event is proposed to take place on September 10 and comprise of an historical lecture by Dr Gordon Lucy, the launch of a booklet and refreshments.

The historic Young Citizen Volunteers was set up in 1912 for young men aged between 18 and 35. It later became a brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force and fought in World War One.

Councillors were tied 24 for and 24 against approving it when the Lord Mayor used his casting vote to have the matter deferred.

It will come before the full council again during the June meeting when a new Lord Mayor – expected to be a DUP representative – will also be appointed.

However, an event commemorating the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant at city hall was approved.

It will take place on September 29 and will involve 250 people in period costume parading with a band from the Ulster Hall to city hall. The signing of the covenant will be enacted using the original table upon which the document was first signed by unionist leader Edward Carson.

Half a million Ulster men and women signed the covenant and declaration in 1912 in opposition to Home Rule.

Meanwhile, chief executive of the council Peter McNaney has committed to approaching the BBC about the possibility of screening the Ulster-Leinster Heineken Cup final clash on the big screen at city hall.

Yesterday, the News Letter reported that the match would not be shown on the big screen because BBC Northern Ireland, which operates the screen, does not have broadcasting rights to it.

DUP councillor Gavin Robinson last night urged the council to investigate if there was a possibility of the match being shown.

The proposal, which was seconded by DUP councillor William Humphrey, was backed by parties across the chamber.

Mr McNaney cautioned that it was a “rights-based issue”, but promised to approach the BBC to determine if the technical issues could be overcome, and if any costs involved would be “acceptable”.

Ulster Unionist councillor Jim Rodgers proposed inviting the Ulster rugby team to city hall. The Lord Mayor responded by saying that possibility was already being looked into.

The council also voted last night to rename the north Belfast street Fishers Place as McGurk’s Way in memory of the 15 people who died when McGurk’s bar was blown up by loyalists in 1971.

The move was opposed by unionist parties who cautioned that it set a dangerous precedent. Last year the same motion was defeated at council.

Tribute Paid To Ulster Covenant Hero

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:14:06 +0000

Orange Standard

Tribute Paid To Ulster Covenant Hero
http://grandorangelodge.co.uk/press/Orange-Standard/2012-Standard/1202-February2012/article1.html
Article 1 ~ February 2012

The Orange Order has paid tribute to the man behind the Ulster Covenant of 1912, at a ceremony in the City Cemetery in Belfast.

Officials of the Grand Orange Lodge and the 1912 Centenary Committee laid a wreath on the grave of Thomas Sinclair, the man chiefly responsible for drafting the Covenant, signed by over 471,000 men and women.

The visit to the cemetery in the heart of nationalist West Belfast launched a special year for the Order, which will play a leading role in commemorating the centenary of the Ulster Covenant of September 1912.

The Covenant was devised to allow people to show their opposition to Home Rule and to being governed from Dublin.

It was drafted on the basis of the old Scottish Covenants of the 17th century and those who signed it pledged to stand by one another throughout a time of threatened calamity to oppose Home Rule.

Chief concerns among the unionist and Protestant population at the time included the role which would be played by the Roman Catholic Church in a Home Rule Ireland and the economic implications of Home Rule.

Thomas Sinclair, who was from a well-known Belfast family, was a leading Liberal Unionist intellectual and Presbyterian of Scottish stock.

Sinclair Seaman's Presbyterian Church in Belfast is named after his uncle, John Sinclair.
The drafter of the Ulster Covenant was active in the 1892-3 period, when the Second Home Rule Bill was defeated.

He did not live to see the outcome of the campaign against Home Rule by Ulster Unionists, dying on February 14, 1914, and being interred in the family grave at the City Cemetery.

The Orange Order has already commemorated Thomas Sinclair through the striking of a limited edition jewel in his honour, which rapidly sold out.

The small delegation of Orangemen who laid a wreath on his grave was led by the Grand Secretary, Drew Nelson, who said that the event was the start of a year of commemorations for the Order.

He said that these would include a major commemoration by the Grand Lodge on September 29, 2012.

"I think the commemorations this year will be watched very carefully in Whitehall, Westminster and the Dail. People will be looking to see what the mood is within the Protestant community and to see if there is any weakening of the determination to maintain the Union," he said.

Events this year will also include a parade by the Belfast County Grand Lodge and Unionist Centenary Committee on May 19, to which all brethren are invited, an exhibition and a concert in the Ulster Hall in September.

County and District lodges are also planning events surrounding the anniversaries, which will be the first in a series of centenary events which include the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and the formation of Northern Ireland in 1921.

Project manager appointed for Apprentice Boys scheme

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:29:34 +0000

Project manager appointed for Apprentice Boys scheme
http://www.londonderrysentinel.co.uk/news/local/project-manager-appointed-for-apprentice-boys-scheme-1-3763696

Published on Sunday 29 April 2012 10:59

THE body responsible for investment strategy in Northern Ireland recently appointed a project manager to work on the Apprentice Boys of Derry Heritage Project.

First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinnness defended the Strategic Investment Board’s (SIB) record in response to an Assembly Question tabled by local MLA Colum Eastwood.

The Londonderry MLA asked why the SIB had not appointed advisers to projects in the city “particularly the Derry-Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 and the One Plan.”

The Ministers replied: “The SIB has committed significant resources to projects associated with both the Derry-Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 and the One Plan.

“SIB provides support through a number of channels, including the Interim Chief Executive of SIB advising the Board of the Culture Company. Advisers also provide recruitment and communications advice to the Culture Company, and a range of advice services to Ilex in relation to the One Plan and support to Derry City Council.

“In addition, SIB has recently appointed a project manager who is working on the Apprentice Boys of Derry Heritage Project. By using specialist resources flexibly, SIB can provide a greater range of support to the UK City of Culture 2013 and The One Plan than could be possible through the appointment of specific advisers.”

Orange Order marks Ulster Covenant centenary with service at St Anne`s Cathedral in Belfast

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:26:54 +0000

Orange Order marks Ulster Covenant centenary with service at St Anne`s Cathedral in Belfast
http://www.newslette...enary-1-3789307

Hundreds of Orangeman attended a service of thanksgiving at St Annes cathedral, Belfast to commemorate the signing of the 1912 Ulster Covenant.

Published on Monday 30 April 2012 08:24

HUNDREDS of Orangemen and women gathered in Belfast yesterday to commemorate the signing of the Ulster Covenant.

The city’s County Grand Lodge marked the centenary of the seminal moment in unionist history by attending a religious service at St Anne’s Cathedral.

The loyal institution played a key role in the organising and the signing of the Covenant in September 1912.

In his sermon, county chaplain the Rev Mervyn Gibson stressed the religious as well as the political elements of the historic document, which was penned by more than 450,000 men and women in their opposition to Home Rule.

He said: “The Covenant was not written solely as a call to arms to defend Ulster, it was also a document that clearly pledges all who sign it to rely on God’s strength and blessing to see them through.

“Yes there were dark clouds looming, preparations had to be made but in the end it would be God who would deliver people from that which threatened them.

“The Covenant called on people to rely on God, to trust in him. It is something that we need to be continually reminded to do.”

As part of the service of thanksgiving – officiated by the Dean of Belfast, the Rt Rev John Mann – a floral tribute was laid at the tomb of Sir Edward Carson inside the Cathedral.

Members of the Order paraded from across Belfast to the event which was organised in conjunction with the City of Belfast Loyal Orange Widows’ Fund.
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30 April 2012 Last updated at 06:54
Orange Order attend service for Ulster Covenant centenary
http://www.bbc.co.uk...reland-17891032

Unionist leader Edward Carson signed the Ulster Covenant in September 1912.

Several hundred members of the Orange Order have attended a service at St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast to mark the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant.

It formed part of the unionist campaign against British government proposals to introduce Home Rule in Ireland.

Speaking at the service, the Orange Order chaplain, Reverend Mervyn Gibson said the organisation had played an integral part in the formation of the covenant.

"I think the Orange Order was the glue that held the unionist people together," he said.

"They were the ones that provided the manpower for the unionist club. They were the ones involved in organising much of what went on on Covenant Day itself.

"They were pivotal to the politics of the day. I think I'd like to see people celebrate their history, their culture and indeed their Britishness but in a way that respects all traditions."

Meanwhile, the Stormont estate will host the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland's Covenant centenary parade later this year.

It is understood to be the first time in living memory that the estate will have hosted a formal Orange event.

The parade will involve a march from Belfast city centre to a rally at Stormont.

In total, 237,368 men signed the covenant at Belfast City Hall, while 234,046 women signed a parallel declaration of their opposition to Home Rule.

Scottish Orange Order Has A Role In Securing The Union

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:29:25 +0000

Orange Standard

Scottish Orange Has A Role In Securing The Union
http://grandorangelodge.co.uk/press/Orange-Standard/2012-Standard/1202-February2012/article4.html
Article 4 ~ February 2012

This will be an important year for the Scottish Orange Order, which will no doubt be focussing its attention on how it can support the unionist opposition to Alex Salmond's campaign to detach Scotland from the United Kingdom.

It now seems the referendum on whether Scotland should withdraw from the Union will take place in 2014.

Most observers are convinced that a majority of Scottish people support Scotland remaining within the United Kingdom, and a recent poll suggested that 55 per cent of Scottish people would vote against independence.

Trouble is that the main unionist parties, especially the Labour Party, has so far failed to galvanise the people in support of the Union, in the way that Salmond and his SNP has been able to motivate the independence folk.

Someone or some organisation needs to spearhead a high profile campaign to keep Scotland within the United Kingdom, and de-rail the Scottish Nationalist Party surge which has made the running on this key issue.

The Orange Order, with a huge membership in Scotland, is ideally equipped to either lead or support a pro-Union campaign. The Orange Order in Scotland is solid in its loyalty to the Crown and to the United Kingdom. As was the case as in Australia 12 years ago, it has the Orange Order has the capability of awakening the people of Scotland to the real threat to the Union.

Salmond, a shrewd politician, in recent interviews, revealed that if Scotland becomes independent, it will remain a monarchy, and stay within the Commonwealth.

But the end of Scottish membership of the UK 'family' of four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would undoubtedly have devastating effect.

Scots played a leading role in the days of the British Empire, and like Northern Ireland, it has a glorious military tradition, with famous Scottish regiments forming an important section of the British Army.

Nationalist politicians have created an impressive machine working unceasingly, under Salmond's talented leadership, to go the whole way and end Scotland's historic membership of the United Kingdom.

That machine will only be defeated by an equally competent pro-Union campaign, capable of alerting all Scots to the danger to the Union and bringing all Scots unionists under the one umbrella before the crucial referendum vote is held.

The Australian Orange Order, with a much smaller membership than its Scottish brethren, played a very prominent part in the successful vote to retain the monarchy.

The Scottish Order is a dynamic and progressive organisation, with a very impressive record of expansion during the past two decades. It has the ability to thwart the nationalist plan to take Scotland out of the Union. But politicians and all other concerned people in that country must play their part, and provide the inspirational pro-Union leadership role which has been lacking to date.

Ulster has closer ties of history and kinship with Scotland than any other part of the United Kingdom, and all loyal people here, including Orangemen and Orangewomen will follow the Union debate and referendum with intense interest, hoping and praying that the people of that great country will vote to remain part of the United Kingdom.

It will be the people of Scotland who will decide whether or not their country stays in the United Kingdom, and that is their democratic right. But British people in the other three countries which make up the Kingdom, especially those in Northern Ireland, will be following the debate and vote with intense interest.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Scottish referendum will be a defining moment in the history of the United Kingdom, and its result will have huge effect on all four British countries, especially here in Northern Ireland, closest neighbour to Scotland.