Le maire Camillien Houde était il un franc-maçon?

(Note: preuve de plus démontrant que les politiciens québécois sont du côté du Grand Orient de France. Rappel: Jean Drapeau reçoit en 1975 une médaille du GODF. 1985, même chose pour René Lévesque. 1987: Jean Doré reçoit le Grand Maître du GODF. )

Le JEUDI 20 MARS, 1952, le journal "Le Canada" nous informe qu'un "philosophe" français, un certain Marius Lepage, fera un voyage à Montréal pour donner des livres de "grand luxe" au maire de Montréal Camillien Houde.

Probablement la nouvelle la plus insignifiante jamais publiée dans un journal.

En réalité, le "philosophe" en question était un franc-maçon français du 33e degré en mission officielle à Montréal pour tenter de rétablir les liens entre la franc-maçonnerie anglaise et française. Les livres de "grand luxe" offerts au maire Houde étaient des ouvrage d'histoire maçoniques, un autre "détail" que le journal "Le Canada" oublie de nous informer.

Source: brochure de la Grande Loge du québec, "Masonic light" mai-juin 1952.


LE CANADA - MONTREAL, JEUDI 20 MARS, 1952

LIVRES DE GRAND LUXE POUR LE MAIRE DE MTL.

C'est le 3 avril, au cours de l'avant-midi, que M. Marius Lepage arrivera, par avion, de France à Montréal (Dorval) où il sera reçu par un groupe de l'Amitié française-canadienne. Ce journaliste et philosophe, directeur des "Cahiers du Symbolisme", donnera quelques causeries à Montréal où il ne passera que quatre jours, en route pour Détroit où un autre groupe a organisé pour lui des tournées de conférences, en langue française et en langue anglaise, aux Etats-Unis.

Il donnera une conférence de presse au cours de son séjour à Montréal.
La visite de M. Lepage en Amérique est faite à titre personnel, mais il profitera de son séjour à Montréal pour remettre au maire de cette ville, S.H. M. Camillien Houde, deux éditions de luxe. Le premier livre a été écrit par le préfet de la Mayenne, M. Edmond Dauphin, en collaboration avec son parrain, ancien préfet de la Mayenne. Cet ouvrage raconte l'histoire du château de Rambouillet, où il a déjà été sous-préfet. On sait que c'est a Rambouillet, à quelques kilomètres de Paris, que se trouve la maison de campagne du président de la Republique, où se trouvent des chasses réservées superbes, connues sous le nom de "tirées de Rambouillet". Le second livre d'art traite de la "Chouannerie". Il a été imprimé par les soins du Maire de Laval, S.H. le maire Albert Goupil, vieux-maitre imprimeur de beaucoup de goût, imprimeur de l'Evêché, dont un frère est Jésuite.

M. Marius Lepage qui présentera ces deux livres à titre personnel, de MM. Edmond Dauphin et Albert Goupil, dirige dans la Mayenne, tout ce qui concerne la vie effective du département. Il a charge des sections commerce agriculture, industrie. Il dirige aussi les routes, les voies navigables et la circulation automobile et camion, en plus de la police.

Il profitera aussi de son court passage pour visiter à titre personnel, les bureaux de la police de Montréal, ceux de la police provinciale, de même que nos édifices publics et nos maisons de haut savoir.

De retour de sa tournée aux Etats-Unis, il repassera par Montréal pour reprendre l'avion qui le reconduira dans son pays.

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MASONIC LIGHT
MAY-JUNE 5952 (i.e 1952)

Wor. Bro. Marius Lepage 33° of France Visits Canada.

We were, indeed, pleased to receive the visit, both at our office and our home, of Wor. Bro. Marius Lepage, editor of the French Masonic periodical, "Le Symbolisme", who is a 33° mason and the Wor. Master of the "Volney" Lodge of Laval, in the old province of Maine, France. This 11th century town is the native city of the First R.C. bishop of Canada, Mgr. Montmorency-Laval.

Bro. Lepage is a colleague of ours in the Philalethes Society in which we both hold fellowships. He apparently gave us the preference over many prominent Montrealers to whom he held letters of introduction (including Mayor Houde) — and spared us two evenings and an afternoon for the exchange of views on things masonic here and on the European continent, where I lived for many years.

When we know that Bro. Lepage was the Secretary of that eminent occultist, Bro. Oswald Wirth, and a contemporary French Masonic historian, Albert Lantoine, whose 33° decoration he wears and that he has just completed a volume on the history of Freemasonry in Mayence. we realize that he is more than the average casual Masonic visitor.

One of the purposes of his visit to America was to discover why fraternal relations cannot be restored between our jurisdictions and his "obedience" (the Grand Orient de France), which is accused, falsely claims Mr. Lepage, of being atheistic, whereas the worst that it can be accused of is being neutral in its attitude towards Divinity, due mostly to the fact there are Moslems and Buddhists, as well as Christians, in the ranks of the Grand Orient. An initiate can, if he so desires, be obligated on the Bible, the Koran, the, Bagdavagista or any other Sacred Book he desires, all of them being available in the leading Temples.

Incidentally, Bro. Lepage left with us a copy of a book by his master, Wirth, entitled: "Qui est régulier?" suggesting that the Grand Orient adheres more closely to Anderson's constitution than we do, notably as regards the attitude towards colored adepts of the Prince Hall fraternity. Of course, I explained, we in Quebec entertained no race prejudice - - - - in-so-far as our colored Brethren are concerned!

Bro. Lepage, although he speaks excellent English, preferred contacting French-speaking Masons of this jurisdiction, thinking that since Manitoba officially recognizes the Grand Orient, it should be comparatively easy to restore the fraternal relations that once existed between our jurisdiction and his own. We were sorry we had to undeceive him, telling him the unfavorable publicity his "obedience" had received in French-Canada since 1910, would certainly react against we, "regulars". We also informed Bro. Lepage that we had received assurances from Bro. Viaud, President of the Council of the Order, (which is the continental equivalent to Grand Master) and General Meunier, Grand Secretary of the G.O. that no attempt would be made to revive the Grand Orient in this jurisdiction. The then G.M. of our jurisdiction? M.W. Bro. Leslie Boyd, has copies of the correspondence exchanged at the time.

We also placed before Bro. Lepage the letters we had received from the
late Bro. Roumilhac, F.P.S., relative to the possibility of the G.O. entering into communication with the then Premier of England, Winston Churchill, for the purpose of having fraternal relations between France and England restored. At the time, I had advised that the then Premier of France and mayor of Lyons. Mr. Herriot, should take up the question with Hon. Winston Churchill - - but was informed, to my surprise, that the French Premier was not and had never been a Mason. I therefore advised Mr. Lepage that possibly that eminent French statesman, Mr. Paul Boncours, who IS a Mason, should correspond on this subject with Mr. Churchill. Mr. Lepage stated he would certainly follow up this possibility on his next visit to the Paris headquarters of his "obedience".

• In view of the fact that no masonic body throughout the wide world has suffered as much as the French for the crime of being Mason: - - - imprisonment in concentration camps, confiscation of property, extermination in the gas chambers of Dachau and Buchenwald, execution by firing squads, etc.; the views of England might possibly be altered, specially since the G.O. had greatly modified its own views as to the volume of the Sacred Law. Belief in a Supreme Being seems also to have undergone a change and I suggested Bro. Lepage should insist on the fact that at the time relations were broken between the G.L. of England and the G.O. of France, the G.M. of French Masonry was Rev. Mr. F. Desmons, a Protestant minister who certainly was no atheist and could not have countenanced atheism.

As a proof of the changed attitude of French Masonry, Bro. Lepage showed me several documents, summons, etc.. bearing as a headline the abbreviations (A.L.G.D.G.A. de l'U) "To the Glory of the Great Architect of the Universe". He also left with me photographs of the interior of "Volney" Lodge over which he presides, showing the altar at the foot of the Master's seat in the East, this being the position it occupies in English Lodges, and the big "G" hanging from the ceiling, as in our own Lodges.

Who knows, possibly because of Bro. Lepage's visit to us, a rapprochement may result between the strictly deistic Lodges such as we have in English-speaking countries and those of France. Germany seems to have fallen into the line, why not France?
C. H.

Editorial Note:—We have been informed that no less than five American Grand bodies and one Canadian (Manitoba) have extended recognition and entertain fraternal relations with the Grand Orient of France. If we understand American Jurisprudence correctly, all "Regular" Grand Bodies are enjoined not to extend fraternal relations to those Grand Bodies who have recognized bodies that do not make the belief in T.G.A.O.T.U. compulsory; the resulting situation would therefore seem quite complicated, more so than in the case of Negro Masonry of Prince Hall affiliation, which holds the same views as do the "regular" Grand bodies" relative to the G.A.O.T.U.