-
Articles/Ads
Article ON PERSONAL MATTERS. Page 1 of 2 Article ON PERSONAL MATTERS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Personal Matters.
ON PERSONAL MATTERS .
WITH our current number fche FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE enters upon its Twenty-Sixth Volume ; and although it is not often we obtrude matters of a personal nature upon the attention of our readers , yet we may be
pardoned if we take a cursory retrospect of the progress which this journal has made in the past , and a fitful glance as to its prospects for the future . During the
thirteen years the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE has made its weekly appearance many matters of weighty importance to the Craft have occurred : vast has been the advance
made mthe numbers and influence of its adherents in every part of Her Majesty ' s dominions ; many nnd irreparable have been the gaps caused in our Masonic ranks by the natural result of all thinsrs human . The accession of the
Prince of Wales as Most Worshipful Grand Master of English Freemasonry was one of the events recorded in the first volume of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE , and since
thafc time , up to the splendid Jubilee Festivities of the past few weeks , all matters of interest to the Craft , both afc home and abroad , have received attention in these
columns . We have no hesitation in averring that , through good and ill report , the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE has steadily and consistentl y adhered to the objects and principles ifc espoused afc the outset of its career , the single aim being
the welfare of our Institution , and the promotion of the cause of Charity . With this end in view it has been our duty , and pleasure , to chronicle every event bearing in that direction , to echo every sentiment of " devotion to the
Craft" which all true Masons love and revere ; and to plead earnestl y and sincerely the cause of those magnificent Institutions that are the boast of Freemasonry , and the admiration of the world . No opportunity has been advertently
passed over of conducing to these objects , which are the province and privilege of a Masonic journal , and that outefforts have received a certain meed of appreciation we are led to believe by the many kindly expressions received
at various times by those who have supported us throughout the whole period of this work . It would be idle to conceal even from ourselves the fact that our labour has not been altogether on a "bed of roses . " Every man who has
ventured on journalistic enterprise knows very well what we mean by the expression thafc ifc is an " uphill game , " needing all the courage and steady perseverance which alone can preserve a course of impartiality ,
and ^ so avoid the Scylla and Charybdis of those contending factions which are sure to make their appearance in every human institution . So far from pandering to the crotchets of cliques or individuals , or encouraging
personalities , which ever and anon crop up even amongst _ j ? en knit together by the strongest ties of common -Brotherhood , we have studiously endeavoured to discountenance all such tendencies to discord , and to lead , if
Possible , tbe disputants back into the old channel of amit y M good fellowship . If we have in any degree succeeded lT ]\ u ' * eavoar - ar -d kept fche brethren au courant with the salient features of Freemasonry at homo aud in the
polonies , our mission has been fulfilled , and we tender our ^ C -cno ; v ] ecI gments to those brethren who , either by their OQtnbutions to our pages , or by adding fco our list of
oscribers , have assisted us in the task we set ourselves n J years ago . On the other hand , thorns have sprung P oo the otherwise fertile ground , and the acerbity with
On Personal Matters.
which some of onr discontented friends have from time to time addressed ns would suffice to upset any bat the phlegmatic and inflexible nerves of a journalist . Tlio most vicious and vituperative writers are those who essay to rush
into print under the regis of an anonymous signature , and who studiously avoid the stereotyped injunction which heads the correspondence columns of every newspaper , thafc " all communications must be accompanied by the name
and address of the writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . " Bnfc tho . e bilious scrawlers , whose effusions can only be relocated to the waste paper basket , have found little sympathy at our hands . If
reforms are needed , or abuses require amendment , those who are honestly solicitous of bringing about such objects need not blush or hesitate to entrust to tho judicious confidence of the Editor those details which are the conditions
of ordinary Press regulation . But thoso tirades of disparagement , which ifc is necessary wo should candidl y admifc we have received , against the mono in which we have thought fit to conduct our journal—and which we mean
strictly to endeavour to follow in the future—aro scarcely worthy to be considered as a sot-off .. gainst the kindline .-a and hearty expressions of approval thafc have reached us
from all parts of fcho kingdom , and which we shall treasure as most valuable testimony to fche general Masonic opinion of the course we have consistently pursued .
With respect to the future , though we have reached the " silver wedding . "—if such a term is admissible in
connection with a journal— we frankly confess that we enter upon it with fear and trembling thafc cannot be altogether allayed by past experience . The responsibilities of the Masonic journalist are increasing day by day ; in fact , it
is iuipo sible fco give an outline of even a moiety of events that are eminently deserving of being placed on record . We have done all we can ; the best of us can do no more .
Thus , while conscious of many shortcomings which we have been powerless to avoid , we must appeal earnestly to our friends to be " to our faults a little blind . " It is a
trite saying that Masonic literature can never be made to pay ; and it must be borne in mind thafc journals of our own class—any more than others—are nofc conducted on a purely sentimental or philanthropic basis . Ifc is a
commercial transaction , aud like every other business the sinews of management , of composition and publication , must be provided for by those for whose advantage and in formation the weekly sheet makes its appearance . If the question
were asked of our most prominent Masonic litterateurs whether they discovered a gold mine in any of tho precious volumes they have transmitted to the Craffc , and which are treasured in the archives of every ardent
student of the Art ? the response would be , we trow , a slow and significant shake of the head . Ask Brothers Gould , Hughan , Lane , and the rest , whose deep research and patient collaboration havo so enriched tho Masonic library ,
as to their reward for years of labour , and they will tell you the only and besfc recompense thoy have is in tho grateful appreciation of their efforts by brethren who are
intellectually strong enough to estimate their work . Ifc is the same with the regular issne of a Mnsonic publication , only that the care and anxiety aro ¦; _• fc _ nch . seo . within the covers of a sino-le volume : it is a continuous and
unabating responsibility In this regard , and coming to still more personal allusion , we are bound to admit that ihe unceasing cares of the work we have been called upon to discharge has told
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On Personal Matters.
ON PERSONAL MATTERS .
WITH our current number fche FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE enters upon its Twenty-Sixth Volume ; and although it is not often we obtrude matters of a personal nature upon the attention of our readers , yet we may be
pardoned if we take a cursory retrospect of the progress which this journal has made in the past , and a fitful glance as to its prospects for the future . During the
thirteen years the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE has made its weekly appearance many matters of weighty importance to the Craft have occurred : vast has been the advance
made mthe numbers and influence of its adherents in every part of Her Majesty ' s dominions ; many nnd irreparable have been the gaps caused in our Masonic ranks by the natural result of all thinsrs human . The accession of the
Prince of Wales as Most Worshipful Grand Master of English Freemasonry was one of the events recorded in the first volume of the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE , and since
thafc time , up to the splendid Jubilee Festivities of the past few weeks , all matters of interest to the Craft , both afc home and abroad , have received attention in these
columns . We have no hesitation in averring that , through good and ill report , the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE has steadily and consistentl y adhered to the objects and principles ifc espoused afc the outset of its career , the single aim being
the welfare of our Institution , and the promotion of the cause of Charity . With this end in view it has been our duty , and pleasure , to chronicle every event bearing in that direction , to echo every sentiment of " devotion to the
Craft" which all true Masons love and revere ; and to plead earnestl y and sincerely the cause of those magnificent Institutions that are the boast of Freemasonry , and the admiration of the world . No opportunity has been advertently
passed over of conducing to these objects , which are the province and privilege of a Masonic journal , and that outefforts have received a certain meed of appreciation we are led to believe by the many kindly expressions received
at various times by those who have supported us throughout the whole period of this work . It would be idle to conceal even from ourselves the fact that our labour has not been altogether on a "bed of roses . " Every man who has
ventured on journalistic enterprise knows very well what we mean by the expression thafc ifc is an " uphill game , " needing all the courage and steady perseverance which alone can preserve a course of impartiality ,
and ^ so avoid the Scylla and Charybdis of those contending factions which are sure to make their appearance in every human institution . So far from pandering to the crotchets of cliques or individuals , or encouraging
personalities , which ever and anon crop up even amongst _ j ? en knit together by the strongest ties of common -Brotherhood , we have studiously endeavoured to discountenance all such tendencies to discord , and to lead , if
Possible , tbe disputants back into the old channel of amit y M good fellowship . If we have in any degree succeeded lT ]\ u ' * eavoar - ar -d kept fche brethren au courant with the salient features of Freemasonry at homo aud in the
polonies , our mission has been fulfilled , and we tender our ^ C -cno ; v ] ecI gments to those brethren who , either by their OQtnbutions to our pages , or by adding fco our list of
oscribers , have assisted us in the task we set ourselves n J years ago . On the other hand , thorns have sprung P oo the otherwise fertile ground , and the acerbity with
On Personal Matters.
which some of onr discontented friends have from time to time addressed ns would suffice to upset any bat the phlegmatic and inflexible nerves of a journalist . Tlio most vicious and vituperative writers are those who essay to rush
into print under the regis of an anonymous signature , and who studiously avoid the stereotyped injunction which heads the correspondence columns of every newspaper , thafc " all communications must be accompanied by the name
and address of the writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith . " Bnfc tho . e bilious scrawlers , whose effusions can only be relocated to the waste paper basket , have found little sympathy at our hands . If
reforms are needed , or abuses require amendment , those who are honestly solicitous of bringing about such objects need not blush or hesitate to entrust to tho judicious confidence of the Editor those details which are the conditions
of ordinary Press regulation . But thoso tirades of disparagement , which ifc is necessary wo should candidl y admifc we have received , against the mono in which we have thought fit to conduct our journal—and which we mean
strictly to endeavour to follow in the future—aro scarcely worthy to be considered as a sot-off .. gainst the kindline .-a and hearty expressions of approval thafc have reached us
from all parts of fcho kingdom , and which we shall treasure as most valuable testimony to fche general Masonic opinion of the course we have consistently pursued .
With respect to the future , though we have reached the " silver wedding . "—if such a term is admissible in
connection with a journal— we frankly confess that we enter upon it with fear and trembling thafc cannot be altogether allayed by past experience . The responsibilities of the Masonic journalist are increasing day by day ; in fact , it
is iuipo sible fco give an outline of even a moiety of events that are eminently deserving of being placed on record . We have done all we can ; the best of us can do no more .
Thus , while conscious of many shortcomings which we have been powerless to avoid , we must appeal earnestly to our friends to be " to our faults a little blind . " It is a
trite saying that Masonic literature can never be made to pay ; and it must be borne in mind thafc journals of our own class—any more than others—are nofc conducted on a purely sentimental or philanthropic basis . Ifc is a
commercial transaction , aud like every other business the sinews of management , of composition and publication , must be provided for by those for whose advantage and in formation the weekly sheet makes its appearance . If the question
were asked of our most prominent Masonic litterateurs whether they discovered a gold mine in any of tho precious volumes they have transmitted to the Craffc , and which are treasured in the archives of every ardent
student of the Art ? the response would be , we trow , a slow and significant shake of the head . Ask Brothers Gould , Hughan , Lane , and the rest , whose deep research and patient collaboration havo so enriched tho Masonic library ,
as to their reward for years of labour , and they will tell you the only and besfc recompense thoy have is in tho grateful appreciation of their efforts by brethren who are
intellectually strong enough to estimate their work . Ifc is the same with the regular issne of a Mnsonic publication , only that the care and anxiety aro ¦; _• fc _ nch . seo . within the covers of a sino-le volume : it is a continuous and
unabating responsibility In this regard , and coming to still more personal allusion , we are bound to admit that ihe unceasing cares of the work we have been called upon to discharge has told