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Article TRADING ON MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 Article TRADING ON MASONRY. Page 1 of 2 →
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Trading On Masonry.
TRADING ON MASONRY .
IN the past or in the present—and we imagine the same will hold good of the future—it would be a difficult task to find any pretext which has been more frequently used by adventurers or speculators as the cloak under which they sought to hide their true intentions , than that
which ascribed their efforts to advance their own particular ideas to a desire to benefit their fellow creatures , aud under no other guise have such frauds been oftener attempted , both on the mercantile world and the general public , than under that of benevolence . "We may indeed look upon it as
the flag under which the blackest of social pirates have elected to sail , and if they have been so unfortunate as to incur detection , it has been not from any want of regard on their part either for their victims or the sacred cause they have for the time professed to advance , but
rather because some really benevolent person has stepped forward and fearlessly denounced them in their true light . As Englishmen we delight in maintaining the reputation our race has acquired of being the most benevolent o ! all people , and it naturally follows that we are more often
imposed upon in this particular than our neighbours , who do not take the same interest in the promotion of associations for the relief of misery as we do . We have Charities for almost every conceivable ill that human flesh is heir to , and not content with these , we have so-called benevolent
organisations to watch over the doings of these associations —of course with the spirit of Charity always uppermostand see they do not depart from their lawful course . We are not among the number who consider that the Charities of Great Britain do no good , but we must admit that in
many instances we look upon the officials who conduct them aa being benefited to a far greater degree than the beneficiaries themselves . Still when we hear of individual firms or persons combining with their legitimate business that of public benefactors , and announcing the
fact far and wide , with the view of obtaining new customers , our faith in their purity of purpose is rudely shaken , and we cannot help feeling that an attenpt is being made to humbug us . Accordingly , we look round in tbe hope of discovering something whioh will
justify us in forming a more charitable conclusion . The satire of the man who gave a guinea towards a fund being raised for the relief of the sufferers by a heavy calamity—one shilling towards relieving their distress , and the sovereign to get it to them—was , no doubt , severe , but not too much
so if applied to men who endeavour , under the guise of charity , to foist on the public inferior articles at a very greatly advanced price . We doubt if there are many so stupid as to be taken in by such a pretext , but , on the other hand , it is so frequently urged , that we imagine it
must be attended by some amount of profit . Freemasonry in this respect has nofc escaped any more than have other institutions , and it is no very difficult task to point out the numerous ways in which the benevolent spirit which the should actuate all brethren of the mystic tie is taken
advantage of to advance trade interests , and , not unfrequently , unworthy motives . We have , on previous occasions , urged the desirability of treating business and Freemasonry as two widely distinct objects , and can
express no sympathy for the man who finds himself imposed upon after having relaxed his ordinary business caution simply because the trader with whom he was dealing took delight in blazoning forth to the public his connection with an Order which has gained the esteem of the world ,
Trading On Masonry.
on the basis of Brotherly Love , Belief , and Truth . No man should think of g iving preference to a Brother Mason if , by so doing , ho acts prejudicially to himself or connections , and therefore no man should expect to receive from a brother Mason any undue preference in business
matters . Fair trading can only bo carried on with certain surroundings , and it is holding forth a premium to imposition to imagine that , simply because a seller happens to be a Mason , no can offer any material advantage to a Masonic purchaser . The markets of the world are open ,
and ifc matters very little , in the first instance , whether a buyer is a Freemason or not . How , then , can any great benefit accrue to a later buyer without detriment to some one ? and , more often than not , the detriment is to tho purchaser himself . If Masons are ever justified in giving
a preference to their brethren , it should only bo given with a due regard to the true spirit of businessalways to deal afc the best market . As we have stated on a previous occasion , were this principle moro fully carried out , it would prevent half the unworthy members who
find their way into our Order ever reaping advantage from that fact , and we doubt not we should be spared some of the greatest insults offered to the Craft , while its hitherto glorious reputation would not incur the risk of being tarnished by unscrupulous speculators .
During the past month a circular , which calls for the strongest condemnation on our part , has been freely distributed . We greatly regret that no law exists which can be brought to bear upon persons who offend against the spirit of the Craft in the way that has been done here . For obvious reasons we must decline to mention names—it
would be unfair to give gratuitous advertisement even to the member of a firm who , " charmed with the grandeur of our Masonic Charities , desires to render them his best help , "—but we hope that any brother who has received a copy of the circular we refer to will treat it and its authors
with the contempt they so justly deserve . The first thing that struck us on opening what we afterwards found to be a trade catch , was the arms of the Grand Lodge of England , prominently displayed in the left hand corner ; in due form appears underneath the well-known
motto—Audi , Vide , Tace—and never did we so much wish that ifc could be practised as in the case in point . Truly here , Silence , or a non-compliance with the writer ' s request , is the best course to pursue . We are surprised that the originators of an advertising puff should thus impress upon
the public the virtue of silence , unless it is that the goods they offer , or their system of business , are so extremely bad that they desire profound secrecy on the part of all who patronise them . We always imagined it was the desire of an advertiser to have his business spoken of as much as
possible ; but perhaps in introducing- Freemasonry into a business circular it has been thought that a little mystery was needed . To proceed , the writer of the circular , who is himself a brother , and we presume agent in this country for the wine advertised , has great pleasure in laying before
the Craft a proposition made by his good friend the gentleman we have already referred to , as being charmed with the grandeur of the Masonic Charities , and which is to the following effect : —He offers to use on Ins bottles , as a special mark , the arms of the Grand Lodge of England—in
our opinion , a most unwarrantable act of impertinence and one that should at least call forth a reproof from the authorities whose arms are thus brought to serve a purpose which the owner of the most paltry trade-mark could resent with legal proceedings . Thus identified as Masonic , he offers his champagne to the public at the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Trading On Masonry.
TRADING ON MASONRY .
IN the past or in the present—and we imagine the same will hold good of the future—it would be a difficult task to find any pretext which has been more frequently used by adventurers or speculators as the cloak under which they sought to hide their true intentions , than that
which ascribed their efforts to advance their own particular ideas to a desire to benefit their fellow creatures , aud under no other guise have such frauds been oftener attempted , both on the mercantile world and the general public , than under that of benevolence . "We may indeed look upon it as
the flag under which the blackest of social pirates have elected to sail , and if they have been so unfortunate as to incur detection , it has been not from any want of regard on their part either for their victims or the sacred cause they have for the time professed to advance , but
rather because some really benevolent person has stepped forward and fearlessly denounced them in their true light . As Englishmen we delight in maintaining the reputation our race has acquired of being the most benevolent o ! all people , and it naturally follows that we are more often
imposed upon in this particular than our neighbours , who do not take the same interest in the promotion of associations for the relief of misery as we do . We have Charities for almost every conceivable ill that human flesh is heir to , and not content with these , we have so-called benevolent
organisations to watch over the doings of these associations —of course with the spirit of Charity always uppermostand see they do not depart from their lawful course . We are not among the number who consider that the Charities of Great Britain do no good , but we must admit that in
many instances we look upon the officials who conduct them aa being benefited to a far greater degree than the beneficiaries themselves . Still when we hear of individual firms or persons combining with their legitimate business that of public benefactors , and announcing the
fact far and wide , with the view of obtaining new customers , our faith in their purity of purpose is rudely shaken , and we cannot help feeling that an attenpt is being made to humbug us . Accordingly , we look round in tbe hope of discovering something whioh will
justify us in forming a more charitable conclusion . The satire of the man who gave a guinea towards a fund being raised for the relief of the sufferers by a heavy calamity—one shilling towards relieving their distress , and the sovereign to get it to them—was , no doubt , severe , but not too much
so if applied to men who endeavour , under the guise of charity , to foist on the public inferior articles at a very greatly advanced price . We doubt if there are many so stupid as to be taken in by such a pretext , but , on the other hand , it is so frequently urged , that we imagine it
must be attended by some amount of profit . Freemasonry in this respect has nofc escaped any more than have other institutions , and it is no very difficult task to point out the numerous ways in which the benevolent spirit which the should actuate all brethren of the mystic tie is taken
advantage of to advance trade interests , and , not unfrequently , unworthy motives . We have , on previous occasions , urged the desirability of treating business and Freemasonry as two widely distinct objects , and can
express no sympathy for the man who finds himself imposed upon after having relaxed his ordinary business caution simply because the trader with whom he was dealing took delight in blazoning forth to the public his connection with an Order which has gained the esteem of the world ,
Trading On Masonry.
on the basis of Brotherly Love , Belief , and Truth . No man should think of g iving preference to a Brother Mason if , by so doing , ho acts prejudicially to himself or connections , and therefore no man should expect to receive from a brother Mason any undue preference in business
matters . Fair trading can only bo carried on with certain surroundings , and it is holding forth a premium to imposition to imagine that , simply because a seller happens to be a Mason , no can offer any material advantage to a Masonic purchaser . The markets of the world are open ,
and ifc matters very little , in the first instance , whether a buyer is a Freemason or not . How , then , can any great benefit accrue to a later buyer without detriment to some one ? and , more often than not , the detriment is to tho purchaser himself . If Masons are ever justified in giving
a preference to their brethren , it should only bo given with a due regard to the true spirit of businessalways to deal afc the best market . As we have stated on a previous occasion , were this principle moro fully carried out , it would prevent half the unworthy members who
find their way into our Order ever reaping advantage from that fact , and we doubt not we should be spared some of the greatest insults offered to the Craft , while its hitherto glorious reputation would not incur the risk of being tarnished by unscrupulous speculators .
During the past month a circular , which calls for the strongest condemnation on our part , has been freely distributed . We greatly regret that no law exists which can be brought to bear upon persons who offend against the spirit of the Craft in the way that has been done here . For obvious reasons we must decline to mention names—it
would be unfair to give gratuitous advertisement even to the member of a firm who , " charmed with the grandeur of our Masonic Charities , desires to render them his best help , "—but we hope that any brother who has received a copy of the circular we refer to will treat it and its authors
with the contempt they so justly deserve . The first thing that struck us on opening what we afterwards found to be a trade catch , was the arms of the Grand Lodge of England , prominently displayed in the left hand corner ; in due form appears underneath the well-known
motto—Audi , Vide , Tace—and never did we so much wish that ifc could be practised as in the case in point . Truly here , Silence , or a non-compliance with the writer ' s request , is the best course to pursue . We are surprised that the originators of an advertising puff should thus impress upon
the public the virtue of silence , unless it is that the goods they offer , or their system of business , are so extremely bad that they desire profound secrecy on the part of all who patronise them . We always imagined it was the desire of an advertiser to have his business spoken of as much as
possible ; but perhaps in introducing- Freemasonry into a business circular it has been thought that a little mystery was needed . To proceed , the writer of the circular , who is himself a brother , and we presume agent in this country for the wine advertised , has great pleasure in laying before
the Craft a proposition made by his good friend the gentleman we have already referred to , as being charmed with the grandeur of the Masonic Charities , and which is to the following effect : —He offers to use on Ins bottles , as a special mark , the arms of the Grand Lodge of England—in
our opinion , a most unwarrantable act of impertinence and one that should at least call forth a reproof from the authorities whose arms are thus brought to serve a purpose which the owner of the most paltry trade-mark could resent with legal proceedings . Thus identified as Masonic , he offers his champagne to the public at the