-
Articles/Ads
Article UNITED GRAND LODGE. ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE OFFICE OF A COMMITTEE ON GRIEVANCE. Page 1 of 1 Article THE OFFICE OF A COMMITTEE ON GRIEVANCE. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
United Grand Lodge.
had the circumstances been brought to the notice of either the Earl of Carnarvon or the Earl of Limerick . What passed now claims our attention . As regards the propriety of the compliment which it is proposed to pay
to tho Earl of Carnarvon , by adding his portrait to those of Past Grand Masters of the Craft , there will be a complete feel of unanimity everywhere . His lordship ' s services are so well known that it is no more than a bare
act of justice that they should be recognized , and we have no hesitation in saying that the Building Committee—as , indeed , was to bo expected with a man of such high cnlturo and known taste as Bro . Sir J . B . Monckton as chairman—have chosen the most graceful mode of
recognition , and the one most likely to commend itself to his lordship ' s acceptance . As regards Brother Buss , and the enthusiasm with which the proposal respecting his retiring pension was greeted from all parts of Grand
Lodge , we need say little . Bro . Buss has been so well known and for so lengthened a period in the Craft , that it is almost impossible to say anything respecting him which has not already been said again and again . We can well believe that so enthusiastic as well as so unanimous an
acceptance of the Board ' s recommendation must havo been intensely gratifying to Bro . Buss himself , and we are anxious not to lose this opportunity of offering our testimony likewise to the uniform courtesy and kindness we have received at his hands , as well as of adding the
expression of a very sincere hope that , now he has been released from the onerous cares of active service , he may yet live many years in the enjoyment of his well-earned ease and dignity , and the sincere respect of his brother Craftsmen .
There are still two other points about which we conceive it to be our duty to offer a few remarks . Bro . Stevens ' s motion was dismissed , as we had every reason to expect it would be , ignominiously . It deserved and could have experienced no other fate from a body of men who we
believe are in the possession of their several senses . The Quebec business , or rather the action taken by H . R . H . the Grand Master in response to the rude and peremptory summons of the G . Master of Quebec , also met with the fate which must have been anticipated . It is far too heavy a
subject to deal with here , but we think we are justified in describing the summons of the G . Master of Quebec as being in the first place an act of gross impertinence , and in the next as being a most unscrupulous attempt to set
aside an honourable arrangement cheerfully entered into between Canada and England in 1857 , and to which very many of the Quebec Lodges must necessarily have been a party .
The Office Of A Committee On Grievance.
THE OFFICE OF A COMMITTEE ON GRIEVANCE .
TJIREEMASONRY is a purely fraternal institution—JD it does not exist merely for the largest good of the largest number , but for the largest good of the entire number . Its purpose is to advance the best interests of all within the mystic circle . It presupposes , as it has
a right to presuppose , that every brother will act in accordance with the spirit of the Fraternity in this regard . But experience proves that through forgetfulness , or innate depravity , some brethren neglect to perform their fraternal duties to each other , and even occasionally
grossly transgress in this respect the customs and regulations of the Craft . Hence arose the necessity for the erection of a fraternal tribunal , to which should be committed the duty of harmonising jarrin g interests , placating injured brethren , preventing the recurrence of unfraternal
acts , and , if need be , punishing the guilty . For a time the tribunal well performed its proper work ; but it is a question whether that time is not now past . In other words , it is a question whether the Grievance Committee has not resolved itself simply into a Trial Committee , after
the manner of the profane , esteeming its only office to "be to discover guilt and punish the guilty . This custom , to whatever extent it prevails , is entirely un-Masonic . Freemasonry has , in all such cases , a poisible trial in view ,
but it is to be a dernier resort . This it is easy to establish , both from the provisions of Grand Lodge Books of Constitutions , and subordinate Lodge Bye-Laws . For example : the " Ahiman Rezon " of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania ( Article XVII , § 70 ) provides :
The Office Of A Committee On Grievance.
" A motion may l > o made ti > rt > fer the same ( tho charge or charges ) to the Committee on Grievance , or to a special committee , to report if a trial is necessary , or that one should be had . If , howeyer , the Lodge deems it best , a majority vote shall cause said charge or charges to be sent to a special committee to try the brother on said ohargrg and specifications . "
So , in like manner , the Bye-Laws of the subordinate Lodges in this jurisdiction usually contain a provision like the following : " All complaints against any of the brethren of the Lodge shall be referred to the Committee on Grievance , with directions to
examine tho same with care , and , if possible , adjust the difference % n an amicable manner ; bat if they cannot do so , then to report to the Lodge their proceedings , together with all the faots connected with the case , with such measures as they may deem proper to recommend . "
It is apparent from the above quotations that the Fraternity has in view , primarily , the harmonising of all differences between brethren . Its purpose is to heal wounds , not to aggravate them ; to close breaches , not to widen them . It does not say to an aggrieved
brother" Prosecute your brother at once , go to law with him in our fraternal court . " Not at all . It discourages litigation , even within the Fraternity , and it sets in motion the machinery of its tribunal of justice only after all other measures have failed to unify the brethren
between whom differences have arisen . Some Lodges are so careful to avoid even the appearance of having anything like a Committee of Trial , that they appoint no Committee on Grievance , so that there may bo no standing tribunal to invite a hasty resort to it , relying entirely upon the
raising of a Special Committee in each case as required . The spirit and intent of Freemasonry is therein apparent —it discourages the preferring of charges , except in the plainest cases of injury and transgression of Masonic
obligation ; and after the preferring of charges it looks , in the first place , towards the amicable adjustment of differences , and resorts to a trial only because the transgressor will not admit , or seek to rectify , what is proven to have been his plain and gross error .
It is the duty of Freemasons always and everywhere to remember the policy of the Fraternity in this regard . It need not be urged that in discouraging trials , at the outset , they act in a manner that will best tend to preserve the harmony of the Lodge . Nothing is more apt to
promote unharmony than a Lodge trial . It at once divides the membership into two parties . It provokes unfraternal remarks on cither side , stops proposals for membership , and retards generally the wheels of progress . The whole Lodge becomes a sort of general trial
committee . Crimination and recrimination follows , and so the matter continues , until the end of the trial is attained ; and even there the trouble does not end . For years the evil results of a Masonic trial may be felt . Let us not be misunderstood here . We do not urge that a guilty
brother should not be punished , but only that , in the first instance , the Committee of Grievance shall do its proper work , by adjusting the difference and rectifying the wrong
in an amicable and fraternal manner . First , pour oil on the troubled waters , but if it utterly fails to remedy the evil , then let the Trial Committee perform its judicial function .
Here we are reminded of a fraternal incident that took place in Washington Lodge , No . 59 , of Philadelphia , some years ago , communicated to us by our friend Bro . William B . Reed , Secretary of the Lodge . A trial was had . The Committee to whom was referred the
charge made by Bro . A . against Bro . B ., made its report , fully sustaining the charges , whereupon the aggrieved Brother A . stepped forward , grasped Brother B . by tho hand , and freely forgave him as a man and a Mason This fraternal act was pleasingly witnessed by thene tire
Lodge , and so gratified were the members , that all the papers relating to the charges were ordered to be destroyed . There was a beautiful living picture , a forcible
exemplification of the grace of Masonic forgiveness . Such a spirit would glorify any Lodge , and cause it to go on , as Washington Lodge has gone on , prospering and to prosper . —Keystone .
The Bevised Book of Constitutions ; Critically Considered and Compared with the Old Edition . London : Simpkin , Marshall & Co ., 4 Stationers' Hall Court , B . C . Sent on reoeipt of stamps , One Shilling , by W . "W . Morgan , Freemason ' s Chronicle Office , Belvidere Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
United Grand Lodge.
had the circumstances been brought to the notice of either the Earl of Carnarvon or the Earl of Limerick . What passed now claims our attention . As regards the propriety of the compliment which it is proposed to pay
to tho Earl of Carnarvon , by adding his portrait to those of Past Grand Masters of the Craft , there will be a complete feel of unanimity everywhere . His lordship ' s services are so well known that it is no more than a bare
act of justice that they should be recognized , and we have no hesitation in saying that the Building Committee—as , indeed , was to bo expected with a man of such high cnlturo and known taste as Bro . Sir J . B . Monckton as chairman—have chosen the most graceful mode of
recognition , and the one most likely to commend itself to his lordship ' s acceptance . As regards Brother Buss , and the enthusiasm with which the proposal respecting his retiring pension was greeted from all parts of Grand
Lodge , we need say little . Bro . Buss has been so well known and for so lengthened a period in the Craft , that it is almost impossible to say anything respecting him which has not already been said again and again . We can well believe that so enthusiastic as well as so unanimous an
acceptance of the Board ' s recommendation must havo been intensely gratifying to Bro . Buss himself , and we are anxious not to lose this opportunity of offering our testimony likewise to the uniform courtesy and kindness we have received at his hands , as well as of adding the
expression of a very sincere hope that , now he has been released from the onerous cares of active service , he may yet live many years in the enjoyment of his well-earned ease and dignity , and the sincere respect of his brother Craftsmen .
There are still two other points about which we conceive it to be our duty to offer a few remarks . Bro . Stevens ' s motion was dismissed , as we had every reason to expect it would be , ignominiously . It deserved and could have experienced no other fate from a body of men who we
believe are in the possession of their several senses . The Quebec business , or rather the action taken by H . R . H . the Grand Master in response to the rude and peremptory summons of the G . Master of Quebec , also met with the fate which must have been anticipated . It is far too heavy a
subject to deal with here , but we think we are justified in describing the summons of the G . Master of Quebec as being in the first place an act of gross impertinence , and in the next as being a most unscrupulous attempt to set
aside an honourable arrangement cheerfully entered into between Canada and England in 1857 , and to which very many of the Quebec Lodges must necessarily have been a party .
The Office Of A Committee On Grievance.
THE OFFICE OF A COMMITTEE ON GRIEVANCE .
TJIREEMASONRY is a purely fraternal institution—JD it does not exist merely for the largest good of the largest number , but for the largest good of the entire number . Its purpose is to advance the best interests of all within the mystic circle . It presupposes , as it has
a right to presuppose , that every brother will act in accordance with the spirit of the Fraternity in this regard . But experience proves that through forgetfulness , or innate depravity , some brethren neglect to perform their fraternal duties to each other , and even occasionally
grossly transgress in this respect the customs and regulations of the Craft . Hence arose the necessity for the erection of a fraternal tribunal , to which should be committed the duty of harmonising jarrin g interests , placating injured brethren , preventing the recurrence of unfraternal
acts , and , if need be , punishing the guilty . For a time the tribunal well performed its proper work ; but it is a question whether that time is not now past . In other words , it is a question whether the Grievance Committee has not resolved itself simply into a Trial Committee , after
the manner of the profane , esteeming its only office to "be to discover guilt and punish the guilty . This custom , to whatever extent it prevails , is entirely un-Masonic . Freemasonry has , in all such cases , a poisible trial in view ,
but it is to be a dernier resort . This it is easy to establish , both from the provisions of Grand Lodge Books of Constitutions , and subordinate Lodge Bye-Laws . For example : the " Ahiman Rezon " of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania ( Article XVII , § 70 ) provides :
The Office Of A Committee On Grievance.
" A motion may l > o made ti > rt > fer the same ( tho charge or charges ) to the Committee on Grievance , or to a special committee , to report if a trial is necessary , or that one should be had . If , howeyer , the Lodge deems it best , a majority vote shall cause said charge or charges to be sent to a special committee to try the brother on said ohargrg and specifications . "
So , in like manner , the Bye-Laws of the subordinate Lodges in this jurisdiction usually contain a provision like the following : " All complaints against any of the brethren of the Lodge shall be referred to the Committee on Grievance , with directions to
examine tho same with care , and , if possible , adjust the difference % n an amicable manner ; bat if they cannot do so , then to report to the Lodge their proceedings , together with all the faots connected with the case , with such measures as they may deem proper to recommend . "
It is apparent from the above quotations that the Fraternity has in view , primarily , the harmonising of all differences between brethren . Its purpose is to heal wounds , not to aggravate them ; to close breaches , not to widen them . It does not say to an aggrieved
brother" Prosecute your brother at once , go to law with him in our fraternal court . " Not at all . It discourages litigation , even within the Fraternity , and it sets in motion the machinery of its tribunal of justice only after all other measures have failed to unify the brethren
between whom differences have arisen . Some Lodges are so careful to avoid even the appearance of having anything like a Committee of Trial , that they appoint no Committee on Grievance , so that there may bo no standing tribunal to invite a hasty resort to it , relying entirely upon the
raising of a Special Committee in each case as required . The spirit and intent of Freemasonry is therein apparent —it discourages the preferring of charges , except in the plainest cases of injury and transgression of Masonic
obligation ; and after the preferring of charges it looks , in the first place , towards the amicable adjustment of differences , and resorts to a trial only because the transgressor will not admit , or seek to rectify , what is proven to have been his plain and gross error .
It is the duty of Freemasons always and everywhere to remember the policy of the Fraternity in this regard . It need not be urged that in discouraging trials , at the outset , they act in a manner that will best tend to preserve the harmony of the Lodge . Nothing is more apt to
promote unharmony than a Lodge trial . It at once divides the membership into two parties . It provokes unfraternal remarks on cither side , stops proposals for membership , and retards generally the wheels of progress . The whole Lodge becomes a sort of general trial
committee . Crimination and recrimination follows , and so the matter continues , until the end of the trial is attained ; and even there the trouble does not end . For years the evil results of a Masonic trial may be felt . Let us not be misunderstood here . We do not urge that a guilty
brother should not be punished , but only that , in the first instance , the Committee of Grievance shall do its proper work , by adjusting the difference and rectifying the wrong
in an amicable and fraternal manner . First , pour oil on the troubled waters , but if it utterly fails to remedy the evil , then let the Trial Committee perform its judicial function .
Here we are reminded of a fraternal incident that took place in Washington Lodge , No . 59 , of Philadelphia , some years ago , communicated to us by our friend Bro . William B . Reed , Secretary of the Lodge . A trial was had . The Committee to whom was referred the
charge made by Bro . A . against Bro . B ., made its report , fully sustaining the charges , whereupon the aggrieved Brother A . stepped forward , grasped Brother B . by tho hand , and freely forgave him as a man and a Mason This fraternal act was pleasingly witnessed by thene tire
Lodge , and so gratified were the members , that all the papers relating to the charges were ordered to be destroyed . There was a beautiful living picture , a forcible
exemplification of the grace of Masonic forgiveness . Such a spirit would glorify any Lodge , and cause it to go on , as Washington Lodge has gone on , prospering and to prosper . —Keystone .
The Bevised Book of Constitutions ; Critically Considered and Compared with the Old Edition . London : Simpkin , Marshall & Co ., 4 Stationers' Hall Court , B . C . Sent on reoeipt of stamps , One Shilling , by W . "W . Morgan , Freemason ' s Chronicle Office , Belvidere Works , Hermes Hill , Pentonville .