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  • Aug. 11, 1883
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  • RANDOM NOTES AND REFLECTIONS.
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The Freemason's Chronicle, Aug. 11, 1883: Page 9

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Random Notes And Reflections.

died at Windsor , Ontario , on the 3 rd June last , and it is satisfactory to learn that his closing days were marked by the exercise of that charity which eases the path to the grave . He was a thorough Mason , well informed in the literature and law of the Craft , and was much beloved .

Too much liberty invariably heralds license . Where one ends and the other begins has always been a crucial test ; it is rarely , if ever , defined in snch a way as to command general assent , and it cannot bo determined to a mathematical nicety . Tradition and enstom often supply

the place of written laws , and this is particularly the case in Freemasonry . Unfortunately in America the theory of liberty enters into all the relations of life , and although the members of the Craft in that conntry may have an affection for the mother country in Masonry as well as in

other matters , yet they carrv their love of independence to the extreme . They pnt Masonio rights on a par with State rights , and institute Grand Lodges upon that basis . The result has been great divergence of practice , the lowering of aothority , the multiplication of degrees , and the

formation of clandestine Lodges . These are the necessary outcome of the principle , and so long as there is the burning desire for freedom , so long as men are impatient of control , and each man becomes a law unto himself , so long will there be the maximum of divergence of thought

and action . We know it is difficult to go back , to consolidate authority ; but there cannot be a doubt that the longer a remedy is deferred , the greater the evil and the risk will become . Anarchy is the result of license , and

disruption the consequence . There must be a supreme authority , and the sooner that end is attained the better . We should say that the coloured Grand Lodges of the North , the Grand Lodges of Ontario and New South Wales are regarded by the Florida brethren as spurious .

By the ruling of the Grand Master of Georgia , " the loss of an eye is no impediment to being made a Ma on , if the applicant is otherwise found worthy . " Brother Parvin , Grand Secretary Iowa , endorses this judgment , and adds

in our list of acquaintances we number friends who have seen more of the teaching and effects of Masonry with one eve , and to- 'ay see further info the grand plans for » he promulgation of its teachings , and the exemplifications of its practice , than a dozen Grand Masters we cau name , who have decided that all snch men shonld be cast

over amonsrRt owls and bate , as being unfit and nnworthy to be made Masons . In the name of all the gods , when will this absurd doctrine be exploded ? that it is body , not mind ; band ? , not heart ; heels , rather than head ; that constitutes a man a lit subject for Freema . sonry P

Some of onr American brethren are very muoh exercised as to tbe physical condition of candidates for Freemasonry , and an alleged infringement of the law in Pennsylvania has led to the offending—that is , tlie maimed

—brother being expelled from the Lodge . It was also recommended that the Master of the Lodge in which the offender was initiated should be expelled the Craft , but this harsh sentence does not appear to have been carried out .

Differences of practice are permitted in the case of nonessentials , bnt where a principle is involved , then it behoves tbe brethren to pause before departing from what at least ought to be a landmark of the Craft . Iu America it is stated " that the acting Warden , in the absence of the

Master , assumes all the prerogatives of the Master , and is the Master ad interim . " In the absence of both Master and Senior Warden , the Junior Warden becomes the " acting Warden " for the time being , and therefore Master pro tern . In England and Canada , the rule is to place a

Past Master iu the East , ancl under no circumstances to allow either Warden to act as Master . This , no doubt , is the right method ; at any rate it is consistent , for a Master Js m possession of secrets which the Wardens cannot know ,

because they have not completed the education necessary to fill the chair of King Solomon . Wo cm understand the greater including the less , but we certainly do not approve of the revei'sal of this order in Freemasonry .

, In these days of unbelief and utilitarianism it is refreshln S to come across such a bold and manly utterance of " •nth as was made by Brother S . B . Dick , Most

Worshipful Grand Master of Pennsylvania , which claims to be ™ e oldest Masonic jurisdiction in the United States . At the Qnarterl y Communication of September last he said : i'he fuadameutal troths of religion upon , whioh cor Fraternity TO

Random Notes And Reflections.

founded , and of whioh it wns almost the solo rerioMtnvv in the re « mote past , are so far purfs of its r ^ re ronat . ' nntjnn thnt it cannot pxist without them . Masonry withon . ' Hod is a b » dy without a aonl ; an emptv casket , from which the j » wel it was meant to coutain has been taken away . It has no longer any reason to exist .

There is no doubt about Bro . Dick ' s opinions on religion and Freemasonry , and yet there is nothing narrow or bigotted in bis statement . He fearlessly asserts a princip ' e , and leaves the followers nf creed * to find their own mode of

worship . Brother Theodore Sntton Parvin , Grand Secretary Iowa , in his last report , says : — It is a r » cogn ? spd law in Masonrv that no Atheist can ho made a Mason . Thf > law shonld be equally established and rpcogni-ied , and when a Mason professes Atheism he shonld bo promptly expelled .

This is outspoken enough , and hints pretty deirly that when a man becomes a Mason and takes the obligation , he must have no mental reservations , and if he lapses into unbelief he must accept the penalties that follow . According to the decision of B ^ o . E . Anderson , Grand Master of

the Grand Lodge of Florida , " it is contrary to the spirit and teaching of Freemasonry to transact any business or work on the Lord ' s Day , except on funeral occasions , or for some charitable work which cannot be postponed . " We merely quote tbis as another instance of the feeling that prevails among our brethren across the Atlantic .

A most interesting and affecting episode come 3 from Florida . When the yellow fever broke out in Pensacola , in August of last year , it made sad havoc , especially amongst new comers who were not acclimatised . Escambia Lodge , No . 15 , seeing the necessity for action , began the

noble work of charity , and cawed on relief operations with a vigour and effect which clearly demonstrated that they had learned the true lesson of Masonry , and by their actions gave abundant evidence of the faith that was iu them . The help of other Lodges , not only in Florida , but

m other jurisdictions , was sought and readily accorded , and thus , by combined aid , a grand and beneficent work was accomplished . While the members of the Fraternity had

first claim to the relief afforded , it was not confined to them ; all classes of the community shared in the work of humanity , and many a cowan blessed the Masonic hand that came to his rescue .

It would be strange if , out of so many cases that came under the notice of the self-constituted relief board , there should not be some of a particularly striking character . There was one such at any rate at Pensacola , and we cannot do better than give the sto'y in the Grand Master ' s ( Bro .

Anderson ' s ) own words . He says : — " A poor family , consisting of father , mother , and four young children , were among the siok . The father , a stranger , was a Mason from Michigan . They were faithfully cared for , but the parents both died , leaving their four little ones , aged from four to ten

years , orphans . Thny were cared for until the epidemic wa 3 passed , and the quarantine raised , and then , provided with all that they re quired , they were staHed for their , distant home in Michigan . Tho oldest boy was furnished with railroad tickets , and with an open letter from E- > camhra Lodge , staging who the little travellers were

and commending them to the care of all good men and Masons . They met with kindness and help from one end of their journey to 'he other , and were safely delivered to their friends . At many points they were not allowed to pay anything for their mpals , and money was collected among their fellow passengers for their benefit . "

At the monthly Committee meeting of the Boyal Masonic Benevolent Institution , held on Wednesday last , at Freemasons' Hall , Brother Edgar Bowyer presided . Brother Terry reported that the Summer Entertainment to the inmates of the Institution at Croydon , on Tnesday

week , was very successful , and that tbe Supreme Council , 83 ° , had presented the Institution with several gifts , which greatly contributed to the success of the entertainment . A letter was ordered to be written to the Supreme Council

thanking thom for their liberality . H » ilf her late husband ' s annuity was granted to the widow of an annuitant , and seven candidates for next election were placed on tbe list . It was stated that a soa of the late collector of tbe

Institution , Bro . vv . Line , was a candidate for the Boys ' School , and bis mother trusted the Committee would assist him with their votes . Amongst those present were Bros . Everett , Bulmer , Moore , Cnbitt , Maudslay , Case ,

Atkins , Stean , Tattershall , Jabez Hogg , Daniel , Smith , Webb , Perceval , W . Hilton , H . Massey , John J . Barry , Adlard , James Willing Jan ., J . Wordsworth , and B > , Turtle Pigott .

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1883-08-11, Page 9” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 5 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_11081883/page/9/.
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Random Notes And Reflections.

died at Windsor , Ontario , on the 3 rd June last , and it is satisfactory to learn that his closing days were marked by the exercise of that charity which eases the path to the grave . He was a thorough Mason , well informed in the literature and law of the Craft , and was much beloved .

Too much liberty invariably heralds license . Where one ends and the other begins has always been a crucial test ; it is rarely , if ever , defined in snch a way as to command general assent , and it cannot bo determined to a mathematical nicety . Tradition and enstom often supply

the place of written laws , and this is particularly the case in Freemasonry . Unfortunately in America the theory of liberty enters into all the relations of life , and although the members of the Craft in that conntry may have an affection for the mother country in Masonry as well as in

other matters , yet they carrv their love of independence to the extreme . They pnt Masonio rights on a par with State rights , and institute Grand Lodges upon that basis . The result has been great divergence of practice , the lowering of aothority , the multiplication of degrees , and the

formation of clandestine Lodges . These are the necessary outcome of the principle , and so long as there is the burning desire for freedom , so long as men are impatient of control , and each man becomes a law unto himself , so long will there be the maximum of divergence of thought

and action . We know it is difficult to go back , to consolidate authority ; but there cannot be a doubt that the longer a remedy is deferred , the greater the evil and the risk will become . Anarchy is the result of license , and

disruption the consequence . There must be a supreme authority , and the sooner that end is attained the better . We should say that the coloured Grand Lodges of the North , the Grand Lodges of Ontario and New South Wales are regarded by the Florida brethren as spurious .

By the ruling of the Grand Master of Georgia , " the loss of an eye is no impediment to being made a Ma on , if the applicant is otherwise found worthy . " Brother Parvin , Grand Secretary Iowa , endorses this judgment , and adds

in our list of acquaintances we number friends who have seen more of the teaching and effects of Masonry with one eve , and to- 'ay see further info the grand plans for » he promulgation of its teachings , and the exemplifications of its practice , than a dozen Grand Masters we cau name , who have decided that all snch men shonld be cast

over amonsrRt owls and bate , as being unfit and nnworthy to be made Masons . In the name of all the gods , when will this absurd doctrine be exploded ? that it is body , not mind ; band ? , not heart ; heels , rather than head ; that constitutes a man a lit subject for Freema . sonry P

Some of onr American brethren are very muoh exercised as to tbe physical condition of candidates for Freemasonry , and an alleged infringement of the law in Pennsylvania has led to the offending—that is , tlie maimed

—brother being expelled from the Lodge . It was also recommended that the Master of the Lodge in which the offender was initiated should be expelled the Craft , but this harsh sentence does not appear to have been carried out .

Differences of practice are permitted in the case of nonessentials , bnt where a principle is involved , then it behoves tbe brethren to pause before departing from what at least ought to be a landmark of the Craft . Iu America it is stated " that the acting Warden , in the absence of the

Master , assumes all the prerogatives of the Master , and is the Master ad interim . " In the absence of both Master and Senior Warden , the Junior Warden becomes the " acting Warden " for the time being , and therefore Master pro tern . In England and Canada , the rule is to place a

Past Master iu the East , ancl under no circumstances to allow either Warden to act as Master . This , no doubt , is the right method ; at any rate it is consistent , for a Master Js m possession of secrets which the Wardens cannot know ,

because they have not completed the education necessary to fill the chair of King Solomon . Wo cm understand the greater including the less , but we certainly do not approve of the revei'sal of this order in Freemasonry .

, In these days of unbelief and utilitarianism it is refreshln S to come across such a bold and manly utterance of " •nth as was made by Brother S . B . Dick , Most

Worshipful Grand Master of Pennsylvania , which claims to be ™ e oldest Masonic jurisdiction in the United States . At the Qnarterl y Communication of September last he said : i'he fuadameutal troths of religion upon , whioh cor Fraternity TO

Random Notes And Reflections.

founded , and of whioh it wns almost the solo rerioMtnvv in the re « mote past , are so far purfs of its r ^ re ronat . ' nntjnn thnt it cannot pxist without them . Masonry withon . ' Hod is a b » dy without a aonl ; an emptv casket , from which the j » wel it was meant to coutain has been taken away . It has no longer any reason to exist .

There is no doubt about Bro . Dick ' s opinions on religion and Freemasonry , and yet there is nothing narrow or bigotted in bis statement . He fearlessly asserts a princip ' e , and leaves the followers nf creed * to find their own mode of

worship . Brother Theodore Sntton Parvin , Grand Secretary Iowa , in his last report , says : — It is a r » cogn ? spd law in Masonrv that no Atheist can ho made a Mason . Thf > law shonld be equally established and rpcogni-ied , and when a Mason professes Atheism he shonld bo promptly expelled .

This is outspoken enough , and hints pretty deirly that when a man becomes a Mason and takes the obligation , he must have no mental reservations , and if he lapses into unbelief he must accept the penalties that follow . According to the decision of B ^ o . E . Anderson , Grand Master of

the Grand Lodge of Florida , " it is contrary to the spirit and teaching of Freemasonry to transact any business or work on the Lord ' s Day , except on funeral occasions , or for some charitable work which cannot be postponed . " We merely quote tbis as another instance of the feeling that prevails among our brethren across the Atlantic .

A most interesting and affecting episode come 3 from Florida . When the yellow fever broke out in Pensacola , in August of last year , it made sad havoc , especially amongst new comers who were not acclimatised . Escambia Lodge , No . 15 , seeing the necessity for action , began the

noble work of charity , and cawed on relief operations with a vigour and effect which clearly demonstrated that they had learned the true lesson of Masonry , and by their actions gave abundant evidence of the faith that was iu them . The help of other Lodges , not only in Florida , but

m other jurisdictions , was sought and readily accorded , and thus , by combined aid , a grand and beneficent work was accomplished . While the members of the Fraternity had

first claim to the relief afforded , it was not confined to them ; all classes of the community shared in the work of humanity , and many a cowan blessed the Masonic hand that came to his rescue .

It would be strange if , out of so many cases that came under the notice of the self-constituted relief board , there should not be some of a particularly striking character . There was one such at any rate at Pensacola , and we cannot do better than give the sto'y in the Grand Master ' s ( Bro .

Anderson ' s ) own words . He says : — " A poor family , consisting of father , mother , and four young children , were among the siok . The father , a stranger , was a Mason from Michigan . They were faithfully cared for , but the parents both died , leaving their four little ones , aged from four to ten

years , orphans . Thny were cared for until the epidemic wa 3 passed , and the quarantine raised , and then , provided with all that they re quired , they were staHed for their , distant home in Michigan . Tho oldest boy was furnished with railroad tickets , and with an open letter from E- > camhra Lodge , staging who the little travellers were

and commending them to the care of all good men and Masons . They met with kindness and help from one end of their journey to 'he other , and were safely delivered to their friends . At many points they were not allowed to pay anything for their mpals , and money was collected among their fellow passengers for their benefit . "

At the monthly Committee meeting of the Boyal Masonic Benevolent Institution , held on Wednesday last , at Freemasons' Hall , Brother Edgar Bowyer presided . Brother Terry reported that the Summer Entertainment to the inmates of the Institution at Croydon , on Tnesday

week , was very successful , and that tbe Supreme Council , 83 ° , had presented the Institution with several gifts , which greatly contributed to the success of the entertainment . A letter was ordered to be written to the Supreme Council

thanking thom for their liberality . H » ilf her late husband ' s annuity was granted to the widow of an annuitant , and seven candidates for next election were placed on tbe list . It was stated that a soa of the late collector of tbe

Institution , Bro . vv . Line , was a candidate for the Boys ' School , and bis mother trusted the Committee would assist him with their votes . Amongst those present were Bros . Everett , Bulmer , Moore , Cnbitt , Maudslay , Case ,

Atkins , Stean , Tattershall , Jabez Hogg , Daniel , Smith , Webb , Perceval , W . Hilton , H . Massey , John J . Barry , Adlard , James Willing Jan ., J . Wordsworth , and B > , Turtle Pigott .

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