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Article MORE LITIGATION. Page 1 of 1 Article MORE LITIGATION. Page 1 of 1 Article AFLOAT. Page 1 of 1
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More Litigation.
MORE LITIGATION .
IT will not surprise those of our readers who have noted our reports of the proceedings during the last twelve or eighteen months of the Committees and Quarterly Court of the lloyal Masonic Institution for Boys to bo told that ifc is , or shortly will be , engaged in a lawsuit with Bro . S . B . Wilson , tho " architect under Avhose direction the oxtension buildings at the School at Wood Green wei * e some
time since erected . The question to be determined is in respect of the professional charges of the latter , and while the action is pending both justice and etiquette require that we should abstain from offering any remarks which might be calculated to prejudice the interests of either
side . Bro . Wilson ' s charges may be correct , the particulars he furnished may turn out to be sufficient ov insufficient , but these are matters which it will come within the province of the jury to determine in accordance with the evidence ; with those , therefore , we ' have no present
concern . But we are not denied the privilege of criticising the circumstances which , after dragging their weary length over a period of about a year and a half , or it may be even longer , have lauded the School aud its architect in a course of litigation which , however it may result , cannot prove otherwise than expensive to both litigants .
Every one who possesses the slightest acquaintance with the law must be aware that even the victor in any action will have to pay the piper , thongh his expenses will
necessarily prove less heavy than those of his opponent . When a plaintiff or defendant gets a verdict with costs , the general belief is that , having gained the day , the expenses he has incurred are reimbursed to him , but this is far from being
the case . The term " costs" applies only to those incurred as between counsel and attorney , while the unfortunate victor has to pay those as between attorney and client . We cau illustrate this by a recent case within our own knowledge , in which a gentleman had an action
brought against him , and the judge ' s decision was adverse . Being not unnaturally dissatisfied with tho result , he appealed to a higher Court , where the judges unanimously sustained his appeal , reversed the decision of the Court below , and ' gave judgment in his favour , with costs in both
the actions . Bnt notwithstanding his victory , he was between £ 50 and £ 60 out of pocket . The moral of this is , that law is a luxury which shonld be studiously avoided by all sober-minded people , and especially by those who can find a better use for their money than to put it
into the pocket of an attorney . This view , however , appears to have made littlo or no impression on the minds of this Committee . As far as can be gathered from the brief reports which have appeared from time to time in our columns , Bro . Wilson has placed himself and his
particulars as unreservedly as possible at the disposal of this Committee , and whatever may be the merits of the actual facts in dispute between them , he , at all events , is , in our judgment , absolved of all responsibility for its reference to a court of law . He has expressed himself as
prepared to submit his case to arbitration , and even went so far as to name one of the most distinguished members of his profession—a gentleman whose sense of justice is above suspicion—as arbitrator . He has signified his willingness to furnish all the information it was in his
power to give , and his representative wrote to that of the Committee with a view of making an appointment and coming to an amicable settlement . Indeed , Bro . Wilson appears to have exhibited even more than the proverbial patience of Job , and to have good-naturedly allowed
himself to be bandied about from pillar to post , in the vam hope thafc the House Committee , being at length actuated hy a sense of reason , as well as by a desire to avoid a trial and the attendant costs , would agreo to accept his account . It is hard to see how Bro . Wilson could have
done more than he has done in order to facilitate the determination of his difference with the House Committee . We reiterate our intention of saying nothing at the present time about the justice or injustice of Bro . Wilson ' s
charges , the sufficiency or insufficiency of his particulars . He has said—and we have no reason to question his statement—that the School was the gainer by the form in
which they were presented . With this , of course , we have nothing to do . We wish , however , we could bring ourselves to believe , after a careful consideration of the preliminary circumstances , that the House Committee had
More Litigation.
acted in the samo spirit as its opponent in the suit . We fear—indeed , we feel almost confident in saying—thafc tho counsels of somo litigiously-disposed members were allowed fo prevail over the common sense and business judgment of the rest . We are prepared to have it retorted upon us that tho House Committee would have settled the account
long since had Bro . Wilson been willing to do certain things , but this will not absolve them from blame when we bearm mind it is on record that Bro . Wilson has throughout expressed his perfect willingness to do anything or everything in reason , and more than this even the House
Committee of the Boys' School , with the Genius of Discord in its midst , has no rig ht to expect . One word more , and we have done . Whatever may be the result of the dispute , a portion of the School funds must find its way into the pockets of an attorney , unless , indeed , the House
Committee is prepared to defray its own charges . We hardly imagine this unpleasant little fact will commend itself very highly to those patrons and supporters of the School who subscribed so magnificent a sum as that realised at the Anniversary Festival of 1 st July .
Afloat.
AFLOAT .
IF we inquire into the meaning of the word Afloat , it will be found to be of brief but clear definition , and descriptive also of a class of Masons who are " borne on the waters" of a changing and uncertain life . To be afloat signifies " borne on the water ; floating , swimming , moving * , passing from place to place , unfixed , moving without guide or control . " To be afloat , ia the sense of moving , or passing from place to place ; or as unfixed , and moving without guide or
control , presents a condition of things so repulsive to every thinking person , that the best shrink from it with loathing , while the vicious and the idle , and idleness is akin to vice , are alone in embracing it . It needs no stretch of the imagination to see in the application of this term thafc the many thousands of unaffiliated Masons who con . tribute nothing to the support of Masonry , bnt expect so much from
it , are afloat on the sea of uncertainty , mero wreckage , thrown from the stable body of tho Craft . We have heretofore alluded to the disastrous condition of things , too frequently caused by non-affiliates , and to it we not only invite , but urge , the best remedial judgment of tho Fraternity . In Massachusetts , for the year 1879 , no less than 1 , 412 were set
afloat , by reason of being " suspended from membership , " " discharged from membership , " and " dimitted . " Of the latter it is to be presumed that a liberal per centage asked a dimit that they might affiliate in other Lodges . An analysis of tho figures reported shows , that 862 Master Masons were qualified in that year to become members , but tlie number actually accepted was 1 , 122 , an excess of 260 , taken from
those dimitted . It further appears that 141 were reinstated , and these must have come from the suspended and discharged , which leaves a total of 1 , 011 floating Masons , moving without guide or control , and chargeable to what may be called the Masonic flotsam and jetsam of 1879 . To the loyal Craft of Massachusetts this represents an annual
financial loss of 1 , 011 dolls ., or a loss by commutation , at 10 dolls , each , of 10 , 110 dolls ., and yet this is not the extent by any means if we estimate , as we honestly ought , the consequential losses . To find the remedy is nofc the purpose of this article , but we have no doubt that a general one would have to be modified occasionally for local purposes .
If we go beyond the limits of Massachusetts , it appears that in Connecticut 391 Master Masons were made for the year ending 1 st January 1880 , and that during that term 370 were set off by the three causes named as operative in Massachusetts . Of these , 70 were admitted , 45 were reinstated , leaving 276 afloat , " changing and uncertain . " In Mississippi for the same year the number of Master
Masons made was 250 , but the dimitted and suspended numbered 772 ; of these , however , 234 affiliated , and 164 were reinstated , thus reducing the number set afloat , in that term and state , to 374 . These losses left the total membership in each state respectively at 25 , 505 , 14 , 660 and 9 , 025 . The amount of misconception , misconstruction and consequent misunderstanding these figures numbering those afloat represent is
really appalling ; they suggest families deceived by their own ; widows and orphans disappointed in consequence of husbands and fathers setting themselves afloat ; the Graft burdened by unjust claims , and consequent nnjust censure , the principles of the Society overridden by drones on land , and shirkers at sea , who have wilfully set themselves afloat , the flotsam and jetsam of a society that needs to enforce tbe justice of its claims against these wilful and negligent losses . —The Liberal Freemason .
HOLLOWAT ' PILLS . —The stomach and its troubles cause more discomfort and bring more unhappiness than is commonly supposed . The thousand ills that settle there maybe prevented or dislodged by the judicious use of these purifying Pills , which act as a sure , gentle , anti-acid aperient , without annoying tho nerves of the most susceptible or irritating the most delicate organisation . Ilolloway ' s Pills will bestow comfort and confer relief on every headachy , dyspeptic , and sickly sufferer whose tortures make him a burden to himself and a bugbear to his friends . These Pills have long been the popular remedy for a weak stomach , for a disordered liver , or a paralysed digestion , which yield without difficulty to their regulating , purifying , and tonic qualities .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
More Litigation.
MORE LITIGATION .
IT will not surprise those of our readers who have noted our reports of the proceedings during the last twelve or eighteen months of the Committees and Quarterly Court of the lloyal Masonic Institution for Boys to bo told that ifc is , or shortly will be , engaged in a lawsuit with Bro . S . B . Wilson , tho " architect under Avhose direction the oxtension buildings at the School at Wood Green wei * e some
time since erected . The question to be determined is in respect of the professional charges of the latter , and while the action is pending both justice and etiquette require that we should abstain from offering any remarks which might be calculated to prejudice the interests of either
side . Bro . Wilson ' s charges may be correct , the particulars he furnished may turn out to be sufficient ov insufficient , but these are matters which it will come within the province of the jury to determine in accordance with the evidence ; with those , therefore , we ' have no present
concern . But we are not denied the privilege of criticising the circumstances which , after dragging their weary length over a period of about a year and a half , or it may be even longer , have lauded the School aud its architect in a course of litigation which , however it may result , cannot prove otherwise than expensive to both litigants .
Every one who possesses the slightest acquaintance with the law must be aware that even the victor in any action will have to pay the piper , thongh his expenses will
necessarily prove less heavy than those of his opponent . When a plaintiff or defendant gets a verdict with costs , the general belief is that , having gained the day , the expenses he has incurred are reimbursed to him , but this is far from being
the case . The term " costs" applies only to those incurred as between counsel and attorney , while the unfortunate victor has to pay those as between attorney and client . We cau illustrate this by a recent case within our own knowledge , in which a gentleman had an action
brought against him , and the judge ' s decision was adverse . Being not unnaturally dissatisfied with tho result , he appealed to a higher Court , where the judges unanimously sustained his appeal , reversed the decision of the Court below , and ' gave judgment in his favour , with costs in both
the actions . Bnt notwithstanding his victory , he was between £ 50 and £ 60 out of pocket . The moral of this is , that law is a luxury which shonld be studiously avoided by all sober-minded people , and especially by those who can find a better use for their money than to put it
into the pocket of an attorney . This view , however , appears to have made littlo or no impression on the minds of this Committee . As far as can be gathered from the brief reports which have appeared from time to time in our columns , Bro . Wilson has placed himself and his
particulars as unreservedly as possible at the disposal of this Committee , and whatever may be the merits of the actual facts in dispute between them , he , at all events , is , in our judgment , absolved of all responsibility for its reference to a court of law . He has expressed himself as
prepared to submit his case to arbitration , and even went so far as to name one of the most distinguished members of his profession—a gentleman whose sense of justice is above suspicion—as arbitrator . He has signified his willingness to furnish all the information it was in his
power to give , and his representative wrote to that of the Committee with a view of making an appointment and coming to an amicable settlement . Indeed , Bro . Wilson appears to have exhibited even more than the proverbial patience of Job , and to have good-naturedly allowed
himself to be bandied about from pillar to post , in the vam hope thafc the House Committee , being at length actuated hy a sense of reason , as well as by a desire to avoid a trial and the attendant costs , would agreo to accept his account . It is hard to see how Bro . Wilson could have
done more than he has done in order to facilitate the determination of his difference with the House Committee . We reiterate our intention of saying nothing at the present time about the justice or injustice of Bro . Wilson ' s
charges , the sufficiency or insufficiency of his particulars . He has said—and we have no reason to question his statement—that the School was the gainer by the form in
which they were presented . With this , of course , we have nothing to do . We wish , however , we could bring ourselves to believe , after a careful consideration of the preliminary circumstances , that the House Committee had
More Litigation.
acted in the samo spirit as its opponent in the suit . We fear—indeed , we feel almost confident in saying—thafc tho counsels of somo litigiously-disposed members were allowed fo prevail over the common sense and business judgment of the rest . We are prepared to have it retorted upon us that tho House Committee would have settled the account
long since had Bro . Wilson been willing to do certain things , but this will not absolve them from blame when we bearm mind it is on record that Bro . Wilson has throughout expressed his perfect willingness to do anything or everything in reason , and more than this even the House
Committee of the Boys' School , with the Genius of Discord in its midst , has no rig ht to expect . One word more , and we have done . Whatever may be the result of the dispute , a portion of the School funds must find its way into the pockets of an attorney , unless , indeed , the House
Committee is prepared to defray its own charges . We hardly imagine this unpleasant little fact will commend itself very highly to those patrons and supporters of the School who subscribed so magnificent a sum as that realised at the Anniversary Festival of 1 st July .
Afloat.
AFLOAT .
IF we inquire into the meaning of the word Afloat , it will be found to be of brief but clear definition , and descriptive also of a class of Masons who are " borne on the waters" of a changing and uncertain life . To be afloat signifies " borne on the water ; floating , swimming , moving * , passing from place to place , unfixed , moving without guide or control . " To be afloat , ia the sense of moving , or passing from place to place ; or as unfixed , and moving without guide or
control , presents a condition of things so repulsive to every thinking person , that the best shrink from it with loathing , while the vicious and the idle , and idleness is akin to vice , are alone in embracing it . It needs no stretch of the imagination to see in the application of this term thafc the many thousands of unaffiliated Masons who con . tribute nothing to the support of Masonry , bnt expect so much from
it , are afloat on the sea of uncertainty , mero wreckage , thrown from the stable body of tho Craft . We have heretofore alluded to the disastrous condition of things , too frequently caused by non-affiliates , and to it we not only invite , but urge , the best remedial judgment of tho Fraternity . In Massachusetts , for the year 1879 , no less than 1 , 412 were set
afloat , by reason of being " suspended from membership , " " discharged from membership , " and " dimitted . " Of the latter it is to be presumed that a liberal per centage asked a dimit that they might affiliate in other Lodges . An analysis of tho figures reported shows , that 862 Master Masons were qualified in that year to become members , but tlie number actually accepted was 1 , 122 , an excess of 260 , taken from
those dimitted . It further appears that 141 were reinstated , and these must have come from the suspended and discharged , which leaves a total of 1 , 011 floating Masons , moving without guide or control , and chargeable to what may be called the Masonic flotsam and jetsam of 1879 . To the loyal Craft of Massachusetts this represents an annual
financial loss of 1 , 011 dolls ., or a loss by commutation , at 10 dolls , each , of 10 , 110 dolls ., and yet this is not the extent by any means if we estimate , as we honestly ought , the consequential losses . To find the remedy is nofc the purpose of this article , but we have no doubt that a general one would have to be modified occasionally for local purposes .
If we go beyond the limits of Massachusetts , it appears that in Connecticut 391 Master Masons were made for the year ending 1 st January 1880 , and that during that term 370 were set off by the three causes named as operative in Massachusetts . Of these , 70 were admitted , 45 were reinstated , leaving 276 afloat , " changing and uncertain . " In Mississippi for the same year the number of Master
Masons made was 250 , but the dimitted and suspended numbered 772 ; of these , however , 234 affiliated , and 164 were reinstated , thus reducing the number set afloat , in that term and state , to 374 . These losses left the total membership in each state respectively at 25 , 505 , 14 , 660 and 9 , 025 . The amount of misconception , misconstruction and consequent misunderstanding these figures numbering those afloat represent is
really appalling ; they suggest families deceived by their own ; widows and orphans disappointed in consequence of husbands and fathers setting themselves afloat ; the Graft burdened by unjust claims , and consequent nnjust censure , the principles of the Society overridden by drones on land , and shirkers at sea , who have wilfully set themselves afloat , the flotsam and jetsam of a society that needs to enforce tbe justice of its claims against these wilful and negligent losses . —The Liberal Freemason .
HOLLOWAT ' PILLS . —The stomach and its troubles cause more discomfort and bring more unhappiness than is commonly supposed . The thousand ills that settle there maybe prevented or dislodged by the judicious use of these purifying Pills , which act as a sure , gentle , anti-acid aperient , without annoying tho nerves of the most susceptible or irritating the most delicate organisation . Ilolloway ' s Pills will bestow comfort and confer relief on every headachy , dyspeptic , and sickly sufferer whose tortures make him a burden to himself and a bugbear to his friends . These Pills have long been the popular remedy for a weak stomach , for a disordered liver , or a paralysed digestion , which yield without difficulty to their regulating , purifying , and tonic qualities .