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Article ELECTIONEERING MORALITY. ← Page 2 of 3 Article ELECTIONEERING MORALITY. Page 2 of 3 →
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Electioneering Morality.
that they did their best , and havo thereby entitled tlionv solves . to a re-mite from the toils of Masonic Charity elee tioueerin . " -. a * lonst until the canvass for the election of thi
Benevolent fn-i ' tniion >' s brought more prominently before them . But while if ' ' true that to the majority of the voters all thought of 'he pi -f is unnecessary , there are some iu whom ii " ma ; a a'wvse serious considerations for the
future . The fa-h cf ' see' ] . !!) : ; " a Masonic election in the present day is * 'o 'fg-h ! nu <\ ns many of our readers can , from per- 'aid ean saeeee , testify , while to those who have not vet taken an .- ( dive oart in any of tho contests
wc need only refer' to the number of votes that aro issued from the offices of tho two Schools , and of which a very small proportion remain outstanding at the close of the poll . At the two elections which have just been brought to a conclusion the number of votes recorded was upwards of
fifty-five thousand , a majority of which had , no doubt , passed through many hands before being finally entrusted to tho care of the Scrutineers . Even the task undertaken by that band of brethren is one which but for the hearty co-operation of all concerned could not be accomplished
m the time it usually occupies , but when we take into consideration tho work of collecting or otherwise securing the votes previous to polling them , who shall say what amount of work is represented , or who can measure the miles traversed in procuring them ? As we have on
many occasions pointed out , much of this work is ¦ undertaken by Committees or Associations , formed in various parts of the country , for tho purpose of using the voting power of the district to the best possible advantage , and it is to these Associations we owe the great
extension of the system of loaning votes that has occurred during the last few years . Borrowing is now an important element in the conduct of au election , and to such an extent is it carried on that we can hardly imagine an election being conducted without it , or with any material
diminution in the facilities which now exist for obtaining votes on the understanding that they will be repaid at some future contest . On the good faith of mere promises , votes are lent out , which , if polled by the owner , would
not be sufficient in themselves to secure a place among tho successful , but which by skilful manipulation may often procure a good rate of interest , besides securing the election of candidates at an earlier date than could otherwise be
accomplished . This loaning would not occur to so great an extent were the promises to repay dependent on an individual voter ' s ability to fulfil the same , for there is always the risk of death stepping in to cancel the contract , but in the caso of an Association , death of inch
vidnals is hardly likely to affect the result ; indeed , with a Provincial Committee recognised hy the Provincial Grand Lodge it should not make the slightest difference . On the days of election the representation
of these local Committees or Associations is usually entrusted to an individual member , or it may be to a small Committee , who , for the purpose of securing the desired object , are authorised to pledge the credit of the Province , or of the whole of the members of the Association he or
they represent , and it is in these representatives therefore we see those who anxiously look to the future . In many instances , they have attached their names to receipts for votes lent to the section of tho Craft of which they for the time being acted as agents , and until they see they are in
a position to meet all their engagements , theirs must be anything but a comfortable position . In the past they have been accustomed to look to tho brethren on behalf of whom they acted to endorse any arrangements they , in the exercise of thoir judgment , may have entered into , and
where the repayment of vof . es at a given date is concerned , they havo relied , not on their personal efforts alone , but on the v . nitcd assistance of their Committee or Association . That they have any legal claim on thoir fellows in this
respect is questionable , and until within the last few days we have not thought it necessary to urge on them the actual need there is for bringing ail those transactions within the reach of the law ; even now wc do not do so with tho desire of still further
spreading that un-Masonic spirit which has lately shown itself , but it is absolutely necessary that brethren should understand their position , and an instance having
just been brought under our notice bearing specially on this subject , we put it before our readers , leaving them to act as they may think host . Wc are of opinion that a word of warning before an event occurs is worth more than volumes of advice afterwards .
Electioneering Morality.
We have referred above to the uncertainty of life as affecting the calculations necessary to he made by the holders of votes before parting with them on the promise that they shall bo repaid at future elections , and bearing in mind the fact that tho voting qualifications of an
individual cease immediately on his decease , as also , to a very considerable extent , does the influence he possessed among his friends , this is in itself a serious item for consideration , as in a very large number of cases death does , ancl ever will , put an end to the contract , once and for all , unless some
legal form of agreement is in future adopted . It is a wellknown maxim that it is a poor rule that will not work both ways , but we imagine there are few borrowers who would seriously take into their calculations tho chance of the lender dying before the promise to repay came to maturity ,
and if they did we hope there are fewer still who would consider themselves relieved from a debt by any such an occurrence . Thus we find the lender who accepts an
individual voter ' s promise to repay a loan , works at a disadvantage , as in the event of the death of the borrower he runs the almost certain chance of losing his votes , but in the case of Provincial Committees or other local Associations
all this is different . The lender has , or should have , a receipt signed on behalf of the Association , and pledging the credit of the whole of the members , by a duly authorised representative , and we think in most instances these promises to repay are looked upon as being good for the number
of votes they represent . Hitherto we had looked upon them as unquestionable , but the case we refer to as having lately arisen has rudely shaken our faith in their marketable value . The representative of one of the Provincial Associations having a matter of two hundred boys '
votes which he did not require for immediate use , lent them to another such Association , on the understanding that they were to be repaid for the election just concluded . The receipt was made out and signed by the representative of the borrowing Association in the name of , and handed
to , the representative of the lenders , and was accepted by him on the understanding that the one Association was bound to the other , and not on the basis of individual responsibility . Since this occurred , the representative of the lenders has died , and in consequence another brother had to be selected to continue the work the
deceased had for years undertaken . Accordingly a brother was appointed , and the several papers necessary for the conduct of the voting affairs of the Province were handed over to him , among them being the acknowledgment for the 205 votes referred to . In due
course he , in the name of the Province he represented , applied for repayment , and the votes , already looked out , were handed to him , and the transaction thus far went well . But , later in the day , a change comes ; the late debtors either remembered , or were informed , that the
brother in whose name the receip t was made out had died some month or so previously , and they appear to have come to the conclusion that their liability ceased with his death . What a splendid system of morality is here depicted ! We should hardly have thought such an
argument possible , but facts are facts , and the evidence we have before us is indisputable . There can be no doubt about the matter , as a formal demand for the immediate return of the 205 votes was in form served upon the brother to whom they were handed . How the matter will end we are not in a
position to imagine , but we hope , for the sake of that good feeling which has hitherto existed among the brethren who work the Elections , that a satisfactory solution will be forthcoming . Lest any of our readers doubt—as we should have been
inclined to do—the possibility of so strange a proceeding , we give the names of the brethren interested , ancl a copy of the letter referred to . The votes were the property of the Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire , lent by the representative of that district , the late Bro
Edward Cox . Bro . James Terry , having agreed to conduct the present October Elections on behalf of that Province , applied for their repayment , the borrowers being the London Masonic Charity Organisation , of which Bro . A . Tisley , the writer of the following letter , is the Secretary
and duly appointed representative . The following is a verbatim copy of his letter to Bro . Terry , after the other representatives of the London Masonic Charity Organisation had discovered that the votes had been repaid to the representative of the late Bro . Edward Cox , in whose name the receipt was made out : —
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Electioneering Morality.
that they did their best , and havo thereby entitled tlionv solves . to a re-mite from the toils of Masonic Charity elee tioueerin . " -. a * lonst until the canvass for the election of thi
Benevolent fn-i ' tniion >' s brought more prominently before them . But while if ' ' true that to the majority of the voters all thought of 'he pi -f is unnecessary , there are some iu whom ii " ma ; a a'wvse serious considerations for the
future . The fa-h cf ' see' ] . !!) : ; " a Masonic election in the present day is * 'o 'fg-h ! nu <\ ns many of our readers can , from per- 'aid ean saeeee , testify , while to those who have not vet taken an .- ( dive oart in any of tho contests
wc need only refer' to the number of votes that aro issued from the offices of tho two Schools , and of which a very small proportion remain outstanding at the close of the poll . At the two elections which have just been brought to a conclusion the number of votes recorded was upwards of
fifty-five thousand , a majority of which had , no doubt , passed through many hands before being finally entrusted to tho care of the Scrutineers . Even the task undertaken by that band of brethren is one which but for the hearty co-operation of all concerned could not be accomplished
m the time it usually occupies , but when we take into consideration tho work of collecting or otherwise securing the votes previous to polling them , who shall say what amount of work is represented , or who can measure the miles traversed in procuring them ? As we have on
many occasions pointed out , much of this work is ¦ undertaken by Committees or Associations , formed in various parts of the country , for tho purpose of using the voting power of the district to the best possible advantage , and it is to these Associations we owe the great
extension of the system of loaning votes that has occurred during the last few years . Borrowing is now an important element in the conduct of au election , and to such an extent is it carried on that we can hardly imagine an election being conducted without it , or with any material
diminution in the facilities which now exist for obtaining votes on the understanding that they will be repaid at some future contest . On the good faith of mere promises , votes are lent out , which , if polled by the owner , would
not be sufficient in themselves to secure a place among tho successful , but which by skilful manipulation may often procure a good rate of interest , besides securing the election of candidates at an earlier date than could otherwise be
accomplished . This loaning would not occur to so great an extent were the promises to repay dependent on an individual voter ' s ability to fulfil the same , for there is always the risk of death stepping in to cancel the contract , but in the caso of an Association , death of inch
vidnals is hardly likely to affect the result ; indeed , with a Provincial Committee recognised hy the Provincial Grand Lodge it should not make the slightest difference . On the days of election the representation
of these local Committees or Associations is usually entrusted to an individual member , or it may be to a small Committee , who , for the purpose of securing the desired object , are authorised to pledge the credit of the Province , or of the whole of the members of the Association he or
they represent , and it is in these representatives therefore we see those who anxiously look to the future . In many instances , they have attached their names to receipts for votes lent to the section of tho Craft of which they for the time being acted as agents , and until they see they are in
a position to meet all their engagements , theirs must be anything but a comfortable position . In the past they have been accustomed to look to tho brethren on behalf of whom they acted to endorse any arrangements they , in the exercise of thoir judgment , may have entered into , and
where the repayment of vof . es at a given date is concerned , they havo relied , not on their personal efforts alone , but on the v . nitcd assistance of their Committee or Association . That they have any legal claim on thoir fellows in this
respect is questionable , and until within the last few days we have not thought it necessary to urge on them the actual need there is for bringing ail those transactions within the reach of the law ; even now wc do not do so with tho desire of still further
spreading that un-Masonic spirit which has lately shown itself , but it is absolutely necessary that brethren should understand their position , and an instance having
just been brought under our notice bearing specially on this subject , we put it before our readers , leaving them to act as they may think host . Wc are of opinion that a word of warning before an event occurs is worth more than volumes of advice afterwards .
Electioneering Morality.
We have referred above to the uncertainty of life as affecting the calculations necessary to he made by the holders of votes before parting with them on the promise that they shall bo repaid at future elections , and bearing in mind the fact that tho voting qualifications of an
individual cease immediately on his decease , as also , to a very considerable extent , does the influence he possessed among his friends , this is in itself a serious item for consideration , as in a very large number of cases death does , ancl ever will , put an end to the contract , once and for all , unless some
legal form of agreement is in future adopted . It is a wellknown maxim that it is a poor rule that will not work both ways , but we imagine there are few borrowers who would seriously take into their calculations tho chance of the lender dying before the promise to repay came to maturity ,
and if they did we hope there are fewer still who would consider themselves relieved from a debt by any such an occurrence . Thus we find the lender who accepts an
individual voter ' s promise to repay a loan , works at a disadvantage , as in the event of the death of the borrower he runs the almost certain chance of losing his votes , but in the case of Provincial Committees or other local Associations
all this is different . The lender has , or should have , a receipt signed on behalf of the Association , and pledging the credit of the whole of the members , by a duly authorised representative , and we think in most instances these promises to repay are looked upon as being good for the number
of votes they represent . Hitherto we had looked upon them as unquestionable , but the case we refer to as having lately arisen has rudely shaken our faith in their marketable value . The representative of one of the Provincial Associations having a matter of two hundred boys '
votes which he did not require for immediate use , lent them to another such Association , on the understanding that they were to be repaid for the election just concluded . The receipt was made out and signed by the representative of the borrowing Association in the name of , and handed
to , the representative of the lenders , and was accepted by him on the understanding that the one Association was bound to the other , and not on the basis of individual responsibility . Since this occurred , the representative of the lenders has died , and in consequence another brother had to be selected to continue the work the
deceased had for years undertaken . Accordingly a brother was appointed , and the several papers necessary for the conduct of the voting affairs of the Province were handed over to him , among them being the acknowledgment for the 205 votes referred to . In due
course he , in the name of the Province he represented , applied for repayment , and the votes , already looked out , were handed to him , and the transaction thus far went well . But , later in the day , a change comes ; the late debtors either remembered , or were informed , that the
brother in whose name the receip t was made out had died some month or so previously , and they appear to have come to the conclusion that their liability ceased with his death . What a splendid system of morality is here depicted ! We should hardly have thought such an
argument possible , but facts are facts , and the evidence we have before us is indisputable . There can be no doubt about the matter , as a formal demand for the immediate return of the 205 votes was in form served upon the brother to whom they were handed . How the matter will end we are not in a
position to imagine , but we hope , for the sake of that good feeling which has hitherto existed among the brethren who work the Elections , that a satisfactory solution will be forthcoming . Lest any of our readers doubt—as we should have been
inclined to do—the possibility of so strange a proceeding , we give the names of the brethren interested , ancl a copy of the letter referred to . The votes were the property of the Province of Northamptonshire and Huntingdonshire , lent by the representative of that district , the late Bro
Edward Cox . Bro . James Terry , having agreed to conduct the present October Elections on behalf of that Province , applied for their repayment , the borrowers being the London Masonic Charity Organisation , of which Bro . A . Tisley , the writer of the following letter , is the Secretary
and duly appointed representative . The following is a verbatim copy of his letter to Bro . Terry , after the other representatives of the London Masonic Charity Organisation had discovered that the votes had been repaid to the representative of the late Bro . Edward Cox , in whose name the receipt was made out : —