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Influence Of The Masonic Press.
all respects a true and worthy member of the Craft while he lived . Moreover , he was a genial fellow , and made plenty of friends , and when he died they made " an effort " —as Mr . Dombey ' s doctor would have said—to get one of
the boys into the School . They " worked like niggers , " according to the boast of one of them , and succeeded . But , somehow the Masonic Press got wind that the case
was one which demanded inquiry , and on investigation being instituted , it was found that , through the sheer hard work and perseverance of a few of the individual friends of the deceased a lad had been elected to the benefits of
the School who had no legitimate claim whatever , seeing that the mother had been left with a snug income . On the evening to which I refer the conversation turned upon
this very subject , and without being an eavesdropper this is something of the sort of thing I was obliged to listen to . Two of tho company , waiting for the train , were of those who had " worked like niggers for the case . "
" Well , Brother George , quoth one , " if we are to expend our labours like this for nothing , I do not see much in Freemasonry . Why , did not we get , borrow , and
mortgage votes in every direction for that boy , and at last , after he had been elected , and we were congratulating ourselves upon our success , it turned out a failure after all ?"
" Yes , " rejoined the other , " we did not leave a stone unturned to do the trick . Of course we knew the mother could afford to keep the boy , but what of that if we could render her a service ? Is not that Masonic ?"
" How the dickins did the Masonic Press get to find out the circumstances of the case and thus upset all that we had done ?" " I do not know , but it did ; confound those newspaper fellows , they find out everything . "
There was much more said in a similar strain , and the circumstances of the case were well brought home to me , as it would be to all studious readers of the Masonic ;
journals . But what was the outcome of it all ? Simply this—that the Institution had been spared the infliction upon it of a candidate whose necessities could well have been met by the father ' s bequest , and thus room was made
for another and more reall y deserving case—of one standing on the cold threshold of want , and whose chance of election would have been debarred but for the interposition of those who would take the trouble to make duo
inquiry . It is a painful si g ht afc any time to see so many applicants beseeching for the few vacancies that occur ; but in this particular case , I consider , the influence of the Masonic Press was brought to bear in the direction of
upholding the weak against the strong , and thus , whilst displacing the candidate for whom certain brethren — with the best intention , no doubt , — had " worked like niggers , " it made room for one other who was more
' legitimately entitled to the privileges of the Institution . I could scarcely refrain from a smile when one of the brethren referred to declared , in irate language , that he had almost" made up his mind , after that , to throw up
Freemasonry altogether , " a sentiment in which his companion joined . A veteran , an old , seasoned Past Master , who was standing near , audibly ejaculated , " And what a benefit for Freemasonry that would have been ! " The train
came and cut short the conversation , but the reflection I carried away was that the Masonic Press , whilst encouraging and earnestly supporting by all means in its power
the legitimate objects of the Craft , no less fulfilled its mission in detecting the vagaries of cliques and favouritism and thus protecting the true interests of the really
descrvins-Enough on that , side of the question , which is no doubt only a sample of what has been clone over and over again . How the Masonic Press has safeguarded the Craft against imposture aud mendicancy , even the most casual reader of
our prints know . The charity of Masonry knows no bounds save those of prudence , and I venture to think those " bounds " are barricaded in a great measure by the wisdom and the foresight of the conductors of , and contributors to , our Masonic literature .
But there is a brighter side to the picture than any of these . Who can estimate the influence of the Masonic Press in cases were effort is needed to promote the cause ot Charit y , in whatever form it may present itself ? Is
not the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE — asking the Editor ' s pardon—a perpetual and chronic " begging letter . " Loupbefore the Festivals come round , it stirs the Stewards into activit y , and sets the whole machinery in motion iu a
Influence Of The Masonic Press.
manner such as could no other propelling power . Some American statesman is credited with having urged his followers to keep " pegging away , " a . a certain means of obtaining their object . And , Sir , if I may apply the
simile , I may congratulate you upon the practical application of that sage advice . I hope I am gailty of no levity in thus assailing the editorial chair , but it occurs to me that by no means small credit is due to yourself and the
managers of our other paper for rousing the brethren into a state of liveliness and sense of the duties they havo to perform . I do not hesitate to say that but for the appeals wo receive continually—shall I say almost ad nauseam
—from the Masonic Press , it would bo found that the income of our Masonic Charities would fall very far behind ? I am speaking now as an ordinary journalist , and I know from experience the advocacy
of the claims of Institutions in the public newspapers is one of the mainstays of benevolence , and a material factor in the success of any good work . That , I think , is an admitted fact . Consequently , those who cavil at the
existence of a Masonic Press have yet to learn the influence it brings to bear upon ' the encouragement , and succour it gives to all that is good , the demolition of shams and imposture , and the general benefit it confers upon any section of the
community on whose behoof its promoters labour . The information supplied in the columns of our Masonic journals is most valuable , as well as interesting ; it furnishes us with a record of all important events that are
passing around ; it gives free course for the interchange of current opinion ; and from every point of view there can be no gainsaying that , bereft of our recognised organs , Freemasonry would be deprived of one of its vital sources
of being . The old days of a gagged Press have gone ; Freemasonry owes much to the wisdom and discretion of those who have voluntarily taken up the cause , and all
right-thinking Masons will agree with me we are indebted to what is often described at public meetings as " the mighty machine " for doing good .
I need not go into the archa _ ological or historical facts which could reach us only through the columns of the Masonic journals . The recondite works which are published now and then reach only the few , and are as a rule so
abstruse as to be " understanded only by the Masonic scholar ; but the facts and information recorded iu our ordinary Masonic prints are invaluable to each one of us ,
and I could only wish the labour of supplying us with such valuable and edifying matter were more remunerative to those who havo undertaken the life-long duty of supplying it to the Craft .
Masonry.
MASONRY .
WITHOUT doubt Masonry is the most popular institution of the age . Certainly the statistics , according to our thinking , prove it so . If numbers are a correct criterion , then we might stop right here and say that we have already proved our argument . We question if there
is another society so large numerically speaking , and this is what gives it standing and power . Masonry , too , has another ingredient that gives it even more popularity than the quality above mentioned , and that is its antiquity . Its
origin dates so far back that it cannot be traced , and the man is yet to be found who can delve so deep into the pages of history as to inform who is the real founder and in what period he lived . Either one of the factors that we
have mentioned is a sufficient guarantee of the popularity and stability of Masonry ; but its system of moral philosophy ranks for the ascendency , and gives us the true key . We cannot conceive a more beautiful arrangement
by which men may worship , and at the same time render that homage that is due their fellow-man . We cannot live for ourselves even if we are so inclined . There is a certain degree of dependency that surrounds us , and we cannot
throw it off even if we enjoy affluence in the superlative . Masonry teaches men how to live and how to act , aud if by any means we could throw very much more of the good influence of its teachings into the dail y routine of life we feel that society would be far better for it .
This is fiur conception of Masonry . We believe that it is destined for afar higher purpose than is now conceived . To accomplish this iis votaries must take a more sacred view
of it . They must be better Masons in all respects , and this will develop the : leal object and purpose of Masonry . Neivzealand Journal
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Influence Of The Masonic Press.
all respects a true and worthy member of the Craft while he lived . Moreover , he was a genial fellow , and made plenty of friends , and when he died they made " an effort " —as Mr . Dombey ' s doctor would have said—to get one of
the boys into the School . They " worked like niggers , " according to the boast of one of them , and succeeded . But , somehow the Masonic Press got wind that the case
was one which demanded inquiry , and on investigation being instituted , it was found that , through the sheer hard work and perseverance of a few of the individual friends of the deceased a lad had been elected to the benefits of
the School who had no legitimate claim whatever , seeing that the mother had been left with a snug income . On the evening to which I refer the conversation turned upon
this very subject , and without being an eavesdropper this is something of the sort of thing I was obliged to listen to . Two of tho company , waiting for the train , were of those who had " worked like niggers for the case . "
" Well , Brother George , quoth one , " if we are to expend our labours like this for nothing , I do not see much in Freemasonry . Why , did not we get , borrow , and
mortgage votes in every direction for that boy , and at last , after he had been elected , and we were congratulating ourselves upon our success , it turned out a failure after all ?"
" Yes , " rejoined the other , " we did not leave a stone unturned to do the trick . Of course we knew the mother could afford to keep the boy , but what of that if we could render her a service ? Is not that Masonic ?"
" How the dickins did the Masonic Press get to find out the circumstances of the case and thus upset all that we had done ?" " I do not know , but it did ; confound those newspaper fellows , they find out everything . "
There was much more said in a similar strain , and the circumstances of the case were well brought home to me , as it would be to all studious readers of the Masonic ;
journals . But what was the outcome of it all ? Simply this—that the Institution had been spared the infliction upon it of a candidate whose necessities could well have been met by the father ' s bequest , and thus room was made
for another and more reall y deserving case—of one standing on the cold threshold of want , and whose chance of election would have been debarred but for the interposition of those who would take the trouble to make duo
inquiry . It is a painful si g ht afc any time to see so many applicants beseeching for the few vacancies that occur ; but in this particular case , I consider , the influence of the Masonic Press was brought to bear in the direction of
upholding the weak against the strong , and thus , whilst displacing the candidate for whom certain brethren — with the best intention , no doubt , — had " worked like niggers , " it made room for one other who was more
' legitimately entitled to the privileges of the Institution . I could scarcely refrain from a smile when one of the brethren referred to declared , in irate language , that he had almost" made up his mind , after that , to throw up
Freemasonry altogether , " a sentiment in which his companion joined . A veteran , an old , seasoned Past Master , who was standing near , audibly ejaculated , " And what a benefit for Freemasonry that would have been ! " The train
came and cut short the conversation , but the reflection I carried away was that the Masonic Press , whilst encouraging and earnestly supporting by all means in its power
the legitimate objects of the Craft , no less fulfilled its mission in detecting the vagaries of cliques and favouritism and thus protecting the true interests of the really
descrvins-Enough on that , side of the question , which is no doubt only a sample of what has been clone over and over again . How the Masonic Press has safeguarded the Craft against imposture aud mendicancy , even the most casual reader of
our prints know . The charity of Masonry knows no bounds save those of prudence , and I venture to think those " bounds " are barricaded in a great measure by the wisdom and the foresight of the conductors of , and contributors to , our Masonic literature .
But there is a brighter side to the picture than any of these . Who can estimate the influence of the Masonic Press in cases were effort is needed to promote the cause ot Charit y , in whatever form it may present itself ? Is
not the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE — asking the Editor ' s pardon—a perpetual and chronic " begging letter . " Loupbefore the Festivals come round , it stirs the Stewards into activit y , and sets the whole machinery in motion iu a
Influence Of The Masonic Press.
manner such as could no other propelling power . Some American statesman is credited with having urged his followers to keep " pegging away , " a . a certain means of obtaining their object . And , Sir , if I may apply the
simile , I may congratulate you upon the practical application of that sage advice . I hope I am gailty of no levity in thus assailing the editorial chair , but it occurs to me that by no means small credit is due to yourself and the
managers of our other paper for rousing the brethren into a state of liveliness and sense of the duties they havo to perform . I do not hesitate to say that but for the appeals wo receive continually—shall I say almost ad nauseam
—from the Masonic Press , it would bo found that the income of our Masonic Charities would fall very far behind ? I am speaking now as an ordinary journalist , and I know from experience the advocacy
of the claims of Institutions in the public newspapers is one of the mainstays of benevolence , and a material factor in the success of any good work . That , I think , is an admitted fact . Consequently , those who cavil at the
existence of a Masonic Press have yet to learn the influence it brings to bear upon ' the encouragement , and succour it gives to all that is good , the demolition of shams and imposture , and the general benefit it confers upon any section of the
community on whose behoof its promoters labour . The information supplied in the columns of our Masonic journals is most valuable , as well as interesting ; it furnishes us with a record of all important events that are
passing around ; it gives free course for the interchange of current opinion ; and from every point of view there can be no gainsaying that , bereft of our recognised organs , Freemasonry would be deprived of one of its vital sources
of being . The old days of a gagged Press have gone ; Freemasonry owes much to the wisdom and discretion of those who have voluntarily taken up the cause , and all
right-thinking Masons will agree with me we are indebted to what is often described at public meetings as " the mighty machine " for doing good .
I need not go into the archa _ ological or historical facts which could reach us only through the columns of the Masonic journals . The recondite works which are published now and then reach only the few , and are as a rule so
abstruse as to be " understanded only by the Masonic scholar ; but the facts and information recorded iu our ordinary Masonic prints are invaluable to each one of us ,
and I could only wish the labour of supplying us with such valuable and edifying matter were more remunerative to those who havo undertaken the life-long duty of supplying it to the Craft .
Masonry.
MASONRY .
WITHOUT doubt Masonry is the most popular institution of the age . Certainly the statistics , according to our thinking , prove it so . If numbers are a correct criterion , then we might stop right here and say that we have already proved our argument . We question if there
is another society so large numerically speaking , and this is what gives it standing and power . Masonry , too , has another ingredient that gives it even more popularity than the quality above mentioned , and that is its antiquity . Its
origin dates so far back that it cannot be traced , and the man is yet to be found who can delve so deep into the pages of history as to inform who is the real founder and in what period he lived . Either one of the factors that we
have mentioned is a sufficient guarantee of the popularity and stability of Masonry ; but its system of moral philosophy ranks for the ascendency , and gives us the true key . We cannot conceive a more beautiful arrangement
by which men may worship , and at the same time render that homage that is due their fellow-man . We cannot live for ourselves even if we are so inclined . There is a certain degree of dependency that surrounds us , and we cannot
throw it off even if we enjoy affluence in the superlative . Masonry teaches men how to live and how to act , aud if by any means we could throw very much more of the good influence of its teachings into the dail y routine of life we feel that society would be far better for it .
This is fiur conception of Masonry . We believe that it is destined for afar higher purpose than is now conceived . To accomplish this iis votaries must take a more sacred view
of it . They must be better Masons in all respects , and this will develop the : leal object and purpose of Masonry . Neivzealand Journal