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Article THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHAIR. Page 1 of 2 Article THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHAIR. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Responsibilities Of The Chair.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHAIR .
ALTHOUGH every Mason before taking upon himself the duties of Wor . Master pledges himself to discharge the work of the office , we fear there are few who give more than a passing thought as to what that work may involve , or how far they are capable of performing it . In Freemasonry promotion goes , we are told , by merit , but there is considerable difference of opinion as to what really constitutes
merit . We have frequently urged that the man who does his best , and works as far as he is able to satisfy those around him displays true merit , and fully entitles himself to advancement and recognition as far as it lies in the power of his Lodge to confer it . But there are others who gauge from a different standpoint . These would have us believe there is no real merit—sufficient to deserve promotion—without
letter perfect knowledge of our ritual , disregarding all considerations as to whether the knowledge of the words of the ceremonies has made any impression on the mind or actions of the individual , or whether he is likely to do more than " preach" the gospel of Freemasonry . We say few men who approach the chair of their Lodge give more than a passing thought to what its acceptance involves , and as evidence in support of our view it is onlv necessarv to count the number of
those who , on the eve of advancement , hold back from taking the final step ; and further to consider the surprise which follows the retirement of a Senior Warden from the annual ballot taken for Worshipfnl Master . In some Lodges a hard and fast rule is made , that if , by any chance , the Senior Warden asks to be allowed to stand aside for a time ,
in the matter of advancement to the chair , he shall lose his turn , and not again be eligible for the ballot until he has re-started from the lowest of the minor offices . This is neither just nor politic , for it forces on the brother an office which he may conscientiously wish to hold back from , and to this cause may be attributed some of the failures which occur year by year among those
appointed to rule over us . There is really no excuse for thus penalising the brother who does not feel fully qualified for the Master ' s chair , or who may have good and sufficient private reasons for keeping back . He may ask to remain in the office of Warden for another year without harming any one in the round of promotion . The Junior Warden
gains a year , but not at the expense of those below him , for the Senior Deacon and his followers will reach the east just as soon if they allow the Senior Warden to be passed over for a term as if promotion went strictly in order of seniority . Why , then , should injustice be done ? and why should brethren
make rules—unwritten though they may be—which so palpably act to the detriment of those who are effected by them ?
The Responsibilities Of The Chair.
In considering this subject , it may be asked—On what grounds should a Mason , duly qualified , keep back from the promotion to which he has become entitled by seniority ? and for answer it may be urged there are many considerations in the public or
private life of us all which may render an adjournment desirable . As it is not always possible to explain such reasons in public , the members of a Lodge should accept the word of any one among them , and believe him when he says delay is . necessary . They should do everything in their power to encourase legitimate delay , rather than force a
Brother to take upon himself responsibilities he does not feel justified in assuming . But by doing so we are told in- some quarters the whole routine of a Lodge is upset , and its management disorganised . This argument seems so absurd to us—as it will no doubt seem to most of our readers—that it would not be worthy of consideration if we did not know of more than one instance of its application .
We never write on such lines as we to-day adopt without positive proof that the evil to which we refer actually exists in our midst , and it is considerable gratification for us to know that some of the subjects we have discussed in the past have only needed bringing to the notice of the Craft to ensure partial or complete reformation . We hope that in this case
similar success will attend our enorts , and although , as we have said , we know of more than one instance in which the Senior Warden of a Lodge has been virtually disqualified for promotion simply because he asked for delay , there is one particular case before us in which the rule has been applied most severely , and , as it turns out , most unexpectedly on
the brother concerned . His is a prosperous Lodge , and he had good grounds for holding back , a few months since , when his turn for promotion came round . He is now ready and willing to go on , and he and his friends are naturally surprised to learn that many members of the Lodge regard him as wholly disqualified from participating in the ballot for
Mastership , which will be taken in a few weeks' time . The brother we refer to asked to be passed over for a year , and retired from office altogether for that period , expecting in the ordinary course of events to succeed to the Mastership at the following election , but , as stated , it is the opinion of many members of the Lodge that he has forfeited his claim , and they intend to pass him over . As they are
in the majority they will probably succeed in their intention , and they will do more—they will upset the peace and harmony of their Lodge , even if they do not wholly crush it . Is there any power that can convince these brethren they are acting contrary to the best interests of Freemasonry ,
or are they to be allowed to proceed with their mistaken ideas of what is right and just ? Public opinion is the best and most powerful lever we can call in to the aid of this brother , who considers himself aggrieved , and though it may be specially on his
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Responsibilities Of The Chair.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CHAIR .
ALTHOUGH every Mason before taking upon himself the duties of Wor . Master pledges himself to discharge the work of the office , we fear there are few who give more than a passing thought as to what that work may involve , or how far they are capable of performing it . In Freemasonry promotion goes , we are told , by merit , but there is considerable difference of opinion as to what really constitutes
merit . We have frequently urged that the man who does his best , and works as far as he is able to satisfy those around him displays true merit , and fully entitles himself to advancement and recognition as far as it lies in the power of his Lodge to confer it . But there are others who gauge from a different standpoint . These would have us believe there is no real merit—sufficient to deserve promotion—without
letter perfect knowledge of our ritual , disregarding all considerations as to whether the knowledge of the words of the ceremonies has made any impression on the mind or actions of the individual , or whether he is likely to do more than " preach" the gospel of Freemasonry . We say few men who approach the chair of their Lodge give more than a passing thought to what its acceptance involves , and as evidence in support of our view it is onlv necessarv to count the number of
those who , on the eve of advancement , hold back from taking the final step ; and further to consider the surprise which follows the retirement of a Senior Warden from the annual ballot taken for Worshipfnl Master . In some Lodges a hard and fast rule is made , that if , by any chance , the Senior Warden asks to be allowed to stand aside for a time ,
in the matter of advancement to the chair , he shall lose his turn , and not again be eligible for the ballot until he has re-started from the lowest of the minor offices . This is neither just nor politic , for it forces on the brother an office which he may conscientiously wish to hold back from , and to this cause may be attributed some of the failures which occur year by year among those
appointed to rule over us . There is really no excuse for thus penalising the brother who does not feel fully qualified for the Master ' s chair , or who may have good and sufficient private reasons for keeping back . He may ask to remain in the office of Warden for another year without harming any one in the round of promotion . The Junior Warden
gains a year , but not at the expense of those below him , for the Senior Deacon and his followers will reach the east just as soon if they allow the Senior Warden to be passed over for a term as if promotion went strictly in order of seniority . Why , then , should injustice be done ? and why should brethren
make rules—unwritten though they may be—which so palpably act to the detriment of those who are effected by them ?
The Responsibilities Of The Chair.
In considering this subject , it may be asked—On what grounds should a Mason , duly qualified , keep back from the promotion to which he has become entitled by seniority ? and for answer it may be urged there are many considerations in the public or
private life of us all which may render an adjournment desirable . As it is not always possible to explain such reasons in public , the members of a Lodge should accept the word of any one among them , and believe him when he says delay is . necessary . They should do everything in their power to encourase legitimate delay , rather than force a
Brother to take upon himself responsibilities he does not feel justified in assuming . But by doing so we are told in- some quarters the whole routine of a Lodge is upset , and its management disorganised . This argument seems so absurd to us—as it will no doubt seem to most of our readers—that it would not be worthy of consideration if we did not know of more than one instance of its application .
We never write on such lines as we to-day adopt without positive proof that the evil to which we refer actually exists in our midst , and it is considerable gratification for us to know that some of the subjects we have discussed in the past have only needed bringing to the notice of the Craft to ensure partial or complete reformation . We hope that in this case
similar success will attend our enorts , and although , as we have said , we know of more than one instance in which the Senior Warden of a Lodge has been virtually disqualified for promotion simply because he asked for delay , there is one particular case before us in which the rule has been applied most severely , and , as it turns out , most unexpectedly on
the brother concerned . His is a prosperous Lodge , and he had good grounds for holding back , a few months since , when his turn for promotion came round . He is now ready and willing to go on , and he and his friends are naturally surprised to learn that many members of the Lodge regard him as wholly disqualified from participating in the ballot for
Mastership , which will be taken in a few weeks' time . The brother we refer to asked to be passed over for a year , and retired from office altogether for that period , expecting in the ordinary course of events to succeed to the Mastership at the following election , but , as stated , it is the opinion of many members of the Lodge that he has forfeited his claim , and they intend to pass him over . As they are
in the majority they will probably succeed in their intention , and they will do more—they will upset the peace and harmony of their Lodge , even if they do not wholly crush it . Is there any power that can convince these brethren they are acting contrary to the best interests of Freemasonry ,
or are they to be allowed to proceed with their mistaken ideas of what is right and just ? Public opinion is the best and most powerful lever we can call in to the aid of this brother , who considers himself aggrieved , and though it may be specially on his