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Article OUR RULERS—USEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL ? Page 1 of 2 Article OUR RULERS—USEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL ? Page 1 of 2 →
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Our Rulers—Useful Or Ornamental ?
OUR RULERS—USEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL ?
A COLONIAL contemporary displays very bad taste in its remarks concerning the officials of the Craft in England , questioning , as it does , the policy of placing men in high Masonic stations merely on account of their rank or position in public life , and without any regard to their Masonic ability . It is best , perhaps , to put the most charitable construction possible on the action of the colonial writer ,
and excuse his utterances on the ground that he is unacquainted with the full details of the case . Were it otherwise he could hardly write in the terms he does concerning a body of Masons who , taken as a class , act up to their Masonic obligations as well , if not better than any other section of the Craft . Every
member of the Order may , at one time or another , question the justice or the advisability of some particular appointment , but there are few who can with any justice accuse the officials of the Order with neglect in the performance of their Masonic duties . Whatever may . be the prime cause , it is certain that our rulers , so far from being mere figure heads , are one and all practical men of business in their official station ^ and in no few instances they set an example
which might profitably be followed by their " subordinates . No one can accuse the Prince of Wales of being a sluggard , and if he is not present at every meeting of Grand Lodge , it is only because he knows there is no absolute need for his attendance . Let an opportunity arise which necessitates his presence , and the Craft know for' a certainty that he will be among them , no matter what other public or private
engagement may present itself . Then , if we remember what he has done in the past in recommending various matters of importance to the notice of Grand Lodge , and not only recommending them , but also seeing that some high official of the Order is present to put his views before the brethren , it is impossible to say that he has neglected his work , or that he is merely
an ornamental figure head . Going ' a step lower , we find the chiefs of the various Provinces acting in a precisely similar way ; they take the supreme head of the Order as their pattern , and few of them can be accused of neglecting the trust the Grand Master has reposed in them . We will not attempt to fathom tho private arrangements made between the Grand Master and those whom he appoints to rule over the various
divisions of the English-Craft , but from the way in which they carry out their duties we can well understand the Prince of Wales gives each to understand that the acceptance of the office entails the carrying out of the work associated with it . The Grand Master can easily say , I take a personal interest in the work of my office , and if . you accept an appointment the same is required of you . However this m & y be , it is certain that the Provincial Grand Masters
Our Rulers—Useful Or Ornamental ?
of England , like their chief , carry out their work in a manner that should win them praise rather than censure . Further down the scale we have to consider the Grand Officers generally , and here it may be urged that few appointments are made except as a direct reward for special activity in the Craft . No one who is not in touch with the whole of the English system can be in a position to say that an
appointment is made without good cause . A brother may be an active Mason in his own neighbourhood , yet comparatively unknown in London , and wholly unheard of in some of the outlying districts . As a consequence considerable doubt may be expressed as to his eligibility for honours by those who really are beyond his influence , while a journey among his own people would prove his fitness for office and the popularity of his promotion . On the other hand ,
supposing it be true that one or more of the appointments each year are made rather as a reward for public services than for Masonic fitness , is the Craft any worse off in consequence ? Freemasonry is a universal brotherhood , and being so it is part of its duty to recognise ability among its members , even if their whole energies have not been directed
to purely Masonic objects . The Craft , in fact , is proud of the achievement of some brother who has made himself famous throughout the world , and seizes the opportunity , as many other associations do , of recognising his ability in their own way . This can best be done by conferring some high honour on the Brother concerned , and we should have to search
a long while to find any instance of one thus distinguished whose tenure of office proved him unfit for the appointment . The fact is , men who make themselves famous in one walk of life are hardly likely to lose caste or reputation by neglecting their duties in another sphere , and the class of men of whom we
are now speaking are those who fully recognise their responsibility when they accept a complimentary appointment ; doing so'they do not fail to show due appreciation of the honour conferred upon them . Of course it may be urged the one or two appointments each year—even supposing they are made as a reward for outside activity—are sufficient to justify the criticism of our colonial contemporary ,
but such is not the case . There are two sides to this question , as there are to all others . The highest offices in Freemasonry , notwithstanding the boasted equality of its membership , require something beyond Masonic activity as a qualification / and such being the case the circle among whom a selection can be made is comparatively small , and as , year after year ,
it becomes necessary to fill the offices , it may sometimes happen that a Brother is chosen , not so much because he is fully Qualified for the honour , as because he is the most eligible of the few who are deserving of recognition , or who are willing to undertake the duties attached to the post . ! We are not among those who fall down and worship
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Our Rulers—Useful Or Ornamental ?
OUR RULERS—USEFUL OR ORNAMENTAL ?
A COLONIAL contemporary displays very bad taste in its remarks concerning the officials of the Craft in England , questioning , as it does , the policy of placing men in high Masonic stations merely on account of their rank or position in public life , and without any regard to their Masonic ability . It is best , perhaps , to put the most charitable construction possible on the action of the colonial writer ,
and excuse his utterances on the ground that he is unacquainted with the full details of the case . Were it otherwise he could hardly write in the terms he does concerning a body of Masons who , taken as a class , act up to their Masonic obligations as well , if not better than any other section of the Craft . Every
member of the Order may , at one time or another , question the justice or the advisability of some particular appointment , but there are few who can with any justice accuse the officials of the Order with neglect in the performance of their Masonic duties . Whatever may . be the prime cause , it is certain that our rulers , so far from being mere figure heads , are one and all practical men of business in their official station ^ and in no few instances they set an example
which might profitably be followed by their " subordinates . No one can accuse the Prince of Wales of being a sluggard , and if he is not present at every meeting of Grand Lodge , it is only because he knows there is no absolute need for his attendance . Let an opportunity arise which necessitates his presence , and the Craft know for' a certainty that he will be among them , no matter what other public or private
engagement may present itself . Then , if we remember what he has done in the past in recommending various matters of importance to the notice of Grand Lodge , and not only recommending them , but also seeing that some high official of the Order is present to put his views before the brethren , it is impossible to say that he has neglected his work , or that he is merely
an ornamental figure head . Going ' a step lower , we find the chiefs of the various Provinces acting in a precisely similar way ; they take the supreme head of the Order as their pattern , and few of them can be accused of neglecting the trust the Grand Master has reposed in them . We will not attempt to fathom tho private arrangements made between the Grand Master and those whom he appoints to rule over the various
divisions of the English-Craft , but from the way in which they carry out their duties we can well understand the Prince of Wales gives each to understand that the acceptance of the office entails the carrying out of the work associated with it . The Grand Master can easily say , I take a personal interest in the work of my office , and if . you accept an appointment the same is required of you . However this m & y be , it is certain that the Provincial Grand Masters
Our Rulers—Useful Or Ornamental ?
of England , like their chief , carry out their work in a manner that should win them praise rather than censure . Further down the scale we have to consider the Grand Officers generally , and here it may be urged that few appointments are made except as a direct reward for special activity in the Craft . No one who is not in touch with the whole of the English system can be in a position to say that an
appointment is made without good cause . A brother may be an active Mason in his own neighbourhood , yet comparatively unknown in London , and wholly unheard of in some of the outlying districts . As a consequence considerable doubt may be expressed as to his eligibility for honours by those who really are beyond his influence , while a journey among his own people would prove his fitness for office and the popularity of his promotion . On the other hand ,
supposing it be true that one or more of the appointments each year are made rather as a reward for public services than for Masonic fitness , is the Craft any worse off in consequence ? Freemasonry is a universal brotherhood , and being so it is part of its duty to recognise ability among its members , even if their whole energies have not been directed
to purely Masonic objects . The Craft , in fact , is proud of the achievement of some brother who has made himself famous throughout the world , and seizes the opportunity , as many other associations do , of recognising his ability in their own way . This can best be done by conferring some high honour on the Brother concerned , and we should have to search
a long while to find any instance of one thus distinguished whose tenure of office proved him unfit for the appointment . The fact is , men who make themselves famous in one walk of life are hardly likely to lose caste or reputation by neglecting their duties in another sphere , and the class of men of whom we
are now speaking are those who fully recognise their responsibility when they accept a complimentary appointment ; doing so'they do not fail to show due appreciation of the honour conferred upon them . Of course it may be urged the one or two appointments each year—even supposing they are made as a reward for outside activity—are sufficient to justify the criticism of our colonial contemporary ,
but such is not the case . There are two sides to this question , as there are to all others . The highest offices in Freemasonry , notwithstanding the boasted equality of its membership , require something beyond Masonic activity as a qualification / and such being the case the circle among whom a selection can be made is comparatively small , and as , year after year ,
it becomes necessary to fill the offices , it may sometimes happen that a Brother is chosen , not so much because he is fully Qualified for the honour , as because he is the most eligible of the few who are deserving of recognition , or who are willing to undertake the duties attached to the post . ! We are not among those who fall down and worship