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Article IS FREEMASONRY A QUESTION OF PRICE OR OF PRINCIPLE ? ← Page 2 of 2 Article IS FREEMASONRY A QUESTION OF PRICE OR OF PRINCIPLE ? Page 2 of 2 Article MASONIC TOLERATION. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Is Freemasonry A Question Of Price Or Of Principle ?
Most Worshipful the Grand Master of England to warrant a Lodge named after a gentleman who is not a Mason , and , so far as we know , has never done
anything for Freemasony , while he is equally unknown in the outside world , except as the fortunate possessor of a valuable property in the diamond fields of South Africa . The question of Lodge nomenclature
is , and always has been , a mystery to us , but at the same time we admit the subject is a difficult one to deal with , and it would perhaps be unwise if the rulers of the Craft were to forbid the naming of Lodges
alter men who are , or are supposed to be , worthy of so great a distinction ; but surely they should draw the line within the bounds of Freemasonry , not even recognising the possibilities of the immediate future
as to whether a certain individual might or might not become a member of the Order . We speak in this way because we do not consider that Mr . Barnato ' s name has any special Masonic signification ;
but perhaps the use of it may be defended on the ground that there are many others equally open to criticism . Going from the name of the Lodge , we may ask if
it comes withm the scope of Freemasonry for the gentleman after whom the Lodge is named , and who is proposed as the first initiate , to present to each of the founders a costly jewel , valued , it was publicly
stated , at some forty guineas each , and to be present at the proceedings after the Lodge banquet , taking part , or at least having an opportunity of doing
so , m the Masonic "fire " accorded the toasts ? We clo not know there is any particular objection to a non-Mason taking part in our festivities , especially as there are many who urge that the action of the
M . VV . Grand Master at the recent meeting at the Albert Hall did aAvay with the secrecy in regard to the Masonic "fire , " but until it is regularly announced that we may entertain non-Masons in our
midst , we venture to urge that no Lodge has the right to depart from the recognised custom of the Craft , even though the gentleman on whose behalf the members transgress has been proposed as a
candidate ior initiation , and has given his name as the title of the Lodge to which he seeks admission . We only need put one question to prove the error of such a course , and , we hope , prevent its recurrence in the
luture . ( Jan any man be made a Mason without undergoing the ordeal of the ballot ? Supposing that the gentleman to whom we have referred is rejected when he is put to the usual test ? What then becomes of
his sponsorship ? 01 his costly presents to the founders who have glorified his name by calling a Lodge after it ? Or of the action of the Master who allowed innovation , by permitting the |> resence of a
non-Mason at a recognised Masonic assembly ? It may be urged that the attendance of the Grand Secretary of England and other Grand Officers at the gathering to which we have alluded gave the necessary
sanction for the innovations . If so , we urge that the principles of Freemasonry rest on a very shallow foundation . We are prepared to admit that the Grand Master mav adont or allow anv divergence —j . . . _ . _ . __ . _
— ^ ^ _ ^ 0 from established custom , but we shall be surprised to learn that his example may be followed indiscriminately . We do not think it would be politic to sanction such a course , and we are certain it would
have a most damaging effect on Freemasonry if the presence of individual Grand Officers were to be accepted as an excuse for violating the established customs and recognised ordinaces of the Craft .
We rally appreciate the delicate ground on which we are treading in thus making jrahlic our views in regard to this particular event , and perhaps we are doing an injustice to those more intimately associated
with it , but we hope not . We do not for one moment question the motives which induced the founders to establish this new Lodge , and usher it into existence with all the pomp and splendour it is in the power of
Is Freemasonry A Question Of Price Or Of Principle ?
the magical diamond to secure , but there is such an air of " purchased glory" surrounding the whole affair as to leave them far from blameless . If their
proceedings are allowed to go unchallenged we feel it will be a scandal to the Craft , likely to have a most detrimental effect on the future of Freemasonry , because then it must be recognised that even within
the Order it is possible to purchase position , glory and honour , just as we are told it is possible to do in the
overy-day walks of life . There are certain principles underlying Freemasonry which , have hitherto been zealously guarded , and it will be a "rent misfortune
if those principles are to be set aside in future , or made subservient to the baser , but perhaps equally powerful influences of gold and diamonds . One word in regard to ourselves . We attended the Barnato Lodge as a guest . Unfortunately we were prevented by other business from being present until
late in the evening , and what we saw and what we heard took place after the banquet . It is the afterdinner proceedings on which our present remarks are based and if we have abused the hospitality offered us we can but express regret . We attended in our
official capacity , and our duty is to tlie Craft at largo , not to any section or individual members thereof . It is true our duty is a self imposed one , and perhaps there are some who will question the good taste or
the policy of our present remarks . To all such we may say that we are acting in good faith , and if our comments are severe they arc at least made more in sorrow than in anger , and with the sincere wish that
they may prove of ultimate good to the Order Av . it h which we are proud to be associated .
Masonic Toleration.
MASONIC TOLERATION .
r jn HE RE is a great and sacred truth lying at the JL foundation of Freemasonry , which pervades every bone , every sinew and every blood-vessel of its constitution and ifs organisation . Ifc expresses itself iu the words of
the Masonic regulation , which all men are required to adhere to , and that truth is , Toleration 1 Here each of us holds his own religion ; here each of ns tolerates the
religion of his brethren . We come together not to propagave our own creed .-, hut to meet those who are our equals , and to make each other leel that there are good moral
qualifies , and high virtues , and things worthy to bo remembered and re-preied among all men oi all creeds . To my mind , away hack in that , tar past , one , hundred ami sixty years ago—f do not know but more , for I am not to be
bounded and limited by any of these common periods of time in my belief of the antiquity of the breadth and spiritual character of Freemasonry—but away back as far ns we know ifc in our English history , the element
which gave vitality to Masonry , the elemem , which created brotherhood among its members , the element which gave force and impetus , and sent it forward as the great
p ioneer of liberty throughout all the world , to raise the oppressed , to break the bonds and proclaim the brotherhood of man , the equality of man , aye , and the equality of the races , was that same clause that we should tolerate the
religion which our brothers professed ; and chat while we claimed the individual and independent ri g ht to hold our own creed , we should g ive our brother the equal right to hold his creed and to worship God in the same purity
and with the same independence that wo claimed for ourselves . We started there , and that spirit spread throughout the world ; and whenever you will point to me a religious persecution during the history of the Al-isonic
organisation—and there have been many such- — -i will snow you that ifc was born of bigotry and intolerance . The Church led in the persecution , and in was liberry ; mcl independence and religious tol .-ration that resisted .
I remember the time , since I have been a Abv-um , when there was hardly a country iu ; 'hi : o ; -. e where Masonry was not under the ban , where it was not oppressed ,
where it was not attacked ; mid vet now , throughout the whole broad expanse , from Siberia to the Atlantic , from the Aha . tic to the . North Pole , and I ' roui the North Pole fc- > the Pacific , Masonry is an honoured Institution . You can
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Is Freemasonry A Question Of Price Or Of Principle ?
Most Worshipful the Grand Master of England to warrant a Lodge named after a gentleman who is not a Mason , and , so far as we know , has never done
anything for Freemasony , while he is equally unknown in the outside world , except as the fortunate possessor of a valuable property in the diamond fields of South Africa . The question of Lodge nomenclature
is , and always has been , a mystery to us , but at the same time we admit the subject is a difficult one to deal with , and it would perhaps be unwise if the rulers of the Craft were to forbid the naming of Lodges
alter men who are , or are supposed to be , worthy of so great a distinction ; but surely they should draw the line within the bounds of Freemasonry , not even recognising the possibilities of the immediate future
as to whether a certain individual might or might not become a member of the Order . We speak in this way because we do not consider that Mr . Barnato ' s name has any special Masonic signification ;
but perhaps the use of it may be defended on the ground that there are many others equally open to criticism . Going from the name of the Lodge , we may ask if
it comes withm the scope of Freemasonry for the gentleman after whom the Lodge is named , and who is proposed as the first initiate , to present to each of the founders a costly jewel , valued , it was publicly
stated , at some forty guineas each , and to be present at the proceedings after the Lodge banquet , taking part , or at least having an opportunity of doing
so , m the Masonic "fire " accorded the toasts ? We clo not know there is any particular objection to a non-Mason taking part in our festivities , especially as there are many who urge that the action of the
M . VV . Grand Master at the recent meeting at the Albert Hall did aAvay with the secrecy in regard to the Masonic "fire , " but until it is regularly announced that we may entertain non-Masons in our
midst , we venture to urge that no Lodge has the right to depart from the recognised custom of the Craft , even though the gentleman on whose behalf the members transgress has been proposed as a
candidate ior initiation , and has given his name as the title of the Lodge to which he seeks admission . We only need put one question to prove the error of such a course , and , we hope , prevent its recurrence in the
luture . ( Jan any man be made a Mason without undergoing the ordeal of the ballot ? Supposing that the gentleman to whom we have referred is rejected when he is put to the usual test ? What then becomes of
his sponsorship ? 01 his costly presents to the founders who have glorified his name by calling a Lodge after it ? Or of the action of the Master who allowed innovation , by permitting the |> resence of a
non-Mason at a recognised Masonic assembly ? It may be urged that the attendance of the Grand Secretary of England and other Grand Officers at the gathering to which we have alluded gave the necessary
sanction for the innovations . If so , we urge that the principles of Freemasonry rest on a very shallow foundation . We are prepared to admit that the Grand Master mav adont or allow anv divergence —j . . . _ . _ . __ . _
— ^ ^ _ ^ 0 from established custom , but we shall be surprised to learn that his example may be followed indiscriminately . We do not think it would be politic to sanction such a course , and we are certain it would
have a most damaging effect on Freemasonry if the presence of individual Grand Officers were to be accepted as an excuse for violating the established customs and recognised ordinaces of the Craft .
We rally appreciate the delicate ground on which we are treading in thus making jrahlic our views in regard to this particular event , and perhaps we are doing an injustice to those more intimately associated
with it , but we hope not . We do not for one moment question the motives which induced the founders to establish this new Lodge , and usher it into existence with all the pomp and splendour it is in the power of
Is Freemasonry A Question Of Price Or Of Principle ?
the magical diamond to secure , but there is such an air of " purchased glory" surrounding the whole affair as to leave them far from blameless . If their
proceedings are allowed to go unchallenged we feel it will be a scandal to the Craft , likely to have a most detrimental effect on the future of Freemasonry , because then it must be recognised that even within
the Order it is possible to purchase position , glory and honour , just as we are told it is possible to do in the
overy-day walks of life . There are certain principles underlying Freemasonry which , have hitherto been zealously guarded , and it will be a "rent misfortune
if those principles are to be set aside in future , or made subservient to the baser , but perhaps equally powerful influences of gold and diamonds . One word in regard to ourselves . We attended the Barnato Lodge as a guest . Unfortunately we were prevented by other business from being present until
late in the evening , and what we saw and what we heard took place after the banquet . It is the afterdinner proceedings on which our present remarks are based and if we have abused the hospitality offered us we can but express regret . We attended in our
official capacity , and our duty is to tlie Craft at largo , not to any section or individual members thereof . It is true our duty is a self imposed one , and perhaps there are some who will question the good taste or
the policy of our present remarks . To all such we may say that we are acting in good faith , and if our comments are severe they arc at least made more in sorrow than in anger , and with the sincere wish that
they may prove of ultimate good to the Order Av . it h which we are proud to be associated .
Masonic Toleration.
MASONIC TOLERATION .
r jn HE RE is a great and sacred truth lying at the JL foundation of Freemasonry , which pervades every bone , every sinew and every blood-vessel of its constitution and ifs organisation . Ifc expresses itself iu the words of
the Masonic regulation , which all men are required to adhere to , and that truth is , Toleration 1 Here each of us holds his own religion ; here each of ns tolerates the
religion of his brethren . We come together not to propagave our own creed .-, hut to meet those who are our equals , and to make each other leel that there are good moral
qualifies , and high virtues , and things worthy to bo remembered and re-preied among all men oi all creeds . To my mind , away hack in that , tar past , one , hundred ami sixty years ago—f do not know but more , for I am not to be
bounded and limited by any of these common periods of time in my belief of the antiquity of the breadth and spiritual character of Freemasonry—but away back as far ns we know ifc in our English history , the element
which gave vitality to Masonry , the elemem , which created brotherhood among its members , the element which gave force and impetus , and sent it forward as the great
p ioneer of liberty throughout all the world , to raise the oppressed , to break the bonds and proclaim the brotherhood of man , the equality of man , aye , and the equality of the races , was that same clause that we should tolerate the
religion which our brothers professed ; and chat while we claimed the individual and independent ri g ht to hold our own creed , we should g ive our brother the equal right to hold his creed and to worship God in the same purity
and with the same independence that wo claimed for ourselves . We started there , and that spirit spread throughout the world ; and whenever you will point to me a religious persecution during the history of the Al-isonic
organisation—and there have been many such- — -i will snow you that ifc was born of bigotry and intolerance . The Church led in the persecution , and in was liberry ; mcl independence and religious tol .-ration that resisted .
I remember the time , since I have been a Abv-um , when there was hardly a country iu ; 'hi : o ; -. e where Masonry was not under the ban , where it was not oppressed ,
where it was not attacked ; mid vet now , throughout the whole broad expanse , from Siberia to the Atlantic , from the Aha . tic to the . North Pole , and I ' roui the North Pole fc- > the Pacific , Masonry is an honoured Institution . You can