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Article INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES. Page 1 of 2 Article INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES. Page 1 of 2 →
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Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.
INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES .
LAST week we drew the attention of our readers to the ¦ evil effects of indiscriminate charity , and the likelihood , we may almost say the certainty , that Freemasonry will lose caste if relief is administered without careful inquiry into the antecedents , as well as the present
necessities , of those who seek ifc . Of equal importance is it that those who present themselves as candidates for admission into our Society should not be admitted indiscriminately . Indeed , these two questions of ill-regulated almsgiving and the lax admission of new members are so closely
connected , that it is hardly possible to discuss one of them fairly , in all its bearings , without touching upon the more salient points of the other . The more careless we are in the bestowal of our alms , the likelier are we to have our
ranks well filled with needy and unscrupulous adventurers . And , similarly , the more indifferent we are whom we introduce into our Lodges , the greater will be the number of those who will abuse our charity . All right-minded Masons are far less anxious for the numerical increase of the Craft
than they are for its increased moral strength . Hence it is we have viewed with so much satisfaction that at nearly every consecration of a new Lodge which has latterly been held , the consecrating officer has made a point of enjoining on the members , how necessary it is they should be cautious
whom they elect into their Lodge , not only for the peace and harmony of the Lodge itself , but likewise in the interests of Freemasonry generally . Bightly enough was ifc said by Bro . Metham , in his recent able address before the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devon , that " a little leaven
leaveneth the whole mass . " A single objectionable brother in a Lodge is enough to set all the members by the ears . Nor does the evil end even here . The obnoxious brother finds admission into other Lodges , where his propensity for stirring up unaraiable feelings is not known , and , more
often than not , he exhibits the same faults there as well as in his own Lodge . Or he may possess still graver shortcomings than a mere tendency to squabble on all occasions ; in which case a part of the odium that attaches to him is necessarily reflected on those with whom he is associated .
It must be apparent , indeed , to all who concern themselves about the well-being of Freemasonry that it is impossible to exercise too much caution in the admission of new members . The old saying , noscitur a sociis , is undeniably true . A man is known by the character of his fellows , and
a society by that of its members . If the majority of Freemasons are found to be good sterling men , who practise always the morality they profess , then , as that system of morality is known of all men to be marvellously free from all blemish , the world will esteem us highly as a society
which never wearies of doing good . On the other hand , if Masons are found to be mere professors of a peculiar system of morality ; if the charity they practise is practised ostentatiously and with an eye to future profit ; if , under the guise of brotherly love , they permit themselves
to lose no opportunity of wilfully misjudging the motives of their fellows , of promoting jealousy , of suggesting in secret what they dare not avow openly ; if their boasted conviviality resolves itself simply into an excessive
indulgence in the pleasures of the table , then , we say , the world will rightly set us down as a society of rank impostors , banded together for objects which are either blameworthy or beneath contempt . Happily , as we have said , the world knows well enough that our system of
Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.
morality is pure . Ifc knows likewise that the principles of that morality are not only professed , but practised by the bulk of our society . We say bulk , because a society
of men is no more likely , perhaps even less likely , to bo perfect than a single individual . But if we cannot attain perfection , we may approach it , and the best way of clpino this is to be cautious in our election of candidates .
We are led to indulge in these remarks which , after all , are a mere collection of truisms , by reason partly of certain statements in Bro . Metham ' s address , already alluded to , and partly by the description of a scene enacted in one of our Lodges , of a most disgraceful character , a
description for which we are indebted to our contemporary , the Ballarat Star . The scene is said to have occurred in the " Buninyong Masonic Lodge , " a name , however , we do not find in Grand Lodge Calendar for 1876 . It appears that some months since a person was proposed for initiation ,
but rejected by numerous black balls . A Dr . Hallett , member of the Lodge and an old Mason , was not present however . On the evening when the scene took place he was in attendance , but a long delay occurred in opening tho Lodge . Dr . Hallett , on some idle pretext , was called out
by the late W . M ., and no sooner had he left the room than the Lodge was opened . Attempting to re-enter in a very few minutes , he was told the W . M . had ordered he should be refused admittance , though he had already signed the attendance register . While protesting against such tyranny ,
Dr . Hallett was seized by a member " much taller and stronger than himself , and dragged forcibly from tho door of - the Lodge , to the serious damage of his right hand . " The cause of this outrage is said to have been the fear of the W . M . that Dr . Hallett might black ball the candidate ,
who was the intimate friend of the Master . Taking the facts as narrated by our contemporary , we have no hesitation in describing the scene as a gross violation , not only of Masonic rights ancl privileges , but of all decency and propriety . It is almost needless to point out that tho
several acts which made up the above scene are each and every of them in distinct violation of Masonic law . The denial to Dr . Hallett of Masonic communication with the members of his own Lodge , his seizure and forcible removal from the door of the Lodge , the alleged excuse for
this exclusion and violence , that Dr . Hallett might exercise his right of voting , and the barefaced attempt to dictate that he should vote either white or nofc at all , —these together form a terrible indictment against the W . M . of " the Buninyong Masonic Lodge " and his satellites . We
should like to believe the whole thing is utterly untrue , but we fear there is too much circumstantialit y in the account for any such good fortune to befal ua . We are aware the account is ev parte ; indeed , we are arguing upon the tale as it has reached us . But journals with a due
sense of their responsibilities do not admit such intelligence into their colamns unless it is duly vouched for . But even if the details have been inaccurately given or unduly coloured , there is still forced upon us the belief that the working of " the Buninyong Lodge" must be
flagrantly un-Masomc . Even assuming that Dr . Hallett is a most obnoxious member , nothing could justify the outrage of which he is reported to have been the victim . There is a proper Masonic tribunal before which members
guilty of un-Masonic conduct may be arraigned . The W . M . had no right to sit in judgment on the merits of his own difference with Dr . Hallett , supposing there to have been one . A member , even of superior height and strength , has no right forcibly to remove from the door of a Lodge another who is neither suspended nor excluded from Mg
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.
INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES .
LAST week we drew the attention of our readers to the ¦ evil effects of indiscriminate charity , and the likelihood , we may almost say the certainty , that Freemasonry will lose caste if relief is administered without careful inquiry into the antecedents , as well as the present
necessities , of those who seek ifc . Of equal importance is it that those who present themselves as candidates for admission into our Society should not be admitted indiscriminately . Indeed , these two questions of ill-regulated almsgiving and the lax admission of new members are so closely
connected , that it is hardly possible to discuss one of them fairly , in all its bearings , without touching upon the more salient points of the other . The more careless we are in the bestowal of our alms , the likelier are we to have our
ranks well filled with needy and unscrupulous adventurers . And , similarly , the more indifferent we are whom we introduce into our Lodges , the greater will be the number of those who will abuse our charity . All right-minded Masons are far less anxious for the numerical increase of the Craft
than they are for its increased moral strength . Hence it is we have viewed with so much satisfaction that at nearly every consecration of a new Lodge which has latterly been held , the consecrating officer has made a point of enjoining on the members , how necessary it is they should be cautious
whom they elect into their Lodge , not only for the peace and harmony of the Lodge itself , but likewise in the interests of Freemasonry generally . Bightly enough was ifc said by Bro . Metham , in his recent able address before the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devon , that " a little leaven
leaveneth the whole mass . " A single objectionable brother in a Lodge is enough to set all the members by the ears . Nor does the evil end even here . The obnoxious brother finds admission into other Lodges , where his propensity for stirring up unaraiable feelings is not known , and , more
often than not , he exhibits the same faults there as well as in his own Lodge . Or he may possess still graver shortcomings than a mere tendency to squabble on all occasions ; in which case a part of the odium that attaches to him is necessarily reflected on those with whom he is associated .
It must be apparent , indeed , to all who concern themselves about the well-being of Freemasonry that it is impossible to exercise too much caution in the admission of new members . The old saying , noscitur a sociis , is undeniably true . A man is known by the character of his fellows , and
a society by that of its members . If the majority of Freemasons are found to be good sterling men , who practise always the morality they profess , then , as that system of morality is known of all men to be marvellously free from all blemish , the world will esteem us highly as a society
which never wearies of doing good . On the other hand , if Masons are found to be mere professors of a peculiar system of morality ; if the charity they practise is practised ostentatiously and with an eye to future profit ; if , under the guise of brotherly love , they permit themselves
to lose no opportunity of wilfully misjudging the motives of their fellows , of promoting jealousy , of suggesting in secret what they dare not avow openly ; if their boasted conviviality resolves itself simply into an excessive
indulgence in the pleasures of the table , then , we say , the world will rightly set us down as a society of rank impostors , banded together for objects which are either blameworthy or beneath contempt . Happily , as we have said , the world knows well enough that our system of
Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.
morality is pure . Ifc knows likewise that the principles of that morality are not only professed , but practised by the bulk of our society . We say bulk , because a society
of men is no more likely , perhaps even less likely , to bo perfect than a single individual . But if we cannot attain perfection , we may approach it , and the best way of clpino this is to be cautious in our election of candidates .
We are led to indulge in these remarks which , after all , are a mere collection of truisms , by reason partly of certain statements in Bro . Metham ' s address , already alluded to , and partly by the description of a scene enacted in one of our Lodges , of a most disgraceful character , a
description for which we are indebted to our contemporary , the Ballarat Star . The scene is said to have occurred in the " Buninyong Masonic Lodge , " a name , however , we do not find in Grand Lodge Calendar for 1876 . It appears that some months since a person was proposed for initiation ,
but rejected by numerous black balls . A Dr . Hallett , member of the Lodge and an old Mason , was not present however . On the evening when the scene took place he was in attendance , but a long delay occurred in opening tho Lodge . Dr . Hallett , on some idle pretext , was called out
by the late W . M ., and no sooner had he left the room than the Lodge was opened . Attempting to re-enter in a very few minutes , he was told the W . M . had ordered he should be refused admittance , though he had already signed the attendance register . While protesting against such tyranny ,
Dr . Hallett was seized by a member " much taller and stronger than himself , and dragged forcibly from tho door of - the Lodge , to the serious damage of his right hand . " The cause of this outrage is said to have been the fear of the W . M . that Dr . Hallett might black ball the candidate ,
who was the intimate friend of the Master . Taking the facts as narrated by our contemporary , we have no hesitation in describing the scene as a gross violation , not only of Masonic rights ancl privileges , but of all decency and propriety . It is almost needless to point out that tho
several acts which made up the above scene are each and every of them in distinct violation of Masonic law . The denial to Dr . Hallett of Masonic communication with the members of his own Lodge , his seizure and forcible removal from the door of the Lodge , the alleged excuse for
this exclusion and violence , that Dr . Hallett might exercise his right of voting , and the barefaced attempt to dictate that he should vote either white or nofc at all , —these together form a terrible indictment against the W . M . of " the Buninyong Masonic Lodge " and his satellites . We
should like to believe the whole thing is utterly untrue , but we fear there is too much circumstantialit y in the account for any such good fortune to befal ua . We are aware the account is ev parte ; indeed , we are arguing upon the tale as it has reached us . But journals with a due
sense of their responsibilities do not admit such intelligence into their colamns unless it is duly vouched for . But even if the details have been inaccurately given or unduly coloured , there is still forced upon us the belief that the working of " the Buninyong Lodge" must be
flagrantly un-Masomc . Even assuming that Dr . Hallett is a most obnoxious member , nothing could justify the outrage of which he is reported to have been the victim . There is a proper Masonic tribunal before which members
guilty of un-Masonic conduct may be arraigned . The W . M . had no right to sit in judgment on the merits of his own difference with Dr . Hallett , supposing there to have been one . A member , even of superior height and strength , has no right forcibly to remove from the door of a Lodge another who is neither suspended nor excluded from Mg