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Article MASONIC MEMOIR. ← Page 8 of 9 →
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Masonic Memoir.
I have refused that compliment because that is a public property , to be appropriated to Masonic matters only , and it would be highly incorrect to encroach upon it in any other way ; and if one farthing of it is touched for any other purpose than that of charity , you would be wanting in your duty . The Brethren then listened to me , and the matter dropped . I , however , stated , that if at some future period a spontaneous and united offer of a
compliment , not taken from the public fund , was decided upon , after twentyfive years of service , I should not object . The Duke of Sussex , in accepting this offering , cannot be accused of robbing the poor Mason of a single penny . Arriving at the twenty-fifth year of my presidency , it is a warning to me how I am placed . " My duty as your ( J . M . is to take care that no political or religious
question intrudes itself ; and had I thought that in presenting this Tribute any political feeling had influenced the Brethren , I can only say that then the Grand Master would not have been gratified . Our object is unanimity , and we can find a centre of unanimity unknown elsewhere , I recollect twenty-five years ago , at a meeting in many respects similar to the present , a magnificent Jewel ( by voluntary vote ) was presented to the Earl Moira
previous to his journey to India . I had the honor to preside , and I remember the powerful and beautiful appeal which that excellent Brother made on the occasion . I am now sixty-six years of age—I say this without regret—the true Mason ought to think that the first day of his birth is but
a step on bis way to the final close of life . When I tell you that I have completed forty years of a Alasonie life—there may be older Masons—but that is a pretty good specimen of my attachment to the Order . " In 1798 , I entered Masonry in a Lodge at Berlin , and there I served several offices , and as AVarden was a representative of the Lodge in the Grand Lodge of England . I afterwards was acknowledged and received with the usual compliment paid to a member of the Royal Family , by
being appointed a Past G . W . I again went abroad for three years , and on my return joined various Lodges ; and upon the retirement of the Prince Regent , who became Patron of the Order , I was elected Grand Master . An epoch of considerable interest intervened , and I became charged , in 1813-14 , with a most important mission—the Union of the two London Societies . My most excellent Brother the Duke of Kent accepted the title of Grand Master of the Athol Masons , as they were denominated ; I
was tbe Grand Master of those called the Prince of Wales's . In three months we carried the union of the two societies , and I had the happiness of presBling over the united fraternity . This I consider to have been the happiest event of my life . It brought all Masons upon the Level and Square , and showed the world at large , that tbe differences of common life did not exist in Masonry ; and it showed to Masons by a long pull , a strong
pull , and a pull altogether , what great good might be effected . " I have endeavoured all through my Masonic career to bring into Masonry the great fact , that from the highest to the lowest , all should feel convinced that the one coulcl not exist without the other . Every Mason owes respect to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Memoir.
I have refused that compliment because that is a public property , to be appropriated to Masonic matters only , and it would be highly incorrect to encroach upon it in any other way ; and if one farthing of it is touched for any other purpose than that of charity , you would be wanting in your duty . The Brethren then listened to me , and the matter dropped . I , however , stated , that if at some future period a spontaneous and united offer of a
compliment , not taken from the public fund , was decided upon , after twentyfive years of service , I should not object . The Duke of Sussex , in accepting this offering , cannot be accused of robbing the poor Mason of a single penny . Arriving at the twenty-fifth year of my presidency , it is a warning to me how I am placed . " My duty as your ( J . M . is to take care that no political or religious
question intrudes itself ; and had I thought that in presenting this Tribute any political feeling had influenced the Brethren , I can only say that then the Grand Master would not have been gratified . Our object is unanimity , and we can find a centre of unanimity unknown elsewhere , I recollect twenty-five years ago , at a meeting in many respects similar to the present , a magnificent Jewel ( by voluntary vote ) was presented to the Earl Moira
previous to his journey to India . I had the honor to preside , and I remember the powerful and beautiful appeal which that excellent Brother made on the occasion . I am now sixty-six years of age—I say this without regret—the true Mason ought to think that the first day of his birth is but
a step on bis way to the final close of life . When I tell you that I have completed forty years of a Alasonie life—there may be older Masons—but that is a pretty good specimen of my attachment to the Order . " In 1798 , I entered Masonry in a Lodge at Berlin , and there I served several offices , and as AVarden was a representative of the Lodge in the Grand Lodge of England . I afterwards was acknowledged and received with the usual compliment paid to a member of the Royal Family , by
being appointed a Past G . W . I again went abroad for three years , and on my return joined various Lodges ; and upon the retirement of the Prince Regent , who became Patron of the Order , I was elected Grand Master . An epoch of considerable interest intervened , and I became charged , in 1813-14 , with a most important mission—the Union of the two London Societies . My most excellent Brother the Duke of Kent accepted the title of Grand Master of the Athol Masons , as they were denominated ; I
was tbe Grand Master of those called the Prince of Wales's . In three months we carried the union of the two societies , and I had the happiness of presBling over the united fraternity . This I consider to have been the happiest event of my life . It brought all Masons upon the Level and Square , and showed the world at large , that tbe differences of common life did not exist in Masonry ; and it showed to Masons by a long pull , a strong
pull , and a pull altogether , what great good might be effected . " I have endeavoured all through my Masonic career to bring into Masonry the great fact , that from the highest to the lowest , all should feel convinced that the one coulcl not exist without the other . Every Mason owes respect to