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Article QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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Quarterly Communication.
The EARL FORTESCUE . — " I did not wish those words to be so construed . " Dr . CRUCEFIX . —Probably his lordship did not ; but he ( Bro . C . ) could not but inquire at what page in the Book of Constitutions was he directed to notify otherwise than at the Committee of Masters ? Had he , or any other member of Grancl Lodge , the power to alter the law ? The motion was framed onand acted onaccording to lawand
there-, , , fore was not unjust . The law might be unjust ; and if so , alter the law . Next , as to the motion being arbitrary—what , a motion for a charitable purpose arbitrary ?—he blushed for the term . He had some personal friendships with every province , and never found them sordid ; on tbecontrary ; he did not believe the provinces to be poor ; at any rate , they were then represented by more than equal rank and influence with their London Brethren—the motion hacl been altogether misunderstood .
He agreed that at the union the dues bad been settled as now existing ; but for what purpose ? Because the provinces were poor ? No such thing—it was for the purpose of enabling them to sustain the charges contingent on holding provicial Grand Lodges , ancl other expenses . ( Hear , hear . ) In all other points the clues or taxation , in his opinion , should be equal . He might be mistaken—he did not consider himself infallible—but he was bound to set himself right both as to motive and
action . The confirmation of the motion ivould probably be lost . He hoped that , as the numbers were evidently disproportioned , the supporters of the original motion would not oppose the amendment on a division . He hacl no doubt but that had the circular been issued , the result of the confirmation would have been successful ( no , no ) , for the
excitement that had been thus created would have been spared . —Bro . Crucefix concluded by expressing his conviction that the motion hacl not been fairly treated , and that therefore he felt himself called upon , ¦ then and there , to give the most public notice possible that he should give in a renewal of his motion , somewhat modified , because he felt certain that the cause of charity would ultimately triumph ; ancl he hoped that , however his days might be numbered , Providence would grant him life to see that the widows of Alasons were solaced in their
affliction . ( Cheers . ) Bro . W . DENIS AIOORE , P . G . S . for Devon , followed next , and was much cheered . His first duty was to acknowledge the very able and eloquent address of the worshipful Brother on the dais , who , as might be expected , had not only exculpated himself , which was not necessary , as no one could ever have thought otherwise of him than an honest A'lason ; still he had not made out his case—the resources of the
provinces had been miscalculated . He then re-echoed the sentiments of the Provincial Grand Master for Devon , and entered into a detailed explanation of the great difficulties sustained in the provinces by the want of all attention to their position . It should be observed , that all the government , and all the patronage of the Grand Lodge of England , were vested in . the London Brethren , and it was only human nature to presume there was a natural bias in fovour of London motions . It
behoved , therefore , the country members not only to view with doubt , but to insist on equal rights , more especially in regard to taxation . In his opinion the earliest possible information of the proceedings of Grand Lodge should be given to the provinces , instead of leaving them altogether in the dark . —( We regret that Bro . AIoore spoke rather in a low tone , and as there was considerable noise , chiefly by the cheering of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Quarterly Communication.
The EARL FORTESCUE . — " I did not wish those words to be so construed . " Dr . CRUCEFIX . —Probably his lordship did not ; but he ( Bro . C . ) could not but inquire at what page in the Book of Constitutions was he directed to notify otherwise than at the Committee of Masters ? Had he , or any other member of Grancl Lodge , the power to alter the law ? The motion was framed onand acted onaccording to lawand
there-, , , fore was not unjust . The law might be unjust ; and if so , alter the law . Next , as to the motion being arbitrary—what , a motion for a charitable purpose arbitrary ?—he blushed for the term . He had some personal friendships with every province , and never found them sordid ; on tbecontrary ; he did not believe the provinces to be poor ; at any rate , they were then represented by more than equal rank and influence with their London Brethren—the motion hacl been altogether misunderstood .
He agreed that at the union the dues bad been settled as now existing ; but for what purpose ? Because the provinces were poor ? No such thing—it was for the purpose of enabling them to sustain the charges contingent on holding provicial Grand Lodges , ancl other expenses . ( Hear , hear . ) In all other points the clues or taxation , in his opinion , should be equal . He might be mistaken—he did not consider himself infallible—but he was bound to set himself right both as to motive and
action . The confirmation of the motion ivould probably be lost . He hoped that , as the numbers were evidently disproportioned , the supporters of the original motion would not oppose the amendment on a division . He hacl no doubt but that had the circular been issued , the result of the confirmation would have been successful ( no , no ) , for the
excitement that had been thus created would have been spared . —Bro . Crucefix concluded by expressing his conviction that the motion hacl not been fairly treated , and that therefore he felt himself called upon , ¦ then and there , to give the most public notice possible that he should give in a renewal of his motion , somewhat modified , because he felt certain that the cause of charity would ultimately triumph ; ancl he hoped that , however his days might be numbered , Providence would grant him life to see that the widows of Alasons were solaced in their
affliction . ( Cheers . ) Bro . W . DENIS AIOORE , P . G . S . for Devon , followed next , and was much cheered . His first duty was to acknowledge the very able and eloquent address of the worshipful Brother on the dais , who , as might be expected , had not only exculpated himself , which was not necessary , as no one could ever have thought otherwise of him than an honest A'lason ; still he had not made out his case—the resources of the
provinces had been miscalculated . He then re-echoed the sentiments of the Provincial Grand Master for Devon , and entered into a detailed explanation of the great difficulties sustained in the provinces by the want of all attention to their position . It should be observed , that all the government , and all the patronage of the Grand Lodge of England , were vested in . the London Brethren , and it was only human nature to presume there was a natural bias in fovour of London motions . It
behoved , therefore , the country members not only to view with doubt , but to insist on equal rights , more especially in regard to taxation . In his opinion the earliest possible information of the proceedings of Grand Lodge should be given to the provinces , instead of leaving them altogether in the dark . —( We regret that Bro . AIoore spoke rather in a low tone , and as there was considerable noise , chiefly by the cheering of