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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 7 of 9 →
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Correspondence.
if acceptable , you will perhaps kindly insert in the next number of the Freemasons ' Quarterly TMagazine . I propose briefly to advert to the kind of variations which seem to prevail in Provincial Lodges , without of course entering into any detail ; and then Suggest means hy whicli a uniformity of working may be attained , and how those means might be applied to the furtherance of the object in view .
The variations I have alluded to are two in number . The first , in p hraseology ; and the second , in certain formalities , both in excess and in character highly objectionable . A question , perhaps , may arise as to the necessity of great exactitude in phraseology ; it is certainly deserving of cultivation , but the absence of such exactness is , I apprehend , an error undeserving of serious censure . The plain and simple , but still impressive ceremonies of Craft-Masonry , which
appear to be the proper ones , are , when well conducted , sufficient to make a lasting impression on the mind , and bear subsequent reflection ; they are not so numerous as likely to be forgotten , or to lead to confusion . I am of opinion that the simpler the formalities , and the fewer , consistent with a definite illustration of the matter in hand , should be the object of every AT . M . in the regulation of a Lodge . In the next place , the character of some of what I am disposed to regard as ceremonies in excess , is very reprehensible , not to say absurd . There is a certain histrionic air thrown about them so truly ludicrous , as to savour more of the taste of the manager of some
inferior country theatre than of Brethren cognizant of the bearings and dignity of Freemasonry . AVhile it may be stated , and with truth , that the essential features of Masonry are still displayed , yet it cannot be denied that these features do not gain that notice , or hold their proper place in proceedings whieh are open to the objections I have stated . If the appeal to the senses be made more powerful than that to the intellectmuch benefit will be lost ; and
, when the proceedings are retraced in quiet seclusion , if the former should appear to prevail , a false impression of Masonry will have been made , and an erroneous judgment of its value probably formed . Now , it is with a hope of aiding a uniformity of working , of checking the wanderings of some too imaginative spirits , that I would propose the appointment of visitors to Lodges . There might be one
visitor to each Province . If the Province be a large one , then let it be divided , and two visitors elected . The election of the visitors should be by the members of each Lodge in the Province . The names of all visitors should , immediately on election , be forwarded b y the P . G . S . to the G . S ., and from the list comprising the whole of the names of the visitors elected for the different Provinces should be selectedbthe Board of General Purposesthe visitors of each
, y , Province ; for in no case should a visitor visit the Lodges by which he has been elected . It should be the duty of the visitor to visit each Lodge in the Province he is appointed to by G . L . at least once in the year ; and he should forward a report to each Quarterly Communication of G . L .,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
if acceptable , you will perhaps kindly insert in the next number of the Freemasons ' Quarterly TMagazine . I propose briefly to advert to the kind of variations which seem to prevail in Provincial Lodges , without of course entering into any detail ; and then Suggest means hy whicli a uniformity of working may be attained , and how those means might be applied to the furtherance of the object in view .
The variations I have alluded to are two in number . The first , in p hraseology ; and the second , in certain formalities , both in excess and in character highly objectionable . A question , perhaps , may arise as to the necessity of great exactitude in phraseology ; it is certainly deserving of cultivation , but the absence of such exactness is , I apprehend , an error undeserving of serious censure . The plain and simple , but still impressive ceremonies of Craft-Masonry , which
appear to be the proper ones , are , when well conducted , sufficient to make a lasting impression on the mind , and bear subsequent reflection ; they are not so numerous as likely to be forgotten , or to lead to confusion . I am of opinion that the simpler the formalities , and the fewer , consistent with a definite illustration of the matter in hand , should be the object of every AT . M . in the regulation of a Lodge . In the next place , the character of some of what I am disposed to regard as ceremonies in excess , is very reprehensible , not to say absurd . There is a certain histrionic air thrown about them so truly ludicrous , as to savour more of the taste of the manager of some
inferior country theatre than of Brethren cognizant of the bearings and dignity of Freemasonry . AVhile it may be stated , and with truth , that the essential features of Masonry are still displayed , yet it cannot be denied that these features do not gain that notice , or hold their proper place in proceedings whieh are open to the objections I have stated . If the appeal to the senses be made more powerful than that to the intellectmuch benefit will be lost ; and
, when the proceedings are retraced in quiet seclusion , if the former should appear to prevail , a false impression of Masonry will have been made , and an erroneous judgment of its value probably formed . Now , it is with a hope of aiding a uniformity of working , of checking the wanderings of some too imaginative spirits , that I would propose the appointment of visitors to Lodges . There might be one
visitor to each Province . If the Province be a large one , then let it be divided , and two visitors elected . The election of the visitors should be by the members of each Lodge in the Province . The names of all visitors should , immediately on election , be forwarded b y the P . G . S . to the G . S ., and from the list comprising the whole of the names of the visitors elected for the different Provinces should be selectedbthe Board of General Purposesthe visitors of each
, y , Province ; for in no case should a visitor visit the Lodges by which he has been elected . It should be the duty of the visitor to visit each Lodge in the Province he is appointed to by G . L . at least once in the year ; and he should forward a report to each Quarterly Communication of G . L .,