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Article TO THE EDITOR. Page 1 of 2 →
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To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
SIR AND COMPANION , —I am one of those Masons who can admire our system of morality , without bending to the slavery of dictation , and therefore offer myself as a correspondent to supply occasionally , freely and at length , such reports as you may not otherwise be enabled to obtain . I am a Past First Principal of the Order , and as you will perceive , am not altogether unknown . I do not desire to be suspected , nor do I seek martyrdom - yetfor the sake of FreemasonryI
un-, , , hesitatingly place my confidence in you . At the last Quarterly Convocation ( August 2 nd ) , there were two petitions for Charters , both as I discovered , tending to the same object , viz . to enable the companions of the Hebrew persuasion to have a Chapter of their own for the practical purposes of Royal Arch Masonry ; there was this distinction between the petitions : in the one it was proposed that none but Hebrews should be exalted , although Christians might join . In the petition for the
Chapter of Joppa , it was proposed that none but Hebrews should be members . If I am incorrect , I hope to be set right . It is worthy of remark that in Romford , from whence one of the petitions was presented , there are very few Masons , and as far as those few are concerned , a Chapter was not required , for the Lodge is but rarely held . If I were to say that it is a mere vehicle for some London Masons to hold the chair , I should not be much out ; the Principals named were Companions Laurence Thompson , Lazarus ( of the Joppa Lodge ) , and Alston . The Charter was granted , so that no doubt the Hebrew Brethren will thus indirectly gain what it coulcl have been
wished they had succeeded to obtain in a more direct manner ; but be it observed that they did gain their object . The recommendation for a Chapter to the Lodge of Joppa was rejected , and on curious grounds . In its favour a Hebrew Brother , one of the petitioners , with seeming fairness agreed that the Israelites had no Chapter of their own ; that the rites ancl ceremonies of the Royal Arch were especially Judaical , and could be worked with greater effect
in the Hebrew language ; and again , that it was against the religious tenets of the nation to sit at a banquet whereat the meats were not conformable to Jewish law . Now to the first suggestion I have to state that a ceremony performed in this country in a language unknown to most of the Fraternity , and not generally known to the Hebrews themselves , does not coincide with the admitted universality of the Order , although I admit that the ceremonials would doubtless appear more
imposing if practised with all the effect of Jewish display . The arguments in favour of the new Chapter were well supported by several Companions , who felt that in Masonry there should always exist the utmost liberality , and it was stated that His Royal Highness the Grand Master was not unfavourable to the petition . Another Hebrew Brother opposed the petition on the ground that if grantedit would affect the vaunted universality of the Order ; that as
, for the difference of banquet , it was an idle excuse , for that he could always find sufficient at the Christian table to refresh himself without violating the Jewish law , and finally declared that his opposition was grounded upon an anxious desire to prevent any thing that tended to dissociation .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
SIR AND COMPANION , —I am one of those Masons who can admire our system of morality , without bending to the slavery of dictation , and therefore offer myself as a correspondent to supply occasionally , freely and at length , such reports as you may not otherwise be enabled to obtain . I am a Past First Principal of the Order , and as you will perceive , am not altogether unknown . I do not desire to be suspected , nor do I seek martyrdom - yetfor the sake of FreemasonryI
un-, , , hesitatingly place my confidence in you . At the last Quarterly Convocation ( August 2 nd ) , there were two petitions for Charters , both as I discovered , tending to the same object , viz . to enable the companions of the Hebrew persuasion to have a Chapter of their own for the practical purposes of Royal Arch Masonry ; there was this distinction between the petitions : in the one it was proposed that none but Hebrews should be exalted , although Christians might join . In the petition for the
Chapter of Joppa , it was proposed that none but Hebrews should be members . If I am incorrect , I hope to be set right . It is worthy of remark that in Romford , from whence one of the petitions was presented , there are very few Masons , and as far as those few are concerned , a Chapter was not required , for the Lodge is but rarely held . If I were to say that it is a mere vehicle for some London Masons to hold the chair , I should not be much out ; the Principals named were Companions Laurence Thompson , Lazarus ( of the Joppa Lodge ) , and Alston . The Charter was granted , so that no doubt the Hebrew Brethren will thus indirectly gain what it coulcl have been
wished they had succeeded to obtain in a more direct manner ; but be it observed that they did gain their object . The recommendation for a Chapter to the Lodge of Joppa was rejected , and on curious grounds . In its favour a Hebrew Brother , one of the petitioners , with seeming fairness agreed that the Israelites had no Chapter of their own ; that the rites ancl ceremonies of the Royal Arch were especially Judaical , and could be worked with greater effect
in the Hebrew language ; and again , that it was against the religious tenets of the nation to sit at a banquet whereat the meats were not conformable to Jewish law . Now to the first suggestion I have to state that a ceremony performed in this country in a language unknown to most of the Fraternity , and not generally known to the Hebrews themselves , does not coincide with the admitted universality of the Order , although I admit that the ceremonials would doubtless appear more
imposing if practised with all the effect of Jewish display . The arguments in favour of the new Chapter were well supported by several Companions , who felt that in Masonry there should always exist the utmost liberality , and it was stated that His Royal Highness the Grand Master was not unfavourable to the petition . Another Hebrew Brother opposed the petition on the ground that if grantedit would affect the vaunted universality of the Order ; that as
, for the difference of banquet , it was an idle excuse , for that he could always find sufficient at the Christian table to refresh himself without violating the Jewish law , and finally declared that his opposition was grounded upon an anxious desire to prevent any thing that tended to dissociation .