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Article THE GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND. ← Page 2 of 3 →
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The Grand Lodge Of Scotland.
tions , 1 never saw them any more—begging being the easier and , very probably , the more profitable mode of the two . It also appears to me , Mr . Editor , from the same Quarterly Communication , that some of the Worshipful Brethren , the members of the Grand Lodge , because they are not subscribers to the " Freemasons ' Quarterly Review" themselves , think that it is not circulated amongst the fraternity , and that those members of the brotherhood who do
subscribe to it are deserving of censure ; perhaps you will allow me to state to them why I , and hundreds I have no doubt with me , have subscribed from the commencement , are still subscribers , and hope to continue so for many years to come . In the first place , if those Worshipful Brethren will turn to the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge to its provincial daughters before the establishment of the " Freemasons' QuarterlReview" and
y , copies of which are no doubt kept in the archives of the Grand Lodge , they will find that , except as vouchers for money paid , they were utterly worthless ; the most important transactions in the Grand Lodge being all reported in ten or twelve lines . I need not say one word about the time which was suffered to elapse between each holding of the Grand Lodge and the receipt by the provincial lodges of those miserable abortionssuch as they were—that subject has been brought before the
, masonic world often enough . Now , respected Sir and Brother , those Worshipful Brethren who , from their position in society , are enabled to attend the meetings of the Grand Lodge regularly , ought not to blame us who cannot do so for wishing to know , not only what resolutions were adopted and what * were rejected by the Grand Lodge at its meetings , but
also the arguments brought forward for and against those motions—I , therefore , hailed with joy the appearance of the " Freemasons' Quarterly Review , " hoping ( and that hope has not been disappointed ) that in it we should find a detailed account of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge , and of all the speeches made in it worth reporting . I knew , and every one else ought to have known , that the Editor was a man and not an angel , and that in his reports he would take care to record every speech which favoured his own views upon any questionand limit as much
, as he conveniently durst of those speeches which told against him and his views ; in short , that he would allow himself the same privilege as the editors of the daily press in reporting and commenting upon the speeches of their political friends or opponents . I knew , or at least I expected , that he was a " Freemason , " and , whatever the world may say , I have always found truth to be the distinguishing characteristic of every Free and Accepted Mason , who has devoted any portion of his
time to the study of the lessons of the Craft . I do not believe , Mr . Editor , that there is or ever was any one in the Craft more opposed to the Asylum for Aged and Distressed Freemasons than lam ; I consider the expense of the building a wilful waste of masonic money ; you , and hundreds of brethren , differ in opinion from me , but are we for this reason to quarrel , and call each other bad names ? Certainly not : you subscribe to the charities which you preferand ] will
, do the same , and let our only rivalry be who can best support them . Again , I differ from you in raising the subscriptions two shillings per annum ; I have no objection to subscribe voluntarily as long and as much as I am able , but I do object and protest against a compulsory payment , with forfeitures attached to its non-performance ; you may call this by what
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Grand Lodge Of Scotland.
tions , 1 never saw them any more—begging being the easier and , very probably , the more profitable mode of the two . It also appears to me , Mr . Editor , from the same Quarterly Communication , that some of the Worshipful Brethren , the members of the Grand Lodge , because they are not subscribers to the " Freemasons ' Quarterly Review" themselves , think that it is not circulated amongst the fraternity , and that those members of the brotherhood who do
subscribe to it are deserving of censure ; perhaps you will allow me to state to them why I , and hundreds I have no doubt with me , have subscribed from the commencement , are still subscribers , and hope to continue so for many years to come . In the first place , if those Worshipful Brethren will turn to the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge to its provincial daughters before the establishment of the " Freemasons' QuarterlReview" and
y , copies of which are no doubt kept in the archives of the Grand Lodge , they will find that , except as vouchers for money paid , they were utterly worthless ; the most important transactions in the Grand Lodge being all reported in ten or twelve lines . I need not say one word about the time which was suffered to elapse between each holding of the Grand Lodge and the receipt by the provincial lodges of those miserable abortionssuch as they were—that subject has been brought before the
, masonic world often enough . Now , respected Sir and Brother , those Worshipful Brethren who , from their position in society , are enabled to attend the meetings of the Grand Lodge regularly , ought not to blame us who cannot do so for wishing to know , not only what resolutions were adopted and what * were rejected by the Grand Lodge at its meetings , but
also the arguments brought forward for and against those motions—I , therefore , hailed with joy the appearance of the " Freemasons' Quarterly Review , " hoping ( and that hope has not been disappointed ) that in it we should find a detailed account of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge , and of all the speeches made in it worth reporting . I knew , and every one else ought to have known , that the Editor was a man and not an angel , and that in his reports he would take care to record every speech which favoured his own views upon any questionand limit as much
, as he conveniently durst of those speeches which told against him and his views ; in short , that he would allow himself the same privilege as the editors of the daily press in reporting and commenting upon the speeches of their political friends or opponents . I knew , or at least I expected , that he was a " Freemason , " and , whatever the world may say , I have always found truth to be the distinguishing characteristic of every Free and Accepted Mason , who has devoted any portion of his
time to the study of the lessons of the Craft . I do not believe , Mr . Editor , that there is or ever was any one in the Craft more opposed to the Asylum for Aged and Distressed Freemasons than lam ; I consider the expense of the building a wilful waste of masonic money ; you , and hundreds of brethren , differ in opinion from me , but are we for this reason to quarrel , and call each other bad names ? Certainly not : you subscribe to the charities which you preferand ] will
, do the same , and let our only rivalry be who can best support them . Again , I differ from you in raising the subscriptions two shillings per annum ; I have no objection to subscribe voluntarily as long and as much as I am able , but I do object and protest against a compulsory payment , with forfeitures attached to its non-performance ; you may call this by what