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Article QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION, Dec. 2, 1840. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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Quarterly Communication, Dec. 2, 1840.
believed His Royal Highness laid the foundation stone , he was , as Grand Master , the most unceasing opponent of the Asylum for Worthy Aged and Decayed Freemasons . And on the most conflicting and untenable grounds . At first , from an apprehension that the Asylum would weaken the other two Charities ; this , their increasing prosperity year after year had satisfactorily disposed of . Then His Royal Highness objected to laying out a farthing in bricks and mortar until a sufficient sum were
raised for endowments ; and this objection the governors and subscribers to the Charity had removed , by cheerfully adopting the suggestion . Still nothing would satisfy His lloyal Highness , who continued as Grand Master to oppose , even with bitterness , a Charity recommended unanimously to the Craft by one Grand Lodge , and as unanimously confirmed by another . And out of this anomalous opposition to the wishes of the Fraternity ,-
had arisen the third reason for objecting to His Royal Highness as Grand Master ; since , at the last Quarterly Communication , His Royal Highness hacl been pleased to designate the supporters of the Asylum , as " nothing but jobbers ancl penniless speculators . " He ( Bro . S . ) asked His Royal Plighness if Her Majesty the Queen Dowager , who had graciously patronised the Charity by a subscription of twenty guineasif the Earl of Mansfield , Lord Southampton , the Hon . Mr . Fitzroy—if these , ancl other distinguished members of society , headed by the much
honoured Queen Dowager , were included among those , designated with so much dignity as " nothing but jobbers and penniless speculators ? " If it comported with the princely station and the high Masonic office of His Royal Highness to speak so disparagingly of the humble disci ple of Charity—of one so far removed from the private councils of His Royal Highness as himself—of one who was not , however , too humble to have occasion and to he disposed to forgive—still , he would ask , if it were not just to those in exalted positions in societyto the honourable
, , noble , and royal by birth , to exempt them from so offensive a category ? His fourth , ancl last objection , was founded on the evils that arose " to the Craft , from annually re-electing the same Grand Master , whilst the Book of Constitutions gave to him the power of nominating so many Grand Officers . By this process the dais was filled by those who considered themselves under personal obligations to His Royal Highness for their rank in Freemasonry ; and who , by recent votes , and on every
occasion , showed that they owned no fealty to the Grand Lodge . In further illustration , he instanced the fact , that an eminent gentleman in the city , some two or three years since , had consented , upon his solicitation , to preside at a festival for the Asylum ; but , at a subsequent meeting , to appoint the clay , begged to withdraw his promise , because he had heard that His Royal Highness was averse to the plan , and he deemed himself to be under a personal obligation to His Royal Highness for the rank he held as a Past Grand Officer . Brother Stevens was then
proceeding to contrast the Book of Constitutions of the Ancient and Modern Masons , or . this subject , before the union of 1813 , with the present laws , but was prevented . He then declared his firm opinion to be , that , whilst the present practice was gradually subverting the liberties of the Craft , it was proved to be unnecessary by the fact , that in Scotland and Ireland the Grand Lodges elected their Grand Officers annuall y , ancl yet Freemasonry advanced in those countries , especiall y in Scotland , as rapidly , in proportion to the number of inhabitants , as in England .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Quarterly Communication, Dec. 2, 1840.
believed His Royal Highness laid the foundation stone , he was , as Grand Master , the most unceasing opponent of the Asylum for Worthy Aged and Decayed Freemasons . And on the most conflicting and untenable grounds . At first , from an apprehension that the Asylum would weaken the other two Charities ; this , their increasing prosperity year after year had satisfactorily disposed of . Then His Royal Highness objected to laying out a farthing in bricks and mortar until a sufficient sum were
raised for endowments ; and this objection the governors and subscribers to the Charity had removed , by cheerfully adopting the suggestion . Still nothing would satisfy His lloyal Highness , who continued as Grand Master to oppose , even with bitterness , a Charity recommended unanimously to the Craft by one Grand Lodge , and as unanimously confirmed by another . And out of this anomalous opposition to the wishes of the Fraternity ,-
had arisen the third reason for objecting to His Royal Highness as Grand Master ; since , at the last Quarterly Communication , His Royal Highness hacl been pleased to designate the supporters of the Asylum , as " nothing but jobbers ancl penniless speculators . " He ( Bro . S . ) asked His Royal Plighness if Her Majesty the Queen Dowager , who had graciously patronised the Charity by a subscription of twenty guineasif the Earl of Mansfield , Lord Southampton , the Hon . Mr . Fitzroy—if these , ancl other distinguished members of society , headed by the much
honoured Queen Dowager , were included among those , designated with so much dignity as " nothing but jobbers and penniless speculators ? " If it comported with the princely station and the high Masonic office of His Royal Highness to speak so disparagingly of the humble disci ple of Charity—of one so far removed from the private councils of His Royal Highness as himself—of one who was not , however , too humble to have occasion and to he disposed to forgive—still , he would ask , if it were not just to those in exalted positions in societyto the honourable
, , noble , and royal by birth , to exempt them from so offensive a category ? His fourth , ancl last objection , was founded on the evils that arose " to the Craft , from annually re-electing the same Grand Master , whilst the Book of Constitutions gave to him the power of nominating so many Grand Officers . By this process the dais was filled by those who considered themselves under personal obligations to His Royal Highness for their rank in Freemasonry ; and who , by recent votes , and on every
occasion , showed that they owned no fealty to the Grand Lodge . In further illustration , he instanced the fact , that an eminent gentleman in the city , some two or three years since , had consented , upon his solicitation , to preside at a festival for the Asylum ; but , at a subsequent meeting , to appoint the clay , begged to withdraw his promise , because he had heard that His Royal Highness was averse to the plan , and he deemed himself to be under a personal obligation to His Royal Highness for the rank he held as a Past Grand Officer . Brother Stevens was then
proceeding to contrast the Book of Constitutions of the Ancient and Modern Masons , or . this subject , before the union of 1813 , with the present laws , but was prevented . He then declared his firm opinion to be , that , whilst the present practice was gradually subverting the liberties of the Craft , it was proved to be unnecessary by the fact , that in Scotland and Ireland the Grand Lodges elected their Grand Officers annuall y , ancl yet Freemasonry advanced in those countries , especiall y in Scotland , as rapidly , in proportion to the number of inhabitants , as in England .