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Article THE LATE BROTHER JOHN RAMSBOTTOM. ← Page 4 of 5 →
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The Late Brother John Ramsbottom.
invited him to his Lodge at Windsor to assist ; an honour of which Bro . Gilkes always felt proud * . During his Masonic services , Bro . Ramsbottom was President of the Board of General Purposes , and generally punctual . On a Meeting from which he was absent , a Brother , certainly no ornament to the Craft , was censured by the Board in very strong terms ; he pleaded hard that the sentence might stand over until after the ensuing Grand Lodge , that
he might bring evidence of his innocence . A member of the Board being told the Brother was about entering a partnership in business , felt for him , and endeavoured in vain to arrest tlie sentence of the Board ; a memorial to the Grand Master was equally unsuccessful . The meeting of Grand Lodge was at hand , ancl Bro . Ramsbottom , who was presiding at the Grand Officers' mess , was called out for conference . The circumstances were stated to him ; he was solicited to move in Grand Lodge
for an arrest of judgment , ivhich , however , he considered to be improper , inasmuch as he ought not to interfere with the opinion of the Board , — " at which you should have been present , " was the reply . It was then intimated that the conversation was not to be considered as private . The sequel has its moral—Bro . Ramsbottom did move for an arrest of
judgment , and although the sentence was confirmed , it was in a great degree modified , by the name of the erring Brother being withheld in the printed circular—and the partnership was completed . It is to be regretted that such exertions were made for a most unworthy Brother ; but his supporters were actuated by a Masonic feeling . The illness of the present Grand Secretary , some years since , was
felt as a subject of great apprehension , as to the probability of his successor . Bro . Ramsbottom had audience of the Grand Blaster ; the office for a time was put into commission , and the restoration of the health of the Grand Secretary was hailed with general satisfaction : the name of the then probable successor was , in confidence , named to the writer from a very important necessity . The present Grand Secretary has his failings ; they are too visible ; who is without
them ? but he has been a most useful officer ; and even now , if he were but to discard from his councils ( for after all he is the real executive of the English Craft ) the sycophants and parasites that beset him , his latter years would be laurelled with the gratitude of an admiring fraternity , and a green old age would pass in the comfort and happiness afforded by the friendship of those who appreciating his qualifications , would pay a just tribute to his intrinsic merit .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Late Brother John Ramsbottom.
invited him to his Lodge at Windsor to assist ; an honour of which Bro . Gilkes always felt proud * . During his Masonic services , Bro . Ramsbottom was President of the Board of General Purposes , and generally punctual . On a Meeting from which he was absent , a Brother , certainly no ornament to the Craft , was censured by the Board in very strong terms ; he pleaded hard that the sentence might stand over until after the ensuing Grand Lodge , that
he might bring evidence of his innocence . A member of the Board being told the Brother was about entering a partnership in business , felt for him , and endeavoured in vain to arrest tlie sentence of the Board ; a memorial to the Grand Master was equally unsuccessful . The meeting of Grand Lodge was at hand , ancl Bro . Ramsbottom , who was presiding at the Grand Officers' mess , was called out for conference . The circumstances were stated to him ; he was solicited to move in Grand Lodge
for an arrest of judgment , ivhich , however , he considered to be improper , inasmuch as he ought not to interfere with the opinion of the Board , — " at which you should have been present , " was the reply . It was then intimated that the conversation was not to be considered as private . The sequel has its moral—Bro . Ramsbottom did move for an arrest of
judgment , and although the sentence was confirmed , it was in a great degree modified , by the name of the erring Brother being withheld in the printed circular—and the partnership was completed . It is to be regretted that such exertions were made for a most unworthy Brother ; but his supporters were actuated by a Masonic feeling . The illness of the present Grand Secretary , some years since , was
felt as a subject of great apprehension , as to the probability of his successor . Bro . Ramsbottom had audience of the Grand Blaster ; the office for a time was put into commission , and the restoration of the health of the Grand Secretary was hailed with general satisfaction : the name of the then probable successor was , in confidence , named to the writer from a very important necessity . The present Grand Secretary has his failings ; they are too visible ; who is without
them ? but he has been a most useful officer ; and even now , if he were but to discard from his councils ( for after all he is the real executive of the English Craft ) the sycophants and parasites that beset him , his latter years would be laurelled with the gratitude of an admiring fraternity , and a green old age would pass in the comfort and happiness afforded by the friendship of those who appreciating his qualifications , would pay a just tribute to his intrinsic merit .