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Article QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION. ← Page 6 of 7 →
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Quarterly Communication.
of fellowship was extended to him ? He was as much a Mason at the first as at any other degree , and could receive a Grand Lodge certificate just as well . The men it was proposed to admit by this law were those who had no settled abode for the time ; if they had , the law was not required ; if they had not , they could get the remaining degrees at the port they happened to he at a month after their admission , and so on . He could not see any necessityand thereforecould not concede any
, , alteration . Bro . BURMESTER spoke on the subject . Bro . H . C . SHIR was an Irish Mason , and could speak of the great respect the Grand Lodge of Ireland , which he once had the honour to represent , entertained for the Grand Lodge of England . They did not wish the English Masons to come down to them ; on the contrary , they had so high an opinion of the English Book of Constitutionsand the
, way it was observed , that they were anxious to raise theirs to the same standard . He could not believe they were serious in wishing at once to get rid of so important a feature , which compelled every man to give some proof of his proficiency . He did not see either that a man was Jess a Mason for being initiated in an Irish Lodge in one of our colonies , than in Scotch or English Lodges ; but he certainly considered it dangerous to get rid so easily of one of our landmarks .
The GRAND MASTER then ordered two letters to be read that had been received from the Provincial Grand Masters of the Bahamas and Nova Scotia , and one from Captain Mathew , the governor of the former—all soliciting the relaxation of the law . Bro . PHILIPE found , after all , the case rested upon two letters , the contents of which he could not agree with . Because Lodges happened
to exist where several degrees were jumbled together , were we without reason to do the same ? Why not rather induce the Irish and Scotch Lodges to put themselves on a footing with ourselves , than , without consulting or ail vising with them , come to their standard ? If we gave way , Freemasonry was gone . Our ceremonies were impressive , our obligations important ; deprive them of their regularity , and what did they become ? What , indeed , would become of Masonry ? It would become less and less intellectual . The laws for the Colonies could not with any justice
be withheld from the Provinces , and then to London was but a step . Bro . CRUCI- ; FIX entered into the question of the proposed relaxation in the law , which he altogether denounced , not merely as dangerous to the Craft , but as the first step to its extinction as a great universal system of " Unity ; " it was the sacrifice of high consistency to a mean expediency . It was so threatening in its character as to call for the energetic opposition of every true friend to the Order . Whatafter alldid
, , the friends to this unholy contemplation urge ? Why , that because the Scottish and Irish Grand Lodges were so relax in their ritual , the Grand Lodge of England should descend from its high estate ! It had been attempted to show , that a week ' s study was equal to a month ' s ; he was of a different opinion , and having given the attention of many years , the most important of his life , to the study of the Craft , and having thrown his mind and his heart into its mysterieshe could not more thankfull
, y acknowledge the blessings he had derived than by opposing , with all his power , this encroachment on its stability . Let this proposed motion be carried , and he would prophetically declare the citadel itself must capitulate . " Let us have , " said the Brother , " but a few determined supporters of Masonry ; but as to such as would join us under the circumstances proposed , 1 would not willingly accept a whole army of them . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Quarterly Communication.
of fellowship was extended to him ? He was as much a Mason at the first as at any other degree , and could receive a Grand Lodge certificate just as well . The men it was proposed to admit by this law were those who had no settled abode for the time ; if they had , the law was not required ; if they had not , they could get the remaining degrees at the port they happened to he at a month after their admission , and so on . He could not see any necessityand thereforecould not concede any
, , alteration . Bro . BURMESTER spoke on the subject . Bro . H . C . SHIR was an Irish Mason , and could speak of the great respect the Grand Lodge of Ireland , which he once had the honour to represent , entertained for the Grand Lodge of England . They did not wish the English Masons to come down to them ; on the contrary , they had so high an opinion of the English Book of Constitutionsand the
, way it was observed , that they were anxious to raise theirs to the same standard . He could not believe they were serious in wishing at once to get rid of so important a feature , which compelled every man to give some proof of his proficiency . He did not see either that a man was Jess a Mason for being initiated in an Irish Lodge in one of our colonies , than in Scotch or English Lodges ; but he certainly considered it dangerous to get rid so easily of one of our landmarks .
The GRAND MASTER then ordered two letters to be read that had been received from the Provincial Grand Masters of the Bahamas and Nova Scotia , and one from Captain Mathew , the governor of the former—all soliciting the relaxation of the law . Bro . PHILIPE found , after all , the case rested upon two letters , the contents of which he could not agree with . Because Lodges happened
to exist where several degrees were jumbled together , were we without reason to do the same ? Why not rather induce the Irish and Scotch Lodges to put themselves on a footing with ourselves , than , without consulting or ail vising with them , come to their standard ? If we gave way , Freemasonry was gone . Our ceremonies were impressive , our obligations important ; deprive them of their regularity , and what did they become ? What , indeed , would become of Masonry ? It would become less and less intellectual . The laws for the Colonies could not with any justice
be withheld from the Provinces , and then to London was but a step . Bro . CRUCI- ; FIX entered into the question of the proposed relaxation in the law , which he altogether denounced , not merely as dangerous to the Craft , but as the first step to its extinction as a great universal system of " Unity ; " it was the sacrifice of high consistency to a mean expediency . It was so threatening in its character as to call for the energetic opposition of every true friend to the Order . Whatafter alldid
, , the friends to this unholy contemplation urge ? Why , that because the Scottish and Irish Grand Lodges were so relax in their ritual , the Grand Lodge of England should descend from its high estate ! It had been attempted to show , that a week ' s study was equal to a month ' s ; he was of a different opinion , and having given the attention of many years , the most important of his life , to the study of the Craft , and having thrown his mind and his heart into its mysterieshe could not more thankfull
, y acknowledge the blessings he had derived than by opposing , with all his power , this encroachment on its stability . Let this proposed motion be carried , and he would prophetically declare the citadel itself must capitulate . " Let us have , " said the Brother , " but a few determined supporters of Masonry ; but as to such as would join us under the circumstances proposed , 1 would not willingly accept a whole army of them . "