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Article MASONRY IN SCOTLAND.—No. 2. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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Masonry In Scotland.—No. 2.
affairs are conducted ; they accept office I fear , for the honour , regardless of the obligation , which that acceptance brings them under ; they lend the respectability of their names to a most beautiful and time honoured institution , which , if properly conducted , and more energetically wrought , would prove a blessing to hundreds . But they are alike ignorant , if its principles and objects are carried out ; or whether there is even an attempt made to do soby those whom they depute to do that dutyfor
, , which their respectability stands pledged ; " our danger has arisen and ever will arise , " Lord Cockburn but too truly remarks , " from unfortunate incompatibilities between public and private interest . " By whom , or from whatever cause , our Order may have received injury ; those at the head of affairs , who , no less by their official than by their social position command influence , should take the necessary steps for making themselves acquainted withand use the proper means for correcting
, errors from whatever source they spring ; their duty in this matter is clear , and it is far more likely that they will be successful in their efforts , than can be expected from the unaided endeavour of any private brother . The business of the Grand Lodge is not carried on with that ability or even in a careful and business-like manner which at least ought to characterize such a body ; there is no desire shown to foster and encourage the lodges—to urge them to more active measures for maintaining
the dignity and respectability of the Craft . When a misunderstanding exists there is no desire to conciliate ; but the reverse of this obtains , by the cold dry official stickling to the letter of the law , ignorant and regardless alike of the spirit of the same , or of the consequences which follow such a course . I do not blame the office-bearers for wilful carelessness , but I do blame them for ignorance , in as far as they do not
examine for themselves how matters are conducted , and for gross ignorance on the subject of the " laws and constitutions of the Grand Lodge . " Some of them may have read them , none of them have studied them , save those whose business and interest it is to do so . The great majority know nothing about them , and it would be absurd to say that they do , as the laws now stand ; for the laws are drawn up and framed upon a principle , and with a spirit the very reverse of masonic , and many of
the laws are absolutely contradictory ; no brother can for one moment believe that the great body of the office-bearers know this . The rules have been compiled by parties perfectly innocent of true masonic principles , indeed it requires a great stretch of charity to keep from saying , that they were drawn up by interested parties . Let us begin with the period for the election of Grand Lodge officebearers ; we would suppose that the most natural time for this event to
take place , would be immediately after the greatest number of elections of Masters and Wardens had taken place throughout the country , and after the annual returns had been sent up from the lodges to the Grand Lodge , the very reverse of this is the case ; the Grand Lodge annual election takes place on the 30 th November , and upon that day , and upon the 27 th December , the great majority of lodges have their annual elections , and it is quite possible that a brother might be chosen to fill an
office at the very moment when he ceases to be a member of Grand Lodge , and when those who elected him may be also in the same position . This may be an extreme case , and I have only given the period of the annual election as a fit prelude to what will follow . But who are members of the Grand Lodge ? the question is more easily put than answered . If I put this question to the Grand Secretary , VOL . VII . 3 B
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonry In Scotland.—No. 2.
affairs are conducted ; they accept office I fear , for the honour , regardless of the obligation , which that acceptance brings them under ; they lend the respectability of their names to a most beautiful and time honoured institution , which , if properly conducted , and more energetically wrought , would prove a blessing to hundreds . But they are alike ignorant , if its principles and objects are carried out ; or whether there is even an attempt made to do soby those whom they depute to do that dutyfor
, , which their respectability stands pledged ; " our danger has arisen and ever will arise , " Lord Cockburn but too truly remarks , " from unfortunate incompatibilities between public and private interest . " By whom , or from whatever cause , our Order may have received injury ; those at the head of affairs , who , no less by their official than by their social position command influence , should take the necessary steps for making themselves acquainted withand use the proper means for correcting
, errors from whatever source they spring ; their duty in this matter is clear , and it is far more likely that they will be successful in their efforts , than can be expected from the unaided endeavour of any private brother . The business of the Grand Lodge is not carried on with that ability or even in a careful and business-like manner which at least ought to characterize such a body ; there is no desire shown to foster and encourage the lodges—to urge them to more active measures for maintaining
the dignity and respectability of the Craft . When a misunderstanding exists there is no desire to conciliate ; but the reverse of this obtains , by the cold dry official stickling to the letter of the law , ignorant and regardless alike of the spirit of the same , or of the consequences which follow such a course . I do not blame the office-bearers for wilful carelessness , but I do blame them for ignorance , in as far as they do not
examine for themselves how matters are conducted , and for gross ignorance on the subject of the " laws and constitutions of the Grand Lodge . " Some of them may have read them , none of them have studied them , save those whose business and interest it is to do so . The great majority know nothing about them , and it would be absurd to say that they do , as the laws now stand ; for the laws are drawn up and framed upon a principle , and with a spirit the very reverse of masonic , and many of
the laws are absolutely contradictory ; no brother can for one moment believe that the great body of the office-bearers know this . The rules have been compiled by parties perfectly innocent of true masonic principles , indeed it requires a great stretch of charity to keep from saying , that they were drawn up by interested parties . Let us begin with the period for the election of Grand Lodge officebearers ; we would suppose that the most natural time for this event to
take place , would be immediately after the greatest number of elections of Masters and Wardens had taken place throughout the country , and after the annual returns had been sent up from the lodges to the Grand Lodge , the very reverse of this is the case ; the Grand Lodge annual election takes place on the 30 th November , and upon that day , and upon the 27 th December , the great majority of lodges have their annual elections , and it is quite possible that a brother might be chosen to fill an
office at the very moment when he ceases to be a member of Grand Lodge , and when those who elected him may be also in the same position . This may be an extreme case , and I have only given the period of the annual election as a fit prelude to what will follow . But who are members of the Grand Lodge ? the question is more easily put than answered . If I put this question to the Grand Secretary , VOL . VII . 3 B