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Article TO THE EDITOR. Page 1 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
SCOTTISH MASONRY . SIR AND BROTHER , —However much it may go against the grain or our national pride to own it , as Masons we do nothing to keep up the dignity of the Craft , our Brethren are only opening their eyes to the fact , that we have lost the ancient place assigned to us as Scotch Masons by the Craft throughout the worldallowing correct working in the
, Lodges to give place to the pleasures of the refreshment-table , and the natural result has been carelessness and ignorance . AVe have boasted about our charitable Institution , and our charitable principles , far more than we have astonished the world by our practical illustration of those principles ; and it is a question whether the will is inclined to carry out that virtue which we profess to admire . Our working is careless and imperfect , and very often gotie about in a manner calculated to excite a
distaste , and often a disgust , for our initiates . I have known many who never entered a Lodge after they were made Master Masons , of course having received the three degrees in one night , and it is not to be wondered at ; the ignorance , not to say anything worse , is shameful . This is not as it should he , and we need not be astonished when we find that as Masons we are looked down upon by our English and Irish Brethren with contempt , and such will and must be the case until we throw off that mantle of self-esteem in which we have so complaisantly wrapped .
ourselves , and by energy , activity , and zeal , set about reforming our Private , Provincial , and Grand Lodges ; that not only our Brethren in the South and West may appreciate and admire the change , but that the whole of the uninitiated may see displayed in our character , as Scotch Masons , the principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth . Reform is necessary in our Lodges . The term may be strong , but it is the only one consistent with truth that can be used . Many Brethren may not like such a hrasestill it must be reform ; view it in whatever way we
p , may , if we wish the Craft to prosper , it will not be by picking out set terms to laud our venerable Institution , or by praise of the intelligence of our Masonic Parliament : no ; it must be by reforming our private Lodges , by improving the working , by teaching the office-bearers the duties of their respective offices ; by instructing the Brethren in the principles of the Craft ; by using the ballot most strictly in the admission of members , and being careful even then in the selection of those
who are admitted , that they may reflect honour on our choice , and not bring discredit on the Fraternity , by giving one degree only at one meeting , and the other with an interval of at least a month ; by paying more attention to true Masonry and Masonic principles than to the refreshment , which but too often accompanies Masonic meetings ; not that 1 object to the latter if properly conducted , and with moderation ; but as this part of ihe business has been conducted , it has been the means of
deterring clerical and other Brethren from attending Lodge meetings , and prevented the exercise of charity—that virtue which is not practised , though it is ever uppermost in our mouths . These are the reforms needed , and until they are made we can hardly wonder at the ignorance which prevails in our Masonic Legislature , no less than in our private Lodges . There is no uniformity in one point or another , whether it be in opening or closing—entering , passing , or raising—or in the general VOL . i . 3 n
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
To The Editor.
TO THE EDITOR .
SCOTTISH MASONRY . SIR AND BROTHER , —However much it may go against the grain or our national pride to own it , as Masons we do nothing to keep up the dignity of the Craft , our Brethren are only opening their eyes to the fact , that we have lost the ancient place assigned to us as Scotch Masons by the Craft throughout the worldallowing correct working in the
, Lodges to give place to the pleasures of the refreshment-table , and the natural result has been carelessness and ignorance . AVe have boasted about our charitable Institution , and our charitable principles , far more than we have astonished the world by our practical illustration of those principles ; and it is a question whether the will is inclined to carry out that virtue which we profess to admire . Our working is careless and imperfect , and very often gotie about in a manner calculated to excite a
distaste , and often a disgust , for our initiates . I have known many who never entered a Lodge after they were made Master Masons , of course having received the three degrees in one night , and it is not to be wondered at ; the ignorance , not to say anything worse , is shameful . This is not as it should he , and we need not be astonished when we find that as Masons we are looked down upon by our English and Irish Brethren with contempt , and such will and must be the case until we throw off that mantle of self-esteem in which we have so complaisantly wrapped .
ourselves , and by energy , activity , and zeal , set about reforming our Private , Provincial , and Grand Lodges ; that not only our Brethren in the South and West may appreciate and admire the change , but that the whole of the uninitiated may see displayed in our character , as Scotch Masons , the principles of brotherly love , relief , and truth . Reform is necessary in our Lodges . The term may be strong , but it is the only one consistent with truth that can be used . Many Brethren may not like such a hrasestill it must be reform ; view it in whatever way we
p , may , if we wish the Craft to prosper , it will not be by picking out set terms to laud our venerable Institution , or by praise of the intelligence of our Masonic Parliament : no ; it must be by reforming our private Lodges , by improving the working , by teaching the office-bearers the duties of their respective offices ; by instructing the Brethren in the principles of the Craft ; by using the ballot most strictly in the admission of members , and being careful even then in the selection of those
who are admitted , that they may reflect honour on our choice , and not bring discredit on the Fraternity , by giving one degree only at one meeting , and the other with an interval of at least a month ; by paying more attention to true Masonry and Masonic principles than to the refreshment , which but too often accompanies Masonic meetings ; not that 1 object to the latter if properly conducted , and with moderation ; but as this part of ihe business has been conducted , it has been the means of
deterring clerical and other Brethren from attending Lodge meetings , and prevented the exercise of charity—that virtue which is not practised , though it is ever uppermost in our mouths . These are the reforms needed , and until they are made we can hardly wonder at the ignorance which prevails in our Masonic Legislature , no less than in our private Lodges . There is no uniformity in one point or another , whether it be in opening or closing—entering , passing , or raising—or in the general VOL . i . 3 n