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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Correspondence.
received returns amounting to four hundred and seventy . Dinner was ordered for six hundred , payment has been made for eight hundred and seventy ; and attracted , it is supposed , by the interest of the occasion , the splendid weather , & c , it is conjectured that nearly one thousand five hundred persons were present , and that at least one thousand partook of the refreshments supplied by the contractors for the dejeuner . "
Now with reference to the part attributed to the Grand Secretary and Grand Director of Ceremonies , do the Committee mean to state that those officers are responsible for a programme , which contained the following paragraph ? — " The Dedication will afterwards " ( that is , after opening of the Grand Lodge ) " take place in a room prepared for the purpose , at which ladies and all who have admission-tickets may be present I" This programme , placarded on all
the hoardings and blank walls in and about London , and plentifully posted inside and outside of omnibuses , thus invited the public at large to qualify for admission to a Masonic ceremony by the purchase of three - shilling tickets ! And this announcement was not only improper in itself , but necessarily involved a breach of faith . It would appear that the number of persons who purchased tickets was " nearly one thousand five hundred : " the room" prepared for
, the purpose" of the Dedication Ceremony , was scarcely capable of holding one-tenth of the number . Is it surprising that those , who found themselves excluded , should have raised a clamour at the door , which continued during the whole of the ceremony , and utterly destroyed its solemnity ? It cannot be alleged that more were not expected to attend than the room would contain . "
Upwards of two hundred Brethren" had sent in their names as Stewards ; and these alone were more than the room could accommodate ; not to speak of the sixty ladies , who were to present purses , and of the members of the Grand Lodge , who attended in obedience to the Grand Master's summons . With respect to the " Stewards , " how can the Committee hold these Brethren accountable for the failure of arrangements , which they were not permitted to share in making ? They had the
greatest difficulty in obtaining information what the " arrangements " were ; and many of them did not receive the tickets , which were "forwarded to them for distribution , " until a very few days before the Festival . I believe , moreover , that it was not the Stewards , who sold the bulk of the tickets that were used on the occasion . It was reported in the building that a large number of tickets were disposed of on the very morning of the Festival . And it must have
been evident to all who were present , that a considerable portion of the persons on the ground were , not Masons , nor Masons' friends , interested in the Institution and anxious to promote its welfare , — but of that class whom any novel-amusement will always attract , and who went for the purpose of witnessing the ceremony , hearing the concert , and dancing to Adams ' s band ; just as they would flock to a fete at Vauxhallor CremorneWhite Conduit Houseor the
, , , Casino . The Committee invited the presence of persons who were useless to the Institution , and kept away very many of those who would have benefited it . Many Brethren declined at the last moment to take their families to the Festival , rather than encounter the mob which they feared would be present ; and those who attended the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
received returns amounting to four hundred and seventy . Dinner was ordered for six hundred , payment has been made for eight hundred and seventy ; and attracted , it is supposed , by the interest of the occasion , the splendid weather , & c , it is conjectured that nearly one thousand five hundred persons were present , and that at least one thousand partook of the refreshments supplied by the contractors for the dejeuner . "
Now with reference to the part attributed to the Grand Secretary and Grand Director of Ceremonies , do the Committee mean to state that those officers are responsible for a programme , which contained the following paragraph ? — " The Dedication will afterwards " ( that is , after opening of the Grand Lodge ) " take place in a room prepared for the purpose , at which ladies and all who have admission-tickets may be present I" This programme , placarded on all
the hoardings and blank walls in and about London , and plentifully posted inside and outside of omnibuses , thus invited the public at large to qualify for admission to a Masonic ceremony by the purchase of three - shilling tickets ! And this announcement was not only improper in itself , but necessarily involved a breach of faith . It would appear that the number of persons who purchased tickets was " nearly one thousand five hundred : " the room" prepared for
, the purpose" of the Dedication Ceremony , was scarcely capable of holding one-tenth of the number . Is it surprising that those , who found themselves excluded , should have raised a clamour at the door , which continued during the whole of the ceremony , and utterly destroyed its solemnity ? It cannot be alleged that more were not expected to attend than the room would contain . "
Upwards of two hundred Brethren" had sent in their names as Stewards ; and these alone were more than the room could accommodate ; not to speak of the sixty ladies , who were to present purses , and of the members of the Grand Lodge , who attended in obedience to the Grand Master's summons . With respect to the " Stewards , " how can the Committee hold these Brethren accountable for the failure of arrangements , which they were not permitted to share in making ? They had the
greatest difficulty in obtaining information what the " arrangements " were ; and many of them did not receive the tickets , which were "forwarded to them for distribution , " until a very few days before the Festival . I believe , moreover , that it was not the Stewards , who sold the bulk of the tickets that were used on the occasion . It was reported in the building that a large number of tickets were disposed of on the very morning of the Festival . And it must have
been evident to all who were present , that a considerable portion of the persons on the ground were , not Masons , nor Masons' friends , interested in the Institution and anxious to promote its welfare , — but of that class whom any novel-amusement will always attract , and who went for the purpose of witnessing the ceremony , hearing the concert , and dancing to Adams ' s band ; just as they would flock to a fete at Vauxhallor CremorneWhite Conduit Houseor the
, , , Casino . The Committee invited the presence of persons who were useless to the Institution , and kept away very many of those who would have benefited it . Many Brethren declined at the last moment to take their families to the Festival , rather than encounter the mob which they feared would be present ; and those who attended the