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Consecration Of The Champion Conclave, No. 36, Order Secret Monitor, At Manchester.
This being done , the brethren formed up to receive the Grand Officers , who entered in their robes of office , with the Chaplain at their head , bearing V . S . L . on a cushion before him . The CONSECRATING OI-TICER , having taken his seat and appointed his officers as before named , called upon the brethren present to confirm their acquiescence in the choice of the officers already signified in the petition and
warrant just read by the Director of Ceremonies . This being done , Bro . F . A . PIUI . MKICK ., Q . C , gave an eloquent oration upon the nature and principles of the Order . He said : Brethren , we are met to-day to commence , in Lancashire , a work which has been already begun in several counties of England , in many places abroad , and which has been more recently initiated in Yorkshire . It was with very pleasurable
emotions on Saturday that we consecrated a conclave to the honour of David and Jonathan , and in a corner of Yorkshire well known to you and known for many years to nearly every Order practised among English Masons . The work begun in the adjoining-county , and continued here , is a great work , and I trust you will bear with me a few moments while I attempt to say a few plain words on the text here set down , the nature and principles of our
Order . The nature of our Order may be shortly stated as embracing all that has made Masonry what it now is in the world , and has led to its being a power in our land second to none of its kind . Masonry in general is , as you are aware , very widely diffused , the tie of brotherhood among us is well recognised , but it is so extensive , and the number of those who have a claim upon us is so large , that it is difficult at times to respond with discrimination ,
and to carry out in their entirety the noble precepts to which we have all given our adhesion . In these times of peace and quiet this may well be ; but in times of stress , in times of danger , in times -when a man is afraid to trust his fellow man , and when life or death and things even more sacred than either , may depend upon the action of brother to brother , a more intimate tie has often been sought , and , being found , has been handed down to
posterity by those who had proved and could appreciate its worth . So long as the world has stood there have been the oppressor and the oppressed , and in all ages the only hope of the oppressed has been in their union , the one with the other , bound together by such ties and sanctions as the state of society could furnish . Our ritual takes us back to the time when the Jews wandering defenceless in the wilderness forged one bond or another for
mutual protection and support . It is not pretended that research can substantiate every expression and every detail , but much of our ritual is in the very words of the ancient Scriptures of the race , and any one reading them in the light thrown upon them by our ceremonies , can readily perceive the hidden meaning running through them , and helping largely to explain and make them intelligible to us Moderns . So we come down to the friendship
which is known to have existed between the two great Hebrew heroes , David and Jonathan , and , as you are aware , it is upon this episode that our ceremonies turn . The love which Jonathan bore to David has been rivalled though not excelled by many examples in history , and such mutual love and friendship is not entirely unknown even in these degenerate modern days . The nature of our Order is to afford an opportunity forthe display of this mutual
confidence , this trust which never is betrayed . One of our conclave * has been well named " True Friendship , " another " Damon and Pythias , " our Greek heroes whose love " passed tbe love of women . " Here in Manchester , today we are preparing an arena in which such tender care and fraternal solicitude may be shown , and where , in days to come , the weary hem may turn for solace , and the burdened mind maybe relieved of its load . I
mentioned on Saturday , brethren , that our Order is no new thing of mushroom growth . Our venerable Grand Supreme Ruler joined it more than 50 years ago . Our lamented Grand Secretary , the late Bro . Shadwell Clerke , than whom no truer friend ever existed , took what we now designate as the First Degree of the Order in Malta in the year 1848 . Another Past Supreme Ruler in the Order resumed the same
Degree in Jerusalem itself in the same year . The Order increased and multiplied in America when the troublous quarrel arose which resulted in the American Civil War , when two parts of the same great nation speaking a common tongue were holding each other in a deadly grip , and when no tie seemed binding , no promise sacred . It was then the First Degree of our Order took firm hold of the English-speaking race , and in these later
times it has been organised and reduced to a system , duly subject to control . At present the Order in America is wide-spread , and we have recently received a petition signed by 50 Secret Monitors there , begging for a warrant empowering them to work our hig her Degrees and to form a conclave for the purpose . Such a Conclave has been formed , and we havc every reason to believe it bears within it all the elements of thorough success . Such
being the value of our Order , it remains for me to elucidate its principles , and 1 think I shall be able to prove to you that a society framed upon the princip les of self-sacrifice , of mutual trust , of watchful brotherly care , of compulsory warning in time of danger , official solace in time of sorrow , and skilful and effective , though unostentatious , advice in every circumstance of life , is a society that meets a great and crying need in human affairs
and is calculated to benefit those who act up to its tenets . Such a Society is that of the Secret Monitor , which we introduce here to-day . If a brother be in sorrow , the conclave will afford him sympathy , if in danger , his brethren will give him assistance , if in distress , the Visiting Deacons will bring him consolation , and if in poverty , hc v / iU find aid . Moreover , at every turn of life , at every crisis , he may look , and he will not look in vain ,
to the experienced among his brethren who have this day pledged themselves to give him caution , to prompt him to good actions , to warn him from doubtful ones , and generally to watch over him , support him , and cherish him , so long as he may need their care and prove himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him . Such , my brethren , are the principles of our Order . Tried they have been in times of peril , and true they have been found in times of difficulty . The barque we are launching this day may
meet with storms and tempests ; it may have to contend with unfavourable winds , and it may be tossed 011 the inhospitable waves of human selfishness and greed , but if you , brethren are true to your Order and to the honourable undertaking you have this day embraced , though the storms of life may press upon you , they will never overwhelm , and though the waves may threaten to engulf you , your craft will never be submerged . May the good ship be rescued from the boisterous waters , and may it finally reach its desired haven !
The consecration proceeded , and , being concluded , Bro . Scholfield was duly installed as Supreme Ruler , and saluted as such . He was then commissioned , and the brethren of the hirst Degree were invited to the customary distribution of presents , which , except at a consecration , is always confined to the brethren of the Second Degree . The S . R . appointed his officers in the rotation previously mentioned—Bros . Berkley Carr , C . ; F . Armstrong , G . ; j . R . Ragdale , P . G . C ,
Consecration Of The Champion Conclave, No. 36, Order Secret Monitor, At Manchester.
Treas . ; J . Marshall , P . G . C , Sec . ; J . R . Redman , Steward ; H . T . Grundy , 1 st V . D . ; N . Heywood , 2 nd ' V . D . ; A . J . K . Smith , D . C ; W . A . Boyer , Guarder ; and E . Roberts , Sentinel . Several propositions for new members were made , and Bro . Thomas Plumpfon recommended as Grand Steward of the year .
The conclave was then closed , and Bro . Scholfield presided at a banquet , which lasted far on into the night , and was pronounced a fitting ending to a most successful day . The Manchester brethren may be congratulated on the excellent start the Order has made in their midst , and we look forward to the time when Lancashire and Yorkshire will rival London itself in tho . interest and success displayed .
The Honours Of Official Positions.
THE HONOURS OF OFFICIAL POSITIONS .
There was a time , and it is within the memory of many living Masons , when to be a Grand Master of Masons was regarded as the highest honour that could be conferred upon one who was so fortunate as to be selected for that high distinction among his fellows . This distinguished honour then came unsought , in recognition of the highest attainments in the esoteric work of Masonry , and a recognised ability to become the managing head in
the government of the great Brotherhood of Free and Accepted Masons . There was then no electioneering for office , nor solicitations for an appointment leading up to an election that would place the aspirant in the line of promotion , and so secure this most exalted station . The brother honoured with an appointment or election to office was usually the most surprised individual in the Grand Body , and often reluctantlv accepted the honour thus conferred on him , or positively declined it , from an instinctive idea that he did
not possess the requisite qualifications to discharge the duties imposed on him . Under such conditions , when a Grand Master had served the full term for which he was elected , and had proved an eminent fitness for that most responsible station , he was continued there for two more terms , and until the brethren were fully satisfied that another could be elected to succeed him who was worthy and well qualified to govern the Craft . A Grand Master in those days might feel that the highest honours in Masonry were his to enjoy .
VVe have no doubt the reader has already anticipated the thought uppermost in our mind , that there has been a lessening in the honour , dignity , and importance of the office of Grand Master . In the multiplicity of fraternal orders , all more or less fashioned after the plan of Masonry , many Masons connected with them and interested in their work have apparently become so strongly imbued with their methods and ways of doing business , that they
sometimes forget that Masonry is established on an entirely different platform , and is controlled by a system of laws peculiar to itself . Instead of waiting for a recognition of their fitness for official position , as was the case in years gone by , they not only seek office , but are frequently found electioneering for themselves for official positions . In this way brethren very poorly qualified to become the chief officers sometimes secure a place in line , and their promotion thereafter is almost sure to follow , until the highest
honours are attained . This un-Masonic method of securing office has been carried to that extent in some jurisdictions , that Grand Lodges have been compelled to legislate against it , even to the disfranchisement of those so offending . Such political methods have detracted from the high honours once connected with the office of Grand Master of Masons , by creating a road to them not based on actual merit .
Of course , what we have said concerning the office of Grand Master applies wilh equal force to the first officer in all Masonic bodies . There is not the same importance attached to securing tne right man for the place that existed in the earlier days of Masonry , when the office sought the man and not the man the office . A lawful ambition for the highest honours in
Masonry is not only all right but praiseworthy , but it should be shown by an exhibition of those qualities that will grace the position , and not be electioneering for it . The Mason who resorts to political methods to secure official position should receive no encouragement from those who desire to maintain the time-honoured Institution according to ancient usage ancl landmarks . —Masonic Aixncnte .
Supreme Grand Chapter.
SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER .
The Quarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand ( 'hapler of Royal Arch Masons of England was held on Wednesday evening at Freemasons' Hall . Comp . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., G . J .. occupied the chair of M . E . G . Z . ; Comp . the Rev . J . S . Brownrigg , M . A ., P . A . G . Soj ., Prov . G . Supt . of Bucks , took the chair of G . H . ; and Comp . John Thornhill Morland , Prov . G . Supt . Berks , had the chair of G . J . The attend nice of the companions was larg _ -. Comps . K . Letchworth , G . S . E . ; Sir J . B . Monckton , acting as G . Scribe N . ; W . B . Coltman . G . P . S . ; George Read , Dr . Ralph Gooding ,
Frank Richardson , Robert Grey , W . M . Stiles , G . Treas . ; L . G . Gordon Robbins , J . E . Le Feuvre , J . S . Cumberland , Charles Belt <> n , C . E . Keyser , J . H . Matthews , R . Loveland Loveland , J . A . Farnfield . Rudtilph Glover , J . Bodenham , Ralph Clutton , M . Garrod , E . J . Barron , George Lambert , S . Vallentine , S . V . Abraham , and Walter Hopekirk were among the
other companions present . Afier Grand Chapter had been formally opened , and th-j minutes of the February Convocation read and confirmed , Comp . BKACII announced lhat his Roval Highness ( he Prince of Wales was M . E . G . / .. for the year , the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand '/ .., the Karl of Mount Edgcumbe , G . H ., and that the P . ince of VVales had again appointed him ( Comp . Beach ) as G . J .
The following is a list of the remaining Grand Officers , most of whom were present and invested :
Comp . Edward Letchworth ... ... ... G . Scribe E . ,, Viscount Dungarvan . G . Scribe N . „ Robert Grey ... ... P / es . Com < ien . Pur . ,, William Mason Stiles ... ... fi . Treasurer . „ F . A . Philbrick , O . C . ... ... (" .. Registrar .
„ Rt . Hon . Sir VV . T . Marriott , Q . C . ... Dep . G . Registrar . „ Sir Lionel Darell ... ... ... Prin . G . Soj . „ C )•. Marshall ... ... ... 1 st Asst . G ., Soj . „ Col . H . Studholme Brownrigg ... ... 2 nd Asst . G . Soj . .. Col . L . G . Dundas ... ... ... G . S . B .
„ Lieut .-Col . W . Newton ... ... Dep . G . S . B .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Consecration Of The Champion Conclave, No. 36, Order Secret Monitor, At Manchester.
This being done , the brethren formed up to receive the Grand Officers , who entered in their robes of office , with the Chaplain at their head , bearing V . S . L . on a cushion before him . The CONSECRATING OI-TICER , having taken his seat and appointed his officers as before named , called upon the brethren present to confirm their acquiescence in the choice of the officers already signified in the petition and
warrant just read by the Director of Ceremonies . This being done , Bro . F . A . PIUI . MKICK ., Q . C , gave an eloquent oration upon the nature and principles of the Order . He said : Brethren , we are met to-day to commence , in Lancashire , a work which has been already begun in several counties of England , in many places abroad , and which has been more recently initiated in Yorkshire . It was with very pleasurable
emotions on Saturday that we consecrated a conclave to the honour of David and Jonathan , and in a corner of Yorkshire well known to you and known for many years to nearly every Order practised among English Masons . The work begun in the adjoining-county , and continued here , is a great work , and I trust you will bear with me a few moments while I attempt to say a few plain words on the text here set down , the nature and principles of our
Order . The nature of our Order may be shortly stated as embracing all that has made Masonry what it now is in the world , and has led to its being a power in our land second to none of its kind . Masonry in general is , as you are aware , very widely diffused , the tie of brotherhood among us is well recognised , but it is so extensive , and the number of those who have a claim upon us is so large , that it is difficult at times to respond with discrimination ,
and to carry out in their entirety the noble precepts to which we have all given our adhesion . In these times of peace and quiet this may well be ; but in times of stress , in times of danger , in times -when a man is afraid to trust his fellow man , and when life or death and things even more sacred than either , may depend upon the action of brother to brother , a more intimate tie has often been sought , and , being found , has been handed down to
posterity by those who had proved and could appreciate its worth . So long as the world has stood there have been the oppressor and the oppressed , and in all ages the only hope of the oppressed has been in their union , the one with the other , bound together by such ties and sanctions as the state of society could furnish . Our ritual takes us back to the time when the Jews wandering defenceless in the wilderness forged one bond or another for
mutual protection and support . It is not pretended that research can substantiate every expression and every detail , but much of our ritual is in the very words of the ancient Scriptures of the race , and any one reading them in the light thrown upon them by our ceremonies , can readily perceive the hidden meaning running through them , and helping largely to explain and make them intelligible to us Moderns . So we come down to the friendship
which is known to have existed between the two great Hebrew heroes , David and Jonathan , and , as you are aware , it is upon this episode that our ceremonies turn . The love which Jonathan bore to David has been rivalled though not excelled by many examples in history , and such mutual love and friendship is not entirely unknown even in these degenerate modern days . The nature of our Order is to afford an opportunity forthe display of this mutual
confidence , this trust which never is betrayed . One of our conclave * has been well named " True Friendship , " another " Damon and Pythias , " our Greek heroes whose love " passed tbe love of women . " Here in Manchester , today we are preparing an arena in which such tender care and fraternal solicitude may be shown , and where , in days to come , the weary hem may turn for solace , and the burdened mind maybe relieved of its load . I
mentioned on Saturday , brethren , that our Order is no new thing of mushroom growth . Our venerable Grand Supreme Ruler joined it more than 50 years ago . Our lamented Grand Secretary , the late Bro . Shadwell Clerke , than whom no truer friend ever existed , took what we now designate as the First Degree of the Order in Malta in the year 1848 . Another Past Supreme Ruler in the Order resumed the same
Degree in Jerusalem itself in the same year . The Order increased and multiplied in America when the troublous quarrel arose which resulted in the American Civil War , when two parts of the same great nation speaking a common tongue were holding each other in a deadly grip , and when no tie seemed binding , no promise sacred . It was then the First Degree of our Order took firm hold of the English-speaking race , and in these later
times it has been organised and reduced to a system , duly subject to control . At present the Order in America is wide-spread , and we have recently received a petition signed by 50 Secret Monitors there , begging for a warrant empowering them to work our hig her Degrees and to form a conclave for the purpose . Such a Conclave has been formed , and we havc every reason to believe it bears within it all the elements of thorough success . Such
being the value of our Order , it remains for me to elucidate its principles , and 1 think I shall be able to prove to you that a society framed upon the princip les of self-sacrifice , of mutual trust , of watchful brotherly care , of compulsory warning in time of danger , official solace in time of sorrow , and skilful and effective , though unostentatious , advice in every circumstance of life , is a society that meets a great and crying need in human affairs
and is calculated to benefit those who act up to its tenets . Such a Society is that of the Secret Monitor , which we introduce here to-day . If a brother be in sorrow , the conclave will afford him sympathy , if in danger , his brethren will give him assistance , if in distress , the Visiting Deacons will bring him consolation , and if in poverty , hc v / iU find aid . Moreover , at every turn of life , at every crisis , he may look , and he will not look in vain ,
to the experienced among his brethren who have this day pledged themselves to give him caution , to prompt him to good actions , to warn him from doubtful ones , and generally to watch over him , support him , and cherish him , so long as he may need their care and prove himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him . Such , my brethren , are the principles of our Order . Tried they have been in times of peril , and true they have been found in times of difficulty . The barque we are launching this day may
meet with storms and tempests ; it may have to contend with unfavourable winds , and it may be tossed 011 the inhospitable waves of human selfishness and greed , but if you , brethren are true to your Order and to the honourable undertaking you have this day embraced , though the storms of life may press upon you , they will never overwhelm , and though the waves may threaten to engulf you , your craft will never be submerged . May the good ship be rescued from the boisterous waters , and may it finally reach its desired haven !
The consecration proceeded , and , being concluded , Bro . Scholfield was duly installed as Supreme Ruler , and saluted as such . He was then commissioned , and the brethren of the hirst Degree were invited to the customary distribution of presents , which , except at a consecration , is always confined to the brethren of the Second Degree . The S . R . appointed his officers in the rotation previously mentioned—Bros . Berkley Carr , C . ; F . Armstrong , G . ; j . R . Ragdale , P . G . C ,
Consecration Of The Champion Conclave, No. 36, Order Secret Monitor, At Manchester.
Treas . ; J . Marshall , P . G . C , Sec . ; J . R . Redman , Steward ; H . T . Grundy , 1 st V . D . ; N . Heywood , 2 nd ' V . D . ; A . J . K . Smith , D . C ; W . A . Boyer , Guarder ; and E . Roberts , Sentinel . Several propositions for new members were made , and Bro . Thomas Plumpfon recommended as Grand Steward of the year .
The conclave was then closed , and Bro . Scholfield presided at a banquet , which lasted far on into the night , and was pronounced a fitting ending to a most successful day . The Manchester brethren may be congratulated on the excellent start the Order has made in their midst , and we look forward to the time when Lancashire and Yorkshire will rival London itself in tho . interest and success displayed .
The Honours Of Official Positions.
THE HONOURS OF OFFICIAL POSITIONS .
There was a time , and it is within the memory of many living Masons , when to be a Grand Master of Masons was regarded as the highest honour that could be conferred upon one who was so fortunate as to be selected for that high distinction among his fellows . This distinguished honour then came unsought , in recognition of the highest attainments in the esoteric work of Masonry , and a recognised ability to become the managing head in
the government of the great Brotherhood of Free and Accepted Masons . There was then no electioneering for office , nor solicitations for an appointment leading up to an election that would place the aspirant in the line of promotion , and so secure this most exalted station . The brother honoured with an appointment or election to office was usually the most surprised individual in the Grand Body , and often reluctantlv accepted the honour thus conferred on him , or positively declined it , from an instinctive idea that he did
not possess the requisite qualifications to discharge the duties imposed on him . Under such conditions , when a Grand Master had served the full term for which he was elected , and had proved an eminent fitness for that most responsible station , he was continued there for two more terms , and until the brethren were fully satisfied that another could be elected to succeed him who was worthy and well qualified to govern the Craft . A Grand Master in those days might feel that the highest honours in Masonry were his to enjoy .
VVe have no doubt the reader has already anticipated the thought uppermost in our mind , that there has been a lessening in the honour , dignity , and importance of the office of Grand Master . In the multiplicity of fraternal orders , all more or less fashioned after the plan of Masonry , many Masons connected with them and interested in their work have apparently become so strongly imbued with their methods and ways of doing business , that they
sometimes forget that Masonry is established on an entirely different platform , and is controlled by a system of laws peculiar to itself . Instead of waiting for a recognition of their fitness for official position , as was the case in years gone by , they not only seek office , but are frequently found electioneering for themselves for official positions . In this way brethren very poorly qualified to become the chief officers sometimes secure a place in line , and their promotion thereafter is almost sure to follow , until the highest
honours are attained . This un-Masonic method of securing office has been carried to that extent in some jurisdictions , that Grand Lodges have been compelled to legislate against it , even to the disfranchisement of those so offending . Such political methods have detracted from the high honours once connected with the office of Grand Master of Masons , by creating a road to them not based on actual merit .
Of course , what we have said concerning the office of Grand Master applies wilh equal force to the first officer in all Masonic bodies . There is not the same importance attached to securing tne right man for the place that existed in the earlier days of Masonry , when the office sought the man and not the man the office . A lawful ambition for the highest honours in
Masonry is not only all right but praiseworthy , but it should be shown by an exhibition of those qualities that will grace the position , and not be electioneering for it . The Mason who resorts to political methods to secure official position should receive no encouragement from those who desire to maintain the time-honoured Institution according to ancient usage ancl landmarks . —Masonic Aixncnte .
Supreme Grand Chapter.
SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER .
The Quarterly Convocation of Supreme Grand ( 'hapler of Royal Arch Masons of England was held on Wednesday evening at Freemasons' Hall . Comp . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., G . J .. occupied the chair of M . E . G . Z . ; Comp . the Rev . J . S . Brownrigg , M . A ., P . A . G . Soj ., Prov . G . Supt . of Bucks , took the chair of G . H . ; and Comp . John Thornhill Morland , Prov . G . Supt . Berks , had the chair of G . J . The attend nice of the companions was larg _ -. Comps . K . Letchworth , G . S . E . ; Sir J . B . Monckton , acting as G . Scribe N . ; W . B . Coltman . G . P . S . ; George Read , Dr . Ralph Gooding ,
Frank Richardson , Robert Grey , W . M . Stiles , G . Treas . ; L . G . Gordon Robbins , J . E . Le Feuvre , J . S . Cumberland , Charles Belt <> n , C . E . Keyser , J . H . Matthews , R . Loveland Loveland , J . A . Farnfield . Rudtilph Glover , J . Bodenham , Ralph Clutton , M . Garrod , E . J . Barron , George Lambert , S . Vallentine , S . V . Abraham , and Walter Hopekirk were among the
other companions present . Afier Grand Chapter had been formally opened , and th-j minutes of the February Convocation read and confirmed , Comp . BKACII announced lhat his Roval Highness ( he Prince of Wales was M . E . G . / .. for the year , the Earl of Lathom , Pro Grand '/ .., the Karl of Mount Edgcumbe , G . H ., and that the P . ince of VVales had again appointed him ( Comp . Beach ) as G . J .
The following is a list of the remaining Grand Officers , most of whom were present and invested :
Comp . Edward Letchworth ... ... ... G . Scribe E . ,, Viscount Dungarvan . G . Scribe N . „ Robert Grey ... ... P / es . Com < ien . Pur . ,, William Mason Stiles ... ... fi . Treasurer . „ F . A . Philbrick , O . C . ... ... (" .. Registrar .
„ Rt . Hon . Sir VV . T . Marriott , Q . C . ... Dep . G . Registrar . „ Sir Lionel Darell ... ... ... Prin . G . Soj . „ C )•. Marshall ... ... ... 1 st Asst . G ., Soj . „ Col . H . Studholme Brownrigg ... ... 2 nd Asst . G . Soj . .. Col . L . G . Dundas ... ... ... G . S . B .
„ Lieut .-Col . W . Newton ... ... Dep . G . S . B .