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Article MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE. ← Page 2 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 →
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Masonic Jurisprudence.
joining the lodge ? It appears to us , we speak deferentially , that on his rejoining his lodge , he resumed his position ; is a P . M ., but lost his status of Senior P . M . And for this 'reason . A has
subscribed in all up to the present time * eight years , except two , during which he intermitted . B has subscribed eight years without intermission , and became therefore
Senior P . M . A cle . irly cannot jump over B ' s head on rejoining the lodge , and B , not A , continues to be Senior P . M . A requires to be again installed as Master , to regain his seat
in Grand Lodge ; but A is clearly a P . M . of the lodge , and in the lodge , though no longer Senior P . M . Any other rule or ruling would lead to endless controversies and hopeless anomalies in
our lodge system , and our Grand Lodge qualification . As we said before , we speak subject to correction , but we believe that what we have now laid down is entirely in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the Book of Constitutions
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
( , \ Vc do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even ns approving of the opinions expressed by onr correspondents , but wc wish , in a spirit m ' fair play tn ail , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . — lin . ]
THE OFFICE OF GRAND MASTER . To ( he Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Having been refused a hearing at Grand Lodge last Wednesday by the acting Grand Master , Bro . Sandeman , on the ruling of Bro . Mclntyre , G . Reg ., and Bro . Havers ,
P . G . W ., 1 claim your indulgence whilst I briefly draw attention through your columns to the point which I wished to raise , in no hostile mood , but purely to raise a discussion on the power of the Grand Master to resign , and the influence such a right might have on the privileges of the brethren .
I do not wish to accuse the late Grand Master , of whom I desire to speak with every respect , or those who advised him , of having designedly taken the brethren by surprise , and having thus deprived them of the opportunity of maturely considering the results of his
resignation ; but most assuredl y that was the result of his letter of resignation being addressed to the Grand Secretary only the day before the holding of Grand Lodge in September . Had that letter been forwarded a month , or only a fortnight earlier , it might have been
communicated to the Craft with the summonses calling Grand Lodge , and ample time would have been given to the brethren to consider what might bc its effects on the Craft , and the proper course to pursue under tlie circumstances . Owing to the alteration of the hour of
meeting of Grand Lodge , I have , from the nature of my business avocations , been compelled to absent myself fon some time past from Grand Lodge ; but had I known so important a question was coming before it , I would have , at no matter what amount of inconvenience , been present to take mr share in the discussion .
As it is , I cannot but think that ihe Grand Registrar and those who acted with him arrived at too hasty a conclusion in recommending that the resignation be accepted . I maintain that although there is no actual law in the Book of Constitutions on the subject , that it is part of our unwritten law that tlie Grand Master cannot
resign during his year of office ; and the verysilence of our Constitutions upon the subject , I contend , proves my position . The Grand Master possesses the undoubted ri ght once in every year to decline being again put in nomination for the office , and in that sense I hold ,
notwithstanding its phraseology , the letter of the Earl of Ripon should have been read ; and it was this I wished to bring before Grand L-jdge . I was , however , stopped in my argument by Bro . Mclntyre telling me that the Grand Master took no obligation , and might therefore resign when-
Original Correspondence.
ever he liked- TothisIreplyth . it ithasalways been held , and over and over again ruled in Grand Lodge by the Duke of Sussex and ths Earl of Zetland , that where there is no rule for the government of the proceedings , or officers of the Grand Lodge , they are governed by the
regulations of private lodges , and in this ruling they were guided and advised by those eminent members of the Craft , Bros . Henderson , P . Dobie , P . G . Regs ., and . if I mistake not , even by Bro . Mclntyre himself . Now it is a rule in private lodges that a Master cannot resign , and he takes
an obligation on his installation not only to fulfil his duties during his year of office , but until a successor shall have been regularly elected and installed in his stead . And so rigorous is this rule that notwithstanding a lodge is forbidden to elect the same Master more than two years in
succession , Dr . Oliver lays it down in his Masonic Jurisprudence that " supposing an extreme and perhaps an improbable case , that the Wardens have not served their entire year , and that the lodge contains no other person qualified for the office at the expiration of that period , ( i . e . the
two years ) , the Worshipful Master must perforce continue to act until a dispsnsation is granted , and the contingency removed . " Indeed , the Master of a lodge is punishable by the loss of his seat in Grand Lodge if he neglects his duty without valid excuse , such as sickness , or
unavoidable business calling him from home . "For , ' says Dr . Oliver , " if no such valid excuses for non-attendance exist , and he spontaneously resign the office by leaving the chair unoccupied before the expiration of his term , he will forfeit these rig hts and be incapable of attending the Grand
Lodge as a legitimate member . " 1 am perfectly aware that no penalty attaches to the Grand Master for the non-performance of his duty , but I would ask what is the use of a Deputy Grand Master if he is not to undertake the duty of the Grand Master when he is unable or unwilling to
perform it . Indeed we are told that in 1735 , Lord Weymouth , tho Grand Master , " never honoured any of the communications with his presence , " " but his omission was the less noticed on account of the vigilance and attention of his deputy , John Ward , Esq ., afterwards Lord
Viscount Dudley and Ward , who applied with the utmost diligence to promote the interest and prosperity of the Society , " and I have no reason to suppose that the Earl of Carnarvon would not as well havo performed the duties of the office in 1874 , 3 s John Ward , Esq ., in
1735-I am further strengthened in my view of the law by the fact that the Book of Constitutions provides for what shall be done in the case of the death of the Grand Master , but not one word is said about resignation , clearly showing that no such power existed , as if it had the words of the
law instead of being * ' Should the Grand Master die during his Mastership , " would have been , " Should ' . he Grand Master die or resign , " and as I have before stated the resolutionacknowled ging the letter of the Fail of Ripon should have been worded so as to express regret at the noble lord declining to allow his name to be again put in nomination for the office of Grand Master . I
therefore intended to propose on Wednesday last to substitute for the resolution carried in September , on the motion of Bro . Mclntyre , "That the resignation of the M . W . Grand Master be accepted with the deepest feelings of regret , and in the hope that in his retirement the
Grand Lodge will slill be enabled to regard him , as in years gone by , as a bright ornament of this Craft over which he presided ; " what I should have proposed had I been present at the meeting at which that resolution was passed , viz .: " That the members of this Grand Lodge have
heard with the deepest regret that the M . W . Grand Master wishing to retire , declines to be again put in nomination for office , and hopes that in his retirement Grand Lodge will still be enabled to regard him as a bright ornament of this great Oraft over which he presided , " I
admit , as 1 did in Graud Lodge , that my amendment was one more in form than in substance , as under either case the services of the noble Eai-I were lost to the Craft ; but by the acceptance of the resignation a dangerous precedent is set , and ono which I contend may hereafter seriously restrict the privileges and independence
Original Correspondence.
ofthe members of Grand Lodge and indirectly the interests of the Craft . Dr . Oliver tells us that one of the privileges of the members of Grand Lodge is freedom of speech , but that freedom is gone if whenever anything is said or
any resolution is carried displeasing to a Grand Master , he has a right to turn round upon the brethren and send in his resignation . We have lately been reminded by a P . G . W ., who I suppose nobody who has ever visited Grand Lodge will fail to identify , that the Masonic year runs
f rom April to April , and during that period the Grand Master , according to my reading of the Book of Constitutions , and according to our general laws , has no power of divesting himself of office . I shall not attempt to argue the question whether the Grand Master is obligated
to fulfil his duties or not , there being in all well regulated | institutions a code of honour , more binding than the most solemn of obligations . I was present at the installation of the Marquis of Ripon , but at too great a distance to follow closely the proceedings , nor do I know whether the Earl of Carnarvon took any obligation as
Deputy Grand Master ; but this I do know , that when the late Earl of Dalhousie was appointed Deputy G . Master by the M . W . the Earl of Zetland , an obligation was administered by Bro . Stephen Barton Wilson , P . G . D ., in which the noble earl undertook to perform the duties of the office until his successor was appointed .
I could pursue this subject at much greater length were it not that I know from experience that the space at the disposal of an editor is limited , and that there is a difficulty in deciding what to admit and what to reject of matter offered . I shall therefore comp at once to the
real objection to hear me on Wednesday last , which was tersely stated by Bro . Havers , that " jvhat had now been done could not be undone , " and here I may ask , what had been done ? The reply at once suggests itself that aCommhtee appointed to do one thing had done another in excess of
the authority with which it had been entrusted . Acting on the assumption that the words "death " and " resignation" are synonymous , which I am not going further to dispute , Grand Lodge iu September , in the terms of the Book of Constitutions , appointed Bro . the Earl of Carnarvon
D . G . M ., Bro . Jno . Havors , P . G . W ., and Bro . i-E- J . Mclntyre , Grand Registrar , "to communicate with H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , and request him to undertake the duties of M . W . Grand Master until the next annual period of installation , " his Royal Highness standing , in
right of a vote of Grand Lod ge constituting him a P . G . M ., in the position of last preceding Grand Master . Now this would be exactl y analagous to asking a P . M . in a private lod ge to perform the duties of a deceased Master until the next election or installation , but the committee ,
taking their cue perhaps from the Earl of Carnarvon , who , in a letter dated Sept . 1 st , stated that the duty of governing the Craft would devolve upon his Royal Highness if he would " accept tlie office" construed the words duties and office as though they were convertible terms
and in the business paper it was announced that the second business would be to receive the " report of the members ' of Grand Lodge appointed at the last Quarterly Communication to offer the Grand Mastership of the Order to H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , K . G ., Past Grand Master ,
in accordance with the Book of Constitutions , in consequence of the resignation of the Marquis of Ripon . " Now neither the resolution of Grand Lodge nor the Book of Constitutions gave any such power as that claimed and exercised by the committee , no doubt in an excess of
zeal , owing to the novelty of the position in which the members were placed , and accordingly , as Bro . Havers truly said , " what had ' been done could not be undone , " and it certainl y would have been most ungracious to raise any objection to accepting H . R . H . as Grand Master , and Grand Lodge having ratified the proceedings of
the committee , I , as in duty bound , loyally accept the decision , rejoicing that H . R . H . has been put in nomination , without opposition , for the coming year , and that in April next our new Grand Master will be legally installed into his office , which I trust , with God ' s blessing , he will fill for many years to come , alike to his own
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Jurisprudence.
joining the lodge ? It appears to us , we speak deferentially , that on his rejoining his lodge , he resumed his position ; is a P . M ., but lost his status of Senior P . M . And for this 'reason . A has
subscribed in all up to the present time * eight years , except two , during which he intermitted . B has subscribed eight years without intermission , and became therefore
Senior P . M . A cle . irly cannot jump over B ' s head on rejoining the lodge , and B , not A , continues to be Senior P . M . A requires to be again installed as Master , to regain his seat
in Grand Lodge ; but A is clearly a P . M . of the lodge , and in the lodge , though no longer Senior P . M . Any other rule or ruling would lead to endless controversies and hopeless anomalies in
our lodge system , and our Grand Lodge qualification . As we said before , we speak subject to correction , but we believe that what we have now laid down is entirely in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the Book of Constitutions
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
( , \ Vc do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even ns approving of the opinions expressed by onr correspondents , but wc wish , in a spirit m ' fair play tn ail , to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . — lin . ]
THE OFFICE OF GRAND MASTER . To ( he Editor of the Freemason . Dear Sir and Brother , — Having been refused a hearing at Grand Lodge last Wednesday by the acting Grand Master , Bro . Sandeman , on the ruling of Bro . Mclntyre , G . Reg ., and Bro . Havers ,
P . G . W ., 1 claim your indulgence whilst I briefly draw attention through your columns to the point which I wished to raise , in no hostile mood , but purely to raise a discussion on the power of the Grand Master to resign , and the influence such a right might have on the privileges of the brethren .
I do not wish to accuse the late Grand Master , of whom I desire to speak with every respect , or those who advised him , of having designedly taken the brethren by surprise , and having thus deprived them of the opportunity of maturely considering the results of his
resignation ; but most assuredl y that was the result of his letter of resignation being addressed to the Grand Secretary only the day before the holding of Grand Lodge in September . Had that letter been forwarded a month , or only a fortnight earlier , it might have been
communicated to the Craft with the summonses calling Grand Lodge , and ample time would have been given to the brethren to consider what might bc its effects on the Craft , and the proper course to pursue under tlie circumstances . Owing to the alteration of the hour of
meeting of Grand Lodge , I have , from the nature of my business avocations , been compelled to absent myself fon some time past from Grand Lodge ; but had I known so important a question was coming before it , I would have , at no matter what amount of inconvenience , been present to take mr share in the discussion .
As it is , I cannot but think that ihe Grand Registrar and those who acted with him arrived at too hasty a conclusion in recommending that the resignation be accepted . I maintain that although there is no actual law in the Book of Constitutions on the subject , that it is part of our unwritten law that tlie Grand Master cannot
resign during his year of office ; and the verysilence of our Constitutions upon the subject , I contend , proves my position . The Grand Master possesses the undoubted ri ght once in every year to decline being again put in nomination for the office , and in that sense I hold ,
notwithstanding its phraseology , the letter of the Earl of Ripon should have been read ; and it was this I wished to bring before Grand L-jdge . I was , however , stopped in my argument by Bro . Mclntyre telling me that the Grand Master took no obligation , and might therefore resign when-
Original Correspondence.
ever he liked- TothisIreplyth . it ithasalways been held , and over and over again ruled in Grand Lodge by the Duke of Sussex and ths Earl of Zetland , that where there is no rule for the government of the proceedings , or officers of the Grand Lodge , they are governed by the
regulations of private lodges , and in this ruling they were guided and advised by those eminent members of the Craft , Bros . Henderson , P . Dobie , P . G . Regs ., and . if I mistake not , even by Bro . Mclntyre himself . Now it is a rule in private lodges that a Master cannot resign , and he takes
an obligation on his installation not only to fulfil his duties during his year of office , but until a successor shall have been regularly elected and installed in his stead . And so rigorous is this rule that notwithstanding a lodge is forbidden to elect the same Master more than two years in
succession , Dr . Oliver lays it down in his Masonic Jurisprudence that " supposing an extreme and perhaps an improbable case , that the Wardens have not served their entire year , and that the lodge contains no other person qualified for the office at the expiration of that period , ( i . e . the
two years ) , the Worshipful Master must perforce continue to act until a dispsnsation is granted , and the contingency removed . " Indeed , the Master of a lodge is punishable by the loss of his seat in Grand Lodge if he neglects his duty without valid excuse , such as sickness , or
unavoidable business calling him from home . "For , ' says Dr . Oliver , " if no such valid excuses for non-attendance exist , and he spontaneously resign the office by leaving the chair unoccupied before the expiration of his term , he will forfeit these rig hts and be incapable of attending the Grand
Lodge as a legitimate member . " 1 am perfectly aware that no penalty attaches to the Grand Master for the non-performance of his duty , but I would ask what is the use of a Deputy Grand Master if he is not to undertake the duty of the Grand Master when he is unable or unwilling to
perform it . Indeed we are told that in 1735 , Lord Weymouth , tho Grand Master , " never honoured any of the communications with his presence , " " but his omission was the less noticed on account of the vigilance and attention of his deputy , John Ward , Esq ., afterwards Lord
Viscount Dudley and Ward , who applied with the utmost diligence to promote the interest and prosperity of the Society , " and I have no reason to suppose that the Earl of Carnarvon would not as well havo performed the duties of the office in 1874 , 3 s John Ward , Esq ., in
1735-I am further strengthened in my view of the law by the fact that the Book of Constitutions provides for what shall be done in the case of the death of the Grand Master , but not one word is said about resignation , clearly showing that no such power existed , as if it had the words of the
law instead of being * ' Should the Grand Master die during his Mastership , " would have been , " Should ' . he Grand Master die or resign , " and as I have before stated the resolutionacknowled ging the letter of the Fail of Ripon should have been worded so as to express regret at the noble lord declining to allow his name to be again put in nomination for the office of Grand Master . I
therefore intended to propose on Wednesday last to substitute for the resolution carried in September , on the motion of Bro . Mclntyre , "That the resignation of the M . W . Grand Master be accepted with the deepest feelings of regret , and in the hope that in his retirement the
Grand Lodge will slill be enabled to regard him , as in years gone by , as a bright ornament of this Craft over which he presided ; " what I should have proposed had I been present at the meeting at which that resolution was passed , viz .: " That the members of this Grand Lodge have
heard with the deepest regret that the M . W . Grand Master wishing to retire , declines to be again put in nomination for office , and hopes that in his retirement Grand Lodge will still be enabled to regard him as a bright ornament of this great Oraft over which he presided , " I
admit , as 1 did in Graud Lodge , that my amendment was one more in form than in substance , as under either case the services of the noble Eai-I were lost to the Craft ; but by the acceptance of the resignation a dangerous precedent is set , and ono which I contend may hereafter seriously restrict the privileges and independence
Original Correspondence.
ofthe members of Grand Lodge and indirectly the interests of the Craft . Dr . Oliver tells us that one of the privileges of the members of Grand Lodge is freedom of speech , but that freedom is gone if whenever anything is said or
any resolution is carried displeasing to a Grand Master , he has a right to turn round upon the brethren and send in his resignation . We have lately been reminded by a P . G . W ., who I suppose nobody who has ever visited Grand Lodge will fail to identify , that the Masonic year runs
f rom April to April , and during that period the Grand Master , according to my reading of the Book of Constitutions , and according to our general laws , has no power of divesting himself of office . I shall not attempt to argue the question whether the Grand Master is obligated
to fulfil his duties or not , there being in all well regulated | institutions a code of honour , more binding than the most solemn of obligations . I was present at the installation of the Marquis of Ripon , but at too great a distance to follow closely the proceedings , nor do I know whether the Earl of Carnarvon took any obligation as
Deputy Grand Master ; but this I do know , that when the late Earl of Dalhousie was appointed Deputy G . Master by the M . W . the Earl of Zetland , an obligation was administered by Bro . Stephen Barton Wilson , P . G . D ., in which the noble earl undertook to perform the duties of the office until his successor was appointed .
I could pursue this subject at much greater length were it not that I know from experience that the space at the disposal of an editor is limited , and that there is a difficulty in deciding what to admit and what to reject of matter offered . I shall therefore comp at once to the
real objection to hear me on Wednesday last , which was tersely stated by Bro . Havers , that " jvhat had now been done could not be undone , " and here I may ask , what had been done ? The reply at once suggests itself that aCommhtee appointed to do one thing had done another in excess of
the authority with which it had been entrusted . Acting on the assumption that the words "death " and " resignation" are synonymous , which I am not going further to dispute , Grand Lodge iu September , in the terms of the Book of Constitutions , appointed Bro . the Earl of Carnarvon
D . G . M ., Bro . Jno . Havors , P . G . W ., and Bro . i-E- J . Mclntyre , Grand Registrar , "to communicate with H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , and request him to undertake the duties of M . W . Grand Master until the next annual period of installation , " his Royal Highness standing , in
right of a vote of Grand Lod ge constituting him a P . G . M ., in the position of last preceding Grand Master . Now this would be exactl y analagous to asking a P . M . in a private lod ge to perform the duties of a deceased Master until the next election or installation , but the committee ,
taking their cue perhaps from the Earl of Carnarvon , who , in a letter dated Sept . 1 st , stated that the duty of governing the Craft would devolve upon his Royal Highness if he would " accept tlie office" construed the words duties and office as though they were convertible terms
and in the business paper it was announced that the second business would be to receive the " report of the members ' of Grand Lodge appointed at the last Quarterly Communication to offer the Grand Mastership of the Order to H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , K . G ., Past Grand Master ,
in accordance with the Book of Constitutions , in consequence of the resignation of the Marquis of Ripon . " Now neither the resolution of Grand Lodge nor the Book of Constitutions gave any such power as that claimed and exercised by the committee , no doubt in an excess of
zeal , owing to the novelty of the position in which the members were placed , and accordingly , as Bro . Havers truly said , " what had ' been done could not be undone , " and it certainl y would have been most ungracious to raise any objection to accepting H . R . H . as Grand Master , and Grand Lodge having ratified the proceedings of
the committee , I , as in duty bound , loyally accept the decision , rejoicing that H . R . H . has been put in nomination , without opposition , for the coming year , and that in April next our new Grand Master will be legally installed into his office , which I trust , with God ' s blessing , he will fill for many years to come , alike to his own