Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
LEADERS 263 United Grand Lodge 266 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution 2 ( 16 Consecration of the Caterham Lodge , No . 2095 26 7 Consecration of the George Price Lodge ,
No . 2096 , 207 Consecration of tlie St . Ambrose Chapter , No . iSnt 26 * 9 Consecration of the Dove Valley Mark Lodge , No . 353 269 Review 26 9 C ORRESPONDENCENorthern Counties Lodge 271 Thc Principle of the Ballot 271 Printing and Publishing 271
Reviews 272 Notes and Queries 272 REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 2-52 Instruction 274 Royal Arch 274
Mark Masonry 274 I Allied Masonic Degrees 274 j The Craft Abroad 27 ; Obituary 27 ; Proposed Levander Memorial 275 The Theatres 275 The Brockbank Testimonial Fund 273 Grand Lodge ot South Australia 273 Masonic and General Tidings 270 Lodge Meetings for Next Week iii .
Ar00100
Bv the agenda paper it will be seen that the question of the recognition of the" Grand Lodge of South Australia" comes up before Grand I . odge . On this occasion the petition slates that all the lodges and almost all the Masons had united for the purpose of forming an independent Grand Lodge . After the very lucid exposition of the true position of the Grand Lodge of
England in such matters and questions as was made by our excellent Bro . / E . J . MCINTYRE , P . G . R ., not so ver }* long ago , on a somewhat similar question , it seems to us that thc Grand Lodge will , alike in policy and propriety , be induced to grant the prayer of the petitioners , and that henceforth those lodges will be severed from the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
England . We are not insensible to the arguments so ably put forward by the Select Committee of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts with reference to the same , as we have always felt their reality and force . " At the same time it has long been evident that the time must come when the supreme government of the Craft can no longer be carried on at a distance
of 15 , 000 miles , and when the laudable ambition of becoming at length the Grand Master of all the lodges , according to his merit , shall be the privilege of the South Australian as well as the linglish , Scottish , or Irish Mason . " How far the multiplication of Grand Lodges will benefit the Craft universal time alone can show . It is not for us to anticipate the future .
* * * WE are pleased to note in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts how appreciative notice is given to thc charitable work and results of our English jurisdiction . They are now seeking in that distinguished body to create a great fund of Charity , and we wish them heartily entire
success in their laudable efforts and Masonic endeavours . Tha balance sheet of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is a very commendable one . We do not find in it those large allowances for members and travelling expenses which in some American Grand Lodges almost prevent any charitable donations . There is a small amount for the travelling expenses of
the Deputy D . G . Masters , probably both needful and proper . Two thousand dollars are given in Charity , and henceforth five thousand dollars are to be so donated . The Sigourney Trust Fund is to be restored to its original idea and position , and rendered available for Masonic education in Massachusetts . We heartily congratulate the good Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
on its financial prosperity , its healthy state , and its evident anxiety to evidence that its admiration of the charitable Masonic work in England is strengthening its own resolution not to be behind hand in advancing and encouraging the true and needful developement of that in dispensable Masonic virtue . All success to it in its Masonic labours and efforts .
IIIE French Freemasons are very anxious for rehabilitation with the Grand Lodge of England , and for a renewal of thc old "entente cordiale . " Bro . HUBERT in the " Chaine D'Union " eloquently discourses " more suo " on this point , and expresses an opinion that the time has come when the English Grand Lodge may reconsider its determination in this respect .
I'ar be from us any remarks which might tend to keep up a feeling of tension or separation . If , however , a " rapprochement " be possible , it can only be so on certain distinct grounds and definite principles . To cry peace where there is no peace , " to "daub the wall with untempered mortar , " can only result , humanly speaking , in another divergence , and
another severance . It is no , doubt , greatly to be deplored that English Masons cannot visit French lodges , and that French Masons cannot be admitted into English lodges . But on whom rests the blame for all this ? We may add , certainlv not on the Grand Lodge of England
When the French Grand Orient departed from ils old landmarks and the landmarks of Cosmopolitan Masonry , and erased the belief in God from its Ofmuiaries openly and avowedly , and distinctly , it made so " new a departure , " that the Grand Lodge of England , faithful to its ancient and onourabis traditions , and the universal principles of Freemasonry , had no
Ar00101
alternative left it but to take the course it did take , and propose and order a sentence of " non intercourse" until better days might arrive . As Lord CARNARVON eloquently put it , the adoption of such dubious phrases as " solidarile humainc , " ice , iV * c , in no way removed the legitimate objections of English Masons to so sweeping and serious a change , nor altered
the objection of the Grand Lodge of England to such deliberate tampering with the long standing and well considered First Principles of Cosmopolitan Freemasonry . Since then another change has taken place in this very section of the Constitutional laws of the Grand Orient , and a declaration practically that Freemasonry is not religion , takes no heed of general or
individul professions of faith , and is of entire toleration for all religious opinions , is now put forward as thc ground for a change in English Masonic public opinion , and as perfectly sufficient itself , wide extending and all embracing enough , to justify the Grand Lodge of England in renewing intercourse , and removing the prohibition which at present undoubtedly exists ,
as regards the interchange of civilities and visits , except on certain assured preliminaries . In the meantime we hear such strange stories of what is going on in thc lodges at Paris and in France , that , as honest journalists , we cannot profess to think either that thc " pear is ripe , " or the time has come for any such accommodation of
matters . Our authorities may be in possession of more precise information than we are , but if theirs is anything like to ours , never at any time in its history was French Freemasonry under the Grand Orient of France in a graver position of doubt , dissolution , and danger . And vet we say all this wilh deep regret , though it must be said , as an act of duty and loyalty
to our own and Cosmopolitan Freemasonry . We always sympathize witli the French FYeemasons . We know so well their peculiar troubles and difficulties , and how much may even be advanced by way of allowance and extenuation , as regards the perpetual warfare in which they are involved , for their more questionable utterances and vehement assertion of certain views
and feelings which jar so much on the more peaceful and less combative sentiments of English Freemason ? . We wish them well , we trust that they may yet emerge from their difficulties , and that morass in which they seem to be floundering to the disapproval and sorrow of all Anglo-Saxon
Freemasons ; and none will rejoice more than ourselves if , as time passes on , a safe " modus vivendi " may be found and approved of , by which that historic body , the Grand Lodge and Grand Orient of France may be restored to its high and pristine position in the Masonic world .
* * * If the independence of thc Grand I . odge of South Australia be conceded by the Grand Lodge of England , another falling out of lodges must take place from our Calendar , and we think a question may fairly arise whether the time has not come when a complete renumbering should take
place , and by some one of the earlier processes the register of lodges should be " closed up . " There are , of course , inconveniences and drawbacks in such a course , alike general and particular , but we are inclined on the whole to think and believe that , as nothing is ever gained by unreality , the
blanks had better be filled up , and our real number of lodges ascertained . The renumbeiing must take place sooner or later , and with the Australian movement the time seems to have arrived when our authorities may fairly applv themselves to what has become almost a needful duty .
WE are much amused with a little serio-comic tale which appears in Monday ' s Times . A distinguished Italian aristocrat , we judge by his name , had consented to allow thc marriage of his fair daughter BLANCHE with a rich and worthy Israelite . A dispensation was applied for and granted , and the provision enacted that all thc children of the marriage
should be brought up as Roman Catholics . The POPE himself had condescended to order the despatch of the dispensation , which wasduly received and duly lodged with the proper Roman Catholic authority at Paris . All " went merrily as a marriage bell , until one fine morning by telegram the dispensation was revoked . Alas ' . for the course of true love , " for happy
bride and bridegroom . Writers assure you that each tale should point its own moral , and wc Freemasons , whom unjust allocutions and childish mandemens are everywhere assailing just now , may well feel that as neither concession or submission are ever of the slightest avail with that inscrutable
body the Roman Curia , so our truest policy and highest wisdom are to pass by all such Ultramontane attacks in silence , and henceforth leave complaint and expostulation alone . There is an intense " naivete " in the way the suffering father tells his story in the Times , which must have its due effect on all who read it , and all who think over it .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Contents.
CONTENTS .
LEADERS 263 United Grand Lodge 266 Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution 2 ( 16 Consecration of the Caterham Lodge , No . 2095 26 7 Consecration of the George Price Lodge ,
No . 2096 , 207 Consecration of tlie St . Ambrose Chapter , No . iSnt 26 * 9 Consecration of the Dove Valley Mark Lodge , No . 353 269 Review 26 9 C ORRESPONDENCENorthern Counties Lodge 271 Thc Principle of the Ballot 271 Printing and Publishing 271
Reviews 272 Notes and Queries 272 REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 2-52 Instruction 274 Royal Arch 274
Mark Masonry 274 I Allied Masonic Degrees 274 j The Craft Abroad 27 ; Obituary 27 ; Proposed Levander Memorial 275 The Theatres 275 The Brockbank Testimonial Fund 273 Grand Lodge ot South Australia 273 Masonic and General Tidings 270 Lodge Meetings for Next Week iii .
Ar00100
Bv the agenda paper it will be seen that the question of the recognition of the" Grand Lodge of South Australia" comes up before Grand I . odge . On this occasion the petition slates that all the lodges and almost all the Masons had united for the purpose of forming an independent Grand Lodge . After the very lucid exposition of the true position of the Grand Lodge of
England in such matters and questions as was made by our excellent Bro . / E . J . MCINTYRE , P . G . R ., not so ver }* long ago , on a somewhat similar question , it seems to us that thc Grand Lodge will , alike in policy and propriety , be induced to grant the prayer of the petitioners , and that henceforth those lodges will be severed from the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
England . We are not insensible to the arguments so ably put forward by the Select Committee of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts with reference to the same , as we have always felt their reality and force . " At the same time it has long been evident that the time must come when the supreme government of the Craft can no longer be carried on at a distance
of 15 , 000 miles , and when the laudable ambition of becoming at length the Grand Master of all the lodges , according to his merit , shall be the privilege of the South Australian as well as the linglish , Scottish , or Irish Mason . " How far the multiplication of Grand Lodges will benefit the Craft universal time alone can show . It is not for us to anticipate the future .
* * * WE are pleased to note in the proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts how appreciative notice is given to thc charitable work and results of our English jurisdiction . They are now seeking in that distinguished body to create a great fund of Charity , and we wish them heartily entire
success in their laudable efforts and Masonic endeavours . Tha balance sheet of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts is a very commendable one . We do not find in it those large allowances for members and travelling expenses which in some American Grand Lodges almost prevent any charitable donations . There is a small amount for the travelling expenses of
the Deputy D . G . Masters , probably both needful and proper . Two thousand dollars are given in Charity , and henceforth five thousand dollars are to be so donated . The Sigourney Trust Fund is to be restored to its original idea and position , and rendered available for Masonic education in Massachusetts . We heartily congratulate the good Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
on its financial prosperity , its healthy state , and its evident anxiety to evidence that its admiration of the charitable Masonic work in England is strengthening its own resolution not to be behind hand in advancing and encouraging the true and needful developement of that in dispensable Masonic virtue . All success to it in its Masonic labours and efforts .
IIIE French Freemasons are very anxious for rehabilitation with the Grand Lodge of England , and for a renewal of thc old "entente cordiale . " Bro . HUBERT in the " Chaine D'Union " eloquently discourses " more suo " on this point , and expresses an opinion that the time has come when the English Grand Lodge may reconsider its determination in this respect .
I'ar be from us any remarks which might tend to keep up a feeling of tension or separation . If , however , a " rapprochement " be possible , it can only be so on certain distinct grounds and definite principles . To cry peace where there is no peace , " to "daub the wall with untempered mortar , " can only result , humanly speaking , in another divergence , and
another severance . It is no , doubt , greatly to be deplored that English Masons cannot visit French lodges , and that French Masons cannot be admitted into English lodges . But on whom rests the blame for all this ? We may add , certainlv not on the Grand Lodge of England
When the French Grand Orient departed from ils old landmarks and the landmarks of Cosmopolitan Masonry , and erased the belief in God from its Ofmuiaries openly and avowedly , and distinctly , it made so " new a departure , " that the Grand Lodge of England , faithful to its ancient and onourabis traditions , and the universal principles of Freemasonry , had no
Ar00101
alternative left it but to take the course it did take , and propose and order a sentence of " non intercourse" until better days might arrive . As Lord CARNARVON eloquently put it , the adoption of such dubious phrases as " solidarile humainc , " ice , iV * c , in no way removed the legitimate objections of English Masons to so sweeping and serious a change , nor altered
the objection of the Grand Lodge of England to such deliberate tampering with the long standing and well considered First Principles of Cosmopolitan Freemasonry . Since then another change has taken place in this very section of the Constitutional laws of the Grand Orient , and a declaration practically that Freemasonry is not religion , takes no heed of general or
individul professions of faith , and is of entire toleration for all religious opinions , is now put forward as thc ground for a change in English Masonic public opinion , and as perfectly sufficient itself , wide extending and all embracing enough , to justify the Grand Lodge of England in renewing intercourse , and removing the prohibition which at present undoubtedly exists ,
as regards the interchange of civilities and visits , except on certain assured preliminaries . In the meantime we hear such strange stories of what is going on in thc lodges at Paris and in France , that , as honest journalists , we cannot profess to think either that thc " pear is ripe , " or the time has come for any such accommodation of
matters . Our authorities may be in possession of more precise information than we are , but if theirs is anything like to ours , never at any time in its history was French Freemasonry under the Grand Orient of France in a graver position of doubt , dissolution , and danger . And vet we say all this wilh deep regret , though it must be said , as an act of duty and loyalty
to our own and Cosmopolitan Freemasonry . We always sympathize witli the French FYeemasons . We know so well their peculiar troubles and difficulties , and how much may even be advanced by way of allowance and extenuation , as regards the perpetual warfare in which they are involved , for their more questionable utterances and vehement assertion of certain views
and feelings which jar so much on the more peaceful and less combative sentiments of English Freemason ? . We wish them well , we trust that they may yet emerge from their difficulties , and that morass in which they seem to be floundering to the disapproval and sorrow of all Anglo-Saxon
Freemasons ; and none will rejoice more than ourselves if , as time passes on , a safe " modus vivendi " may be found and approved of , by which that historic body , the Grand Lodge and Grand Orient of France may be restored to its high and pristine position in the Masonic world .
* * * If the independence of thc Grand I . odge of South Australia be conceded by the Grand Lodge of England , another falling out of lodges must take place from our Calendar , and we think a question may fairly arise whether the time has not come when a complete renumbering should take
place , and by some one of the earlier processes the register of lodges should be " closed up . " There are , of course , inconveniences and drawbacks in such a course , alike general and particular , but we are inclined on the whole to think and believe that , as nothing is ever gained by unreality , the
blanks had better be filled up , and our real number of lodges ascertained . The renumbeiing must take place sooner or later , and with the Australian movement the time seems to have arrived when our authorities may fairly applv themselves to what has become almost a needful duty .
WE are much amused with a little serio-comic tale which appears in Monday ' s Times . A distinguished Italian aristocrat , we judge by his name , had consented to allow thc marriage of his fair daughter BLANCHE with a rich and worthy Israelite . A dispensation was applied for and granted , and the provision enacted that all thc children of the marriage
should be brought up as Roman Catholics . The POPE himself had condescended to order the despatch of the dispensation , which wasduly received and duly lodged with the proper Roman Catholic authority at Paris . All " went merrily as a marriage bell , until one fine morning by telegram the dispensation was revoked . Alas ' . for the course of true love , " for happy
bride and bridegroom . Writers assure you that each tale should point its own moral , and wc Freemasons , whom unjust allocutions and childish mandemens are everywhere assailing just now , may well feel that as neither concession or submission are ever of the slightest avail with that inscrutable
body the Roman Curia , so our truest policy and highest wisdom are to pass by all such Ultramontane attacks in silence , and henceforth leave complaint and expostulation alone . There is an intense " naivete " in the way the suffering father tells his story in the Times , which must have its due effect on all who read it , and all who think over it .