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Article THE MASONIC MIRROR. ← Page 8 of 9 →
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The Masonic Mirror.
Bro . Harvey said , the R . W . the D . Grand Master for Sydney was about to return to that country , and it was therefore very desirable that he should carry back with him some resolution of Grand Lodge upon this subject . There could , therefore , be no objection whatever to Bro . Dobie ' s motion ; it bound Grand Lodge to nothing , and only expressed a principle which must meet with universal approbation . ( Applause . ) Bro . Aria had tried to lead them away from the real question by referring to a case in Prussia , which was not at all analagous to the present case . ( Hear , hear . )
Bro . Binckes said , it was no use to attempt to shirk specific cases of difficulty merely by affirming general principles . Bro . Newmarch contended , that it was the duty of the Tyler to admit all Masons on proof ; but this was assailed by cries of " No I no I " from all parts of Grand Lodge ; and , in fact , it raised such a storm of disapprobation that the
Brother sat down and made no further observations . The M . W , the Grand Master read the byedaw : " No visitor shall be admitted into a Lodge unless personally known , recommended , or well vouched for , and after due examination by one of the Brethren present ; and during his continuance in that Lodge he shall be subject to the-bye-laws of the Lodge , and the Master of the Lodge is bound to enforce these regulations . "
Bro . Gole said this was not a mere colonial question . He disapproved of the course pursued by the Prov . Grand Lodge of Sydney . A man proving himself to be a Mason ought not to he refused admission . The W . M ., who refused such a Brother put himself in the position of a court to try the Brother ' s character , and that without the Brother being heard on his own behalf . This was contrary to the spirit of Masonic law . A man once a Mason , till under some Masonic suspension , ought not to be refused admission . ( Loud cries of iC Oh ! oh ! " and various demonstrations of disapprobation from all parts of Grand Lodge . )
A Brother said it could not be tolerated that any man , whatever his character , was to come to the door of your Lodge and demand admission , whether you would or would not . ( Loud applause . ) A man might be a good Mason at one period of his life , but afterwards he might commit himself . ( Hear , hear . ) The Rev . Bro . Westall thought the Scotch and Irish Lodges were not sufficiently particular as to when they initiated . He had been Prov . Grand Treasurer , and had found hundreds of Masons who made a trade of it and lived by begging , and out of all the cases he had known of these itinerant Masonic impostors only two had English diplomas . ( Applause . )
Bro . H . G . Warren , P . M ., No . 202 , asked the Grand Master if this was not such a motion as required notice to he given of it % The M . W . the Grand Master said no , as it was simply an answer to the communication from the Grand Lodge of Ireland . It was desirable that the opinion of Grand Lodge should go forth at once to the colonies , assuring them that Grand Lodge justified them in refusing to receive Brethren of known bad character . ( Applause . ) The resolution was put in the following terms : —¦
'That it is the opinion of this Grand Lodge , that it is in the power of the W . M . and Wardens of any private Lodge to refuse admission to any visitor of known bad character . " Carried unanimously , and ordered to be communicated to Lord Naas , in reply to his epistle . This was the end of the orders of the day , and Grand Lodge was about to proceed to
the notices of motion , but it was eleven o ' clock , and . the Grand Master enforced the byedaw , that after that hour no new business can be proceeded with . Considerable amusement was caused by the Brethren , some of them disputing the time and declaring that it had not struck the hour , and , ergo , that Bro . Portal was entitled to proceed . The minute or two spent in this way put the question beyond any doubt , so that when Bro . Portal at length rose it really had struck the hour , and the M . W . the Grand Master , on being appealed to , requested him to desist .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Masonic Mirror.
Bro . Harvey said , the R . W . the D . Grand Master for Sydney was about to return to that country , and it was therefore very desirable that he should carry back with him some resolution of Grand Lodge upon this subject . There could , therefore , be no objection whatever to Bro . Dobie ' s motion ; it bound Grand Lodge to nothing , and only expressed a principle which must meet with universal approbation . ( Applause . ) Bro . Aria had tried to lead them away from the real question by referring to a case in Prussia , which was not at all analagous to the present case . ( Hear , hear . )
Bro . Binckes said , it was no use to attempt to shirk specific cases of difficulty merely by affirming general principles . Bro . Newmarch contended , that it was the duty of the Tyler to admit all Masons on proof ; but this was assailed by cries of " No I no I " from all parts of Grand Lodge ; and , in fact , it raised such a storm of disapprobation that the
Brother sat down and made no further observations . The M . W , the Grand Master read the byedaw : " No visitor shall be admitted into a Lodge unless personally known , recommended , or well vouched for , and after due examination by one of the Brethren present ; and during his continuance in that Lodge he shall be subject to the-bye-laws of the Lodge , and the Master of the Lodge is bound to enforce these regulations . "
Bro . Gole said this was not a mere colonial question . He disapproved of the course pursued by the Prov . Grand Lodge of Sydney . A man proving himself to be a Mason ought not to he refused admission . The W . M ., who refused such a Brother put himself in the position of a court to try the Brother ' s character , and that without the Brother being heard on his own behalf . This was contrary to the spirit of Masonic law . A man once a Mason , till under some Masonic suspension , ought not to be refused admission . ( Loud cries of iC Oh ! oh ! " and various demonstrations of disapprobation from all parts of Grand Lodge . )
A Brother said it could not be tolerated that any man , whatever his character , was to come to the door of your Lodge and demand admission , whether you would or would not . ( Loud applause . ) A man might be a good Mason at one period of his life , but afterwards he might commit himself . ( Hear , hear . ) The Rev . Bro . Westall thought the Scotch and Irish Lodges were not sufficiently particular as to when they initiated . He had been Prov . Grand Treasurer , and had found hundreds of Masons who made a trade of it and lived by begging , and out of all the cases he had known of these itinerant Masonic impostors only two had English diplomas . ( Applause . )
Bro . H . G . Warren , P . M ., No . 202 , asked the Grand Master if this was not such a motion as required notice to he given of it % The M . W . the Grand Master said no , as it was simply an answer to the communication from the Grand Lodge of Ireland . It was desirable that the opinion of Grand Lodge should go forth at once to the colonies , assuring them that Grand Lodge justified them in refusing to receive Brethren of known bad character . ( Applause . ) The resolution was put in the following terms : —¦
'That it is the opinion of this Grand Lodge , that it is in the power of the W . M . and Wardens of any private Lodge to refuse admission to any visitor of known bad character . " Carried unanimously , and ordered to be communicated to Lord Naas , in reply to his epistle . This was the end of the orders of the day , and Grand Lodge was about to proceed to
the notices of motion , but it was eleven o ' clock , and . the Grand Master enforced the byedaw , that after that hour no new business can be proceeded with . Considerable amusement was caused by the Brethren , some of them disputing the time and declaring that it had not struck the hour , and , ergo , that Bro . Portal was entitled to proceed . The minute or two spent in this way put the question beyond any doubt , so that when Bro . Portal at length rose it really had struck the hour , and the M . W . the Grand Master , on being appealed to , requested him to desist .