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Article CORRESPONDENCE. Page 1 of 2 →
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Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and Brother , —In my former letter I drew attention to the fact that the Constitutions nowhere empower the Master to exclude any one who may claim admission to a Lodge , after having given the requisite proofs of his being a Mason . I propose now to give some reasons for thinking that the concession of such a power would be contrary to and subversive of the first principles of the Order . Masonry is universal . It embraces men of all nations , creeds , and languages , strangers to each other in the ordinary acceptation of the term , but united as
[ The Editoe does not hold himself responsible for any opinions entertained by Correspondents . ~\
Brethren by the bond of Masonry , being made by initiation members of the universal Craft . One of the privileges of this membership is , to entitle each Brother to claim admission to all meetings of the Brethren , while working in a Degree to which he may have attained , and this privilege he can , I take it , claim until he shall have been expelled or suspended by the lawfully constituted authority . Concede to the Master of a Lodge the power to exclude whom he will , and you reduce each Lodge to a mere local isolated society or club , instead of being , as I contend it is , part of the universal Masonic system .
It is true the Constitutions provide that " no visitor shall be admitted into a Lodge unless he be personally known , recommended , or well vouched for , after due examination by one of the Brethren present ; " but this law has for its object simply the exclusion of the uninitiated , as will more clearly appear by comparing it with the fifteenth of the ancient charges read at the Master ' s installation , which states what examination or voucher is required , namely , " of his ( the visitor ' s ) having been initiated in a regular Lodge ; " and I venture to affirm , without hesitation , that it never yet has been held to enjoin or permit inquiry into character , or to extend further than to require that visitors must be known , recommended , or vouched for , as being Brethren .
Should unfortunately an unworthy person he admitted into the Order , the course pointed out by the Constitutions ought at once to be taken to expel him from it ; but so long as he may remain a member of the Craft , I maintain that he is entitled to the privileges of a member , and the Master of a Lodge has no power to exclude him . —I remain , dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , Cirencester , 9 th January , 1857 . Ceo . Fred . Newmarch .
r ro THE EDI 0 ? OH 01 ? 'Hlltl 'FREEMASONS MAGAZINM AND MASONIC MIRROR . Sir and Brother , —Having read a " Letter to the Craft , ' signed " A Past Master , " a copy of which has been addressed to the W . M . of every Lodge in the kingdom , I . am desirous of asking the writer a few questions . I pass by the vituperative character of his production , and come to the point which has excited so much discussion , and on which so much just indignation has been expressed , viz ., the universal neglect by the executive of our domestic and colonial affairs . What then has a " Past Master" done towards an investigation into those griev-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . Dear Sir and Brother , —In my former letter I drew attention to the fact that the Constitutions nowhere empower the Master to exclude any one who may claim admission to a Lodge , after having given the requisite proofs of his being a Mason . I propose now to give some reasons for thinking that the concession of such a power would be contrary to and subversive of the first principles of the Order . Masonry is universal . It embraces men of all nations , creeds , and languages , strangers to each other in the ordinary acceptation of the term , but united as
[ The Editoe does not hold himself responsible for any opinions entertained by Correspondents . ~\
Brethren by the bond of Masonry , being made by initiation members of the universal Craft . One of the privileges of this membership is , to entitle each Brother to claim admission to all meetings of the Brethren , while working in a Degree to which he may have attained , and this privilege he can , I take it , claim until he shall have been expelled or suspended by the lawfully constituted authority . Concede to the Master of a Lodge the power to exclude whom he will , and you reduce each Lodge to a mere local isolated society or club , instead of being , as I contend it is , part of the universal Masonic system .
It is true the Constitutions provide that " no visitor shall be admitted into a Lodge unless he be personally known , recommended , or well vouched for , after due examination by one of the Brethren present ; " but this law has for its object simply the exclusion of the uninitiated , as will more clearly appear by comparing it with the fifteenth of the ancient charges read at the Master ' s installation , which states what examination or voucher is required , namely , " of his ( the visitor ' s ) having been initiated in a regular Lodge ; " and I venture to affirm , without hesitation , that it never yet has been held to enjoin or permit inquiry into character , or to extend further than to require that visitors must be known , recommended , or vouched for , as being Brethren .
Should unfortunately an unworthy person he admitted into the Order , the course pointed out by the Constitutions ought at once to be taken to expel him from it ; but so long as he may remain a member of the Craft , I maintain that he is entitled to the privileges of a member , and the Master of a Lodge has no power to exclude him . —I remain , dear Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , Cirencester , 9 th January , 1857 . Ceo . Fred . Newmarch .
r ro THE EDI 0 ? OH 01 ? 'Hlltl 'FREEMASONS MAGAZINM AND MASONIC MIRROR . Sir and Brother , —Having read a " Letter to the Craft , ' signed " A Past Master , " a copy of which has been addressed to the W . M . of every Lodge in the kingdom , I . am desirous of asking the writer a few questions . I pass by the vituperative character of his production , and come to the point which has excited so much discussion , and on which so much just indignation has been expressed , viz ., the universal neglect by the executive of our domestic and colonial affairs . What then has a " Past Master" done towards an investigation into those griev-