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Article THE OEAND OFFICERS. Page 1 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
THE OEAND OFFICERS .
As the time approaclies for the appointment of Grand Officers , which will take place on the 28 th of April , speculation is naturall y rife as to who are to be honoured by the Grand Master wi ^ smiles of his favour . We shall not attempt to follow these speculations , but address ourselves to another point , the more general extension of patronage amongst the Graft than has been the
apparent rule for some years past . "We do not mean to state that the Grand Master has ever unfairly sought to raise two or three Lodges over all others by selecting his officers almost entirely from amongst their members , but such has been the practical effect , in consequence of those by whom his lordship has been surrounded coming almost exclusively from those Lodges , and therefore naturally recommending their friends for office . How that is to be remedied we do
not profess to state , because the Most Worshipful Grand Master being the fountain of all honour , it would be presumption in us to suggest any alteration in the mode of appointment— - though we may express an opinion that a more general diffusion of patronage amongst those who have distinguished themselves as working Masons , or supporters—not merely by their money , but by their
labour and their time—of the Masonic charities , would better accord with the principles upon which our Order is founded . It seems to be generally conceded that the two Grand Wardenships should be annually given to members of the nobility or higher classes , without regard to Masonic talent—the title of a lord or a right honourable appearing to be considered of much higher
importance than any amount of knowledge , we will not say of our ceremonies , but of those laws which they are supposed to assist in administering ; and that too in an Order in which we are instructed that preferment is only to be obtained through merit and ability , or , in the words of the Antient Charges ( p . 6 , of the Book of Constitutions ) , " All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and personal merit only ; that so the lords may be well served , the Brethren not put to shame , nor the Eoyal Craft despised ; therefore no Master or Warden is chosen by seniority , but for Ms merit "
What have been the peculiar merits of some recent Grand Wardens it would be invidious to inquire ; but we think that the practice which has been adopted in regard to these appointments has originated not more in the predilections of the Grand Master than in the slavish regard for rank which has penetrated in this country even
YOfc , iv . 2 I
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
THE OEAND OFFICERS .
As the time approaclies for the appointment of Grand Officers , which will take place on the 28 th of April , speculation is naturall y rife as to who are to be honoured by the Grand Master wi ^ smiles of his favour . We shall not attempt to follow these speculations , but address ourselves to another point , the more general extension of patronage amongst the Graft than has been the
apparent rule for some years past . "We do not mean to state that the Grand Master has ever unfairly sought to raise two or three Lodges over all others by selecting his officers almost entirely from amongst their members , but such has been the practical effect , in consequence of those by whom his lordship has been surrounded coming almost exclusively from those Lodges , and therefore naturally recommending their friends for office . How that is to be remedied we do
not profess to state , because the Most Worshipful Grand Master being the fountain of all honour , it would be presumption in us to suggest any alteration in the mode of appointment— - though we may express an opinion that a more general diffusion of patronage amongst those who have distinguished themselves as working Masons , or supporters—not merely by their money , but by their
labour and their time—of the Masonic charities , would better accord with the principles upon which our Order is founded . It seems to be generally conceded that the two Grand Wardenships should be annually given to members of the nobility or higher classes , without regard to Masonic talent—the title of a lord or a right honourable appearing to be considered of much higher
importance than any amount of knowledge , we will not say of our ceremonies , but of those laws which they are supposed to assist in administering ; and that too in an Order in which we are instructed that preferment is only to be obtained through merit and ability , or , in the words of the Antient Charges ( p . 6 , of the Book of Constitutions ) , " All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and personal merit only ; that so the lords may be well served , the Brethren not put to shame , nor the Eoyal Craft despised ; therefore no Master or Warden is chosen by seniority , but for Ms merit "
What have been the peculiar merits of some recent Grand Wardens it would be invidious to inquire ; but we think that the practice which has been adopted in regard to these appointments has originated not more in the predilections of the Grand Master than in the slavish regard for rank which has penetrated in this country even
YOfc , iv . 2 I