-
Articles/Ads
Article THE OEAND OFFICERS. ← Page 3 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
which he has met every brother with whom he has come into contact during his year of office , has so far modified opinions with regard to him , as to make any alteration asundesired as it must be unadvisable , as frequent alterations in such an office could have no other effect than that of completely disorganizing the business of the Craft .
Perhaps , indeed , we ought not to have included the Grand Secretary in our list , as he is not an officer subject to annual appointment , nor is he removable at the pleasure of the Grand Master—for once placed in office by the Grand Master , he becomes the servant of Grand Lodge , a distinct vote of which alone can remove him ; and it is probably wellfor the interests of the Craft that it is so .
We will , therefore , proceed with the other officers ' in rotation ( regarding the office of Grand Secretary for German Correspondence as more honorary than real , and one which might be filled byany schoolboy understanding the German language )—the Grand Deacons . Being next in importance and rank of the generally movable officers , the Deacons are usually selected from Brethren members of the liberal professions ; and to this we make no objection , provided such Brethren have shown themselves in their private Lodges to understand their business , and have rendered fair and honourable
service to the Craft . We look back through the appointments to these officers for several years past ; and though there are many honourable exceptions ( such as Bro . Havers , Bro . John Hervey , Bro . Newton Tomkins , Bro . Herbert Lloyd , and the present Grand Deacons ) , we are bound to state they have been very far from
satisfactory , —the Brethren aj ) pointed having been too often entirely unknown out of their own Lodges , and their names not even appearing on the list of subscribers , so far as we can trace , to the charities of the Order .
Passing from the Grand Deacons , we come to the Grand Superintendent of "Works , Bro . Samuel W . Daukes ; and though he has not held his appointment any very great length of time , having only been appointed in 1856 , we see no reason ( unless there are some
great works contemplated , the designs and plans of which are already prepared ) why one or two of the other architects in the Order should not have the opportunity of putting on the purple apron ; and should there be such works in contemplation , we hope they may be so well
considered that we may not have to report a succession of such intolerable failures as have lately distinguished the experimental attempts at lighting and ventilating the hall . Whilst we are on the subject of lighting we would direct attention ( though perhaps somewhat out of place excepting for the information of the Grand
Superintendent of W orks ) to the beautiful effect produced in the new St . James ' s Hall by the simplest of means , the idea of which was taken from the Mosque of St . Sophia at Constantinople—the difference being that where coloured oil lamps are used in the one , simple unglazed gas is employed in the other . In St .. James's Hall
there are suspended from the roof eighty-four gas stars with eight rays each , which spread a soft and diffused light throughout the 2 p 2
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
which he has met every brother with whom he has come into contact during his year of office , has so far modified opinions with regard to him , as to make any alteration asundesired as it must be unadvisable , as frequent alterations in such an office could have no other effect than that of completely disorganizing the business of the Craft .
Perhaps , indeed , we ought not to have included the Grand Secretary in our list , as he is not an officer subject to annual appointment , nor is he removable at the pleasure of the Grand Master—for once placed in office by the Grand Master , he becomes the servant of Grand Lodge , a distinct vote of which alone can remove him ; and it is probably wellfor the interests of the Craft that it is so .
We will , therefore , proceed with the other officers ' in rotation ( regarding the office of Grand Secretary for German Correspondence as more honorary than real , and one which might be filled byany schoolboy understanding the German language )—the Grand Deacons . Being next in importance and rank of the generally movable officers , the Deacons are usually selected from Brethren members of the liberal professions ; and to this we make no objection , provided such Brethren have shown themselves in their private Lodges to understand their business , and have rendered fair and honourable
service to the Craft . We look back through the appointments to these officers for several years past ; and though there are many honourable exceptions ( such as Bro . Havers , Bro . John Hervey , Bro . Newton Tomkins , Bro . Herbert Lloyd , and the present Grand Deacons ) , we are bound to state they have been very far from
satisfactory , —the Brethren aj ) pointed having been too often entirely unknown out of their own Lodges , and their names not even appearing on the list of subscribers , so far as we can trace , to the charities of the Order .
Passing from the Grand Deacons , we come to the Grand Superintendent of "Works , Bro . Samuel W . Daukes ; and though he has not held his appointment any very great length of time , having only been appointed in 1856 , we see no reason ( unless there are some
great works contemplated , the designs and plans of which are already prepared ) why one or two of the other architects in the Order should not have the opportunity of putting on the purple apron ; and should there be such works in contemplation , we hope they may be so well
considered that we may not have to report a succession of such intolerable failures as have lately distinguished the experimental attempts at lighting and ventilating the hall . Whilst we are on the subject of lighting we would direct attention ( though perhaps somewhat out of place excepting for the information of the Grand
Superintendent of W orks ) to the beautiful effect produced in the new St . James ' s Hall by the simplest of means , the idea of which was taken from the Mosque of St . Sophia at Constantinople—the difference being that where coloured oil lamps are used in the one , simple unglazed gas is employed in the other . In St .. James's Hall
there are suspended from the roof eighty-four gas stars with eight rays each , which spread a soft and diffused light throughout the 2 p 2