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Article THE OEAND OFFICERS. ← Page 4 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
hall , whilst the eye can rest on any given point , or on the light itself , without paift . About twenty or thirty of these stars would be amply sufiBicient for the Ereemasons' Hall ; and the cost is so small that we are almost afraid to mention it—thirty shillings each , or from thirty to fifty pounds for lighting the whole hall , a price which we should suppose would be more than covered by the sale of the present chandeliers , and miserably small when compared with the cost of the
late experiments . We now arrive at two Officers , one of whom , we believe , has been in harness over twenty years , and the other exceeding fifteen . "WVallude to the Grand Directors of Ceremonies , Brothers Eichard W . Jennings and Thory Chapman ; and if we complain that these Brothers have been continued in office , it is not because we object to
the manner in which they have discharged the duties entrusted to them , but because the Most Worshipful Grand Master has thereby limited his own powers of rewarding or honouring worthy Brethren , and at the same time inflicted a gross injustice on the large mass of the working lodges—the occasional conferring of a purple apron upon some distinguished member Of which would not only be considered as
a graceful recognition of the merits of a brother , but regarded as a high compliment to the lodge of which he might be a member . We are aware it is urged that the duties of the Grand Director of Ceremonies are of a delicate and onerous nature , and require some experience to properly comprehend , but what they are , with the exception of those with which any confidential servant could be entrusted , we
are left m the dark by the Book of Constitutions which thus lucidly describes them : — " The Grand Director of Ceremonies , in' addition to Jiu other duties , has the care of the regalia , clothing , insignia , and jewels belonging to the Grand Lodge . " Which we presume means , that he has to see to their being properly collected and put away on
the state occasions when they are permitted to be worn , though we very much doubt if that is not generally left to be performed by some humbler hands . The Book of Constitutions not having very clearly defined the other duties , we think we have a shrewd idea of what they are . The Grand Director of Ceremonies marshals the procession of
the Most Worshipful Grand Master and his Officers into Grand Lodge , and the Assistant announces in a stentorian voice the arrival of the procession . He also calls upon the Brethren to salute the Grand Master in due form . Should there be any distinguished visitor present—such , for example , as Prince Frederick William of Prussia—by the united exertions of the Grand Directors of
Ceremonies he is duly introduced to the Brethren , and all his titles read with proper emphasis ; and the Directors of Ceremonies , assisted by the Grand Pursuivant , and occasionally by an extra zealous Grand Steward , distribute and re-collect the balloting papers on the nights of election for the Board of Masters or the Board of General
Purposes , Now , we think we can show , and we shall presently endeavour to do so , that these offices may be made available for rewarding or exalting brethren to the dais without detriment to the efficiency of the office or danger to the regalia .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
hall , whilst the eye can rest on any given point , or on the light itself , without paift . About twenty or thirty of these stars would be amply sufiBicient for the Ereemasons' Hall ; and the cost is so small that we are almost afraid to mention it—thirty shillings each , or from thirty to fifty pounds for lighting the whole hall , a price which we should suppose would be more than covered by the sale of the present chandeliers , and miserably small when compared with the cost of the
late experiments . We now arrive at two Officers , one of whom , we believe , has been in harness over twenty years , and the other exceeding fifteen . "WVallude to the Grand Directors of Ceremonies , Brothers Eichard W . Jennings and Thory Chapman ; and if we complain that these Brothers have been continued in office , it is not because we object to
the manner in which they have discharged the duties entrusted to them , but because the Most Worshipful Grand Master has thereby limited his own powers of rewarding or honouring worthy Brethren , and at the same time inflicted a gross injustice on the large mass of the working lodges—the occasional conferring of a purple apron upon some distinguished member Of which would not only be considered as
a graceful recognition of the merits of a brother , but regarded as a high compliment to the lodge of which he might be a member . We are aware it is urged that the duties of the Grand Director of Ceremonies are of a delicate and onerous nature , and require some experience to properly comprehend , but what they are , with the exception of those with which any confidential servant could be entrusted , we
are left m the dark by the Book of Constitutions which thus lucidly describes them : — " The Grand Director of Ceremonies , in' addition to Jiu other duties , has the care of the regalia , clothing , insignia , and jewels belonging to the Grand Lodge . " Which we presume means , that he has to see to their being properly collected and put away on
the state occasions when they are permitted to be worn , though we very much doubt if that is not generally left to be performed by some humbler hands . The Book of Constitutions not having very clearly defined the other duties , we think we have a shrewd idea of what they are . The Grand Director of Ceremonies marshals the procession of
the Most Worshipful Grand Master and his Officers into Grand Lodge , and the Assistant announces in a stentorian voice the arrival of the procession . He also calls upon the Brethren to salute the Grand Master in due form . Should there be any distinguished visitor present—such , for example , as Prince Frederick William of Prussia—by the united exertions of the Grand Directors of
Ceremonies he is duly introduced to the Brethren , and all his titles read with proper emphasis ; and the Directors of Ceremonies , assisted by the Grand Pursuivant , and occasionally by an extra zealous Grand Steward , distribute and re-collect the balloting papers on the nights of election for the Board of Masters or the Board of General
Purposes , Now , we think we can show , and we shall presently endeavour to do so , that these offices may be made available for rewarding or exalting brethren to the dais without detriment to the efficiency of the office or danger to the regalia .