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Article THE CAN ADAS. ← Page 3 of 8 →
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The Can Adas.
to state that that publication appears to be held in much higher estimation in the colonics than it has been here . That it possesses no authority beyond the permission to publish ( on the responsibility of its editor for accuracy ) an account of the proceedings of Grand Lodge . " 1 have the honour to be , R . W . Sir and Brother , u Yoiirs ' fraternaUv .
" T . Douglas Harington , Esq . & c . " Wm . Gray Clarke , G . Sec . " Toronto , Canada . "
[ Cqpy O " Toronto , Mtli April , 1858 . ¦ " WW . Sir and Brother—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your very brief communication of the 12 th ult ., written by command of the Most Worshipful Grand Master , which I have circulated among the Brethren for their information , and I am constrained to believe that its perusal will give rise to a feeling of deep regret , or , it may be , to one of a stronger nature . ¦
When the significancy of the question at issue , and the events that have accumulated since its first introduction , are considered , it seems marvellous that this important Masonic province cannot now command more than a dozen lines , stating that the Most Worshipful Grand Master will not change Ms mind , but leaving the Craft not one bit nearer to a knowledge of what the deliberate counsels and feelings of the Grand Lodge of England itself are .
" The Most Worshipful Grand Master is pleased to declare , through you , that , having given the whole subject his mature consideration , he does not observe any grounds or any new circumstances alleged in my letter of the 1 st February , to induce him to alter his expressed opinion . 1 will leave my letter to speak for itself ; simply referring to the contents of Bro , Beach ' s communication , and the extracts from that of Bro . Furaell , sh ' owhig the recorded opinion of the Duke of Leinster , the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Ireland , who had aUo carefully considered the question
of the Canadian declaration . " The Most-Worshi p ful Grand Master , in the second place , states , through you , that , in his opinion , my view of the surrender of warrants is not borne out by the Book of Constitutions , and you merely refer me back to the clause upon which I relied , and to which I invited his attention . I am quite content to be convinced that I am in error , and if the Most Worshipful Grand Master will be so good as to refer to my letter , he will see that he was asked to declare what ought to have been done—that is to say , the Canadian Craft desired to have a clear definition of the constitutional
and legal course in regard to the disposal of their warrants , & c . Simple opinions only leave matters where they were ; and it should be remembered that Sir Allan MacNab was severely censured about the warrants , without any attempt to enlighten him as to how he should have acted . It is not an uncommon remark , that ( as people say of acts of parliament ) portions of the English Constitutions of Freemasonry are so vaguely expressed that a coach and horses might be driven through them . I know from personal experience the difficulty of interpreting isonie clauses .
" The Most Worshipful Grand Master , in the third place , states , through you , that the Freemason ' s Magazine appears to be held in higher estimation in the colonies than in London , and that it possesses no authority beyond the permission to publish ( on the responsibility of its editor for accuracy ) an account of the proceedings of Grand Lodge . " To this I reply , that if we are to be guided by tho entire contents of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Can Adas.
to state that that publication appears to be held in much higher estimation in the colonics than it has been here . That it possesses no authority beyond the permission to publish ( on the responsibility of its editor for accuracy ) an account of the proceedings of Grand Lodge . " 1 have the honour to be , R . W . Sir and Brother , u Yoiirs ' fraternaUv .
" T . Douglas Harington , Esq . & c . " Wm . Gray Clarke , G . Sec . " Toronto , Canada . "
[ Cqpy O " Toronto , Mtli April , 1858 . ¦ " WW . Sir and Brother—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your very brief communication of the 12 th ult ., written by command of the Most Worshipful Grand Master , which I have circulated among the Brethren for their information , and I am constrained to believe that its perusal will give rise to a feeling of deep regret , or , it may be , to one of a stronger nature . ¦
When the significancy of the question at issue , and the events that have accumulated since its first introduction , are considered , it seems marvellous that this important Masonic province cannot now command more than a dozen lines , stating that the Most Worshipful Grand Master will not change Ms mind , but leaving the Craft not one bit nearer to a knowledge of what the deliberate counsels and feelings of the Grand Lodge of England itself are .
" The Most Worshipful Grand Master is pleased to declare , through you , that , having given the whole subject his mature consideration , he does not observe any grounds or any new circumstances alleged in my letter of the 1 st February , to induce him to alter his expressed opinion . 1 will leave my letter to speak for itself ; simply referring to the contents of Bro , Beach ' s communication , and the extracts from that of Bro . Furaell , sh ' owhig the recorded opinion of the Duke of Leinster , the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Ireland , who had aUo carefully considered the question
of the Canadian declaration . " The Most-Worshi p ful Grand Master , in the second place , states , through you , that , in his opinion , my view of the surrender of warrants is not borne out by the Book of Constitutions , and you merely refer me back to the clause upon which I relied , and to which I invited his attention . I am quite content to be convinced that I am in error , and if the Most Worshipful Grand Master will be so good as to refer to my letter , he will see that he was asked to declare what ought to have been done—that is to say , the Canadian Craft desired to have a clear definition of the constitutional
and legal course in regard to the disposal of their warrants , & c . Simple opinions only leave matters where they were ; and it should be remembered that Sir Allan MacNab was severely censured about the warrants , without any attempt to enlighten him as to how he should have acted . It is not an uncommon remark , that ( as people say of acts of parliament ) portions of the English Constitutions of Freemasonry are so vaguely expressed that a coach and horses might be driven through them . I know from personal experience the difficulty of interpreting isonie clauses .
" The Most Worshipful Grand Master , in the third place , states , through you , that the Freemason ' s Magazine appears to be held in higher estimation in the colonies than in London , and that it possesses no authority beyond the permission to publish ( on the responsibility of its editor for accuracy ) an account of the proceedings of Grand Lodge . " To this I reply , that if we are to be guided by tho entire contents of