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Correspondence
COMESPOroEME
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for cmy opinions entertained by Gor respondmts' . \
THE RIGHTS OF PAST MASTERS . TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . In the Freemasons' Magazine for October , 1855 , in answer to your correspondent , " S . B . > " you state / " The Book of Constitutions , c ^ 13 ' , settles the point very cleariy . Every regularly ^ m ^ has executed the office for one year , shall , so long as he continues a
suhscribihg nieniber of any Lodge , rank as a Past Master and be a member of Grand Lodge . Subscription as a member of any Lodge is sufficient to preserve his rank and rights as a P . M . This rule of the Grand Lodge of England , of course governs the Provincial Grand Lodges , and a Past Master of one province will necessarily preserve his rankin ^ same rule of Grand Lodge governs also the regulations of Grand Chapter ,
but the subscrijition must be regularly kept up , for , ceasing to subscribe for twelve months alienates the privilege . " That interpretation of the Book of Constitutions is held in many of the provinces . I will instance Cambridgeshire , and the Isle of Wight . In other provinces ; Jersey , for instance and / I believe that I may add Sussex , it is held that none but Masters and Wardens , and Brethren who have passed the chair of a Lodge in the province , are members of the Provincial Grand Lodge .
Now , it is well known that the majority of our provincial Brethren look upon their Provincial Grand Lodges as their Grand Lodge : they have but rarely , if ever , entered Grand Lodge , nor will their circumstances in life permit them to do so ; they can neither afford the time nor the money ; therefore , in provinces where the latter interpretation is held , a Brother who by circumstances is obliged to change his province , loses his rank ,
whether or not he joins a Lodge within twelve months of his ceasing to subscribe to his former one . For example—if two Past Masters ( members of a Provincial Grand Lodge ) , receive appointments which oblige them to leave their province , and go , the one to Jersey , the other to the Isfe of Wight , and immediately be elected joining-members of Lodges in these respective provinces , in the latter province the Brother will be acknowledged as a member of a Provincial Grand Lodge and be eligible for Provincial Grand rank : in
the latter , he would be told that he had no rank beyond that of a Master Mason ; and to attain the rank of a Past Master in the province , he must pass the chair of a Lodge in the province—in any good Lodge , a work of several years . The same would , of course , apply to a London Mason retiring , after a life passed in the metropolis , to the country ; he would , then , be shut out , in a great measure , from Masonry , unless he again went through the labours of office in a Lodge ; a work which few , in the vale of years , would like to undertake . The following are , I believe , the clauses upon
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence
COMESPOroEME
[ The Editor does not hold himself responsible for cmy opinions entertained by Gor respondmts' . \
THE RIGHTS OF PAST MASTERS . TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIRROR . In the Freemasons' Magazine for October , 1855 , in answer to your correspondent , " S . B . > " you state / " The Book of Constitutions , c ^ 13 ' , settles the point very cleariy . Every regularly ^ m ^ has executed the office for one year , shall , so long as he continues a
suhscribihg nieniber of any Lodge , rank as a Past Master and be a member of Grand Lodge . Subscription as a member of any Lodge is sufficient to preserve his rank and rights as a P . M . This rule of the Grand Lodge of England , of course governs the Provincial Grand Lodges , and a Past Master of one province will necessarily preserve his rankin ^ same rule of Grand Lodge governs also the regulations of Grand Chapter ,
but the subscrijition must be regularly kept up , for , ceasing to subscribe for twelve months alienates the privilege . " That interpretation of the Book of Constitutions is held in many of the provinces . I will instance Cambridgeshire , and the Isle of Wight . In other provinces ; Jersey , for instance and / I believe that I may add Sussex , it is held that none but Masters and Wardens , and Brethren who have passed the chair of a Lodge in the province , are members of the Provincial Grand Lodge .
Now , it is well known that the majority of our provincial Brethren look upon their Provincial Grand Lodges as their Grand Lodge : they have but rarely , if ever , entered Grand Lodge , nor will their circumstances in life permit them to do so ; they can neither afford the time nor the money ; therefore , in provinces where the latter interpretation is held , a Brother who by circumstances is obliged to change his province , loses his rank ,
whether or not he joins a Lodge within twelve months of his ceasing to subscribe to his former one . For example—if two Past Masters ( members of a Provincial Grand Lodge ) , receive appointments which oblige them to leave their province , and go , the one to Jersey , the other to the Isfe of Wight , and immediately be elected joining-members of Lodges in these respective provinces , in the latter province the Brother will be acknowledged as a member of a Provincial Grand Lodge and be eligible for Provincial Grand rank : in
the latter , he would be told that he had no rank beyond that of a Master Mason ; and to attain the rank of a Past Master in the province , he must pass the chair of a Lodge in the province—in any good Lodge , a work of several years . The same would , of course , apply to a London Mason retiring , after a life passed in the metropolis , to the country ; he would , then , be shut out , in a great measure , from Masonry , unless he again went through the labours of office in a Lodge ; a work which few , in the vale of years , would like to undertake . The following are , I believe , the clauses upon