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Article PROVINCIAL ← Page 12 of 21 →
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Provincial
opinion and confidence of the Brethren ; and if they desired to read his sermon he would most willingly have it printed , trusting it would prove acee ^^^ the Craft in general ; and the Brethren of ShSblk in particular . ( Cheers ) ^ The Grand Registrar said that from what he had seen and heard , it was evident that the province of Suffolk had been well served by Prov . Grand Officers , and he need only refer to what had taken place in the morning to convince him of the estimation in which they held their late D . Prov . G . M ., Bro . Martin . { Cheers ) .
They had heard him say that he had only resigned office in order to make way for other Brethren , as offices ought not to be held in perpetuity by one person to the exclusion of others . He fully concurred in that opinion , and he trusted that In future it would be acted on in Grand Lodge to a greater extent than it had hitherto been , as for one Brother to continue to hold office year after year , Was to shut the door against the preferment of others . To obtain preferment was and
ought to be justly one of the objects of ainbitioii of every Mason , and if one Brother continued to hold office longer than was fair to the Craft , he was shutting the door against others who had a right to receive the honours of the Craft . They could not too highly honour a Brother who felt § , nd acted as Bro . Martin had done in considering the Interests of the Craft , and tne feelings of others ; and he should therefore ask them to join him in drinking the health of that worthy Brother , ( cheers ) , and the P . Prov . G . Officers . ( Cheers ) .
Bro . Martin , P . D . Prov . G . M . rose amidst loud cheers and said —" Many thanks to you , Right Worshipful Sir , for the pattering terms in which you have brought me under the notice of the Brethren , ami to you , Worshipful Sirs and Brethren of every degree , for your cordial reception of the toast . If on any account more than another I have deserved these tokens , I belieye it is from my earnest desire that the good of Masonry should be considered identical with its social standing and moral excellence . In itsi original institution its Lod -were centres from which radiated all knowledge , theological and philosophicai , but now ,
although the avenues to science are thrown open to the uninitiated , there is yet in Masonry , as our worthy Chaplain has this day declared , much to be learned and cherished , which should prevent our descent to mere convivialism . Masonry calls into existence the best feelings of our nature ; of this Holy Writ affords a brilliant example in the 20 th chapter 1 st Book of Kings , in the history of Benhadad , and it is interesting to observe how anxiously but abortively , the attendants watched the proceedings of the brother kings . Alas ! Brethren , such scenes may he again enacted , for as Cowper wrote ,
iC Sure there is need of social intercourse , Benevolence and peace , and mutual aid Among the nations , in a world which seems r To toll the death bell of its own decease . ' In transmitting my jewel of office to the custody of a successor , I have acted according to my own conviction of right , and opened the road to Masonic promotion
to younger and aspiring Brethren . On this subject I explained myself in Provincial Grand Lodge this morning . I regret , however , to find this exercise of my own discretion has caused me the censure of two or three highly valued Masonic friends . Difference of opinion should never alter friendship ; on my part it will not , and as Masonry is a peculiar system of morality , veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols , I will close these remarks by repeating an allegory , illustrated by the square as the symbol of sincerity :
" * Once upon a time an emperor , a wjsc man , No matter where—in China or Japan—Decreed that whosoever should offend Against the well known duties of a friend , Detected once , should ever after wear But half a coat , and shew his bosom bare ; The punishment denoting this , no doubt , That all was naught within , and all found out Oh , happy Brethren ^ we have not to fear Such harsh and arbitrary measures here ;
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Provincial
opinion and confidence of the Brethren ; and if they desired to read his sermon he would most willingly have it printed , trusting it would prove acee ^^^ the Craft in general ; and the Brethren of ShSblk in particular . ( Cheers ) ^ The Grand Registrar said that from what he had seen and heard , it was evident that the province of Suffolk had been well served by Prov . Grand Officers , and he need only refer to what had taken place in the morning to convince him of the estimation in which they held their late D . Prov . G . M ., Bro . Martin . { Cheers ) .
They had heard him say that he had only resigned office in order to make way for other Brethren , as offices ought not to be held in perpetuity by one person to the exclusion of others . He fully concurred in that opinion , and he trusted that In future it would be acted on in Grand Lodge to a greater extent than it had hitherto been , as for one Brother to continue to hold office year after year , Was to shut the door against the preferment of others . To obtain preferment was and
ought to be justly one of the objects of ainbitioii of every Mason , and if one Brother continued to hold office longer than was fair to the Craft , he was shutting the door against others who had a right to receive the honours of the Craft . They could not too highly honour a Brother who felt § , nd acted as Bro . Martin had done in considering the Interests of the Craft , and tne feelings of others ; and he should therefore ask them to join him in drinking the health of that worthy Brother , ( cheers ) , and the P . Prov . G . Officers . ( Cheers ) .
Bro . Martin , P . D . Prov . G . M . rose amidst loud cheers and said —" Many thanks to you , Right Worshipful Sir , for the pattering terms in which you have brought me under the notice of the Brethren , ami to you , Worshipful Sirs and Brethren of every degree , for your cordial reception of the toast . If on any account more than another I have deserved these tokens , I belieye it is from my earnest desire that the good of Masonry should be considered identical with its social standing and moral excellence . In itsi original institution its Lod -were centres from which radiated all knowledge , theological and philosophicai , but now ,
although the avenues to science are thrown open to the uninitiated , there is yet in Masonry , as our worthy Chaplain has this day declared , much to be learned and cherished , which should prevent our descent to mere convivialism . Masonry calls into existence the best feelings of our nature ; of this Holy Writ affords a brilliant example in the 20 th chapter 1 st Book of Kings , in the history of Benhadad , and it is interesting to observe how anxiously but abortively , the attendants watched the proceedings of the brother kings . Alas ! Brethren , such scenes may he again enacted , for as Cowper wrote ,
iC Sure there is need of social intercourse , Benevolence and peace , and mutual aid Among the nations , in a world which seems r To toll the death bell of its own decease . ' In transmitting my jewel of office to the custody of a successor , I have acted according to my own conviction of right , and opened the road to Masonic promotion
to younger and aspiring Brethren . On this subject I explained myself in Provincial Grand Lodge this morning . I regret , however , to find this exercise of my own discretion has caused me the censure of two or three highly valued Masonic friends . Difference of opinion should never alter friendship ; on my part it will not , and as Masonry is a peculiar system of morality , veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols , I will close these remarks by repeating an allegory , illustrated by the square as the symbol of sincerity :
" * Once upon a time an emperor , a wjsc man , No matter where—in China or Japan—Decreed that whosoever should offend Against the well known duties of a friend , Detected once , should ever after wear But half a coat , and shew his bosom bare ; The punishment denoting this , no doubt , That all was naught within , and all found out Oh , happy Brethren ^ we have not to fear Such harsh and arbitrary measures here ;