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Article OQERESPOIDENCE ← Page 2 of 2
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Oqerespoidence
with the Grand Master—who I should think does not desire , and I am sure does not need , his sympathy—on account of a groundless slander , which really hurts no one but the slanderers and their abettors . The reverend Brother then proceeded to contend that the slander was not groundless ; He appears to have been patiently listened to , and rightly so , as it was fair that he should be heard to say what he could for himsell His audience
consisting mainly of men of edneation , must have felt , as others have since done , not only the singularly bad taste of such observations but also the ludicrous inconsistency of the speaker . He admitted , as indeed he could not dare to deny , that the statements which formed the slander were untrue , and yet had the hardihood to insist that they were not groundless . Some have called this Jesuitry ,, but that is unjust to the Jesuits . The sons of Loyola are said to be unscrupulous and slippery , but they « know better better how to weave their sophistries thaii to contradict themselves .
It inust be owned that these two Brethren have rendered some service to the Graft by presenting themselves in the instructive characters of " shocking examples "' and by removing all doubts , if there ever were any , as to the " sympathy" between the authors of the sl ^ and the leaders of the " Observer party . " Some honourable Brethren ^ who may have thoughtlessly become , or at least allowed themselves to be called .
members of that unsavoury party , nlay now consider what sort of companions they haye in it . I rejoice that a noble Brother claimed tb he the eft of that party , but destined , I will no ^ cat ' s paw of any faction , has taken the first occasion that presented itself after the last Grand Lodge to declare publicly his opinion of the Grand Master , in language diametrically opposite to that of the " Observer" and
its leading friends . Far more important , however , than any of these personal questions is the impudent avowal of a " party" in Masonry organized for particular purposes . No wonder that several of your correspondents have already reclaimed against such an abomination . It is opposed to the character , the
interests , and the feelings of the Order—needless , dangerous , and mischievous . It is to no purpose that our laws exclude from our temples politics and polemics , if the poison of party feeling is to be introduced by a 64 Masonic party . " We are told , in language worthy of Bumble the beadle , or a vestryman of Little Peddlington , about a " policy to enunciate . " Can the writer of that bombastic nonsense really doubt that if he has anything to say worth listening to , the Grand Lodge will grant him a hearing ,
without stopping to inquire whether he be backed by " a party ? " Whatever of gobcl , real or supposed , has been of late years worked by Grand Lodge , the " Observer party" modestly claim for themselves . Are these men so blinded by vanity as to believe that there ever have been wanting in Grand Lodge Brethren able and willing to make improvements without resorting to party manoeuvres or to the use of offensive language ? Whatever of ill has appeared , they have the assurance to impute to their opponents , that is , to the great majority of Grand Lodge . They seek to make
political capital out of the Canadian troubles , which they are more than suspected of occasioning or fomenting . The principal function of the " party" has been to disturb the peace of ' the Grand" Lodge by party squabbles and personal invective . The mischiefs which they occasion are becoming unbearable ; and all right minded Brethren must do what in them lies to put down this conspiracy against good order , and to repel any renewed attempt to disgrace Grand Lodge with faction and " party . " Yours fraternally , London . Voih Nov * . 1858 . A Miimbek of Grand Lodoe *
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Oqerespoidence
with the Grand Master—who I should think does not desire , and I am sure does not need , his sympathy—on account of a groundless slander , which really hurts no one but the slanderers and their abettors . The reverend Brother then proceeded to contend that the slander was not groundless ; He appears to have been patiently listened to , and rightly so , as it was fair that he should be heard to say what he could for himsell His audience
consisting mainly of men of edneation , must have felt , as others have since done , not only the singularly bad taste of such observations but also the ludicrous inconsistency of the speaker . He admitted , as indeed he could not dare to deny , that the statements which formed the slander were untrue , and yet had the hardihood to insist that they were not groundless . Some have called this Jesuitry ,, but that is unjust to the Jesuits . The sons of Loyola are said to be unscrupulous and slippery , but they « know better better how to weave their sophistries thaii to contradict themselves .
It inust be owned that these two Brethren have rendered some service to the Graft by presenting themselves in the instructive characters of " shocking examples "' and by removing all doubts , if there ever were any , as to the " sympathy" between the authors of the sl ^ and the leaders of the " Observer party . " Some honourable Brethren ^ who may have thoughtlessly become , or at least allowed themselves to be called .
members of that unsavoury party , nlay now consider what sort of companions they haye in it . I rejoice that a noble Brother claimed tb he the eft of that party , but destined , I will no ^ cat ' s paw of any faction , has taken the first occasion that presented itself after the last Grand Lodge to declare publicly his opinion of the Grand Master , in language diametrically opposite to that of the " Observer" and
its leading friends . Far more important , however , than any of these personal questions is the impudent avowal of a " party" in Masonry organized for particular purposes . No wonder that several of your correspondents have already reclaimed against such an abomination . It is opposed to the character , the
interests , and the feelings of the Order—needless , dangerous , and mischievous . It is to no purpose that our laws exclude from our temples politics and polemics , if the poison of party feeling is to be introduced by a 64 Masonic party . " We are told , in language worthy of Bumble the beadle , or a vestryman of Little Peddlington , about a " policy to enunciate . " Can the writer of that bombastic nonsense really doubt that if he has anything to say worth listening to , the Grand Lodge will grant him a hearing ,
without stopping to inquire whether he be backed by " a party ? " Whatever of gobcl , real or supposed , has been of late years worked by Grand Lodge , the " Observer party" modestly claim for themselves . Are these men so blinded by vanity as to believe that there ever have been wanting in Grand Lodge Brethren able and willing to make improvements without resorting to party manoeuvres or to the use of offensive language ? Whatever of ill has appeared , they have the assurance to impute to their opponents , that is , to the great majority of Grand Lodge . They seek to make
political capital out of the Canadian troubles , which they are more than suspected of occasioning or fomenting . The principal function of the " party" has been to disturb the peace of ' the Grand" Lodge by party squabbles and personal invective . The mischiefs which they occasion are becoming unbearable ; and all right minded Brethren must do what in them lies to put down this conspiracy against good order , and to repel any renewed attempt to disgrace Grand Lodge with faction and " party . " Yours fraternally , London . Voih Nov * . 1858 . A Miimbek of Grand Lodoe *