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Article THE GRAND MASTER AND BRO. WHITMORE. Page 1 of 11 →
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The Grand Master And Bro. Whitmore.
THE GEA ^ D MASTEE A ^
TO THE EDITOR 01 THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC- M 5 feR 0 . Ro . Sir and Brother , —In your report of a speech delivered by Bro , Spiers , at the Prov . Grand Lodge of Oxfordshire , on the 27 th ultimo , the following passages occurred : —
" First they had Bros . Dr . Crucefix , Lee Stevens , Whitmore 3 and others , who indulged in attacks upon the Grand Master and his supporters * " ¦ " There had been little guerilla fights with Bro . Scarborough and others ; but he considered the attacks now made , to be of a dangerous character ,. because they were supposed to emanate from men of education ; and high position in society . "
¦ \ Now , sir , there is something in all this so studiously ofiensive—and , as far as I am personally concerned , so positively untrue—that I feel I should be wanting in the respect due to m ^ ing to it , and you ( paxdon me ^ ^ fo ^ accustomed fairness if you did not afford me the opportuiiity of saying so .
I emphatically deiiy ever having , either by pen or speech , u indulged in attacks" upon the Grand Master- — I challenge Bro . Spiers to the proof , If he declines to accept this challenge—or if , accepting it , he fails to substantiate what he has so suffer the imputation of baying traduced an absent Brother , and consequently forgotten his obligation as a Master M ^
My experience of Grand Lodge extends over a more lengthened period than that of Bro . Spiers ; I have equally with him been an observer of what has passed in that assembly ; and I boldly assert that the course which I have pursued , both in it and out of it , has been characterized by as much Masonic courtesy and deference to constituted authority as his own , and possibly by a little more independence of thought and action . When I have
differed with the Grand Master , I have not hesitated to avow it ; when his policy has appeared to me to be unwise , I have not wanted the courage to oppose it ; and let me also add , when I have thought him in the right he has had my earnest though humble support . But I think I hear some one of those so called u supporters" ask when and where , in the name of
goodness , did ever Bro . Whitmore show approval of the Grand Master ? Listen—at an especial Grand Lodge , held in the year 1847 ( I think in December ) , Bro . Crucefix rn'oposed and carried a resolution for painting the Grand Master ' s portrait—that resolution was seconded by myself , and as a consequence , I formed one of a committee for carrying it into effect . The result was the admirable work of art by Grant which now decorates our
large hall , and for which the sum of three hundred guineas was paid by Grand Lodge . This very trifling affair ( so trifling indeed that , as far as either Bro . Crucefix or myself were concerned , nobody ever thought it worthy of acknowledgment ) lias doubtless been long since forgotten , and I confess I am half ashamed of myself for having noticed it .
Bro . Spiers considers the present attacks upon the Grand Master more mischievous than those by the late Bro . Crucefix and others , because made by men of education—thereby inferring that Bro . Crucefix and his friends werenot so . Sir , this is very pitiful , and considering that there was a time when Bro . Spiers professed great respect and friendship for Bro . Crucefix , exceedingly ungenerous ; and I very much mistake if a large proportion of those who become acquainted with these facts will not be of rny opinion ,
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Grand Master And Bro. Whitmore.
THE GEA ^ D MASTEE A ^
TO THE EDITOR 01 THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC- M 5 feR 0 . Ro . Sir and Brother , —In your report of a speech delivered by Bro , Spiers , at the Prov . Grand Lodge of Oxfordshire , on the 27 th ultimo , the following passages occurred : —
" First they had Bros . Dr . Crucefix , Lee Stevens , Whitmore 3 and others , who indulged in attacks upon the Grand Master and his supporters * " ¦ " There had been little guerilla fights with Bro . Scarborough and others ; but he considered the attacks now made , to be of a dangerous character ,. because they were supposed to emanate from men of education ; and high position in society . "
¦ \ Now , sir , there is something in all this so studiously ofiensive—and , as far as I am personally concerned , so positively untrue—that I feel I should be wanting in the respect due to m ^ ing to it , and you ( paxdon me ^ ^ fo ^ accustomed fairness if you did not afford me the opportuiiity of saying so .
I emphatically deiiy ever having , either by pen or speech , u indulged in attacks" upon the Grand Master- — I challenge Bro . Spiers to the proof , If he declines to accept this challenge—or if , accepting it , he fails to substantiate what he has so suffer the imputation of baying traduced an absent Brother , and consequently forgotten his obligation as a Master M ^
My experience of Grand Lodge extends over a more lengthened period than that of Bro . Spiers ; I have equally with him been an observer of what has passed in that assembly ; and I boldly assert that the course which I have pursued , both in it and out of it , has been characterized by as much Masonic courtesy and deference to constituted authority as his own , and possibly by a little more independence of thought and action . When I have
differed with the Grand Master , I have not hesitated to avow it ; when his policy has appeared to me to be unwise , I have not wanted the courage to oppose it ; and let me also add , when I have thought him in the right he has had my earnest though humble support . But I think I hear some one of those so called u supporters" ask when and where , in the name of
goodness , did ever Bro . Whitmore show approval of the Grand Master ? Listen—at an especial Grand Lodge , held in the year 1847 ( I think in December ) , Bro . Crucefix rn'oposed and carried a resolution for painting the Grand Master ' s portrait—that resolution was seconded by myself , and as a consequence , I formed one of a committee for carrying it into effect . The result was the admirable work of art by Grant which now decorates our
large hall , and for which the sum of three hundred guineas was paid by Grand Lodge . This very trifling affair ( so trifling indeed that , as far as either Bro . Crucefix or myself were concerned , nobody ever thought it worthy of acknowledgment ) lias doubtless been long since forgotten , and I confess I am half ashamed of myself for having noticed it .
Bro . Spiers considers the present attacks upon the Grand Master more mischievous than those by the late Bro . Crucefix and others , because made by men of education—thereby inferring that Bro . Crucefix and his friends werenot so . Sir , this is very pitiful , and considering that there was a time when Bro . Spiers professed great respect and friendship for Bro . Crucefix , exceedingly ungenerous ; and I very much mistake if a large proportion of those who become acquainted with these facts will not be of rny opinion ,