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Article OTTE ARCHITEGTURAL CHAPTER, ← Page 3 of 5 →
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Otte Architegtural Chapter,
Members of Grand Lodge will have their attention especially directed to this matter , for it forms a prominent part of the report of the Board of General Purposes to be brought before the next quarterly communication . The Board direct attention to the mode of dealing with the new property , both as regards a return for the outlay incurred , and in respect to providing fit and appropriate accommodation
for the fraternity . The first point is what most will be first inclined to reflect ' - ¦ upon ; the latter is , however , that of real importance , because it involves various considerations . Were there any question in reality of losing the income now derived from the tavern , we shotdd set it aside , for we are
not dependent on such income , while it is necessary to consult our own dignity , and it is desirable to provide for the accommodation of our members . Do we really keep a tavern ; is that our business ^—or do we provide a building for the purposes , moral and social , of our Craft ? That is the question really before us . It does not either hinge upon our associations being deprived of the accustomed provision for
banquets and refreshment , as such provision can better be made by the suppression of the tavern . The very first thing we should determine on , if we were starting anew , or forming a Provincial Grand Lodge or a Colonial Grand Lodge , with no regard to finance , would undoubtedly be to resolve , on having no tavern at all—an appendage for which there is no necessity , and which brings its own inconveniences .
Those associations in London which include among their members the greater portion of the wealthy and educated classes—the clubs of London—do without tavern keepers , and after cl their members a degree of luxury and comfort , and a degree of economy , which it is well known cannot be paralleled in any tavern , certainly not in the tavern to which our name is unfortunately attached . If
the interest of Lodges and their members is to be consulted , then we say again , unhesitatingly—suppress the tavern ; and by means of a house committee , as you would in a club of less resources than are the resources of our members , provide the required accommodation . This is so feasible , so ready of accomplishment , so free from doubt or speculation , that we wonder it has remained so long unaccomplished . The whole amount expended for provisions in one of the largest clubs of London , with one thousand members , does not
exceed £ 10 , 000 in a year ; and on such an amount , if need be , a tax of eight or ten per cent . wi . lLs . 90 n provide a return 01 the property appropriated for the refreshment department . 'The great expense in a club is the building , tho fifty , sixty , or hundred thousand pounds exp . ) ndedt thereon , and which long weighs on its resources—but that we have provided , for we arc masters of our own freehold , and can if we see fit , provide for the entertainment of our members rent free . The more important view of the Report is , and particularly as affecting the provincial members , who haye a pecuniary and personal interest in the buildings , is , that as a matter of character and credit , they should be appropriated to Masonic purposes alone , and that by
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Otte Architegtural Chapter,
Members of Grand Lodge will have their attention especially directed to this matter , for it forms a prominent part of the report of the Board of General Purposes to be brought before the next quarterly communication . The Board direct attention to the mode of dealing with the new property , both as regards a return for the outlay incurred , and in respect to providing fit and appropriate accommodation
for the fraternity . The first point is what most will be first inclined to reflect ' - ¦ upon ; the latter is , however , that of real importance , because it involves various considerations . Were there any question in reality of losing the income now derived from the tavern , we shotdd set it aside , for we are
not dependent on such income , while it is necessary to consult our own dignity , and it is desirable to provide for the accommodation of our members . Do we really keep a tavern ; is that our business ^—or do we provide a building for the purposes , moral and social , of our Craft ? That is the question really before us . It does not either hinge upon our associations being deprived of the accustomed provision for
banquets and refreshment , as such provision can better be made by the suppression of the tavern . The very first thing we should determine on , if we were starting anew , or forming a Provincial Grand Lodge or a Colonial Grand Lodge , with no regard to finance , would undoubtedly be to resolve , on having no tavern at all—an appendage for which there is no necessity , and which brings its own inconveniences .
Those associations in London which include among their members the greater portion of the wealthy and educated classes—the clubs of London—do without tavern keepers , and after cl their members a degree of luxury and comfort , and a degree of economy , which it is well known cannot be paralleled in any tavern , certainly not in the tavern to which our name is unfortunately attached . If
the interest of Lodges and their members is to be consulted , then we say again , unhesitatingly—suppress the tavern ; and by means of a house committee , as you would in a club of less resources than are the resources of our members , provide the required accommodation . This is so feasible , so ready of accomplishment , so free from doubt or speculation , that we wonder it has remained so long unaccomplished . The whole amount expended for provisions in one of the largest clubs of London , with one thousand members , does not
exceed £ 10 , 000 in a year ; and on such an amount , if need be , a tax of eight or ten per cent . wi . lLs . 90 n provide a return 01 the property appropriated for the refreshment department . 'The great expense in a club is the building , tho fifty , sixty , or hundred thousand pounds exp . ) ndedt thereon , and which long weighs on its resources—but that we have provided , for we arc masters of our own freehold , and can if we see fit , provide for the entertainment of our members rent free . The more important view of the Report is , and particularly as affecting the provincial members , who haye a pecuniary and personal interest in the buildings , is , that as a matter of character and credit , they should be appropriated to Masonic purposes alone , and that by