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Article MODERN WRITERS UPON FREEMASONRY.—II. ← Page 4 of 6 →
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Modern Writers Upon Freemasonry.—Ii.
In the Master ' s absence , the immediate Past Master , or if he be absent , the Senior Past Master of the Lodge present shall take the chair . And if no Past Master of the Lodge be present , then the Senior Warden , or in his absence the Junior Warden , shall rule the Lodge . " But Dr . Oliver says ( p .
156)—" But the Wardens will , generally , as a matter of courtesy , request any Past Master to take the chair , on account of his experience and skill in conducting the business of a Lodge . Nevertheless , such Past Master holds his authority under the Senior Warden , because he cannot act until the latter congregates the Lodge .
True ; but when the Lodge is once assembled , no one under the rank of installed Master has the right to rule the Lodge if one of that rank be present . The Senior Warden , or in his absence the Junior Warden , may , according to the Constitutions , " act as Master in summoning the Lodge , " in this instance taking jwecedeuce of Past Masters . But the Lodge once assembled , Past Masters take precedence
of the Wardens , not as Dr . Oliver says , being asked to do so by the courtesy of the Wardens , but as a matter of right according to the Constitutions . With respect to taking the chair , and conferring degrees , the generally received opinion is that no one under the rank of an installed Master may take the chair of the Lodge , at least in its usual place , but that the Senior Warden or other qualified officer ^ rule the Lodinthe absence of a Past Mastersitting in a chair
may ge . , before the dais ; and if a Past Master be present , but not otherwise , may , sitting iii that place , confer degrees , thus acting as the mouthpiece of the installed Master in the chair , so that the Lodge may not suffer , or candidates be inconvenienced by the inefficiency , or long want of practice of a Past Master . The case of holy orders , as quoted by Dr . Oliver from others , appears to us by no means
analogous , and decidedly mal apropos ; the case of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords seems more to the point . On turning to p . 103 , wo find this sentence— " It is sound policy to support the chair , and maintain the authority of the Worshipful Master , on all occasions , except under circumstances of gross mismanagement or open violation of the laws , which very seldom occur . " It has
always been a maxim , almost to quote the words of the old song , in the army , in the navy , and in the universities ( as references to courts martial , and decisions of visitors of colleges will prove ) , " Obey first , remonstrate afterwards . " We cannot think it right even to lower the character of the office of Worshipful Master , by not supporting it , whatever the circumstances may be . Remonstrances may afterwards
be easily addressed to the Board of General Purposes , and whatever evil may have resulted from the bad ruling of the Worshipful Master , will be speedily redressed ; but to us it appears not merely " sound policy / ' but absolutely necessary to maintain the authority of the Worshipful Master on all occasions whatsoever , and wc cannot but think it a very bad precedent even to suggest any other course . A member of my of the above named professions or bodies , would
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Modern Writers Upon Freemasonry.—Ii.
In the Master ' s absence , the immediate Past Master , or if he be absent , the Senior Past Master of the Lodge present shall take the chair . And if no Past Master of the Lodge be present , then the Senior Warden , or in his absence the Junior Warden , shall rule the Lodge . " But Dr . Oliver says ( p .
156)—" But the Wardens will , generally , as a matter of courtesy , request any Past Master to take the chair , on account of his experience and skill in conducting the business of a Lodge . Nevertheless , such Past Master holds his authority under the Senior Warden , because he cannot act until the latter congregates the Lodge .
True ; but when the Lodge is once assembled , no one under the rank of installed Master has the right to rule the Lodge if one of that rank be present . The Senior Warden , or in his absence the Junior Warden , may , according to the Constitutions , " act as Master in summoning the Lodge , " in this instance taking jwecedeuce of Past Masters . But the Lodge once assembled , Past Masters take precedence
of the Wardens , not as Dr . Oliver says , being asked to do so by the courtesy of the Wardens , but as a matter of right according to the Constitutions . With respect to taking the chair , and conferring degrees , the generally received opinion is that no one under the rank of an installed Master may take the chair of the Lodge , at least in its usual place , but that the Senior Warden or other qualified officer ^ rule the Lodinthe absence of a Past Mastersitting in a chair
may ge . , before the dais ; and if a Past Master be present , but not otherwise , may , sitting iii that place , confer degrees , thus acting as the mouthpiece of the installed Master in the chair , so that the Lodge may not suffer , or candidates be inconvenienced by the inefficiency , or long want of practice of a Past Master . The case of holy orders , as quoted by Dr . Oliver from others , appears to us by no means
analogous , and decidedly mal apropos ; the case of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords seems more to the point . On turning to p . 103 , wo find this sentence— " It is sound policy to support the chair , and maintain the authority of the Worshipful Master , on all occasions , except under circumstances of gross mismanagement or open violation of the laws , which very seldom occur . " It has
always been a maxim , almost to quote the words of the old song , in the army , in the navy , and in the universities ( as references to courts martial , and decisions of visitors of colleges will prove ) , " Obey first , remonstrate afterwards . " We cannot think it right even to lower the character of the office of Worshipful Master , by not supporting it , whatever the circumstances may be . Remonstrances may afterwards
be easily addressed to the Board of General Purposes , and whatever evil may have resulted from the bad ruling of the Worshipful Master , will be speedily redressed ; but to us it appears not merely " sound policy / ' but absolutely necessary to maintain the authority of the Worshipful Master on all occasions whatsoever , and wc cannot but think it a very bad precedent even to suggest any other course . A member of my of the above named professions or bodies , would