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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge.
GRAND LODGE .
LOXBOX , SATURDAY , JUNE 9 , lSOO .
TUB ( . quarterly communication of Grand Lodge was held on . " Wednesday , and was in some respects more exciting than the two or three preceding meetings , whilst it proved how utterly extinct is that party spirit which a short time since disfigured all its discussions . Aftei- the confirmation of the minutes , the first business
Ill-ought forward was a motion of the Most Worshipful Grand Master for the presentation of a jewel to Bro . Jennings , Past Grand Dir . of Cers ., in acknowledgment of his long and valuable services — a motion which was carried with the heartiest acclamations , and properly so , for no brother has ever occupied a position on the dais and discharged his duties
to tlie Craft in a manner to win more golden opinions of his courtesy and worth than Bro . Jennings . We have repeatedly expressed our conviction that no one brother should hold office for so lengthened a period as did Bro . Jennings ; but we have ever been ready to acknowledge that for a long period the position of Grand Dir . of Cers . was looked upon almost as
much a fixed office as that of G ' . Sec , and whilst it was so regarded , there could be no more fitting occupant for it than Bro . Jennings ; and we should have felt that the brethren had been alike wanting in respect to themselves and to our worthy brother , had they allowed him to retire into the honourable corps of Past Grand Officers without presenting him with some testimonial of their appreciation of his worth and services .
The next business was of a somewhat similar naturethough for services rendered for a shorter jieriod— -giving to Bro . Smith ( whose kindliness and courtesy all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance readily acknowledge ) the rank of P . G . Purs , with a seat on the dais . Much as we appreciate the services of Bro . Smith , we must be allowed to express our conviction that such a resolution is a mere farce ;
a P . G-. Purs , is as much a P . G . officer as any other , and ought by right to take his seat amongst his brethren without any resolution of Grand Lodge . Formerly such votes were required to give a position to P . G . S . Bs . and P . G . Orgs ., but they are no longer necessary ; and wc hope that when the Book of Constitutions is again revised , "P . G . Pursuivants "
will be substituted for "P , G . Pursuivant" in the order of precedence of members of Grand Lodge , and render a resolution equally unnecessary with regard to that office . We now come to a matter somewhat personal to ourselves , though rising out of a question which had no reference to tlie Freemasons' Magazine , nor was it intended to have any such reference . In the report of the Colonial Board , relative to the unfortunate disputes at St . Thomas ' s—to which
we alluded a short time since , —reference was made to papers Nos . 1 to 9 , and on the motion for the adoption of that report , Bro . Warren rose to ask whether any member of Grand Lodge who wished to do so was at libert y to inspect those papers 1 Before he could get a reply to his question , the Grand Secretary most mendaciously stated that if every member of Grand Lodge was at liberty to inspect jiapers
, the business of tlie Grand Secretary ' s office ivould be greatly interfered with ; and that the question arose from his having refused to give Bro . Warren papers of Grand Lod ge for publication —an assertion as unwarrantable as untrue , for it might lead tho Craft to believe that we . had been in the habit of endeavouring to make use of our position in Grand
Lodge to promote our private interests , ancl to obtain papers before they came before tho Craft in the legitimate way . It is true that upon , one or two occasions wo havo applied to be allowed to copy communications road in Grand Lodge , when ive hold they become public property , and have been refused by the Grand Secretary . We have no reason to doubt the desire of Bro . Clarke to perform his duties conscientiously , and strictly in . accordance with tho law , but ive most emphatically deny that Bro . Warren , or any other
brother connected with the Magazine , has ever sought by his position to obtain au insight into papers for the purpose of publication which had not previously been openly read in Grand Lodge , and ivhich have not been afterwards embodied in the quarterly communications issuing from that body . We aro not unaware of the opinions of Bro . Gray
Clarke with regard to this journal , nor is that brother ignorant of the course which Bro . Warren took a short time since—not through the Magazine , be it understood—to have a decision of tlie Grand . Secretary on a point of Masonic law reversed , ancl of tlie success which attended his efforts . Bro . Warren took no pains to parade his success through the
Magazine , nor did lie interrupt the business of the Grand Secretary ' s office by inquiries there . Indeed Bro . Warren lias been ever cautious to avoid taking advantage of information coining to him otherwise than through the most , open and legitimate channels—so much so , indeed , that when upon a recent occasion he was member of a committee for revising
the regulations of Grand Chapter , though lie moved resolutions in the committee for certain alterations of the laws which ho still holds would be beneficial—they were never once alluded to in tho Freemasons' Magazine until after they had been brought before Grand Chapter and negatived . Upon Bro . Warren making the inquiry—ivhich he fairly
admitted was to establish a right ancl not to inspect any particular papers—Bro . Evans , as President of the Colonial Board , at once tendered those alluded to in the report , for inspection , and tlie M . W . Grand Master replied , that if a brother wished to see the papers , he ought to apply to tho Board . Now we hold that ' 'though this , to some extent , may appear a
satisfactory answer , it is not wholly so . We were perfectly aware , before Bro . Warren put the question , that Bro . Evans to whose courtesy we have often been much indebted—would , give us every information upon any subject ivhich as President of the Board lie could consistently do , were we to ask for it ; but every brother at a distance wanting information
might not know exactly where to find Bro . Evans , or could conceive they had a right to go to him for information , if they required it . But let us consider what would be the effect of tho ruling of the Grand Master . A report of tho Colonial Board is issued to the members of Grand Lod « e eight or ten days before its regular meeting , and certain
papers are referred to , which some brother holds it most important to see before giving his vote for or against the conclusions at which the Colonial Board has arrived , he perhaps , being iu possession of the facts on one side of the question , aud not of the other , aud he applies to tho Board for liberty to inspect them ; that body only meets at three o ' clock on the clay before the meeting - of Grand Lodo-e , and supposing that it instructs the Grand Secretary at once to write ancl inform the brother that he may see tho papers at
the office , he cannot by possibility do so until the very day of the meeting of Grand Lodge ; and , we ask , how canhe bo fairly supposed to form an opinion by the hurried perusal lie must then' of necessity give to them . But , supposing- it was on the report , not of the Colonial Board , but the Board of General Purposes , that the question should arise—what would
be the result ? The brother writes to the Board and states that he wishes to inspect certain papers , and finds that it will meet a fortni ght after Grand Lodge , and when the question to which the papers refer has been disposed of . It is true that he can in thc meantime apply to the President of the Board and we know Bro . Havers too well not to be aware that he
would receive the most pronqit and courteous reply , coupled with every information iu his power to afford . But Bro . Havers and Bro . Evans may not always be in office , and . their successors may not take the same view of their duties to thc Craft as those brethren ; and oven supposing they should do so , wo hold that they , tho holders of onerous and unpaid offices , should not bo placed in the position of havino- their time taken up by inquiries , the ro . plie . si to ivhich even though it may interfere with tlie ease of Bro . CJarke—ouo-ht
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge.
GRAND LODGE .
LOXBOX , SATURDAY , JUNE 9 , lSOO .
TUB ( . quarterly communication of Grand Lodge was held on . " Wednesday , and was in some respects more exciting than the two or three preceding meetings , whilst it proved how utterly extinct is that party spirit which a short time since disfigured all its discussions . Aftei- the confirmation of the minutes , the first business
Ill-ought forward was a motion of the Most Worshipful Grand Master for the presentation of a jewel to Bro . Jennings , Past Grand Dir . of Cers ., in acknowledgment of his long and valuable services — a motion which was carried with the heartiest acclamations , and properly so , for no brother has ever occupied a position on the dais and discharged his duties
to tlie Craft in a manner to win more golden opinions of his courtesy and worth than Bro . Jennings . We have repeatedly expressed our conviction that no one brother should hold office for so lengthened a period as did Bro . Jennings ; but we have ever been ready to acknowledge that for a long period the position of Grand Dir . of Cers . was looked upon almost as
much a fixed office as that of G ' . Sec , and whilst it was so regarded , there could be no more fitting occupant for it than Bro . Jennings ; and we should have felt that the brethren had been alike wanting in respect to themselves and to our worthy brother , had they allowed him to retire into the honourable corps of Past Grand Officers without presenting him with some testimonial of their appreciation of his worth and services .
The next business was of a somewhat similar naturethough for services rendered for a shorter jieriod— -giving to Bro . Smith ( whose kindliness and courtesy all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance readily acknowledge ) the rank of P . G . Purs , with a seat on the dais . Much as we appreciate the services of Bro . Smith , we must be allowed to express our conviction that such a resolution is a mere farce ;
a P . G-. Purs , is as much a P . G . officer as any other , and ought by right to take his seat amongst his brethren without any resolution of Grand Lodge . Formerly such votes were required to give a position to P . G . S . Bs . and P . G . Orgs ., but they are no longer necessary ; and wc hope that when the Book of Constitutions is again revised , "P . G . Pursuivants "
will be substituted for "P , G . Pursuivant" in the order of precedence of members of Grand Lodge , and render a resolution equally unnecessary with regard to that office . We now come to a matter somewhat personal to ourselves , though rising out of a question which had no reference to tlie Freemasons' Magazine , nor was it intended to have any such reference . In the report of the Colonial Board , relative to the unfortunate disputes at St . Thomas ' s—to which
we alluded a short time since , —reference was made to papers Nos . 1 to 9 , and on the motion for the adoption of that report , Bro . Warren rose to ask whether any member of Grand Lodge who wished to do so was at libert y to inspect those papers 1 Before he could get a reply to his question , the Grand Secretary most mendaciously stated that if every member of Grand Lodge was at liberty to inspect jiapers
, the business of tlie Grand Secretary ' s office ivould be greatly interfered with ; and that the question arose from his having refused to give Bro . Warren papers of Grand Lod ge for publication —an assertion as unwarrantable as untrue , for it might lead tho Craft to believe that we . had been in the habit of endeavouring to make use of our position in Grand
Lodge to promote our private interests , ancl to obtain papers before they came before tho Craft in the legitimate way . It is true that upon , one or two occasions wo havo applied to be allowed to copy communications road in Grand Lodge , when ive hold they become public property , and have been refused by the Grand Secretary . We have no reason to doubt the desire of Bro . Clarke to perform his duties conscientiously , and strictly in . accordance with tho law , but ive most emphatically deny that Bro . Warren , or any other
brother connected with the Magazine , has ever sought by his position to obtain au insight into papers for the purpose of publication which had not previously been openly read in Grand Lodge , and ivhich have not been afterwards embodied in the quarterly communications issuing from that body . We aro not unaware of the opinions of Bro . Gray
Clarke with regard to this journal , nor is that brother ignorant of the course which Bro . Warren took a short time since—not through the Magazine , be it understood—to have a decision of tlie Grand . Secretary on a point of Masonic law reversed , ancl of tlie success which attended his efforts . Bro . Warren took no pains to parade his success through the
Magazine , nor did lie interrupt the business of the Grand Secretary ' s office by inquiries there . Indeed Bro . Warren lias been ever cautious to avoid taking advantage of information coining to him otherwise than through the most , open and legitimate channels—so much so , indeed , that when upon a recent occasion he was member of a committee for revising
the regulations of Grand Chapter , though lie moved resolutions in the committee for certain alterations of the laws which ho still holds would be beneficial—they were never once alluded to in tho Freemasons' Magazine until after they had been brought before Grand Chapter and negatived . Upon Bro . Warren making the inquiry—ivhich he fairly
admitted was to establish a right ancl not to inspect any particular papers—Bro . Evans , as President of the Colonial Board , at once tendered those alluded to in the report , for inspection , and tlie M . W . Grand Master replied , that if a brother wished to see the papers , he ought to apply to tho Board . Now we hold that ' 'though this , to some extent , may appear a
satisfactory answer , it is not wholly so . We were perfectly aware , before Bro . Warren put the question , that Bro . Evans to whose courtesy we have often been much indebted—would , give us every information upon any subject ivhich as President of the Board lie could consistently do , were we to ask for it ; but every brother at a distance wanting information
might not know exactly where to find Bro . Evans , or could conceive they had a right to go to him for information , if they required it . But let us consider what would be the effect of tho ruling of the Grand Master . A report of tho Colonial Board is issued to the members of Grand Lod « e eight or ten days before its regular meeting , and certain
papers are referred to , which some brother holds it most important to see before giving his vote for or against the conclusions at which the Colonial Board has arrived , he perhaps , being iu possession of the facts on one side of the question , aud not of the other , aud he applies to tho Board for liberty to inspect them ; that body only meets at three o ' clock on the clay before the meeting - of Grand Lodo-e , and supposing that it instructs the Grand Secretary at once to write ancl inform the brother that he may see tho papers at
the office , he cannot by possibility do so until the very day of the meeting of Grand Lodge ; and , we ask , how canhe bo fairly supposed to form an opinion by the hurried perusal lie must then' of necessity give to them . But , supposing- it was on the report , not of the Colonial Board , but the Board of General Purposes , that the question should arise—what would
be the result ? The brother writes to the Board and states that he wishes to inspect certain papers , and finds that it will meet a fortni ght after Grand Lodge , and when the question to which the papers refer has been disposed of . It is true that he can in thc meantime apply to the President of the Board and we know Bro . Havers too well not to be aware that he
would receive the most pronqit and courteous reply , coupled with every information iu his power to afford . But Bro . Havers and Bro . Evans may not always be in office , and . their successors may not take the same view of their duties to thc Craft as those brethren ; and oven supposing they should do so , wo hold that they , tho holders of onerous and unpaid offices , should not bo placed in the position of havino- their time taken up by inquiries , the ro . plie . si to ivhich even though it may interfere with tlie ease of Bro . CJarke—ouo-ht