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Article THE GRAND SECRETARY. ← Page 2 of 4 Article THE GRAND SECRETARY. Page 2 of 4 →
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The Grand Secretary.
"however , the Grand Secretary should think my letter to be a libel , and will proceed to treat it as such at common law , then , on demand being made , by bis solicitor , you will furnish him with my name and address , as I shall , in that ¦ case , plead justification , and prove every allegation in my . communication .
I am , Dear Sir and Brother , fraternally yours , OxiE OF THE GrEASD SECBETABY ' VICTIMS . Though , as we have stated , under the circumstances , we should have declined ( even if Ave had ( had the writer ' s permission ) to give up his name to the Grand Secretary , we cannot but deprecate the
challenge throAvn out by the writer of the letter to test the question in a court of law , for he ought as well know , as we do , that no question of purely Masonic dispute should be allowed to be so dealt with ; and that the Grand Secretary must of necessity be the last man who could apply to any other than a Masonic
tribunal on a subject connected with the Order , unless indeed it im olved an attack upon his private character , which we are sure no brother would think for a
moment of reflecting upon . Afc the same time the writer of the letter has furnished us with particulars showing that he called for certain certificates some three or four times , and the reply was that they were not signed hy the Grand Secretary , but that that necessarily involved a neglect
of duty we do not agree , for it would be impossible for every lodge to receive their certificates the very moment they made their returns , for Ave hold in Masonry , as in every other relation of life , save in purely exceptional cases , the motto of " first come first served" must be alloAved to have its clue force , and
we are bound to admit that , as a rule , Ave have found at the Grand Secretary's office eA'ery disposition to oblige , and to render to brethren requiring them , the certificates for which they have paid with every fair and possible dispatch . Afc the same time there need be no reason why
the oflicers should ever have it in their power to plead that the Grand Secretary "has not signed" the certificates—for it is surely not necessary for him to wait -until they are filled up before placing his signature to the form ; the more especially as we have an Assistant Grand Secretary enjoying the full confidence- of the
Craft ' , with whom they might be entrusted in the same way as they are to the Provincial or District Grand Secretaries , in the colonies . Bufc we believe the gist of the offence contained in the letter , is to be found in the folloAving words , Avhich might perhaps have been more mildly expressed .
" Eeally the Grand Secretary receives quite salary enough , to ensure his attendance Avith some degree of regularity at his office , and brethren AA'ho reside afc various places , in a radius of ten miles from Great Queen-street , ought not to be dragged there on several occasions , Avhen the signature of a few forms could ahvays be kept ready rathe office , merely to gratify the whim of a Craft servant who is kicking his heels elseAvhere whilst he should be
The Grand Secretary.
attending to his duties in our office . If Bro . Grat Clarke was noted for his ability , courtesy , or industry then the matter might be someAvhat palliated , but when as all knoAV who have come in contact with him , he is iust the reverse , it is quite time that he should be called upon to render an account of what he does for his salary , and how many hours per week he is aAvay from his desk upon his own private affairs . "
iNoTT , the Avriter of these paragraphs has evidentlybeen led into the error of supposing that the Grand Secretary maybe found at any given time by the notice on the door , "Office hours from 10 till 5 , on Saturday from 10 till 2 ; " supposing that that officer like " any other man , " is bound to be at the office during the
hours , or at least some of the fixed hours of business , an error of which we were long since disabused b y the Grand Secretary himself , who assured us that he was not bound under his engagement to any hoursall that he had to do was attend once a day , and that he would not have taken the appointment under any other terms .
As the appointment is in the hands of the Grand Master , we can have no means of knowing the real nature of Bro . Clarke ' s engagement , and that he acts upou the principle of not keeping to any particular hours , all who have had much business in the
Grand Secretary ' s office are sufficiently acquainted ; but we hold that Grand Lodge ought to have been informed of the arrangement , the more especially as the Board of General Purposes reported to that body on the 1 st June , 185 S—
" Thej- are of opinion that the salary of the Grand Secretary is inadequate , and is not a sufficient remuneration for a gentleman who , owing to aa increase of work , is compelled to devote the whole of his time to the duties of his offi-iz-e , and they recommend that the salary of the Grand Secretary be raised to £ 400 per annum . "
And at the special Grand Lodge held on the 23 rd of the same month , Bro . Joseph Smith , G . Purst ., the originator of the proposition , said that Bro . Clarke ought to have the same salary as the previous Grand Secretary ( £ 300 , and a gratuity of £ 100 per annum )
because"He does not bold any other appointment ; everyone Inlaws vj ' here to find him , for he is abvays at his post . As Masonry is fast increasing , so his labours have vastly extended , so that be has often , to take some of his work home and go on irifch it till ten or eleven o ' clock . Every brother Avho has had occasion to call upon him must admit hoAV ready he ahvays is to give his assistance , and his time is greatly taken up by the calls which are made . "
And Bro . Symonds , in supporting the motion , said" The business of the office has very much increased ; for , Avhereas in 1842 , there Avere issued 1403 certificates , in 1856 the number Avas 3721 . In . 1842 the amount of money received was £ 2774 , and in 1856 it was £ 5809 . HOAV AVC must be Avell aware that there could not be thafc
additional number of certificates and that _ additional amount of money Avithout involving a large increase of labour in the Secretary ' s office ; and it is on these grouuds that the Grand Secretary has been required to
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Grand Secretary.
"however , the Grand Secretary should think my letter to be a libel , and will proceed to treat it as such at common law , then , on demand being made , by bis solicitor , you will furnish him with my name and address , as I shall , in that ¦ case , plead justification , and prove every allegation in my . communication .
I am , Dear Sir and Brother , fraternally yours , OxiE OF THE GrEASD SECBETABY ' VICTIMS . Though , as we have stated , under the circumstances , we should have declined ( even if Ave had ( had the writer ' s permission ) to give up his name to the Grand Secretary , we cannot but deprecate the
challenge throAvn out by the writer of the letter to test the question in a court of law , for he ought as well know , as we do , that no question of purely Masonic dispute should be allowed to be so dealt with ; and that the Grand Secretary must of necessity be the last man who could apply to any other than a Masonic
tribunal on a subject connected with the Order , unless indeed it im olved an attack upon his private character , which we are sure no brother would think for a
moment of reflecting upon . Afc the same time the writer of the letter has furnished us with particulars showing that he called for certain certificates some three or four times , and the reply was that they were not signed hy the Grand Secretary , but that that necessarily involved a neglect
of duty we do not agree , for it would be impossible for every lodge to receive their certificates the very moment they made their returns , for Ave hold in Masonry , as in every other relation of life , save in purely exceptional cases , the motto of " first come first served" must be alloAved to have its clue force , and
we are bound to admit that , as a rule , Ave have found at the Grand Secretary's office eA'ery disposition to oblige , and to render to brethren requiring them , the certificates for which they have paid with every fair and possible dispatch . Afc the same time there need be no reason why
the oflicers should ever have it in their power to plead that the Grand Secretary "has not signed" the certificates—for it is surely not necessary for him to wait -until they are filled up before placing his signature to the form ; the more especially as we have an Assistant Grand Secretary enjoying the full confidence- of the
Craft ' , with whom they might be entrusted in the same way as they are to the Provincial or District Grand Secretaries , in the colonies . Bufc we believe the gist of the offence contained in the letter , is to be found in the folloAving words , Avhich might perhaps have been more mildly expressed .
" Eeally the Grand Secretary receives quite salary enough , to ensure his attendance Avith some degree of regularity at his office , and brethren AA'ho reside afc various places , in a radius of ten miles from Great Queen-street , ought not to be dragged there on several occasions , Avhen the signature of a few forms could ahvays be kept ready rathe office , merely to gratify the whim of a Craft servant who is kicking his heels elseAvhere whilst he should be
The Grand Secretary.
attending to his duties in our office . If Bro . Grat Clarke was noted for his ability , courtesy , or industry then the matter might be someAvhat palliated , but when as all knoAV who have come in contact with him , he is iust the reverse , it is quite time that he should be called upon to render an account of what he does for his salary , and how many hours per week he is aAvay from his desk upon his own private affairs . "
iNoTT , the Avriter of these paragraphs has evidentlybeen led into the error of supposing that the Grand Secretary maybe found at any given time by the notice on the door , "Office hours from 10 till 5 , on Saturday from 10 till 2 ; " supposing that that officer like " any other man , " is bound to be at the office during the
hours , or at least some of the fixed hours of business , an error of which we were long since disabused b y the Grand Secretary himself , who assured us that he was not bound under his engagement to any hoursall that he had to do was attend once a day , and that he would not have taken the appointment under any other terms .
As the appointment is in the hands of the Grand Master , we can have no means of knowing the real nature of Bro . Clarke ' s engagement , and that he acts upou the principle of not keeping to any particular hours , all who have had much business in the
Grand Secretary ' s office are sufficiently acquainted ; but we hold that Grand Lodge ought to have been informed of the arrangement , the more especially as the Board of General Purposes reported to that body on the 1 st June , 185 S—
" Thej- are of opinion that the salary of the Grand Secretary is inadequate , and is not a sufficient remuneration for a gentleman who , owing to aa increase of work , is compelled to devote the whole of his time to the duties of his offi-iz-e , and they recommend that the salary of the Grand Secretary be raised to £ 400 per annum . "
And at the special Grand Lodge held on the 23 rd of the same month , Bro . Joseph Smith , G . Purst ., the originator of the proposition , said that Bro . Clarke ought to have the same salary as the previous Grand Secretary ( £ 300 , and a gratuity of £ 100 per annum )
because"He does not bold any other appointment ; everyone Inlaws vj ' here to find him , for he is abvays at his post . As Masonry is fast increasing , so his labours have vastly extended , so that be has often , to take some of his work home and go on irifch it till ten or eleven o ' clock . Every brother Avho has had occasion to call upon him must admit hoAV ready he ahvays is to give his assistance , and his time is greatly taken up by the calls which are made . "
And Bro . Symonds , in supporting the motion , said" The business of the office has very much increased ; for , Avhereas in 1842 , there Avere issued 1403 certificates , in 1856 the number Avas 3721 . In . 1842 the amount of money received was £ 2774 , and in 1856 it was £ 5809 . HOAV AVC must be Avell aware that there could not be thafc
additional number of certificates and that _ additional amount of money Avithout involving a large increase of labour in the Secretary ' s office ; and it is on these grouuds that the Grand Secretary has been required to