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  • Nov. 1, 1856
  • Page 7
  • REPORT OF GRAND LODGE.
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The Masonic Observer, Nov. 1, 1856: Page 7

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Report Of Grand Lodge.

Bro . Warren said , that if the Temple had never been used for othei purposes , there would be some force in the objections which had been urged ; hut the fact was , that it had been used to give children refreshments in , and he thought that where refreshments were taken , it certainly could not be a profanation to listen to singing . The question was then put and carried . VOTE OF THANKS TO THE CHAIR . Bro . Binckesin a brief speechpaid a graceful compliment to

, , very the acting Grand Master , for the urbanity and courtesy with which he had presided during the evening . He said that he could not refrain from taking this course , although he was fully aware that it was somewhat unusual , and in fact , perhaps , unprecedented ; but the truth was , that there was such a perfect contrast between the conduct of the Brother who had presided that evening , and the conduct of the Brother who had occupied the same distinguished position at the previous Grand Lodge , that he really could not refrain from stepping

a little out of the usual course , to express the thanks of the Brethren to the Right Worshipful Brother in the Chair , for his courtesy and conduct in presiding over them that evening . ( Loud cheers from aU parts of the room . ) The Grand Master then rose amidst great applause , and said , that however grateful he might be for the spontaneous and flattering manner in which the Brother who had just sat down had alluded to his services , and however pleasing might be to him the cordiality and

earnestness with which the brethren had responded to the sentiments , yet , as during an acquaintance with Grand Lodge , and a careful attention to its proceedings during a course of now about thirty years , he had never known such a motion to be put , he really must , with all respect , decline to allow it to so be on the present occasion . Nevertheless , he would say again , that he was exceedingly gratified by the kindness of the observations which had been made respecting him ; and he hoped , that whenever he had the honour of presiding , that he should deserve the same flattering allusions which had been made to him that evening . ( Loud cheers . ) The Grand Lodge was then closed , with the usual formalities , and the Brethren separated .

The Vision.

THE VISION .

'Twas the hour of night when dreams come true , And away in sleep my spirit flew , Over dusky court and alley dim , And street , and square , and crescent trim , Till I reached a mansion stately and tall , Not very far off from Fr--m-s-n ' s Hall . The door open'd wide , and I scaled the stone stair ,

And before me an office of business like ah ' , With ledgers , and desks , and clerks fair to see , Was clearly an office of high degree ; But scarce had I enter'd when over each limb Came a feeling of torpor— -my brain ' gan to swim , And an opiate spell seem'd to bind every sense , For this was the Castle of Indolence .

And through the oppressive and sleepy air There brooded a phantom of dull despair . And the clerks wrote on , hut they wrote in vain—For like Penelope ' s mystic skein , Beginning and end their labours had none—The more that they wrote , the less was done . And the desksand shelvesand floors were cumber'd

, , With letters unauswer'd and papers unnumber'd—Letters that told of hopes betray'd , Of ancient friends now rivals made ; Of feud and strife , and discord ' s cry Where once was peace and harmony . But whilst I mus'd , a sudden din Proclaim'd the Colonial Mail was

in—Petitions and letters many a one From the land of the rising and setting sun . But scarce had they entered that grisly room , When a phantom shade pronounced their doom—The Petition first with its vain appeal Unopen'd , unread , unbroken its seal , Surrendered its last indignant breath Under quires of foolscap pressed to death—And the next despatch ( for I heard its name , From distant Hamilton ' s Q—d L-dge it came ) .

Alas ! rebellious deemed in traitor shape , Was strangled in the pitiless red tape . And again , and again another was hurl'd Out of the sphere of the official world , Without remorse and with reckless haste Into the baskets of paper waste—Their place unknown and their name forgot

Till sold as old rags for a penny the lot . And when sore wondering at the scene I sought to know what it might mean , I turned to one who stood beside—And he in sleepy tones replied" This is the place the ' Lodge of Silence' Light , " And that despairing shade , is Brother Wh-te . "

Eighteen Fifty-Six.

EIGHTEEN FIFTY-SIX .

Ye Masons of old England , Boast not that you are free , If it be more than you may dare To break the chains your brethren wear—Your brethren—o'er the sea ! Gird the Masonic apron tight , And go to work like bricks ! Not small your task , nor labour light , For you must fight for every right

In eighteen fifty-six . There was a run on Bradshaw , And by the fast up train , Of Brethren true a goodly throng , Hot to redress a mighty wrong , Came pouring in amain . Prepared to cross a Rubicon , Prepared to cross a Styx , With heart and voice , and vote they vow , To beat the clique that lords it now , In eighteen fifty-six . The reverend opinion

They'd formed of our Grand Lodge , Ah ! when they saw it oozed away , How stoop the despots of the Dais To every artful dodge ; And how they torture poor routine To aid them in their tricks , And deem that every W . M ., In word and deed must bow to them , In eighteen fifty-six .

But on that well-fought evening , Good Masons held their own , For Dorset sent a Master bold , A man who brook'd not to be told He must vacate his throne . Forth went his manly edict ; And placed in such a fix , In dudgeon fierce his home did seek , Great Marlbro

' Street's obstructive Beak , Of eighteen fifty-six . Out with him stalked Grand Chaplains , And like the snows in Spring , All those whose vote would keep the screw , Canadian brothers , tight on you , Melted in sullen string . Like foes in whose unguarded rear

The British bayonet sticks , They vanished at the battle cry Of true Masonic liberty , In eighteen fifty-six . But purple wins not every knee To cringe to those that" gave ; Remained the Wight ' s masonic lord , And one who erst did bear the sword

Which ne'er was borne by slave . And Oxford bold , and staunch Bengal Staid back , their hands to mix With those which soon the Temple saw Raised high for justice , truth , and law , In eighteen fifty-six . Some others , too , proved purples true , And rallied round the chair ; The bard will know them , p ' raps ere long ,

“The Masonic Observer: 1856-11-01, Page 7” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 12 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mob/issues/mob_01111856/page/7/.
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REPORT OF GRAND LODGE. Article 2
THE VISION. Article 7
EIGHTEEN FIFTY-SIX. Article 7
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NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 8
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Report Of Grand Lodge.

Bro . Warren said , that if the Temple had never been used for othei purposes , there would be some force in the objections which had been urged ; hut the fact was , that it had been used to give children refreshments in , and he thought that where refreshments were taken , it certainly could not be a profanation to listen to singing . The question was then put and carried . VOTE OF THANKS TO THE CHAIR . Bro . Binckesin a brief speechpaid a graceful compliment to

, , very the acting Grand Master , for the urbanity and courtesy with which he had presided during the evening . He said that he could not refrain from taking this course , although he was fully aware that it was somewhat unusual , and in fact , perhaps , unprecedented ; but the truth was , that there was such a perfect contrast between the conduct of the Brother who had presided that evening , and the conduct of the Brother who had occupied the same distinguished position at the previous Grand Lodge , that he really could not refrain from stepping

a little out of the usual course , to express the thanks of the Brethren to the Right Worshipful Brother in the Chair , for his courtesy and conduct in presiding over them that evening . ( Loud cheers from aU parts of the room . ) The Grand Master then rose amidst great applause , and said , that however grateful he might be for the spontaneous and flattering manner in which the Brother who had just sat down had alluded to his services , and however pleasing might be to him the cordiality and

earnestness with which the brethren had responded to the sentiments , yet , as during an acquaintance with Grand Lodge , and a careful attention to its proceedings during a course of now about thirty years , he had never known such a motion to be put , he really must , with all respect , decline to allow it to so be on the present occasion . Nevertheless , he would say again , that he was exceedingly gratified by the kindness of the observations which had been made respecting him ; and he hoped , that whenever he had the honour of presiding , that he should deserve the same flattering allusions which had been made to him that evening . ( Loud cheers . ) The Grand Lodge was then closed , with the usual formalities , and the Brethren separated .

The Vision.

THE VISION .

'Twas the hour of night when dreams come true , And away in sleep my spirit flew , Over dusky court and alley dim , And street , and square , and crescent trim , Till I reached a mansion stately and tall , Not very far off from Fr--m-s-n ' s Hall . The door open'd wide , and I scaled the stone stair ,

And before me an office of business like ah ' , With ledgers , and desks , and clerks fair to see , Was clearly an office of high degree ; But scarce had I enter'd when over each limb Came a feeling of torpor— -my brain ' gan to swim , And an opiate spell seem'd to bind every sense , For this was the Castle of Indolence .

And through the oppressive and sleepy air There brooded a phantom of dull despair . And the clerks wrote on , hut they wrote in vain—For like Penelope ' s mystic skein , Beginning and end their labours had none—The more that they wrote , the less was done . And the desksand shelvesand floors were cumber'd

, , With letters unauswer'd and papers unnumber'd—Letters that told of hopes betray'd , Of ancient friends now rivals made ; Of feud and strife , and discord ' s cry Where once was peace and harmony . But whilst I mus'd , a sudden din Proclaim'd the Colonial Mail was

in—Petitions and letters many a one From the land of the rising and setting sun . But scarce had they entered that grisly room , When a phantom shade pronounced their doom—The Petition first with its vain appeal Unopen'd , unread , unbroken its seal , Surrendered its last indignant breath Under quires of foolscap pressed to death—And the next despatch ( for I heard its name , From distant Hamilton ' s Q—d L-dge it came ) .

Alas ! rebellious deemed in traitor shape , Was strangled in the pitiless red tape . And again , and again another was hurl'd Out of the sphere of the official world , Without remorse and with reckless haste Into the baskets of paper waste—Their place unknown and their name forgot

Till sold as old rags for a penny the lot . And when sore wondering at the scene I sought to know what it might mean , I turned to one who stood beside—And he in sleepy tones replied" This is the place the ' Lodge of Silence' Light , " And that despairing shade , is Brother Wh-te . "

Eighteen Fifty-Six.

EIGHTEEN FIFTY-SIX .

Ye Masons of old England , Boast not that you are free , If it be more than you may dare To break the chains your brethren wear—Your brethren—o'er the sea ! Gird the Masonic apron tight , And go to work like bricks ! Not small your task , nor labour light , For you must fight for every right

In eighteen fifty-six . There was a run on Bradshaw , And by the fast up train , Of Brethren true a goodly throng , Hot to redress a mighty wrong , Came pouring in amain . Prepared to cross a Rubicon , Prepared to cross a Styx , With heart and voice , and vote they vow , To beat the clique that lords it now , In eighteen fifty-six . The reverend opinion

They'd formed of our Grand Lodge , Ah ! when they saw it oozed away , How stoop the despots of the Dais To every artful dodge ; And how they torture poor routine To aid them in their tricks , And deem that every W . M ., In word and deed must bow to them , In eighteen fifty-six .

But on that well-fought evening , Good Masons held their own , For Dorset sent a Master bold , A man who brook'd not to be told He must vacate his throne . Forth went his manly edict ; And placed in such a fix , In dudgeon fierce his home did seek , Great Marlbro

' Street's obstructive Beak , Of eighteen fifty-six . Out with him stalked Grand Chaplains , And like the snows in Spring , All those whose vote would keep the screw , Canadian brothers , tight on you , Melted in sullen string . Like foes in whose unguarded rear

The British bayonet sticks , They vanished at the battle cry Of true Masonic liberty , In eighteen fifty-six . But purple wins not every knee To cringe to those that" gave ; Remained the Wight ' s masonic lord , And one who erst did bear the sword

Which ne'er was borne by slave . And Oxford bold , and staunch Bengal Staid back , their hands to mix With those which soon the Temple saw Raised high for justice , truth , and law , In eighteen fifty-six . Some others , too , proved purples true , And rallied round the chair ; The bard will know them , p ' raps ere long ,

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