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  • March 20, 1858
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The Masonic Observer, March 20, 1858: Page 2

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Ar00200

by W . Brothers SAVAGE , SINGER , and the D . G . M ., who recommended its withdrawal ; to which W . Brother HAYEKS very Masonically assented . The motion , had it been carried , would have had the effect of disfranchising all P . M's and Wardens ( so far as their votes are concerned ) , who are none of them entitled to attend the COMMITTEE of MASTERS . GRAND LODGE adjourned at a little after 11 P . M .

Ar00201

OUR EXECUTIVE are certainly unfortunate in the management of the Colonial Lodges . No sooner have the Canadians decided upon self-government , than the oldest Lodge in Tasmania threatens a similar course of proceeding , and sends us home a heap of correspondence whichthough not uninteresting , is far too long

, to publish . We cannot say we admire the blustering tone of the memorial presented on Wednesday to GRAND LODGE , though at the same time we are ready to admit that the advisers of the G . M . have scarcely acted wisely in recommending the appointment of the Rev . R . H .

EWIXG- as P . G . M . of Tasmania . In the first place , a Presbj'terian Minister is not ordinarily the fittest person in the world , from his training and habits of life , to preside over a body of men of mixed opinions and various callings . It is moreover evident that whatever Mr . SWING ' qualifications may have been in other respects , as a working Mason they are nil . Then , again , what could be more ill-judged than to appoint a P . G . M . at the recommendation of the

Launcestoxi Brethren , without the concurrence of the Lodge at Hobart Town , which is situated 130 miles off , and is the oldest in the Province ? Are there no maps in Great Queen Street ? or are they never opened ? If the " self-government" of the Colonial Lodges , of which we have lately heard so much , was intended to be anything else than a shamand if it had reallbeen

, y desired that the wish of the Province as to the person to ho appointed to the high office of P . G . M . should he ascertained , a circular ought to have been addressed to every Tasmanian Lodge , desiring them to meet on a given day , and make a recommendation to the M . W . G . M . A hole-and-corner meeting at one end of the Province

, got up in a hurry , and , as it would seem , for the very purpose of excluding the Senior Lodge from all participation in the affair , is nothing but a cloke for a job , and must infallibly cause ill-feeling and discontent . The correspondence between the late P . G . M . for Quebec , and the M . W . G . M ., or rather the G . R ., will be

perused with melancholy interest . That the EXECUTIVE should still persist in disbelieving that the Canadian secession would have been prevented had their grievances been at once redressed , and their petitions replied to , in 2 ilace of being consigned to the waste paper basket for three long yearsis not

, wonderful . When did a doctor ever kill his patient and not vow that the case was incurable ? The EXECUTIVE , however , are involved in this dilemma . Either their own Authorities in Canada are right when they say that

the secession might have been prevented if all just ground for complaint had been removed four years ago , or , they have committed the folly of asking the opinion of men who are ignorant of the subject about which they were desired to write , as well as of appointing as P . G . M ' s ., persons who are , according to their own declaration , incompetent to form an opinion upon the state of

their own provinces . It is doubtless vexatious enough to the Administration , to find that the Canadian secession has been accomplished with the most complete and technical regularity ; with much greater regard for Masonic jurisprudence than was evinced by the York seceders

when they established the GRAND LODGE of London . That the advisers of the M . W . G . M . will not at present recommend the recognition of the Autient Grand Lodge of Canada is not unnatural , though how such a step would violate " Masonic unity , " when there is already a Masonic trinity in her MAJESTY ' dominions

, we are quite at a loss to conceive . That the Canadian independence will ultimately be acknowledged , we have no doubt whatever , believing , as we do , that the Masons iu London have no right to govern the Masons at Toronto a moment longer than the latter like to allow them to do so .

No recognition will , however , take place , till a union has been effected between the two Lodges at present acting in opposition to each other in Canada ; and when that has been accomplished , the " violation of Masonic unity" b y independent English Lodges , must be discouraged , by a rigid refusal on the part of the Canadians to hold any intercourse whatever with them .

Ar00202

TO administer according to existing laws is the first duty of those placed in authority . Expediency is by no means recognized as a principle of the legisLiture , but rather as an ignoble way of dealing with a difficult question . If fortuitous circumstances should grant to its use a temporary success , not the less assurelly will it draw forth the reprobations of posterity . It may

perhaps for the time elicit praise—condemnation seldom fails to follow . But to depart from distinct rules , to swerve from clearly stated laws , for the sake of convenience , is a line of conduct which involves him who pursues it in a far more serious responsibility . Societies and States are alike bound by laws framed for their

internal regulation , and strict obedience must be yielded in order to secure their permanent prosperity . Freemasons acknowledge the " Book of Constitutions" or " Regulations for the Government of the Craft" as of paramount importance . In this book it is written that the Board of Masters is a Committee constituted in

order " that the representatives of Lodges may be apprised of such business and be prepared to decide thereon , without being taken by surprise , " and their office is , " that any Member of Grand Lodge , intending to make a motion therein , or to submit any matter to its consideration , shall at such General Committee state in writing the nature of his intended motion or business ,

“The Masonic Observer: 1858-03-20, Page 2” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 23 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mob/issues/mob_20031858/page/2/.
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Mark Masonry. Article 8
Masonic Charities. Article 9
Colonial. Article 11
The Provinces. Article 15
Correspondence. Article 16
Untitled Ad 16
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Untitled Article 16
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Ar00200

by W . Brothers SAVAGE , SINGER , and the D . G . M ., who recommended its withdrawal ; to which W . Brother HAYEKS very Masonically assented . The motion , had it been carried , would have had the effect of disfranchising all P . M's and Wardens ( so far as their votes are concerned ) , who are none of them entitled to attend the COMMITTEE of MASTERS . GRAND LODGE adjourned at a little after 11 P . M .

Ar00201

OUR EXECUTIVE are certainly unfortunate in the management of the Colonial Lodges . No sooner have the Canadians decided upon self-government , than the oldest Lodge in Tasmania threatens a similar course of proceeding , and sends us home a heap of correspondence whichthough not uninteresting , is far too long

, to publish . We cannot say we admire the blustering tone of the memorial presented on Wednesday to GRAND LODGE , though at the same time we are ready to admit that the advisers of the G . M . have scarcely acted wisely in recommending the appointment of the Rev . R . H .

EWIXG- as P . G . M . of Tasmania . In the first place , a Presbj'terian Minister is not ordinarily the fittest person in the world , from his training and habits of life , to preside over a body of men of mixed opinions and various callings . It is moreover evident that whatever Mr . SWING ' qualifications may have been in other respects , as a working Mason they are nil . Then , again , what could be more ill-judged than to appoint a P . G . M . at the recommendation of the

Launcestoxi Brethren , without the concurrence of the Lodge at Hobart Town , which is situated 130 miles off , and is the oldest in the Province ? Are there no maps in Great Queen Street ? or are they never opened ? If the " self-government" of the Colonial Lodges , of which we have lately heard so much , was intended to be anything else than a shamand if it had reallbeen

, y desired that the wish of the Province as to the person to ho appointed to the high office of P . G . M . should he ascertained , a circular ought to have been addressed to every Tasmanian Lodge , desiring them to meet on a given day , and make a recommendation to the M . W . G . M . A hole-and-corner meeting at one end of the Province

, got up in a hurry , and , as it would seem , for the very purpose of excluding the Senior Lodge from all participation in the affair , is nothing but a cloke for a job , and must infallibly cause ill-feeling and discontent . The correspondence between the late P . G . M . for Quebec , and the M . W . G . M ., or rather the G . R ., will be

perused with melancholy interest . That the EXECUTIVE should still persist in disbelieving that the Canadian secession would have been prevented had their grievances been at once redressed , and their petitions replied to , in 2 ilace of being consigned to the waste paper basket for three long yearsis not

, wonderful . When did a doctor ever kill his patient and not vow that the case was incurable ? The EXECUTIVE , however , are involved in this dilemma . Either their own Authorities in Canada are right when they say that

the secession might have been prevented if all just ground for complaint had been removed four years ago , or , they have committed the folly of asking the opinion of men who are ignorant of the subject about which they were desired to write , as well as of appointing as P . G . M ' s ., persons who are , according to their own declaration , incompetent to form an opinion upon the state of

their own provinces . It is doubtless vexatious enough to the Administration , to find that the Canadian secession has been accomplished with the most complete and technical regularity ; with much greater regard for Masonic jurisprudence than was evinced by the York seceders

when they established the GRAND LODGE of London . That the advisers of the M . W . G . M . will not at present recommend the recognition of the Autient Grand Lodge of Canada is not unnatural , though how such a step would violate " Masonic unity , " when there is already a Masonic trinity in her MAJESTY ' dominions

, we are quite at a loss to conceive . That the Canadian independence will ultimately be acknowledged , we have no doubt whatever , believing , as we do , that the Masons iu London have no right to govern the Masons at Toronto a moment longer than the latter like to allow them to do so .

No recognition will , however , take place , till a union has been effected between the two Lodges at present acting in opposition to each other in Canada ; and when that has been accomplished , the " violation of Masonic unity" b y independent English Lodges , must be discouraged , by a rigid refusal on the part of the Canadians to hold any intercourse whatever with them .

Ar00202

TO administer according to existing laws is the first duty of those placed in authority . Expediency is by no means recognized as a principle of the legisLiture , but rather as an ignoble way of dealing with a difficult question . If fortuitous circumstances should grant to its use a temporary success , not the less assurelly will it draw forth the reprobations of posterity . It may

perhaps for the time elicit praise—condemnation seldom fails to follow . But to depart from distinct rules , to swerve from clearly stated laws , for the sake of convenience , is a line of conduct which involves him who pursues it in a far more serious responsibility . Societies and States are alike bound by laws framed for their

internal regulation , and strict obedience must be yielded in order to secure their permanent prosperity . Freemasons acknowledge the " Book of Constitutions" or " Regulations for the Government of the Craft" as of paramount importance . In this book it is written that the Board of Masters is a Committee constituted in

order " that the representatives of Lodges may be apprised of such business and be prepared to decide thereon , without being taken by surprise , " and their office is , " that any Member of Grand Lodge , intending to make a motion therein , or to submit any matter to its consideration , shall at such General Committee state in writing the nature of his intended motion or business ,

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