Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00300
that the same may be read . '" If we understand the meaning of words , this signifies that motions are to he read to the Board of Masters . There is no ambiguity of expression , no latent import here . Nothing can be more clear than that by the lava no discretionary power is vested in this Board to accept or reject motions for the Grand Lodge . W . Bro . WTNDHAM PORTALat a very
, recent Meeting of the Board , gave a copy of an intended motion that there should be a competitive examination half-yearly in the Freemasons' Girls' School . The Grand Lodge was not competent to decide upon this subject , we fully admit . The motion , though of a most excellent character , did not lay within the sphere
of their jurisdiction . The Board rejected it . Did they exceed their powers ? The M . W . G . M ., in answer to W . BRO . BEACH , declared " that the W . M . of that Board had exercised a wise discretion . " But from whence derived he the power to do so ? Not from law ! In the M . W . G . M . alone is vested that powerand no other is
, competent to usurp his privilege . If laws are defective , change them ; if they are faulty , abrogate them ; but while you have them , observe them . It is a reflection upon wisdom to declare the expediency of a certain
exercise of a right which does not exist . This may appear to some a small thing of little consequence ; but it is not with respect to the present , but as to its bearing upon the future that wo ought to regard this question . It is hard to cancel an injurious precedent if once established . This , surely , is fraught with clanger . If this unlimited power is exercised in one instancewhat
, can check it in another ? Where will you draw the line ? You alter the nature of the Board . You convert it into a deliberative body . Is this prudent ? The power of a despot may be exercised for the good of Ms people , but it is hazardous to run the risk . Who may succeed him ? After Augustus came Tiberius . So the
discretion exercised by this Board may be very wise one day , but what is our guarantee that it will always be so ? It is better to make for a safe haven , than anchor on a lee shore . The authority of the Star Chamber was but small at first , but as its methods of proceeding were arbitrary , and as it had no precise rule or limitit
, grew till it became regardless of the provisions of the Great Charter , and it was abolished ; though its coercive jurisdiction had great convenience in some cases . One lesson is to be learnt- —resist the first encroaches of
arbitrary power . Do not suffer the insidious assertion of a principle that is wrong . Twenty shillings would not have ruined the fortune of Mr . Hampden . No ; but the payment of half twenty shillings , on the principle it was attempted to be levied , would have made him a slave . Take your stand upon your ancient constitutions , and do not permit them to be infringed . So you
will cause your laws to be venerated . But if , on the contrai ' y > yon encourage their violation , whenever circumstances may seem to render such a course expedient , you weaken their effect—you make them powerless for good ; for no one will obey laws , which seem framed but to be broken , —Qui cousulta palrum , qui leyes jura-2 'ie senal , vir bonus est quis ' !
Ar00301
OUR representative system—the theory of its action , and its susceptibility of improvement—to these subjects , from every conceivable point of view , the eyes of the nation have of late been directed . Opinions , where so many are formed , cannot each and all bo perfectly sound ; but in each and all there may be some good thing , Here an impracticable suggestion
, there a visionary theory , starts up to be grappled with . Heavily and remorselessly that lusty smith , called Opposition , deals his blows upon the shapeless substance of the argument , and the sparks fly on all sides from his anvil : that anvil is Discussion , and those sparks are Truth . Discussion temperately conducted
can have no ill result ; it must be productive of some benefit , it must elicit some truth ; and we cannot think a few words on the subject of representative reform in Masonry out of place at the present time . Is the Craft at large satisfied , not with the conduct , not with the constitution ofits Parliamentbut with
, , the machinery which circumscribes its free action ? " Why ! " dashes in some mercurial Brother who is at home in the Constitutions , " What more would you have ? ' Every Brother regularly elected , etc' "—( Ed . 1855 , p . 18 , s . 1 . ) V . D . B . Spare us further quotation ! The theory is charming , but how does it
come out in practice ? Nothing could be devised more agreeable for you , Brothers BROWN and JONES ! You have organized , perhaps , your private Lodge meetings under the same roof with G . L . You have been nestling for the last four hours under the very eaves of the
Senate . Wo all know your comfortable faces as you come in and subside into your accustomed seats , where you commune with complacent memories , vetaris Bacchi pinguis queferinw , and vote away , like good fellows as you are , hundreds of pounds in charity . But how about your old friend ROBINSON ? Do you remember what interest he used to take iu Masonic matters ? Do you
call to mind how highly , when you saw more of each other , you prized his opinion , you esteemed his sagacity and business-like mind ? Do you not think his vote would be an honest and a ri ght one , had he an opportunity of recording it on some of the important questions that form the subject of our debates ? But , Brother
ROBINSON ( unluckily , as we think , for the Craft , ) is separated from you by a dozen hours of railway travelling . He is filling the W . M . ' s chair of his Lodge at Carlisle or Launceston , or some equally desirable but remote place of residence ; and even if he could be spared from his professional dutieswould hardly be
, justified ( for like a true Briton his quiver is full ) in spending £ 10 to come and make his speech , and perhaps be snubbed for his pains . Now can W . Bro . ROBINSON , and his Lodge of all the virtues , No . 0900 , be said to be represented in G . L . ? We hardly anticipate an affirmative answer . Butbthe was that
, y way , money we saw voted away for benevolent purposes contributed by Metropolitan Lodges only ? Are the pockets of London Brethren alone touched up for playful little experiments in aerostatics and li ghting ? Or have our friends at Carlisle and Launceston also contributed their
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00300
that the same may be read . '" If we understand the meaning of words , this signifies that motions are to he read to the Board of Masters . There is no ambiguity of expression , no latent import here . Nothing can be more clear than that by the lava no discretionary power is vested in this Board to accept or reject motions for the Grand Lodge . W . Bro . WTNDHAM PORTALat a very
, recent Meeting of the Board , gave a copy of an intended motion that there should be a competitive examination half-yearly in the Freemasons' Girls' School . The Grand Lodge was not competent to decide upon this subject , we fully admit . The motion , though of a most excellent character , did not lay within the sphere
of their jurisdiction . The Board rejected it . Did they exceed their powers ? The M . W . G . M ., in answer to W . BRO . BEACH , declared " that the W . M . of that Board had exercised a wise discretion . " But from whence derived he the power to do so ? Not from law ! In the M . W . G . M . alone is vested that powerand no other is
, competent to usurp his privilege . If laws are defective , change them ; if they are faulty , abrogate them ; but while you have them , observe them . It is a reflection upon wisdom to declare the expediency of a certain
exercise of a right which does not exist . This may appear to some a small thing of little consequence ; but it is not with respect to the present , but as to its bearing upon the future that wo ought to regard this question . It is hard to cancel an injurious precedent if once established . This , surely , is fraught with clanger . If this unlimited power is exercised in one instancewhat
, can check it in another ? Where will you draw the line ? You alter the nature of the Board . You convert it into a deliberative body . Is this prudent ? The power of a despot may be exercised for the good of Ms people , but it is hazardous to run the risk . Who may succeed him ? After Augustus came Tiberius . So the
discretion exercised by this Board may be very wise one day , but what is our guarantee that it will always be so ? It is better to make for a safe haven , than anchor on a lee shore . The authority of the Star Chamber was but small at first , but as its methods of proceeding were arbitrary , and as it had no precise rule or limitit
, grew till it became regardless of the provisions of the Great Charter , and it was abolished ; though its coercive jurisdiction had great convenience in some cases . One lesson is to be learnt- —resist the first encroaches of
arbitrary power . Do not suffer the insidious assertion of a principle that is wrong . Twenty shillings would not have ruined the fortune of Mr . Hampden . No ; but the payment of half twenty shillings , on the principle it was attempted to be levied , would have made him a slave . Take your stand upon your ancient constitutions , and do not permit them to be infringed . So you
will cause your laws to be venerated . But if , on the contrai ' y > yon encourage their violation , whenever circumstances may seem to render such a course expedient , you weaken their effect—you make them powerless for good ; for no one will obey laws , which seem framed but to be broken , —Qui cousulta palrum , qui leyes jura-2 'ie senal , vir bonus est quis ' !
Ar00301
OUR representative system—the theory of its action , and its susceptibility of improvement—to these subjects , from every conceivable point of view , the eyes of the nation have of late been directed . Opinions , where so many are formed , cannot each and all bo perfectly sound ; but in each and all there may be some good thing , Here an impracticable suggestion
, there a visionary theory , starts up to be grappled with . Heavily and remorselessly that lusty smith , called Opposition , deals his blows upon the shapeless substance of the argument , and the sparks fly on all sides from his anvil : that anvil is Discussion , and those sparks are Truth . Discussion temperately conducted
can have no ill result ; it must be productive of some benefit , it must elicit some truth ; and we cannot think a few words on the subject of representative reform in Masonry out of place at the present time . Is the Craft at large satisfied , not with the conduct , not with the constitution ofits Parliamentbut with
, , the machinery which circumscribes its free action ? " Why ! " dashes in some mercurial Brother who is at home in the Constitutions , " What more would you have ? ' Every Brother regularly elected , etc' "—( Ed . 1855 , p . 18 , s . 1 . ) V . D . B . Spare us further quotation ! The theory is charming , but how does it
come out in practice ? Nothing could be devised more agreeable for you , Brothers BROWN and JONES ! You have organized , perhaps , your private Lodge meetings under the same roof with G . L . You have been nestling for the last four hours under the very eaves of the
Senate . Wo all know your comfortable faces as you come in and subside into your accustomed seats , where you commune with complacent memories , vetaris Bacchi pinguis queferinw , and vote away , like good fellows as you are , hundreds of pounds in charity . But how about your old friend ROBINSON ? Do you remember what interest he used to take iu Masonic matters ? Do you
call to mind how highly , when you saw more of each other , you prized his opinion , you esteemed his sagacity and business-like mind ? Do you not think his vote would be an honest and a ri ght one , had he an opportunity of recording it on some of the important questions that form the subject of our debates ? But , Brother
ROBINSON ( unluckily , as we think , for the Craft , ) is separated from you by a dozen hours of railway travelling . He is filling the W . M . ' s chair of his Lodge at Carlisle or Launceston , or some equally desirable but remote place of residence ; and even if he could be spared from his professional dutieswould hardly be
, justified ( for like a true Briton his quiver is full ) in spending £ 10 to come and make his speech , and perhaps be snubbed for his pains . Now can W . Bro . ROBINSON , and his Lodge of all the virtues , No . 0900 , be said to be represented in G . L . ? We hardly anticipate an affirmative answer . Butbthe was that
, y way , money we saw voted away for benevolent purposes contributed by Metropolitan Lodges only ? Are the pockets of London Brethren alone touched up for playful little experiments in aerostatics and li ghting ? Or have our friends at Carlisle and Launceston also contributed their