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Article THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SECRETARY. Page 1 of 2 Article THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SECRETARY. Page 1 of 2 →
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The Qualifications For A Secretary.
THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SECRETARY .
AS tlio time is appproaehing when the election of a , successor to tho lute Bro . Little will take place , it is desirable that we should have a look round , with a view to appreciating the better the importance of this necessarily unusual event . Of course , in the remarks we are about to offer , we shall avoid all reference to the merits of
the different candidates . In the first place , they are sufficiently before our readers , who can judge for themselves as well as we can . In the next , place , it would be manifestly unjust to compare their several qualifications , even if it were possible so do so . What wc are concerned with ,
and what indeed concerns every member of the Craft is , that the best man shall win , and we aro not so foolish as to undertake the responsibility of even hintingat the likelihood of one being in any way superior to another , and if so , in what particular respect that superiority is noticeable . "VVe
are thinking of the Secretaryship only , and all we arc about to consider now is the character and extent of the qualifications which , in our humble judgment , a candidate should possess . Theso qualifications may be regarded under various heads , but wc shall note only the most important .
In the first place then it is absolutely necessary that a Secretary should possess habits of business . He must bo a model of punctuality , a man of method , and ono in every way qualified to discharge the onerous duties of an office A man who has no order or method in his composition will
generally find the official work in a state the reverse of orderl y and methodical . Each clay , ancl it may almost be said each hour of the clay , has its appointed task , and unless these are disposed of regularly , there is every chance of their being done perfunctorily ancl imperfectly . The
performance of official duties is not difficult . They are not of an exacting character as a rule , but there should be a certain amount of routine observed without of course going to the length of that circumlocution and red-tapeism which were sn sharply , and in some cases , so justly ridiculed by the
late Charles Dickens . Given then this quality of method , and the new Secretary will speedily find himself at home in his duties . But method alone , valuable and indeed essential as it is , must be supplemented by sundry other qualities , which are partly personal and partly business
in their character . Thus a Secretary of one of our Institutions must bo blessed with an unusual share of energy . He must spare no pains to make his administration a success . He must be ready to initiate any
movement he may think desirable in the interests of the School . He should bo the opposite of Mr . Micawber , who was always waiting for something to turn up . There is , of course , such a thing as excess of zeal , which is trying , and often attended with disadvantages more or less serious .
What we are desirous of indicating is simply that the man should have his wits well about him , ancl be ready at the right moment with the right suggestion , instead of waiting while others are be-thinking themselves of what is needed . But in addition to energy , he must have a rare amount of
tact . In the course of his duties , he will be brought into almost daily contact with all classes and conditions of men , men of different tempers and dispositions , who will require
a good deal of delicate handling , ns different circumstances may arise . The suaviter in modo will generally be found enough for most purposes , but a Secretary ' s bed is by no means a bed of roses , ancl it may occasionally happen
The Qualifications For A Secretary.
that the suaviter in nwdo will happen to give place to the fort iter in re . Even in the management of Freemasons , genial as thoy mostly are , the suasivo force of officialism is not always successful , and the quality of firmness will he of very considerable value . Then ,
as it has grown to be the custom for onr Secretaries to range throughout the Metropolis and the Provinces for the purpose of making known more generally the claims of the Institutions to the support of the Craft , it will be desirable that the new Secretary should possess something
of the vis dicendi , something in tho way of eloquence , which will excite the enthusiasm of his audience ancl induce them , as occasion may require , to open wide their purscstrings and support liberally the cause ho advocates . The late Bro . Little ' s health was such , for some months previous to
his death , that he was unable to appeal in person to the liberality of brethren , ancl not the least gratifying evidence of the estimation in which the Girls' School is held will be found in . the amount of money which was subscribed at vtho Festival last month . Many
there aro who think it undesirable that so much labour and responsibility should be cast ou tho Secretary . This is a matter of opinion , and it may or may not have weight , but the custom wo have alluded to exists , and , therefore , it seems to us at the least desirable that tho new
Secretary should be able to take an active part m canvassing tho support and assistance of Lodges and Provinces , ancl to do this well he should be a tolerably fluent and impressive speaker . He need not bo a . Demosthenes or a Cicero , a Gladstone or a Beaconsfield , but he should be capable of
unfolding a plain unvarnished tale in a manner which will commend itself to his hearers . Thus far wo havo spoken of his business and personal qualifications , and it only remains for us to add a few words as to his Masonic qualifications . These have been fixed by the General Committee ,
ancl any one within the prescribed age who has been a Master Mason for three years is eligible . Bnt though not the slig htest objection can be raised to this proposal , seeing that it affords an opportunity for every young brother who considers he has tho requisite capacity , ancl has been
a member sufficiently long to have acquired a fair knowledge of the Craft and the working of its Institutions , to compete for the post , still there can bo no doubt that , other things being equal , tho candidate who has the rank ancl privileges of a
Past Master should be preferred to one who has notnot because of his superior rank , but because of the greater influence such rank confers upon him . Indeed , a man who holds several positions of eminence in
the Craft will—in the case of that perfect equality in other respects which , we have assumed , will bo preferable to the one who holds only the rank of a Master Mason . He comes into contact with so
many more people . He has access to so many other sources where his appeals will be listened to , and bo productive of good to the Institution . A glance at the list of subscriptions will show that a great deal of support is freely accorded by Arch , Mark ancl other Masons , ancl ono
who can canvass these as well as Craft Masons , ^ has so many more opportunities , and consequently so many more chances of being successful in his advocacy . These then are the qualifications which Ave think it desirable a
Secretary should possess , and as they regard the office and not those who are seeking * to fill it , we cannot possibly be charged with exhibiting preference for any of the candidates . Indeed , we believe them to bo one and all good men and true , ancl were it possible , we should like to see the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Qualifications For A Secretary.
THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SECRETARY .
AS tlio time is appproaehing when the election of a , successor to tho lute Bro . Little will take place , it is desirable that we should have a look round , with a view to appreciating the better the importance of this necessarily unusual event . Of course , in the remarks we are about to offer , we shall avoid all reference to the merits of
the different candidates . In the first place , they are sufficiently before our readers , who can judge for themselves as well as we can . In the next , place , it would be manifestly unjust to compare their several qualifications , even if it were possible so do so . What wc are concerned with ,
and what indeed concerns every member of the Craft is , that the best man shall win , and we aro not so foolish as to undertake the responsibility of even hintingat the likelihood of one being in any way superior to another , and if so , in what particular respect that superiority is noticeable . "VVe
are thinking of the Secretaryship only , and all we arc about to consider now is the character and extent of the qualifications which , in our humble judgment , a candidate should possess . Theso qualifications may be regarded under various heads , but wc shall note only the most important .
In the first place then it is absolutely necessary that a Secretary should possess habits of business . He must bo a model of punctuality , a man of method , and ono in every way qualified to discharge the onerous duties of an office A man who has no order or method in his composition will
generally find the official work in a state the reverse of orderl y and methodical . Each clay , ancl it may almost be said each hour of the clay , has its appointed task , and unless these are disposed of regularly , there is every chance of their being done perfunctorily ancl imperfectly . The
performance of official duties is not difficult . They are not of an exacting character as a rule , but there should be a certain amount of routine observed without of course going to the length of that circumlocution and red-tapeism which were sn sharply , and in some cases , so justly ridiculed by the
late Charles Dickens . Given then this quality of method , and the new Secretary will speedily find himself at home in his duties . But method alone , valuable and indeed essential as it is , must be supplemented by sundry other qualities , which are partly personal and partly business
in their character . Thus a Secretary of one of our Institutions must bo blessed with an unusual share of energy . He must spare no pains to make his administration a success . He must be ready to initiate any
movement he may think desirable in the interests of the School . He should bo the opposite of Mr . Micawber , who was always waiting for something to turn up . There is , of course , such a thing as excess of zeal , which is trying , and often attended with disadvantages more or less serious .
What we are desirous of indicating is simply that the man should have his wits well about him , ancl be ready at the right moment with the right suggestion , instead of waiting while others are be-thinking themselves of what is needed . But in addition to energy , he must have a rare amount of
tact . In the course of his duties , he will be brought into almost daily contact with all classes and conditions of men , men of different tempers and dispositions , who will require
a good deal of delicate handling , ns different circumstances may arise . The suaviter in modo will generally be found enough for most purposes , but a Secretary ' s bed is by no means a bed of roses , ancl it may occasionally happen
The Qualifications For A Secretary.
that the suaviter in nwdo will happen to give place to the fort iter in re . Even in the management of Freemasons , genial as thoy mostly are , the suasivo force of officialism is not always successful , and the quality of firmness will he of very considerable value . Then ,
as it has grown to be the custom for onr Secretaries to range throughout the Metropolis and the Provinces for the purpose of making known more generally the claims of the Institutions to the support of the Craft , it will be desirable that the new Secretary should possess something
of the vis dicendi , something in tho way of eloquence , which will excite the enthusiasm of his audience ancl induce them , as occasion may require , to open wide their purscstrings and support liberally the cause ho advocates . The late Bro . Little ' s health was such , for some months previous to
his death , that he was unable to appeal in person to the liberality of brethren , ancl not the least gratifying evidence of the estimation in which the Girls' School is held will be found in . the amount of money which was subscribed at vtho Festival last month . Many
there aro who think it undesirable that so much labour and responsibility should be cast ou tho Secretary . This is a matter of opinion , and it may or may not have weight , but the custom wo have alluded to exists , and , therefore , it seems to us at the least desirable that tho new
Secretary should be able to take an active part m canvassing tho support and assistance of Lodges and Provinces , ancl to do this well he should be a tolerably fluent and impressive speaker . He need not bo a . Demosthenes or a Cicero , a Gladstone or a Beaconsfield , but he should be capable of
unfolding a plain unvarnished tale in a manner which will commend itself to his hearers . Thus far wo havo spoken of his business and personal qualifications , and it only remains for us to add a few words as to his Masonic qualifications . These have been fixed by the General Committee ,
ancl any one within the prescribed age who has been a Master Mason for three years is eligible . Bnt though not the slig htest objection can be raised to this proposal , seeing that it affords an opportunity for every young brother who considers he has tho requisite capacity , ancl has been
a member sufficiently long to have acquired a fair knowledge of the Craft and the working of its Institutions , to compete for the post , still there can bo no doubt that , other things being equal , tho candidate who has the rank ancl privileges of a
Past Master should be preferred to one who has notnot because of his superior rank , but because of the greater influence such rank confers upon him . Indeed , a man who holds several positions of eminence in
the Craft will—in the case of that perfect equality in other respects which , we have assumed , will bo preferable to the one who holds only the rank of a Master Mason . He comes into contact with so
many more people . He has access to so many other sources where his appeals will be listened to , and bo productive of good to the Institution . A glance at the list of subscriptions will show that a great deal of support is freely accorded by Arch , Mark ancl other Masons , ancl ono
who can canvass these as well as Craft Masons , ^ has so many more opportunities , and consequently so many more chances of being successful in his advocacy . These then are the qualifications which Ave think it desirable a
Secretary should possess , and as they regard the office and not those who are seeking * to fill it , we cannot possibly be charged with exhibiting preference for any of the candidates . Indeed , we believe them to bo one and all good men and true , ancl were it possible , we should like to see the