Skip to main content
Museum of Freemasonry

Masonic Periodicals Online

  • Explore
  • Advanced Search
  • Home
  • Explore
  • The Freemason's Chronicle
  • Sept. 30, 1876
  • Page 1
  • INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES.
Current:

The Freemason's Chronicle, Sept. 30, 1876: Page 1

  • Back to The Freemason's Chronicle, Sept. 30, 1876
  • Print image
  • Articles/Ads
    Article INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES. Page 1 of 2
    Article INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES. Page 1 of 2 →
Page 1

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.

INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES .

LAST week we drew the attention of our readers to the ¦ evil effects of indiscriminate charity , and the likelihood , we may almost say the certainty , that Freemasonry will lose caste if relief is administered without careful inquiry into the antecedents , as well as the present

necessities , of those who seek ifc . Of equal importance is it that those who present themselves as candidates for admission into our Society should not be admitted indiscriminately . Indeed , these two questions of ill-regulated almsgiving and the lax admission of new members are so closely

connected , that it is hardly possible to discuss one of them fairly , in all its bearings , without touching upon the more salient points of the other . The more careless we are in the bestowal of our alms , the likelier are we to have our

ranks well filled with needy and unscrupulous adventurers . And , similarly , the more indifferent we are whom we introduce into our Lodges , the greater will be the number of those who will abuse our charity . All right-minded Masons are far less anxious for the numerical increase of the Craft

than they are for its increased moral strength . Hence it is we have viewed with so much satisfaction that at nearly every consecration of a new Lodge which has latterly been held , the consecrating officer has made a point of enjoining on the members , how necessary it is they should be cautious

whom they elect into their Lodge , not only for the peace and harmony of the Lodge itself , but likewise in the interests of Freemasonry generally . Bightly enough was ifc said by Bro . Metham , in his recent able address before the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devon , that " a little leaven

leaveneth the whole mass . " A single objectionable brother in a Lodge is enough to set all the members by the ears . Nor does the evil end even here . The obnoxious brother finds admission into other Lodges , where his propensity for stirring up unaraiable feelings is not known , and , more

often than not , he exhibits the same faults there as well as in his own Lodge . Or he may possess still graver shortcomings than a mere tendency to squabble on all occasions ; in which case a part of the odium that attaches to him is necessarily reflected on those with whom he is associated .

It must be apparent , indeed , to all who concern themselves about the well-being of Freemasonry that it is impossible to exercise too much caution in the admission of new members . The old saying , noscitur a sociis , is undeniably true . A man is known by the character of his fellows , and

a society by that of its members . If the majority of Freemasons are found to be good sterling men , who practise always the morality they profess , then , as that system of morality is known of all men to be marvellously free from all blemish , the world will esteem us highly as a society

which never wearies of doing good . On the other hand , if Masons are found to be mere professors of a peculiar system of morality ; if the charity they practise is practised ostentatiously and with an eye to future profit ; if , under the guise of brotherly love , they permit themselves

to lose no opportunity of wilfully misjudging the motives of their fellows , of promoting jealousy , of suggesting in secret what they dare not avow openly ; if their boasted conviviality resolves itself simply into an excessive

indulgence in the pleasures of the table , then , we say , the world will rightly set us down as a society of rank impostors , banded together for objects which are either blameworthy or beneath contempt . Happily , as we have said , the world knows well enough that our system of

Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.

morality is pure . Ifc knows likewise that the principles of that morality are not only professed , but practised by the bulk of our society . We say bulk , because a society

of men is no more likely , perhaps even less likely , to bo perfect than a single individual . But if we cannot attain perfection , we may approach it , and the best way of clpino this is to be cautious in our election of candidates .

We are led to indulge in these remarks which , after all , are a mere collection of truisms , by reason partly of certain statements in Bro . Metham ' s address , already alluded to , and partly by the description of a scene enacted in one of our Lodges , of a most disgraceful character , a

description for which we are indebted to our contemporary , the Ballarat Star . The scene is said to have occurred in the " Buninyong Masonic Lodge , " a name , however , we do not find in Grand Lodge Calendar for 1876 . It appears that some months since a person was proposed for initiation ,

but rejected by numerous black balls . A Dr . Hallett , member of the Lodge and an old Mason , was not present however . On the evening when the scene took place he was in attendance , but a long delay occurred in opening tho Lodge . Dr . Hallett , on some idle pretext , was called out

by the late W . M ., and no sooner had he left the room than the Lodge was opened . Attempting to re-enter in a very few minutes , he was told the W . M . had ordered he should be refused admittance , though he had already signed the attendance register . While protesting against such tyranny ,

Dr . Hallett was seized by a member " much taller and stronger than himself , and dragged forcibly from tho door of - the Lodge , to the serious damage of his right hand . " The cause of this outrage is said to have been the fear of the W . M . that Dr . Hallett might black ball the candidate ,

who was the intimate friend of the Master . Taking the facts as narrated by our contemporary , we have no hesitation in describing the scene as a gross violation , not only of Masonic rights ancl privileges , but of all decency and propriety . It is almost needless to point out that tho

several acts which made up the above scene are each and every of them in distinct violation of Masonic law . The denial to Dr . Hallett of Masonic communication with the members of his own Lodge , his seizure and forcible removal from the door of the Lodge , the alleged excuse for

this exclusion and violence , that Dr . Hallett might exercise his right of voting , and the barefaced attempt to dictate that he should vote either white or nofc at all , —these together form a terrible indictment against the W . M . of " the Buninyong Masonic Lodge " and his satellites . We

should like to believe the whole thing is utterly untrue , but we fear there is too much circumstantialit y in the account for any such good fortune to befal ua . We are aware the account is ev parte ; indeed , we are arguing upon the tale as it has reached us . But journals with a due

sense of their responsibilities do not admit such intelligence into their colamns unless it is duly vouched for . But even if the details have been inaccurately given or unduly coloured , there is still forced upon us the belief that the working of " the Buninyong Lodge" must be

flagrantly un-Masomc . Even assuming that Dr . Hallett is a most obnoxious member , nothing could justify the outrage of which he is reported to have been the victim . There is a proper Masonic tribunal before which members

guilty of un-Masonic conduct may be arraigned . The W . M . had no right to sit in judgment on the merits of his own difference with Dr . Hallett , supposing there to have been one . A member , even of superior height and strength , has no right forcibly to remove from the door of a Lodge another who is neither suspended nor excluded from Mg

“The Freemason's Chronicle: 1876-09-30, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 1 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/fcn/issues/fcn_30091876/page/1/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES. Article 1
THE LATEST ABUSE OF FREEMASONRY. Article 2
NEW RULES AND REGULATIONS PROPOSED BY BRO. METHAM. Article 3
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 4
WHICH IS CORRECT ? Article 4
Untitled Article 5
LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE NEW DOCKS AT AYR. Article 5
UNIFORMITY OF WORKING. Article 7
REVIEWS. Article 7
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Ad 8
Untitled Article 8
OUR WEEKLY BUDGET. Article 8
Old Warrants. Article 9
RENFREWSHIRE EAST PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE. Article 10
DIARY FOR THE WEEK. Article 11
GLASGOW AND THE WEST OF SCOTLAND. Article 11
NOTICES OF MEETINGS. Article 12
Untitled Ad 14
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 15
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Ad 16
Untitled Article 16
Page 1

Page 1

2 Articles
Page 2

Page 2

3 Articles
Page 3

Page 3

3 Articles
Page 4

Page 4

4 Articles
Page 5

Page 5

3 Articles
Page 6

Page 6

2 Articles
Page 7

Page 7

3 Articles
Page 8

Page 8

6 Articles
Page 9

Page 9

3 Articles
Page 10

Page 10

3 Articles
Page 11

Page 11

3 Articles
Page 12

Page 12

2 Articles
Page 13

Page 13

2 Articles
Page 14

Page 14

3 Articles
Page 15

Page 15

13 Articles
Page 16

Page 16

18 Articles
Page 1

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.

INDISCRIMINATE ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES .

LAST week we drew the attention of our readers to the ¦ evil effects of indiscriminate charity , and the likelihood , we may almost say the certainty , that Freemasonry will lose caste if relief is administered without careful inquiry into the antecedents , as well as the present

necessities , of those who seek ifc . Of equal importance is it that those who present themselves as candidates for admission into our Society should not be admitted indiscriminately . Indeed , these two questions of ill-regulated almsgiving and the lax admission of new members are so closely

connected , that it is hardly possible to discuss one of them fairly , in all its bearings , without touching upon the more salient points of the other . The more careless we are in the bestowal of our alms , the likelier are we to have our

ranks well filled with needy and unscrupulous adventurers . And , similarly , the more indifferent we are whom we introduce into our Lodges , the greater will be the number of those who will abuse our charity . All right-minded Masons are far less anxious for the numerical increase of the Craft

than they are for its increased moral strength . Hence it is we have viewed with so much satisfaction that at nearly every consecration of a new Lodge which has latterly been held , the consecrating officer has made a point of enjoining on the members , how necessary it is they should be cautious

whom they elect into their Lodge , not only for the peace and harmony of the Lodge itself , but likewise in the interests of Freemasonry generally . Bightly enough was ifc said by Bro . Metham , in his recent able address before the Provincial Grand Lodge of Devon , that " a little leaven

leaveneth the whole mass . " A single objectionable brother in a Lodge is enough to set all the members by the ears . Nor does the evil end even here . The obnoxious brother finds admission into other Lodges , where his propensity for stirring up unaraiable feelings is not known , and , more

often than not , he exhibits the same faults there as well as in his own Lodge . Or he may possess still graver shortcomings than a mere tendency to squabble on all occasions ; in which case a part of the odium that attaches to him is necessarily reflected on those with whom he is associated .

It must be apparent , indeed , to all who concern themselves about the well-being of Freemasonry that it is impossible to exercise too much caution in the admission of new members . The old saying , noscitur a sociis , is undeniably true . A man is known by the character of his fellows , and

a society by that of its members . If the majority of Freemasons are found to be good sterling men , who practise always the morality they profess , then , as that system of morality is known of all men to be marvellously free from all blemish , the world will esteem us highly as a society

which never wearies of doing good . On the other hand , if Masons are found to be mere professors of a peculiar system of morality ; if the charity they practise is practised ostentatiously and with an eye to future profit ; if , under the guise of brotherly love , they permit themselves

to lose no opportunity of wilfully misjudging the motives of their fellows , of promoting jealousy , of suggesting in secret what they dare not avow openly ; if their boasted conviviality resolves itself simply into an excessive

indulgence in the pleasures of the table , then , we say , the world will rightly set us down as a society of rank impostors , banded together for objects which are either blameworthy or beneath contempt . Happily , as we have said , the world knows well enough that our system of

Indiscriminate Admission Of Candidates.

morality is pure . Ifc knows likewise that the principles of that morality are not only professed , but practised by the bulk of our society . We say bulk , because a society

of men is no more likely , perhaps even less likely , to bo perfect than a single individual . But if we cannot attain perfection , we may approach it , and the best way of clpino this is to be cautious in our election of candidates .

We are led to indulge in these remarks which , after all , are a mere collection of truisms , by reason partly of certain statements in Bro . Metham ' s address , already alluded to , and partly by the description of a scene enacted in one of our Lodges , of a most disgraceful character , a

description for which we are indebted to our contemporary , the Ballarat Star . The scene is said to have occurred in the " Buninyong Masonic Lodge , " a name , however , we do not find in Grand Lodge Calendar for 1876 . It appears that some months since a person was proposed for initiation ,

but rejected by numerous black balls . A Dr . Hallett , member of the Lodge and an old Mason , was not present however . On the evening when the scene took place he was in attendance , but a long delay occurred in opening tho Lodge . Dr . Hallett , on some idle pretext , was called out

by the late W . M ., and no sooner had he left the room than the Lodge was opened . Attempting to re-enter in a very few minutes , he was told the W . M . had ordered he should be refused admittance , though he had already signed the attendance register . While protesting against such tyranny ,

Dr . Hallett was seized by a member " much taller and stronger than himself , and dragged forcibly from tho door of - the Lodge , to the serious damage of his right hand . " The cause of this outrage is said to have been the fear of the W . M . that Dr . Hallett might black ball the candidate ,

who was the intimate friend of the Master . Taking the facts as narrated by our contemporary , we have no hesitation in describing the scene as a gross violation , not only of Masonic rights ancl privileges , but of all decency and propriety . It is almost needless to point out that tho

several acts which made up the above scene are each and every of them in distinct violation of Masonic law . The denial to Dr . Hallett of Masonic communication with the members of his own Lodge , his seizure and forcible removal from the door of the Lodge , the alleged excuse for

this exclusion and violence , that Dr . Hallett might exercise his right of voting , and the barefaced attempt to dictate that he should vote either white or nofc at all , —these together form a terrible indictment against the W . M . of " the Buninyong Masonic Lodge " and his satellites . We

should like to believe the whole thing is utterly untrue , but we fear there is too much circumstantialit y in the account for any such good fortune to befal ua . We are aware the account is ev parte ; indeed , we are arguing upon the tale as it has reached us . But journals with a due

sense of their responsibilities do not admit such intelligence into their colamns unless it is duly vouched for . But even if the details have been inaccurately given or unduly coloured , there is still forced upon us the belief that the working of " the Buninyong Lodge" must be

flagrantly un-Masomc . Even assuming that Dr . Hallett is a most obnoxious member , nothing could justify the outrage of which he is reported to have been the victim . There is a proper Masonic tribunal before which members

guilty of un-Masonic conduct may be arraigned . The W . M . had no right to sit in judgment on the merits of his own difference with Dr . Hallett , supposing there to have been one . A member , even of superior height and strength , has no right forcibly to remove from the door of a Lodge another who is neither suspended nor excluded from Mg

  • Prev page
  • You're on page1
  • 2
  • 16
  • Next page
  • Accredited Museum Designated Outstanding Collection
  • LIBRARY AND MUSEUM CHARITABLE TRUST OF THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER 1058497 / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2025

  • Accessibility statement

  • Designed, developed, and maintained by King's Digital Lab

We use cookies to track usage and preferences.

Privacy & cookie policy