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Article THE REPORTER. ← Page 3 of 11 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Reporter.
THE REPORTER .
THE GRAND STEWARDS' LODGE . To the Eighteen Lodges who have the Privilege of recommending Bre ~ thren to serve as Stewards at the Grand Festival , and to the Grand Stewards , Past and Present , who are not . Members of the Grand Stewards' Lodge . BRETHREN , —We most cordially greet you upon the present state of
Freemasonry—it is cheering to know that it is flowing with the floodtide of all human improvement , and that at no former period do the traditions or records of the Order exhibit it under so grateful and flourishing an aspect as the present . The day in which we live may be termed the zenith of the Craft . Amid this general prosperity , the Grand Stewards' Lodge now address that selected portion of the Craft from which their own constituency is
provided for by the " Constitutions , " confident that the following remarks will be received with the same fraternal spirit in which they are offered , and that the result will be even an increase of good feeling and brotherly love . The Grand Stewards' Lodge feel an honest pride in the conviction that they have competed with the Craft in the honourable exercise of all Masonic principle ; less could not be expected from a Lodge placed in the foremost rank of the Order . The three Clauses from the Constitutions which direct and provide for the constituency of their Lodge , are Nos . 10 , 11 , 12 , p . 44 , 45 , viz . —
" 10 . The Grand Stewards shall have the exclusive privilege of becoming Members of the Grand Stewards' Lodges subject , however , to the by-laws and regulations of that Lodge . " 11 . The Grand Stewards' Lodge shall not have a number , but shall be registered in the Books of the Grand Lodge , and placed in the printed lists , at the head of other Lodges , and rank accordingly j and shall be represented in the Grand IMge by its Master , Past Masters , and JFardens . " 12 . The Grand Stewards' Lodge , being constituted as a Master Masons' Lodge , can have no power of making , passing , or raising Masons . "
By Clause 12 , this Lodge having no power to make , pass , or raise , is altogether without those essential means which alone support all other Lodges , and therefore it appears that the means of continuing the numerical strength of the Grand Stewards' Lodge is paradoxical ; for while certain Brethren of eighteen appointed Lodges possess the exclusive privilege of becoming Members , there are no other means to preserve the existence of this Lodge , if those in possession of the privilege fail to exercise it . Thuswhat no doubt was considered to be the best mode
, of ensuring its strength and position by time , has , by that surest test , proved to be inefficient to so desirable an end ; and it is at the very moment , when numerical prosperity is elsewhere general , that the Grand Stewards' Lodge is , unfortunately , an exception to the rule . Let it not be supposed , however , that the Lodge has hitherto failed to display ample proofs of its value and importance in the Craft . On its public nights in March and December , the Lectures , as handed down by
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Reporter.
THE REPORTER .
THE GRAND STEWARDS' LODGE . To the Eighteen Lodges who have the Privilege of recommending Bre ~ thren to serve as Stewards at the Grand Festival , and to the Grand Stewards , Past and Present , who are not . Members of the Grand Stewards' Lodge . BRETHREN , —We most cordially greet you upon the present state of
Freemasonry—it is cheering to know that it is flowing with the floodtide of all human improvement , and that at no former period do the traditions or records of the Order exhibit it under so grateful and flourishing an aspect as the present . The day in which we live may be termed the zenith of the Craft . Amid this general prosperity , the Grand Stewards' Lodge now address that selected portion of the Craft from which their own constituency is
provided for by the " Constitutions , " confident that the following remarks will be received with the same fraternal spirit in which they are offered , and that the result will be even an increase of good feeling and brotherly love . The Grand Stewards' Lodge feel an honest pride in the conviction that they have competed with the Craft in the honourable exercise of all Masonic principle ; less could not be expected from a Lodge placed in the foremost rank of the Order . The three Clauses from the Constitutions which direct and provide for the constituency of their Lodge , are Nos . 10 , 11 , 12 , p . 44 , 45 , viz . —
" 10 . The Grand Stewards shall have the exclusive privilege of becoming Members of the Grand Stewards' Lodges subject , however , to the by-laws and regulations of that Lodge . " 11 . The Grand Stewards' Lodge shall not have a number , but shall be registered in the Books of the Grand Lodge , and placed in the printed lists , at the head of other Lodges , and rank accordingly j and shall be represented in the Grand IMge by its Master , Past Masters , and JFardens . " 12 . The Grand Stewards' Lodge , being constituted as a Master Masons' Lodge , can have no power of making , passing , or raising Masons . "
By Clause 12 , this Lodge having no power to make , pass , or raise , is altogether without those essential means which alone support all other Lodges , and therefore it appears that the means of continuing the numerical strength of the Grand Stewards' Lodge is paradoxical ; for while certain Brethren of eighteen appointed Lodges possess the exclusive privilege of becoming Members , there are no other means to preserve the existence of this Lodge , if those in possession of the privilege fail to exercise it . Thuswhat no doubt was considered to be the best mode
, of ensuring its strength and position by time , has , by that surest test , proved to be inefficient to so desirable an end ; and it is at the very moment , when numerical prosperity is elsewhere general , that the Grand Stewards' Lodge is , unfortunately , an exception to the rule . Let it not be supposed , however , that the Lodge has hitherto failed to display ample proofs of its value and importance in the Craft . On its public nights in March and December , the Lectures , as handed down by