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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 3 of 6 →
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Correspondence.
oti May 7 , 1349 , the Grand Clerk compiled the circular from the records of the Grand Lodg-e , in ivhich ive find , " The following lodges , at . the date of the next Quarterly Communication ( August 6 , 1849 ) , will be five or more years in arrear , cither of returns of entrants or of annual certificates , or both , and , consequently , will then be liable to be erased from the Roll of tbe Grand Lodge and their charters recalled and cancelled . " In the list of lodges givenwe find St . James ' sTarbokonNo . 13 a .
, , , Of course , then , it has been five or more years in arrear , as it still remains upon the Boll corrected to February , 1850 , and has still affixed to it the sign of being in arrear . A very Worshi pful Grand Officer holds his seat by virtue of the commission from this very ledge , which , for any thing he knows to the contrary , may be dormant or defunct . Such is the Proxy system ; and this gives but a very imperfect idea of it ; we can only obtain a correct impression of what
it really is , b y looking over the Grand Lodge Rolls regularly for a SITUS of years , and by comparing them carefully with the Annual Circular for the same period ; then , and then only , can ive obtain a knowledge of the injury ivhich tbis system does to Scotch Masonry . Let us look back and observe when the commission for the above lod ge was sustained . ; ive find it in the Circular for 1847 , as having been presented between August , 1846 , and May , 1847 . The Grand Clerk , on reading it , would therefore , as a mutter of course , say , that the lodge was regular with the Grand Lodg-e , and clear on the books . I et us trace its history a little further ; if ive examine tbe next
published Circular for May , 1848 , we find No . 135 , St . James ' s , Tarbolton , among the Provincial Lodges " that are two or more years in arrear , " and , " consequently , incapable of being represented in Grand Lodge . " This certainly docs not look very regular or business-like ; yet , it must have been clear on the books at the time ; at least , the Grand Lodo-e must , have been made to believe so , But there is a system of Masonic notation that I have never been able to make out , or get explained ;
I have shewn part of it as above . Lodge , No . 135 , by the printed Rolls and Circulars , was six months in arrear or more , when tbe commission was sustained . This is proved by the Circular printed in 1848 : hut , in the Circular printed in 1849 , twelve months afterwards , we find No . 135 amongst the list of'iudges that are five years or more in arrenr . Has this lodg-e , then , been iu arrear since August , 1844 ? The printed evidence most , distinctly proves that it has ; and the yearly election of
officers alluded to , shews that it has been all the while represented j n Grand Lodge . So much for the Proxy system . And this is a case taken by chance , and is a sample , undoubtedly , of many others . I ivould hope that Lodge , No . 135 , will not take it amiss , that I have thus remarked upon it , as it is not upon tbe members oi' that " lodge more than upon any other that I ivould wish to draw tbe attention of * the Craft ; it has been selected merely for the purpose of exposing what
cannot but be considered as a very bad principle , and a very imperfect system . I have no wish to appear personal , either towards lodges or Brethren ; and , should my illustrations bear rather hard upon cither , I would beg of one and all to keep in mind that I have brotiuht forward facts to prove the statements ivhich I make ; if any of these facts bear rather hard upon lodges or Brethren , the fault is theirs , not
. But it will be now inquired , who are the Proxies ? Any Master Mason whose name is upou the Grand Lodge register—any cue who VOL . I . r
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
oti May 7 , 1349 , the Grand Clerk compiled the circular from the records of the Grand Lodg-e , in ivhich ive find , " The following lodges , at . the date of the next Quarterly Communication ( August 6 , 1849 ) , will be five or more years in arrear , cither of returns of entrants or of annual certificates , or both , and , consequently , will then be liable to be erased from the Roll of tbe Grand Lodge and their charters recalled and cancelled . " In the list of lodges givenwe find St . James ' sTarbokonNo . 13 a .
, , , Of course , then , it has been five or more years in arrear , as it still remains upon the Boll corrected to February , 1850 , and has still affixed to it the sign of being in arrear . A very Worshi pful Grand Officer holds his seat by virtue of the commission from this very ledge , which , for any thing he knows to the contrary , may be dormant or defunct . Such is the Proxy system ; and this gives but a very imperfect idea of it ; we can only obtain a correct impression of what
it really is , b y looking over the Grand Lodge Rolls regularly for a SITUS of years , and by comparing them carefully with the Annual Circular for the same period ; then , and then only , can ive obtain a knowledge of the injury ivhich tbis system does to Scotch Masonry . Let us look back and observe when the commission for the above lod ge was sustained . ; ive find it in the Circular for 1847 , as having been presented between August , 1846 , and May , 1847 . The Grand Clerk , on reading it , would therefore , as a mutter of course , say , that the lodge was regular with the Grand Lodg-e , and clear on the books . I et us trace its history a little further ; if ive examine tbe next
published Circular for May , 1848 , we find No . 135 , St . James ' s , Tarbolton , among the Provincial Lodges " that are two or more years in arrear , " and , " consequently , incapable of being represented in Grand Lodge . " This certainly docs not look very regular or business-like ; yet , it must have been clear on the books at the time ; at least , the Grand Lodo-e must , have been made to believe so , But there is a system of Masonic notation that I have never been able to make out , or get explained ;
I have shewn part of it as above . Lodge , No . 135 , by the printed Rolls and Circulars , was six months in arrear or more , when tbe commission was sustained . This is proved by the Circular printed in 1848 : hut , in the Circular printed in 1849 , twelve months afterwards , we find No . 135 amongst the list of'iudges that are five years or more in arrenr . Has this lodg-e , then , been iu arrear since August , 1844 ? The printed evidence most , distinctly proves that it has ; and the yearly election of
officers alluded to , shews that it has been all the while represented j n Grand Lodge . So much for the Proxy system . And this is a case taken by chance , and is a sample , undoubtedly , of many others . I ivould hope that Lodge , No . 135 , will not take it amiss , that I have thus remarked upon it , as it is not upon tbe members oi' that " lodge more than upon any other that I ivould wish to draw tbe attention of * the Craft ; it has been selected merely for the purpose of exposing what
cannot but be considered as a very bad principle , and a very imperfect system . I have no wish to appear personal , either towards lodges or Brethren ; and , should my illustrations bear rather hard upon cither , I would beg of one and all to keep in mind that I have brotiuht forward facts to prove the statements ivhich I make ; if any of these facts bear rather hard upon lodges or Brethren , the fault is theirs , not
. But it will be now inquired , who are the Proxies ? Any Master Mason whose name is upou the Grand Lodge register—any cue who VOL . I . r