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Article THE FREEMASONS' QUARTERLY REVIEW. ← Page 4 of 12 →
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The Freemasons' Quarterly Review.
Consonant with these views I have thought it my duty , as moreover 1 conceive it is the duty of every member of the Craft at this crisis , who has the furtherance of our ' best of institutions' at heart , to bring the subject before the Lodges in my neighbourhood , and to take their sense . And the more immediate object of this communication is to inform you ( in accordance with the requirements of the last number ) of the results of my inquiry ; and I am happy to be enabled to say ( and
I doubt not practical proofs will be given ) that the circulation of the Review in this neighbourhood will be " doubled" at the least . Both Lodges here have given their Secretary instructions to order the work , and several new subscribers amongst the members have already announced themselves . Before , however , I close this letter , permit me to state an opinion , and which is the opinion of all the members to whom I have as yet mentioned the subjectthat a monthly form of publication
, , instead of the quarterly , as at present , would better answer the ends in view ; Of this 1 myself feel pretty confident ; but of course it is very possible there may be many points to be considered , of which I am iucapable of judging ; to your own consideration , therefore , must the prudence of taking such astep be left . The following are some of the
reasons I would give why the monthly form of publication would be the most judicious . 1 st . The trifling sum of one shilling per month would easily be afforded by a great portion of the Craft , who are not able to spare three shillings at one payment , and consequently do not take the work in . Many very zealous Masons of contracted means are doubtless thus circumstanced . 2 nd . Reports of Lodges and transactions of value are now frequentl
y either entirel y lost to the fraternity , or become less interesting , on aecdiiht of the length of time which often necessarily elapses before they gain publicity . A monthly magazine would form a continual record of Masonic liteTatvire , science , and facts , which would be read through eagerly by a larger number of Brethren ; a fate which I suspect does not always attend the great mass of intelligence contained in the Review in its present form . . ;; . :
3 rd . The Order would be benefitted by the stimulus which would be kept up by a monthly journal ; whereas tlie zeal and assiduity of even the most active supporters of our ancient arid honourable fraternity are apt to flag between the perusal of one Quarterly and the issue ' of another . - ' '¦ ''•'
4 th . The annals of publishing afford practical proofs that quarterly forms of publication , as a general rule , have seldom been so successful as monthly ones , unless we except a few standard productions ; sucrr as the Quarterly Review , the Edinburgh Review , & c . Most periodicals of a religious cast are published monthly , and answer very well . ' «" But ivhatever may be the general opinion as to the form of publication , none of your able correspondents in the last number can be more deeply convinced than I am of the irreparable injury that would accrue
to the Craft and its institutions , by the discontinuance of a medium for its transaction ' s ; indeed after the opinions of so many writers , so forcibl y expressed , you cannot longer remain in doubt as to the course to pursue - and I look forward with pleasure to the host of assurances of support from all quarters , with which 1 doubt not your next will teem ( I trust the Brethren ' will not omit the practical-part ;) " to seal with a favourable
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Freemasons' Quarterly Review.
Consonant with these views I have thought it my duty , as moreover 1 conceive it is the duty of every member of the Craft at this crisis , who has the furtherance of our ' best of institutions' at heart , to bring the subject before the Lodges in my neighbourhood , and to take their sense . And the more immediate object of this communication is to inform you ( in accordance with the requirements of the last number ) of the results of my inquiry ; and I am happy to be enabled to say ( and
I doubt not practical proofs will be given ) that the circulation of the Review in this neighbourhood will be " doubled" at the least . Both Lodges here have given their Secretary instructions to order the work , and several new subscribers amongst the members have already announced themselves . Before , however , I close this letter , permit me to state an opinion , and which is the opinion of all the members to whom I have as yet mentioned the subjectthat a monthly form of publication
, , instead of the quarterly , as at present , would better answer the ends in view ; Of this 1 myself feel pretty confident ; but of course it is very possible there may be many points to be considered , of which I am iucapable of judging ; to your own consideration , therefore , must the prudence of taking such astep be left . The following are some of the
reasons I would give why the monthly form of publication would be the most judicious . 1 st . The trifling sum of one shilling per month would easily be afforded by a great portion of the Craft , who are not able to spare three shillings at one payment , and consequently do not take the work in . Many very zealous Masons of contracted means are doubtless thus circumstanced . 2 nd . Reports of Lodges and transactions of value are now frequentl
y either entirel y lost to the fraternity , or become less interesting , on aecdiiht of the length of time which often necessarily elapses before they gain publicity . A monthly magazine would form a continual record of Masonic liteTatvire , science , and facts , which would be read through eagerly by a larger number of Brethren ; a fate which I suspect does not always attend the great mass of intelligence contained in the Review in its present form . . ;; . :
3 rd . The Order would be benefitted by the stimulus which would be kept up by a monthly journal ; whereas tlie zeal and assiduity of even the most active supporters of our ancient arid honourable fraternity are apt to flag between the perusal of one Quarterly and the issue ' of another . - ' '¦ ''•'
4 th . The annals of publishing afford practical proofs that quarterly forms of publication , as a general rule , have seldom been so successful as monthly ones , unless we except a few standard productions ; sucrr as the Quarterly Review , the Edinburgh Review , & c . Most periodicals of a religious cast are published monthly , and answer very well . ' «" But ivhatever may be the general opinion as to the form of publication , none of your able correspondents in the last number can be more deeply convinced than I am of the irreparable injury that would accrue
to the Craft and its institutions , by the discontinuance of a medium for its transaction ' s ; indeed after the opinions of so many writers , so forcibl y expressed , you cannot longer remain in doubt as to the course to pursue - and I look forward with pleasure to the host of assurances of support from all quarters , with which 1 doubt not your next will teem ( I trust the Brethren ' will not omit the practical-part ;) " to seal with a favourable