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Article UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. ← Page 3 of 4 Article UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND. Page 3 of 4 →
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United Grand Lodge Of England.
Grand Lodge more than any other Mason at that time — I mean tlie late Bro . John Havers . It was proposed on that occasion to carry out a scheme like that of Bro . Woodward ' s , but it was rejected by Grand Lodge by a
majority of something like io to one . I do not mean to say that Grand Lodge to-day ought to be bound by the precedent , but I venture to think , for many reasons that will occur to brethren here present , it is a most questionable thing to make a grant of funds which are raised for Charitable purposes
A BROTHER at the lower end of the hall : Most Worshipful Grand Master , I rise to order . Is this an amendment to be put to Grand Lodge first , or is it ruled out of order ? Bro . BEACH : I think it would be more convenient if the
Acting Senior Grand Warden directed his observations to negativing thc motion made rather than moving the resolution he has done . It does not appear to me to be distinctly an amendment to the resolution proposed . Bro . the Rev . R . J . SIMPSON : Most Worshipful Grand Master
in the chair , — -The amendment I venture to propose merely contains the gist of what I think should be done by Grand Lodge . I do not think I have for some years taken up the time of Grand Lodge even for five minutes , and therefore , I think on this occasion I might , in the interest of Freemasonry , move the amendment I have done . I know the work done at St . Paul's is
a great work , and I appeal to Grand Lodge to pass this amendment . I will ask some brother to second it . There is , I would point out , very little difference between Bro . Woodward ' s motion
and a motion asking for Grand Lodge funds . Bro . Woodward's motion does not ask Grand Lodge to grant a sum of money but to send out a circular from Grand Lodge is after all extraordinary , and is next door to voting a sum itself .
Bro . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C , G . Reg .: Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , my good friend , the acting Grand Warden , will permit me , I am sure , to say that I agree with him that if we-send out a circular from Grand Lodge soliciting contributions we give the imprimatur of Grand Lodge to the motion ,
and , therefore , the honour of Grand Lodge is committed . Now , we have listened , I am sure , with delight to the very able speech of our Bro . Woodward . St . Paul ' s Cathedral dominates this great Metropolis , and without entering into comparisons which somebody has said " are odious , " it is a monument of which
this country may justly be proud . At the same time , sympathising most heartily with much that has been said , let us remember that Masonry is universal . ( Hear , hear . ) We have no right to lend the weight of this great assembly to anything that may be tortured or misconstrued into a departure from that
great principle . ( Hear , hear . ) And while I , for one , am not afraid of my convictions , I yet feel lhat Grand Lodge might be involved in a position it could not in all cases justify if it lent
itself to thc restoration or the adornment of a building of a distinctly Protestant character . ( Hear , hear . ) I would rather that we maintain the Catholicism — and I am not using the word " Catholicism " in the sense of Protestant and Roman
Catholicism—but I would rather that we maintain the Catholicism in the sense of the universality of the Craft by saying that though we . might sympathise greatly with any movement to extend tin : usefulness or increase the beauty of a national monument , yet when it is distinctly ear-marked with the religion
of the State , as Masons we do not feel that we can entirely associate ourselves with it . I know the view is not popular ; it does not express my own internal sentiments—I mean as an individual ; but I am bound to be honest as your adviser , and to express what 1 feel as a Mason ; and therefore I would suggest
lhat if Masons like—and there are many reasons why they should , admirably set forth b y our Bro . Woodward—why they should promote the ornamentation of a great national monument —the temple which distinguishes us as a Protestant nation , yet still as a Craft , the proudest boast of which is that we banish ' all
those questions of politics and reli gion which divide people outside —( hear , hear)—but who unite on thc broader basis on which we can shake hands and meet with a brother—grip the Jew , the Catholic , the Protestant , ignoring all minor divisions , rising
superior to all those which separate the so-called Christian bodies , and resting on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man , I think this Grand Lodge will do well'to abstain from supporting this movement . ( Applause . )
Bro . the Rev . C J . MARTYN , P . G . C , & c : Most Worshi pful Grand Master in the chair , —I have been a brother for live and thirty years , and 1 have had the honour of being a member of ( Jrand Lodge , and for six and twenty of those I have sat on this tlais as a Grand Officer , and 1 am sure you who know me will
endorse with regard to me what Bro . Simpson said just now with respect to himself that my voice is not heard in Grand Lodge very often , and therefore 1 may be allowed to detain you for a jew minutes while , on a question of this great importance , I uplift my voice in saying two or three words . J do think
United Grand Lodge Of England.
with regard to this question , much as I bow to the decision of my dear old friend , Bro . Philbrick—because I know he is versed in every tradition of Masonic law— - I think there is something to be said on the . other side . The reason I brought it forward is this : I think St . Paul's Cathedral
is a national thing , and I am perfectly sure that if a circular like that proposed was sent out it would be responded to ; there would be no compulsion put on a single brother . I am convinced that numbers of our brethren—members of the Craft , not members of the State Church—would take part in assisting the
the decoration of such a magnificent cathedral as St . Paul ' s ; they would not want a vote of Grand Lodge . What harm can be done in asking them first of all for their opinion ? Then when their opinion is obtained it could be laid before Grand Lodge another time , and the Craft could be told this is
thc opinion of the Craft , and it could be acted upon . I was only the day before yesterday in the grand cathedral of Gloucester and I took some friends . I said , " Look at the magnificent reredos ; that is the gift of Freemasons . " Go to Tewkesbury , Peterborough , St . Alban's and see the gifts of the
Freemasons there ; and surely when those great works can be done 1 do not think it is too much to ask the Grand Lodge of England to assent to some further attempts being made to raise funds for such work . I would not wish it to be done by a snap
vote ; but I would say send out a circular . If they found the consensus of opinion is against the proposition it could be dropped , but I think it is a subject worthy of Grand Lodge and worthy of every single Freemason . ( Cheers ) .
Bro . RICHARD EVE , P . G . Treas .: Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , —I quite agree with our Brother Grand Chaplain in the feeling that he has with reference to the memorials of the Freemasons of England , and also with reference to St . Paul ' s Cathedral . I have no doubt that many vvould feel that it
would be a very nice thing to say that the Masons of England have contributed a sum of £ 30 , 000 for the purpose of decorating St . Paul ' s Cathedral by the completion of the cupola and transepts of St . Paul ' s Cathedral . But , however much I sympathise with what he has said , I sympathise still more with what has
been said by the Grand Registrar—that we are a body which recognises all creeds and all colours , and if Masonry is universal as vve pretend—and we are universal—we take upon ourselves the privilege to bring within our flag of Freemasonry all colours
and creeds , whether they be Parsees or Roman Catholics , or Church of England Protestant or Dissenter from the Church of England—we are all one when vve come within that grand flag of universality ; vve are all in sympathy , recognising the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God—and we should be
wrong , I think—and here also I agree—and it is not always I thoroughly agree with the Grand Registrar of England —( Laughter)—I thoroughly agree with his statements that we should be diverging from our princip les if we should assent to the course suggested this evening , thatwc should put under the imprimatur
of ( irand Lodge a collection for the purpose of decorating any special building in England , however important it maybe , and however much we may feel in its favour . I think it would be wrong on the part of Grand Lodge to do it . I feel that St . Paul ' s is a splendid monument of architecture , and it is a splendid
monument , too , of Church of England worship . It is also a monument of Catholic worship in times past ( Cries of " No , never . " ) The site is not only a splendid monument to the Catholic worship of England , but it is a monument also to Druidical worship , for there was a Druid Temple there . We have nothing to do with
lhat : our system is cosmopolitan : vve take in all creeds and all colours ; and if wc send out a circular from Grand Lodge for the purpose of getting £ 30 , 000 or any other sum of money to
decorate St , Paul ' s , you may be asked to send out a circular for collecting money to decorate some mosques in other places for worshippers there who are members of our Craft . Wc are bound to consider the widest and broadest of the bases on which our
foundation is placed . Wc acknowledge all creeds ; we reject none ; we embrace all those who believe in the Great Architect of the Universe ; and either to encourage the one or the other , or go against one or the other would bc to my mind not in
pursuance of the feelings ol Grand Lodge . ( Hear , hear . ) » cannot improve on the beauty of 'the expressions of our Grand Registrar ; he has put the thing exceedingly well , and I am g ' ' to agree with him . ( Laughter . ) However much we may thank Bro . Woodward for bringing the subject forward , wc feel v >' c cannot enter upon it now . There are splendid monuments ol
architecture on which the Masons of England have been engaged , where Masons of years ago have been useful in their time and dav and veneration : but I sav it would be a mistake
on our part if we did what Bro . Woodward proposes . 1 have heaid Bro . Woodward most sympathetically ; but at thc same tin"J I suggest that we do not entertain the scheme . We simply lo . 'i ^ it for any brother to do as he likes , we let them do it individually'
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
United Grand Lodge Of England.
Grand Lodge more than any other Mason at that time — I mean tlie late Bro . John Havers . It was proposed on that occasion to carry out a scheme like that of Bro . Woodward ' s , but it was rejected by Grand Lodge by a
majority of something like io to one . I do not mean to say that Grand Lodge to-day ought to be bound by the precedent , but I venture to think , for many reasons that will occur to brethren here present , it is a most questionable thing to make a grant of funds which are raised for Charitable purposes
A BROTHER at the lower end of the hall : Most Worshipful Grand Master , I rise to order . Is this an amendment to be put to Grand Lodge first , or is it ruled out of order ? Bro . BEACH : I think it would be more convenient if the
Acting Senior Grand Warden directed his observations to negativing thc motion made rather than moving the resolution he has done . It does not appear to me to be distinctly an amendment to the resolution proposed . Bro . the Rev . R . J . SIMPSON : Most Worshipful Grand Master
in the chair , — -The amendment I venture to propose merely contains the gist of what I think should be done by Grand Lodge . I do not think I have for some years taken up the time of Grand Lodge even for five minutes , and therefore , I think on this occasion I might , in the interest of Freemasonry , move the amendment I have done . I know the work done at St . Paul's is
a great work , and I appeal to Grand Lodge to pass this amendment . I will ask some brother to second it . There is , I would point out , very little difference between Bro . Woodward ' s motion
and a motion asking for Grand Lodge funds . Bro . Woodward's motion does not ask Grand Lodge to grant a sum of money but to send out a circular from Grand Lodge is after all extraordinary , and is next door to voting a sum itself .
Bro . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C , G . Reg .: Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , my good friend , the acting Grand Warden , will permit me , I am sure , to say that I agree with him that if we-send out a circular from Grand Lodge soliciting contributions we give the imprimatur of Grand Lodge to the motion ,
and , therefore , the honour of Grand Lodge is committed . Now , we have listened , I am sure , with delight to the very able speech of our Bro . Woodward . St . Paul ' s Cathedral dominates this great Metropolis , and without entering into comparisons which somebody has said " are odious , " it is a monument of which
this country may justly be proud . At the same time , sympathising most heartily with much that has been said , let us remember that Masonry is universal . ( Hear , hear . ) We have no right to lend the weight of this great assembly to anything that may be tortured or misconstrued into a departure from that
great principle . ( Hear , hear . ) And while I , for one , am not afraid of my convictions , I yet feel lhat Grand Lodge might be involved in a position it could not in all cases justify if it lent
itself to thc restoration or the adornment of a building of a distinctly Protestant character . ( Hear , hear . ) I would rather that we maintain the Catholicism — and I am not using the word " Catholicism " in the sense of Protestant and Roman
Catholicism—but I would rather that we maintain the Catholicism in the sense of the universality of the Craft by saying that though we . might sympathise greatly with any movement to extend tin : usefulness or increase the beauty of a national monument , yet when it is distinctly ear-marked with the religion
of the State , as Masons we do not feel that we can entirely associate ourselves with it . I know the view is not popular ; it does not express my own internal sentiments—I mean as an individual ; but I am bound to be honest as your adviser , and to express what 1 feel as a Mason ; and therefore I would suggest
lhat if Masons like—and there are many reasons why they should , admirably set forth b y our Bro . Woodward—why they should promote the ornamentation of a great national monument —the temple which distinguishes us as a Protestant nation , yet still as a Craft , the proudest boast of which is that we banish ' all
those questions of politics and reli gion which divide people outside —( hear , hear)—but who unite on thc broader basis on which we can shake hands and meet with a brother—grip the Jew , the Catholic , the Protestant , ignoring all minor divisions , rising
superior to all those which separate the so-called Christian bodies , and resting on the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man , I think this Grand Lodge will do well'to abstain from supporting this movement . ( Applause . )
Bro . the Rev . C J . MARTYN , P . G . C , & c : Most Worshi pful Grand Master in the chair , —I have been a brother for live and thirty years , and 1 have had the honour of being a member of ( Jrand Lodge , and for six and twenty of those I have sat on this tlais as a Grand Officer , and 1 am sure you who know me will
endorse with regard to me what Bro . Simpson said just now with respect to himself that my voice is not heard in Grand Lodge very often , and therefore 1 may be allowed to detain you for a jew minutes while , on a question of this great importance , I uplift my voice in saying two or three words . J do think
United Grand Lodge Of England.
with regard to this question , much as I bow to the decision of my dear old friend , Bro . Philbrick—because I know he is versed in every tradition of Masonic law— - I think there is something to be said on the . other side . The reason I brought it forward is this : I think St . Paul's Cathedral
is a national thing , and I am perfectly sure that if a circular like that proposed was sent out it would be responded to ; there would be no compulsion put on a single brother . I am convinced that numbers of our brethren—members of the Craft , not members of the State Church—would take part in assisting the
the decoration of such a magnificent cathedral as St . Paul ' s ; they would not want a vote of Grand Lodge . What harm can be done in asking them first of all for their opinion ? Then when their opinion is obtained it could be laid before Grand Lodge another time , and the Craft could be told this is
thc opinion of the Craft , and it could be acted upon . I was only the day before yesterday in the grand cathedral of Gloucester and I took some friends . I said , " Look at the magnificent reredos ; that is the gift of Freemasons . " Go to Tewkesbury , Peterborough , St . Alban's and see the gifts of the
Freemasons there ; and surely when those great works can be done 1 do not think it is too much to ask the Grand Lodge of England to assent to some further attempts being made to raise funds for such work . I would not wish it to be done by a snap
vote ; but I would say send out a circular . If they found the consensus of opinion is against the proposition it could be dropped , but I think it is a subject worthy of Grand Lodge and worthy of every single Freemason . ( Cheers ) .
Bro . RICHARD EVE , P . G . Treas .: Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , —I quite agree with our Brother Grand Chaplain in the feeling that he has with reference to the memorials of the Freemasons of England , and also with reference to St . Paul ' s Cathedral . I have no doubt that many vvould feel that it
would be a very nice thing to say that the Masons of England have contributed a sum of £ 30 , 000 for the purpose of decorating St . Paul ' s Cathedral by the completion of the cupola and transepts of St . Paul ' s Cathedral . But , however much I sympathise with what he has said , I sympathise still more with what has
been said by the Grand Registrar—that we are a body which recognises all creeds and all colours , and if Masonry is universal as vve pretend—and we are universal—we take upon ourselves the privilege to bring within our flag of Freemasonry all colours
and creeds , whether they be Parsees or Roman Catholics , or Church of England Protestant or Dissenter from the Church of England—we are all one when vve come within that grand flag of universality ; vve are all in sympathy , recognising the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God—and we should be
wrong , I think—and here also I agree—and it is not always I thoroughly agree with the Grand Registrar of England —( Laughter)—I thoroughly agree with his statements that we should be diverging from our princip les if we should assent to the course suggested this evening , thatwc should put under the imprimatur
of ( irand Lodge a collection for the purpose of decorating any special building in England , however important it maybe , and however much we may feel in its favour . I think it would be wrong on the part of Grand Lodge to do it . I feel that St . Paul ' s is a splendid monument of architecture , and it is a splendid
monument , too , of Church of England worship . It is also a monument of Catholic worship in times past ( Cries of " No , never . " ) The site is not only a splendid monument to the Catholic worship of England , but it is a monument also to Druidical worship , for there was a Druid Temple there . We have nothing to do with
lhat : our system is cosmopolitan : vve take in all creeds and all colours ; and if wc send out a circular from Grand Lodge for the purpose of getting £ 30 , 000 or any other sum of money to
decorate St , Paul ' s , you may be asked to send out a circular for collecting money to decorate some mosques in other places for worshippers there who are members of our Craft . Wc are bound to consider the widest and broadest of the bases on which our
foundation is placed . Wc acknowledge all creeds ; we reject none ; we embrace all those who believe in the Great Architect of the Universe ; and either to encourage the one or the other , or go against one or the other would bc to my mind not in
pursuance of the feelings ol Grand Lodge . ( Hear , hear . ) » cannot improve on the beauty of 'the expressions of our Grand Registrar ; he has put the thing exceedingly well , and I am g ' ' to agree with him . ( Laughter . ) However much we may thank Bro . Woodward for bringing the subject forward , wc feel v >' c cannot enter upon it now . There are splendid monuments ol
architecture on which the Masons of England have been engaged , where Masons of years ago have been useful in their time and dav and veneration : but I sav it would be a mistake
on our part if we did what Bro . Woodward proposes . 1 have heaid Bro . Woodward most sympathetically ; but at thc same tin"J I suggest that we do not entertain the scheme . We simply lo . 'i ^ it for any brother to do as he likes , we let them do it individually'