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level , & c . & c . But I digress . In my humble opinion , a capability of performing our ceremonies correctly "—not merely as an effort of parrotdike memory , but with a close adherence to our landmarks , and the power of giving a reason for everything said and done in the Lodge , —a knowledge of all that appertains to the Order , and an acquaintance with the mysteries of antiquity , form , in my own poor judgment , a claim for Masonic rank ; and whatever may be and is the animus of " Sile" and his Lodge to our P . M ., no one can deny but that his desire to communicate information is only equalled by his ability to do so , and the pleasure it confers upon him .
With regard to this same Brother having attempted , while acting as P . S ., to introduce obsolete matter into the ritual of his chapter , this I also deny in toto . The ceremony really introduced is used at this very time in the far-famed province of Bristol , and will again be used here at our next exaltation ; and although the Grand Superintendent of a province , who is also Past Grand P . S . and Past S . G . W . of England , thought fit to call in question the act of this companion , he stoutly defended himself , traced the origin of the Order , and proved that the ceremony was correct . But he could have told this B . W . Brother and Prov . Grand
Superintendent , that he ought to have set a better example to the Brethren of this city when presiding as M . E . Z ., than by reading the whole of the ceremony . A Brother may be an exemplary Mason in the performance of his social duties , but mere seniority or rank , even when combined with these qualifications , does not qualify any Brother to receive Masonic rewards . I opine that the Prov . G . M . is not to be the judge of any Brother ' s private conduct—he can only take cognizance of his Masonic actions ; and if any Brother evinces an ardent love for the Order , and has the ability to labour diligently in its cause—whose moral character is ¦ unimpeachable—then such an one deserves honour being shown to him , whatever his rank in society may be .
The refusal of our Prov . G . S . to grant a dispensation for passing this Brother over the third chair , w as an act of bad taste , because for less . cause he granted two dispensations the very year before to a sister chapter of gentlemen in this town . The request to the Prov . G . S . was made by the M . E . Z . of our chapter , by the unanimous request of the companions . The Brother who then ruled the chapter is a man , above all others , who never could or would belong to any clique , but whose firm and manly independence of conduct places him in our eyes above the suspicion which "Sile" endeavours to attach to him .
It is a very remarkable fact , that throughout these two letters not one fact I mentioned in my last is controverted , but a violation of our constitutions even palliated by " Sile . " It now behoves me to put a right construction upon the matter of the appointments made at the Prov . Grand Lodge in 1853 by the D . Prov . G . M . I myself heard the present Prov . G . Treas ., who was made J . G . W . on that occasion , say , that on looking over the list , offices were intended to be conferred upon Brethren who were not entitled to receive them ; but it is a remarkable fact , that " Sile" and himself ( he was W . M . of his Lodge that same
year ) should have allowed the D . Prov . G . M . to confer the office of S . G . W . upon the S . W . of his Lodge , who by the bye was J . G . W . the year before , and the offices of Beg . and S . G . D . upon two recently raised Brethren also members of his Lodge I The office of S . G . D . was promised to a Brother of our Lodge , and upon the D . Prov . G . M . being asked why the promise made was broken , he said , that there were several Brethren of rank in society present , and he was desirous of rewarding
them ; and verily if a purple collar could confer honour upon mere rank , it was done on that occasion , and the W . M . of that Lodge , aye and his P . M . too , both stood coolly by and sanctioned a violation of the constitutions . I would with all charity entreat "Sile , " when next he indites a letter , not to allow his feeling of personal resentment to outweigh his discretion , and above all to remember facts .
It is a serious charge to bring against a Lodge as a body , that they could sit still and hear their W . M " . condemn , in unqualified terms , the G . M . of his province . " Sile " must know such not to be the fact ; and if any information of that nature has reached him , I ask him , in the name of the Lodge and the Brother he slanders , to repeat what was uttered , so that the Masonic world may know
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
level , & c . & c . But I digress . In my humble opinion , a capability of performing our ceremonies correctly "—not merely as an effort of parrotdike memory , but with a close adherence to our landmarks , and the power of giving a reason for everything said and done in the Lodge , —a knowledge of all that appertains to the Order , and an acquaintance with the mysteries of antiquity , form , in my own poor judgment , a claim for Masonic rank ; and whatever may be and is the animus of " Sile" and his Lodge to our P . M ., no one can deny but that his desire to communicate information is only equalled by his ability to do so , and the pleasure it confers upon him .
With regard to this same Brother having attempted , while acting as P . S ., to introduce obsolete matter into the ritual of his chapter , this I also deny in toto . The ceremony really introduced is used at this very time in the far-famed province of Bristol , and will again be used here at our next exaltation ; and although the Grand Superintendent of a province , who is also Past Grand P . S . and Past S . G . W . of England , thought fit to call in question the act of this companion , he stoutly defended himself , traced the origin of the Order , and proved that the ceremony was correct . But he could have told this B . W . Brother and Prov . Grand
Superintendent , that he ought to have set a better example to the Brethren of this city when presiding as M . E . Z ., than by reading the whole of the ceremony . A Brother may be an exemplary Mason in the performance of his social duties , but mere seniority or rank , even when combined with these qualifications , does not qualify any Brother to receive Masonic rewards . I opine that the Prov . G . M . is not to be the judge of any Brother ' s private conduct—he can only take cognizance of his Masonic actions ; and if any Brother evinces an ardent love for the Order , and has the ability to labour diligently in its cause—whose moral character is ¦ unimpeachable—then such an one deserves honour being shown to him , whatever his rank in society may be .
The refusal of our Prov . G . S . to grant a dispensation for passing this Brother over the third chair , w as an act of bad taste , because for less . cause he granted two dispensations the very year before to a sister chapter of gentlemen in this town . The request to the Prov . G . S . was made by the M . E . Z . of our chapter , by the unanimous request of the companions . The Brother who then ruled the chapter is a man , above all others , who never could or would belong to any clique , but whose firm and manly independence of conduct places him in our eyes above the suspicion which "Sile" endeavours to attach to him .
It is a very remarkable fact , that throughout these two letters not one fact I mentioned in my last is controverted , but a violation of our constitutions even palliated by " Sile . " It now behoves me to put a right construction upon the matter of the appointments made at the Prov . Grand Lodge in 1853 by the D . Prov . G . M . I myself heard the present Prov . G . Treas ., who was made J . G . W . on that occasion , say , that on looking over the list , offices were intended to be conferred upon Brethren who were not entitled to receive them ; but it is a remarkable fact , that " Sile" and himself ( he was W . M . of his Lodge that same
year ) should have allowed the D . Prov . G . M . to confer the office of S . G . W . upon the S . W . of his Lodge , who by the bye was J . G . W . the year before , and the offices of Beg . and S . G . D . upon two recently raised Brethren also members of his Lodge I The office of S . G . D . was promised to a Brother of our Lodge , and upon the D . Prov . G . M . being asked why the promise made was broken , he said , that there were several Brethren of rank in society present , and he was desirous of rewarding
them ; and verily if a purple collar could confer honour upon mere rank , it was done on that occasion , and the W . M . of that Lodge , aye and his P . M . too , both stood coolly by and sanctioned a violation of the constitutions . I would with all charity entreat "Sile , " when next he indites a letter , not to allow his feeling of personal resentment to outweigh his discretion , and above all to remember facts .
It is a serious charge to bring against a Lodge as a body , that they could sit still and hear their W . M " . condemn , in unqualified terms , the G . M . of his province . " Sile " must know such not to be the fact ; and if any information of that nature has reached him , I ask him , in the name of the Lodge and the Brother he slanders , to repeat what was uttered , so that the Masonic world may know