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  • March 1, 1862
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  • THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, March 1, 1862: Page 1

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The Mountain In Labour.

THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MARCS , 1 . 1802 .

After three years gestation the Mountain has produced a very little mouse—sans tail , sans ears , sans eyes , sans everything . After a three years' slumber the Board of General Purposes Lave discovered that , under the powers granted to them by Grand Lodge

in December , 1858 , they can do literall y nothing in the "way of dealing with the Grand Lodge property . "Wonderful Legislators ! Only three years consideration for such an immense discovery ! They have , accordingly , asked for an extension of powers to do what ?•—to go to sleep again ; to wake up once more ,

perhaps at the end of the nest generation . The truth is , the Board of General Purposes is an ever changing body , and has plenty to do without troubling themselves with building . Here is the Board of 1858 -.

—BEO . JOHN HAVEES PEESIBENT . BEO . CHAKLES LOCOCK WEEB VICE-PEESIDENT . Bro . Francis Roxburgh Bro . R . Kynaston , W . M . No . 66 „ * William H . White „ William Young , „ 72 „ William Pulteney Scott „ George Haward , „ 108 „ John S . S . Hopwood „ Frederick Slight „ 233 # John Hervey RWWheeler 324

„ „ . . , „ „ * Stephen Barton Wilson „ W . W . Beach , M . P . 965 „ * Richard W . Jennings „ * Fred . Adlard , P . M . No . 7 „ * John L . Evans „ Thos . Bisgood , „ 8 „ * A . A . Le Veau „ Fred . Binckes , „ 11 „ * Joseph Smith „ * John Symonds , „ 21 „ J . H . Dart , W . M . No . 1 „ Edw . Roberts , „ 167 „ T . D . Grissell , „ 14

And here the Board of 1 S 62 : — BEO . . ZENEAS J . MCINTYBE PBESIDENT . BEO . J . RANKIN STEBBING ViCE-PaEsr » ENT . Bro . nVMiam H . White Bro . W . J . Meymott W . M . 14 „ C . Hutton Gregory „ J . H . Heal „ 167 „ * John Hervey „ R . W . Stewart „ 663 hen Barton Wilson

„ * Step „ Edward Cox „ 955 „ Albert W . Woods „ R . H . Smith „ 1010 „ * John Symonds „ S . Haydon „ 1079 „ * Richard W . Jennings „ * Fred . Adlard .,. P . M . 7 „ * John L . Evans „ John Savage „ 19 „ * Abraham A . Le Veau „ Thos . G . Dickie „ 53 „ * Joseph Smith „ Aug . Sargood „ 109 „ J . J . A . L . " 1 w ,, „ T . W . Thomson „ 230 Creaton , j ' " -- „ Henry Empson ,, 275

So that only nine , as will be seen by the names of those marked with an * of the present Board were members of that to whom powers were given by Grand Lodge , to see whether some better . provision than that existing could not be found for the Craft in their own premises ; and a further change of at

least seven , and it will probably be of ten or twelve members will take place under the Constitutions in June next . Erom such a body no properly digested scheme can well be expected , and so it was foreseen by the independent members of Grand Lodge at the time , and it was proposed that a Special Committee should be appointed to consider the subject

and report to Grand Lodge . Had that course been adopted a sensible and well considered plan might have been propounded by the close of 1859 at the furthest , and the property in Great Queen Street , by this time , have presented something ' like a respectable appearance—instead of being , as it now is , a standing disgrace to tho Craft . But no , the bugbear cry of " want of confidence , " that disgrace

to every deliberative society , was raised , and the matter left in the hands of the Board of General Purposes—we see with what result . The Board say : —¦ "The Board beg further to report , that they have had several plans laid before them for the appropriation of

the freehold property belonging to tho Society , Some of these plans are based upon the continuance or increase of the present tavern communication ; hut inasmuch as Grand Lodge , in 185 S , decided that the attention of the Board should be directed solely to schemes for appropriating the property , or a portion thereof , to Masonic purposes exclusivel " it was considered that the Board

y , ought not to entertain such schemes until the sanction of Grand Lodge for their so doing should be obtained . It was therefore resolved" That whereas the following resolutions were agreed to at a Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge , holden on the 1 st December , 1858 , viz .: — 1 st . That it is desirable that the freehold property

now belonging to the Society , or such part thereof as may be necessary , shall be devoted exclusively to Masonic purposes . " 2 nd . That the subject be referred back to the Board , with directions to report thereon to the Grand Lodge , and to bring before it such a scheme as may appear to be practicable for carrying out the first resolutionand

, to authorise the Board to expend a sum not exceeding £ 300 for that purpose ; and if they see fit , to submit the subject to the public competition of the whole Masonic body , and to offer a sum , not exceeding 150 guineas , in premiums for the best design .

" 3 rd . That m the scheme which they will have to consider , it will be desirable to proceed only with a view of providing fitting and appropriate accommodation to be devoted solely and exclusively to Masonic purposes . "And whereas several members of the Board of General Purposes are of opinion , that it is desirable to have power to consider the propriety of appropriating a

portion of the property for the purposes of a tavernshould the judgment of the Board take that directionit is respectfully requested that much additional power be granted to the Board by Grand Lodge accordingly . "

It is true that the last resolution appears too much to fetter the Board in their consideration of the improvement of the Grand Lodge property ; but we ask why that was not discovered in . 1859 ? and why three years have been wasted in doing nothing ? It is true Bro . Savage had an inkling , in 1 S 58 , that

the resolution would have the effect , and , as it was nearly twelve o ' clock when the motion was brought forward and Grand Lodge nearly empty , moved that its consideration be adjourned . But no , the matter was so important that it must be disposed of at once ,

and the resolution was carried , only to be shelved . We are not now going to discuss the question of Tavern or no Tavern , that will do for another time ; but we trust if Grand Lodge does give further

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1862-03-01, Page 1” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 10 July 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_01031862/page/1/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR. Article 1
MASONIC FACTS. Article 2
THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE IN AMERICA. Article 4
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 5
NOTES ON LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. Article 6
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 7
THE MASONIC MIRROR. Article 8
METROPOLITAN. Article 9
PROVINCIAL. Article 11
ROYAL ARCH. Article 14
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 15
ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE. Article 15
MARK MASONRY. Article 15
SCOTLAND. Article 16
INDIA. Article 17
MASONIC FESTIVITIES. Article 18
Poetry. Article 18
THE WEEK. Article 18
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

The Mountain In Labour.

THE MOUNTAIN IN LABOUR .

LONDON , SATURDAY , MARCS , 1 . 1802 .

After three years gestation the Mountain has produced a very little mouse—sans tail , sans ears , sans eyes , sans everything . After a three years' slumber the Board of General Purposes Lave discovered that , under the powers granted to them by Grand Lodge

in December , 1858 , they can do literall y nothing in the "way of dealing with the Grand Lodge property . "Wonderful Legislators ! Only three years consideration for such an immense discovery ! They have , accordingly , asked for an extension of powers to do what ?•—to go to sleep again ; to wake up once more ,

perhaps at the end of the nest generation . The truth is , the Board of General Purposes is an ever changing body , and has plenty to do without troubling themselves with building . Here is the Board of 1858 -.

—BEO . JOHN HAVEES PEESIBENT . BEO . CHAKLES LOCOCK WEEB VICE-PEESIDENT . Bro . Francis Roxburgh Bro . R . Kynaston , W . M . No . 66 „ * William H . White „ William Young , „ 72 „ William Pulteney Scott „ George Haward , „ 108 „ John S . S . Hopwood „ Frederick Slight „ 233 # John Hervey RWWheeler 324

„ „ . . , „ „ * Stephen Barton Wilson „ W . W . Beach , M . P . 965 „ * Richard W . Jennings „ * Fred . Adlard , P . M . No . 7 „ * John L . Evans „ Thos . Bisgood , „ 8 „ * A . A . Le Veau „ Fred . Binckes , „ 11 „ * Joseph Smith „ * John Symonds , „ 21 „ J . H . Dart , W . M . No . 1 „ Edw . Roberts , „ 167 „ T . D . Grissell , „ 14

And here the Board of 1 S 62 : — BEO . . ZENEAS J . MCINTYBE PBESIDENT . BEO . J . RANKIN STEBBING ViCE-PaEsr » ENT . Bro . nVMiam H . White Bro . W . J . Meymott W . M . 14 „ C . Hutton Gregory „ J . H . Heal „ 167 „ * John Hervey „ R . W . Stewart „ 663 hen Barton Wilson

„ * Step „ Edward Cox „ 955 „ Albert W . Woods „ R . H . Smith „ 1010 „ * John Symonds „ S . Haydon „ 1079 „ * Richard W . Jennings „ * Fred . Adlard .,. P . M . 7 „ * John L . Evans „ John Savage „ 19 „ * Abraham A . Le Veau „ Thos . G . Dickie „ 53 „ * Joseph Smith „ Aug . Sargood „ 109 „ J . J . A . L . " 1 w ,, „ T . W . Thomson „ 230 Creaton , j ' " -- „ Henry Empson ,, 275

So that only nine , as will be seen by the names of those marked with an * of the present Board were members of that to whom powers were given by Grand Lodge , to see whether some better . provision than that existing could not be found for the Craft in their own premises ; and a further change of at

least seven , and it will probably be of ten or twelve members will take place under the Constitutions in June next . Erom such a body no properly digested scheme can well be expected , and so it was foreseen by the independent members of Grand Lodge at the time , and it was proposed that a Special Committee should be appointed to consider the subject

and report to Grand Lodge . Had that course been adopted a sensible and well considered plan might have been propounded by the close of 1859 at the furthest , and the property in Great Queen Street , by this time , have presented something ' like a respectable appearance—instead of being , as it now is , a standing disgrace to tho Craft . But no , the bugbear cry of " want of confidence , " that disgrace

to every deliberative society , was raised , and the matter left in the hands of the Board of General Purposes—we see with what result . The Board say : —¦ "The Board beg further to report , that they have had several plans laid before them for the appropriation of

the freehold property belonging to tho Society , Some of these plans are based upon the continuance or increase of the present tavern communication ; hut inasmuch as Grand Lodge , in 185 S , decided that the attention of the Board should be directed solely to schemes for appropriating the property , or a portion thereof , to Masonic purposes exclusivel " it was considered that the Board

y , ought not to entertain such schemes until the sanction of Grand Lodge for their so doing should be obtained . It was therefore resolved" That whereas the following resolutions were agreed to at a Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge , holden on the 1 st December , 1858 , viz .: — 1 st . That it is desirable that the freehold property

now belonging to the Society , or such part thereof as may be necessary , shall be devoted exclusively to Masonic purposes . " 2 nd . That the subject be referred back to the Board , with directions to report thereon to the Grand Lodge , and to bring before it such a scheme as may appear to be practicable for carrying out the first resolutionand

, to authorise the Board to expend a sum not exceeding £ 300 for that purpose ; and if they see fit , to submit the subject to the public competition of the whole Masonic body , and to offer a sum , not exceeding 150 guineas , in premiums for the best design .

" 3 rd . That m the scheme which they will have to consider , it will be desirable to proceed only with a view of providing fitting and appropriate accommodation to be devoted solely and exclusively to Masonic purposes . "And whereas several members of the Board of General Purposes are of opinion , that it is desirable to have power to consider the propriety of appropriating a

portion of the property for the purposes of a tavernshould the judgment of the Board take that directionit is respectfully requested that much additional power be granted to the Board by Grand Lodge accordingly . "

It is true that the last resolution appears too much to fetter the Board in their consideration of the improvement of the Grand Lodge property ; but we ask why that was not discovered in . 1859 ? and why three years have been wasted in doing nothing ? It is true Bro . Savage had an inkling , in 1 S 58 , that

the resolution would have the effect , and , as it was nearly twelve o ' clock when the motion was brought forward and Grand Lodge nearly empty , moved that its consideration be adjourned . But no , the matter was so important that it must be disposed of at once ,

and the resolution was carried , only to be shelved . We are not now going to discuss the question of Tavern or no Tavern , that will do for another time ; but we trust if Grand Lodge does give further

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