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Article CORRESPONDENCE. Page 1 of 3 →
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Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
— - ? — [ T HE EDITOR does not hold kmsdf responsible for any opinions entertained hy Correspondents . ]
THE GRAND LODGE PROPERTY . TO THE EDITOtt 01 ? THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MU ' . KOK . SIR AND BitoTma ; . —I have read with considerable pleasure the circular from the Board of General Purposes which appeared in the Freemasons ' Magazine of last week , and which I presume will , in due course , be brought
under the consideration of every Lodge in the kingdom . I do not now purpose to enter into any lengthened review of the document before us , but merely to give my own impressions upon the questions put before the Craft , with a view of eliciting , through your pages , the opinions of other Brethren , and thereby leading to the arrival at satisfactory conclusions by the different Lodges prior to the day by which they are requested to communicate on the subject with the Board of General Purposes .
Now , Sir and Brother , with regard to the first question : — "Are a library , reading , and refreshment rooms requisite , and would they be acceptable to the Craft generally ? " To this I believe there can he hut one answer throughout the Craft , and that in the affirmative—for whether a Brother be resident in the metropolis or in the provinces lie must be interested in having a good library of reference connected with the Order , and in being enabled to obtain proper refreshments at reasonable rates when attending it , or on his visits to Grand Lodge .
To the second question : — "If it be found practicable , will it be desirable to devote the necessary property solely and exclusively to Masonic uses ? " I would also answer in the affirmative—believing that were we to do so , we should considerably raise the character of Freemasonry in the eyes of the public , and lead to our institution being regarded with the greatest favour by the higher and more intellectual classes of society . The third question is certainly one of great importance , and one which I
feel may be handled with great dexterity to show that there should be no alteration in the present system by those who have an interest in supporting things as they are , or who regard all changes as dangerous . This question is— "Are the Craft prepared to submit to some diminution of their annual income for the purpose of keeping such property sacred to Masonry ? " Individually , I would reply that even if we were to sacrifice the whole £ 800 a year rent , which we now receive , in a few years we should be the gainers by the increased impetus winch it would give to our institution—and by the bringing within its portals the highest and most gifted of the land . But here I may be answered that this is mere theory , and that
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
CORRESPONDENCE .
— - ? — [ T HE EDITOR does not hold kmsdf responsible for any opinions entertained hy Correspondents . ]
THE GRAND LODGE PROPERTY . TO THE EDITOtt 01 ? THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MU ' . KOK . SIR AND BitoTma ; . —I have read with considerable pleasure the circular from the Board of General Purposes which appeared in the Freemasons ' Magazine of last week , and which I presume will , in due course , be brought
under the consideration of every Lodge in the kingdom . I do not now purpose to enter into any lengthened review of the document before us , but merely to give my own impressions upon the questions put before the Craft , with a view of eliciting , through your pages , the opinions of other Brethren , and thereby leading to the arrival at satisfactory conclusions by the different Lodges prior to the day by which they are requested to communicate on the subject with the Board of General Purposes .
Now , Sir and Brother , with regard to the first question : — "Are a library , reading , and refreshment rooms requisite , and would they be acceptable to the Craft generally ? " To this I believe there can he hut one answer throughout the Craft , and that in the affirmative—for whether a Brother be resident in the metropolis or in the provinces lie must be interested in having a good library of reference connected with the Order , and in being enabled to obtain proper refreshments at reasonable rates when attending it , or on his visits to Grand Lodge .
To the second question : — "If it be found practicable , will it be desirable to devote the necessary property solely and exclusively to Masonic uses ? " I would also answer in the affirmative—believing that were we to do so , we should considerably raise the character of Freemasonry in the eyes of the public , and lead to our institution being regarded with the greatest favour by the higher and more intellectual classes of society . The third question is certainly one of great importance , and one which I
feel may be handled with great dexterity to show that there should be no alteration in the present system by those who have an interest in supporting things as they are , or who regard all changes as dangerous . This question is— "Are the Craft prepared to submit to some diminution of their annual income for the purpose of keeping such property sacred to Masonry ? " Individually , I would reply that even if we were to sacrifice the whole £ 800 a year rent , which we now receive , in a few years we should be the gainers by the increased impetus winch it would give to our institution—and by the bringing within its portals the highest and most gifted of the land . But here I may be answered that this is mere theory , and that