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Article EIGHTS OF THE WARDENS OF PRIVATE LODGES. Page 1 of 3 Article EIGHTS OF THE WARDENS OF PRIVATE LODGES. Page 1 of 3 →
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Eights Of The Wardens Of Private Lodges.
EIGHTS OF THE WARDENS OF PRIVATE LODGES .
LONDON , SATUMDAT , JULT 2 G , 1862 .
Much misunderstanding has arisen in the Craffc as to the powers ivith ivhich the Wardens of private lodges are invested , and it has been contended that those officers cannot , legally of them ' selves , perform the ceremony of initiating a
candidate into Freemasonry . This -view is an erroneous one , and a few authorities on the point may be cited to show that it is so . Earliest amongst masonic records ,, is the poem laioivn as Halliwell ' s History of Freemasonry in England , and in that the "Octavus punctus" reads thus : —
" Wqz tcfate pognt , lie mag U -sure , Ztt tfjou fjastg-4 afau ang-cttw , SKitber % magster tfjou fte true , $ m tfjat pgut tfjou scijal itcber nvz ' mt ; <& ttfnt metrgater tfjou most mcti U
W-a tfjg mag-ster an & tfjg ftlofos tee ; © otrfolgal .. „* ,,., t | jat tfjou rog $ j , STo frotfj partges , antr tfjat gs gooir rg # fj . "
In the above extract , although Wardens are not specially mentioned , yet the office is recognised by the word " cure / - " which , in old English , signified a deputy ; and , in this instance , Avas equivalent to a Warden , as will be evident , if Ave quote
the same " point" from Bro . Matthew Cooke ' s History and Articles of Freemasonry , where it is given in prose , and a . Warden is specially mentioned . At pages 126-7 of that ivork , it reads thus : —
" ® fje mi ] jiogttt gf fjtt Mullt Ijgm ffor fo fa foartwgiw im & gr % & m & istfx tfjat fjc U txtiaz mznz Mfojznz fits mateter & fjte Mafcw an * tfjat fje U fasg in tfje -eSamtt at fjis ntaister to tfje frottor of fjis ntatster atfo profit to tfjc lorta tfjat fje seructfj . "
Taken m conjunction with the former , these two-, extracts evidently point to the duty ofthe Warden . The latter expressly ordains that he is to be busy in the absence of Ms master to the honour of the latter : which means , if words mean
anything , that he is to do all that his master would do if he were present , and so maintain the honour of his superior in his absence .
Eights Of The Wardens Of Private Lodges.
The next authority , in point of date , ivhich Ave shall quote , is Bro . Anderson's Book of Constitutions , edition of 1746 , which states , at page 153 , under the " Old Regulations / ' " The Master of a particular lodge has the right and authority of
congregating the members of his lodge into a chapter upon any emergency or occurrence ; as well as to appoint the time and place of their usual forming * . And in case of death or sickness , or necessary absence of the Master , the Senior Warden shall
act as Master pro tempore , if no brother is present Aidio has been Master of that lodge before : for the absent Master ' s authority reverts to the last Master present , though he cannot act till the Senior Warden has congregated the lodge . " The
New Regulations , made Nov . 25 th , 1728 , are set forth in the opposite column in the following * words : — " It was agreed , but was neglected to be recorded , that if a Master of a particular lodge is deposed or demits , the Senior Warden shall forthwith fill the Master's chair till the next time of
choosing ; and ever since , in the Master ' s absence , he fills the chair , even though a former Master be present . " This last regulation is repeated at page 345 of Bro . Entick's edition of Anderson's Booh of
Constitutions , dated 1767 . The above extracts , from Anderson , lay it down as a positive ru ] e that in the Senior Warden is vested the poAver of acting as W . M . pro tempore , and if he be so empoAvered he is , to our thinking ,
eligible to make , pass , and raise , but not being a P . M ., as we suppose for the sake of argument , he cannot install , not being himself an installed Master , but so strong are the Avords— " shall act as Master pro tempore "—that , if such an anomaly
could exist , of one not an installed Master being permitted to perform the ceremony of Installation , AA e hold the Senior Warden Avould be able to come
in under the sentence quoted . The last of these extracts , repeated by Entick , is still more to the pm-pose , because the Senior Warden is , under the circumstances of a Worshipful Master resigning during his official year ,
or being expelled , de facto and de jure Worshipful Master in preference to , and in the presence of , a Past Master of that lodge .
In the last edition of Preston ' s Illustrations ( Dr . Oliver ' s ) , page 71 , we find the Worshipful Master , in addressing liis Senior Warden , says , after investing him , " Tour regular attendance on
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Eights Of The Wardens Of Private Lodges.
EIGHTS OF THE WARDENS OF PRIVATE LODGES .
LONDON , SATUMDAT , JULT 2 G , 1862 .
Much misunderstanding has arisen in the Craffc as to the powers ivith ivhich the Wardens of private lodges are invested , and it has been contended that those officers cannot , legally of them ' selves , perform the ceremony of initiating a
candidate into Freemasonry . This -view is an erroneous one , and a few authorities on the point may be cited to show that it is so . Earliest amongst masonic records ,, is the poem laioivn as Halliwell ' s History of Freemasonry in England , and in that the "Octavus punctus" reads thus : —
" Wqz tcfate pognt , lie mag U -sure , Ztt tfjou fjastg-4 afau ang-cttw , SKitber % magster tfjou fte true , $ m tfjat pgut tfjou scijal itcber nvz ' mt ; <& ttfnt metrgater tfjou most mcti U
W-a tfjg mag-ster an & tfjg ftlofos tee ; © otrfolgal .. „* ,,., t | jat tfjou rog $ j , STo frotfj partges , antr tfjat gs gooir rg # fj . "
In the above extract , although Wardens are not specially mentioned , yet the office is recognised by the word " cure / - " which , in old English , signified a deputy ; and , in this instance , Avas equivalent to a Warden , as will be evident , if Ave quote
the same " point" from Bro . Matthew Cooke ' s History and Articles of Freemasonry , where it is given in prose , and a . Warden is specially mentioned . At pages 126-7 of that ivork , it reads thus : —
" ® fje mi ] jiogttt gf fjtt Mullt Ijgm ffor fo fa foartwgiw im & gr % & m & istfx tfjat fjc U txtiaz mznz Mfojznz fits mateter & fjte Mafcw an * tfjat fje U fasg in tfje -eSamtt at fjis ntaister to tfje frottor of fjis ntatster atfo profit to tfjc lorta tfjat fje seructfj . "
Taken m conjunction with the former , these two-, extracts evidently point to the duty ofthe Warden . The latter expressly ordains that he is to be busy in the absence of Ms master to the honour of the latter : which means , if words mean
anything , that he is to do all that his master would do if he were present , and so maintain the honour of his superior in his absence .
Eights Of The Wardens Of Private Lodges.
The next authority , in point of date , ivhich Ave shall quote , is Bro . Anderson's Book of Constitutions , edition of 1746 , which states , at page 153 , under the " Old Regulations / ' " The Master of a particular lodge has the right and authority of
congregating the members of his lodge into a chapter upon any emergency or occurrence ; as well as to appoint the time and place of their usual forming * . And in case of death or sickness , or necessary absence of the Master , the Senior Warden shall
act as Master pro tempore , if no brother is present Aidio has been Master of that lodge before : for the absent Master ' s authority reverts to the last Master present , though he cannot act till the Senior Warden has congregated the lodge . " The
New Regulations , made Nov . 25 th , 1728 , are set forth in the opposite column in the following * words : — " It was agreed , but was neglected to be recorded , that if a Master of a particular lodge is deposed or demits , the Senior Warden shall forthwith fill the Master's chair till the next time of
choosing ; and ever since , in the Master ' s absence , he fills the chair , even though a former Master be present . " This last regulation is repeated at page 345 of Bro . Entick's edition of Anderson's Booh of
Constitutions , dated 1767 . The above extracts , from Anderson , lay it down as a positive ru ] e that in the Senior Warden is vested the poAver of acting as W . M . pro tempore , and if he be so empoAvered he is , to our thinking ,
eligible to make , pass , and raise , but not being a P . M ., as we suppose for the sake of argument , he cannot install , not being himself an installed Master , but so strong are the Avords— " shall act as Master pro tempore "—that , if such an anomaly
could exist , of one not an installed Master being permitted to perform the ceremony of Installation , AA e hold the Senior Warden Avould be able to come
in under the sentence quoted . The last of these extracts , repeated by Entick , is still more to the pm-pose , because the Senior Warden is , under the circumstances of a Worshipful Master resigning during his official year ,
or being expelled , de facto and de jure Worshipful Master in preference to , and in the presence of , a Past Master of that lodge .
In the last edition of Preston ' s Illustrations ( Dr . Oliver ' s ) , page 71 , we find the Worshipful Master , in addressing liis Senior Warden , says , after investing him , " Tour regular attendance on