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  • Dec. 1, 1856
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The Masonic Observer, Dec. 1, 1856: Page 10

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Ar01000

our Canadian Lodges is very critical ; and though a Colonial Board has been constituted , it will find no easy task in reuniting alienated affections , and in cementing a stable reconciliation . So easy is it to mismanage matters , so difficult to restore them to their orig inal condition . Had Lord Carnarvon ' s motion , which was

carried unanimously in the adjourned G . L . of the 1 st of October , been re-affirmed , Canada would have accepted it as an earnest of conciliation and redress , and the schism would probably have been healed . As the case now stands , the Canadian Lodges justly resent the uniform neglect with which they have been treated

by the Dais ; and in certain resolutions , which we commend to the careful perusal of our readers , they appeal henceforward from the G , M . to the G . L . of England ; If , as the Book of Constitutions says , G . L . is "

inherently supreme ; " if it has " the power of investigating , regulating , and deciding all matters relative to the Craft" ( p . 23 ); if it be a Court of " Appeal , " and " possesses the supreme superintending authority and the power of finally deciding in every case "( p . 88 ) , it is selfevident that G . L . both can and ought to entertain the

appeal submitted to it . Meanwhile we would earnestly entreat our Canadian Brethren to be patient yet awhile , and to believe that there are many in England who have recognized the justice of their claims , and will not li g htly abandon

their cause . Rome was not built in a day : and though the Executive opposes to every salutary measure the dead weight of a stolid resistance , yet truth is mighty and will prevail—if it be spoken fearlessly , and followed up practically by a vigorous common sense .

Ar01001

WE have a kindness for the occupants of the Dais , but the stronger our feelings for them , the more painful is the sight of the inconsistencies and entanglements into which they insist upon thrusting themselves . It was often discussed by ancient casuists whether a man could injure himself or no . We must confess to a

feeling of regret and almost shame to see so ready an affirmative given to the question by many of the Craft for whom personally we entertain a respect . Their mental organization is really an interesting study—a psychological phenomenon which is not often presented in the nineteenth century . They are our " raraavis , "

our Dodo—the relics of something which may have existed in another phase of human life , but which now perplexes men , baffles imitation , and sets the laws of

reasoning at defiance . Their artless belief in their own inherent right of governing , the simplicity of their faith in all the little devices to evade real points at issue , and to mask their intentions—devices so elaborate as regards themselves , so transparent to others—is really quite affecting . The Abyssinian Prince refused to believe in

the existence of ice which he had never seen ; they , on the other hand , cannot be persuaded that G . L ., which they do know and which they have so long adorned , is capable of any warmth or reality of feeling on any subject . In an age of incessant activity , where none can afford to be idle , they alone seem to indulge in the pleasant dream

of the lotos eaters : to think that , like the Epicurean gods of old , they may from their sublime pedestal look down in serene contempt upon the labours , the hopes , the anxieties of men , and dispense at will their smiles and thunders upon a submissive world . But , like all great

geniuses , they have one favourite hue of action , one grand expedient , which they hold in reserve . No error is so gross but that it may be redeemed by maintaining themselves and imposing on others an absolute silence . Napoleon held his Imperial Guard , Sir R . Walpole his

money-bags in reserve to carry the day when all else had failed ; but our worthy Brethren on the Dais are not content to use their social catapult once or twice , or even thrice . Forgetful of the words of the wise man , that there is a season for all things , they are always falling back upon this system of repression as the ne plus ultra

of their diplomacy . Their management of G . L . is a perpetual cottp d ' etat . They resemble the painter who could only paint a red lion . Whether the picture was large or small , sacred or profane , gay or serious ; whether it was to hang in a drawing room or a kitchen , the end

and object of his art was a red lion . So in G . L . ; whether it be a question of Canada or of the ri ght of adjournment , it is all one ; the answer is uniform—it is a matter of privilege—discussion is illegal . We rejoice to see that Bro . Benson ( J . W ., No . 10 ) has undertaken to move for a Committee to report upon

these matters of privilege and order . We have no desire to exceed by one inch our province as defined b y the Constitution ; but we are weary of walking in a mist surrounded by doubts and unrealities , aud continually warned that we are breaking some law or subverting some landmark .

Ar01002

ENGLISHMEN are eminently practical , and the necessity of a power in Grand Lodge to hold continuous

“The Masonic Observer: 1856-12-01, Page 10” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 24 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mob/issues/mob_01121856/page/10/.
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GRAND LODGE OF EMERGENCY, Nov. 19. Article 2
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NEW SCHOOL ATLASES. Article 8
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QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION OF GRAND LODGE. Article 12
Untitled Article 15
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"A TUB TO THE WHALE." Article 16
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN BILL SYKES AND THE CREEPING CRACKSMAN ON MASONRY IN GENERAL AND G. L. IN PARTICULAR. Article 16
NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 17
Untitled Article 17
Correspondence. Article 17
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PROVINCIAL MESS. Article 18
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Ar01000

our Canadian Lodges is very critical ; and though a Colonial Board has been constituted , it will find no easy task in reuniting alienated affections , and in cementing a stable reconciliation . So easy is it to mismanage matters , so difficult to restore them to their orig inal condition . Had Lord Carnarvon ' s motion , which was

carried unanimously in the adjourned G . L . of the 1 st of October , been re-affirmed , Canada would have accepted it as an earnest of conciliation and redress , and the schism would probably have been healed . As the case now stands , the Canadian Lodges justly resent the uniform neglect with which they have been treated

by the Dais ; and in certain resolutions , which we commend to the careful perusal of our readers , they appeal henceforward from the G , M . to the G . L . of England ; If , as the Book of Constitutions says , G . L . is "

inherently supreme ; " if it has " the power of investigating , regulating , and deciding all matters relative to the Craft" ( p . 23 ); if it be a Court of " Appeal , " and " possesses the supreme superintending authority and the power of finally deciding in every case "( p . 88 ) , it is selfevident that G . L . both can and ought to entertain the

appeal submitted to it . Meanwhile we would earnestly entreat our Canadian Brethren to be patient yet awhile , and to believe that there are many in England who have recognized the justice of their claims , and will not li g htly abandon

their cause . Rome was not built in a day : and though the Executive opposes to every salutary measure the dead weight of a stolid resistance , yet truth is mighty and will prevail—if it be spoken fearlessly , and followed up practically by a vigorous common sense .

Ar01001

WE have a kindness for the occupants of the Dais , but the stronger our feelings for them , the more painful is the sight of the inconsistencies and entanglements into which they insist upon thrusting themselves . It was often discussed by ancient casuists whether a man could injure himself or no . We must confess to a

feeling of regret and almost shame to see so ready an affirmative given to the question by many of the Craft for whom personally we entertain a respect . Their mental organization is really an interesting study—a psychological phenomenon which is not often presented in the nineteenth century . They are our " raraavis , "

our Dodo—the relics of something which may have existed in another phase of human life , but which now perplexes men , baffles imitation , and sets the laws of

reasoning at defiance . Their artless belief in their own inherent right of governing , the simplicity of their faith in all the little devices to evade real points at issue , and to mask their intentions—devices so elaborate as regards themselves , so transparent to others—is really quite affecting . The Abyssinian Prince refused to believe in

the existence of ice which he had never seen ; they , on the other hand , cannot be persuaded that G . L ., which they do know and which they have so long adorned , is capable of any warmth or reality of feeling on any subject . In an age of incessant activity , where none can afford to be idle , they alone seem to indulge in the pleasant dream

of the lotos eaters : to think that , like the Epicurean gods of old , they may from their sublime pedestal look down in serene contempt upon the labours , the hopes , the anxieties of men , and dispense at will their smiles and thunders upon a submissive world . But , like all great

geniuses , they have one favourite hue of action , one grand expedient , which they hold in reserve . No error is so gross but that it may be redeemed by maintaining themselves and imposing on others an absolute silence . Napoleon held his Imperial Guard , Sir R . Walpole his

money-bags in reserve to carry the day when all else had failed ; but our worthy Brethren on the Dais are not content to use their social catapult once or twice , or even thrice . Forgetful of the words of the wise man , that there is a season for all things , they are always falling back upon this system of repression as the ne plus ultra

of their diplomacy . Their management of G . L . is a perpetual cottp d ' etat . They resemble the painter who could only paint a red lion . Whether the picture was large or small , sacred or profane , gay or serious ; whether it was to hang in a drawing room or a kitchen , the end

and object of his art was a red lion . So in G . L . ; whether it be a question of Canada or of the ri ght of adjournment , it is all one ; the answer is uniform—it is a matter of privilege—discussion is illegal . We rejoice to see that Bro . Benson ( J . W ., No . 10 ) has undertaken to move for a Committee to report upon

these matters of privilege and order . We have no desire to exceed by one inch our province as defined b y the Constitution ; but we are weary of walking in a mist surrounded by doubts and unrealities , aud continually warned that we are breaking some law or subverting some landmark .

Ar01002

ENGLISHMEN are eminently practical , and the necessity of a power in Grand Lodge to hold continuous

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