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Article MASONIC REFORM. Page 1 of 1 Article MASONIC REFORM. Page 1 of 1
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Masonic Reform.
MASONIC REFORM .
| T is not often that a member of our Craft is found to * be enthusiastic enough , and at the same time sufficiently bold , to publicly express his views on any question of Masonic reform , and it is almost equally rare to find any important assemblage of the Craft
ready and willing to give a reformer the opportunity of expressing himself in regard to what he may consider of really general interest . We in Freemasonry are too old-fashioned , in the majority of cases , to even think
of alteration or progress , and as a consequence any member who dares to hint at anything of the sort is usually silenced by the loud cries of " order" or " chair" of the Past Masters , and others high in the
Order , who view with holy horror any proposal to depart from the established usages and customs of the Institution , and who are too bigoted in their views of what constitutes a " departure " to allow a would-be reformer to make himself heard in their midst .
Time after time we have referred to this subject , and the difficulty there exists for giving utterance to any proposals of even a progressive character , or of their being calmly considered . It almost seems the
only chance of expressing one ' s views in this direction is through the medium of the Masonic press , and even then a writer must hide his identity under some nom de plume , or there is no knowing what great and awful
Masonic punishment might be meted out to himprobably the penalties he bound himself to in the different degrees would not be considered any too harsh punishment by some , for the Brother who dared
to speak of change , no matter how necessary or beneficial the alteration might be shown to be . Even the Masonic newspaper that ventures to publish such propositions is liable to be boycotted by those whose
high positions should raise them above such narrowmindedness , but who , in behaving as they do , really believe they are doing a service to Freemasonry , and
are best advancing its interests by keeping back any attempt at reform or alteration intended to allow the Order to keep pace with the spirit of the times .
But happily we think there are unmistakable signs that the younger generation of Freemasonry will not prove so amenable to the doctrines of the high priests
of the Craft in this direction as their predecessors have been . There seems to be a growing tendency for Freemasons to think for themselves , and occasionally to desire to act in accordance with the dictates of the
common sense of the age , and we can hardly believe the tide of progress will always be so easily stemmed as it has been in the past history of the Craft . Freemasonry is the same to-day as it was ages back , and
we hope it will long continne to be the same in its aims and objects , but surely there is no reason why all its surroundings should be expected to remain the same , and show no signs of advancing as almost everything else has done by leaps and bounds during the present
Masonic Reform.
century . Yet how are we to set about progressive reformation when even its discussion is so generally tabooed as to be virtually prohibited ? As we said at the outset it is not often a reformer
is found ready to stand up m our midst and boldly state his case ; and it is equally unusual for such a Brother to secure a hearing even if he makes the attempt , but both of these rarities occurred at the
banquet which followed the recent meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire , as a reference to another part of our issue , where we give particulars of Bro . Cuzner's remarks on the subject of " Bestowal of
Provincial honours , " will demonstrate . We must thank Sir Horatio Lloyd Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Cheshire for allowing the innovation in the
first place , and then accord an equal amount of recognition to Bro . Cuzner , for his pluck and perseverance in bringing his views thus prominently to the front .
There has long been a difficulty—and it increases year by year as the number of Lodges is augmentedto provide Provincial honours for all who deserve them , and when it becomes actually impossible to allot a
Provincial collar to every Lodge in a county it is self evident that disappointment and even injustice must result . Such is the case in Cheshire , where there are upwards of fifty Lodges , and only twenty-two collars
at the disposal of the Provincial Grand Master—apart from the Provincial Grand Stewardships , which are hardly worthy of much attention , under existing conditions—in connection with any consideration of permanent Provincial recognition .
Our Bro . Cuzner did not hesitate to point out a means of remedying the grievance to which he referred —he was bold enough to suggest a division of the Province , and named a suitable head for one of the
sections , loyalty to the present ruler Earl Egerton of Tatton , who we believe is universally beloved in his Province , entitling him to' first consideration in this respect . Sir Horatio Lloyd displayed far better
generalship in his reply to the remarks offered than many of our leaders would have done , by promising the matter should have attention , and we hope the
promise will be carried out to the fullest extent . Why should such requests as those of Bro . Cuzner be ignored , as they usually are , by the authorities ?
Cheshire is not the only place , however , where reform is necessary in this direction . There are many other Provinces where the same difficulties occur as
regularly as the annual distribution of collars comes round , and it is certainly time that some action was taken towards securing a remedy . Either the number of Provincial Officers should be increased to correspond
with the number of Lodges in each district , or new-Officers should be appointed every half-year , or the larger Provinces should be divided—and when either of these courses is adopted we may hope that the even greater claims of London will not be overlooked .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Reform.
MASONIC REFORM .
| T is not often that a member of our Craft is found to * be enthusiastic enough , and at the same time sufficiently bold , to publicly express his views on any question of Masonic reform , and it is almost equally rare to find any important assemblage of the Craft
ready and willing to give a reformer the opportunity of expressing himself in regard to what he may consider of really general interest . We in Freemasonry are too old-fashioned , in the majority of cases , to even think
of alteration or progress , and as a consequence any member who dares to hint at anything of the sort is usually silenced by the loud cries of " order" or " chair" of the Past Masters , and others high in the
Order , who view with holy horror any proposal to depart from the established usages and customs of the Institution , and who are too bigoted in their views of what constitutes a " departure " to allow a would-be reformer to make himself heard in their midst .
Time after time we have referred to this subject , and the difficulty there exists for giving utterance to any proposals of even a progressive character , or of their being calmly considered . It almost seems the
only chance of expressing one ' s views in this direction is through the medium of the Masonic press , and even then a writer must hide his identity under some nom de plume , or there is no knowing what great and awful
Masonic punishment might be meted out to himprobably the penalties he bound himself to in the different degrees would not be considered any too harsh punishment by some , for the Brother who dared
to speak of change , no matter how necessary or beneficial the alteration might be shown to be . Even the Masonic newspaper that ventures to publish such propositions is liable to be boycotted by those whose
high positions should raise them above such narrowmindedness , but who , in behaving as they do , really believe they are doing a service to Freemasonry , and
are best advancing its interests by keeping back any attempt at reform or alteration intended to allow the Order to keep pace with the spirit of the times .
But happily we think there are unmistakable signs that the younger generation of Freemasonry will not prove so amenable to the doctrines of the high priests
of the Craft in this direction as their predecessors have been . There seems to be a growing tendency for Freemasons to think for themselves , and occasionally to desire to act in accordance with the dictates of the
common sense of the age , and we can hardly believe the tide of progress will always be so easily stemmed as it has been in the past history of the Craft . Freemasonry is the same to-day as it was ages back , and
we hope it will long continne to be the same in its aims and objects , but surely there is no reason why all its surroundings should be expected to remain the same , and show no signs of advancing as almost everything else has done by leaps and bounds during the present
Masonic Reform.
century . Yet how are we to set about progressive reformation when even its discussion is so generally tabooed as to be virtually prohibited ? As we said at the outset it is not often a reformer
is found ready to stand up m our midst and boldly state his case ; and it is equally unusual for such a Brother to secure a hearing even if he makes the attempt , but both of these rarities occurred at the
banquet which followed the recent meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cheshire , as a reference to another part of our issue , where we give particulars of Bro . Cuzner's remarks on the subject of " Bestowal of
Provincial honours , " will demonstrate . We must thank Sir Horatio Lloyd Deputy Provincial Grand Master of Cheshire for allowing the innovation in the
first place , and then accord an equal amount of recognition to Bro . Cuzner , for his pluck and perseverance in bringing his views thus prominently to the front .
There has long been a difficulty—and it increases year by year as the number of Lodges is augmentedto provide Provincial honours for all who deserve them , and when it becomes actually impossible to allot a
Provincial collar to every Lodge in a county it is self evident that disappointment and even injustice must result . Such is the case in Cheshire , where there are upwards of fifty Lodges , and only twenty-two collars
at the disposal of the Provincial Grand Master—apart from the Provincial Grand Stewardships , which are hardly worthy of much attention , under existing conditions—in connection with any consideration of permanent Provincial recognition .
Our Bro . Cuzner did not hesitate to point out a means of remedying the grievance to which he referred —he was bold enough to suggest a division of the Province , and named a suitable head for one of the
sections , loyalty to the present ruler Earl Egerton of Tatton , who we believe is universally beloved in his Province , entitling him to' first consideration in this respect . Sir Horatio Lloyd displayed far better
generalship in his reply to the remarks offered than many of our leaders would have done , by promising the matter should have attention , and we hope the
promise will be carried out to the fullest extent . Why should such requests as those of Bro . Cuzner be ignored , as they usually are , by the authorities ?
Cheshire is not the only place , however , where reform is necessary in this direction . There are many other Provinces where the same difficulties occur as
regularly as the annual distribution of collars comes round , and it is certainly time that some action was taken towards securing a remedy . Either the number of Provincial Officers should be increased to correspond
with the number of Lodges in each district , or new-Officers should be appointed every half-year , or the larger Provinces should be divided—and when either of these courses is adopted we may hope that the even greater claims of London will not be overlooked .