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Original Correspondence.
To the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Permit me to answer your correspondents of last week on the aboie subject . I repeat all I have written , and which Bra . Neilson has read with extreme regret , and reply in the affirmative to the first question contained in his letter , and in the
negative to the second . I do not agree with him that I should have pursued the line of conduct he suggests in his third paragraph , for the very true reason he imputes in the succeeding sentence , namely , that I was a visitor to and not a member of the lodge referred to . As I enjoy the honour of membership in numerous Craft lodges , metropolitan and provincial , and in I know not how many
lodges of instruction , I require a more advanced brother than your correspondent to " call on me within one fortnight from this for any oilier ) day " to do what I should condemn as " meddlesome interference ; " and when , if ever , so called upon , I should , as I do now , distinctly refuse . I am attacking generalities , not specialities . If Bro . Neilson will favour me with his personal
acquaintance I will give another " undertaking , " namely , to wm him . over , as I have done other sensible brethren . Bro . Woodford must permit mc to refer him to his former letter , wherein he coupled my name with that of Bro . Perceval , so that I was unable to disassociate the parties to what he terms an " amiable little controversy . " I disclaim personal remarks other than those absolutely neces
sary to identify one s opponent , and make one s meaning plain -, but I cannot patiently submit to misrepresentation without resenting personality towards myself . I don ' t seek this controversy . If others will refrain from writing on the subject I will . If there is no evil to be remedied the committee which Grand Lodge has decided to appoint for the purpose of preliminary enquiry and report will
soon set me down without all this misrepresentation of what is actual fact . They will soon let the Craft know whether or not my assertions are false or overstrained , my action to be condemned or encouraged , my earnest endeavours those of a sane and reasonable man or of a perverse fool . I am quite willing to accept this test ; why cannot others submit to the same reference ? Thc
committee can do no harm to them , and if 1 am what my opponents represent it must affect my Masonic credit and justify them in their opposition . Will Bro . Wootlford honour me by acting on that committee ? Will a representative i . ffer to serve for each cf the following Associations , viz ., " Thc Board of General Purposes , " " The Emulation Lodge of Improvement , " and " The Stability
Lodge of Instruction ? " Will the provinces take care that they are represented ? Will each section of my opponents appoint a representative to advocate the continuance of non-interference if I cannot show sufficient reason for amendment ? I shall welcome the names of such on my list , now in course of formation , and not hesitate to nominate even my biltercst antagonist . From them I will , if it
is just , accept sentence , and submit to it , if adverse , with cheerful resignation , for it will be that of those best able to form a collective judgment , and not the mere objectiventss of individuals . Once lor all , I demand ( respectfully , of course ) that committee which I have been promised , and pending their report am willing , if not provoked by personal remarks , lo give my pen a long rest .
You must please notice lhat if you had inserted my last letter as I wrote it , and as it has been published elsewhere , " One who was in Grand Lodge " could not have twitted me with ignoring his letter on the subject . If he will drop his anonymity and stand as boldly forward as Bros . Woodford , Neilson , and While , who creditably back their opinions by their true names , I will give " One who was in Grand
Lodge " my special attention , and undertake to convict him of anything but plain dealing in a manner in which " he or any other fellow ought to understand , " according to his own quotation . It is an old habit of mine to treat anonymous communications with disregard . If ever I want a clever adveitisement drawn out for me I shall certainly patronise my old Masonic friend Bro .
While I A man who can so ably introduce a name fifteen times in half-a-dozen paragraphs should not be lost sight of . He would be positively invaluable as a composer of advertisements . It matters little indeed that his inspiration may be dull and his statements incorrect ; such defects are lost in the ingenuity of reiteration , whereby the all-important name i » made of prominent importance . On the
score of of puilishing may 1 ask , wilh all humility , if our brother has extracted the " beam" from his own eye before he soughi to discover the " mote " in mine ! But a truce to all these side issues and animadversions which our Bro . Woodford so emphatically and characteristically condemns . I have half a mind to paraphrase Iago and say , " From this time forth 1 never will write a . word , " but that I feel how incapable I should be of keeping such
a promise in the event ot other " personal remarks " following those to v . hich I have given this re-ply . I desire to endorse thc hopes expressed in the preface to your new volume , and wish you increased repute and prosperity during the newly-commenced year . Though we mny not agree on one point , we do on very many , and even if we did not , conflict of opinion may co-exist with friendship and regard as it does in our case . Yours very truly and fraternally ,
JAMES STEVENS Clapham , January : th , 1880 .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I had looked forward to Bro . Perceval ' s communication for some explanation of the extraordinary proceedings , and the still more staitling letters , on "Uniformity of Ritual , " and la and behold I am in a greater , denser maze than ever . I am some * thing like _ one of thc good denizens of our " little
Original Correspondence.
village" who have recently luxuriated in a thick fog . In my whole experience I have never perused so wonderful a ( I wish to use a right word ) , well—rigmarole . I , therefore , leave the matter here , as wc positively are in a " slough of despond , " into which , if we are not careful , we shall all be precipitated , and from which we shall not be able to emerge . I hope that a majority of our good
brethren will have their " wits " about them , and combine to put a stop to the most childish and ridiculous proceedings which have ever sought to agitate English Freemasonry . I feel strongly that , after such an exhibition of hopeless fatuity , " silence is golden " indeed . Yours fraternally , ONE WHO WAS IN GRAND LODGE .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I was very sorry to notice in your issue cf the 13 th ult . a somewhat hasty and sweeping condemnation of the actio : * rbf Grand Lodge in agreeing to Bro . Stevens's motion for the appointment of a committee to inquire into , and report upon , tbe vexed q ucstioh of Masonic uniformity .
My regrets are chiefly owing to the fact that I consider the great influence of the Freemason to be wasted in opposing so strongly such a very harmless proposal . We have only one Masonic journal worthy of tbe name , and it may well be that we shall need its earnest and unflinching suppoit should the agitation for Masonic uniformity ever reach dangerous proportions . But the influence of your paper
will weigh lightly in future , and , perhaps , more serious , discussions , if it is cast thus early into the scale as the uncompromising opponent of inquiry , as well as of what our friends are pleased to call " reform . " I was one of the many brethren present at last Quarterly Communication who volet ! with Bro . Stevens , but who would oppose as strenuously as yourself any attempt to
impose a dull and leaden uniformity upon thc ritual of our Order . I am not afraid of the committee -, for , if it be so constituted as to command the confidence of tlie Cra't , 1 am convinced that its report will recommend no interference with our present system . An inquiry , if properly conducted , as there is no reason to doubt that it will be , will propably dispose for ever of a large number of
maggots at present troubling the brains of several distinguished , able , and woithy brethren , by demonstrating the absurdity of their wishes and of their fears . I wish to speak with all fraternal , and . indeed , filial respect of Bro . Stevens , for whom I entertain feelings of high regard and esteem . It is only right and fitting that such relations should ex ' st between us , for Bro . Stevens it was
who , many years ago , initiated , passed , and raised mc in the then established Degrees of Freemasonry . I fully recognise his great zeal and earnestness in everything relating to the well-being of our Order , and also the ability with which he supports his views and opinions . But , as the prime agitator in this present movement , he is heavily handicapped , and can hardly expect his efforts to be
successful . For , unless I greatly err , Bro . Stevens is 111 this position : that he is labouring to effect his present purpose with another and a different object in view . His aim ten years ago was to establish , or to get established , a College of Preceptors , which should be the court of ultimate appeal in all matters relating to Masonic ritual , and the members of which should receive some Grand Lodge rank
as the reward of their labours . Uniformity of ritual was one of thc many advantages which would follow upon the establishment of sucl * . a college , but it was not the first or most important object sought . The great thing was to create some Degree of lv . mour to be conferred upon worthy and distinguished brothers who might aspire to the dignity of Preceptors , and it vvas apparently thought that such
worthy and distinguished brothers might profitably occupy their abundant leisure by tinkering with and altering our existing ritual . Put plainly , we were invited to act upon the good old plan of creating an office , and thereafter invtnting some work for the officers . If this be not an exact statement of Bro . Stevens ' s views and intentions , I can only say that he has done himself
grave injustice in a little book which he has recently published , and which I recognise as a valuable contribution to contemporary Masonic literature . For , in the opening pages ofthe work in question , Bro . Stevens adopts as his " text" some remarks made in a morning paper , on the occasion of our Royal Grand Master ' s initiation in Freemasonry , wherein it is suggested as a thing greatly to
lie desire'l that some method could be hit upon of " keeping alive in the great body of Masonic Past Masters the zeal which has given them their rank . " Upon this text Bro . Stevens enlarges , suo more , as follows : " It has struck me that a very wide field for the exercise of the unused-up energies of well-informed Masons might be opened by the establishment of a lodge having
for its members those only who are skilled in the working of Ciaft Masonry , who should be recognised throughout the Order as duly qualified authoritii s , and form in their collective capacity a Court or Lodge of Appeal , to which all questions of working and ritual should be referred . " Now I am perfectly willing that such a lodge or college should be established , and I should at once prefer my
humble claim to membership of it , but I do greatly object to applying my own * " unused-up energies , " or those of other , more or less , " well-informed Masons , " to such a a task as the revision and reformation of our ritual would be . I acquired my knowledge of the Craft ceremonies in the same school , and indeed partly from the same Master ,
that Bro . Stevens did his , and it is not unnatural that we should both regard our own system as the best . But is that any reason why thousands of English Masons , who have been differently taught , should be compelled to adopt our style of working ? And would we not feel justly indignant if we were forced to unlearn a great deal of what we
Original Correspondence.
have carefully acquired , and zealously taught , in order to assimilate our knowledge and our teaching to those of rival professors ? Away would go at once whatever chance we might possess of preceptorial distinction , and our "unused-up energies" would be vengefully employed in denouncing the " ungrammatical twaddlers" ( the term is Pickwickian in atvo-fold sense ) who might be unfortunate
enough to differ from us . If a rigid uniformity of Masonic ritual were possible , which it is not , it would be an evil and not a beric-fit to Freemasonry . We would only stereUi pe our divergence from the working of other Masonic bodies ; since even Bro . Stevens cannot hope to force the English system upon , our brethren in Ireland , Scotland , the United States , and
elsewhere throughout English-speaking communities . Far from endeavouring to prescribe one parrot-like form of words , with the rule ne varietur , upon our lodge Masters , we ought to encourage as far as possible , and within certain limits , a wholesome variety of working , so as to suit the tastes and abilities of all sorts and conditions of men . The analogy of a truly National Church worship holds
good when applied to Masonic ritual . Within its pale there should be ample and sufficient room for High Church and Low Church , fo -Ritualist and Evangelical , for those who hold "broad" views , and for others whose habits of thought are of mor sectarian nature . Surely Freemasonry ought not to wish itself to be " cribbed , cabined , and confined " within the narrow bounds of any artifical form
which might recommend itself to a section of us members . It will be an evil day for Freemasonry when any such , limitation obtains . There can be no manner of doubt that the charges and exhortations commonly used in Craft ceremonies are no more a prescribed portion of Masonic ritual than the homilies
of the Church are in the Church service . A Master may , and many do , deliver charges which are wholly original , precisely as a priest of the English Church gives a sermon of his own composition . Why should we seek to interfere wilh this salutary ficetlom ? Wc want at least some better reason than merely that of finding employment fur zealous Past Masters .
It will be seen that although I voted with Bio . Stevens in Grand Lodge , yet I am , in common with the vast majority of his supporters on that occasion , strongly opposed to him on the question of Masonic uniformity , But I am as earnestly in accord with him in all that he says rcgari ing the lamentable absence of proficiency in too many brethren w ' no aspire to and receive "thc highest honour which
the Craft can bestow upon any of its mcmbcis . " I have known some , and heard of many more , Masteis who could not without prompting open or close their lodges in the First Degree . Others there are who attempt one or two of the ceremonies , and stumble tiirough them in such style as to excite no feelings but those of contempt in the minds of the neophvtes before them . I hardly know which
is the greater pain , to see a Master quit his place and allow some Past Master to do his work , or to hear him stammering and blundering through the ceremonies , dragged painfully along by means of constant dictation from the lips of those whom it is his province to enlighten and instruct . With what kind of conscience such men
can undertake the Mastership of a lodge , with the specified qualifications , I do not presume to say ; but no one will deny that the evil exists or that it is one for which no cure can be devised . I trust that the attention of Bro . Stevens ' s committee will be especially devoted to this subject , and then some real and lasting benefit may result from its labours .
I think that thc time has come when lodges of instruction should be less loosely organise ! and more carefully constituted than they are at present , and this should be done under the direct authority of Grand Lodge . Charters which may have fallen into disuetude should be cancelled or withdrawn , and the mother lodges should be required to report at head-quarters , at least once in every year , the
position of , and the work done by , instruction lodges holding under their warrants . This would form a bond between the parent lodge and its off-shoot , which could not fail fo further the cause of Masonic instruction , by creating much new interest in the well-being and prosperity of instruction lodges . Then the election ( or more properly the selection ) of every Master should be of non-effect until
ratified by the approval of Grand Odge through its Grantl Secretary , and such ratification should only be j-ranted upon the receipt from a recognised Preceptor in the Craft of a certificate given " upon his Masonic honour" that the brother elected to the office of Master is fully co-nuctrnt to confer the three established Degrees of Craft Masonry , and that he is acquainted with the regulations and
Constitutions of the Order . Were such simple and necessary rules as these adopted by Grand Lodge it would matter exceedingly little whether lodges were worked according to " Emulation " or " Stability " rules ; since the occupants of the Master ' s chair would in all cases be men possessed of knowledge enough to perform their duties satisfactorily , and such abuses as those of which we have heard so much
would , if they really exist , very speedily disappear . It is surely little indeed to ask of a Master that he should be able to do a Master's work , and if he be unwilling or unable to acquire the necessary knowledge—no such terrible task —he is evidently unfit for the ofiice to which he aspire- * , and ought to give place to better men than himself . If Bro . Stevens can , with the help of his committer , bring about such a measure of reform as that which 1
have indicated here , ne will deserve better of Frtemasonry than if he were the author or compiler of fifty brand i . ew rituals which no one wants , and he will inscribe his name in bold characters upon the noble roll of those who have been benefactors of our Craft in their day and generation . I am , dear Sir and Brother , faithfully and fraternally yours , THOS EDMONDSTON , Master 1669 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Original Correspondence.
To the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Permit me to answer your correspondents of last week on the aboie subject . I repeat all I have written , and which Bra . Neilson has read with extreme regret , and reply in the affirmative to the first question contained in his letter , and in the
negative to the second . I do not agree with him that I should have pursued the line of conduct he suggests in his third paragraph , for the very true reason he imputes in the succeeding sentence , namely , that I was a visitor to and not a member of the lodge referred to . As I enjoy the honour of membership in numerous Craft lodges , metropolitan and provincial , and in I know not how many
lodges of instruction , I require a more advanced brother than your correspondent to " call on me within one fortnight from this for any oilier ) day " to do what I should condemn as " meddlesome interference ; " and when , if ever , so called upon , I should , as I do now , distinctly refuse . I am attacking generalities , not specialities . If Bro . Neilson will favour me with his personal
acquaintance I will give another " undertaking , " namely , to wm him . over , as I have done other sensible brethren . Bro . Woodford must permit mc to refer him to his former letter , wherein he coupled my name with that of Bro . Perceval , so that I was unable to disassociate the parties to what he terms an " amiable little controversy . " I disclaim personal remarks other than those absolutely neces
sary to identify one s opponent , and make one s meaning plain -, but I cannot patiently submit to misrepresentation without resenting personality towards myself . I don ' t seek this controversy . If others will refrain from writing on the subject I will . If there is no evil to be remedied the committee which Grand Lodge has decided to appoint for the purpose of preliminary enquiry and report will
soon set me down without all this misrepresentation of what is actual fact . They will soon let the Craft know whether or not my assertions are false or overstrained , my action to be condemned or encouraged , my earnest endeavours those of a sane and reasonable man or of a perverse fool . I am quite willing to accept this test ; why cannot others submit to the same reference ? Thc
committee can do no harm to them , and if 1 am what my opponents represent it must affect my Masonic credit and justify them in their opposition . Will Bro . Wootlford honour me by acting on that committee ? Will a representative i . ffer to serve for each cf the following Associations , viz ., " Thc Board of General Purposes , " " The Emulation Lodge of Improvement , " and " The Stability
Lodge of Instruction ? " Will the provinces take care that they are represented ? Will each section of my opponents appoint a representative to advocate the continuance of non-interference if I cannot show sufficient reason for amendment ? I shall welcome the names of such on my list , now in course of formation , and not hesitate to nominate even my biltercst antagonist . From them I will , if it
is just , accept sentence , and submit to it , if adverse , with cheerful resignation , for it will be that of those best able to form a collective judgment , and not the mere objectiventss of individuals . Once lor all , I demand ( respectfully , of course ) that committee which I have been promised , and pending their report am willing , if not provoked by personal remarks , lo give my pen a long rest .
You must please notice lhat if you had inserted my last letter as I wrote it , and as it has been published elsewhere , " One who was in Grand Lodge " could not have twitted me with ignoring his letter on the subject . If he will drop his anonymity and stand as boldly forward as Bros . Woodford , Neilson , and While , who creditably back their opinions by their true names , I will give " One who was in Grand
Lodge " my special attention , and undertake to convict him of anything but plain dealing in a manner in which " he or any other fellow ought to understand , " according to his own quotation . It is an old habit of mine to treat anonymous communications with disregard . If ever I want a clever adveitisement drawn out for me I shall certainly patronise my old Masonic friend Bro .
While I A man who can so ably introduce a name fifteen times in half-a-dozen paragraphs should not be lost sight of . He would be positively invaluable as a composer of advertisements . It matters little indeed that his inspiration may be dull and his statements incorrect ; such defects are lost in the ingenuity of reiteration , whereby the all-important name i » made of prominent importance . On the
score of of puilishing may 1 ask , wilh all humility , if our brother has extracted the " beam" from his own eye before he soughi to discover the " mote " in mine ! But a truce to all these side issues and animadversions which our Bro . Woodford so emphatically and characteristically condemns . I have half a mind to paraphrase Iago and say , " From this time forth 1 never will write a . word , " but that I feel how incapable I should be of keeping such
a promise in the event ot other " personal remarks " following those to v . hich I have given this re-ply . I desire to endorse thc hopes expressed in the preface to your new volume , and wish you increased repute and prosperity during the newly-commenced year . Though we mny not agree on one point , we do on very many , and even if we did not , conflict of opinion may co-exist with friendship and regard as it does in our case . Yours very truly and fraternally ,
JAMES STEVENS Clapham , January : th , 1880 .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I had looked forward to Bro . Perceval ' s communication for some explanation of the extraordinary proceedings , and the still more staitling letters , on "Uniformity of Ritual , " and la and behold I am in a greater , denser maze than ever . I am some * thing like _ one of thc good denizens of our " little
Original Correspondence.
village" who have recently luxuriated in a thick fog . In my whole experience I have never perused so wonderful a ( I wish to use a right word ) , well—rigmarole . I , therefore , leave the matter here , as wc positively are in a " slough of despond , " into which , if we are not careful , we shall all be precipitated , and from which we shall not be able to emerge . I hope that a majority of our good
brethren will have their " wits " about them , and combine to put a stop to the most childish and ridiculous proceedings which have ever sought to agitate English Freemasonry . I feel strongly that , after such an exhibition of hopeless fatuity , " silence is golden " indeed . Yours fraternally , ONE WHO WAS IN GRAND LODGE .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — I was very sorry to notice in your issue cf the 13 th ult . a somewhat hasty and sweeping condemnation of the actio : * rbf Grand Lodge in agreeing to Bro . Stevens's motion for the appointment of a committee to inquire into , and report upon , tbe vexed q ucstioh of Masonic uniformity .
My regrets are chiefly owing to the fact that I consider the great influence of the Freemason to be wasted in opposing so strongly such a very harmless proposal . We have only one Masonic journal worthy of tbe name , and it may well be that we shall need its earnest and unflinching suppoit should the agitation for Masonic uniformity ever reach dangerous proportions . But the influence of your paper
will weigh lightly in future , and , perhaps , more serious , discussions , if it is cast thus early into the scale as the uncompromising opponent of inquiry , as well as of what our friends are pleased to call " reform . " I was one of the many brethren present at last Quarterly Communication who volet ! with Bro . Stevens , but who would oppose as strenuously as yourself any attempt to
impose a dull and leaden uniformity upon thc ritual of our Order . I am not afraid of the committee -, for , if it be so constituted as to command the confidence of tlie Cra't , 1 am convinced that its report will recommend no interference with our present system . An inquiry , if properly conducted , as there is no reason to doubt that it will be , will propably dispose for ever of a large number of
maggots at present troubling the brains of several distinguished , able , and woithy brethren , by demonstrating the absurdity of their wishes and of their fears . I wish to speak with all fraternal , and . indeed , filial respect of Bro . Stevens , for whom I entertain feelings of high regard and esteem . It is only right and fitting that such relations should ex ' st between us , for Bro . Stevens it was
who , many years ago , initiated , passed , and raised mc in the then established Degrees of Freemasonry . I fully recognise his great zeal and earnestness in everything relating to the well-being of our Order , and also the ability with which he supports his views and opinions . But , as the prime agitator in this present movement , he is heavily handicapped , and can hardly expect his efforts to be
successful . For , unless I greatly err , Bro . Stevens is 111 this position : that he is labouring to effect his present purpose with another and a different object in view . His aim ten years ago was to establish , or to get established , a College of Preceptors , which should be the court of ultimate appeal in all matters relating to Masonic ritual , and the members of which should receive some Grand Lodge rank
as the reward of their labours . Uniformity of ritual was one of thc many advantages which would follow upon the establishment of sucl * . a college , but it was not the first or most important object sought . The great thing was to create some Degree of lv . mour to be conferred upon worthy and distinguished brothers who might aspire to the dignity of Preceptors , and it vvas apparently thought that such
worthy and distinguished brothers might profitably occupy their abundant leisure by tinkering with and altering our existing ritual . Put plainly , we were invited to act upon the good old plan of creating an office , and thereafter invtnting some work for the officers . If this be not an exact statement of Bro . Stevens ' s views and intentions , I can only say that he has done himself
grave injustice in a little book which he has recently published , and which I recognise as a valuable contribution to contemporary Masonic literature . For , in the opening pages ofthe work in question , Bro . Stevens adopts as his " text" some remarks made in a morning paper , on the occasion of our Royal Grand Master ' s initiation in Freemasonry , wherein it is suggested as a thing greatly to
lie desire'l that some method could be hit upon of " keeping alive in the great body of Masonic Past Masters the zeal which has given them their rank . " Upon this text Bro . Stevens enlarges , suo more , as follows : " It has struck me that a very wide field for the exercise of the unused-up energies of well-informed Masons might be opened by the establishment of a lodge having
for its members those only who are skilled in the working of Ciaft Masonry , who should be recognised throughout the Order as duly qualified authoritii s , and form in their collective capacity a Court or Lodge of Appeal , to which all questions of working and ritual should be referred . " Now I am perfectly willing that such a lodge or college should be established , and I should at once prefer my
humble claim to membership of it , but I do greatly object to applying my own * " unused-up energies , " or those of other , more or less , " well-informed Masons , " to such a a task as the revision and reformation of our ritual would be . I acquired my knowledge of the Craft ceremonies in the same school , and indeed partly from the same Master ,
that Bro . Stevens did his , and it is not unnatural that we should both regard our own system as the best . But is that any reason why thousands of English Masons , who have been differently taught , should be compelled to adopt our style of working ? And would we not feel justly indignant if we were forced to unlearn a great deal of what we
Original Correspondence.
have carefully acquired , and zealously taught , in order to assimilate our knowledge and our teaching to those of rival professors ? Away would go at once whatever chance we might possess of preceptorial distinction , and our "unused-up energies" would be vengefully employed in denouncing the " ungrammatical twaddlers" ( the term is Pickwickian in atvo-fold sense ) who might be unfortunate
enough to differ from us . If a rigid uniformity of Masonic ritual were possible , which it is not , it would be an evil and not a beric-fit to Freemasonry . We would only stereUi pe our divergence from the working of other Masonic bodies ; since even Bro . Stevens cannot hope to force the English system upon , our brethren in Ireland , Scotland , the United States , and
elsewhere throughout English-speaking communities . Far from endeavouring to prescribe one parrot-like form of words , with the rule ne varietur , upon our lodge Masters , we ought to encourage as far as possible , and within certain limits , a wholesome variety of working , so as to suit the tastes and abilities of all sorts and conditions of men . The analogy of a truly National Church worship holds
good when applied to Masonic ritual . Within its pale there should be ample and sufficient room for High Church and Low Church , fo -Ritualist and Evangelical , for those who hold "broad" views , and for others whose habits of thought are of mor sectarian nature . Surely Freemasonry ought not to wish itself to be " cribbed , cabined , and confined " within the narrow bounds of any artifical form
which might recommend itself to a section of us members . It will be an evil day for Freemasonry when any such , limitation obtains . There can be no manner of doubt that the charges and exhortations commonly used in Craft ceremonies are no more a prescribed portion of Masonic ritual than the homilies
of the Church are in the Church service . A Master may , and many do , deliver charges which are wholly original , precisely as a priest of the English Church gives a sermon of his own composition . Why should we seek to interfere wilh this salutary ficetlom ? Wc want at least some better reason than merely that of finding employment fur zealous Past Masters .
It will be seen that although I voted with Bio . Stevens in Grand Lodge , yet I am , in common with the vast majority of his supporters on that occasion , strongly opposed to him on the question of Masonic uniformity , But I am as earnestly in accord with him in all that he says rcgari ing the lamentable absence of proficiency in too many brethren w ' no aspire to and receive "thc highest honour which
the Craft can bestow upon any of its mcmbcis . " I have known some , and heard of many more , Masteis who could not without prompting open or close their lodges in the First Degree . Others there are who attempt one or two of the ceremonies , and stumble tiirough them in such style as to excite no feelings but those of contempt in the minds of the neophvtes before them . I hardly know which
is the greater pain , to see a Master quit his place and allow some Past Master to do his work , or to hear him stammering and blundering through the ceremonies , dragged painfully along by means of constant dictation from the lips of those whom it is his province to enlighten and instruct . With what kind of conscience such men
can undertake the Mastership of a lodge , with the specified qualifications , I do not presume to say ; but no one will deny that the evil exists or that it is one for which no cure can be devised . I trust that the attention of Bro . Stevens ' s committee will be especially devoted to this subject , and then some real and lasting benefit may result from its labours .
I think that thc time has come when lodges of instruction should be less loosely organise ! and more carefully constituted than they are at present , and this should be done under the direct authority of Grand Lodge . Charters which may have fallen into disuetude should be cancelled or withdrawn , and the mother lodges should be required to report at head-quarters , at least once in every year , the
position of , and the work done by , instruction lodges holding under their warrants . This would form a bond between the parent lodge and its off-shoot , which could not fail fo further the cause of Masonic instruction , by creating much new interest in the well-being and prosperity of instruction lodges . Then the election ( or more properly the selection ) of every Master should be of non-effect until
ratified by the approval of Grand Odge through its Grantl Secretary , and such ratification should only be j-ranted upon the receipt from a recognised Preceptor in the Craft of a certificate given " upon his Masonic honour" that the brother elected to the office of Master is fully co-nuctrnt to confer the three established Degrees of Craft Masonry , and that he is acquainted with the regulations and
Constitutions of the Order . Were such simple and necessary rules as these adopted by Grand Lodge it would matter exceedingly little whether lodges were worked according to " Emulation " or " Stability " rules ; since the occupants of the Master ' s chair would in all cases be men possessed of knowledge enough to perform their duties satisfactorily , and such abuses as those of which we have heard so much
would , if they really exist , very speedily disappear . It is surely little indeed to ask of a Master that he should be able to do a Master's work , and if he be unwilling or unable to acquire the necessary knowledge—no such terrible task —he is evidently unfit for the ofiice to which he aspire- * , and ought to give place to better men than himself . If Bro . Stevens can , with the help of his committer , bring about such a measure of reform as that which 1
have indicated here , ne will deserve better of Frtemasonry than if he were the author or compiler of fifty brand i . ew rituals which no one wants , and he will inscribe his name in bold characters upon the noble roll of those who have been benefactors of our Craft in their day and generation . I am , dear Sir and Brother , faithfully and fraternally yours , THOS EDMONDSTON , Master 1669 .