Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00200
say , in the Book of Constitutions proper , they are not law . The Charges are indeed very valuable remnants and reminders of the past . The Antient Charges and Regulations are ordered to [ be read at the installation of a Master ofj . i lodge , and the " Charges of a Freemason " may bc read at an initiation . And , no doubt , there is a sense in which they could be taken
cognizance of judically and disciplinanly amongst us . If there was a clear contravention of any one of them the Board of General Purposes could no doubt take the matter into their consideration , as if not the Statute Law , yet bv implication and custom ' part and parcel of the Common Law of Freemasonry . We remember a case where a brother about to be installed was
alleged to have acted distinctly in defiance of the laws of the land . Through timidity or ignorance the matter was passed over and hushed up . Had the matter gone before the Board of General Purposes undoubtedly , that election would have been cancelled . Hence it is always most important to distinguish between what is enjoined or forbidden by law , and what is allowed and preserved by custom .
WE call attention to a review elsewhere on the way Masonic history is sometimes written now-a-days . There seems sometimes to be an attempt and idea to make statements acceptable simply by boldness of assertion and recklessness of utterance . As the reviewer of the " Masonic World " points
out , many facts so gravely put and so dogmatically announced have been proved to be hopelessly baseless again and again . But what matters ? Perhaps if certain statements are regularly repeated some one will believe them at last . We fear that such a system augurs little either for the knowledge of the propounders , or the thoughtful criticism of its readers .
* # BY the " Bulletin du Grand Orient" of June , it would seem that the " Conseil de l'Ordre " have decided , by way of only reply to the recent Papal Encyclical , to reprint the entire Allocution , so as to let all the French Freemasons know its bearing and effect . We do not always approve of
the words or acts of the governing body of French Freemasonry , and we think , on the contrary , that the line they have thought proper to take is most prejudicial to the interests of Cosmopolitan Freemasonry , and even , 'in part at any rate , alien to the charges of the recent heated and vehement Papal Missive . We are , therefore , glad of being able honestly to commend both the dignity of their declaration and the wisdom of their course .
* * # IT would seem as if the Grand Lodge o ! New York had some serious troubles to contend with in respect of some German Freemasons in that State , and under that jurisdiction . Certain German Freemasons claim , practically , " independence" in respect of the
ruling Grand Lodge . They ask to be permitted to introduce not only their own language and ceremonial , but several foreign rites , not German in themselves and which are most distasteful to reverent minds , and are alike meaningless , unworthy , and grotesque . The claim of the German Freemasons is one that cannot be sustained , or
even sympathized in , by any loyal Freemasons . It constitutes , in fact , an overt act of mutiny and rebellion against the supreme Masonic authority . We in England shall entirely sympathize with the Grand Lodge of New York in its constitutional efforts to uphold unimpaired the prescriptive and unquestionable rights of a lawful Masonic jurisdiction .
# * # THOUGH we do not agree in any essential points with the letter signed "C . " elsewhere on the Papal Encyclical and the foreign Freemasons , we yet think it right to let all sides to the controversy have a hearing . There is no doubt a good deal of truth and force in our Correspondent ' s words ; but in some
jurisdictions foreign Freemasons have most needlessly stirred up many social and religious questions which have served no good purpose but that of " adding fuel to these flames . " Their language and acts have not merel y been directed against the Roman Catholic authorities , but against all religious
teaching and institutions . Our worthy Correspondent does not seem to us attentively to have studied Lord CARNARVON ' S courteous words and clear distinctions , which , however , were accepted cordially and unanimously by Grand Lodge , and will , we are convinced , be entirely endorsed by the vast majority of our brethren in Great Britain , our Colonies , and the United States .
* * # IT is a curious fact that as , according to the old adage , "itnever rains but it pours , " so Roman Catholic attacks never come singly ; they succeed each other often in " tumultuous activity , " the moment from time to time that the flood tides of intolerance have an outpour . We have hardly recovered from
the last Papal blunder and foolishness , the act of an infallible authority , the issuing of an Allocution condemnatory of all Freemasons , when we are startled by reading in the Standard Caidinal MCCABE ' S deliverance at Dublin . " His Eminency " has , according to the Standard of Monday last , " written a letter approving of the course taken by certain members of the
Dublin Corporation in refusing to support a candidate for the Lord Mayoralty on the ground that he was a Freemason . The Cardinal says he cannot understand how a Roman Catholic could in conscience or honour help to place a Freemason in the office of first magistrate in the Roman Catholic city of Dublin . The succession of revolutions that have shaken society for
the last century can , he says , be easily traced to Masonry—a confederation organized for the unholiest purposes . " Though juch a statementis made so seriously and on such authority , we feel sure that our brethren in Ireland or elsewhere will laugh heartily at it , as anything more grotesque or untrue in
history we cannot well conceive . We are only very sorry that any Roman Catholic prelate should be so ill-informed , so uncourteous , so unscruplous in what he says in public , and should not hesitate thus to appeal to the bigotry of ignorance , and influence thc bitterness of fanaticism .
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
( Continued from page zg _ . ) CHAPTER VII .
FROM THE ELECTION OF BRO . B . B . CABBELL , AS TREASURER , TO THE PURCHASE OF PREMISES AT WOOD GREEN , 1 S 46-1 S 56 . With the advent to power of Bro . B . B . Cabbell there appears to have been almost immediately a most remarkable infusion of energy into the proceedings of the Executive . This is by no means surprising . The twenty years of placid existence through which the Institution had passed under
tne successive auspices of Bros . Moore , Rodber , and Pollock were certain to provoke a policy of reaction , when the helm was taken by one who combined prudence with courage , and was sufficiently a man of the world to know that the Charity could never be made worthy of the Society which founded it , unless the plan of letting " I dare not" wait upon " I would " were at once and for ever discarded . He saw at once that the brethren were -rettim ? tired
of hearing thc same humdrum story repeated annually of so many boys being clothed and educated at an expense of about £ 7 each per annum , and the property of the Institution being increased by periodical purchases of a few hundred pounds' worth of Government Stock . This was well enough when the Institution was being extricated from the difficulties into which an incompetent Secretary had plunged it , but the said difficulties had long since
been surmounted , and the question which probably suggested itself to the active mind of the new Treasurer was whether it was worth so much annually recurring labour and trouble in order to produce results comparatively so insignificant . The permanent income about sufficed to defray the cost of educating and clothing the boys , and the Festival yielded enough for the working expenses with a handsome margin to spare for contingencies . At
this time the income all told may have amounted in round figures to about £ 1 100 , and the expenditure to £ 700 . Was no effort ever to be made to carry out the original intentions of the founders in their entirety , and establish a school for the maintenance of the children as well as for their training ? Or , was the Institution to continue as it had been for an indefinite term of years , doling out a small yearly pittance that might have done
credit to a parochial body , but was quite unworthy of the powerful and wealthy fraternity of English Freemasons ? The Committee were not long in making up their minds as to which was the better course to propose . Bro . Cabbell succeeded to the Treasurership in October , 1 S 46 , and at the Quarterly Court held in April , 184 S , Bro . George Smith , a Past Master of t Lodge No . 109 ( the Moira ) , now No . 02 , gave notice of motion for the
Court next ensuing , " for the Appointment of a Special Committee , to consist of seven Governors or Subscribers , to take into consideration the present financial position of the Charity , and with a view to extend its usefulness by establishing or renting a schoolhouse in or near Town , where shall be educated , maintained , and clothed , a certain number of Boys , the sons of deceased or decayed Freemasons . The Committee to report thereon and
to say what sum they would recommend to be taken for the purpose out of the present Funded Property belonging to the Institution . " In the July following , Bro . Smith ' s motion was submitted and passed unanimously , but in a modified form— "That a Committee be formed for the purpose of taking into consideration the present financial position of the Charity , with a view to extend its usefulness , "—the brethren chosen to serve on it being
Bros . Cabbell ( Treasurer ) , Charles Button , Rev . J . E . Cox , Chas . H . Cornwall , J . L . Evans , H . Faudel , William Palmer , George Smith , and W . H . White , with power to add to their number . At the Quarterly Court in April , 1849 , the Committee presented a very elaborate and carefully-digested report , which is all the more valuable from the fact of the inquiries instituted embracing a period of ten years—from 18 ^ 8 to
1847 , both inclusive . From the five tabular statements containing the results of these inquiries we gather ( 1 ) that the average income of the Institution during the period selected exceeded £ 1090 per annum ; ( 2 ) that the average annual expenditure for clothing , educating , and apprenticing the boys was £ 450 ; ( 3 ) that the expenses of management averaged X ' 240 per annum , or about 53 per cent , on the amount expended
for the charitable objects of the Institution ; ( 4 ) that the amount invested during the said period was ^ 3950 , making with the sum previously invested a total of ; £ io , ooo New 3 } per Cent . Stock ; and ( 5 ) that the average number of boys provided for by the Institution was 67 . Having described the nature and extent of the inquiries they had made in the course of their investigations , the Committee submitted a long series of recommendations ,
the first in order being that the cost of management , being greatly disproportionate to the sum expended for the real purposes of thc Institution , should be reduced forthwith , by letting the house in Bloomsbury-place , or disposing of the lease , and arranging for the Commiteee Meetings to be held at Freemasons' Tavern , at a charge not exceeding half-a-guinea per meeting . The distinctive button was to be done away with , and a plain gilt one substituted . The clothing supplied to each boy was to be increased , the cost being
estimated at ^ 3 ios . for the first year , and £ 2 ios . for each succeeding year . An improved system of education was to be adopted , the sum assigned fortius head of outlay being fixed in certain cases at £ 4 . per boy per annum , instead of ^ 3 . A sum not exceeding £ 1 per quarter was to be paid to the parents or guardians of each boy towards his maintenance , the allowance being subject to the reports received as to the boy's progress and
character . The apprentice fee to be retained in cases where it was considered expedient . Each boy to be placed under the protection of a lodge , whose Master for the time being was to be the medium of communication between the boy and the Committee , provincial lodges being invited to assist in carrying out the arrangement . Half-yearly examinations to be held at Freemasons' Hall , in the case of the London boys , those in the provinces to
be examined by the nearest lodges willing to undertake the duty , and prizes for good conduct and distinction to be awarded annually . It was estimated that , notwithstanding these increased advantages , the cost would not exceed , £ 12 per boy , or £ 840 per annum for the whole 70 ; the financial condition of the Charity being such as to justify such an expenditure . It was further recommended that the Secretary ' s salary should be increased to - £ 6 o per
annum , and that , on getting nd of the house in Bloomsbury-place , heshould be paid a sum of £ 50 in compensation for his surrender of , and the expense of surrendering , that portion of it he had been allowed to occupy as a residence ; that a register of the boys should be kept for the use of the Committee ; that . the Trustees should execute a trust deed , setting forth the objects for which the property—amounting to j £ io , ooo—was held by them ; that such trust deed be lodged with the bankers , and that copies of it
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00200
say , in the Book of Constitutions proper , they are not law . The Charges are indeed very valuable remnants and reminders of the past . The Antient Charges and Regulations are ordered to [ be read at the installation of a Master ofj . i lodge , and the " Charges of a Freemason " may bc read at an initiation . And , no doubt , there is a sense in which they could be taken
cognizance of judically and disciplinanly amongst us . If there was a clear contravention of any one of them the Board of General Purposes could no doubt take the matter into their consideration , as if not the Statute Law , yet bv implication and custom ' part and parcel of the Common Law of Freemasonry . We remember a case where a brother about to be installed was
alleged to have acted distinctly in defiance of the laws of the land . Through timidity or ignorance the matter was passed over and hushed up . Had the matter gone before the Board of General Purposes undoubtedly , that election would have been cancelled . Hence it is always most important to distinguish between what is enjoined or forbidden by law , and what is allowed and preserved by custom .
WE call attention to a review elsewhere on the way Masonic history is sometimes written now-a-days . There seems sometimes to be an attempt and idea to make statements acceptable simply by boldness of assertion and recklessness of utterance . As the reviewer of the " Masonic World " points
out , many facts so gravely put and so dogmatically announced have been proved to be hopelessly baseless again and again . But what matters ? Perhaps if certain statements are regularly repeated some one will believe them at last . We fear that such a system augurs little either for the knowledge of the propounders , or the thoughtful criticism of its readers .
* # BY the " Bulletin du Grand Orient" of June , it would seem that the " Conseil de l'Ordre " have decided , by way of only reply to the recent Papal Encyclical , to reprint the entire Allocution , so as to let all the French Freemasons know its bearing and effect . We do not always approve of
the words or acts of the governing body of French Freemasonry , and we think , on the contrary , that the line they have thought proper to take is most prejudicial to the interests of Cosmopolitan Freemasonry , and even , 'in part at any rate , alien to the charges of the recent heated and vehement Papal Missive . We are , therefore , glad of being able honestly to commend both the dignity of their declaration and the wisdom of their course .
* * # IT would seem as if the Grand Lodge o ! New York had some serious troubles to contend with in respect of some German Freemasons in that State , and under that jurisdiction . Certain German Freemasons claim , practically , " independence" in respect of the
ruling Grand Lodge . They ask to be permitted to introduce not only their own language and ceremonial , but several foreign rites , not German in themselves and which are most distasteful to reverent minds , and are alike meaningless , unworthy , and grotesque . The claim of the German Freemasons is one that cannot be sustained , or
even sympathized in , by any loyal Freemasons . It constitutes , in fact , an overt act of mutiny and rebellion against the supreme Masonic authority . We in England shall entirely sympathize with the Grand Lodge of New York in its constitutional efforts to uphold unimpaired the prescriptive and unquestionable rights of a lawful Masonic jurisdiction .
# * # THOUGH we do not agree in any essential points with the letter signed "C . " elsewhere on the Papal Encyclical and the foreign Freemasons , we yet think it right to let all sides to the controversy have a hearing . There is no doubt a good deal of truth and force in our Correspondent ' s words ; but in some
jurisdictions foreign Freemasons have most needlessly stirred up many social and religious questions which have served no good purpose but that of " adding fuel to these flames . " Their language and acts have not merel y been directed against the Roman Catholic authorities , but against all religious
teaching and institutions . Our worthy Correspondent does not seem to us attentively to have studied Lord CARNARVON ' S courteous words and clear distinctions , which , however , were accepted cordially and unanimously by Grand Lodge , and will , we are convinced , be entirely endorsed by the vast majority of our brethren in Great Britain , our Colonies , and the United States .
* * # IT is a curious fact that as , according to the old adage , "itnever rains but it pours , " so Roman Catholic attacks never come singly ; they succeed each other often in " tumultuous activity , " the moment from time to time that the flood tides of intolerance have an outpour . We have hardly recovered from
the last Papal blunder and foolishness , the act of an infallible authority , the issuing of an Allocution condemnatory of all Freemasons , when we are startled by reading in the Standard Caidinal MCCABE ' S deliverance at Dublin . " His Eminency " has , according to the Standard of Monday last , " written a letter approving of the course taken by certain members of the
Dublin Corporation in refusing to support a candidate for the Lord Mayoralty on the ground that he was a Freemason . The Cardinal says he cannot understand how a Roman Catholic could in conscience or honour help to place a Freemason in the office of first magistrate in the Roman Catholic city of Dublin . The succession of revolutions that have shaken society for
the last century can , he says , be easily traced to Masonry—a confederation organized for the unholiest purposes . " Though juch a statementis made so seriously and on such authority , we feel sure that our brethren in Ireland or elsewhere will laugh heartily at it , as anything more grotesque or untrue in
history we cannot well conceive . We are only very sorry that any Roman Catholic prelate should be so ill-informed , so uncourteous , so unscruplous in what he says in public , and should not hesitate thus to appeal to the bigotry of ignorance , and influence thc bitterness of fanaticism .
History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Boys.
HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR BOYS .
( Continued from page zg _ . ) CHAPTER VII .
FROM THE ELECTION OF BRO . B . B . CABBELL , AS TREASURER , TO THE PURCHASE OF PREMISES AT WOOD GREEN , 1 S 46-1 S 56 . With the advent to power of Bro . B . B . Cabbell there appears to have been almost immediately a most remarkable infusion of energy into the proceedings of the Executive . This is by no means surprising . The twenty years of placid existence through which the Institution had passed under
tne successive auspices of Bros . Moore , Rodber , and Pollock were certain to provoke a policy of reaction , when the helm was taken by one who combined prudence with courage , and was sufficiently a man of the world to know that the Charity could never be made worthy of the Society which founded it , unless the plan of letting " I dare not" wait upon " I would " were at once and for ever discarded . He saw at once that the brethren were -rettim ? tired
of hearing thc same humdrum story repeated annually of so many boys being clothed and educated at an expense of about £ 7 each per annum , and the property of the Institution being increased by periodical purchases of a few hundred pounds' worth of Government Stock . This was well enough when the Institution was being extricated from the difficulties into which an incompetent Secretary had plunged it , but the said difficulties had long since
been surmounted , and the question which probably suggested itself to the active mind of the new Treasurer was whether it was worth so much annually recurring labour and trouble in order to produce results comparatively so insignificant . The permanent income about sufficed to defray the cost of educating and clothing the boys , and the Festival yielded enough for the working expenses with a handsome margin to spare for contingencies . At
this time the income all told may have amounted in round figures to about £ 1 100 , and the expenditure to £ 700 . Was no effort ever to be made to carry out the original intentions of the founders in their entirety , and establish a school for the maintenance of the children as well as for their training ? Or , was the Institution to continue as it had been for an indefinite term of years , doling out a small yearly pittance that might have done
credit to a parochial body , but was quite unworthy of the powerful and wealthy fraternity of English Freemasons ? The Committee were not long in making up their minds as to which was the better course to propose . Bro . Cabbell succeeded to the Treasurership in October , 1 S 46 , and at the Quarterly Court held in April , 184 S , Bro . George Smith , a Past Master of t Lodge No . 109 ( the Moira ) , now No . 02 , gave notice of motion for the
Court next ensuing , " for the Appointment of a Special Committee , to consist of seven Governors or Subscribers , to take into consideration the present financial position of the Charity , and with a view to extend its usefulness by establishing or renting a schoolhouse in or near Town , where shall be educated , maintained , and clothed , a certain number of Boys , the sons of deceased or decayed Freemasons . The Committee to report thereon and
to say what sum they would recommend to be taken for the purpose out of the present Funded Property belonging to the Institution . " In the July following , Bro . Smith ' s motion was submitted and passed unanimously , but in a modified form— "That a Committee be formed for the purpose of taking into consideration the present financial position of the Charity , with a view to extend its usefulness , "—the brethren chosen to serve on it being
Bros . Cabbell ( Treasurer ) , Charles Button , Rev . J . E . Cox , Chas . H . Cornwall , J . L . Evans , H . Faudel , William Palmer , George Smith , and W . H . White , with power to add to their number . At the Quarterly Court in April , 1849 , the Committee presented a very elaborate and carefully-digested report , which is all the more valuable from the fact of the inquiries instituted embracing a period of ten years—from 18 ^ 8 to
1847 , both inclusive . From the five tabular statements containing the results of these inquiries we gather ( 1 ) that the average income of the Institution during the period selected exceeded £ 1090 per annum ; ( 2 ) that the average annual expenditure for clothing , educating , and apprenticing the boys was £ 450 ; ( 3 ) that the expenses of management averaged X ' 240 per annum , or about 53 per cent , on the amount expended
for the charitable objects of the Institution ; ( 4 ) that the amount invested during the said period was ^ 3950 , making with the sum previously invested a total of ; £ io , ooo New 3 } per Cent . Stock ; and ( 5 ) that the average number of boys provided for by the Institution was 67 . Having described the nature and extent of the inquiries they had made in the course of their investigations , the Committee submitted a long series of recommendations ,
the first in order being that the cost of management , being greatly disproportionate to the sum expended for the real purposes of thc Institution , should be reduced forthwith , by letting the house in Bloomsbury-place , or disposing of the lease , and arranging for the Commiteee Meetings to be held at Freemasons' Tavern , at a charge not exceeding half-a-guinea per meeting . The distinctive button was to be done away with , and a plain gilt one substituted . The clothing supplied to each boy was to be increased , the cost being
estimated at ^ 3 ios . for the first year , and £ 2 ios . for each succeeding year . An improved system of education was to be adopted , the sum assigned fortius head of outlay being fixed in certain cases at £ 4 . per boy per annum , instead of ^ 3 . A sum not exceeding £ 1 per quarter was to be paid to the parents or guardians of each boy towards his maintenance , the allowance being subject to the reports received as to the boy's progress and
character . The apprentice fee to be retained in cases where it was considered expedient . Each boy to be placed under the protection of a lodge , whose Master for the time being was to be the medium of communication between the boy and the Committee , provincial lodges being invited to assist in carrying out the arrangement . Half-yearly examinations to be held at Freemasons' Hall , in the case of the London boys , those in the provinces to
be examined by the nearest lodges willing to undertake the duty , and prizes for good conduct and distinction to be awarded annually . It was estimated that , notwithstanding these increased advantages , the cost would not exceed , £ 12 per boy , or £ 840 per annum for the whole 70 ; the financial condition of the Charity being such as to justify such an expenditure . It was further recommended that the Secretary ' s salary should be increased to - £ 6 o per
annum , and that , on getting nd of the house in Bloomsbury-place , heshould be paid a sum of £ 50 in compensation for his surrender of , and the expense of surrendering , that portion of it he had been allowed to occupy as a residence ; that a register of the boys should be kept for the use of the Committee ; that . the Trustees should execute a trust deed , setting forth the objects for which the property—amounting to j £ io , ooo—was held by them ; that such trust deed be lodged with the bankers , and that copies of it