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Article : MA.SON"IG QIJESTIONS ; ← Page 2 of 3 →
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: Ma.Son"Ig Qijestions ;
overthrow by * violence the first opponents who meet them from the dais but retire ingloriously before the serried ranks who fall back upon the Book of Constitutions ; AJ ustly indignant onslaught in favour of theCanadas is parried by a shrewd pass from these worshippers of defunct usage , adherents of the past— " Imdator temporis actt >"~ who would sooner steal a horse by precedent thai ! restore him from
a sense of justice . Such fulsome adulators of misrule , ought themselves to be put away into past tenses , for certain is it that they are totally unfit to cope with the pressing emergency of the present times . We have speciniensin Grrand Lodge of men who teally seem to value everything for its antiquity ; ( probably they would not even eat eggs until they were rotten though subject , as far as words go , in G-rand Lodge lately , to the punishment of being pelted with them .
Is to the subjects discussed , many of them resolve themselves into matters already decided by Constitutional Law , which has apparently given the Grrand Master such an authority as , when interpreted by cowrUerSy amounts to a downright irresponsible autocracy He may put what he likes ; stop what he likes "; talk , and cheek others from talking ; interpret or misinterpret rules canons , and
orders at his pleasure ; and be always certain of friendly approvers of his legislation . Indeed , at present , by no wish of his own we virtually believe ,- —for Lord Zetland is a most urbane and mild ruler , and not merely a nobleman , but a gentleman , —the Grand Master is endowed with such powers as place him at once in a position realizing the fullest notion of despotism which exists in moderntimes .
Popish antagonism to the Craft was properly discussed by Lord Carnarvon , and as far as a memorial can take away any pretended ignorance of our principles from Komish priests , and inform them , when really unaware of our tenets , as well as corroborate the adherence of our foreign Brethren , we think that it would be useful ; at least it would be an official test of sympathy with the persecuted ,
and a great encouragement to them , if not a check to their oppressors . Yet , it must be allowed , that if not an antidote , such representation would be an irritant . No system is so intolerant of rebuke as Popery ; even explanation is considered by it equivalent to rebellion . The " Charge" already suffices to indicate our principles , provided its perusal were extended ; and a memorial containing a
recommendation to disseminate it , and full of sympathy with the oppressed , cannot but be beneficial . At present , as was well remarked , no official notice has been taken of the sufferings of our Brethren , the only pretext for which neglect must be that it is chiefly in accordance with the method wherein Grand Lodge has misconducted itself for years , and thus driven its Colonies into rebellion .
Bro . Havers observes that many Homanists oppose our principles , but that Masons are defacto excommunicated . This is correct ; but that gross ignorance , real or pretended , of us prevails amongst the Popish priests , we can declare from a conversation we ourselves had recently in Prance , with one of the most learned and liberal abbes jn that kingdom . He evidently had framed his notions upon the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
: Ma.Son"Ig Qijestions ;
overthrow by * violence the first opponents who meet them from the dais but retire ingloriously before the serried ranks who fall back upon the Book of Constitutions ; AJ ustly indignant onslaught in favour of theCanadas is parried by a shrewd pass from these worshippers of defunct usage , adherents of the past— " Imdator temporis actt >"~ who would sooner steal a horse by precedent thai ! restore him from
a sense of justice . Such fulsome adulators of misrule , ought themselves to be put away into past tenses , for certain is it that they are totally unfit to cope with the pressing emergency of the present times . We have speciniensin Grrand Lodge of men who teally seem to value everything for its antiquity ; ( probably they would not even eat eggs until they were rotten though subject , as far as words go , in G-rand Lodge lately , to the punishment of being pelted with them .
Is to the subjects discussed , many of them resolve themselves into matters already decided by Constitutional Law , which has apparently given the Grrand Master such an authority as , when interpreted by cowrUerSy amounts to a downright irresponsible autocracy He may put what he likes ; stop what he likes "; talk , and cheek others from talking ; interpret or misinterpret rules canons , and
orders at his pleasure ; and be always certain of friendly approvers of his legislation . Indeed , at present , by no wish of his own we virtually believe ,- —for Lord Zetland is a most urbane and mild ruler , and not merely a nobleman , but a gentleman , —the Grand Master is endowed with such powers as place him at once in a position realizing the fullest notion of despotism which exists in moderntimes .
Popish antagonism to the Craft was properly discussed by Lord Carnarvon , and as far as a memorial can take away any pretended ignorance of our principles from Komish priests , and inform them , when really unaware of our tenets , as well as corroborate the adherence of our foreign Brethren , we think that it would be useful ; at least it would be an official test of sympathy with the persecuted ,
and a great encouragement to them , if not a check to their oppressors . Yet , it must be allowed , that if not an antidote , such representation would be an irritant . No system is so intolerant of rebuke as Popery ; even explanation is considered by it equivalent to rebellion . The " Charge" already suffices to indicate our principles , provided its perusal were extended ; and a memorial containing a
recommendation to disseminate it , and full of sympathy with the oppressed , cannot but be beneficial . At present , as was well remarked , no official notice has been taken of the sufferings of our Brethren , the only pretext for which neglect must be that it is chiefly in accordance with the method wherein Grand Lodge has misconducted itself for years , and thus driven its Colonies into rebellion .
Bro . Havers observes that many Homanists oppose our principles , but that Masons are defacto excommunicated . This is correct ; but that gross ignorance , real or pretended , of us prevails amongst the Popish priests , we can declare from a conversation we ourselves had recently in Prance , with one of the most learned and liberal abbes jn that kingdom . He evidently had framed his notions upon the