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Article THE OEAND OFFICERS. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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The Oeand Officers.
into the arcana of a Society which makes it a boast that all its members are on ia level , as it does into every body of Englishmen—the most liberty-preachmg and the most aristocracy-worshipping people on the face of the earth . It having , as we have stated , been conceded that the Wardens should generally be men of rank , we do think we have at least a right to expect that the Most Worshipful Grand Master should endeavour to give a few more of the other offices amongst the working Brethren than has hitherto been the case ;" and let us see how they are generally filled . We will take them as they stand on the list in accordance with their rank . Ater the Wardens , we find the Grand Treasurer , Brother Tomkins . This is of course , an office which it is desirable to have , as far as
possible , permanently filled ; and Brother Tomkms , being a partner in the house with which Grand Lodge banks , may be considered a very fitting man for the appointment . The Grand Chaplains are next in order ; and though th e Rev . Broth ers John E . Cox : and Edward Moore , w e believe—we say we believe , because we are only personally acquainted with one—are very estimable men and worthy members of the Craft , we submit that they should not enjoy their office en permanence , as there are very many reverend
Brethren of equal standing who have a fair right to expect to be allowed to share in the honours of the Graft of which they are members . In fact , for the same brother to hold the office for even a second year , should be the exception , not the rule . The next officer is the Grand Eegistrar , and he , like the Treasurer , should be changed as seldom as possible , he being , it may be said ( as the Lord Chancellor is of the Queen ' s ) , the keeper of the Grand
Master s conscience , and the law officer ot the Crait ; and it is never desirable to be too frequently changing lawyers , as such a course is likely to give rise to that state of society when " universal confusion w ould ensue and social order no longer exist ; " though , at the same time , we like to see a change in the office just sufficiently often to enable us to have one or two Past Grand Registrars on the dais , their occasional advice and assistance being as valuable in Grand
Lodge as that afforded by retired Chancellors in the House of Lords . Of the present Grand Eegistrar we have too often expressed our opinion for it not to be understood that we shall regret any change being made in the office this year—though it is generally understood that such will be the case , the K . W . Brother declining any longer to act ; and we regret it the more , because we think that the WW . Brother who , it is understood , will succeed him ,
wants more experience in the forms and laws of Grand J ^ odge than he has occasionally shown , though , in every other respect ( partisanship aside ) , he is certainly a very eligible and valuable Grand Officer . We next come to the Grand Secretary—an office which , as a matter of course , must be continuous ; and if , at the time of his first appointment , twelve months since , the name of Brother 'W . Gray Clarke did not give general satisfaction to the Craft—ho being so entirely an unknown and untried man—the courtesy and gentlemanly feeling with
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
into the arcana of a Society which makes it a boast that all its members are on ia level , as it does into every body of Englishmen—the most liberty-preachmg and the most aristocracy-worshipping people on the face of the earth . It having , as we have stated , been conceded that the Wardens should generally be men of rank , we do think we have at least a right to expect that the Most Worshipful Grand Master should endeavour to give a few more of the other offices amongst the working Brethren than has hitherto been the case ;" and let us see how they are generally filled . We will take them as they stand on the list in accordance with their rank . Ater the Wardens , we find the Grand Treasurer , Brother Tomkins . This is of course , an office which it is desirable to have , as far as
possible , permanently filled ; and Brother Tomkms , being a partner in the house with which Grand Lodge banks , may be considered a very fitting man for the appointment . The Grand Chaplains are next in order ; and though th e Rev . Broth ers John E . Cox : and Edward Moore , w e believe—we say we believe , because we are only personally acquainted with one—are very estimable men and worthy members of the Craft , we submit that they should not enjoy their office en permanence , as there are very many reverend
Brethren of equal standing who have a fair right to expect to be allowed to share in the honours of the Graft of which they are members . In fact , for the same brother to hold the office for even a second year , should be the exception , not the rule . The next officer is the Grand Eegistrar , and he , like the Treasurer , should be changed as seldom as possible , he being , it may be said ( as the Lord Chancellor is of the Queen ' s ) , the keeper of the Grand
Master s conscience , and the law officer ot the Crait ; and it is never desirable to be too frequently changing lawyers , as such a course is likely to give rise to that state of society when " universal confusion w ould ensue and social order no longer exist ; " though , at the same time , we like to see a change in the office just sufficiently often to enable us to have one or two Past Grand Registrars on the dais , their occasional advice and assistance being as valuable in Grand
Lodge as that afforded by retired Chancellors in the House of Lords . Of the present Grand Eegistrar we have too often expressed our opinion for it not to be understood that we shall regret any change being made in the office this year—though it is generally understood that such will be the case , the K . W . Brother declining any longer to act ; and we regret it the more , because we think that the WW . Brother who , it is understood , will succeed him ,
wants more experience in the forms and laws of Grand J ^ odge than he has occasionally shown , though , in every other respect ( partisanship aside ) , he is certainly a very eligible and valuable Grand Officer . We next come to the Grand Secretary—an office which , as a matter of course , must be continuous ; and if , at the time of his first appointment , twelve months since , the name of Brother 'W . Gray Clarke did not give general satisfaction to the Craft—ho being so entirely an unknown and untried man—the courtesy and gentlemanly feeling with