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Article THE OEAND OFFICERS. ← Page 6 of 6
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The Oeand Officers.
on the mothm of the Grand Master , allowed to take their seats on the dais as Past Grand Officers ; but not so the third . Bro . Elkington had been a clerk in the Grand Secretary ' s office under Bro . White , and became the lessfee . of the tavern , the property of the Craft , which was rapidly going to ruin ; and was , therefore , it appears , not honoured
as previous Grand Pursuivants had been , though all who attended Grand Lodge during his years of office must bear testimony to the efficiency with which he performed his duties . What was the reason he was not so elevated it is not for us to inquire . Some say it was because Bro . White was displeased at losing a useful clerk \ and others , because it would have offended the dignity of some Brethren on the dais to have been brought into close proximity with a
tavernkeeper . But whatever the cause , there stands the fact , that a retired Grrand Pursuivant , however well he performs his duty , cannot be certain of receiving the reward which he has a right to expect ; and consequently the office is not looked upon with that respect it ought to be—there is a supposed ( and only a supposed ) difficulty in obtaining Brethren to fill it , and that too notwithstanding we are taught that every office in Masonry , however lowly , is honourable ; and even that of Inner Guard in a private Lodge is eagerly sought for .
Now , then , to our plan of increasing the number of offices at the disposal of the Grrand Master for the reward of zealous Brethren of the general Lodges . We use the term " general" as applying to such Lodges as those in which tradesmen and gentlemen holding situations in public or private establishments form the bulk of the members . We would class the Director of Ceremonies , the Assistant
Director of Ceremonies , and the Pursuivant together , and allow no one office to be held for more than one year , but make them advancing offices , so that each would have to serve three years before obtaining his past rank , unless death should , as it might
occasionally , cause a more rapid advancement—thus ensuring the obtaining a perfect knowledge of the respective duties , causing the office of Grrand Pursuivant to be as eagerly sought after as any other , and making way for the bestowal of honours on a greater number of Brethren than can now receive them at the hands of the Grand
Master . It may be objected that by this plan we should lower the position of the Grrand Sword Bearer , but that we deny , as he would obtain his past rank in one year ( though by the bye this office has more than once been conferred upon the same Brother for two years ) , whilst it would take the others three ; but even if it were so ,
it could easily be obviated by making the Sword Bearer also one of the progressive officers . Let our proposition be adopted , and we will , if required , undertake to name not less than a dozen Brethren , men of talent and men of position , who will gladly accept the office of Grand Pursuivant as the stepping stone to a permanent purple .
We have extended our article to so great a length , that we have left ourselves no space to refer to the claims which the country Brethren advance to a greater share of the honours of Grand Lodge ; but we shall probably refer to them at no distant date .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Oeand Officers.
on the mothm of the Grand Master , allowed to take their seats on the dais as Past Grand Officers ; but not so the third . Bro . Elkington had been a clerk in the Grand Secretary ' s office under Bro . White , and became the lessfee . of the tavern , the property of the Craft , which was rapidly going to ruin ; and was , therefore , it appears , not honoured
as previous Grand Pursuivants had been , though all who attended Grand Lodge during his years of office must bear testimony to the efficiency with which he performed his duties . What was the reason he was not so elevated it is not for us to inquire . Some say it was because Bro . White was displeased at losing a useful clerk \ and others , because it would have offended the dignity of some Brethren on the dais to have been brought into close proximity with a
tavernkeeper . But whatever the cause , there stands the fact , that a retired Grrand Pursuivant , however well he performs his duty , cannot be certain of receiving the reward which he has a right to expect ; and consequently the office is not looked upon with that respect it ought to be—there is a supposed ( and only a supposed ) difficulty in obtaining Brethren to fill it , and that too notwithstanding we are taught that every office in Masonry , however lowly , is honourable ; and even that of Inner Guard in a private Lodge is eagerly sought for .
Now , then , to our plan of increasing the number of offices at the disposal of the Grrand Master for the reward of zealous Brethren of the general Lodges . We use the term " general" as applying to such Lodges as those in which tradesmen and gentlemen holding situations in public or private establishments form the bulk of the members . We would class the Director of Ceremonies , the Assistant
Director of Ceremonies , and the Pursuivant together , and allow no one office to be held for more than one year , but make them advancing offices , so that each would have to serve three years before obtaining his past rank , unless death should , as it might
occasionally , cause a more rapid advancement—thus ensuring the obtaining a perfect knowledge of the respective duties , causing the office of Grrand Pursuivant to be as eagerly sought after as any other , and making way for the bestowal of honours on a greater number of Brethren than can now receive them at the hands of the Grand
Master . It may be objected that by this plan we should lower the position of the Grrand Sword Bearer , but that we deny , as he would obtain his past rank in one year ( though by the bye this office has more than once been conferred upon the same Brother for two years ) , whilst it would take the others three ; but even if it were so ,
it could easily be obviated by making the Sword Bearer also one of the progressive officers . Let our proposition be adopted , and we will , if required , undertake to name not less than a dozen Brethren , men of talent and men of position , who will gladly accept the office of Grand Pursuivant as the stepping stone to a permanent purple .
We have extended our article to so great a length , that we have left ourselves no space to refer to the claims which the country Brethren advance to a greater share of the honours of Grand Lodge ; but we shall probably refer to them at no distant date .