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Article COMESPONUENCE. ← Page 2 of 4 →
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Comesponuence.
Regarding the constitution and action of the Provincial Grand Lodge—* although we certainly do allow , and even invite , the Master Masons of the province to be present , yet in no instance are they allowed to vote or take any part in the proceedings upon any question ; none hut Masters , Past Masters , and acting Wardens exercising that privilege , in accordance with the Book of Constitutions . The only motive is the one you correctly
assign , viz-,, / the " encouraging of brotherly love and mutual good feeling , " coupled with a desire that all who have attained to the rank of Master Mason may have the opportunity of seeing the manner in which the proceedings of Provincial Grand Lodge are conducted . We think such a privilege has been heneficial to us , in exciting a spirit of emulation to aspire to the chair , and thus qualify themselves for office in Provincial Grand Lodge at a future opportunity . But any attempt to admit ladies or
uninitiated persons to any part of our proceedings would be scouted by every member iii the province . The lamentable instance you name of a Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master and his Officers having their various parts or duties written on paper , I trust will never occur again , such being humiliating in the extreme .
Perhaps some of the objections you make , and in which I cordially concur , ihight have been imputed to this province had I not remarked upon the whole separately , and such must be my apology should you consider me tedious . And now , sir , regarding the particulars you have so prominently brought forward in connection with this province ; permit me to say , that the Right Hon . the Earl of Mexborough , R , W . Prov . G . M . of West
Yorkshire , does not "belong to the number ( if there be more than one !) of those who are so negligent of the duties appertaining to the high and dignified office of Provincial Grand Master—his lordship being at all times , not only well up in his own duty , hut taking especial care not to appoint to office under him any Brother who might prove so discreditably wanting . The Brethren of this province have always esteemed themselves highly fortunate , in having at their head a nobleman whose sincerest wishes are for
the success and prosperity of the Craft , and wdio combines in himself high intelligence , great firmness , tempered at all times with kindness and suavity of manners . The proposed code of by-laws has received his lordship ' s deliberate sanction and approval , and from his well known desire to uphold the constitutions of Freemasonry , it is scarcely likely he w ould countenance the formation of any committee which would either interfere with his own prerogative or be in itself unconstitutional .
We now come to the question of necessity for such a board , and I must observe that West Yorkshire contains thirty regular working Lodges , numbering in the aggregate 1 , 200 members or upwards , and amongst these are 375 Masters , Past Masters , and acting Wardens : the business of such a province must necessarily be large , and the proposed board is only intended as one of inquiry , to report and assist the Provincial Grand Master and his Deputy . At the quarterly meetings the attendance of
members will average about 120 , and at the annual gathering on the 14 th of last month , 150 were present , a number nearly , if not quite , equalling the average attendance at Grand Lodge . If , therefore , there he a necessity for a Board of General Purposes to inquire into and facilitate the business of Grand Lodge , surely there must be a similar necessity , in degree at all events , in a large province like ours . Then , as to alleged want of power on the part of " Prov . Grand Lodges or Prov . Grand Masters to depute such authority to any committee ^ however honourably or ahly formed ^ ' and ths
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Comesponuence.
Regarding the constitution and action of the Provincial Grand Lodge—* although we certainly do allow , and even invite , the Master Masons of the province to be present , yet in no instance are they allowed to vote or take any part in the proceedings upon any question ; none hut Masters , Past Masters , and acting Wardens exercising that privilege , in accordance with the Book of Constitutions . The only motive is the one you correctly
assign , viz-,, / the " encouraging of brotherly love and mutual good feeling , " coupled with a desire that all who have attained to the rank of Master Mason may have the opportunity of seeing the manner in which the proceedings of Provincial Grand Lodge are conducted . We think such a privilege has been heneficial to us , in exciting a spirit of emulation to aspire to the chair , and thus qualify themselves for office in Provincial Grand Lodge at a future opportunity . But any attempt to admit ladies or
uninitiated persons to any part of our proceedings would be scouted by every member iii the province . The lamentable instance you name of a Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master and his Officers having their various parts or duties written on paper , I trust will never occur again , such being humiliating in the extreme .
Perhaps some of the objections you make , and in which I cordially concur , ihight have been imputed to this province had I not remarked upon the whole separately , and such must be my apology should you consider me tedious . And now , sir , regarding the particulars you have so prominently brought forward in connection with this province ; permit me to say , that the Right Hon . the Earl of Mexborough , R , W . Prov . G . M . of West
Yorkshire , does not "belong to the number ( if there be more than one !) of those who are so negligent of the duties appertaining to the high and dignified office of Provincial Grand Master—his lordship being at all times , not only well up in his own duty , hut taking especial care not to appoint to office under him any Brother who might prove so discreditably wanting . The Brethren of this province have always esteemed themselves highly fortunate , in having at their head a nobleman whose sincerest wishes are for
the success and prosperity of the Craft , and wdio combines in himself high intelligence , great firmness , tempered at all times with kindness and suavity of manners . The proposed code of by-laws has received his lordship ' s deliberate sanction and approval , and from his well known desire to uphold the constitutions of Freemasonry , it is scarcely likely he w ould countenance the formation of any committee which would either interfere with his own prerogative or be in itself unconstitutional .
We now come to the question of necessity for such a board , and I must observe that West Yorkshire contains thirty regular working Lodges , numbering in the aggregate 1 , 200 members or upwards , and amongst these are 375 Masters , Past Masters , and acting Wardens : the business of such a province must necessarily be large , and the proposed board is only intended as one of inquiry , to report and assist the Provincial Grand Master and his Deputy . At the quarterly meetings the attendance of
members will average about 120 , and at the annual gathering on the 14 th of last month , 150 were present , a number nearly , if not quite , equalling the average attendance at Grand Lodge . If , therefore , there he a necessity for a Board of General Purposes to inquire into and facilitate the business of Grand Lodge , surely there must be a similar necessity , in degree at all events , in a large province like ours . Then , as to alleged want of power on the part of " Prov . Grand Lodges or Prov . Grand Masters to depute such authority to any committee ^ however honourably or ahly formed ^ ' and ths