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Coreespondmce
PBOVINOE OF KENT . —UNIFORMITY OF WOEKING . TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MlftKOE . Sir and Brother , —Half a century has nearly elapsed since ancient and modern Freemasoury , were amalgamated . Our Grand Lodge then , with its accustomed foresight , called into requisition the aid of several distinguished and enlightened Masons to assist them in laying the foundation of " a superstructure
perfect in all its parts , and honourable to its builders . " Since that period , Freemasonry has rapidly increased , and with it different systems of working have been introduced , embodying the original , yet admitting of dispute by those worthy Brethren who were among the favoured who embraced that dispensation . That discrepancies haye crept iri is obvious to every Mason , on visiting the various metropolitan a , nd provincial Lodges . Hence arises the necessity of the concurrence of Grand ^ Lodge to remedy the evil , so ably illustrated by the Gravesend P . M . in
your last journal . The difficulties attending this object arise through the stringent laws of the Ob ., which does not suffer " evasion or equivocation ; " therefore a ritual , whether in the safe keeping of Grand Lodge or otherwise , is illegal . I would therefore respectfully suggest that a committee of ' / zealous and expert Masons , " who could deliver the genuine cererabriies verbatim , as handed to them ( and , I take it , there would be no difficulty in rinding plenty who would respond to the call ) , should sit at regularly-appointed intervals , to impart genuine
information to every Brother who seeks after it , tJiereby preventing the many unpleasant controversies arising from the want of an established authority . TI ; is , in my humble opinion , is the only legitimate method of imparting Masonic ? knowledge , and which would be the means of detecting those who ( not havm £ the patience and perseverance necessary to obtain a thorough knowledge of working
by the tardy , yet genuine , mode of oral tuition ) resort to the spurious methods as being more easy of access than the original mode handed down to us from our forefathers . ~ I am , Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , Kent , Sept . idih , 1857 . A Lover of Legitimate Principles .
MASONIC QUALIFICATIONS * tO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MlRflOR . Dear Sir and Brother , —As the festival of our Grand Master St . John the " Evangelist and Martyr is drawing near , about which time it is usual to appoint the Officers of our Lodges for the ensuing year ,, will you permit me to address a few words to the Craft on the subject . I think all practical Masons will agree that its Masonic importance can hardly be over-estimated , and that it is
one often beset with much difficulty . Undoubtedly our constitutional rule is , that no Brother shall be elected Master of a Lodge , or appointed to any office therein , merely on account of seniority or rank , or in the words of the ancient charge—" The most expert of the Fellow-Craftsmen shall be chosen or appointed the Master . " Still there are other circumstances to be taken into consideration besides the working attainments of a Brother , who may be a candidate for office .
We well know that the personal character and social standing of a W . M . give , to a considerable extent , a tone to the entire Lodge over which he presides ; therefore , these points ought not to be lost sight of in making a selection . Not that I am disposed for a moment to depreciate the value of Masonic working , for let a W . M . be ever so well qualified by education , and gentlemanly bearing , to preside at the festive board , if he is a poor worker , the best interests of the Lodge must necessarily suffer . Our ceremonies fail to produce that deep and lasting impression on the minds of the initiated they are so well calculated to make , and invariably do when skilfully conducted ; and when we remember that unless a
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Coreespondmce
PBOVINOE OF KENT . —UNIFORMITY OF WOEKING . TO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MlftKOE . Sir and Brother , —Half a century has nearly elapsed since ancient and modern Freemasoury , were amalgamated . Our Grand Lodge then , with its accustomed foresight , called into requisition the aid of several distinguished and enlightened Masons to assist them in laying the foundation of " a superstructure
perfect in all its parts , and honourable to its builders . " Since that period , Freemasonry has rapidly increased , and with it different systems of working have been introduced , embodying the original , yet admitting of dispute by those worthy Brethren who were among the favoured who embraced that dispensation . That discrepancies haye crept iri is obvious to every Mason , on visiting the various metropolitan a , nd provincial Lodges . Hence arises the necessity of the concurrence of Grand ^ Lodge to remedy the evil , so ably illustrated by the Gravesend P . M . in
your last journal . The difficulties attending this object arise through the stringent laws of the Ob ., which does not suffer " evasion or equivocation ; " therefore a ritual , whether in the safe keeping of Grand Lodge or otherwise , is illegal . I would therefore respectfully suggest that a committee of ' / zealous and expert Masons , " who could deliver the genuine cererabriies verbatim , as handed to them ( and , I take it , there would be no difficulty in rinding plenty who would respond to the call ) , should sit at regularly-appointed intervals , to impart genuine
information to every Brother who seeks after it , tJiereby preventing the many unpleasant controversies arising from the want of an established authority . TI ; is , in my humble opinion , is the only legitimate method of imparting Masonic ? knowledge , and which would be the means of detecting those who ( not havm £ the patience and perseverance necessary to obtain a thorough knowledge of working
by the tardy , yet genuine , mode of oral tuition ) resort to the spurious methods as being more easy of access than the original mode handed down to us from our forefathers . ~ I am , Sir and Brother , Yours fraternally , Kent , Sept . idih , 1857 . A Lover of Legitimate Principles .
MASONIC QUALIFICATIONS * tO THE EDITOR OF THE FREEMASONS * MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MlRflOR . Dear Sir and Brother , —As the festival of our Grand Master St . John the " Evangelist and Martyr is drawing near , about which time it is usual to appoint the Officers of our Lodges for the ensuing year ,, will you permit me to address a few words to the Craft on the subject . I think all practical Masons will agree that its Masonic importance can hardly be over-estimated , and that it is
one often beset with much difficulty . Undoubtedly our constitutional rule is , that no Brother shall be elected Master of a Lodge , or appointed to any office therein , merely on account of seniority or rank , or in the words of the ancient charge—" The most expert of the Fellow-Craftsmen shall be chosen or appointed the Master . " Still there are other circumstances to be taken into consideration besides the working attainments of a Brother , who may be a candidate for office .
We well know that the personal character and social standing of a W . M . give , to a considerable extent , a tone to the entire Lodge over which he presides ; therefore , these points ought not to be lost sight of in making a selection . Not that I am disposed for a moment to depreciate the value of Masonic working , for let a W . M . be ever so well qualified by education , and gentlemanly bearing , to preside at the festive board , if he is a poor worker , the best interests of the Lodge must necessarily suffer . Our ceremonies fail to produce that deep and lasting impression on the minds of the initiated they are so well calculated to make , and invariably do when skilfully conducted ; and when we remember that unless a