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Article APATHY IN OUR ORDER. ← Page 2 of 2 Article APATHY IN OUR ORDER. Page 2 of 2
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Apathy In Our Order.
brother presumes that I took from the 17 th July to the 2 nd inst . to fulminate my epistle anent his . In this he errs , for my attention had accidentally been drawn to the matter a day or so before f wrote . But this is of little consequence , as a great deal more of his superabundance is inelevant to the subject , and , not having read his article of the 6 fch Feb . I must
, have lost a treat , and confess myself so much the more ignorant of it . In my letter of the 7 th inst ., I said that " good moral character according to his creed was the only requisite . "
Now , I do not mean to pretend to so much profundity of knowledge in speculative Masonry as Bro . B . does , but I hold that a man may be a good moral man , an excellent citizen , and have done good service to mankind , yet withal be disqualified by the prescriptive conditions ofthe Order from entering therein . To employ a man's mind for the most universal
benefit , it is not necessary to envelope , or develope it in the lodge room , and , in fact , our brother ' s mind seems so capacious and expansive that even the St . Mark ' s Hall cannot contain it . While , however , sanity and moral character are insisted on , the physical condition ofthe individual must to all
appearance be sound and perfect , otherwise , what need is there of preparation ? Is that not as near as can he passing the doctor ? What availeth the five points of felloAVship often so eloquently delivered on ; why waste wind , gas , light , and precious time on the whole altar ordeal if they be mere shams , and not indispensible
essentials in Masonic teaching ? What are grips and signs to a person minus digits and dexters ; what are lights or signs to a blind man , or words to a deaf man or a mute , and when heels , hollows , and knees are gone , I guess and speculate it were nothing short of insult to hobble a man up to the altar to lecture him on the importance and use of them in the Craft .
The reference of your correspondent to the Hon . Mr . Kavanah has no point with it in my eyes , there being nothing in the constitution of Parliament to debar him from sitting there ; it is otherwise , however , in the unalterable landmarks of Ereemasonry and the O . B . 's which bind us to them . Quacks and
empirics have existed during all ages , and in all professions of the world , and even Freemasonry at the present hour is not able toirradicate it , but seems susceptible of being tainted by it ; and I presume we must be content with that phenomena amongst us still , though it should appear in " Buchan or ither chaps . "
By-the-hye , I was present last week where a brother of _ a local historic name officiated and passed and raised two E . A . ' s ; he was exceedingly earnest and particular in impressing them Avith the indispensible value and uses of their limbs in a Masonic sense , from the ti ps of their fingers to the soles of their feet ; but it certainl
y was astonishing to hear the same individual assert in the adjacent a few minutes after , that he was going to initiate the candidate wanting the left hand , and I am certain he is neither a Milton nor a Nelson , although , for aught I know , he is a decent man . This official likewise referred to the benefits
derivable from Masonry on the field of battle , but this only corroborates my statement in my last letter that warriors and sailors should become accepted before campaigning or going to sea , and not defer ( as the intention of the society repudiates ) till the season
Apathy In Our Order.
of its charitable and humane operation has passed away . Bro . Buchan asserts that he acted in receiving the candidate short of his right arm on the authority of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . Let me remind him that I am only bound to abide by her so long as she
abides by the ancient landmarks , and I simply copy such authority as the G . S . gave my mother lodge without comment upon its vagueneso : — " In reply to yours of yesterday , I beg to inform you , that in many instances , persons afflicted with lameness such as describehave been admitted
you , into the Order ; but as there is no definite law on the subject , but merely an understanding , I would advise you to lay the matter before a full meeting of the lodge , and take the opinion of the brethren as to whether the candidate is a fit and proper person for admission . Any mental defect should certainly he
held as a valid objection to his initiation . " Bro . B . seems to escheAV the binding nature of my O . B altogether , and treats it very lightly indeed ; in so much so that seeing I and others cannot be present at these lame initiations , I would suggest that he or the brother formerly referred to invite us to a
lecture on the subject of their new light and means of absolution . Yours fraternally , llth . August , 1869 . W . L .
' JOINING BRETHREN AND INITIATIONS . TO THE EDITOR OE TEE EKEEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEBOE . Dear Sir and Brother , —The question opened by > J < B > J < in your number of August 7 th , and my few remarks in regard to it on the 14 th , have elicited satisfactory replies from BrosHughanCruxand
. , , ? J" B >|< . The latter is rather hard upon me in supposing that my case in 1863 was one of the irregularities which led to an alteration , for I do not hesitate to say that every precaution was taken in that instance . If I remember rightly , the brethren named in the warrantgranted in Marchhad the
, , authority of the Prov . G . M ., for meeting at once to transact business but not to perform ceremonies before the day of constitution and consecration , which was May 6 th . Part of that business was the formation of the by-laws , which , having been adopted at a previous meetingwere confirmed previous to the
cere-, monies on the day of "constitution , " to use the correct term suggested by Crux . I ascertain that point from the dates given in the printed by-laws . This shows that , according to Bro . Hughan , at that time no irregularity was committed by admitting new memberswhether bjoining initiationCrux
, y or . says that on the day of " constitution ' " the ceremonies of passing and raising , for which no previous notice is required , may be performed , " and consequently there can be no impropriety in proposing neAV members at the same period . This answers the original question of * B * .
As it is very possible that the precautions I took in the formation of the lodge may not have been adopted in all cases , I quite concur in the propriety of the nev ? arrangement named by Bro . Hughan . My object was not to argue the question , into which Crux has entered so fully , but to ascertain the authority , which is not in the Book of Constitutions , for the first statement of > J < B * . —H . H .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Apathy In Our Order.
brother presumes that I took from the 17 th July to the 2 nd inst . to fulminate my epistle anent his . In this he errs , for my attention had accidentally been drawn to the matter a day or so before f wrote . But this is of little consequence , as a great deal more of his superabundance is inelevant to the subject , and , not having read his article of the 6 fch Feb . I must
, have lost a treat , and confess myself so much the more ignorant of it . In my letter of the 7 th inst ., I said that " good moral character according to his creed was the only requisite . "
Now , I do not mean to pretend to so much profundity of knowledge in speculative Masonry as Bro . B . does , but I hold that a man may be a good moral man , an excellent citizen , and have done good service to mankind , yet withal be disqualified by the prescriptive conditions ofthe Order from entering therein . To employ a man's mind for the most universal
benefit , it is not necessary to envelope , or develope it in the lodge room , and , in fact , our brother ' s mind seems so capacious and expansive that even the St . Mark ' s Hall cannot contain it . While , however , sanity and moral character are insisted on , the physical condition ofthe individual must to all
appearance be sound and perfect , otherwise , what need is there of preparation ? Is that not as near as can he passing the doctor ? What availeth the five points of felloAVship often so eloquently delivered on ; why waste wind , gas , light , and precious time on the whole altar ordeal if they be mere shams , and not indispensible
essentials in Masonic teaching ? What are grips and signs to a person minus digits and dexters ; what are lights or signs to a blind man , or words to a deaf man or a mute , and when heels , hollows , and knees are gone , I guess and speculate it were nothing short of insult to hobble a man up to the altar to lecture him on the importance and use of them in the Craft .
The reference of your correspondent to the Hon . Mr . Kavanah has no point with it in my eyes , there being nothing in the constitution of Parliament to debar him from sitting there ; it is otherwise , however , in the unalterable landmarks of Ereemasonry and the O . B . 's which bind us to them . Quacks and
empirics have existed during all ages , and in all professions of the world , and even Freemasonry at the present hour is not able toirradicate it , but seems susceptible of being tainted by it ; and I presume we must be content with that phenomena amongst us still , though it should appear in " Buchan or ither chaps . "
By-the-hye , I was present last week where a brother of _ a local historic name officiated and passed and raised two E . A . ' s ; he was exceedingly earnest and particular in impressing them Avith the indispensible value and uses of their limbs in a Masonic sense , from the ti ps of their fingers to the soles of their feet ; but it certainl
y was astonishing to hear the same individual assert in the adjacent a few minutes after , that he was going to initiate the candidate wanting the left hand , and I am certain he is neither a Milton nor a Nelson , although , for aught I know , he is a decent man . This official likewise referred to the benefits
derivable from Masonry on the field of battle , but this only corroborates my statement in my last letter that warriors and sailors should become accepted before campaigning or going to sea , and not defer ( as the intention of the society repudiates ) till the season
Apathy In Our Order.
of its charitable and humane operation has passed away . Bro . Buchan asserts that he acted in receiving the candidate short of his right arm on the authority of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . Let me remind him that I am only bound to abide by her so long as she
abides by the ancient landmarks , and I simply copy such authority as the G . S . gave my mother lodge without comment upon its vagueneso : — " In reply to yours of yesterday , I beg to inform you , that in many instances , persons afflicted with lameness such as describehave been admitted
you , into the Order ; but as there is no definite law on the subject , but merely an understanding , I would advise you to lay the matter before a full meeting of the lodge , and take the opinion of the brethren as to whether the candidate is a fit and proper person for admission . Any mental defect should certainly he
held as a valid objection to his initiation . " Bro . B . seems to escheAV the binding nature of my O . B altogether , and treats it very lightly indeed ; in so much so that seeing I and others cannot be present at these lame initiations , I would suggest that he or the brother formerly referred to invite us to a
lecture on the subject of their new light and means of absolution . Yours fraternally , llth . August , 1869 . W . L .
' JOINING BRETHREN AND INITIATIONS . TO THE EDITOR OE TEE EKEEMASONS' MAGAZINE AND MASONIC MIEBOE . Dear Sir and Brother , —The question opened by > J < B > J < in your number of August 7 th , and my few remarks in regard to it on the 14 th , have elicited satisfactory replies from BrosHughanCruxand
. , , ? J" B >|< . The latter is rather hard upon me in supposing that my case in 1863 was one of the irregularities which led to an alteration , for I do not hesitate to say that every precaution was taken in that instance . If I remember rightly , the brethren named in the warrantgranted in Marchhad the
, , authority of the Prov . G . M ., for meeting at once to transact business but not to perform ceremonies before the day of constitution and consecration , which was May 6 th . Part of that business was the formation of the by-laws , which , having been adopted at a previous meetingwere confirmed previous to the
cere-, monies on the day of "constitution , " to use the correct term suggested by Crux . I ascertain that point from the dates given in the printed by-laws . This shows that , according to Bro . Hughan , at that time no irregularity was committed by admitting new memberswhether bjoining initiationCrux
, y or . says that on the day of " constitution ' " the ceremonies of passing and raising , for which no previous notice is required , may be performed , " and consequently there can be no impropriety in proposing neAV members at the same period . This answers the original question of * B * .
As it is very possible that the precautions I took in the formation of the lodge may not have been adopted in all cases , I quite concur in the propriety of the nev ? arrangement named by Bro . Hughan . My object was not to argue the question , into which Crux has entered so fully , but to ascertain the authority , which is not in the Book of Constitutions , for the first statement of > J < B * . —H . H .