• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

CONTENTS. enjoy full liberty to do so. Here, then, we have it shown by the indisputable evidence of facts that for a century and upwards the Grand " . ,nKRS joj Masonic Ceremonial at Dukinfield . <jj3 the Grand Lodge Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland have claimed, h ave exercised , Old Warrants.—XXI.—XXII jo6 Address to the Queen by United Grand Lodge of England 506 of Scotland "U3 and in certain cases have surrendered the right to charter lodges in the " Day and Summer Outing of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Cornwall 506 Ladies of the British Crown ; and it strikes us it Provincial Grand Lodge of Somersetshire $08 Cama Lodge, No. aioj $13 colonies and dependencies Trooortant Decision of Grand Lodge jog "Is Marriage a Failure?" 513 is rather late in the day—and our contemporary must forgive us if we add Reviews • 5" The I-ate Br0 - sir John Brand, President of Notes and Queries Jir the Orange Free State 5*4 that it is supremely silly on its part—to deny the existence of a right which Temperance RSPORTS OF M ASONIC M MTINGS— Picnic of the Portsmouth , because Craft Masonry in Lodge, No. 2068 $14 has been thus claimed, exercised , and in certain cases surrendered Instruction Jra Obituarv 514 during the last two or three years there have been sundry Grand Lodges Royal Arch Jia Theatres 514 Mark Masonry Ji3 Masonic and General Tidings JiJ in America which dispute its validity, while the Great Priory of Canada Ji6 Queensland $12 Lodge Meetings for Next Week has had the hardihood to set up Templar Encampments in one of our Australian Colonies and justifies its conduct on the ground that just now T HE programme of the business to be transacted at the there are no Templar bodies established there, and that, in consequence it Unl rand l!odgt. Quarterl y Communication of United Grand Lodge on Wed- is " unoccupied" territory. But by way of showing the absurdity of nesday, the 5th inst,, is mostly of a formal character , There our contemporary's argument, as we understand it, that a right is non-ex- are some ten recommendations of money grants by the Board of Benevo- istent, when or because somebody disputes it, we may mention that not so lence to be endorsed or otherwise as Grand Lodge may see fit , while the very long ago, the Grand Lodge of Manitoba—in British North America— ge in territory claimed by the Grand Lodge of England to Report of the Board of General Purposes is confined to a statement of the chartered a lod be within its jurisdiction , and on being remonstrated with by the latter, at several balances, amounting together to upwards of £7000, in the Bank of once withdrew its charter and apologised for its intrusion. The Grand Lodges England and in Grand Secretary's hands on the 17th August—thc day of of the United Kingdom may surrender their rights in certain cases or the last meeting of the Board of Finance. The Grand Master's letter of annul them altogether of their own free will and accord, but it is nonsense sympathy to the Empress VICTORIA of GERMANY, on the occasion of the to suggest that they can be deprived of what they have exercised from time death of her husband the late Emperor FREDERICK , Protector of Freemasons , immemorial by laws enacted by other Grand Lodges, or that those rights in Prussia and the Empress's rep l y, will be read, and an announcement will cease to exist merely because some of the Grand Lodges in America declare be made that a complete suit of the clothing worn by a Past Grand Master them non-existent. of United Grand Lodge has been forwarded , in the name and on behalf of Grand Lodge, to his Majesty the King of SWEDEN, for his Majesty's IT was hardly to be expected that the correspondence which acceptance, as a memento of his recent appointment to that exalted office and has been proceeding for many days past in the Daily Telegraph in English Freemasonry. We note further that the list of 11 lodges, which M arriage. on the question recently propounded by Mrs. M ONA CAIRO— have been warranted by the Grand Master since the June Communication, " Is Marriage a Failure ?"—would be continued long without some letters comprises two lodges which will meet within the London area, a West appearing in condemnation or praise of Freemasonry, in relation to the Lancashire and a West Yorkshire lodge, and seven lod ges in foreign parts, married state ; and, as will be seen from the letters we reprint elsewhere, namely, one in the Island of Cyprus, one in Queensland , two in Victoria, this expectation has already been realised. We do not antici pate that any and three in New South Wales. good will result from the correspondence, interesting and even amusing as *** many of the letters are, which our contemporary has been conducting, and W E trust we are not misrepresenting or distorting the argu- for this reason , that in certainly eight out of every ten cases the writers have Argument. ments advanced by the New Zealand Masonic Journal on the seen fit to generalise from their own individual experiences. They base eternal question of jurisdiction ; but it appears to us that in its their arguments in favour of the success or failure of marriage on what has passed in thair own immediate circle. Even those who incline to take a attempt to upset our theory that the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland , and broader view are content with quoting the general experiences of a par- Scotland are the onl Grand Lodges which have the ri y ght to charter lodges in ticular epoch or country, thus ignoring the fact that al other epochs and in New Zealand and the other British colonies and dependencies in which there other countries the result may have been or may be directly opposed to their are no recognised independent Grand Lodges, it hassgone so far as to experience. But be this as it may, and confining our attention to the subject declare that the claim to exercise this right of chartering lodges is valid so far as it affects Freemaspnry, it is probably not surprising that a " Free- only for so long as no other Grand Lodges object to it. It says ; " We are mason's Wife," who introduced Freemasonry into the discussion, should quite prepared to admit that the Grand Lodge of England may consider that membershi p of our Society is inconsistent with happiness in tacitly hold this view, but we know only too well that it is the married state. To judge from the tone of her letter, this unhappy lady "ot so held by other Grand Lodges, notably by numerous Grand must possess two out of the three attributes ascribed to women by Sir Lod ges in America, who deem any country unoccupied territory unless W ALTER SCOTT—himself a brother of the mystic tie. She may or may 'here is an existing Grand Lodge within its boundaries." We are inclined not be " coy " —we favour the belief that she is not — but, we to think that in making this statement, our worthy contemporary has greatly imagine there is little doubt from the manner of her writing that exaggerated the views of the " numerous Grand Lodges in America " he she is both " uncertain " and " hard to please." Nor, it seems, do we "as in mind ; but whether this is so or not, we must take the liberty of stand alone in this opinion , for " Old Freemason " suggests there is in Pointing out that the justice or injustice of a person 's claim to exercise her letter " some degree of malice against her husband's Freemasonry and a certain right or privilege cannot be determined by the mere opinion habits," and recommends her to try " love and forbearance " rather than °| somebody else or the fact that somebody else has alread y set that "denunciation , which , as he caustically observes, "is apt to gall and em« claim at defiance. It is a general or a particular law which de- bitter , and has been tried often without success." She is probably a woman termines a matter of this kind, or in the absence of any of the CAUDLE type, with an extra allowance of bile in her composition general , or particular law, general or a particular custom, such as and, however much her husband may have been originally disposed to spend can be shown b y positive and direct evidence to have existed during a his leisure hours at home with the partner for life of his joys and sorrows, it Period of time commonly spoken of as "immemorial," that is to say, did not take him long to discover that, if he wished for a few hours' peace uring which the memory of man runneth not to the contrary. It cannot and quiet, when his labours for the day were ended, he was more likely to °e disputed that the Grand Lodges of England, Ireland , and Scotland find them at his club or lodge than in the society of a woman " uncertain " ave both claimed and exercised for more than a century—that seems of temper and as " hard to please " as a spoiled child. The chances are Us far en , , , ough back to go—the right to charter lodges in the colonies that any attentions he showed her when they first settled down as married encies p ?. of the British Crown—and even in countries not subject to folk were received with coldness, either because she expected something th e British crown—where there were already established no independent better or greater, or because they were not the kind of attentions she wished ^ and Lod ges with prior and superior claims to exercise such right.

Load more

  12

Copy Link