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  • The Masonic Press
  • Jan. 1, 1866
  • Page 12
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The Masonic Press, Jan. 1, 1866: Page 12

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    Article OBJECTS OF MASONIC REFORM. ← Page 2 of 9 →
Page 12

Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Objects Of Masonic Reform.

tions , or omissions , of modern date . To mitigate similar eAdls in kingdoms , states , and societies , Arise nionarchs and rulers haA r e recourse to occasional Reforms of a conservative character Avhich , Avhilst eliminating the most olwious deformities and abuses , yet present , intact , the original features of the communities under their rule , thereby shaping their course to the requirements of the age and yet

retaining—free from spasmodic change—the bequests handed doAvn to them from the practical Avisdom of their ancestors . Where such judicious TOArisions haAre been systematically neglected history tells the tale , and records IIOAV easily good measures might haA r e been adopted , in early stages of discontent , hut haA'e been , over and over again , ignored until , at last , when the poAver to enforce their reception has

A anished , they haA'e been surrendered Avith large changes and additions , such as Avere neither demanded or required ; and Avhen this has been done it has ahvays been too late . Unless something similar is in store for Freemasonry , under the Grand Lodge and Supreme Grand Chapter of England , the signs of the times tells us that a speedy Masonic Reform is imperative in order to discard some of the

anomolies and absurdities , IIOAV becoming encrusted in our system , or they Avill eventually he so burthensomo and intolerable that Reform Avill , at length , become an impossibility—change Avill step in and , Avith ruthless violence uproot the A \ holo , making a clean sweep of good and bad together—and the superstructure our forefathers raised Avill come tumbling about our ears .

"When desperate ills demand a speedy cure , " Distrust is cowardice , and prudence folly . " The nineteenth century is groAving old—it has more than completed half its alloted span—yet What has Freemasonry , as practised under the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of England , accomplished for

itself , or for the benefit of mankind at large , during this eventful period 1 We are UOAV in the year of grace 18 G 5 , more than half-a-century distant from that lodge of reconciliation , in 1813 , Avhich so Avantonly reversed and destroyed the fundamental principles of the Order ; discarded much that Avas pure and essential ; totally ignored the Christian belief—the faith of the country—and substituted for it

, and the more ancient usages of Freemasonry , a mass of objectionable puerility . As a recognized society , knoAvn by the name AVC hear , Ave Avant hut tAvo more years to attain the patriarchial ago of one hundred and fifty years—a century and a half of public existence—and the question must often recur to every thoughtful and earnest brother—In this period of time Avhat progress has Freemasonry made 1

( Since the year 1717 , it ivould require a library in itself to chronicle the discoA'eries , and inventions , of the profane in CA ery branch of human thought and science , both for tlie use and luxury as AVOII as the profit and pleasure of mankind ; hut in the production of such benefits , derived from the hidden mysteries of nature and science , art or utility , the Freemason , as a benefactor to man-

“The Masonic Press: 1866-01-01, Page 12” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 29 May 2025, django:8000/periodicals/msp/issues/mxr_01011866/page/12/.
  • List
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Title Category Page
Untitled Article 1
Untitled Article 2
Untitled Article 3
NUMBER ONE. Article 4
"LIVE AND LET LIVE." Article 9
OBJECTS OF MASONIC REFORM. Article 11
MASONIC ANTIQUITIES, DOCUMENTS, &c. JERUSALEM ENCAMPMENT, MANCHESTER. Article 20
REPRINT OF SCARCE, OR CURICUS, BOOKS ON FREEMASONRY. Article 27
THE RITE OF MISRAIM. Article 32
NOTES AND QUERIES FOR FREEMASONS. Article 36
MASONIC ENCLAVES. Article 38
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 38
EVENTS AND THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED. Article 41
CLOTHING FOR THE RISING STAR OF WESTERN INDIA. Article 43
REVIEWS. Article 43
POETRY. Article 44
THE MASONIC REPORTER. Article 46
KNIGHT TEMPLARY. Article 47
CRAFT FREEMASONRY. Article 50
OBITUARY. Article 50
NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 51
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

Objects Of Masonic Reform.

tions , or omissions , of modern date . To mitigate similar eAdls in kingdoms , states , and societies , Arise nionarchs and rulers haA r e recourse to occasional Reforms of a conservative character Avhich , Avhilst eliminating the most olwious deformities and abuses , yet present , intact , the original features of the communities under their rule , thereby shaping their course to the requirements of the age and yet

retaining—free from spasmodic change—the bequests handed doAvn to them from the practical Avisdom of their ancestors . Where such judicious TOArisions haAre been systematically neglected history tells the tale , and records IIOAV easily good measures might haA r e been adopted , in early stages of discontent , hut haA'e been , over and over again , ignored until , at last , when the poAver to enforce their reception has

A anished , they haA'e been surrendered Avith large changes and additions , such as Avere neither demanded or required ; and Avhen this has been done it has ahvays been too late . Unless something similar is in store for Freemasonry , under the Grand Lodge and Supreme Grand Chapter of England , the signs of the times tells us that a speedy Masonic Reform is imperative in order to discard some of the

anomolies and absurdities , IIOAV becoming encrusted in our system , or they Avill eventually he so burthensomo and intolerable that Reform Avill , at length , become an impossibility—change Avill step in and , Avith ruthless violence uproot the A \ holo , making a clean sweep of good and bad together—and the superstructure our forefathers raised Avill come tumbling about our ears .

"When desperate ills demand a speedy cure , " Distrust is cowardice , and prudence folly . " The nineteenth century is groAving old—it has more than completed half its alloted span—yet What has Freemasonry , as practised under the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of England , accomplished for

itself , or for the benefit of mankind at large , during this eventful period 1 We are UOAV in the year of grace 18 G 5 , more than half-a-century distant from that lodge of reconciliation , in 1813 , Avhich so Avantonly reversed and destroyed the fundamental principles of the Order ; discarded much that Avas pure and essential ; totally ignored the Christian belief—the faith of the country—and substituted for it

, and the more ancient usages of Freemasonry , a mass of objectionable puerility . As a recognized society , knoAvn by the name AVC hear , Ave Avant hut tAvo more years to attain the patriarchial ago of one hundred and fifty years—a century and a half of public existence—and the question must often recur to every thoughtful and earnest brother—In this period of time Avhat progress has Freemasonry made 1

( Since the year 1717 , it ivould require a library in itself to chronicle the discoA'eries , and inventions , of the profane in CA ery branch of human thought and science , both for tlie use and luxury as AVOII as the profit and pleasure of mankind ; hut in the production of such benefits , derived from the hidden mysteries of nature and science , art or utility , the Freemason , as a benefactor to man-

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