228 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
228 lines
14 KiB
Plaintext
SHORT TALK BULLETIN - Vol.XIII October, 1935 No.10
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GRAND MASTER’S POWERS
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By: Unknown
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No presiding officer, president or chairman of any secular body
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possesses the powers of a Grand Master. But it is a mistake to
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consider this high office as altogether without limitations. In the
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forty-nine Grand Jurisdictions on the Union the powers of the Grand
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East widely differ, albeit all have certain powers in common. All
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Grand Master preside over their Grand Lodges; all can preside over
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any particular Lodge; all can call Special Communications’ al can
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issue certain dispensations; all can arrest Charters of Lodges for
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cause. But in many details the powers of the Grand East differ
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almost as much as their longitudes.
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To define and compare the extent and limitation of the powers of
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Grand Masters requires a complete study of Constitutions, laws,
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rules, edicts, decisions, landmarks, customs and practices. Masonry
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has a large body of unwritten law, as binding and as strictly
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followed as that which is written; he would be a wise student indeed
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who could claim to be wholly familiar with all the unwritten law of
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forty-nine Grand Jurisdictions.
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Certain powers and limitations of powers of Grand Masters, however,
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are set forth in Constitutions of forty-seven of America’s forty-nine
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Grand Lodges. It is these which, in the main, are here considered.
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But it is to be noted that lack of constitutional statement of any
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power, in any Grand Jurisdiction, does not necessarily mean that the
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Grand Master does not have it.
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All Jurisdictions agree in the inviolability of the Ancient
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Landmarks. Those Jurisdictions which have adopted compilations of
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Ancient Landmarks this regard them as the foundation stone of all
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Masonic law. More than half of the forty-nine Jurisdictions have
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such compilations; these are:
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Either Mackey’s list of twenty-five, or
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Special lists adopted in the particular Grand Jurisdiction; most
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special lists merely amplify Mackey’s, contracting or expanding it
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to a greater or lesser number.
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Mackey’s fourth to eight Landmarks, concerned with the Grand Master,
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read as follows:
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4. The government of the Fraternity by a Grand Master.
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5. The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly
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of the Craft.
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6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant dispensations for
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conferring degrees at irregular intervals.
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7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give dispensations for
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opening and holding Lodges.
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8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight.
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In 19 Jurisdictions, no one in Grand Lodge may question a Grand
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Master’s ruling; what he decides is final. In 22 Grand Jurisdictions
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an appeal from a Grand Master’s decision may be made to Grand Lodge.
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In others the question is undecided, because it has never been tried.
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Grand Masters have certain suspending powers; in many Grand
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Jurisdictions these are strictly defined. Twelve Grand Jurisdictions
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specifically state that the Grand Master may suspend any Master of a
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particular Lodge; three permit him to suspend the Master and Wardens;
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three any elective Lodge officer; four, “any” Lodge officer. In all
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these the Grand Master must report to Grand Lodge, which passes
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finally on the matter. In certain Grand Lodges which do not hedge the
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Grand Master with any limiting definitions of power, he may suspend a
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Master, but it is by common consent, a belief that this is inherent
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in the powers of the office, not given by written law.
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Doubtless any Grand Master could, and would, suspend a Master for
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just cause, whether or not the power is defined in the Constitution
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of his Jurisdiction. But to suspend a Grand Lodge officer, the Grand
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Master must, indeed, read his Constitution. In Utah and Missouri
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this may be done provided the Grand Master has the written consent of
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the Deputy Grand Master and the Grand Wardens, or any two of them.
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In North Dakota and Wisconsin the Grand Master may suspend any Grand
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Lodge officer except the Deputy Grand Master and the Grand Wardens.
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In Kansas and New Mexico he may suspend any elective officer of Grand
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Lodge. In Georgia and Tennessee, with the written consent of the
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Grand Wardens, he may suspend any appointive officer of Grand Lodge.
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In Idaho the Grand Master may suspend any member of the Grand Lodge.
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In Florida he may suspend the Grand Secretary and the Grand
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Treasurer.
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Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Rhode Island give
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the Grand Master the power to suspend any “brother” from Masonry.
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Tennessee expressly forbids the Grand Master to suspend a brother
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without a trial and sentence. In the five Jurisdictions in which the
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Grand Master has his autocratic power over the individual, the
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suspension is reviewable by Grand Lodge at the next Stated
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Communication. It is probable that this power might be used in at
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least 3 more Jurisdictions, without authority of special enactment,
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merely because of the broad general power conferred in the
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Constitution, or the silence of that document on any powers.
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Several Grand Jurisdictions expressly prohibit suspending any law of
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Grand Lodge; Mississippi permits the suspension of certain by-laws.
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In the majority of Grand Jurisdictions, where suspension of laws is
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not permitted, it is doubtful that any Grand Master would assume the
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power, or that Grand Lodge would uphold him if he did! In several
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Grand Jurisdictions the general powers are so broad that the Grand
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Master can do practically anything he desires. In the Third
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Landmark, as recognized in New Jersey, it is stated:
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“He may suspend during his pleasure, the operation of any rule or law
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of Masonry not a Landmark.”
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The right of the Grand Master to “make a Mason at sight,” Mackey’s
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eighth landmark, has caused much discussion. The term is a misnomer,
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since the act is generally understood as being in the presence, and
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with the help, of a Lodge convened for the purpose by the dispensing
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power of the Grand Master.
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16 Grand Jurisdictions expressly permit this in the written law,
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three of them providing that it must be done in a regularly
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constituted Lodge. In giving the power Kansas states. “It is one
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which should never be exercised.” Arkansas permits a Grand Master to
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communicate “the secrets of Masonry with or without ceremonies., the
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Grand Master might call to his assistance a Lodge, or Masons, or may
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act alone.” Arkansas also states “the power should not exercised in
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any case, except by dispensing with time.” Other Grand Lodges permit
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the act by their adoption of Mackey’s list of Landmarks.
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Four Grand Jurisdictions constitutionally forbid the making of Masons
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“at sight” by a Grand Master.
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Can a Grand Master be tried? Most Grand Jurisdictions are silent on
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the subject, but as few have provided that he may; thus, in South
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Carolina, any Lodge may impeach the Grand Master on the expiration of
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his term in office; he is then tried by the Grand Lodge, in which a
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two thirds majority may convict and pass sentence - what, is not
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stated. In Texas the “Grand Master may be suspended from office by
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this Grand Lodge, for sufficient cause, after due notice and a
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hearing.” Connecticut states that the Grand Master is exempted “from
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trial during the term of his office and afterwards, for any official
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act as Grand Master.”
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At least four Grand Lodges expressly give the Grand Master a second
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vote, in the event of a tie. In certain Grand Jurisdictions in which
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the Masters of Lodges have the privilege of casting a vote in the
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event of a tie, it is assumed that the Grand Master possesses the
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same privilege.
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Limitations of powers of Grand Masters in various Jurisdictions are
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at time confusingly contradictory. North Carolina states: “The
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Grand Master is the creature of the Grand Lodge, deriving all his
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authority from that body. . . .” Kansas states: “The Grand Master
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is not the creature of the Grand Lodge; the office existed before the
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organization of Grand Lodges.” Pennsylvania gives the Grand Master
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power to “issue edicts, regulating the action of Lodges, or for the
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government of the same, their officers, and members.” And in
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Pennsylvania a Grand Master’s edict is Masonic Law.
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Some Grand Jurisdictions define what a Grand Master may and may not
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do regarding physical requirements of candidates. When North
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Carolina and Kansas Lodges determined that a candidate is physically
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disqualified, the Grand Master may not grant a dispensation for him
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to get the degrees. In Texas the Grand Master “shall pass upon the
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physical qualifications of all candidates . . .having any physical
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maim or defect. . .”
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In all Grand Jurisdictions the Grand Master may call the Grand Lodge
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in Special Communication. In some he must give 30 days notice, in
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others, reasonable notice, in still others, notice is left to his
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discretion.
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Many interesting restrictions are written in the laws of the several
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Grand Jurisdictions. New Hampshire specifies that at the semi-annual
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communications of the Grand Lodge it is the duty of the Grand Master
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to “give, or cause to be given, exemplification of the Work and
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Lectures of each degree.” North Dakota says: “he may cause the
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ritual and lectures of any one of the symbolic degrees in Masonry to
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be exemplified before the Grand Lodge at the annual communication.”
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Montana states: “The Grand Master has no authority to legislate by
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decision when the law is silent.”
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Utah permits a Grand Master to “heal” or reobligate a Mason
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irregularly made in a regular Lodge, but such “healing” must take
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place in a duly opened chartered Lodge.
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In Massachusetts the Grand Master “is requested to make a detailed
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report of the financial condition of the Grand Lodge in his annual
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address.” In practically all Jurisdictions, an annual report is
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“required” of the Grand Master.
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Tennessee specifically states that the Grand Master has not the power
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to allow a Lodge to change any part of the ritual; then adds: “Nor
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should he answer questions pertaining to changes in the ritual but
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should refer them to the Board of Custodians.”
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Texas lays on the Grand Master the duty of seeing that the “three
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principal officers (of a new Lodge, or a resurrected Lodge, long
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demised) are proficient in their respective duties and are
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collectively capable of conferring the three degrees, and that the
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Lodge is supplied with adequate equipment and a safe and secure
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lodgeroom and anteroom.”
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New York gives her Grand Master authority to withdraw any amount of
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money from the Grand Treasurer or from the “Trustees of the Masonic
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Hall and Asylum Fund for the relief of Brethren in this Jurisdiction
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or in sister Jurisdictions in times of calamity and disaster.” The
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same power has been assumed time and time again by many Grand
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Masters, and is invariably upheld by the Grand Lodge.
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North Carolina forbids a Grand Master to give any decision which “is
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to be kept secret from the Lodges, or suppressed from his report to
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the Grand Lodge.”
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Tennessee permits a Grand Master “to reverse the a action of a
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Subordinate Lodge in order to correct a known illegality.” The same
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Jurisdiction also provides that a Grand Master may “administer
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exclusion in the Grand Lodge for refusal to submit to its Rules of
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Order, contumacy to the authority of the Grand Master, or for other
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conduct not sufficiently lens to require charges and trial, but too
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much so to be allowed to pass without notice.” Tennessee also
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provides that “only a Subordinate Lodge, not the Grand Lodge, may be
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opened for the purpose of laying a foundation stone.”
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Mississippi forbids her Grand Master to “exercise any of prerogatives
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to the injury of another person.”
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To determine which Grand Master has the most uncontrolled power is
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beyond the scope of this Bulletin. In Virginia and the Constitution
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of Delaware the Grand Master’s powers are not defined or limited; in
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Pennsylvania a Grand Master’s edicts become law; in several
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Jurisdictions in which a Grand Master may suspend not only a Lodge,
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its Master and officers, but any individual brother, he possesses a
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potency as tremendous as it is seldom exercised. It is also to be
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noted that in those Jurisdictions which content themselves with the
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shortest and broadest constitutional definitions of a Grand Master’s
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powers, the general conduct of Grand Masters has been an exemplary
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and as wise as in those Grand Jurisdictions in which the Grand
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Master’s powers, prerogatives, rights and privileges are written in
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minute detail.
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All Grand Jurisdictions regard the Grand Master as the ruler of the
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whole Craft, as well as the Grand Lodge; a Lodge or a brother who
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questions the authority of a Grand Master is so infrequent as to be
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remarked. Lodging great power in the hands of the Grand Master seems
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to grow occupants of the Grand East who measure up to their
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tremendous responsibilities. Few, indeed, are they who do not take
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competent advice on all matters of importance before acting; very few
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are the Grand Masters who rule in an autocratic manner. Other
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organizations find it essential to fence presiding officers with
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rules, laws, inhibitions, reviews, checks, balances - making them
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more servants than masters. In Grand Lodges the Grand Master is to
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all intents and purposes as much “master” as is the Worshipful Master
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of his Lodge “master” in that organization. All of which is a fine
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tribute not only to the sterling men who work their slow way up to
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the Grand East, but to the gentle teachings of Freemasonry, which has
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so much more of “thou shalt” than “thou shalt not” in their
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philosophy.
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