CHAPTER VII - Notes of Interest
Since a means of perpetuating itself is an important aim of most organizations, it is natural that frequent consideration has been given, over the years, to the officers, and the means of electing them. In 1962 the matter was referred to the Board of General Purposes for fresh study. Following the acceptance of their report the next year, the regulations now provide that "every nomination shall. be sent by registered mail to the Grand Secretary at least forty (40) days prior to the date of the annual convocation of the Grand Chapter at which voting shall take place." Names of those willing to accept office are on a printed ballot circulated at the opening of the convention. The three principal officers, the Grand Secretary and the Grand Treasurer are so elected. The remainder of the officers are appointed by the in coming Grand High Priest. The method seems to meet with general approval.
In the early years, when Grand Chapter was not meeting outside of the province, plans were usually made so that Companions could also attend Grand Lodge. Most communities with adequate meeting and housing facilities have thus been hosts. As Grand Chapter became larger, a longer time was needed for business, and it has been found more convenient to have a few weeks interval between the two gatherings. In 1963 the matter was clarified by providing that the time would be in the months of May or June, but the actual date and place would be left to the Board of General Purposes, unless decided by the previous annual convocation. In actual practice, Halifax has become the usual meeting place unless there is a special invitation to go elsewhere.
One of the more delightful Grand Convocations was held in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1964, on the occasion of the Centennial of Shannon Chapter No. 9, originally St. Johns No. 579, E.C. It was a brilliant and gala affair, opening with a High Tea at the Masonic Temple, and including a formal dinner at the Old Colony Club which was attended by the Lieutenant Governor, ministers of the provincial cabinet, church leaders, and members of the Craft from every walk of life. The guest speaker was the colorful Premier, the Honourable Joseph R. Smallwood, himself a recent Fellowcraft, who delighted his listeners with his wit and whimsicality. A history of Shannon Chapter was prepared by M.E. Companion L. J. Harnum, but due to his illness was read by his son, E. Companion E. J. A. Harnum. Although the Convocation closed on a somber note on receiving word of the death of M.E. Companion Harnum, visitors carried away vivid memories of brotherly love and hospitality as exemplified in the Tenth Province.
Recognition of those with lengthy periods of membership was begun in 1929 when Long Service Awards were presented to Companion David Pottinger of St. Andrews No. 2, who had at tended the formation of Grand Chapter in 1869, and to R.E. Companion William V. Munro, who had served as Grand King in 1883. The continued presentation of what is now spoken of as the Fifty Year Jewel, with a bar for each succeeding ten years, has been of great interest, within and without the Craft.
The most coveted honour conferred by Grand Chapter is the Joseph Conway Brown Bronze Medallion, so named for our first Grand Scribe, to whose zeal and vision the inception of Grand Chapter is largely attributed. Established in 1944, in which year sixteen were awarded, fifteen within our own jurisdiction, because of wartime shortages it was not possible to secure the medals and certificates were presented. By 1947 materials were available and the backlog was overtaken. The Medallion is presented to visiting dignitaries each year, and every fifth year to Past Grand High Priests and Companions who have contributed outstanding services.
The importance of youth work within the Masonic framework has been something of an afterthought, and the first mention of DeMolay in our annual Proceedings was in 1958, when several centers for organization were suggested. Each Chapter of DeMolay must be sponsored by a Masonic body, and Keith Chapter No. 4 and Cornwallis Chapter No. 26 have each done so while Rosignol Chapter No. 6 has been a co-sponsor. In 1961 a Grand Chapter Proficiency Trophy was offered for annual competition, to be based on a score of points and Grand Chapter makes an annual contribution to the costs of organization and administration. A difficulty, already apparent, is the rapidity with which young men grow up, and the problem of securing new members may easily become acute. A vigorous, continuing recruitment policy is essential, something which obviously can not be left entirely to the young people.
As a stimulus to the regular work of the constituent Chapters, The R. V. Harris Proficiency Cup has been presented annually since 1951.A further effort in 1968 took the form of an Achievement Award Certificate, based on member participation in each Chapter, and five Chapters qualified in that year.
What has been described as a unique way to encourage visiting among Chapters, was devised in 1941, in the form of a Travelling Triangle, to be carried by a delegation of unlimited size, from one chapter to another. The Triangle was carried around the jurisdiction to all the then nineteen chapters, after which it was placed in the hands of Royal Union No. 1 for safekeeping. It journeyed briefly to Moncton in 1946, then back to five chapters in Nova Scotia, and to New Brunswick in 1949 where it made the tour of all the chapters in that province. As we enter our second century it may be opportune to send this fraternal messenger journeying once more.
Admission of a minor to membership is a rare occurrence in York Rite Masonry. In the terse words for which he was so well known, M.E. Companion R. V. Harris, on behalf of the Board of Jurisprudence in 1968, ruling favourably on such an application said,
In the early years, when Grand Chapter was not meeting outside of the province, plans were usually made so that Companions could also attend Grand Lodge. Most communities with adequate meeting and housing facilities have thus been hosts. As Grand Chapter became larger, a longer time was needed for business, and it has been found more convenient to have a few weeks interval between the two gatherings. In 1963 the matter was clarified by providing that the time would be in the months of May or June, but the actual date and place would be left to the Board of General Purposes, unless decided by the previous annual convocation. In actual practice, Halifax has become the usual meeting place unless there is a special invitation to go elsewhere.
One of the more delightful Grand Convocations was held in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1964, on the occasion of the Centennial of Shannon Chapter No. 9, originally St. Johns No. 579, E.C. It was a brilliant and gala affair, opening with a High Tea at the Masonic Temple, and including a formal dinner at the Old Colony Club which was attended by the Lieutenant Governor, ministers of the provincial cabinet, church leaders, and members of the Craft from every walk of life. The guest speaker was the colorful Premier, the Honourable Joseph R. Smallwood, himself a recent Fellowcraft, who delighted his listeners with his wit and whimsicality. A history of Shannon Chapter was prepared by M.E. Companion L. J. Harnum, but due to his illness was read by his son, E. Companion E. J. A. Harnum. Although the Convocation closed on a somber note on receiving word of the death of M.E. Companion Harnum, visitors carried away vivid memories of brotherly love and hospitality as exemplified in the Tenth Province.
Recognition of those with lengthy periods of membership was begun in 1929 when Long Service Awards were presented to Companion David Pottinger of St. Andrews No. 2, who had at tended the formation of Grand Chapter in 1869, and to R.E. Companion William V. Munro, who had served as Grand King in 1883. The continued presentation of what is now spoken of as the Fifty Year Jewel, with a bar for each succeeding ten years, has been of great interest, within and without the Craft.
The most coveted honour conferred by Grand Chapter is the Joseph Conway Brown Bronze Medallion, so named for our first Grand Scribe, to whose zeal and vision the inception of Grand Chapter is largely attributed. Established in 1944, in which year sixteen were awarded, fifteen within our own jurisdiction, because of wartime shortages it was not possible to secure the medals and certificates were presented. By 1947 materials were available and the backlog was overtaken. The Medallion is presented to visiting dignitaries each year, and every fifth year to Past Grand High Priests and Companions who have contributed outstanding services.
The importance of youth work within the Masonic framework has been something of an afterthought, and the first mention of DeMolay in our annual Proceedings was in 1958, when several centers for organization were suggested. Each Chapter of DeMolay must be sponsored by a Masonic body, and Keith Chapter No. 4 and Cornwallis Chapter No. 26 have each done so while Rosignol Chapter No. 6 has been a co-sponsor. In 1961 a Grand Chapter Proficiency Trophy was offered for annual competition, to be based on a score of points and Grand Chapter makes an annual contribution to the costs of organization and administration. A difficulty, already apparent, is the rapidity with which young men grow up, and the problem of securing new members may easily become acute. A vigorous, continuing recruitment policy is essential, something which obviously can not be left entirely to the young people.
As a stimulus to the regular work of the constituent Chapters, The R. V. Harris Proficiency Cup has been presented annually since 1951.A further effort in 1968 took the form of an Achievement Award Certificate, based on member participation in each Chapter, and five Chapters qualified in that year.
What has been described as a unique way to encourage visiting among Chapters, was devised in 1941, in the form of a Travelling Triangle, to be carried by a delegation of unlimited size, from one chapter to another. The Triangle was carried around the jurisdiction to all the then nineteen chapters, after which it was placed in the hands of Royal Union No. 1 for safekeeping. It journeyed briefly to Moncton in 1946, then back to five chapters in Nova Scotia, and to New Brunswick in 1949 where it made the tour of all the chapters in that province. As we enter our second century it may be opportune to send this fraternal messenger journeying once more.
Admission of a minor to membership is a rare occurrence in York Rite Masonry. In the terse words for which he was so well known, M.E. Companion R. V. Harris, on behalf of the Board of Jurisprudence in 1968, ruling favourably on such an application said,
"Egbert Thomas Walters, age 19 years, and a 'Lewis', or the son of a Mason in a Lodge under Scottish jurisdiction in Newfoundland, in full accordance with the practice and jurisprudence of Scottish Freemasonry. Shortly afterward, that is before attaining the age of 21 years, he applied for his Capitular degrees in Shannon Chapter No. 9 of St. John's, Newfoundland. The Board ruled that he was eligible to apply, and, - if elected, to receive the Capitular degrees under our jurisprudence."
This may not be the only occasion, but it is certainly rare in North America.
The operations of the Benevolent Fund in Grand Chapter have usually been recorded in fine print and discussed in muted tones. Nevertheless, as a matter of important record, they can scarcely be left out of any full review of Grand Chapter activities. Naturally the Freemasons' Home at Windsor has been remembered regularly, as has the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children. For the past twenty years assistance has been given through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in distributing copies of Reader's Digest in Braille. These are circulated and we are told reach around one hundred persons each month. Talking books have also been supplied and in 1964 two dormitory rooms were furnished in the new hostelries for the blind in St. John's and Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Contributions are made of course to individuals in special need. Those of us who had believed that colonialism, in Masonry as in political affairs, was safely dead and honourably buried, had a rude awakening in the recent past when we discovered that its demise, as Mark Twain said of his own death, was somewhat exaggerated. It came as a distinct shock to discover that the Grand Lodge of England, with whom we had enjoyed only the friendliest relations since the very beginning, had warranted a new Chapter within the jurisdiction of our own Grand Chapter. We are thus in the anomalous situation of being in full fraternal connections with the Mother Grand Chapter, but compelled to regard the subordinate chapter as irregular. The matter is under continuing negotiation, and if a settlement is to be reached, there could be no better time than our Centennial year.
The operations of the Benevolent Fund in Grand Chapter have usually been recorded in fine print and discussed in muted tones. Nevertheless, as a matter of important record, they can scarcely be left out of any full review of Grand Chapter activities. Naturally the Freemasons' Home at Windsor has been remembered regularly, as has the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured Children. For the past twenty years assistance has been given through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in distributing copies of Reader's Digest in Braille. These are circulated and we are told reach around one hundred persons each month. Talking books have also been supplied and in 1964 two dormitory rooms were furnished in the new hostelries for the blind in St. John's and Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Contributions are made of course to individuals in special need. Those of us who had believed that colonialism, in Masonry as in political affairs, was safely dead and honourably buried, had a rude awakening in the recent past when we discovered that its demise, as Mark Twain said of his own death, was somewhat exaggerated. It came as a distinct shock to discover that the Grand Lodge of England, with whom we had enjoyed only the friendliest relations since the very beginning, had warranted a new Chapter within the jurisdiction of our own Grand Chapter. We are thus in the anomalous situation of being in full fraternal connections with the Mother Grand Chapter, but compelled to regard the subordinate chapter as irregular. The matter is under continuing negotiation, and if a settlement is to be reached, there could be no better time than our Centennial year.