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. Jttk THEH ASOWC lllUSTRA . gD .

Lodge By-Baws.

Lodge By-Baws .

IT is almost axiomatic to say that the fewer by-laws the better—in fact , all that it is necessary that the by-laws should contain is a recital of those points wherein the lodge in question differs from other lodges . The Book of Constitutions is common to all lodges . The

rules of debate are practically the same in all civilized communities . The methods of admission and withdrawal are practically the same as well . If , however , the by-laws were strictly limited to what was absolutely necessary , the information could probably be

all got on to a card , whereas the by-laws of some lodges run into fifty or more closely printed pages . The reason , of course , is that many of the regulations are but reprints from the Book of Constitutions , and many more are concerned with the attitude and demeanour to be adopted during debate .

It would not seem that there could be any objection to reprinting extracts from the Constitutions beyond the fact of expense , which , after all , is a matter which concerns no one but the lodge incurring it . There are dangers , howeverin fact , some seven years ago the Grand Lodge of

Pennsylvania actually appointed a committee to enquire into the whole subject of lodge by-laws , and our friends across the water seriously considered the propriety of adding a schedule to their code of regulations showing what all lodges under its jurisdiction were advised to adopt , and

which all new lodges would be directed to adopt . Blank spaces were , of course , to be left for the insertion of strictly local conditions , such as the scale of fees , name , clay , date , and hour of meeting , date of installation , number of blackballs excluding at the ballot , and the conditions under which the lodge charity fund should be administered . Very little else is needed . The candidate has not to rely upon his

copy of the by-laws alone for information as to his duty to the Craft , he is presented with a copy of the Constitutions and enjoined to study them . In addition to the necessary points set forth , however , we find a set of instructions designed to teach each officer his duty , then defaulting and disorderly brethren are dealt

with , and one not infrequent result is that the brother who has carefully studied all these regulations not unnaturally imagines he has learnt all that it is necessary for him to know . Consequently , he neglects the constitutions , and only opens them when an emergency arises .

Probably , in their main provisions , the Constitutions now contain the last word that is to be said about the government of the Craft . But still they have undergone revision from time to time , and it is not , therefore , impossible that a lodge whose by-laws are , say , thirty years old , may contain provisions that are at variance with the law as it stands to-day .

It is somewhat difficult to be original at this period of the world's history in Freemasonry as in everything else , but we recently came' across a set of by-laws which contained a distinctly novel and refreshing provision . It ran as follows : — " No brother shall be entitled to discuss the accuracy of the minutes or to vote for or against the conformation thereof

, of any meeting at which he was not present . " The by-laws referred to ran well into fifty pages , and so it is not impossible that this provision escaped notice when they reached headquarters for approval . It is not well that the lodge ' s private regulations should be subject to frequent alteration , but there

is one point as to which alteration is sometimes necessary . In districts abroad this necessity is sometimes of frequent occurrence . That is , the date of election and installation . It may happen that the Worshipful Master elect dies , or he may be suspended , or be removed , and his installation thus

be impossible either on the appointed date or on any other . Abroad it not infrequently happens that the Worshipful Master elect is a government servant , whom an un-Masonic government transfers to a distant part of the empire before he can be installed . Then there has to be another election

and the by-law has to be altered in order that the new officers may have the benefit of a complete year of office . The alternative would be that the history of the lodge would stand still for one year . It must never be forgotten , however , that even a minute alteration has to undergo the same routine as a new set would have to—in fact , Grand Lodge

considered a case arising out of neglect of this rule in 1882 , when it was pleaded that " the alteration of the date of installation was an immaterial alteration that did not need ratification . " Grand Lodge did not admit the validity of the plea but condoned the offence , but it is improbable that such

leniency would be shown on another occasion . A lodge is bound by its by-laws quite as much as the brother who signifies his acceptance of them . This is another argument in favour of brevity and simplicity . All too late the lodge may find that it has restrained its own

powers in an inconvenient degree and left itself no elasticity . Take the case , for instance , of defaulting brethren . Article 210 is permissive in its character , but when the salient points of that article find their way into the by-laws , it is