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THE MASONIC ILLUSTRATED m & wt & x *^^

Lodges And Members.

Lodges and Members .

II is the custom in these days to insist on discrimination being exercised as to the admission of new members into the Order . Whilst our charges and regulations provide that certain conditions shall be safeguarded , there are one or two other directions in which care should be taken that

candidates are suitable , that are sometimes overlooked . One of these is the pecuniary status of the applicant for admission . The proposer and seconder ought to make it quite clear to the candidate that he will have to incur a not inconsiderable outlay , not only initial , but of annual recurrence . Freemasonry is to some extent a luxury , andlike

, other luxuries , has to be paid for . In all the ceremonies of admission , the candidate is warned of this at almost every step by the use of the phrase , " Avithout detriment to myself or connections . "

He ought to be taught what these words really mean . The claims of svife and family come before those of Freemasonry , and if there is any conflict or likely to be , the latter must give way . Incidentally also , when a brother finds that his lodge is costing him more than he can afford , he should resign his membership and hope for happier days .

Whilst the length of a brother's membership is very rightly considered when that brother conies before the Board of Benevolence , it is never considered as prejudicing his claim that he should has'e retired from membership because he could no longer afford it , and on the other hand it is no

recommendation that at the time of application he is a member of half-a-dozen lodges , chapters , & c . Another point often lost sight of is that sve want brethren of education and culture to join our Order . Such expressions as " the hidden mysteries of nature and science " are not

intended to be meaningless , nor is the injunction to the neophyte to " make daily progress in Masonic knowledge " a mere formal statement . And yet if members are to be allowed to be attracted to us simply by a reputation for good

fellowship , there is a danger that neither the one nor the other will be remembered outside of the lodge room , or as conveying any obligation . A part of the Master ' s obligation is to employ and instruct his brethren in Freemasonry , and sve are making it possible for a race of Worshipful Masters to arise who can do neither

the one nor the other . Possibly in this fact lies the secret of the serious leakage that so many lodges have to deplore . Our best members must be kept at all costs . If the thoughtful brethren are becoming" lax in attendance , it is

well for the Master to find out if there is anything in the lodge procedure that fails to attract them . In the writer's experience there are tsvo things that cause brethren to make up their minds to send an apology instead of coming to lodge . These are the absence of work on the one hand , and on the other , the promise of too much . If the absence of ceremonial work meant that there was

thus created an opportunity tor a profitable discussion on matters Masonic , it svould be cause for congratulation , but unfortunately it means very often simply an earlier adjournment to the social board . And that there should be an excessive number of candidates is not a good thing , either for the brethren whose

share in the proceedings is confined to looking on , or for the lodge . It is scarcely relevant to our present subject , but the indifference of the senior members of the lodge is a tendency to be regretted .

If the remedy for this is not to be found in the Masonic zeal of the brethren concerned , it can be generally found in the direction of giving them something to do , instead of simply adorning the dais .

The ceremonies svould be more effectively worked were more qualified brethren to take part in them . Another very serious fact to be considered is the tendency to drop off , which is becoming noticeable among the more recently admitted members . This is most to be deplored of all . At the consecration at Oldham , Lancashire , of the Stanley

Lodge on the iotli ult ., the Provincial Grand Chaplain said in the course of his address , " Do not let your candidates be disappointed in their lodge . " A candidate who is actuated by such right feelings as sve have a right to expect , must have his expectations very much aroused during the course of the

ceremonies . He is , he feels , or he should do , that he is entering upon the confines of a continent of moral worth and beauty , which it will be his privilege and duty to explore thoroughly , and it does irreparable damage to the Order that he should be disappointed .

But if he finds that after the initiatory ceremonies there is nothing but sociability and charity organization , then , excellent though both of them may be , the Order , or at all events the lodge , is not fulfilling its promises . When sve deplore that so many are attracted by considerations of- good fellowship , or by hope of some profit of a financial kind ,

eleven by curiosity , it is often the lodge that is to blame for allowing such ideas to get abroad . Such candidates need not be repelled outright . They are on the right track to a certain extent . Shosv them that good fellowship is not necessarily restricted by the circumference

of the social board , but that it has five other far more important points . Let them know what a Freemason ' s charity really is , and as for the motive of curiosity , it can be so guided , that a candidate so influenced may readily become one of the brightest ornaments of the Craft .

When it is seen that a Freemason is on that account a better citizen , when it is seen that his hand is more open and his heart is larger , when he displays in his life , both in public and private , those moral qualities that go to adorn character , then sve need not fear that our portals svill be invaded by a crowd of unworthy applicants .

The remedy is thus in our hands . Like is always attracted by like , and when a lodge finds that either its numbers are diminishing , or the character and motives of would-be members are not above suspicion , then let it look for the remedy at home .