United Grand Lodge.

motion . The grants recommended by the Lodge of Benevolence amonnt to £ 500 , and comprise one of £ 150 , one of £ 100 , and five of £ 50 each . The first of the notices of motion refers to the publication , in the Masonic papers , and in three other papers , of notices of intended meetings of Grand Lodge , special or otherwise , and is intended to remove the difficulty brethren experience in discovering when anything special is to be submitted to the Craft . The second motion has reference to the minutes of the

Special Grand Lodges recently held , and suggests that the minutes thereof be not confirmed until the December Communication . Wo fail to see how this can be of any nse , as the minutes will have been confirmed , or otherwise , long before the discussion on this motion can take place .

Wearing Emblems.

WEARING EMBLEMS .

rpHE legitimate or moral right of a Mason to wear upon - *• his person any one of the emblems of Masonry , as may best suit his fancy , in one sense can be ranked amongst the minor questions which concern the Craft , bnt in another it is of more importance than it would at first imply . While

not condemning moderate wearing of Masonic emblems , I do object to the profuse display of them now so prevalent . I do not deny the legal right of any Mason to profusely bedeck himself with emblems of Masonry , but by so doing he violates the common law of decency and good sense .

The civil law may give one the right to appear in public dressed as a clown , but good sense by no means sanctions such an appearance . I do not wish to insinuate that I have seen emblem wearers who appeared like clowns , but I have seen those who came very near it ; so much so that it was but a step between the two .

It is amusing , but at the same time instructive , to note in any promiscuous assembly of people , the number and variety of emblems worn , not only by the members of the Masonic Institution , but by the " thousand and one "

societies which exist at the present day . It is amusing , for it displays the vanity of the wearers , and it is instructive , for it gives one a point wherein he can the more readily read human nature .

In the majority of instances , were those who so profusely display their Masonic emblems asked to define Masonry , or to explain the meaning of the forms and ceremonies of Masonry , or even to give the symbolic illustration displayed by the emblem worn , they would be

unable to do so ; they know only this much , that they have passed throngh so many of the different degrees of Masonry , and at that point their knowledge ceases . Ask them to give an explanation of Masonry as it now exists , and they will ignominiously fail . Draw them into

conversation on topics pertaining to Masonry , and they will be found ignorant as to its legal , literary or historical features . All Masons who wear emblems are by no means to be included in that category , but I do include those who put on everything they can find in the shape of emblems , regardless of sense or decency .

It matters not whether they wear the plain emblem of the Master Mason , or the more elaborate one of the Sir Knight , the more profusely the emblems worn , in the majority of instances , the greater the ignorance of the

wearers . They seek to cover up their ignorance by outward display , and as far as that is concerned they succeed admirably ; but by the real Mason they are looked upon with feelings akin to disgust .

With by far too many , to their shame and our sorrow it mnst be said , their Masonry extends no further than the wearing of the emblems of Masonry . Their Masonry is put on for the time being , and is thrown aside when the actual work of Masonry begins .

I have often seen the symbol of Faith , Hope and Charity displayed on those who called themselves Masons , when I knew that those who wore them were devoid of the trne

principles of either , as their everyday life proved that their faith was nofc in GOD ; thafc their hope did nofc rest in immortality , and that they did not extend charity towards all mankind . The square and compasses , of all the embems , perhaps

are most generally worn . In many instances which have come under my observation , I know thafc the wearers fail to put into practice the lessons they teach , and I have my doubts of their even knowing the Masonic definition attached to them . Our ritual tells us that " the square

Wearing Emblems.

teaches morality , " while to them it is an emblem without any significant meaning . One of the principal tenets of a Mason's faith is confirmed within the two points of the compasses ; while to them friendship , morality and brotherly love are meaningless words .

I have in view one who a few years ago was suspended from all of the rights and privileges of Masonry , for un-Masonic conduct , but who to this day sports a Masonic emblem on his person—a shield with the 47 th problem of Euclid engraved thereon . Can that suspended Mason

exclaim Eureka ? No , but he has found that he is held in contempt by all good Masons . One not acquainted with him would say , " He is a Mason , or if not , why does he wear the emblems of Masonry ? " When asked why he wore that emblem when knowing tbat he was not a Mason , he

replied : " I have a legal right to wear just what I please , and I'll wear that pin just as long as I please ; so help yourself , if yon can , " Now , he is a man that has " enough and to spare ; " is a member of a church ; an active worker in Sunday School affairs , and has good

intellectual abilities , yet breathes a lie every day . He is honourable in all his financial dealing .., as far as known , with his fellow men , yet attempts by his outward appearance to pass himself off for what he is not—a Mason . I have another Mason in view , who is never seen without

a Masonic emblem upon his person , who , I can safely say , has not seen the inside of a Lodge room ten times within as many years . He wears the emblems of Masonry , however , just as if he was one of the brightest Masons in the land . There are many Lodges which have just such

members ; they swarm around us , a byeword and a reproach to the Institution ; their Masonry consists in the emblems worn , wbile they have none in their hearts . These emblem-abusers , to the unitiated , pass as true Masons , when in fact they are " sailing under false colours . "

Trne Masonry does not consist in wearing emblems , but in deeds of philanthropy , and a full practice of Masonic tenets and princip les . It is not by emblems that we should be known , but by our actions . One may wear the square

and compasses upon his person , but unless he lives up to the lessons taught by them he is not a true Mason ; his Masonry is purely superficial , and extends no further than outward appearances .

The practice of displaying the emblems of Masonry upon signs , business cards and advertising mediums , is fche most deplorable of all . It is bad enough to flaunt those emblems

upon the person , without ) debasing the purposes of Masonry by using them as the means to advance selfish interests , yefc ifc is often done , without even a word of remonstrance . When one enters the Masonic

Institution he affirms that he is uninfluenced by mercenary motives , yet when he uses the emblems of Masonry as a means to further selfish purposes he acts in direct violation of that affirmation . Masonic emblems are shown to draw attention to the fact that the owners are

Masons , and as such entitled to the patronage and protection of the Craffc . Are they not then actuated by mercenary motives ? Most assuredly they are , and therefore are unworthy of the name Mason or the patronage of Masons . They bring tbe emblems of Masonry , which are

so full of meaning , down to the mere level of advertising mediums ; they are their stepping-stones for selfish purposes . Now he that will so debase himself as to abuse our emblems in that manner is unworthy of intercourse with Masons .

I do not object to brethren wearing emblems of Masonry at suitable times , or in suitable places , but I do most earnestly protest against that profuse display of them which I sometimes see . They certainly are not worn to prove the love which one has for Masonry , for deeds , not outward displays , do that .

There may , perhaps , have been instances where a recognition of a Masonic emblem has proven of benefit to the wearer , when placed in a position where he needed assistance and was unable to help himself , but they are rare .

Again , one of the besfc arguments of the impostor is in tbe emblems that he wears . He applies for assistance , and many times , in the hurry of the moment , receives it , when , had time been taken and he examined more closely , he would have been shown up in his true colours .

It is not so much the use as the abuse of the wearing of Masonic emblems thafc I object to . I am not averse to seeing a plain simple emblem upon a brother , but I do most strenuously object to seeing emblems painted on signs ,