Our Thirty-Fourth Volume.

OUR THIRTY-FOURTH VOLUME .

TTTE have again tho pleasure of making a bow to * our supporters at the commencement of a new Volume , ancl of offering a word of thanks to those who have supported us in the past . We feel

we are getting too old to be under the necessity of explaining our views as to the future . We have made a record for ourselves during the sixteen and a half years we have been before the Craft , and the best we can say is , to express our determination to

continue on the course we have hitherto pursued , and which we hope will at all times prove to be the best for the cause we have at heart . As we argue

elsewhere , reformers are not always credited with the best of motives , and it is not to be wondered at that our efforts in the direction of reform are

occasionally misunderstood ; but we have tho satisfaction oi knowing that some of tho reforms we have urged in the pages of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE , although received with marked disapproval at the outset , have

later on been adopted by tho very men who were strongest in their condemnation of our actions , and who , in the course of events , have come to regard our ideas as their own . This is very gratifying , for although we like all the credit to which we are

entitled , we are none the less content to stand by and see our ideas carried into effect , even though they are put forth as the productions of others . We

are pleased to see the Craft m its present state of prosperity , and hope the same expressions of satisfaction may be possible when we approach the close , as those we utter at the commencement , of our THIRTY -FOURTH VOLUME .

Tenure Of Provincial Grand Masterships.

TENURE OF PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTERSHIPS .

QUE brethren under the Grand Lodge of Scotland j . H ? J now discussing among themselves the desirabilit y of limiting the term for which their Provincial Grand Masters shall retain Office , and

varied arguments are adduced as to the desirability ot iile or of limited appointments . There is much to oe said on either side , and although we in England can bardly be said to have a personal interest in the subject , it is none the less one fit for discussion . In

Tenure Of Provincial Grand Masterships.

English Craft Masonry the system of life appointment to the office of Provincial Grand Master has been so long in force , that any other method would be regarded with disfavour , although there are many

among us who would like to see the alternative system introduced , and it is fair to believe that advantage might occasionally result from its adoption . We have ample opportunity of judging of the effect

of periodical changes by the working ot the Mark Degree , where the appointments are made for a limited period , and a different brother is generally chosen to preside over a District when one tenure of office has expired . This affords tho opportunity of paying high compliment to distinguished Mark Masons , and this feature is one of the strongest

arguments to be used in support of the system . Besides this , there is the natural incentive to activity which must occur as each new chief comes into power . The desire to do something for his District which shall make his name for ever memorable in the Province , and which , in turn , his successor will

endeavour to improve upon , must necessarily lead to a spirit of emulation , not only at the fountain head , but also among the minor officers , who are generally anxious to support their chief . No doubt a considerable portion of the success which has attended Mark Masonry here is to be traced to this

feature , and the same might follow were a similar course adopted in Blue Masonry , although the older standing of that branch in this country , and the marked popularity of its chiefs , does not seem to offer so much scope ior periodical outbursts of enthusiasm na is the case in tbe younger Mark Degree .

It is not that there is any fault to be found with the present Provincial Grand Masters of English Craft Masonry that we look further into the question of periodical changes , but it must be apparent to the most casual observer that a hard and fast rule oi life

appointment is not at all times desirable . Enforced retirement at a certain age has been introduced into many branches of public and private life , and why should Freemasonry be left behind in the march of progress ? There is a limit to the sphere of usefulness of Freemasons , and even a Provincial Grand Master mav become too old for the work of his office , with

results detrimental to the interests of the Craft in his district , and , as a consequence , to the whole system of which his Province is a part . Why , then , should there not be a means of bringing about a change , other than that exercised by the grim hand of death ? Yet to even suggest an alteration will probably be

regarded , by a large section of the Craft , as little short of treason . But nearly every reform has been advocated under similar conditions , and if nothing but implicit faith in the advantages of existing institutions had been shown in the past the world would

be to-day in much the same condition as it was hundreds of years ago . The desire for improvement , or as some prefer to term it , the spirit of discontent , has led to radical changes and marvellous advantages ,