The Grand Lodge Of New South Wales.

THE GRAND LODGE OF NEW SOUTH WALES .

-JVTO doubt there were some among the readers of onr -L 1 last issue who viewed with alarm the insertion in our columns of a report of the Quarterly Communication

and installation of Officers of the unrecognized Grand Lodge of New South Wales , and their suprise will not be

lessened when they see at the commencement of our present issue the heading with which we introduce these remarks . It is not our intention here to discuss the rights or wrongs of the decision to which the Grand Lodge of England has

arrived in regard to the recognition of the body styling itself the Grand Lodge of New South Wales , suffice it for present purposes that a decision of non-recognition has been arrived at , and as a consequence the Grand Lodge of

New South Wales is such only in name so far as the brethren holding allegiance to the Grand Lodge of England are concerned , while all its doings may be open to the designation of clandestine and unconstitutional . In spite

of all these considerations we thought it desirable to insert the report , and we are of opinion that the doings of our Colonial brethren as recorded therein are worthy of further attention at our hands . While it is true of these

Australian Masons tbat it is not possible for them to command success , it would appear they are making every effort to deserve it , and if we may judge from the remarks of their

recognized head they are adopting the best method in their power , if not to secure recognition throughout the world as an independent Grand Lodge , at least to deserve recognition as Masons in the true sense of the word . There is one paragraph in the speech of Dr . H . J .

Tarrant , M . L . A ., the M . W . Grand Master of New South

Wales , which , if acted upon , will do more to secure for his followers the fraternal regard of Masons throughout the world than any amount of unanimity on the question of self-government could accomplish , and although we would not advise the brethren to continue their efforts in

the good cause solely in the hope of winning applause , we can . assure them that a strict adherence to the two principles of Freemasonry—Brotherly Love and Relief—will surely lead to the best results . The paragraph we allude

to is that in which Bro . Tarrant refers to the necessity of raising some monument to Freemasonry which would extend help to the widow and orphan in the moment of their distress . Australia , at the present moment , is without any home

or asylum where the aged or the young can receive the benefits of Masonic charity , but if we are to put any faith in the utterances of the many Colonial brethren who have visited us during the past few months , this omission on

their part will not long continue . We have heard several Australian guests express admiration of the English Masonic Institutions , and declare that on their return to the home of their adoption they would take steps to

organise similar charities in order to afford relief to cases of local distress . The future alone can prove the genuineness of these utterances , but in the meantime we find that the brethren who have formed themselves into the

independent Grand Lodge of New South Wales are seriously considering the matter , so far as their colony is concerned . They have already erected a Masonic Hall , and their chief

has expressed the desire that his brethren should be placed 1 J i a position also to point out to the public their Masonic schools and orphanages as an evidence that , although they

The Grand Lodge Of New South Wales.

have not spared expense in erecting a home for themselves , they yet have a care for those of their members who , through calamity or misfortune , are placed in . a position

of dependence . He even goes to the extent of hoping that the coming year may be a memorable one , as witnessing the making of provision for the widow and orphan , by the establishment of such a Masonic charity . Can the true spirit of Freemasonry—even in an unrecognised Grand

Lodge—go further ? and is it fair to be obliged to treat those who so act as unworthy the name of brethren ? We recognise the fact that laws must occasionally press heavily

on those least deserving of it , and in this case we almost regret that custom on a matter of form—if we may so express it—ordains so heavy a penalty on the offenders .

It is proverbial that a new broom sweeps clean , but this does not entirely account for the action of the New South Wales Masons . They might express enthusiasm and promise far more than thev could accomplish , but they

already have something practical to point to , as evidence of their sincerity , in the Masonic Hall they have built for themselves . If only they will show as much energy in providing a home for their distressed fellows they will secure

the recognition for which they crave—if not in deed , at least in spirit . We sincerely trust their efforts may be crowned with success , and that none of those who are now working in the good cause may ever need the benefits they are striving to establish .

We will leave that part of the Grand Master ' s address which has reference to the establishment of his Grand

Lodge , and the efforts which have been made to secure for it the recognition of other supreme powers , and pass to other matters of a more general character . One prominent feature which strikes us is the custom

adopted by the new body of having every Officer in a Lodge elected by his fellows , according to merit . Ifc is not necessary that we should be understood to advocate a similar course merely because we devote some of our

space to a consideration of it , but the system certainly strikes us as possessing much to recommend it . We should like to hear how it works in actual practice . All our ideas of Freemasonry have been formed on the basis of

the principal Officers of a Lodge—excepting the Worshipful Master and Treasurer—being appointed by the ruler for the year , and any other course appears so much of a novelty as to leave us at a loss to imagine how our

Lodges would be affected by such change . There is a wide diversity of opinion as to what constitutes merit in a Masonic Officer . Some would have us accept the definition in its literal sense , and would exclude from the list of

those who merit preferment all who could not perform the ceremonies of Masonry , but we would treat the matter in a broader sense , and guage merit , not by the amount of ability displayed by a brother in the ritual of the Order ,

but by his general conduct as a Mason . True Masonic merit is as frequently found among those whose tuition perhaps will not allow them to excel as elocutionists as among those who have enjoyed the benefits of a college

education , and it appears to us wholly wrong , aud opposed to the spirit of Freemasonry , to reward a brother naturally gifted with a good memory and an easy delivery to the detriment of those not possessed of such advantages . If a

brother proves that he is doing the best in his power for the interests of Freemasonry , then we think all other considerations should ^ be overlooked when the question of merited advancement comes on for consideration . As we