Masonic Mendicancy.

MASONIC MENDICANCY .

THERE is an ugly sound in the title of some correspondence we have recently had addressed to us , ancl of which it would be scarcely palatable to g ive our re iclers a more plentiful dish . The subject has been handled from various points of view ; and we suppose if arguments pro

rmd ron were adduced at ever such groat length , they would hardly do much to afford . a solution of the problem of what to do with the poor whom , we are told , we shall always have with us . Whilst , therefore , recognising that truth , and our responsibilities towards those on whom the

hand of misfortune has been laid heavily , the question veiy largely resolves itself into that of discrimination , whether on the part of individuals , or collectively . We confess we do not like the words " mendicant " and " tramp , " as

applied to the Institution of whose interests we are so jealous , and for whose welfare all true Masons must ever be solicitous . But that such genus homo exist ,

either through misfortunes and calamities over which they could have no control , or else through their own improvidence , we are bound painfully to admit . The

question is not merely confined in its application to onr own Order , for we find these social pests levying their blackmail on all sorts and conditions of society ; and our philanthropists and social reformers in every age have

sought in vain for an effectual remedy for the evils of professional mendicity . In a country like our own , where the competition amongst men of every calling and profession is so keen , there must of necessity be a certain number of the

weak who will always " go to the wall , " and whose deplorable condition it is hopeless to redress , in spite of all our private and public benevolence . These people must be , however , divided into the two classes of which we speak ,

and between them is a disparity as marked and as wide as that 'twixt light and darkness . There is very little doubt m our mind that if discrimination is necessary in doling out relief to the many applicants who are ever looking

askance at the hand of Charity , it is equally valuable in the selection and admission of candidates into Freemasonry . Ihe Order has made such huge strides of recent years that it is often a difficult matter to foretel how manv of those

who are initiated join the Institution from " no mercenary ° r other unworthy motives , " or with an eye to some ulterior benefit . We do not hold strictly to the opinion expressed by some of our correspondents , that none but men

affluence shonld be enlisted in our ranks , because it is a "Batter of evevy-day experience that many who may be to external appearance in comfortable circumstances , are . So i Qsfc and unriVht as thev seem to be when standing

i the North-east corner , and who may have sinister jootives for uniting themselves with the Craft , but which is , of course , impossible for the brethren to instantly e ect . On the other hand , there are manv who , thoueh

* w ° > U > t 0 k * •no * ' blessed with too large a share of this i " " - * ffoods , aro nevertheless good men and trne , and ' , s , ed lustre upon our profession by their probity ^ ,, P £ ht conduct . Bnt retnrninsr at once to the class

mer if tram P ~ wll 0 » fy-the bye , are vastly more nu" we q n ° ° ^ correa P dents seems to imaginethe „ a . , once tbafc such persons have forfeited all claim to there a - tl 0 n of the bretIlren > ftnd with regard to whom Pointed ^ " ° . timental sympathy . We have often out that there is somewhat too much sermonizing in

Masonic Mendicancy.

Freemasonry , and if in their honest zeal some brethren are tno lavish in their praise of the charitable work wrought by our Ancient and Honourable Institution , others appear unduly biassed in the other direction , and say , "if

wo boast so fluently of onr good deeds in this respect , how is it that so many of our members are to bo fonnd in needy circumstances ? " They seem to forget that onrs is not a friendly benefit society , of which there is such plenteous selection for those who seek a reward for their forethought

and providence . It is a painful f ; ict that at all times , and especially at this season of the year , tho country is overrun by a class of persons who never desire or strive to earn an honest living , hut , who are constantly traversing tho kingdom from end to end , pleading every pitiable excuse

for filching from the purses of the benevolent and kindlydisposed . With such individuals no right-thinking person can sympathise in any way ; and it is onr duty , whether Masons or not , to employ every effort to arrest the spread of imposture and mendicity in this most common form . All tho means hitherto adopted to

check the great and increasing evil have failed to bring about the desired results ; and , as long as the public continue to relieve tho whining supplicants for alms who " play the old soldier " at their doors , all hope of suppressing such professional frauds must be

abandoned . It is scarcely necessary to point out that these impositions are daily practised , not only upon Masonic benevolence—although onr almoners , especially in large centres , which afford n convenient halting-place for beggars , could no doubt " a tale unfold " such as might well startle ns—but upon the nobility , clergy , and every other source

from which philanthropy is known to emanate . We have only to read the daily prints to see to how vast an extent the " begging-letter" system is adopted bv unscrupulous cadgers ; and we can bnt come to the conclusion that it is their very success which leads thorn into such andacions boldness as to entangle them alternately in the meshes of

the law . Of this we have witnessed numerous cases within the last few weeks in our metropolitan and provincial police-courts , and it is the invariable experience of onr detective force that the difficulties in the way of bringing such scoundrels to justice are almost insuperable . Their appeals for aid are so adroitly worded , and posted in

such a variety of channels , that they very often succeed in covering thea * knavery in a way which renders detection impossible . No doubt the Charity Organisation Societies have done much in their sphere to place salutary obstacles in ihe . nnlh nf the nrnfessional tramn . thoncrh we could £ — —

... „ .... ,...... t r , -- ~ scarcely apply the same system to our own Fraternity . The one deals with a public pest ; whilst we have to deal with men who , though unworthy of our sympathy , are still brethren , and appeal to ns as such . There is very little

difference in the depravity of both ; bnt thoy have to be dealt with iu a different way . The Charity Oro-anisation Societies have cumbrous machinery , with paid officials , and we fear a large proportion of the funds collected for the

purpose of reliving the necessitous finds its way into the well-lined pockets of salaried servants . Wc have known of many really deserving applicants to them for relief subjected ( o the most harrowing and inquisitorial process of enquiry ancl surveillance ; the heart has grown sick with hope deferred , and ruin has inevitably set in before the

ostentatious dispensers of public alms havo thought proper to advise that they are satisfied with the genuineness of the appeal . And even after all , when the dole has tardily

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