Rejecting A Candidate.

REJECTING A CANDIDATE .

ONE of tho greatest advantages enjoyed by the Masonic Order , and what at the same time must be regarded as one of the drawbacks of the system , is the means employed for the rejection of a candidate when some of those associated with a Lodge desire to prevent him from becoming a member .

The secrecy of the ballot in such a case is at once a benefit and a misfortune , a benefit because it allows of an adverse vote Avithout laying the objector open to disagreeable after consequences , and a misfortune because it may lead to misunderstanding and false

accusations being made against many who are in no way answerable for the rejection ; but there can be no doubt as to the ballot being the best system possible , and such being the case it behoves members of the Craft to use every effort in their power to prevent its being abused , or unwarrantable charges being made against those who may deem it necessary to call its forces

into use . We have so often written on this subject , and the principles of the ballot are so well lmown that it would seem almost unnecessary to again refer to the matter , but a case has recently been brought prominently under notice which proves that even yet there is need for caution being displayed in connection with the ballot , not only in regard to the Lodge or members specially concerned , but also as regards the Craft as a whole .

We have always argued that the rejection of a candidate on the ballot is , in a manner of speaking , an un-Masonic proceeding , and have urged that some sort of notice should be conveyed to the proposer , either by the objector himself or through the Worshipful Master , so as to prevent the unpleasant consequences which follow a blackballing . No Mason who intends to cast an adverse vote should be ashamed

to explain , to the ruler of the Lodge , his reason for doing so , and the Master , if he is worthy of the name , should receive the information and act unon it as he

thinks right , without disclosing the names or identifying the objectors . If he studied his own interests and the interests of his Lodge , he would keep the matter as quiet as the ballot box would do , for no Master can witness the rejection of a candidate without knowing it means trouble for him in the

luture , for an amount of coolness , doubt , and annoyance must result from the exclusion of a regularly proposed candidate , requiring all the tact and ability of a Lodge ' s officials to counteract , besides which so many false impressions are formed outside a Lodge on the rejection of a candidate as to

cause considerable harm to Freemasonry in the immediate neighbourhood , and among those who are acquainted with the parties interested ; in fact , it gives the opportunity , for attacks being made on tne general working of Freemasonry , which it should oe the desire of every Mason to prevent . To illustrate the matter , we need only refer to the case we

Rejecting A Candidate.

have already mentioned , where a gontloman was rejected on the ballot , and , as he was present for the purpose of being initiated , he was of course subjected to a personal insult in being sent back with a slur on his character . His sponsors wero certainly justified in being annoyed , if they were so inclined , and tho Masons who were the cause of the trouble are deserving of the severest censure ,

even though they acted in accordance with their rights . Might is not always right in a Masonic sense , any more than outside of the Order , and those who cause discord or trouble in a Lodge by the exercise of what they are pleased to term their just rights often act most un-Masonically , inasmuch as

they do not exhibit that brotherly love which should teach them to act towards their fellows as they would like others to act towards them . So long as Freemasonry exists we feel there must be occasional rejections of candidates , but we hope the time will

come when such rejections will occur only after due notice has been given , so that the proposers of a

candidate may be able to withdraw his name if they choose , and thereby save him from insult and thomselves from annoyance . It can certainly bo no part

of the Masonic creed to cause trouble to those outside the ranks of the Order , and such being the case rejections on the ballot should be abolished as far as possible .

United Grand Lodge.

UNITED GRAND LODGE .

nnHE Quarterly Communication was held on Wednesday JL evening , at Freemasons' Hall . The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe D . G . M . presided , Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., P . G . M . of Hants and the Isle of Wight , acted as D . G . M ., and Col . Sir Francis Burdett , Bart ., P . G . M . of Middlesex , as P . G . M .

There was a large number of brethren present , who wero attracted for the purpose of securing votes for membership of the Board of General Purposes , tbe election for which is held at this particular Quarterly Communication .

After Grand Lodge had been formally opened , the minutes of the March . Communication and of the Grand Festival were read by the Grand Secretary , and confirmed . The Earl of Mount Edgcumbo said his Royal Highness

the Grand Master having appointed Bro . Thomas Fenn as President of the Board of General Purposes , he would ask Bro . Fenn to let him have the pleasure of investing him with the collar .

Bro . Thomas Fenn was invested by the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe , amidst general applause . Scrutineers of votes for the election of the Board of General Purposes were then appointed and obligated , the balloting cards were collected , and the Scrutineers left tho hall .

The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe stated that as only the requisite number of members of the Colonial Board had been nominated , no election for that Board would take place , and he declared the following candidates duly elected : Bros . Mai .-Gen . Frederiok Gadsden P . M . 434 , James Brett P . M .