The Future Of The Charities.

of help , for whom nothing can bo done . Provincial combinations for the purpose of working the elections have done a vast amount of good , so far as the Provinces are concerned , but there is another side to

even that question . It is now virtually impossible for any district to carry a case unless the Provincial organisation formally adopts it , so that the trouble of election has been transferred from the London poll ,

where it was previously decided , to the committee meeting of the local association , and as a consequence failure in any particular case is sometimes set down to local influences and jealousies , whereas in olden

times the number of vote 3 polled was an effectual answer to most of the questions that arose , or that could possibly be referred to , in regard to any Candidate ' s srmnps « nv fnilnvn

In last week ' s Freemasonry column of the Evening News and Post this subject was touched upon , and it was pointed out that what appeared very ranch like a serious trouble was dawning upon the great

Charitable Institutions of the Craft . Our contemporary considers that within the next few years the whole of the northern counties of England will withdraw their sympathy from the Central Institutions ,

in favour of their own local funds . They will not , however , withdraw their claims on the benefits of the Charities at the same time , as a very large proportion of the votes held in the north have been

acquired by the Provincial and Private Lodges in perpetuity , and our contemporary states that the north of England could keep a matter of two hundred children and old people on the funds of the Charities

without contributing a farthing towards their maintenance . Such a course of proceeding would be regarded in many quarters as very unfair , but why ? The Institutions offer certain privileges in return for

certain payments , and they cannot repudiate any arrangements entered into by Lodges for the purpose of acquiring perpetual votes . We are of opinion this is a serious matter , and one that calls for more than passing notice , but whether it will receive attention

or not remains to be seen . There is no setting aside one fact—the number of votes required to secure a place in either the Boys' or the Girls' School , or an annuity for an aged Mason or his Widow , is out of all

character , taking into consideration the actual cost of obtaining those votes . At the last elections the highest unsuccessful candidates polled as follows : — Bovs 1779 votes . Girls 2593 . Ased Mason 2258 . — --- — —— j

— ' * 'O , w . ~ - » Widow 3187 . With such figures as these can it be wondered that the Provinces are bestirring themselves to advance their local Funds ? or that there is an early possibility of a serious falling away of existing supporters ?

The Duties Of Masters.

THE DUTIES OF MASTERS .

THE Worshipful Master of a Lodge is an officer whose duties are multiform and manifold . Those who suppose him to be merely a figure-head make a gross mistake . True , he is an imposing figure ; true , this figure has a head ; but while all eyes look to him , and all eara are open

to him , and he is " monarch of all he surveys , " if this imposing figure expects the office to take the place of the man , or supply his deficiencies , he is wofnlly mistaken . When a small man attempts to fill a large place he appears

smaller than he ever did before . No one should aspire to be the Worshipful Master of a Lodge , the ruler of a host of . his Brethren , the arbiter of the Craft , who is not possessed of wisdom , learning , judgment , tact , and whose heart is not overflowing with brotherly love .

Many Brethren appear to think that if they know the work , they are qualified to sit in Solomon ' s seat . Solomon did not think so . He qualified himself for the right performance

of all his duties by first asking from the Grand Architect wisdom , and obtaining that wondrous gift from His dispensing hand . What the Master needs to-day is , wisdom , wisdom , wisdom—wisdom in all things , not ODly that petty

The Duties Of Masters.

wisdom , that technical wisdom , that narrow wisdom , which qualifies merely for the performance of one dut y , but that enlarged spirit of understanding which is as broad as tho office the Master holds ; that appreciation of all the needs of his Brethren whom he has been selected to preside

over ; that devotion to duty which waits not to be sought , but goes out to find occasion for the exercise of the beneficent prerogatives with which his office is endowed . Symbolically ho is a luminary , actually he should be a dispenser of light . Tho sun should shine . And yet how

many suns are obscured by clouds ! How many Masters are servants ! How many secretaries are Masters ! Of course a Master should be a good worker . The Master who cannot work is an absurdity . Work is one of his primary functions . If be cannot work he should

not be Master . And he should not only work , bat work well . He can , if he chooses . In this era of light and knowledge , tho ignorant are wilfully and inexcusably ignorant . The prevalence of Schools of Instruction , and the number of bright Masons to be found almost

everywhere , render it absolutely unpardonable for a Master of a Lodge now to bo unable to do his own work . Bat work is not the whole of Masonry , no , not by a vast deal . An important part of the duty of a Master is the

government of his Lodge . To do this with justice and equity , requires the possession and exercise of knowledge , wisdom and prudence . He who rules at discretion should rule with discretion . A Master should be acquainted with the main provisions of the Ahiman Eezon or Constitutions of

the Craft , with the Bye-Laws of his own Lodge , with the decisions of the Grand Lodge , the usages , customs aud Landmarks , and with Masonic parliamentary law . Without a knowledge of these he will suffer his Lodge

continually to go astray , and fall into difficulties which will draw down upon ifc Masonic penalties , necessarily administered , in the way of corrective action by the supreme Masonic authority .

Another duty which the Master owes to his office to perform is , a personal oversight of his fellow members , especially when they are in sickness or distress . His Brethren are a part of himself , and when one suffers he should suffer with him , to the extent of relieving the

suffering , in accordance with his own and the Lodge's ability . The sick , the dying and the dead are especially the charge of the Worshipful Master . Their condition he should report to the Lodge , so that it may minister to their needs . Bat , primarily , they aro under his charge , and for them he should hold himself Masonically responsible .

Another duty which is his , is to maintain harmony and fraternal feeling throughout the membership of the Lodge . He will always be favourably listened to , on account of the dignity of his office . He can wield an influence for good which no other member can . Hence he is derelict

in the exercise of his functions , if he is not continually labouring to promote universal good feeling in the body of the Craft over which he presides . A harmonious Lodge is a successful Lodge . A harmonising Master makes a harmonious Lodge .

The Lodge which has for its Master a Brother who knows the work and performs it impressively ; who knows Masonio law and executes it impartially ; who is paternal as well as fraternal in his oversight of his fellow-members ;

and who ever has in view the promotion of universal harmony—such a Lodge is a true Masonio Lodge , the Master is a true Master , and the Masonry therein taught and exemplified is pure and undefiled . —Keystone .

On Thursday , the 29 th ult ., the installation of a Worshipful Master of the Striguil Lodge , No . 2186 , took place . The newly-elected W . M . is C . Whalley , who was

installed by Bro . S . G . Homfray D . P . G . M . The other Officers for the present year were appointed , and in the evening a grand banquet , presided over by the W . M ., was held .

HO-L OWAY ' S Pitts . —Invalids distracted by indigestion and discouraged i « their search for its reinedyshonld make trial of this never-failing medicine . " ¦ lady , long a martyr to dyspeptic tortures , writes that Holloway ' s Pills made her feel as if a burden had been taken off her . Her spirits , formerly low , have greatly improved ; her capricious appetite has given place to healthy hunger ; her dull , sick headache has departed , and gradually so marvellous a change has been effected , and sho ii altogether a new creature , and again fit for u « duties . These Pills may be administered with safety to the most delicate . They never act harshly , nor do they ever induce weakness ; they rightij direct deranged , siml control excessive , action .