The First Care Of A Master.

THE FIRST CARE OF A MASTER .

THE portion of our ritual which directs the attention of the newly-installed Master to the duties he is expected to perform embraces so much that is essential to the prosperity of the Craft at large that we think a more frequent study of it Avould be beneficial to the Order .

Indeed , if we look closel y into the subject , we can but remark the extent of the responsibility which devolves on the Master , who , in the particular part of the ceremony referred to , is described as the head of the Lodge . The term but inadequately defines the position or status of

the brother who is elected to fill the important post ; he is in reality the head , heart , and soul of the Lodge over which he is appointed to rule , and to him the Craft look for ah account of his stewardship when the day of retirement draws near . The honour , reputation and usefulness

of the Lodge depend on the way in which he performs his duty , and to such an extent is this the case that a year under the guidance , if that term is applicable , of an incompetent or unworthy Master will wreck the work of past successful Masters often beyond all hope of redemption ,

while feelings of dissent will be engendered in the Lodge , which too often end in disunion among the whole body of members . In such a case it would indeed have been

preferable had the vote of the Lodge been given to some other member better qualified than him whose mismanagement had caused so much confusion . It may be asked , How are we to know beforehand whether a brother will

prove worthy , or otherwise , of the chair to which we are about to elect him ? and we admit there is great difficulty in answering the question . A brother may have filled the several offices in the Lodge , from the lowest on the list

up to that of Senior Warden , with satisfaction to himself as well as to the various Masters under whom he has served , and yet , on being placed in the chair , immediately prove so unequal to his duties as to make it apparent to the most casual observer that his tenure of office will be a

misfortune to the Lodge . We have heard it remarked on more than one occasion , within a few minutes of the completion of the installation ceremony , that the newly-appointed brother ought never to have been entrusted with the government of a Lodge . How is this opinion formed ?

and if it is trustworthy at this early stage why could it not have been formed before the installation ceremony was commenced ? Many of our readers will doubtless agree with us that the way in which a brother closes his Lodge for the first time may be taken as a fair index of his

capabilities , and we urge that had this and one or two other simple tests been previously put to him the brethren would have been in a position to have formed a fairl y just opinion of the capabilities of the candidate for the Master ' s chair . We do not know whether a regular

rehearsal on the night of election in open Lodge would be the best course to pursue , but that would at least have the merit of at once deciding whether the brother was reall y able to open and close a Lodge or not . We consider that a Mason who will not take the trouble to perfect himself

m these two small matters—and we regret there are many who fill the chair of our Lodges who either cannot or will not do so—are unworthy of the position , and should , in our opinion , be debarred from attaining the office . We

simply ask , whether it is likely that a man who cannot perfect himself in the rudimentary portions of the Ritual will ever make himself acquainted with the more intricate portions thereof ? It may be urged , with some amount

The First Care Of A Master.

of justice , that after the excitement of the installation ceremony , in which he has taken so prominent a part , a brother may bo at a loss or somewhat confused , but the general style , even then , will conclusively show what may be expected as the character of the year ' s ruling . In

many cases , an opinion is then and there formed by the brethren present of the Master ' s suitability for the office , which goes far to influence their interest in the Lodge for the coming year , and this opinion once formed is seldom altered by anything which may occur in the future . If

the work is done in a slovenly or faulty manner , it will often lead a brother to stay from the future meetings of the Lodge , rather than witness repetitions of the Master ' s inefficiency , while , if the closing ceremony on the night of installation is performed with ease and with a strict

observance of the Ritual , a pride will be felt m the Lodge , and , as a consequence , punctual attendance is more likely to follow . As what we have said equally applies to the opening of a Lodge , we may conclude that the first care of a Master should be to make himself proficient in the

ceremony of opening and closing the Lodge . In a recent number of our contemporary the Masonic Bevieiv this subject is dwelt upon at some length , the writer therein going so far as to say that " the true test of a good Lodge is a good Master , and the test of a good Master

is his ability to open and close his Lodge with dignity and accuracy . " The question of conferring degrees our contemporary treats as a secondary matter , for then it states , "the attention of the members is given not so much to the Master as to the candidate . But

in the opening and closing all present look with straight eyes to the Bast , the Master then is the be-all and the do-all . " Further than this , we would point out the inconsistency of an officer holding himself up as a teacher who by his own acts proves himself unable to impart the

information he is even then referring to , he being obliged either to transfer his authority to some one or other of the Past Masters , or to perform the ceremony in a way calculated to inspire contempt rather than respect for the chair . We are aware that some Lodges require an examination

similar to that to which we have referred , but their number is so small that no appreciable results can be looked for as regards the general body of the Craft , although we cannot doubt but that benefit accrues to the Lodges themselves . We should like to see the system become universal , and commend its consideration to those of our readers who

either in their own Lodges or in those with which they may be acquainted , have seen the evil effects of appointing a brother to office who cannot " open and close his Lodge with dignity and accuracy . "

Conflicting Views As To The Character And Antiquity Of Freemasonry.

CONFLICTING VIEWS AS TO THE CHARACTER AND ANTIQUITY OF FREEMASONRY .

THE RE is no Society or Institution established by man in any country which has been made the subject of so many theories all widely divergent from one another , none which has evoked so many opposite opinions as to its character as Freemasonry . It has been subjected to all

kinds of ridicule . It has been condemned by Pope and Presbyterian Synod , as a dangerous promoter of irreligion , and anathematised accordingly . Kings and governments have forbidden its assemblies on the ground that such were necessaril y hostile to the State authority . While , on one hand , it has been regarded by some as at the bottom of