Bricks Without Straw. '

BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW . '

WE are told that one of the most severe tasks imposed by the cruel oppressors of old was to compel their workers to make bricks without straw , and , to a certain extent , our position to-day is

somewhat akin to that of the ancient toilers , for we find ourselves called upon to 'provide our regular weekly edifice , with little or nothing in the way of

material with which to build it . Freemasonry is , perhaps , at its dullest the first few days of August , and the same may with equal justice be said of many

other matters of a public character , for tho August Bank Holiday seems to mark the summer vacation of a very large section of the community , and we usually have to wait some weeks after it before business affairs again settle down to their regular form . If this is the case with the labours of the

people how much more is it likely to be so with their recreations . It is true we have had the regular Quarterly Convocation of Grand Chapter during the week , but anything of a more formal character than this meeting

of Wednesday it would be difficult to imagine , even in connection with these usually quiet gatherings . There were two new Charters to grant , a few removals to sanction , a Trustee of the funded property of

Grand Chapter to appoint , and a member of the Committee of General Purposes to elect . This , of course , was ample business to render a meeting

necessary , but like the workers of old the members of Grand Chapter could not make an imposing show with so few straws available for their use . They made the best of it , but the best was a very quiet affair , and it certainly seems desirable to further

consider the proposal made some time back to reduce the number of Grand Chapter gatherings by abolishing the usual summer Convocation . It is not , however , at this season of the year alone

tnat we are called upon to make bricks without straw . We occasionally hear discontent expressed as to our reports of Lodge meetings , when some particular brother ' s remarks are not reported in our columns , and although we do not profess to report

everything which occurs at a meeting , we generally aim at providing a summary of all that is interesting . It is just as difficult to summarise the remarks of some speakers and produce anything from them of

general interest as it used to be to make bricks without straw , and in a large number of cases it is this difficulty that explains the omission to which we refer . The mere mention that Bro . So-and-So

responded to a certain toast often conveys all that . could be said in regard to his observations , as , unhappily , the art of speech-making is not a natural gift with the general bodv oi Freemasons . The toast

of the visitors , for instance , so frequently calls forth absurd displays of fulsome adulation that one hardly knows whether the remarks are intended as genuine ,

Bricks Without Straw. '

or as sarcasm in disguise , and to fully report the nonsense one hears on such occasions would be to add to the ridicule which surrounds it at the time it is delivered , and in some cases would give actual offence to the very men it was intended to

gloniy . In tnis respect we consider freemasonry occupies a very peculiar position . It has . become the practice among members of the Craft when visiting other Lodges shower praise with such lavish hands , in season and out of season , that

it is almost impossible to do anything else , and as a consequence the remarks of the speakers often lose all interest , and are really quite beneath notice . We may go even further , and acknowledge that

the remarks of masonic visitors olten prove that it is now possible to make bricks without straw , for it is really marvellous what a mass of bricks of praise some speakers can produce , without even the ghost of a straw or foundation to work upon .

In other cases we are compelled to acknowledge the impossibility of making bricks without straw when some popular speaker is concerned whose utterances are but a repetition of many similar

speeches he has made before . We acknowledge the difficulty under which they must labour , and the all but impossibility of their making some new point

on each occasion , but they must also recognise the position in which we are placed , when we find nothing new in their speeches , and have but to refer to the file of our paper for an exact counterpart

of their present utterances . We may repeat ourselves on occasions , but we like to avoid , as far as possible , a repetition of speeches already reported in our columns , and we even go so far as to fancy we are doing a service to the speakers when we

refrain from publicly showing their slips in this respect . Pursuing the subject further , we may find in the words of our heading a reason for the lack of success which attends some of our Masonic Lodges , for

even with corporate bodies it is impossible to make bricks without straw . If there are none of the elements of success in a Lodge , that Lodge stands but a poor chance of making a brilliant name for itself , while , on the other hand , a few substantial

straws among the other material may provide the possibility for prosperity and fame ; hence it is we so often find the influence of even one man asserting itself in a Lodge , and leading that Lodge on to

success and good fortune , and this proves how small a supply of straw is absolutely necessary to lead to satisfactory results . But if we have no straw at hand iust now nnnn

which to work we see no reason to fear a long continuation of the scarcity , indeed the outlook seems to present every appearance of an abundant crop for future use . There , appear to be numerous important matters looming in the future , which will call for consideration at the hands of the Craft , and we hope