Random Notes And Reflections.

regards such " vaulting ambition" as ridiculous and injurious , and warns tho members of the body of which ho is the head against any pretensions of sovereignty in

Masonry . The spirit of the whole address is excellent , aud whatever may be the claims of the rites he and his followers favour , there cannot be a doubt tbat those of the Craft are still held in greater reverence .

^ Litigation between Freemasons would be simply impossible were its tenets properly understood and acted upon . We believe there are few instances in which brethren have sought the law to settle their money disputes . At any rate the cases have not made much noise in the world , and

the enemies of the Craft , ever eager to seize upon scandal , have not been able to point the finger of scorn in this particular direction . No doubt there have been cases , indeed , we referred to one a short time since , which was terminated before it had gone further than tho porch , or it may

be the corridor of the Canadian' law courts . In looking over a foreign Masonic paper a few days ago , we came across the following incident , which was recorded in an Irish newspaper at the time . We give it upon the authority of the author of " From Lights and Shadows of the

Mystic Tie , " who says : In the summer of 1835 , the schooner Vigilant , Captain Berquin , from Dunkirk , arrived in Lacwick Harbour , with the loss of sails and other damage . The captain procured an agent , with whom he agreed for the necessary repairs , which wone soon effected , and the vessel declared ready for sea .

A misunderstanding arose , summary legal proceedings were taken , and the captain was being marched off to prison . The writer proceeds to add : As the captain understood the English language but very imperfectly , I preferred my services in his forlorn state . After the burst

of indignation which naturally followed had subsided , he earnestly requested that a Freemason might be sent to him . I was acquainted with several gentlemen reputed to be of the Order , and to whom I

made his case known . The agent who procured the warrant , the judge who signed it , and the captain who suffered by it , were all Freemasons . Instant justice was rendered , and the captain immediately liberated .

Three years ago we felt it to be our duty to protest against the election of a boy named Collingwood to the Boys' Institution , on the ground that his mother inherited something like £ 9 , 000 from her deceased husband . On tbat occasion our efforts were successful , and tbe boy was removed . In March last we drew attention to a similar

case , in which a boy named Frank A . Herring was concerned . We took considerable trouble over the matter , in order to place the real facts before the brethren . Briefly stated , they were : Bros . Thomas H . Herring was initiated in a Lodge at Preston in 1869 , ancl died in 1882 , leaving

issue three children , but no will . His brother administered to the estate , which resulted in the nett sum of £ 1 , 665 14 s 7 d being left after payment of all outstanding claims . This gavo £ 554 4 s lOd for each child , and , as- we observed , would yield a total of over £ 1 , 000 to the boy if

left to accumulate until he was tweaty-one years of age . We held that the possession of the capital sum was a bar to the boy ' s claim , ancl the matter was discussed by the anthoiities more than once , with the result tbat it was admitted by 28 for , to 24 against . The boy was not

successful in the April election , but fared differently in October . The interest that was awakened months ago has not died out ; indeed , it has been revived , and is likely to cause a good deal of discussion . A meeting of the General Committee of tbe Boys' Institution was held on Saturday

last , when Bro . C . H . Webb referred to Herring ' s case , and although he was informed by Bro . Binckes that the case had been fully inquired into hy the ' , ' - "irterly Court who had decided tbat the boy was- ^ n ; ae gave notice of motion tbat further investigat A . •» . take place at th e next Quarterly Court , to be IK i muary .

With the precedent of the hoy ( joiiirgwood before them , we cannot . see how the Quarterly Cou ^ t can do otherwise than follow it in the case of E ' . crring . The two cases run on all fours , except in one particular feature , and that adverse to Herring . It was argued by one correspondent

that the partial deprivation of wealth was painful to those who had hitherto enjoyed pos # ' nri , and vvho , although they could not be said to be p- j > r , felt keenly their altered circumstances . As was shown at the time , the argument was fallacious as applied to the widow Collingwood and

Random Notes And Reflections.

her children . Even if it had been otherwise , surely it cannot be contended for one moment tbat tbe poor candidate should fail while one amply provided for otherwise should be the recipient of charity . The argument , however , does not apply to the boy Herring , as both parents are

dead , and he is too young to feel any pang at the loss of social station , if there be any loss at all , which we very much doubt . We cannot now go into the whole question , but we may say , that while so many necessitous cases are waiting admission , it seems little less than cruel to retain this boy in the Institution .

Then You Are A Mason.

THEN YOU ARE A MASON .

FKOM THE VOICE OF MASONRY .

MASONIC tradition informs us that there was employed in the construction of King Solomon ' s Temple , in addition to our Three Ancient Grand Masters , 3 , 300 Masters or Overseers of the Work , 80 , 000 Fellow Crafts and 70 , 000 Entered Apprentices , and that this vast army of workmen was so classed and arranged , by the wisdom of Solomon , that envy and discord were unknown among them . I wonder whether it ever occurred to Grand Lecturers , what a

barefaced misrepresentation this tradition is , in view of the revelations in the succeeding degrees ! Where were the Mark , Most Excellent , Select , Royal , and other kind of Masters ? What a wonderful substance Masonio tradition is made of , as many Masons wonld have us believe ! Its expansibility excels a child ' s rubber balloon a thousandfold . All one has to do is to expand it a little more , apply

the microscope , and a new tradition is discovered . But , like the rubber balloon , it may not stretch for ever , and the next attempt to distend it may shiver it into innumerable fragments . The boast of American political life is , that every voter is the peer of every other voter , regardless of wealth , eminence or influence j Vanderbilt and the humblest grease-wiper in his employ go to the

polls on the level ; and the boast of Freemasonry is , that we meet on the level , but in practice the levels vary as they do in canals ; one must lock through the various bodies to get to the top levels ; and they are continually increasing in number . Freemasonry ' s primitive , actual level is the sea level , where the tide ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours ; the sea-level of a Master Mason of three

degrees , nnd not the level of a Knight Templar or 33 . As Master Masons only can we meet on the level ; it cannot be done elsewhere I am not opposed to les hautes grades as snch . I am a member of some of them ; hold official positions in them , and devote much of my time , often at personal inconvenience , to their development , but I am opposed to the manner of their dissemination , and disgusted at the

arrogance of many of their members ; particularly at the disrespect manifested by some of the aforesaid members for the Masonio mother that bore them , and gave them the opportunity of decorating themselves in gaudy apparel and styling themselves Knights and Princes . There is not a sincere lover of Freemasonry who has not heard one of these superficial craftsmen express himself about as follows- respecting the Lodge : " No donbt , mother , you once were beautiful , and

graceful , and attractive , bnt now you are old , and plain , and sedate ; notwithstanding your a ^ e , you are hale and active , and seem to enjoy the drudgery of visiting the sick find burying the dead ; attending to tbe poor and relieving their necessities j yon are a really good , kindhearted old lady , but you must not expect us to devote our time to your society ; yon havo not a particle of style about yon , and you know stylo is everything now-a-days . " I have no idea that one of the class of Masons I refer to will ever read

this ; ifc would be ridiculous to imagine it ; they never read anything about Freemasonry but tbe invitations to celebrations , and the bills of fare ; they go in crowds , like the oysters they are continually in search of , and gain admission , not by tests , but acquaintance , and I must , therefore , content myself with hoping to enlist the favourable opinion of the three degree Masons ; those who prefer the

simple brother to any high-sounding title . When Freemasonry took its present speculative form , in 1717 , it had not its present organization . It consisted of one degree , and the rank of Fellow Craft and Master could only be obtained at Grand Lodge . Gradually the body of the Craft became Masters , and the Grand Lodge authorized the Lodges to confer the three degrees now

known as the Blue or Symbolic . It was not long after the speculation science was put into a system that degrees were added by talented men , who saw an opportunity of earning an honest penny without work . The schism in England , on account of the Eoyal Arch degree and its subsequent adoption as a legitimate degree , in 1813 , is familiar to the well-informed brother . It is well to enquire

what the early Masons considered legitimate . In the " Articles ot Union , " adopted by the two English Grand Lodges , " It is declared and pronounced thatptwe Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees , and no more , viz .: those of the Entered Apprentice , the Fellow Craft , and the Master Mason , including the Supreme Order of the Holv Roynl Arch . But this article is not intended to prevent the

Lodge or Chapter from holding a meeting in any of tbe degrees of the Orders of Chivalry , according to the Constitutions of tbe said Orders . " It will be observed that there are only three degrees recognized . _ In Scotland the Grand Lodge recosrnizes no degrees as Masonic bnt

the three symbolic , and the Marie , although the latter recognition is of recent occurrence . In Germany there are six Grand Lodges , bnt there is no step or degree recognized as Masonic beyond that of Muster . In Norway a rite of nine degrees is worked , but the brethren there are now considering its abandonment and the adoption of the pure , ancient Masonry of three degrees . Iu