Charges Of A Freemason

ment or explanation . The times and tho condition of society seemed to rcquiro that some one distinguished in tho community should bo at tho head of the Craft . If there was a member of the Royal family belonging to the Order , and ho would consent to serve , he was always selected as Grand Master , while a nobleman , or some distinguished scholar or artist ,

served as Warden . If there were none of royal blood , then men of less note were selected , such for example , as was Inigo Jones , Sir Christopher Wren , and others , the ablest architects of their times . But tho altered condition of society has rendered these precautions nnnecessary ; and iu this free country , where all are noble born , personal merit has very properly become the only passport to honour and

distinction . It seems to have been the prerogative of the Grand Master , in ancient times , to select and appoint his own Deputy , but was limited in his selection to those who had served as Masters in subordinate Lodges . We are clearly of the opinion that the Grand Lodges of modern days have , in providing for the election of Deputy Grand

Masters , departed from ancient usage . It would appear that , then , the Deputy had no power to act except as ho was directed by the Grand Master , and that the duty he discharged became the act of the Grand Master , —for it was done in his name and by his command , and he was responsible for it . As at present arranged , there are in effect two Grand Masters in the same jurisdiction ; for the Deputy can , on

his own responsibility , do almost anything which the Grand Master can , except take precedence in Grand Lodge . He can grant dispensations , arrest charters , etc ., etc ., without consultation with the Grand Master , even while the latter officer is within his jurisdiction . This is generally the case , although some Grand Lodges restrict the Deputy to a narrower sphere of action . Notwithstanding it may be

in the power of the Grand Lodge to confer upon tho Deputy , in many things , equal power with the Grand Master , yet we are inclined to thiuk the former practice the best ; he should be tho Deputy of the Grand Master , and not of the Grand Lodge , and Bhould ouly act when directed by his superior officer , and in his name . If the Grand Master should die , or remove out of the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge

before tho expiration of his term of service , of course the Deputy will succeed to his place , and discharge all his duties until a new Grand Master is elected , unless the regulations provide differently . In every department of Masonry , obedience to superiors is absolutely necessary ; not the obedience of the slave , but of the subject or citizen—an obedionce springing from principle and reverence for

law . Order must reign in all departments of the mystic temple ; the officers , supreme and subordinate , are entitled to respect , and tho Craft should render to their lawful commands a prompt and willing obedience . According to the rules laid clown in this Charge , great care has been taken to secure worthy , competent , and judicious officers—men selected for their merit and skill in the Royal

Artmen fully competent to govern ; and tbey should be obeyed with " reverence , love and alacrity . " It is true that when a man is promoted to office he is not thereby rendered infallible ; but we have a right to presume that he exercises his best judgment ; and should he err , obedience for the timo being would be a less evil than discord and rebellion . The error can be remedied iu the next Grand Lodge , but rebellion strikes at the foundation of all order and all government .

Of the -management of the Craft when working . —All Masons shall work honestly on working days , that they may live , creditably on holy days ; and the time appointed by tho law of the land , or confirmed by custom , shall be observed . The most expert of the Fellow Craftsmen shall be chosen or appointed the Master , or Overseer of the lord's work , who is to be

called Master by those who work under him . The Craftsmen are to avoid all ill language , and to call each other by no disobliging name , but brother or fellow ; aud to behave themselves courteously within and without the Lodge . The Master , knowing himself to bo able of cunniug , shall undertake

the lord ' s work as reasonably as possible , and truly dispend his goods as if they were his own ; nor to give moro wages to any brother or apprentice than he really may deserve . Both the Master and the Masons , receiving their wages justly , shall be faithful to the lord , and honestly finish their work , whether task or journey ; nor put the work to task that hath been accustomed to

journey . None shall discover envy at the prosperity of a brother , nor supplant him or put him out of his work , if ho be capable to finish the samo ; for no man can finish another ' s work so much to tho lord ' s profit , unict-s he be thoroughly acquainted with the designs and drafts of him that began it .

When a Fellow Craftsman is chosen Warden of tho work under the Master , he shall be true both to Master aud Follows , shall carefully over .-eo the work in the Master ' s absence to the lord ' s prolit , and his brethren shall olioy him . ; All Masons employed shall meekly receive their wages , without murmuring or mutiny , and not desert tbe Master , till the work is finished .

A younger brother shall be lnsfrneied in working , to prevent spoiling the materials for want of judgment , and for increasing and continuing of brotherly lore . All the tools used in working shall be approved by tho Grand Lodge . Nu labourer ^ hall be employed in the proper work of Masonry ; nr . r

shall Freemasons work with those that are not free , without an urgent necessity ; nor shall they teach labourers aud unaccepted Mason-: , as they would teach a brother or fellow . Masonic tradition informs us , and it is confirmed by the great Light which shines from the altar of every Lodge , that Masons in ancient

times devoted six days to labour , but the seventh was devoted to rest , to the solemn worship of God , and the contemplation of his glorious works . By the term "holy days , " in the text , is meant the days set apart as Sabbaths . To " live creditably , " on the Sabbath , is therefore to rest on that day from ordinary labour , and devote it

Charges Of A Freemason

to the worship of the Infinite One , to tho contemplation of his snblime works in nature and Revelation , and to yielding our homage and our hearts to him . This is to live " creditably " on that day , according to Masonic law and usage . But in order that we may devote the seventh , or " holy " day to this purpose , we must work on the other six days ; and it should be remembered that it is just aa obligatory

upon Masons to devote the six days to labour , as the seventh one , to rest ; and no Mason can violate either duty without forfeiting his moral integrity and fixing a stain upon his Masonic character . It ia worthy of observation that this , the highest Masonic law , does not fix the day which shall be set apart as " holy ; " it does not name the " seventh " day of the Jews , nor the "first" day of the Christiana ;

bnt the one " appointed by the law of the land , or confirmed by custom" of the country . In Christian countries , the "first day of the week , " is set apart by law and custom both , as the day of restthe Sabbath . If the Jews had a country under their own laws , the " seventh day " would be the " holy day . " Masons should , therefore , in obedience to the law in the text , observe the day appointed by the

laws of the nation in ? which they reside . They cannot be good , obedient , law abiding citizens or subjects unless they do . It should also be remembered that this ia not merely advisory ; " All Masons shall , " is the imperative language of the text . In this paragraph the principle of personal merit is again recognised . We have already seen that promotion among the Craft ia to

be regulated by this principle ; and here it ia repeated and confirmed . " The most expert of the Fellow Craftsmen "—those who have made the greatest proficienoy in the art—are to be selected to fill the office of Master ; tho degree of Master Mason was then probably conferred upon him , and he was duly installed aa " overseer of the lord ' s work , " and was to be recognized and respected as such by those that work

under him . " This paragraph not only requires tho Craft to be respectful to tha Master , but to be courteous to each other . They are to nse no ill languago ; their passions are to be controlled and kept within the boundary prescribed by the compasses ; they are to be kind , respectful , and agreeable to one another , and to call each other brother , or

by some other fraternal designation . Masonry requires its members to be gentlemen— respectful , courteous , kindly : rough , uncouth , and boorish habits are to be laid aside—must be—under the refining and elevating social influence of our venerable association . This was especially applicable when the Craft were yet engaged in operative Masonry . The Master was then not only the overseer

of the work , but also tho agent or steward of the " lord , " or proprietor of the building . Honesty was a virtue particularly important in the Master ; for , while ho was required not to " give more wages to any brother or apprentice than ho really deserved , " ho must , at tho same time , have snch a knowledge of the business as to enable

him to do tho work for a fair and reasonable price . He stands between tho proprietor and the workmen , and must do justice to both : justice is one of the cardinal virtues , and must be constantly oherished by every one who would bo a very consistent Mason or an hononrablo man .

Freemasonry And The Bourbons.

FREEMASONRY AND THE BOURBONS .

" | "T ia a fact not generally known , and yet which is worthy of ven--4- tilation , that tho last three kings of the Bourbon line in Franco were Freemasons . Tho Chevalier Cassar Morean makes , in his Froa ' s . « i ! r it ) . Franc-Ma <; onucrie ( pp . 1 , VI ) , the followingstatement : — By the new constitution ( ill 1772 ) three chambers wero erected in the boKom of tho Grand ( -riont for the administration of the

Lodges of Paris and tho provinces . Tho Duke of Luxemburg performed the ceremony of installation , and gave on this occasion a superb fete to tho Grand Orient . " Paris had never seen , " says Lalande , " a more pompous and brilliant Masonic fete . " A Lodge was instituted at Court , and three kings , being then only Princes , Louis XVL , Louis XYIIL , and Charles X ., were made members of the Order .

Mr . George Long , in his work entitled France and its Revolutions ( London , 1850 , ch . VII ., p . 41 ) , partly confirms the statement in the following words . Speaking of tho visit of Louis XVI . to Paris , three days after the capture of the Bastile by the populace , ho says : — " On reaching the Place de Greve , the Freemasons , who were there in great numbers , received the king with the honors which tho Craft pay to distinguished brethren , by forming a double line and holding their swords crossed over his head . As soon as Louis set his foot on

the ground to ascend the steps of the Hotel de Ville , the ' vault of steel , ' as tho crossing of swords was called , was formed . He walked with a firm step beneath tti 9 canopy of swords . " Tho subsequent unhappy fate of the king might suggest the inquiry how tho Freemasons of Franco could permit this jndicial murder without some effort to prevent it . The answer is found in

the fact that from tho very commencement of the revolution , tho Lodges of France , disgusted with the political atrocities of the nation , had ceased to act . "After the events of 1789 , " says Heboid , " most of the Lodges of France mirent en sommvil , " that is , suspended their labours . For tho follie 3 and crimes of the " reign of terror" the French Freemasons were not responsible , for during

all that timo Masonry had in Franco , and especially in Paris , no organi / . od existence . When reason resumed its sway the Lodges renewed their work . And this fact , which is amply confirmed by tho French Masonic historians , is an all-sufficient reply to the calumnies of Barruel , Robinson , and the other anti-Masons , who have charged , and contiuuo to charge , Freemasons with a revolutionary spirit . —Voice of Masonry .

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