Newly Initiated's Speeches.

NEWLY INITIATED'S SPEECHES .

THE forensic abilities of newly initiated Brethren , as given expression to at the festive board , are not , as a rule , of an order calculated to set fche Thames , or any less important river for the matter of that , a fire , but are rather very mediocre , nofc to say sometimes common place . Very often when the newly initiated

speaks , he says something which he did not intend to say , and which might better have been left unsaid , or he does not say what he ought , and might very properly have said . At the last meeting of a Lodge a newly initiated Brother , in a somewhat airy manner , informed bhe Brethren ( of whom there were a goodly

number , including many old and respected members ofthe Craft ) " that it was not for the want of being pressed that he had not long ago joined Freemasonry , but want of time and stress of business , & c , prevented him . " This candour , as might have been expected , had a fairly electrifying effect on those present ,

and the facial expression of some of the senior members was a study in real life . The newly initiated , however , not observing the discomposing effect of the bomb he had so unintentionally thrown , gaily proceeded to dilate on charity , stating that he had heard a good deal bhat night about charity , and with a

significant shake of the head added , " Well , I don ' t know so much about charity . " Without further preliminaries he then detailed a conversation he had had with a gentleman he met in town , the pith of which was thab bhe aforesaid genbleman informed him bhat he was a Mason , and that when leaving his

home in the morning , took the precaution of never bringing any money with him , assigning as a reason that there were so many V cadgers " in Freemasonry , that his hand would never be out of his pocket , & c . It must have been very gratifying , however , to the Brebhren , when the Brother finished his remarks by

saying " that judging from fche gentlemen he saw about him bhat night he did nob think they were a very bad lot at all . " A Brother , in proposing the following toasb , digressed to inform the Brother initiate that if any member of the Craft had asked him

to become a Mason , he had seriously transgressed fche Landmarks of the Instibution , and in an eloquent and penetrating , yet delicabe speech , endeavoured bo put the newly made member of the Order on a higher pedestal of Masonic knowledge than he had previously given evidence of occupying . — " Masonry . "

Mercenariness In Masonic Government.

MERCENARINESS IN MASONIC GOVERNMENT .

UN DEE the law of the Grand Lodge of Mississippi , one who does not contribute to the support of the Lodge under whose jurisdiction he resides is nofc entitled to share in the benefits conferred by that Lodge , unless he is excused from contributing in consequence of inability , and this is applicable to all Masons who are not members of some other Lodge . Is there

anything " mercenary " in a requirement bhat all who participate in the pleasures of Masonic association shall share an equal proportion of bhe burdens ? If a man joins a club he pays jusb whab bhe obher members pay , and when he bhinks he is not getting his money ' s worth he resigns . When a man thinks that

the Lodge is not " worth the shilling , " he dhnits . The resigned club member no longer has any right in that club . Is there any reason why the resigned Lodge member should go on enjoying the dance when he is too " mercenary " to pay his share , for the

fiddler ? All this pother about Lodge and Grand Lodge " greediness" is , with all due respect to those Brethren who indulge in such twaddle , nonsense of " bhe firsb water . " Nine times in ten , when one dimits ib is because his interest in

Masonry has ceased , and nofc on account of poverty . He simply missed his vocation when he became a Mason , and backs out because he wants no more of it ; he can see nobbing in ib , and it offers him no equivalent for the money it costs . Not one in ten of those who do not remove to another town , and whose

dimission is for the purpose of changing Lodge membership , ever re-affiliate . Once in a while someone who has held aloof from the Lodge for years imagines he " wants a Masonic funeral , " at the expense of the Lodge which he has let worry along without his assistance for years . Where does the " mercenariness " come

in ? Ever since Lodges have been established they have been supported by contributions of those who composed them , and there is no foundation for the statement that Ancient Craffc Masonry says " that a non-confcributing non-affihafce is entitled to Lodge privileges . " It never was so . It is not a great many

years since every visitor fco a Lod ge paid his share of the expense of that meeting , regardless of where he held his membership . It does not require a very extensive acquaintance with fche customs of Lodges a hundred years ago to establish the fact

that all present were assessed with a share of the " reckoning . " In other words it was " a Dutch treat . " Few Lodges have a dollar in their treasuries after meeting the demands upon them , and most are in a chronic state of bankruptcy . Where does Lodge " greediness " come in ? The handle to this non-aiiiliafce

Mercenariness In Masonic Government.

jug is all on one side . The fellow who went into Masonry expecting to " make something out of it" generally fails in having his anticipations realised , for Lodges do nofc pay that sort of dividend . These are the chaps who drop out of the procession and leave to others fche active duties of the Lodge .

What earthly right have they to share in funds they did not help bo create ? But , we are bold , our obligations bind us to these mercenary creatures , and that we violate them , when we do nob respond to their demands upon us . It is not so ; these men are nofc worthy Masons , and there is no duty owing in

Masonry to those who are not in good standing . The Grand Lodge has the right to determine what constitutes good standing , and when it declares that non-contributing non-affiliates are not in good standing , the man who places himself in that attitude has no right bo complain of his own acb . No one ever heard of a Masonic

Lodge which refused to remit the dues of a Brobher who was unable to pay them . It is not so with fraternal associations generally . With them it is " walk up to bhe capbain ' s office and pay your fare or go ashore . " Why bhen all this tear-shedding over the

" mercenary" creatures who can pay , but won ' t ? Frequently they do slip in and get a decent funeral at the Lodge ' s expense , but they lie in sbolen coffins , instead of being thrown out on a dunghill to rot , as bhey should be , figuratively , at least . — Frederick Speed , in " Voice of Masonry . "

The Edibor of the " Voice , " commenbing on bhe above , says : Membership in Lodge , and membership in bhe Frabernity , are not the same . A dimitted Mason is not entitled to Lodge rights and privileges . He is entitled to general Masouic rights and

privileges , such as aid , assistance , & c . Masonry is not , and was not designed to be , a quid pro quo institution , and only mercenariness and greed now demand that it shall so be . In determining good standing a Grand Lodge has no right to violate the Ancient Charges .

At a recent meeting of a metropolitan Lodge , says " Masonry , " a Brother well-known to the Craft made the astounding remark bhab he seldom abbended the festive board of " those Lodges he honoured wibh a visib . " He further made some very injudicious references to Jews and Gentiles , and

interlarded his speech with copious and fulsome flatbery of so very preceptible characber that , instead of honouring those he referred to , he held bhem up bo ridicule . It required all bhe tact

of a subsequenb speaker to smooth matters over . Had the W . M . announced the speech we refer to as a " serio-comic recitation " ib would have proved a very inberesting item in an excellent programme .

Bro . W . L . Jackson Provincial Grand Masber Wesb Yorkshire , Chairman of bhe Greab Norbhern Eailway Company , was among the first of the leading officials of the line who visited the scene of bhe accidenb afc Little Bytham last week , and endeavoured by his sympathy to alleviate the suffering caused by

fche unfortunate occurrence . Personal interest in such cases appears to be a part of our esteemed Brother ' s nature , and probably accounts for much of his success in life . It has certainly had a beneficial effect on that section of the Masonic Craft under his charge , or in which he has taken particular inberesb .

The third annual supper and Ladies' night of the Upton Lodge of Instruction , No . 1227 , will be held on Monday , at the Great Eastern Hotel , Liverpool Street , under the presidency of Brother E . M . Jeffery W . M . of the Mother Lodge , who will be supported by Bro . G . A . Peters his Senior Warden , and Bro .

Henry Hyde his Junior Warden , as Vice-Presidents , while fche Committee includes the names of the principal members of the Upton Lodge , Bro . C . J . Free P . M ., its Secretary , fulfilling the duties of Treasurer for the supper . Bro . G . A . Peters ( 151 Balls Pond Eoad ) Secretary will supply any further particulars .

Honours fall fast and furious on Mr . L . N . Williams , the esteemed High Constable of Aberdare , who has been promoted during his year of office to the post of Master of St . David Lodge of Freemasons . Once only during the last half a century has

this unique honour of being High Constable of Miskin Higher and Master of the Freemasons fallen on anyone . This occurred in 1880 , when Major ( now Lieutenant-Colonel ) Thomas Phillips , while holding the position of High Consbable , became Masber of bhe same Lodge . — " South Wales Daily News . "

Some of those who scoff afc some of the Masonic requirements evidently are ignorant of the why and the wherefore of them . They should learn that there is a good reason for everything that is in Freemasonry , and that nothing of it can be taken away without marring its symmetry and detracting from its wisdom . — Exchange .