Every Member Owes A Duty To His Lodge.

EVERY MEMBER OWES A DUTY TO HIS LODGE .

A paper read before Pentalpha Lodge , No . 564 , ty Bro . Wm . H . Smythe , on Thursday evening , 15 th of October 1891 .

WHATEVER tends to elevate the standard of morality iu any community shonld have the hearty support of all good men . A society or fraternity which seeks to better the condition of its members and thereby make of them lights to guide the feet of others , should

have the earnest co-operation of every one who has assumed its vows . It is true that all are not endowed by nature to lead and direct tbe work , yet it is also eqnally true that each is possessed tf some particular talent that may and should oe cultivated and made a source of income for the

person and thing to be benefited . The humblest member upon the roll of any organisation can do something for the general good . These remarks , in a general way , apply with great force to every Freemason . Every candidate for the honours and privileges of

Freemasonry has seriously declared that he " is prompted to solicit the privileges of Masonry by a favourable opinion conceived of the institution , a desire of knowledge and a

sincere wish of being serviceable to his fellow creatures . " It is well to recall and carefully consider that and similar declarations made by ns in our passage through tbe solemn ceremonies of onr Fraternity .

It is profitable to ns to place ourselves upon the witness stand and propound many pertinent questions , and by so doing awaken a consciousness of our many shortcomings ,

thns revealing to ourselves the weak and flickering light we are carrying in the grand Masonic procession . A selfexamination of this sort will result not only in good to the individual , but will be of great benefit to the Lodge .

"Dnty is with us always . The duties of a Freemason are many , and a large nnmber of them are exacting , compulsory , and cannot with safety be ignored . It should not only be the pleasure , but it is the imperative dnty of every member of the Masonic Fraternity to give of his time ,

money and talents to the promotion of his Lodge . Many members think that when they have paid the pittance required by the Lodge for annual dues , that they have discharged their dnties to Masonry . Snch men are not Masons . Such men have not penetrated the outer crust of

the shell that contains the kernel of Freemasonry . They have never undergone the self-examination suggested at the outset of this paper . But then , those who pay dues promptly—discharge their duty without murmuring—are one degree higher in the scale of Masonry , even though

that be the only duty performed by them , than the one who pays grudgingly , and wants the secretary to come to his place of business to get even that ; in other words , asks another to help him discharge the only duty he ever performs to his Lodge . Such Masons sometimes cause

secretaries to think , if not use , language that would not sound well in polite society . Thus is harm done by the failure of one brother to cheerfully perform the least of one of his many duties—the payment of his dues . " If any will not work neither shall he eat . "

Non-attendance npon Lodge meetings is a growing evil . Every member should attend , and it is his duty to do so whenever he can without injury to himself or his family . Excuses for non-attendance are often frivolous and weak , and each member offending in this direction shonld begin

the work of reformation now . I might suggest some of the causes and the corresponding remedies , but these will doubtless suggest themselves to eveiy thinking Mason

present . I will , however , venture to say that the failure to perform the duty of attending Lodge is caused in many instances by carelessness , thoughtlessness , and selfishness , while the little bump of egotism keeps others away .

As I remarked in the outset , all are not qualified to lead and direct the work—and it may here be appropriately stated that the Lodge as a whole is best qualified to select the leader , and its judgment should have the support of every

member . A stone selected by thc combined wisdom of the Lodge is better fitted for the building than one passed upon by a single member , the merits of which he alone has knowledge of . The duty of submitting to the will of the Lodge is of paramount importance to its welfare , as well as to the welfare and happiness of the individual members thereof .

Every Member Owes A Duty To His Lodge.

The careless and thoughtless Mason must necessarily lose sight of every dnty he owes to his Lodge . The thought has often suggested itself to me that many men never give Freemasonry a thought ; that they have passed through oar ceremonies without acquiring any inspiration from

what they have seen and heard—the beautiful lessons have no charm for them , and that they care nothing for Freemasonry or the Lodge only in so far as it may advertise them as belonging to an organisation respectable and honourable . Such men are seldom seen in the Lodge-room ,

and never at the bedside of a sick brother . They know nothing of its symbols , history or traditions . They are unable to visit a sister Lodge because of a lack of knowledge necessary to make themselves known aa Masons , but in public parades of the Lodge they may generally be found

in the front rank , and at Masonic banquets they can neither be equalled nor excelled . Their Masonio capacity upon occasions of this sort can only be measured by the quantity or quality of the feed . Tbe mental ftast which usually follows the banquet has no charms for them ; tbey prefer to , and

usually do , retire to a convenient corner to smoke and spin stale and chestnutty yarns . Their minds are never taxed with the sublime lessons taught in the Lodge . Their sleep is never disturbed by thoughts of its welfare . They never long for the time to come when they may clasp the hand of fraternal friendship upon the checkered floor .

It is hard to point out and comment upon all the specific duties of the individual Mason in the short time allotted to

me . Thus far I have only spoken in a 'general way , and will content myself by a specific notice of the Officers and Past Masters of a Lodge . It is the imperative duty of every Officer , from Worshipful Master to Tyler , to attend all the meetings of his Lodge . Each Officer solemnly swears

" that I will , to the utmost of my knowledge and ability , discharge the duties of the office with which I am now about to be invested , " " So help me God . " That promise is a solemn one , and when carefully considered does not admit of trivial excuses for failure to comply with its

requirements . Before an Officer absents himself from the meetings of his Lodge , he should weigh well and truly the reasons that he expects to justify his act . He owes it to himself , his conscience and his Lodge to so adjust his affairs as to enable him to fulfil the duties which he has

voluntarily proposed to perform . It is true that au Officer may have and often does have valid excuses for failure to perform duties ; but when his failure is protracted and becomes chronic , he can discharge his whole duty by tendering his resignation . By so doing , he places the Lodge

in a position to remedy the matter to its advantage , but tho necessity for this last step should be resorted to only when every other resource has been exhausted . Therefore , brethren , it is your duty to discharge your official duties promptly , faithfully and intelligently . By so doing you

do credit to yourself and honour to the Lodge . It has always appeared to me that one who has been honoured with the office of Worshipfnl Master owes more to the Lodge than any other member . He is and has been its chosen rnlcr and leader , and even after he retires from

that hig h office is looked to for advice and assistance . His presence at Lodge is an incentive to good work by those upon whom tho duties of office bearing is involved . He can and does lighten the burdens if he is possessed of a

willing and helpful disposition . His presence is ever helpful and encouraging , and he stultifies himself when be retires from offico and from the first begins and keeps np an exasperating absence from tho Lodge . Past Masters who retire from office and cease from that time forth to

attend Lodge perhaps are of the cla ^ s who have by methods un-Masonic acquired the right to be called a Past Master . The Past Master who has acquired that honourable title for meritorious work in subordinate offices will nearly always be found at Lodge at the stated meetings thereof ,

and especially so will he be found there when there is work to do . I have no patience with the Past Master who delights to boast of the fact , and still advertises by his absence his failure to perform duties incumbent upon him by reason of the fact that his Lodge once honoured him .

Such men are not true Masons . They are of the kind who have entered the Lodgo because it advertises themand it may be said that in a measure they have their reward—but the truth must be said—energetic , pushing ,

thinking Masons who love Freemasonry for what it is and for what it does for humanity , early learn to pat a proper estimate upon all such narrow , contracted , selfish Masons . Finally , brethren , each for himself must answer thc