Qualifications Requisite In Candidates.

It is a subject for the serious consideration of all who desire the permanent well-being of the Fraternity , and its continuance on the plane for which its high ideals and noble principles so eminently fit it , whether some clear and well-defined rules should not be laid down for the guidance of W . M . s , who , as a rule , have

neither the time nor the opportunity ( and , we regret to say , sometimes not even the inclination ) to study authorities on the question , rather than have the best efforts of the majority rendered nugatory because a few ill-instructed wielders of the gavel are permitted , either through ignorance or carelessness , to drag in all the rubbish they can gather under the teeth of their muck-rakes .

The written laws bearing upon the subject are—1 st , The Book of Constitutions . Clause 164 provides that the age must be 21 , the status a free-man ( previous to 1847 it was free-born ) , and the social condition in reputable circumstances at the time of initiation . Some think this is all , but a moment's consideration

will show that such is not the case . There is here not one word about sex ( man in legal phraseology includes woman)—nothing to exclude tbe maimed , the halt , the blind , the deaf , the dumb , the imbecile , the decrepit , the atheist , the dissolute , and all those other undesirable phases of humanity that undoubtedly should be

excluded . All , consequently , admit that outside and beyond the B . of G . there are other guides ; the vagueness of this clause unmistakably points elsewhere for more exact and detailed instruction . 2 nd , The " Antient Charges" to which the W . M . gives his unqualified assent previous to his installation . In 8 he

pledges himself " to discountenance all Dissenters from , the original Plan of Freemasonry , " and in 11 " that it is not in the power of any Man or Body of Men to make innovation in the Body of Masonry . " It , therefore , becomes essentially requisite that the W . M . who intends conscientiously to discharge his

obligations should learn what are the " original Plan of Freemasonry " and the " Body of Masonry . " Their teachings in relation to the subject under consideration are as follow : — " A candidate must be without blemish , and have the full use of his limbs , for a maimed man can do the Craft no good . " —Old York

Constitutions . " No person hereafter would be accepted as a Freemason but such as are of able body . "—Begulations of 1663 . " That he that be made be able in all degrees—that is , free-born —of good kindred , true and no bondsman , and that he have his right limbs as a man ought to have . "—Ancient Charges of

Makings of 1686 . " No master shall take an apprentice . . . unless he be a perfect youth , having no maim or defect in his body that may render him incapable of learning the art , of serving his master's lord , and of being made a Brother . . .

that he should be descended of honest parents ; that so , when otherwise qualified , be may arrive at the honour of being the Warden , and then the Master of the Lodge . " " That the Brethren be not put to shame , nor the Eoyal Craft despised . " — Anderson ' s Charges , 1722 .

Attempts have been made , from time to time , to set aside the force of these regulations under the argument that the present system of Speculative Masonry is founded on one that was formerly altogether operative in its character , and that as physical qualifications originally referred solely to operative Masons , they

could not now be held to apply to the members of an exclusively speculative science . This argument has no foundation of fact to support it . In 1663 and 1686 the Institution was largely composed of non-operatives , and in 1722 almost wholly so . On the other hand , there can be no doubt but that the sticklers for

an adherence to the absolute physical perfection or " perfect youth " theory are as , or nearly as , far from the true import of these regulations as those who would set them aside as obsolete and inoperative . To quote a recent criticism on the former"This ' perfect man' idea is being carried to a ' reductio ad

absurdum . ' There is a reason why a man who has lost an arm or a leg should not be made a Mason . But there is absolutely none why a man otherwise—that is , morally and intellectually —qualified should be denied admission into our ranks because he is ' shy' of a little finger , a great toe , or even a pair of ears .

Just as well refuse him because he is bald-headed or suffers from insomnia or rheumatism . In neither case is he ' a perfect youth . ' When ' perfect' conies to be understood to mean ' qualified to comply with all the requirements of Freemasonry ' we shall enter upon an era of common sense . " In the concluding clause of this

criticism we have the true interpretation and practical application of the ancient charges and regulations . They are conditionated throughout by the fundamental principle of being able to properly receive and accurately communicate the art . As it is absolutely essential that tbe candidate should be able both to hear aud to

see what is communicated to him , and also to speak so as to be able , in due time , to impart that knowledge to others , so it is equally essential that he should also be physically endowed to enable him to do so , in action as well as in word . This no

one-legged nor one-armed man can do . In 1875 the G . Sec . of England wrote on behalf of the B . of G . P . : — "I am directed to say that the general rule in this country is to consider a candidate eligible for election who , although not perfect in his limbs , is

Qualifications Requisite In Candidates.

sufficiently so to comply with and go through the various ceremonies required in the different degrees . " Grand Master Eobinson , of Manitoba , in his annual address , gives expression to thoughts which will be heartily endorsed by every well-instructed Brother in the Craft : — " I think that the

clause in the Charges of 1722 is the proper guide for us to take , and that the words ' that render him incapable of learning the art' modify the strict , literal , and physical perfection which the American view seeks to enforce . The question is a moral and ethical one , just as much as a physical , and I do not think that the former view should be absolutely merged in the latter . "

The only safe course is for the Board of G . Purposes to insist upon a dispensation being . applied for in every case where the candidate is under any manifest physical defect ; such application to furnish full and exact information upon the matter , and the

Board as an impartial tribunal would decide whether such candidate can comply with the necessary requirements or not , and signify its decision by granting or withholding such dispensation . — " Australasian Keystone . "

Women In Masonry.

WOMEN IN MASONRY .

r f ^ HIS subject causing a temporary unrest the Fraternity . _ L An organisation called the Order of the Eastern Star has been sending circulars to Lodges in this Jurisdiction , calling attention to its objects , and offering the necessary Charter and other paraphernalia for organising Chapters , which , it is said , very generally hold their meetings in Masonic apartments .

As the Masonic Fraternity , in its origin and characteristics , is altogether a man ' s society , I call attention to this insidious attempt to change it and make it like the innumerable other societies and orders of the day . A Fraternity , as the word means , is a society of Brethren , and Brethren are , or at least should be , men . Hence it is impossible to admit women in association with them in a Lodge room .

Masonry is such an unique and peculiar institution that it has always kept aloof from any of the so-called progressive movements of the day ; not that , as men , we have no sympathy with them , or object to them , but because as Masons our Fraternity has always kept itself within the qualifications

originally laid down for its membership , one of the most important of which is that the applicant for Freemasonry must be a man . This law against the co-mingling of the sexes carmot be evaded by any device whatever . Lodge celebrations , under the name ancl guise of Lodge associations , are under the ban of the Masonic law .

Notwithstanding the jests one may hear at social gatherings concerning persons who are not Masons being at the Lodge , when they were at some other place which they wish to conceal , it is a gratification to Freemasons to know that no scandals arising out of the co-miugling of sexes can be said to have had their origin in a Lodge room .

I know it is quite fashionable for associations calling themselves Masonic to hold mixed gatherings of the sexes , and I verily believe that the appetites created there have caused this inordinate desire to carry the connection further , so as to bring men and women together in the Lodge room . IE it be progressive

to do this , let those who like such progress advocate it ; but I do not believe the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania will ever give its approval to the use of the Lodge room for any kind of gathering , except that of the Brethren of the Lodge and for Lodge purposes only . Ancl I further believe that where this new idea has been

permitted to obtain a foothold , it will either go on the destruction of the Fraternity , or its abandonment and a return by the Fraternity to the ancient and simple practices established iu the beginning . —M . Arnold Grand Master of Pennsylvania , in " Masonic Journal . "

A True Grand Master.

A TRUE GRAND MASTER .

THE following conclusion of the address of Grand Master Nicholson of Vermont , to his Grand Lodge , reveals the heart of the true man and Mason : Brethren , God does not work all things in one man . To one is given one grace , and to another , another grace . There is

no perfect man . There is no man large enough to represent manhood in all its developments . There is no man wise enough to unfold all of the teachings of Freemasonry . All that composes a perfect character is not found in th . best of manhood .

Some elements develop in one and some in another . Some have zeal , courage , and power , and it is not for them to criticise those who are sweet , gentle , and humble . The human mind , like human strength , is limited . I can only say for myself , that during the two years I have been Grand Master of Masons in Vermont , " I have done what I