The Grand Treasurership.

THE GRAND TREASURERSHIP .

WE think it will be readily conceded signs are not wanting to show that the rank and file of Freemasonry are no longer the meek and mild body th ' ey were formerly regarded by those who imagined

the mere exercise of authority would ensure the most servile obedience on every side ; and although we

should be extremely sorry to hear of anything nearly approaching open revolt on the part of the masses in Freemasonry , it is very certain their power can be no

longer ignored . The most recent evidence of this is probably to be found in the reception accorded to Brother Eve on the appeal he made against the dictatorial interference of the General Committee of Grand Lodge , or , as he

characterised it , the Acting Chairman of that Committee , in " declining to accept notice of a question to be put in Grand Lodge , and in holding a Notice of Motion for the same must be rejected as irregular . " He took a very- bold stand in connection with the question at

issue , prosecuting his Appeal not so much on personal grounds as because he desired to uphold certain well defined principles—principles that really affect the

whole future and welfare of the Craft , because seeking to place the status of certain of its members beyond question ; and we may say that in this matter as in others where Bro . Eve has taken a prominent position

the members of what is known as " Blue" Masonry owe him a debt of gratitude which they can best repay by attending in full force at future meetings of Grand Lodge , when the matters in which he is interesting

himself come on for consideration . There are doubtless some who will say we are wrong in including Brother Eve among the rank and file of Freemasonry , inasmuch as he holds the position of Past

Treasurer of England , but it must be remembered that his is the one office of distinction in English Freemasonry that can be filled by the vote of the rank and file . In Brother Eve we have a splendid

exemplification of the Mason who , while doing honour to the exalted position he has achieved , has not forsaken the friends of his former station—those to whom he was most indebted for his preferment . Bro . Eve is a Grand Officer in the fullest sense of

the term , and is at the same time an outspoken , zealous advocate of the great body of English Freemasonry —those who have not received Grand honours , nor ,

for matter of that , have the least prospect of obtaining them . Confining ourselves to the title of our present

remarks we shall probably do right in ascribing to the office of Grand Treasurer all , or nearly all , the change that has taken place in recent years in regard

The Grand Treasurership.

to the relative position of the two sections of English Freemasonry who are eligible for attendance at Grand Lodge—the rulers and the ruled , for it was in

nominating , and subsequently carrying the election of a " commoner" as Grand Treasurer that those we may designate as the " advanced section " of the Craft first asserted themselves , and have since maintained

their position , which position we may at once describe as by no means secure against attack ; indeed , it will be lost to the wearers of the " Blue" unless they are alive to their own interests , and take steps , not for a

and voted solid for its own representative , in opposition to the nominee of those on the dais . True , the present holder of the Office was a " Blue" Mason in the fullest sense of the term , so much so , in fact , that he was not eligible to take the position in

few weeks only , but for all time , to uphold their rights . It is a pleasing feature in Freemasonry that the

minority in all cases bows to the dictum of the majority , and on that basis the Brethren bowed to the result of the election that placed the present Grand

Treasurer in his position ; but there are few who will argue that he would have secured the appointment had the rank and file of the Craft been true to itself ,

Grand Chapter that was his by right , simply because he had no seat in the ruling body of the Eoyal Arch , that Order which , by the solemn Act of Union between the two Grand Lodges in 1813 , was declared and nronounced to be included as a nart and narcel

of the degree of Master . This point alone was , in the opinion of a large number , a disqualification for the Office , but there was no law to make it so , and the unusual course had to be adopted of having one Grand Treasurer for the Craft and another for the

Boyal Arch , an anomaly , by the way , that might be matter of regular procedure , in order to provide another honourable appointment to be competed for year by year by those who cannot hope for Grand

honours in the ordinary course of events . It is , in fact , so bad a trait when it arose as the result of unusual circumstances that we approve of it if it can be made regular in its action ; most inconsistent , it may well be said .

But the fact remains—the Grand Treasurership is the one honour to which the masses of Freemasonry can raise one of their number , but to do so the most rigorous unanimity is necessary , nay even compulsory .

The last election showed how easily success can be turned into failure if anything like a split in the camp is to be allowed . On the one side was Brother Dimsdale with 1317 votes , the majority of which were

polled by wearers of the Purple , or those personally influenced by that section ; on the other Brothers