Improperly Vouched For.

IMPROPERLY VOUCHED FOR .

THE regulations of the Craft are pretty clear as to the course to be adopted when a stranger seeks admission to a Lodge , and it is probable that the tests applied by the Junior AVarden or his

representative are effective , and quite sufficient to keep out any unqualified person who comes wholly strange to a meeting ; but can the same be said in regard to the visitor who first makes himself acquainted with one

of the members , and secures an invitation from that member , who personally vouches for his guest ? Of course this latter method of obtaining admission to a Lodge would take a little longer , but that would be a minor drawback with any one who desired to witness the working of Freemasonry without going through

the necessary forms of initiation , and while it seems next to impossible to wholly guard against it , a little extra care may be enjoined , and a little public attention directed to what is certainly a weak spot in the organisation of Freemasonry . One frequently discovers that those with whom business brings us in association know something of Freemasonry , but how

much it is quite impossible to find out . By degrees the intimacy increases , and later on what is more natural than the extension of an invite to one ' s Lodge , which is regularly accepted , the guest being allowed to enter without any examination or inquiry ,

the word of the introducer being deemed sufficient for all purposes ; and so it is , and should be , in most cases , but what would happen if the guest had imposed on the good nature of his friend , and had improperly led him on to regard him as a regular Freemason ? He' could learn enough in that one visit to render him free to go or come in Freemasonry whenever he chose , and probably few would be the wiser .

It would be very difficult to have to explain , before introducing a friend , that we only had his word that he was a Mason , or that an introducer should have to suggest a proper examination of his guest before allowing his admission into the Lodge . Yet something of the sort is really necessary to guard against the possible admission of an unqualified stranger ,

although , as we have previously argued , it would not be necessary to adopt such troublesome tactics if surreptitious entrance to a Lodge was really desired .

We must content ourselves in England with the knowledge that Freemasonry is so easy of attainment in a proper manner that there is no need for underhand practices or trickery of which one need be ashamed .

Next Week's Festival.

NEXT WEEK'S FESTIVAL .

WITHOUT desiring to create unnecessary alarm among those who are interested in the welfare of the Masonic Institutions , or of putting too black an

Next Week's Festival.

appearance on the outlook for the future , we think it is necessary to prepare the Craft for something like disappointment in connection with the first of the three

Festivals of 1891 , which ia to be held on Wednesday nest , on behalf of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Masons and their Widows . It will be already known to our readers that the Masonio chief of the Province of

Kent has this year undertaken to appeal to the Craft , as Chairman of the Festival , and it is believed that hia district will support him with a fair average total , but there is nothing of an exceptional character , as far as we know , to point to a grand success , even if the returns will

not show a diminution as compared with those of the past few years . It is perhaps too late in the day to now urge new Stewards to come forward , although there is ample time for them to do so , even at this late hour ; but it is not too lato to urge on individual brethren the desirability

of carefully studying the position of this Institution , the work it is accomplishing , and the means it has at hand of meeting the claims made upon its resources . The Benevolent Institution stands in a peculiar position among the great charity funds of the Craft , and has many

points to recommend it which are nofc enjoyed by the others . In this case there is no necessity to squabble as to what is done with the money ; there is no room for a cheese-paring policy or a niggardly cutting down of everything and everybody , until the tradesmen become

disgusted , and the servants rebellious ; for the recipients of the bounty are allowed to spend their own money just as they choose , without let or hindrance from Committees , Councils or other combinations of subscribers , who , in very many instances , seem to desire to make their work as

obnoxious and unpleasant as possible . Then again , the Benevolent Institution has no expensive buildings to maintain , periodically enlarge and improve , or adapt in accordance with modern ideas of sanitation or of" fad . " Although there is the Asylum at Croydon , we think there is little

fear of thousands being spent in enlarging it , for the opinion seems to be growing that , small as it is , it is already too large for the work it is provided for , and costs far more to maintain than is justifiable from a strictly commercial standpoint . The Craft is to be

congratulated on this fact , and we should rejoice to hear that the Committee deemed it desirable to do away with the small building now in use as a Masonic Almshouse , preferring rather to add a few additional annuities to the already handsome number annually dispensed through the

channels of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution . Our old people should not be so deserted by their friends of the past as to make a home far from all old associations desirable , even if by removal to the Asylum they secure a few extra advantages , such as free accommodation , light ,

coal , and medical attendance . Happily a large majority of those who might enjoy these additional privileges prefer to remain , in their own districts and periodically receive a remittance from the offices of the charity , which they aro at liberty to expend as they like . We think a little

consideration of the drawbacks of compelling the removal of the annuitants to a central habitation will not only prove the correctness of the system now in vogue , but will induce a belief that the abolition of even the present small Asylum

might be advantageously discussed . The questions which naturally arise are : how much does it cost to maintain ? who , wonld suffer by its removal ? and what would be the effect of its abolition on the general body of the Craft ?