Skill And Assiduity In A W.M.

SKILL AND ASSIDUITY IN A W . M .

IN former articles under this heading we have devoted ourselves to a consideration of a Worshipful Master ' s relation to his Lodge generally , and also to his position in regard to the Past Masters of the Lodce over which he

presides ; on the present occasion we shall refer to some of the points in which he and the Treasurer of bis Lodge are more part'culai'ly interested ; and in doing so we may at once say we consider the Treasurer of a Lodge as second

only to the Worshipful Master in importance , even if m many ways he is not worthy of greater distinction . The Treasurer is really the permanent head of the Lodge—for

in private Lodges it is the custom to re-elect the Treasureryear after year—while the Worshipful Master for the time being is the responsible ruler . To the Treasurer the brethren look for advice and assistance in that

allimportant feature of a Lodge , the management of the finances ; and on his judgment much of the success of a Lodge may be said to depend . It behoves the Worshipful Master to especially consider the Treasurer at the outset of

his term of office , for if it may he said that the brethren look to the custodian of their funds for advice , how much more is it the case with the Master , who should treat the Treasurer as his confidential adviser , his right hand man ,

and general co-operator in the government of the Lodsre ? The Worshipful Master , on the day of his installation , will find an important duty devolves upon him in regard to the expenditure which he sanctions at the banquet

table . He may have determined beforehand that he would be cautious in this respect , but in the excitement of his new position he may overstep the limit to which he intended to go . He will be anxious to make as good

a start as his predecessors , and may worry himself that he is either falling short of what they accomplished , or that he is overstepping the bounds of prudence . Surrounded by visitors , with every desire to entertain

them royally , he is aware that the clay of reckoning will find the Lodge with only a small surplus available to meet the expenses of the installation day , and as a consequence he is in a continuous state of anxiety as to whether

he is keeping too close , and whether the guests are receiving that welcome he knows his Lodge intended to give . In many other ways will the anxiety of financial consideration rest upon him in his new position . Under

such circumstances what a relief it is to have a tried official from whom to seek advice—the Treasurer may be appealed to , and no one in the Lodge should be better

able to give assistance than he . An old and tried Past Master , who , perhaps , has guarded tho funds of the Lodge for many years , he knows just how much should be spent , and how it can best be distributed . He can look on

composedly and form a true estimate of what is being done round the festive board ; one corner may be more bountifully supplied than another ; bis experienced eye discerns it , and his high position in the Lodge allows him the

privilege of equalising matters , and that , too , in a manner which is impossible with the Master , who cannot leave his post for such duties . Where a Treasurer will undertake the work , it is best for a Master to leave to him the management of the festive board—in so far as the Lodge is

concerned ; deciding beforehand the extent to which the expenditure shall go , and impressing on the Stewards the necessity for united action with the Treasurer to secure the comfort of those present .

Skill And Assiduity In A W.M.

We have gone somewhat out of order in speaking of the banquet thus early , but it is there that the new Master will , in most cases , first come in contact with his Treasurer , and it will afford him the earliest opportunity of displaying

that skill and assiduity so essential in every Masonic ruler . Tn Lodge frequent occasion will of course arise when the Master must rely on his Treasurer . He cannot , be expected to have that knowledge of what it is in the power

of the Lodge to do that the Treasurer possesses , and when questions of finance require consideration , he not unnaturally looks to that official for advice as to what may be done . The Treasurer can with dignity propose an

amendment when the liberality or extravagance of the members is likely to lead them beyond the means of the Lodge , and his counter proposition should be looked upon , both by the Master as well as the members , rather as

official advice than anything like opposition to their wishes . It is , therefore , advisable for the Worshipful Master to ask the Treasurer for his opinion whenever a question of finance is before the Lodge .

We have said sufficient in our former articles to make it known that we recognise the Master as ruler in his own Lodge . Whatever advice he may ask from the Treasurer or other member of the Lodge he must follow , or

not , as he thinks best ; at least he must be prepared to accept the responsibility of what is done , and must never seek to excuse an error on the plea that it was committed under the advice of another . The Master will

be answerable at the end of his year of office for the state of the finances , even though he may have left their management to the Treasurer , and while he must not

expect to be relieved of any responsibility on this head , he may , by a judicious display of skill , lessen much of the anxiety which is inseparable from his position as controller of the funds of others .

Why Masonry Is Popular.

WHY MASONRY IS POPULAR .

THE world recognises the fact that the Institution of Freemasonry is an ancient and honourable one ; that it has received the devotion of the best men in all civilised countries ; it also recognises the fact that the influences for srood of this Ancient and Honourable Order have been felt

in every nook and corner of the civilised world . As Masons we are proud of this recognition . We are pi'oud to know that Freemasonry , as it is , challenges the admiration of the world .

And here it may be well to pause and ask ourselves the question , Why is Freemasonry thus recognised ? It is not wholly because we can or cannot trace her history back to any particular period in the great march of lime . It is

not wholly because of her fraternal deeds and generous charities which have gladdened the homes and hearts of widows and orphans , and made the hearth-stones of many distressed brothers warm ; for other institutions and

organisations , now among the forgotten things of the past , have doue noble deeds of charity . And yet , every true Mason takes a just pride in the thought and fact that

the history of this great Brotherhood can thus he traced , and that her noble deeds of charity have been , according to her means , so universally bestowed . It is a self-evident truth that the character of every institution is moulded by the moral and social standard of