Preferment In Lodge.

PREFERMENT IN LODGE .

IN . the " Antient Charges " of a Freemason , prefixed * to the Constitutions of the English Craft , it is distinctly laid down that " All preferment among Masons is grounded upon real worth and personal merit only , " and in face of such an injunction it is : a

somewhat difficult task to set about attempting to convince our readers , or even ourselves , that the proper method of advancement in our Lodges is by a strict adherence to seniority ; and yet we think there are very

few , who have had any practical experience of the working of the two method ' s , but will agree upon the point that to ensure peace , harmony ,, and ; progress in a Lodge , preferment must go by rotation , and not by

favour ; and in view of circumstances which have lately been brought under our notice we propose to devote attention to the subject on the present occasion , and weigh the pros and cons of the different methods . Of

course there are exceptions to this , as to every other rule , but the exceptions in the very large majority of cases only go to prove the rule , and more often than not may be pointed to as practical evidences of the ill

effects of departing from strict routine , in favour of promotion by merit—this latter , more likely than not , being simply a more euphonious expression than if the action were described as the direct result of favouritism ,

or underhand , or outside influence—and this being so it becomes most difficult to say how best to harmonise the theory and the practice of the Craft in the matter . Our first Grand Master has told us , more than

once in his Proverbs , that "in the multitude of counsellers there is safety , ' * and recognising the weight of his words it is very opportune we should be able to

refer at the moment to a Lodge which probably enjoys the greatest multitude of counsellers of any under the English Constitution—the Jubilee Masters Lodge , No . 2712—which has a membership closely bordering on a

hundred and fifty , all of whom are now , or recently have been , Masters of Lodges in the metropolitan , area . But in referring to the regulations of this Lodge , in regard to the selection of Officers , it must be borne in

mind it is a most exceptional case : every one of its members has already been installed into the chair of a Lodge , and the rule practised , in Grand . Lodge , of appointing an entirely ; new set of Officers at each

annual Festival , is followed , so that no Brother selected expects or anticipates further preferment , unless under most exceptional circumstances . The rule in this

Lodge is to leave the nomination of Officers to a Permanent Committee , who make their selection in recognition of services rendered to the Craft , and make a formal recommendation to the ruler of the

year as to who he shall appoint to assist him in the government of the Lodge during his term of Mastership . This selection , on the basis of real worth and personal merit only—the action of the multitude of counsellers—is in direct accord with the Antient

Preferment In Lodge.

Charges of the Craft , and , were it not for the exceptional character of the Lodge , might be held up as a pattern for imitation ; as it is we think it really serves to support the argument that promotion should go by rotation , as it is only in a Lodge w ^ here every member

has risen to the highest station in his individual Lodge , that it is deemed expedient to appoint a Permanent Committee to suggest to the Master as to whom he

should appoint as . his Assistant Officers . Such a Committee would not only be most unusual , but would really be out of place , in an ordinary Piivate Lodge .

Our arguments thus far may be regarded as wholly in favour of the principle of promotion by merit , and were it not that the Jubilee Masters Lodge , to which we have more particularly referred , is so very

exceptional in its organisation , we should almost feel disposed to dismiss the subject at this point , and decide in , favour of that line of procedure ; but the system , of selection which will probably work

satisfactorily- in connection with a Lodge of Installed Masters is practically impossible in an ordinary Lodge , where a large proportion of the members are equally anxious to rise to the dignity of the Mastership , and where—in the

words of our ritual—it is the hope of reward that sweetens labour . Selection by a Committee , or by a Worshipful Master , under such conditions , is quite out of place , and at the outset we may point to what we

regard as an insurmountable obstacle—the decision of what really constitutes real worth or personal merit . A Brother may be a perfect master of the ritual of the three . degrees , a splendid elocutionist , and an effective

actor , and yet may lack the ability to preside over a Lodge so as to promote harmony and good fellowship ; on the other hand a Mason may be the most genial of

companions , a perfect host , and a born ruler among his fellows , yet be incapable of learning the work of the Craft , and utterly fail in effectively rendering one of our ceremonies . Which of these would be the most

deserving of promotion , if merit alone were allowed to govern preferment ? Some would say the one , some the other ; for ourselves we would guarantee that the jovial ruler , whose nature probably precluded his

shining as a Masonic worker , would do far more good for his Lodge and for Freemasonry at large , than he whose sole qualification was a perfect knowledge of the

ritual and ceremonies of the Craft , without that sociability which , after all , plays the premier part in our whole system of Masonic Brotherhood .

The fairest , and , we maintain , the best method by which peace and harmony can be secured in a Lodge , is to allow promotion to go on in regular rotation . Each Brother in his turn should be offered the lowest

Office at the disposal of the Worshipful Master , and he should be promoted step by step until he rises to the dignity of the chair , unless something

radically wrong could be brought to his charge . It is manifestly unfair for any Worshipful Master to ruthlessly strip a Brother of his rank , and level him to the