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lfeE _ a ^ iMiH ^^ SATUKDAY , 29 TH AUGUST 1896 .

Special Or Emergent?

SPECIAL OR EMERGENT ?

THE Grand Lodge , at its convention in June last , passed a law forbidding the Lodges under its jurisdiction to initiate , pass or raise more than five candidates in any one day . The causes which led to the passage of this aw are well known . In the minds of many there remains this doubt : " Has the Grand Lodge gone far enough ? " I fear it has not I

The Master of Phantom Lodge , No . 999 , instead of calling four specials at 2 , 3 -30 and 6-30 p . m ., in addition to the " stated " at 8 , may now call the Brethren together for a special every evening in the week , and , beating all record-breakers , as usual , the mill grinds on .

Bro . K . Eckless , of Phenomenal , No . 975 , after the new law has come tp his knowledge , declares that he will call no more specials at all ; henceforth his surplus of candidates is sent to other less busy Lodges , with the request to confer the degree , and the mill grinds on . Although , of necessity , much slower , something has been gained by the new law .

While the action of both these worthies is against the spirit of the law , it is certainly in conformity with the letter thereof , and of the two ways of breaking the law , the latter is surely to be preferred , because some weak Lodge that has work but rarely may thus be assisted . But specials , at which degrees are conferred , should not be permitted , and the sooner the Grand

Lodge amends the law to read : " No degree shall be conferred except at a stated communication , " the better it will be for the welfare of the Order . The Master proclaims the Lodge closed until its next regular communication , ' ' unless specially convened , in which emergency , " etc . I wonder if the Mason can be found who would consider the conferring of a degree a case of emergency ?

There is not in my mind the shadow of a doubt that when our legislators permitted the holding of specials in emergencies they had in mind cases of death , dire distress and such like , requiring prompt action of the Lodge , but never the conferring of a degree , for which purpose men , who must support their families , ought not to be called from their avocations . As a rule , it is

not the candidate who is in a hurry ; on the contrary , it is the Master who is hurrying the candidates , fearful that his record will remain behind that of his predecessor , who by aid of emergency meetings did wonders . Thus should such meetings be denominated , and not specials , and I am sure the Brethren would soon stop emergency communications , called to confer a degree , in

their own peculiar manner . Our present specials are largely the primary cause of the appalling defection in our ranks . The love for Masonry , or , on the other hand , the indifference one shows . 'ls the result of the impression made upon him in the Lodge while receiving the degrees . It is impossible in most cases to do the work as well or as impressively at a special as at the stated communication .

Conscientious and zealous Masons , and these are generally excellent workers , who have accepted an office , so arrange their time and affairs as to be at liberty on stated communications ; these men cannot be present at specials , and their respective stations and places must thus be filled by someone else . These emergency officers , as a rule , have but a faint notion of the

work they are attempting , but when they candidly plead their ignorance the Master reassures them : " Oh , it is only a special ; you will do all right , " and the mill grinds on . Often the organist cannot attend , and we know that

there will be no solemnity . No actor plays well to empty benches , hence , on account of the very few who can attend specials , the work is generally done in a slovenly or perfunctory manner , and everybody , including the recipient of the degree , goes home disappointed .

No , the Grand Lodge did not go far enough . Let degrees be conferred at stated communications and specials be called for real emergencies only ; if the number of men who join our ranks will diminish , the number of unaffiliated Masons will do likewise , and that result is much to be desired . — " Past Master , " in " New York Tribune . "

Labour And Progress.

LABOUR AND PROGRESS .

TJIREEMASON'RY is emphatically a working institution . Work , mental - * - and physical , is practically taught in every lesson of the mystic science . From the time the initiate enters within the portals of the Temple , the duty of practical labour is enjoined in the symbolic instructions given to him , as well as in the illustrations of the ceremonials of the several degrees of

Masonry . As an Entered Apprentice , representing youth , he is expected to apply himself to acquiring a knowledge of the duties pertaining to his probationary position and to prepare himself for more active usefulness in a higher sphere , that of a Fellow Craft , representing manhood . Having acquired a knowledge of these duties which , voluntarily assumed , he has obligated himself to , and exemplified practially that the lessons taught him were

Labour And Progress.

impressed upon his heart and conscience , and that he is prepared for further advancement , the veil is uplifted and he is led onward to assume higher duties and additional obligations as a Fellow Craftsman . There can be no progress without labour , and advancement in Masonry is , or ought to be , based upon an intelligent application of the teachings imparted to the candidate . The

indolent novitiate , who will not apply himself to the proper study of Masonry , as far as he has received light , or practially exemplify its teachings in his daily life , ought never to be advanced beyond the portals of the Temple . As a hewer of wood or drawer of water he should be held in a subservient position , as a learner , an apprentice . The diligent student alone has a right

to advancement to further progress in our mystio science ; those alone _ ought to be promoted to the degree of Fellow Craft , and in due time to sublime degree of a Master Mason . The titles of the several degrees indicate that of a learner , a proficient , and a Master or teacher . The Master ' s degree , implying that the novitiate and probationary periods have been passed ,

although representing that time of life when men ordinarily expect to cease from their active duties , it is then that the true Freemason , because of his temperate and regular course of life , having lived in acordance with the teachings of the institution , which are based upon the laws of nature and nature ' s God , is in the possession of both mental and bodily vigour and well

qualified , from his mature age and experience , to be a teacher in Israel . As development and progress , both mental and physical , necessarily result from a strict observance of the laws of nature , and the active exercise of our faculities in harmony with the design of the Creator , so the true Freemason , from the time of his entrance to our rnystio Order , will progress in wisdom

and knowledge , will unfold the divine nature of his being ; his faculties will expand with age so long as he is capable of active usefulness , and even as is taught in the legend of the Master ' s degree—when passed to a higher sphere , when raised from the earthly to the invisible world , the spirit , divested of its mortal body , will continue as in this life , unceasingly to develop and

progress onward and onward , from one degree of excellence to a higher . In God's word , progress is impressed upon all his works . In man , created in His likeness , ultimate tbe ideal of His creations , and in and through man tha grand design of the Creator will be perfected . Indolence and inactivity are incompatible with progress , and , consequently , are inconsistent with Masonio

obligations and duties . The teachings of Masonry are in harmony with God's laws , and labour , even when called off at refreshment , does not cease . And neither is the work of Masonry confined to the Lodge Eoom ; it is there are taught those lessons which are to be exemplified in our daily life and practice , and in our intercouse with our fellow man .

The working man alone is the true Mason . The indolent , the ignorant , those who neither acquire a knowledge of the true objects and purposes of Freemasonry nor practice its teaching , are not alone drones and useless , but are stumbling-blocks and impediments to the progress of the institution in fulfilling its mission in the elevation and improvement of the family of man . — Exchange .

True Duty Of Freemasonry.

TRUE DUTY OF FREEMASONRY .

IT is a little singular that men claiming to be Masons can be found so glaringly obtuse to the simplest requirements of the Craft , notable the duty due to the helpless brotherhood . The subjoined excerpt covers the ground fully although briefly , and Grand Master George H . Morgan , of Tennessee , strikes the keynote of that practical charity which is so often overlooked when he says in his annual address :

One Worshipful Master wrote to this effect : " We have in our Lodge an old Brother who was always a very zealous Mason , but he has become totally deaf . He was a regular attendant upon the Lodge meetings until he lost his hearing , since which he does not come so often . He has become so poor that he is unable to pay his dues . He wants to be in good standing when he dies ,

so he can have a Masonic burial . What shall we do with him ? " I do not desire to report all that I said in reply . I wrote , however , in substance , the following , after looking to see the number of members in said Lodge : " It will cost your members about one and a quarter cents a year each to pay the good old Brother ' s dues . Carry him on till he reaches the brink of the river .

and God will carry him safely over , and you will all feel better by even having given the good old Brother a cent and a quarter apiece , for a short time . Bury his remains with Masonic honours when he dies , and in the sweet bye and bye , when his hearing is restored to him in the Celestial Lodge above ,

where he can hear the voices of the angelic hosts , may he never hear that you asked the Grand Master the question , ' What shall we do with him ? ' Go learn again the early taught lessons in Masonry , of brotherly love and relief . " — " American Tyler . "

Non-Payment Of Dues.

NON-PAYMENT OF DUES .

A GBEAT deal of unnecessary sympathy is sometimes evoked on behalf of those who cannot or will not pay their dues , and are excluded their Lodge . A short time since we saw a most strongly worded letter from a Brother , who , in commenting on a case of exclusion—not in his own Lodge —asked whether a person was required to devote the money necessary for

providing food for his family toward payment of subscription to a Masonic Lodge , and characterising the proceeding as " scandalous " and " un-Masonic , " giving all the odium to the Lodge , and his utmost sympathy to the defaulter . The proper course , which is also a very plain one , was recently adopted by a