Masons And Their Grievances.

MASONS AND THEIR GRIEVANCES .

THE man with a grievance is a well known character in all phrases of life . We meet him in every sphere of society we may be called upon to move in . If we travel we find him at the hotel we have decided to put up at . and when we embark on

an ocean voyage he will crop up within a very short time of our leaving the landing stage . It does not necessarily follow that his grounds for complaint are

oi a very pronounced type ; on the contrary , the merest trifle going amiss may make him eloquent for hours , and he is in far too many cases prepared to dictate a remedy that from his point of view will square all angular protuberances that may assert themselves or have a tendency to disturb the equable run of our course . What matter to him that the

remedy he suggests may be heavier to bear as a burden than that presented by the most serious of his causes of complaint ; he will take no denial ; he had formulated a scheme to dispel tbe grievance ; should such scheme not be carried out successfully you must not blame him .

In our Lodge rooms the man with a grievance is always a prominent character . He shows himself in many guises , but where the members are in union with each other , his little escapades are treated lightly , and very little trouble arises from them . Stillj there are occasions when the harmony and comfort of the Lodge is somewhat disturbed by such a brother . We will note a few such cases that have

come under , our notice , which may serve as examples of the evils that we desire to see abated . First , then , we may refer to the brother who is always labouring tinder the delusion that the ceremonies as worked in his Lodge lack that solemnity

and dignity that should attach to them . He has music on the brain , and he will never be content until the Lodge has provided itself with an organ or harmonium , and the members have agreed to meet on certain occasions for rehearsal of the ceremonies .

Moreover , urgeth he , we as yet are not strong in regard to music , so I will try and induce some one or two of my friends to come as visitors , they will give us assistance . In some cases these disturbances

of old-fashioned ideas are tolerated , but only for a time . Our enterprising brother has passed through the chair , and tries to find in some other channel of life an outlet for his superfluous steam . He feels himself snubbed ; and tries to lay the flattering unction to his soul that there , after all , is nothing in Freemasonry .

Another of the ohjectionable canvassers we have to make stand against is , the brother who is always propounding the grievance that we do not do enough

for the Charitable Institutions . Look at me , he argues , I have been a Mason only four years , but I have served as Steward at two Festivals , and next time I shall go for the third . This young man ' s

Masons And Their Grievances.

grievance resolves itself into this ; every member of his Lodge should subscribe whenever called upon . What does he know , or care , as to whether the brother he asks for a contribution from possesses the means .

He reckons not of the many family claims that have to be provided for . He has been told Brother So and So's income amounts to so much ; he does not take into account that this same brother has a

bedridden father and a widowed Bister to provide for . He entirely ignores the fact that he had a father before him ; a father who successfully carried on the business he now conducts ; a father who , by dint of economy and thrift , amassed a large sum of money ,

which has now fallen into the hands of the son who may or may not devote it to a good purpose . Up to now this brother has never known any . anxiety or business care ; will it always be thus ? We hope so , but we fear such hopes may not be realized to the extent now so sangninely anticipated .

Another type of the man with a grievance is that of the individual who has settled it in his own mind that what he has done for Freemasonry has given him a substantial claim to Grand honours , whether Supreme or Provincial . This brother when badly

taken is irresistible ; to approach him in any way unless yoii are prepared to recognise his asserted claims is dangerous . In too many cases he also is young , as a Mason we mean . He has fixed for himself a Standard , and he has built himself around it , — entirely to his own satisfaction . What to him the claims of the many Masons older than himself who

have been passed over . They have been quiet and content ; he is not built of such material . He has worked hard , and unless he receives what he thinks ample recognition for the service he has rendered Masonry will see little more of him . Well , many of the did school will say , with us , we can do without you .

But let us throw aside any further consideration of such an uncanny subject . We are about to enter on a new year . Let us formulatd hew ideas if they show signs of ultimate benefit to bo derived from them ;

we cannot hope that the man with a grievance will be absolutely exercised from our Lodge rooms , but let us meet him in a brotherly spirit , and by combatting his strained ideas and stedfastly resisting his unsound arguments preserve the true spirit of brotherly love and regard that should , govern our actions ;

For the past ten years Bro . Dr . 0 . F . Forshaw , of Bradford , has been in the habit of writing a poem relative to Yule tide . Bro . R . Brown P . M . 295 , of Macclesfield , hag secured ihe copyright of these , and has just issued them in

a charming little brochure , which is got op in a very elegant and attractive manner . Bro . Dr . Forshaw sent a copy to H . R . _ . the Prince of Wales , and General Sir Dighton Probyn has , on behalf of fiis Royal ttighncsp , aclcowledged the receipt oi the same .