The Graft In The United States.

a few particulars as to the number of Grand Lodges thai have been established under ( he Stars and Stripes , lhe prosperity which had been their lot during the pas ! year , and the mosl important among the losses which had occurred . But , having

regard to the immense number of brethren in that country , and the enormous influence they are capable of exercising , if need be , on the minds of their fellow-citizens , our renders will doubtless be glad to have some idea presented to them of the manner in which the affairs of the Craft are administered b \* the rulers ol

these Grand Lodges , and the extent to which then * ideas and ours are in accord as to the manner in which the principles and tenet ? of our Society should be applied . We know that FYeemasonry , wheresoever it may have succeeded in establishing itself , is held

to be a homogeneous body ; that its fundamental principles are the same in all countries , and that the only differences to be found among the different constituent parts of that body have their origin in the different habits aud ideas of tin * nations which

afford it the protection ol their laws . This is true enough in theory , but , unfortunately , there are countries on thi * Continent of Europe in which the most important of these principles are ignored . In the United States of North America , as in the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its colonies and possessions , the principles of the Craft are rigidly adhered to ; but in the . former , there is a tendency , which appears to grow stronger almost every year , to set aside

altogether the simple methods by which our affairs have been administered and substitute for them a complex and highly elaborate machinery which is quite uncalled for . In English Freemasonry there is a Book of Constitutions for the

government of our Society as a whole , while each private lodge has its code of by-laws for the regulation of it , s own affairs , and it matters nol how these various codes of by-laws differ from each other so long as they contain nothing that is inconsistent with

the general laws which apply to the whole body . Moreover , this general code of laws and the by-laws of private lodges treat only of matters of importance , and it is carefully remembered that the law was never intended to deal with petty details . But

in the United States , as we havo remarked on many . previous occasions , it is hardly possible for a brother to turn in any direction without finding himself confronted by whole regiments of laws as to what he can or cannot be permitted to do in

almost every variety of contingency . Our meaning will be more apparent if we extract a few passages from sundry reviews in the Voice of Masonry for last month of the proceedings and correspondence of sundry of the American Grand Lodges ,

Thus the Grand Lodge of Ohio held its 86 th annual communication at Springfield in October , and , as usual , the Grand Master delivered an elaborate address , in which he presented to the brethren everything of importance which had been done by him

in the discharge of his duties or by his executive officers . It is not necessary we should enumerate all the various acts done b y him during his year of office , or all the recommendations he had considered it his duty to make , but amongst the former we

notice that he rendered rg decisions , while amongst the latter he suggested that a complete copy of the Grand Lodge proceedings should be placed in lhe hands of each Mason in the Slate as a means of Masonic education . As there are nearlv 18000

subscribing Masons in Ohio , this means the printing and circulating as many volumes containing forac 200 or 300 pages , more or less , of closely-printed matter . If this suggestion should be

carried out , it will be a decided boon to the printer , a heavy charge upon the funds of the Grand Lodge , and in our humble opinion an act of questionable advantage to the Ohio brethren . The Grand Master also recommended that

the overtures from thc Grand Lodge of Tennessee for a resumption of friendly relations should be received and approved that District Lecturers should not confine their attention to instruction in the ritual , but should devote a part of their time

to teaching the symbolism of Freemasonry , and that they should be paid their expenses ; and that greater proficiency should be required in the Master Mason ' s Degree . There is also mention

made of a code of by-laws being compiled , which is described as being " comprehensive in detail , direct in their purpose , and flexible in their application . " Indeed , nothing appears to have been left unrecorded in the account he rendered of his Grand

The Graft In The United States.

Mastership , from the granting of a dispensation for some trivial matter to questions of the highest importance to the Grand Lodge of Ohio , though , marvellous to relate , we lind no notice , not even a suspicion of a reference to the landmarks of Masonry .

In tbe review of the proceedings and correspondence of the ( irand Lodge of Kentucky , which held its 9 6 th annual communication in Louisville about the same time , as that of the

Grand Lodge of Ohio , the Grand Master ' s address , while it contains much that is generally interesting , is equally full of small and unimportant details . In the correspondence , however , which was presented by Bro . W . W . CLARKE , it is stated to be

the opinion of that brother that " no power exists , and , in the nature of things , none can exist to change the status of a Mason after death , " the following reason being assigned for this opinion— " A Alason is always in good standing against

whom no charges are pending . It , therefore , he dies in good standing we question thc right of a lodge by any act . to question his status after death .- " To this the reviewer , in the Voice of Masonry , takes exception and illustrates its view by stating a

case as follows . If a Mason " has been wrongfull y suspended or expelled and has appealed the case to the Grand Lodge and then dies the appeal can and should be entertained and decided precisely as it would be if he were not deceased . If this could not be so .

Masonic justice would be defeated and nullified , and without real cause the brother ' s family would be deprived of their Masonic rights . On the other hand , if a member of the Fraternity commits a great crime and then suicides , he therefore

scandalises Freemasonry and wrongs all related to him , socially , civilly , morally , fraternally , and by blood , and as Masonic burial is a Masonic privilege , instead of an absolute Masonic right , his remains may be justly refused Masonic interment , but those

dependent on him by blood or marriage relationship cannct be punished for his sin , and if in need of Masonic relief should receive it . " For our part , we greatly prefer the opinion

expressed by the Editor of the Kentucky Correspondence to that of the reviewer in the Voice . Death , as it seems to us , puts an end to everything , and when a Mason dies , the question whether his memorv—for there is nothing- left of him but that— -should be

allowed to remain in good standing should never be . considered As for a brother ' s family being " deprived of their Masonic rights , " we are not aware ol" their possessing any rights , unless

indeed , any of the male members ol it should happen to be Masons , and then their rights would be derived from their own membership , not from that of their deceased relative and brother . Indeed , the question is one which ought not under

any circumstances to be discussed , and for tins reason , that when a man dies the remembrance of the good he may have done should be cherished , but the evil should be buried with

him . To talk about trying a man who is dead and cannot defend himself is as terrible a blunder as it is in grammar to speak of a man '' suiciding . "

In the address delivered by the Grand Master of Indian Territory , at the annual communication in August last , several noteworthy subjects are referred to , and though the Grand Lodge is of comparatively recent establishment , one or two acts of

the Grand Master , as endorsed by the ( irand Lodge , are specially worthy of commendation . Thus the Grand Master stoutly refused all applications by lodges for dispensations to appear in public as Masons and march in parade at picnics , and as our

American brethren are not a little prone to make all tin spectacular display they can in public , the refusal speaks volumes in favour of the strength of mind of the presiding officer Another exceedingly just resolution of his was a refusal to permit

a lodge to lend its funds , or any portion of its funds , to am of the members , but it sounds strange to us who arc so particulai in keeping all Degrees apart which are outside those recog nised by Constitutional Masonry , to read of a Craft Grand Lod g '

extending fraternaJ greetings to a Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters . Equally strange is it for us to be told that the Grand Lodge decided " that voting on the proficiency of

candidates must be done in the Master Masons Degree , " and d certainly seems to us more appropriate , as suggested by the / ' oico that " it would be better to hold the Master responsible for thr proficiency of candidates in each Dcgrac , and lo have thc