Lodge Officers.

immediate direction of the Junior Warden , to whom he make reports and lrom whom he receives instructions . On occasion s he makes reports directly to the Worshipful Master , as for instance at the admission of candidates . His duties call for no lengthened comment beyond suggesting that one of his first

cares should be to learn to distinguish between a " report" and an " alarm . " Brother Inner Guard will not act unwisely in consulting the Tyler when he is in doubt on this or other matters . We might add that he should make himself acquainted with the exact styles ancl titles of visitors before announcing

them , particularly of Provincial Officers . Nor do the duties of Brother Treasurer require much explanation . He has probably been selected by thc lodge on account of his particular qualifications , and his duties such as they are—and if the Secretary be a skilled brother they are not very onerous—are generally performed at home .

We now come to what , for want of a better term , may be called the voluntary officers . Those we have been describing are called " regular" officers , ancl must of necessity be appointed . The voluntary officers , according to Article 129 , comprise the Chaplain , Director of Ceremonies , Organist , and Stewards . An Almoner is sometimes appointed .

The Chaplain s duty is to offer up prayer in the appropriate places in the several ceremonies , and at the opening of lodge hc should not fail to read aportkmof scripture . Suitable selections

for the use of lodge Chaplains have been appointed and we might recommend , as specially appropriate , Psalms xv ., lxxxiv ., or cxxii . The Chaplain appears to be the most suitable lodge officer to deliver the charge in the First Degree .

In Provincial Grand Lodge two Chaplains maybe appointed , who are of equal rank . Why two , is not quite clear , unless to ensure that one shall always be present . The duties include the preparation and delivery of an oration on the occasion of thc consecration of a new lodge , the installation of a Provincial

Grand Master , or the laying of a foundation stone . The Chaplain ' s duties , in fact , are to keep ever to the front the most exalted aspect of the Craft and to maintain its position as a great religious Institution . He may very fitly be trusted to be the lodge Almoner , as , if a clergyman , he is in daily contact with

those who need such ministrations of brotherly kindness . We say , if a clergyman , but it is by no means essential that he should be . There arc many Masters who , if the services of a clergyman are not available , decline to appoint a Chaplain , but we venture to think they arc wrong . The very fact of the

appointment shows the importance the lodge attaches to the discharge of a Chaplain ' s duties . Wc might point out that the lodge Chaplain is quite as deserving of promotion as any other officer of the lodge As we observed in our article on thc Wardens ( No . IV . ) the brother who is invested with the

Chaplain's collar is very often allowed to keep it in perpetuity . Experience has shown , however , that when a clergyman is enthusiastic about Freemasonry , his enthusiasm is generally

very marked indeed , and to keep such a brother in the subordinate position is not only an injustice to him , but often to the lodge which is thus deprived of the services of an intelligent Master .

The Director of Ceremonies comes next . This brother makes his own duties . It is almost necessary that he should be a Past Master . He should be capable of filling any chair in the lodge , the incumbent of which has failed to put in an appearance , at a moment ' s notice , and especially , he should be ready

to supplement the efforts of thc Deacons , whose knowledge may not always be on a par with their zeal . In the ordinary routine of lodge work he will have little to do save to see that distinguished visitors receive suitable consideration and are accorded their proper precedence .

On the occasion of an installation or an official visitation , however , it is different . He should see that the brethren who form in procession to salute the new Wor . Master are arranged in their proper order , the junior brother first . We are quite aware that we are open to the objection that , at that particular

moment , there is neither a Director of Ceremonies nor any other officer in existence , but we venture to suggest that the voluntary officers of a lodge retain the right to perlorm their functions

until their successors are actually invested . The same objection would make it impracticable to have any music during the processions , whereas a spirited march on the organ always enlivens proceedings which otherwise are apt to grow monotonous .

In Provincial Grand Lodge the Director of Ceremonies is a very important functionary . In the lodge room it is desirable that he should follow close on the heels of the Provincial Grand

Pursuivant , and thus make doubly sure of the fact that the brethren arc ranged under their respective banners . In the anteroom the formation of thc Provincial Grand Master ' s procession is a matter of anxiety . Hc has to be acquainted with

Lodge Officers.

the antecedents of every brother so as to arrange brethren holding corresponding past rank , in the order of their Masonic seniority—and a capable Director of Ceremonies can do much towards making proceedings orderly and comfortable . In

Grand Lodge his duties are really onerous , and demand the co-operation of a whole army of assistants , insomuch that special votes of thanks to these brethren are presented on occasion , ancl the Grand Director of Ceremonies frequentl y finds his way to a Warden's collar .

We now come to the Organist . Needless to say that this brother must possess the attainments involved in his designation . He should not only know how to play , but how to leave off . Whilst suitable music enhances the dignity of the ceremonial , especially in the Third Degree , it is better to be

without it than to have to endure the spectacle of the proceedings coming to a full stop , to enable the organist to avoid an abrupt conclusion . However , we are not proposing in this article to give a music lesson , and as the brethren appointed to this office are generally qualified professionally , there is no reason to

discourse at length on the way they should perform their duties . He should , of course , try to form a choir , and as to what is appropriate to be performed we cannot do better than refer him to the Liber Musicus , by the late Bro . Dr . Spark , P . P . G . Org . West Yorks , published by Bros . Geo . Kenning and Son .

We now come to the Stewards . These may be appointed in any number , and in lodge they are supposed to look after the comfort of visitors , which , as a rule , resolves itself into asking such to stay to dinner . Their most important duty , however , is that not laid down in the ritual—that is the catering . Where

Masonic waiters are not available in the banqueting-hall , it is also expected that the Stewards will act as such , and it will thus be seen that the Stewards deserve well of thc lodge . The senior Steward is usually in charge of the Stewards' Fund . This should always be kept distinct from the Iodge funds . As a matter of

convenience , in some lodges , where brethren reside at a distance and send their dues by post , the Secretary sometimes encloses a memo of the Stewards' account ; but the funds are , and should be , kept perfectly distinct . The senior Steward may present a report of the state of the fund from time to time , and recover

from the lodge Treasurer such sums as may be due on . account of the entertainment of visitors , and , if in debt , he may ask the lodge to vote a specific sum to make the account solvent . But , on the whole , the most satisfactory system is that in which the brethren have direct relations with thc Steward . It must not be

forgotten that there are many members of the lodge who either do not care to dine or who cannot afford . Such brethren should be respected ; and if the lodge is in the habit of making up any deficiency in the Stewards' account by the vote of any considerable sum , it means practically that the non-dining brethren are

being called upon to pay for those who do . 1 hese remarks are necessary by reason of thc fact that in many lodges there is no separate Stewards' Fund . All receipts and disbursements on account of refreshment go into the general lodge accounts—a fixed amount being recovered from the brethren , and the not

inconsiderable balance being debited against lodge funds . Of course , it is a cardinal principle that a lodge can do what it likes with its own funds ; but expediency and legality do not always go together , and the system just described does certainly not illustrate thc best aspect of Freemasonry .

Book Of Constitutions, Ireland.

BOOK OF CONSTITUTIONS , IRELAND .

I am indebted to my esteemed friend , Dr . W . J . Chetwode Crawley , for a copy of the new Book of Constitutions , just published by the Grand Lodge of Ireland . Thc present volume is considerably larger than its immediate predecessor of 18 98 , the latter containing 154 pages as compared with 220 in 18 99 . The

Printer to the Grand Lodge ( I . Under-wood ) has done his part well , and assuredly , both textually and typographically , the latest edition is in advance of its numerous " forbears . " The Laws take effect from the 24 th day of June last , so that " all other general Laws and Regulations hitherto in force are hereby repealed . "

The Rules are numbered consecutively , as with those of the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland , and are abl y arranged , and , moreover , there is an excellent Index of the Contents ,

which adds considerably to the value of the work , especially as it includes the Old Charges as printed in the iirst edition of 1730 , and those " appointed for use in Lodges ( includingPrayers ) at the present time . "

The 1898 issue had 160 Rules , but the new Book has 183 . Many of the Regulations are of a very valuable character , and calculated to maintain the high position so long held by the Grand Lodge of Ireland as tothe quality of its membership .