Consecration Of The Raymond Thrupp Lodge, No. 2024, At Hampton Court.

all present , as first W . M . of the lodge ; hc himself afterwards , in a manner worth } ' of imitation , and proving that nothing on his part will be wanting as regards the working of the lodge during his year of oflice , investing his officers as follows : M . ' Mildred , S . W . ; J . Sadler Wood , J . W . ; Raymond H . Thrupp , Treas . ; and Bro . J . W . Baldwin , Sec . Votes of thanks were passed to the Consecrating Officers , who were unanimously elected honorary members of thc lodge . The names of several candidates for initiation and joining were given in for next meeting .

The brethren adjourned to a banquet , which did great credit to the host , Bro . Sadler . The customary toasts were given by the W . M . in an appropriate manner , and duly responded to , being interspersed with some admirable singing by Bros . Jinkinson , H . Prenton , M . Hallams , and H . Dutton . '

The Recent Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE RECENT FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

' 1 here arc sundry lists outstanding , so lhat we are not yet in a position to give the ultimate total of thc amounts subscribed on the 26 th ult . to the Benevolent Institution . However , additions have been made to several of thc items then announced , while the following fresh lists have bcen received : London—Unattached , Bro . Abncr Torkington , £ 40 ; Chapter 3 , Comp . John Webb , ^ , ' 13 1 is . ; Chap . 749 , Comp . Jno . Godwin , £ 22 is . Provinces—Warwickshire , Lodge No . 93 S , Bro . XV . B . Marshall , £ 31 ios .. These raise thc total to date to £ 14 , 476 13 s . 6 d ., namely , London ^ 8310 lis . 6 d . ; Provinces , / 616 O 2 s .

Thc following Ictler , which speaks for itself , has been addressed by Bro . Allcroft to thc brethren who acted as Stewards at the Festival . It is a fitting conclusion to a most successful episode in the history of thc Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution : 10 S , Lancaster Gate , W ., 27 th February , 1 SF 4 .

Dear Sir ancl Brother , — Ileing confined to my room by illness , I was prevented last evening from presidio , at the Festival of our Benevolent Institution , and having the pleasure of meeting the Stewards and large number of brethren there present . The Secretary was so gcod as to telegraph to mc thc large amount announced as the result of the exertions of the Stewards . I wish I could then and there have thanked

you all , and congratulated you on the increased means for help to our poorer brethren thus placed at thc disposal of our Committee . Pray accept , as an imperfect substitute , this wiittcn expression of my feelings of thankfulness , and also of joy at the increasing amount of contributions flowing in to our Masonic Charities . " All praise to the Most High . " Believe mc to remain , with fraternal regards . Yours faithfully , J D . ALLCROFT , Grand Treasurer .

Lodge Duties.

LODGE DUTIES .

A LECTURE D __ IVKRI . _ BRO . T . 11 . WHYTEHEAD , P . M . 1611 , PROV . S . G . W . N . AND E . YORKSHIRE . ( Coin ! tided from page 98 . ) It is not every brother received into Masonry who can qualify himself lo occupy the Master ' s chair , and in some cases , even where the brother is most worthy deficiencies exist of an insuperable character . It is a common

, remark , when thc health of a newly-initiated candidate is proposed , to say lhat the assembled members hope to see their brother soon occupying the Chair of the Lodge , and no doubt the ambition to occupy that distinguished position is in the highest degree laudable . Yet 1 have no hesitation in s-iyin- - lhat the qualifications necessary to fit a man for thc Chair of K . S . are many and are possessed collectively by few . Let us run through thc

personal characteristics that we are annually toltl should belong- to every ruler , and then let us ask ourselves in how many cases are these existing in the person of thc candidate presented for installation ? Hc should be of irood report , true and tntslv , nnd held in high estimation by his brethren and fello-. es , veil skilled iii the noble art , exemplary in conduct , courteous in demeanour , east' of address and s . ' eady and firm iu principle , and well

skilled in the ancient landmarks and Constitutions of our Order . How many Worship ful Masters , of ihe many hundreds annually installed , come up to this level ? You will probably say that it would be impossible to find a succession of men answering to such a description , and that if these qualifications were rigidly insisted upon there would be an end ol the whole thintr ; and I grant you that very few men who arc placed , year by year ,

amongst our rulers in the Craft answer to the pattern laid down , bull , if wc cannot ( ind perfection in this world , even in our Craft , we can at any rate strive to come as near it as wc possibly can , and even if an amiable and loveable brother who has bcen elected to the Chair has not all the virtues named , he may have a sufficiency to render him a fairly successful Master . Vet , brethren , there is one qualification , the last 1 have named , which

every brother may acquire . Most of the qualities mentioned are gifts of the Great Architect , or the result of early training ; but there is one which is in every brother ' s hands . 1 allude to the knowledge of our landmarks and Constitutions , an acquaintance with which , I very much fear , is a most exceptional accomp lishment . 1 fearlessly say that it is the absolute duty of every brother , before he takes the Master ' s gavel in his right hand , to and make himself well

master our Book of Constitutions , fairly acquainted with thc laws and regulations which govern our Society , ft is not only from a sciT-e of duty that he should do this , but because of ihe feeling of security and comlorl that such a knowledge will assuredly impart lo him whilst in the execution of the duties of his important trust . Nothing derogates more from the influence and position of a Master than an exhibition of ignorance of Masonic law : and the spectacle of a Master who is compelled on every

trilling point that arises in his Lodge to appeal right and left to the Past Masters , or even , as I have sometimes myself witnessed , to Visiting Past Masters , is in the highest degree pitiable . I am afraid lhat a very wide de'TCC of ignorance exists as to our Constitutions , and I hope that the issue of '" the present revised code will induce more interest to be taken in their study , 'l'he numerous instances constantl y occurring of Lodges and brethren limited is the knowled

transgressing our laws proves how ge respecting them ; and although the brethren below thc Chair may be pardoned for not possessing an intimate knowledge of the Constitutions , there can be no excuse whatever for the Master of a Lodge , who knows quite well lhat hc will be , for his year of office , the interpreter of the rules of the Order , and the source to which every member of the Lodge should be able to look for assistance and instruction .

Lodge Duties.

Lodges differ in town and in the provinces , but , as a general rule , I think it should be the duty of every Master to lay himself out to secure the personal esteem and Masonic friendshi p of every member of his lod" -e . None but those who have had considerable experience in the Craft , anefwho have gone through the chair , have any notion of the influence for good that may be exercised , and grow up , around an amiable and discreet Master , who has

done his best to secure thc confidence of thc members of liis lodge . If he succeeds in his endeavours he may be able to prove himself a friend in need to some distressed brother in a way least expected by him . A Master will often find it in his power to exercise the very highest gifts of charity . A friendly word of counsel , a judicious hint of warning , a kindly whisper of advice , will sometimes come with more force from ihe Master of a lodge than from a narent or a relative . Masnnir- ii-nnKlne - > nr ) m . c ,,,.. ! ..,. ¦ ..- nr i ;„_« . _ . -- --- _ . _ uu iivuu ci 11 Llif Utl i

, 1 __ ___ , _ , ... . J \__ IIIIJUIIULIO I I _ " O may be chiselled away , even family discords may be harmonised . In my own brief knowledge , I have known of several cases in which a kind and wise word , coming calmly from a brother Mason , has averted serious trouble . But this cannot be done unless the brother who interferes is known intimately to his brethren , and so I say that if a Master desires lo pass a useful and pleasant year , and to carry awav with him some hnnnv

reminiscences of his official career , he should cultivate the acquaintance of thc members of his lodge . And this may very easily and properly be done without infringement of any of the social obstacles lhat always have existed , and always will exist in all countries , races , and ages of history . Masonry , let it be remembered , does not interfere with society as it exists . It rather

accommodates itself lo the condition of the society in which it is found . " We meet on the level and part on the square " is a hackneyed phrase , but none the less true . When wc meet upon the chequered floor wc arc all equal ; there is no distinction of rank , save in Masonic excellence , and it is an un-Masonic lodge in which thc members pay respect to social position rather than to personal worth . As Masons , we may pride ourselves noon the fact

that many of our members of high social position in thc outer world arc also men of high mental attainments and moral character , and are well worthy of the high poisitions in which we rejoice to place them . Amongst these are men who have suddenly been called upon to occupy important posts in thc Craft without previous service or experience ; and greatly to the credit of such brethren be it said that I do not remember an instance in

which such a brother has failed us . In every case the choice of thc brethren has becn more than justified . Vet although these illustrious brethren meet with us upon the level floor , and accord us thc cordial and fraternal grip in all heartiness and good fellowship , when we leave thc lodge we resume our respective positions , feeling all the better and all the stronger for thc knowledge that we possess the mutual respect and esteem of one another .

It is a matter for sincere regret when a brother aspires to thc chair of a lodge when hc isboth by nature and training quite unfilled for such a position . Hc may be an excellent fellow at heart , and in the body of the lodge would no doubt prove a pleasant and useful Craftsman . Such a brother ' s ambition , blameless though it be , is very inconsiderate , not to say selfish , and places his brethren upon thc horns of a dilemma . They must cither sit upon his

aspirations and run the risk of offending his sensibilities , or they must do their lodge an injury . I have alread y said that first impressions are everything , and no lodge can expect to secure good candidates , that is , men of education and ability , or , if enrolled , can hope to keep them , if the Master of thc lodge be a man of little or no culture , or whose manner or appearance is inconsistent with thc dignity of thc chair . I am quite sure that instances

arc within the knowledge of all of us where brethren have occupied the chair in lodges , who , on the face of it , have been utterly unqualified , and who , having attained the object of their selfish ambition , have been completely careless as to thc lodge and its members . A year under such a Master means five years' retrogression to any lodge , because the remembrance of his faults and follies will hang round the chair long after hc has left it to more suitable men .

Ihe amount of real and genuine interest taken in Freemasonry by any Master may usually be guaged by the attention he pays to his lodge after he leaves the chair . The man who simply goes in lor the sake of sticking P . M . after his name will seldom be seen except at banquets , or when any great Masonic gun is likely lo be present . On such occasions hc will in nil probability be the busiest of thc busy , and a stranger would deem him to be thc most active and useful member of thc lodge . But show me thc brother

who docs not work in fits and starts . Let me know thc Past Master to whom thc working brethren refer in time of difficulty , who is constantly seen in his place on the dais , and who has always got his eye open for the interests of the Craft in general and Ins own lodge in particular . When you point out that brother I will then show you a genuine Mason , whose Masonry has not been of a selfish character , and who has done , and will again do , honour to his lodge .

Masters and Past Masters have alike two objects to keep in view—the happiness of their brethren and the prosperity of their lodge , and the two cannot be divorced . If a lodge is prosperous its members will be proud to belong to it . If it falls into diilicultics or becomes a field for bickerings and petty and unworthy strife , its good members will avoid it and its bad members will get worse . Almost everything depends upon the firmness and discretion ol the Master and those who have preceded him . If the Master is

weak , acts feebly , and is blown about by every wind of doctrine , the unruly members , of whom there are sure to be a sprinkling in every lodge , will soon get the whip hand of him and will make his Masonic lite a burden to him , and will render the lodge unbearable for quiet members . On the other hand , if a Master be rude , tyrannical , or rash , he may soon drive away all his peaceable subjects , and leave himself to rule over bare benches . Everything depends upon discretion and unanimity amongst lodge rulers .

And now , brethren , I have given you some of my ideas roughly upon Lodge Duties , and I will bring my sermon to an end . Not that I have exhausted the subject—far from it . The points that arise in my mind that might be used to illustrate the subject in its many bearings arc innumerable ; but I will not weary you , lest you should take a prejudice against Masonic sermonising . I hope you will agree with mc in thc necessity for

pointing out sometimes to Masons , in different language to lhat which has becn stereotyped upon our memories , some of the multifarious duties lhey owe to one another and lo their Lodges . Vou may perhaps think that so much moralising is bill barren talk . 1 hope it is nol so , but that wc shall each of us endeavour to use his influence to bring about in our Craft a revival of interest

, not only in our history and kindred subjects , but in the actual teachings and doctrines of the Order . Depend upon it , if Masonry is to be elevated , if we arc to save ourselves from falling into disrepute , or from sinking into a mere friendly society of mummers , we must exercise in our persons , as well as enforce upon others , the more diligent observance of our Lodge Duties .