After An Adverse Ballotwhat?

AFTER AN ADVERSE BALLOTWHAT ?

That the ballot upon the application of a candidate for . j c ( rrecs in Masonry must be secret , and that it must result in an unanimous approval of the petitioner , in order a ; vc him admission , is an unquestioned law of our Institution . In the common usage of the Craft , and in laid down lied

the general regulations , expressly , or imp , respecting the ballot , it is provided that all the members of a lodge , present at a meeting regularly called to act the application of a candidate , shall vote unless excused for some special reason by action of the lodge . This requirement that all shall exercise the privilege of the ballot is essential to the maintenance of its secrecy ;

for if an V other usage were to prevail , it would be easy to out a mark upon the brother who might cast an adverse vote . Thus in a certain Masonic organisation , not long a cro when the ballot was to be repeated , it having been ferul ' at the first trial , the presiding officer declared that ii { riends of thc candidate " were excused from voting , and then voting himself with one or two of his officers , he

announced the ballot as clear and the candidate elected . In this case there was some strong provocation for the course pursued , and there was no intention of wrong doing , nevertheless such a course could not stand , and the ballot was set aside by the proper authority . The intention of Masonry is that the conscience and judgment of each individual member shall be regarded as

paramount in tbis matter of the ballot , and that no brother shall be called to account , or be made to suffer in any way , by reason of his having cast this reverse vote . This being the case , there does not seem to be any justification for the course sometimes taken after an adverse ballot ,

when the friends of a rejected candidate seem determined to discuss the action on its merits , and to ascertain if possible from whom came the opposing vote or votes . Many years ago , Past Grand Master Drummond , of Maine , expressed what seems to us the only proper view to be taken . He said : " It is a Masonic crime to discuss the result of the

ballot in the lodge or out of the lodge . When the result of the ballot is declared , there should be an end of all discussion and all action until a new petition is presented . To borrow a term , it should be a finality . Such was the practice among the fathers . But now the practice is as soon as a negative ballot is declared , the friends of the candidate begin to consider who the objector was . They

discuss the matter with themselves , if not with others . Al ] the acts of the suspected brother are canvassed . They see a deep meaning in the most common acts . ' Trifles light as air' are to them ' confirmation strong as proofs of holy writ . ' Sinister motives are not unfrequently attributed to him . They feel estranged from him at once . " Such ought not to be the result of an adverse ballot . I n

passing upon the application for degrees or membership each member has the right to exercise his own judgment in the use of thc ballot . More than this , it is his sacred duty to exercise the privilege—to vote independently and conscientiously . To enable him thus to act , thc manner of taking the ballot should be absolutely secret , and when the result is arrived at , it should be accepted without

fault-finding , or reflections upon the brother or brothers who presumably voted in the negative . Any other course will be very likely to bring in discussions and hearr-bumings , to create parties , and lead to practices subversive of the true character of the Masonic institution . But what shall be done where it is known and felt by almost the entire membership of a lodge that two or three

brethren , perhaps only a single member , acted from some unworthy motive in causing the rejection of a candidate ? Is there no way of reaching these base , cowardly ones who are Masons only in name ? Can they not be helel accountable ; the reasons for their course be inquired into and passed upon by the lodge , and they bc summarily dealt with , if it shall be

shown that they have abused the privilege of the ballot Hy no means , only provided that such brethren are wise enough to keep their own lips closed . If in open lodge , or elsewhere , they should boast of an adverse vote that they had cast , declaring that their action hail been predicated on some reason that ought not to come into the account at all , then no doubt they might be

dealt with for unmasonic conduct . But the rule laid down always prevails , viz : Every brother must be protected in the ri ght to vote , that vote to be given without the knowled ge of any other person ; Ihe nature of that vote must not be inquired into by the lodge , or by individual brethren outside the lodge ; nor must lie be called to account for his adverse vote on any surmises or suspicions that he may have abused tbe use of the ballot . This was the law laid

< -own b y the fathers of our institution , and it cannot be " " ¦ 'parted from without grievous risk . Under some circumstances adherence thereto may seem to work badly , and to be in opposition to the equities of a particular case ; put in thc long iun such a course will be iound to justify "self and to be promotive of the harmony , good fellowship , and abundant prosperity of the institution . —Freemason ' s Repository .

- I „ ,,, „ . Uiisr , r •'" " •' * 5 e 3 rch fpr its remedy should make trial of tirin . ' ¦ " me < l > cine . A ladv , lon-r a martyr to dyspeptic liael he . ' nVi !' - ' 8 , lmt HoIIoway's l'iils made her feel as if a burden ' miirov-1 , ° " '" - ' - Her spirits , formerly low , have greatly iiiuiw , i ! i . Pric ' » s appetite has given place to healthy ^ MvJii * ,, , " ' ' headache lias departed , and Rraduallv so ereatnr a , cl , an Ee has been effected , that she is altogether a new ¦ with sirAi *? ,. P '' " '"¦ r ° duties . These l'iils may he administered t ' icy ev '"* t *•? thc m ° st delicate . They never act harshly , nor do rontro fcL "„!'" vvr * ? akn * - * ss . * they rightly direct deranged , and ¦ " ressive action , —ADVT

llicrni ULLS . -... s UI 3 HHCH-11 Hy inuigcstion and THE TUN BRIDGE WELLS COACH HORSES " -Thirty-ei ght of the horses which have worked t ! -is ™ ach in and out of London were sold on Tuesday , at aitersall ' s , by auction . Several were old hunters , of good D'ooel , and realised high prices . loUOWA Y ' s PiLLS .---.......... a . n ...:. i'l .-il l > v innin-Slinn 3 n . l

Presentation To A Liverpool Brother.

PRESENTATION TO A LIVERPOOL BROTHER .

A ceremony of a most interesting nature took place at the Masonic Hall , Hope-street , Liverpool , on the evening of Friday week . There was then a large gathering of brethren for the special purpose of presenting to Bro . Joseph Skeaf , P . M . 216 , P . G . Organist West Lancashire , a

testimonial in recognition of his long , valued , anel willingly given services in his musical capacity . Bro . Skeaf , whose talent has long been acknowledged , has for years not only been indefatigable in the performance . of his duties as P . G . O ., but he has also been a most invaluable assistant at many of the private lodges throughout the province .

The testimonial consisted of a handsome clock and two vases of the value of £ 20 , and a purse containing £ 180 . Bro . H . S . Alpass , P . G . Sec , occupied the chair . The testimonial was provided by means of funds raised at a Masonic concert which was held at the Philharmonic Halt some time ago . Bro . Dr . Smith , P . P . G . R ., the treasurer of the fund , having presented a statement of the

results of the concert , it was passed , after which Bro . Alpass made the presentation of the testimonial to Bro . Skeaf . Upon the clock was this inscription : " Presented to Bro . Skeaf , Provincial Grand Organist , with 180 sovereigns , by his Masonic brethren in the province of West Lancashire , as a mark of their esteem and in recognition of his services to the Craft . Liverpool , 1877 . "

Bro . Alpass said that Bro . Skeaf had devoted a great amount of time to the affairs of the Craft , and to a man in his iwsition time was capital . In all his various offices as a member of the Harmonic Lodge , Bro . Skeaf had fulfilled his duties in a most creditable manner , and in every way had shown ability and diligence . The articles selected for the testimonial had given general satisfaction to the

committee , and he hoped that they would also give satisfaction to Bro . Skeaf and to Mrs . Skeaf , and that he and his friends would live many years to read with pleasure the inscription upon the clock . Bro . Skeaf , in returning thankr , said that it was an overpowering sight ^ to him when he witnessed the large number of persons who assembled in the Philharmonic

Hall on the evening when the concert was held . The presentation of the beautiful clock and vases and the hanelsomc sum of money was indeed a matter of great gratification to him , and he hoped that if his past services had rendered him worthy of such a testimonial that his

future services would not be less zealous on behalf of the Craft . Votes of thanks were passed to Bro . Dr . Smith , the Treasurer , and Bros . R . Brown , P . M . 241 , arid Dr . S . Kisch , 216 , the Hon . Secretaries to the testinronial committee .

The British . Innkeeper.

THE BRITISH . INNKEEPER .

A frienelly word with the British hotel-keeper . I pay your bill , my dear sir , without a murmur ; perhaps because my feelings at that moment are often too deep for utterance . Your ideas and mine as to what constitutes a good meal may possibly differ . ' 'Am and eggs lor breakfast , with a fried sole , arc all very well for once in a way , but

are apt to become monotonous after a while . So are the early village cock , the " nice steak , " the apple-tart with the elastic crust , and your other choice delicacies . Moreover , I prefer my sound and honest Bordeaux at two shillings a bottle to that barefaced impostor you uphold , the " very fine " Chateau-Margaux at twelve-and-six . But these are mere details . Here is my grievance . In that admirable

document , my bill , you charge eighteenpence per head a day for " attendance . " I will only pause to remark that the ' attendance is generally all on my side , as , ring I never so assiduously , it is selelom that any one comes . I do not venture to assert that a baby in arms is liable to this tax ; but this I know , that if I occupy rooms containing my wife , self , and two children , I am charged six shillings a

day for services which they never receive . Again , I do not remonstrate with you , good mine host ; I merely congratulate you inwardly on the superior financial advantages you possess over me . Therefore be kind enough to do away with that system of " hovering" which you , tacitly at least , encourage . Having eased my mind by paying your bill on the

morning of my departure , and stifled' my conscience , which whispers extravagance , 1 observe the head-waiter smirking at me in the ' eoffee-room while he pretends to fold up a napkin which no one will want till dinner-time . I give him—nothing ; why should J ? But I feel a wretched caitiff . In the passage ! meet the Boots , who wears on his countenance an expression which , being translated ,

plainly says , " I gave them ' ere boots of yourn a hextra polish , but I know it ' s charged in the bill , if you mean to take a base advantage ' of me . " " I do take that advantage of him . Like a guilty being I am about to jump into the fly , when I find I have left my keys up-stairs . Ah ! then , indeed , I reach the meridian of my misery . I am at once face to face with the chambermaid . I may

wrong her , cr she may or may not have been wronged in early youth , but from the abject sorrow depicted on her countenance , and the imploring reluctance with which her hand is now thrust forward and now drawn back , she ought , if she is not lost to all sense of decency , to have thirteen children at least depending upon her for support . What is a florin , after all ? I give it her in despair , am

unjust to Boots and waiter , and , what is worse , I have created a precedent by which after-comers , who have more moral courage than 1 , will suffer . Bc pleased , then , worthy Boniface , to put down these " hoverers , " and spare your guests much sweet sorrow at parting . It is easily done . Pay your servants well , and put up a notice that any one receiving a gratuity will'be instantly disnjisse ' d . I have spoken . —The fFor Id . ¦ ¦¦¦¦ - ...

Notes On Art, &C.

NOTES ON ART , & c .

By tbe death of Mr . Henry Rogers , on August . 20 , in his 7 ist year , the literary world is deprived of the services of a vigorous and learned essayist . Educated at Highbury College for the work of the ministry , he was , for a few years the pastor of an Independent congregation , When ill-health compelled his retirement he obtained the

more congenial post of Professor ot pnglish Language and Literature in University College , London . In 18 5 8 he became Principal of the Lancashire Independent College . When the doctrines of the Tractarians were exercising their greatest influence in English life he was distinguished for the force of his attacks against their aims and ultimate results . " The Eclipse of Faith " has passed through at

least fourteen editions , and a defence of its principles , jn reply to thc strictures of Professor F . W . Newman , arrived at the dignity of three editions . The most valuable of his contributions to general literature were given to the world in the columns of the Edinburgh Review . These have been frequently reprinted ; the last edition appearing in 1874 . A sketch of the life and genius of Fuller , an

admirable specimen of his taste and talents , was included in the volumes of thc "Traveller's Library , " while his life of Howe , a divine of equal honesty , if r . ot of equal wit , with Tom Fuller , obtained a well-deserved popularity . To the eighth edition of the " Encyclopa : dia Britannica " he contributed the lives of Bishop Butler , Hume , and many other English and- foreign celebrities of the last

century . These have never been separately published in England , but some of them were reprinted in America in a collection of "New Biographies" ( Boston , 1857 ) . — Academy . Colonel Bourne , M . P . for Evesham , has presented a piece of sculpture , executed by Professor Fedi , of Florence , to the Walker Art Gallery at Liverpool . The picture by

Sir John Gilbert , R . A ., "An Army on- the March—the Rearguard with the Baggage Waggons , " has been presented to the same institution by a local gentleman , Mr . John Parrington . The case of / ' homme ii la fourchettc , upon whom Dr , Leon Labbe performed gastrotomy with at least temporary success a few months ago , is brought to mind by an

instance of swallowing foreign bodies recorded in a recent number of thc Southern Argus ( S . A . ) A convict in the Gunelagai Gaol , undergoing a term of imprisonment for stealing a ring , used to gain a living by travelling from town to town by giving performances in which he offered to swallow any article his audience might select . The ring for the stealing of which he had been convicted he

had swallowed , anel he asserted he could swallow a bagful if he got 1 hem . The prisoner at present is being treated by Dr . M'Killop , visiting surgeon to the gaol , with a view ol making him disgorge a steel Albert chain and a large brass ring . The chain can be distinctly felt at the bottom of the stomach , and the patient says he swallowed it nine months ago , and that it is the only article he

has had any difficulty about . He avers that he has had two pounds weight of jewelleiy in his stomach at one time , and that he has harboured watches in that viscus for 24 hours . The gaoler is said to have a collection of Albert chains , penknives , brass rings , & c , which he asserted he hatl succeeded in causing the prisoner to vomit by means of emetics . This case , if correctly reported , presents features worthy of being studied from a physiological point of view . —Lancet .

"PEINE FORTE ET DURE . " —W . W . T . writes to the Times : — " In your review of the work by Mr . Paterson , ' Commentaries on thc Liberty of the Subject , ' & c , allusion is made to the fact that so late as 1726 a gentleman underwent the ' peine forte et dure ' for refusing to plead guilty or not guilty at Kingston Assizes . The ' London Magazine' for August , 1735 , contains a horrible and

detailed account of a man who was actually pressed to death at Horsham for obstinately remaining dumb when placed upon his trial at Lewes Assizes . In this case the weights placed over thc unhappy man were gradually increased to a total of 3501 b ., when the executioner completed his task by adding his own quota of 16 stone . " The Grosvenor Gallery will be opened in

November with a representative exhibition of water colour drawings and studies by deceased masters illustrative of the ris ; and growth of a branch of art which holds such a distinguished place in the history of the English school . A University is to be established in Siberia , at Omsk , on the River Irtish , the centre of government for Western Siberia . The scheme was first started by a landowner in

1863 , and the chief difficulty has been the choice of a site , the place first proposed—Tomsk—being objected to as it was a penal settlement . The buildings are to be begun at once , and are to be opened in July , 1880 . MADAME ADELINA PATTI . —The report that Madame Patti has retired , or intends retiring , to the Convent of the ' Sacre' Cceur , " with the purpose of " taking the veil , " is

like so many other reports about this celebrated artist , what the French term a canard , and the English a "hoax . " An Albert Hall is to be built at Jeypore in commemoration of the Prince of Wales's visit , and the designs have just been submitted to the Maharajah . The disagreeables of travelling in Italy have recently been a warm subject of discussion , but even

Italian authorities are marching with the advance of time , according to a correspondent of the Paris Figaro , who has been astonished by having to pay nothing for his letters at the Poste Restante at Rimini . A few years ago he applied for a letter at the same office , and was met by a demand for " Quaranta soldi . " " Forty soldi for a letter

from Naples ? " he exclaimed . " Nonsense ; I will give you four . " " Twenty , then , " replied the post-mistress , with a beguiling smile . " No ; four , " was still the answer . " Ten , " then demanded the siren , who , however , ultimately handed over the missive for the sum originally offered with a sigh , remarking , " Ab , indeed , limes are had now adays . "