Masonic Jurisprudence.

MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE .

Nothing more clearly demonstrates the amazing progress that has been made in English Masonry during the last 30 or 40 years than the exceeding care which is bestowed upon lodge work and the ever-increasing interest that is taken as to the manner in which that work should be carried out . Years ago the average Master of a lodge presided at its opening and closing , and

occasionally , when the spirit moved him to exhibit a little more energy than usual or to make it manifest to the officers and members that he possessed the ability , if not always the inclination to discharge faithfully the duties of his important office , he would work a ceremony or deliver an address or charge , which for the time , at all events , won him infinite kudos . As a rule ,

however , anything like a perfect knowledge of our ritual was confined to comparatively a few brethien , who were thoroughly competent to perform , or direct the performance of , every description of Iodge work , and were always willing to undertake it either in . thejodge or lodges to whith they belonged , or in other lodges which invited their assistance . Now , another

feeling prevails among the lodges and the great majority of those brethren who aspire to office are both willing and able to undertake the duties which devolve upon them . Much of this improvement is due to the facilities afforded by our lodges of instruction , but our belief is that we are indebted for it in a still greater degree to the stronger sense of duty among the

brethren themselves . Men have long realised the absurdity—to use no stronger term—of accepting office with the full intention of handing over ils duties to be performed by another , and thus it has come about that in the majority of our lodges all the offices are filled by brethren who are competent to do what is required of them fairly well . But there is still room , though

in a somewhat different direction , for further improvement . Masters of lodges are , as we have said , for the most part masters of the work they are called upon to peiform , but they are very far from being as familiar as they ought to be with the general tenour of our laws . At their installation , their attention is particularly called to the Book of Constitutions , on the ground

that there is scarcely any kind of difficulty that can occur in the lodge in which it will not be able to set them right . But the letters we occasionally publish , the queries we occasionally answer , but still more , the letters for which we are unable to find room , or which are better omitted , and the questions which are in so many cases too simple to be

treated seriously , or which it would be indiscreet to answer in a public print , all these tend to show that the attention of Masters , ( hough thus seriously invited , is by no means as seriously directed towards a study of this Book , and yet there is scarcely a brother who has passed the chair of his lodge who has not at some time or other

during his tenure of office been called upon to decide , in most cases offhand , as to the mode of procedure that should be followed in certain circumstances of difficulty . It is not so very long since that a Master and one of his Past Masters were suspended for a time from their Masonic rights and privileges through having acted in contravention of one of the laws framed especially

for their guidance in certain cases , nor would it be difficult to quote other cases in which the law has been broken , not intentionally , but from ignorance or unfamiliarity with its provisions . Moreover , though our Book of Constitutions has been compiled in such a manner as to meet the difficulties which commonl y beset a Master in the discharge of his functions , it is by no means

the easiest thing in the world to correctly interpret its meaning in all cases . It is within the experience of most of our readers lhat difficulties occur in lod ges , which are dealt with by the Board of General Purposes . Of these , as well as of the decision at which the Board arrives , an official record is no doubt kept , but the record is not made public , and therefore the general

bod y of Masons remain in ignorance both as to the patticulars of the difference , and the manner in which it is settled . In cases where an appeal is made lo Grand Lodge against the judgment of any of our authorities , the papers relating thereto are open to the inspection of the brethren , and the a Ppeal is discussed publicly , and almost invariably settled in accordance with

the opinions expressed by the Grand Registrar , who is the legal adviser of Grand Lodge , and whose rulings are authoritative . But the number of a Ppeals is very limited , while the questions which are considered by the authorities , whether local or general , are well nigh innumerable , and as various in character as they are numerous . It is , therefore , suggested by a

correspondent whose letter appears elsewhere—and it is a suggestion which is well worthy of consideration—that a work containing all the most important decision s of Grand Lodge and the Board of General Purposes should be

compiled , and issued " by authority , " for the guidance of thebrethren . Such a book would be invaluable , nor do we think that Grand Lodge would oner any objection to its publication . But the task of compiling 11 would be a laborious one , and , though we rejoice to

Masonic Jurisprudence.

say there are many men in our ranks who are competent to undertake it , a very large amount of encouragement will be needed to induce them to embark on so important an enterprise . One of the most important of lhe late Bro . Dr . OLIVER ' S contributions to Masonic literature was his book on " Masonic Jurisprudence , " but that distinguished brother never claimed for it anything in the nature of an official sanction , and if he

had done so , the number of years that have ehpsed since he compiled it is such lhat its value as a guide in all but the simplest class of questions seems very questionable . At all events , there is no doubt that a textbook on English Masonic Jurisprudence , to the publication of which Grand Lodge was willing to give its sanction , would prove a boon to the Craft generally . Dare we hope that such a project will be favourably received by the English brethren 1

The Masonic Home Of Pennsylvania.

THE MASONIC HOME OF PENNSYLVANIA .

We are justly proud of the Institutions which from time to timehave been erected for Charitable purposes by English Freemasons . VVe venture to think—not without a considerable show of reason—thatthere are none others like them on the face of the earth , none , that is to say of that very numerous class of Charitable Institutions , which , having few or no endowments

or invested capital , are mainly dependent for support on voluntary contributions . We know that they are well administered and that they accomplish the purposes for which they have been severally established in a manner which is worthy of the highest praise ; and thus the pride we take in them , as it rests on the sure and certain basis of accomplished facts , is a

just and natural feeling , which we need not be at any pains to conceal from our brother Masons in other jurisdictions . But though we rightly assign the first place in our esteem and respect to the Charities of our own creation , we must not run away with the idea that Masonic communities in other parts of the world are not exerting themselves , in honourable

rivalry with us , to achieve equal success in the same beneficent field of labour . In a recent article entitled " The Craft in Pennsylvania , " we drew attention to the admirable manner in which the brethren in that State , who derive their Masonry from us , are fulfilling their appointed duties , their reverence for the old Landmarks , and their strict adherence to the ancient

customs of the Order , but more particularly to the splendid service they have rendered to the cause of Masonic Charity by the erection of their Home for decayed brethren . Since writing that article we have received a later number of the Philadelphia Keystone , in which is published in full the Report of the Board of Managers of the said Home for the year 1 S 94 , we

may almost go so far as to say , for the whole period of 10 years since the constitution of the Charity . We are therefore in a position to lay before our readers a still more correct estimate of the nature and extent of thegcod that is being done by our Pennsylvanian brethren in this branch of Masonic duty . The report in question , which was submitted at a meeting of the Board

of Managers in the Masonic Hall , Philadelphia , on Friday , the nth ult .. shows , firstly , that the Home was opened on the ist Januarv , 18 S 4 , with one inmate , and that it now provides accommodation for 37 . The total number of aged brethren who have been nominated for admission during the 10 years the Charity has been in existence is 97 , of whom C 7 have been

admitted , 20 declined , three withdrawn , and five died pending nomination , while the remaining two are still on the list . Of the 6 7 who have been admitted , one is said to have been "honourably discharged" and 29 have died , leaving the aforesaid 37 as the present occupants of the Home . Next as to the membership of the Institution ; in 1884 , there were 36 Masonic bodies

and eight individuals on the roll ; ten years later they had increased to 136 of the former and 358 of the latter , or together 494 as compared with 44 at the outset . The receipts during the 10 yeais exceed 129 , 000 dollars ( . £ 25 , 800 ) , of which about 26 , 500 dollars is set down in respect of " Permanent and Endowment Funds , " 8800 dollars for

" Sundry Building and Improvement Funds , 3100 dollars as "Special Donations , " and the rest , amounting to upwards of 90 , 000 dollars for general purposes . The expenditure for the same period amounts to over 9 8 , 500 dollars , the balance of 30 , 000 dollars and upwards representing the sum invested and the cash in hand . The chief items among lhe

disbursements include between 42 , 000 and 43 , 000 dollars for " General Maintenance ; " over 40 , 000 dollars for " Real Estate and Improvements ; " 5500 dollars for " Salaries , " and about 6300 dollars for " Printing , Postage , and Incidentals . " So much for the whole period the Home has been in existence ;

for the year 1894 1 ) 16 treasurers Report shows a total of receipts from all sources—exclusive of the gift of 12 , 000 dollars by Mrs , OUKHN as a memorial of her late brother , Dr . DICKEY—amounting to close on 14 , 400 dollars , and expended , exclusive of 5000 dollars invested , 8300 dollars . U is satisfactory