The Grand Lodge Of Scotland And Reform.

farce ; while the latter have been enabled to use the sacred privileges of Freemasonry as a passport for deception , and would never have been initiated

had due enquiry been made . I do not say all lodges pass the candidates thus , but I do say some have , and still do so , and do not apparently disobey any law of the Grand Lodge thereby .

The caution as to the admission of members is of little avail , while such wholesale , sudden , and absurd introductions to the Craft are permitted ,

and I am persuaded it is only for wholesome and salutary laws to be made to make Scottish Freemasonry respected as it deserves to be .

The payment of one guinea and a half for initiation , passing , and raising , according to some by-laws , is wholly derogatory to Masonry , and reduces it to the position of a mere benefit society ,

which is actually the lig ht in which it is regarded in some parts of Scotland . Some lodges there have benefit societies attached and it is necessary to be a Freemason in order to join , and the Craft

is thereby made subservient to an enrolled benefit society ! ( If not enrolled it ought to be , so the argument is all thc same ) . The second point , Meetings and ll orl ; iii"s .

Any Master Mason is eligible for the chair ofthe lodge ! This to our mind explains the poor working ( often to be lamented ) amongst Scottish lodges . Surely the law which requires that candidates for the chair must first of all have

acted as Wardens for twelve months , tends to secure greater efficiency , and what is more , also gives additional importance to the distinguished position .

In this respect we hope to sec the two Sister Grand Lodges adopt the same requisites , and certainly , we may fairly assume that the oflice of Master in Scotland will be more valued if it is

rendered less easy to attain , and especially if , after two years , it is obligatory fora lodge to elect a new Master . In Scotland , under the present law , the same Master may retain the Chair , ( if

so elected ) for half a century ! and in consequence , some lodges would quite look upon a new Master as a great curiosity . The suggestion relative to the delivery if Lectures

is a most excellent one , and well deserves the hearty support of the members , not onl y in Scotland , but everywhere that Freemasonry flourishes . 3 . The Representation if Lodges iu Graud

Lodge . —Quite a different system prevails in Scotland on this point . Past Masters , as such , have no status whatever . The present W . Master , Wardens , or in their absence regularly appointed

Proxy Masters and Wardens , have votes in Grand Lodge . We are not prepared to adopt this Proxy system ,

as our ideal of representation , as we believe the good old law which allows of Past Masters having a vote , so long as they subscribe to a lodge , is a mo ; t excellent one .

lhe strange part of the matter is , that the Proxy Masters are not reijuired to have served as Masters of a Craft Lodge , and thus ordinary Master Masons may become Proxy Masters , and

appoint their Wardens . 4 . The Annual Certificates we thoroughly sup port , and think the plan worth adopting in En "

land , as we believe they would tend to secure more regularity in the transmission of the annual list to the Clerk ofthe Peace .

The Grand Lodge Of Scotland And Reform.

5 . Registration of Intrants . —No annual subscriptions are paid by the members of many lodges in Scotland , and no annual dues are required to be paid to the Grand Lodge for each

member of a lodge , so it is no wonder that the Registration is neglected . When annual dues o IJ are required to be paid , andtheir non-payment is followed , bii aforfeilitre of membership , as in

England , we think the Registration will be duly attended to . The Grand Master on a notice of motion , on 6 th November , 1871 , spoke ofthe sum of two pence per month , or 2 s . per annum

being levied on all members of lodges , and we hope tlu : suggestion will be made the law ofthe Grand Lodge ; and we are persuaded that if it is , financial prosperity will soon be the pleasant

realisation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland . The Grand Lodge Debt is a disgrace to the Scottish Craft , and the sooner it is cleared off ' the better . The plan suggested by the Grand

Master would soon remedy the existing defect in the finances , and leave a good balance for the " Fund of Scottish Benevolence " , "' which is certainly far from being in the position that it should

be . Lodge Halls throughout the Province are being built , and the members of lodges thus privileged to meet in rooms of their own , will

appreciate the benefit of such arrangement . We lament the present circumstances of many lodges . The meetings are simply convivial , and partake more of the character of tavern associations in

several lodges I could mention , and refreshments are the order of the day from the beginning to the end of lhe assembly . We wish it were

recognised asafact that such practices prostitute the Masonic Order to unhol y purposes , and lower the standard and aims of the Fraternity in the minds of all respectable men who are not Masons .

Poet Masons.

POET MASONS .

( Continuedfrom page 136 . J We resume with pleasure our notice of Bro . Sawyer ' s poems , and here we may mention that the printer of The Freemason has perpetrated a

curious error 111 the quotation whicli we gave from the " Legend of Phyllis , " last week . We drew particular attention to the charming passage in which the regal beauty is represented as

approaching Deniaphoon " in the snatched moment ofthe absolute prime of beauty , " a phrase singularl y suggestive , revealing as it does a subtlety of thought and imagery seldom found , even

in the writings of our best poets . But the perverse son of Caxton transmutes the golden words •' snatched moments " into the dross of " matched movements , " as if the poet ' s ideas were coupled

with the " movements " of a time-piece , or of a body of cavalry . The " Legend of Ph yllis" is in every sense a splendid contribution to the poetry of the age ,

nor are most of the verses composing the accompanying " Year of Song" unworth y of being set as minor gems in the same luminous circle . The following picture is limned with the hand of a master .

A SUMMER DREAM . Only a summer dream , Sport of an idle day , A meadow range , a word beside the stream , A parting and—away .

Poet Masons.

Only a dream of Love , Of heart inclined to heart—As clouds that in the blue of heaven meet , As white clouds cling and part .

We dreamed and we awoke ; No more ! But ah , for dreams Engendered of the subtle light of Love , Bright with its iris gleams !

Shadows of leaf and bird Fall on the meadow grass ; But over it the shadow that I love Never again shall pass .

The summer voices blend In music as of yore , But from the melody has dropt a note : There will be song no more .

The glory and the wealth Of nature all things share , But in my heart is 110 responsive throb That tells me it is fair .

Back on thy sunny dream I turn an aching gaze , But the clear splendour of its glory throws A shadow on my days .

It would , however , be manifestly unfair to Bro . Sawyer were wc to quote too copiously from his poems , we desire but to direct our readers , attention to the work , under a powerful

conviction that its perusal will afford them both profit and pleasure ; we will therefore simply mention a few of the shorter compositions which especially please our fancy . " The Triumph of the

Fleurde-Lis , " the lovely verses inscribed to "Angelica , " "The Letter , " a Coleridgian specimen of blank verse " A Dream of the Sea , " and " The Song

of Age , " which is a perfect specimen of rythmic music . Amongst strains of a different kind , we may instance "The Trooper ' s Defence " and "The 'Prentice Holiday , " both lays worthy

of a place among our national lyrics—albeit the subject-matter of both is not calculated to awaken joyous emotions . But we have said sufficient to induce our

readers to judge for themselves , and we congratulate the Alasonic Order generally , and especially the Urban Lodge , of which Bro . Sawyer isa Past Master , upon possessing such an ornament to the voluminuous roll of members ofthe Craft .

Freemasonry And Israelitism.

FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM .

AN EPITOME OK BRO . CARPENTER ' ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT . BV W . K . X ., No . 7 OG . No . IV . June 17 th 1871 . — The people of

Israel and Judah having been removed by their conquerors , the land became an uncultivated waste , and was overrun by wild beasts . The " Lamentations of Jeremiah" bring vividl y before

us the awful change that passed over the land . But God had promised to give this land to Abraham and his seed for ever , and this promise was renewed to Isaac and Jacob , yet the land is now

occupied by strangers , and the chosen people are scattered abroad among the nations How is this ? The people were punished , and are now suffering for their sins , but since their dispersion

God has said he will " a second time renew the remnant of his people from the four corners of the earth . " The restoration of Judah and Israel does ^ not rest on a mere casual promise , but on