Contents.

CONTENTS .

L EADERS— PAGE . Election of Worshipful Master ... ... ... ... 615 Masonic Celebrities , No . IV . —The Duke of Wharton , G . M . 1722-23 ¦•• ( " 6 Supreme Grand Chapter ... ... ¦• ... ... C' 17 Provincial Grand Lodge of Northumberland ... ... ... ... 617 Provincial Grand Lodge of Cumberland and Westmorland ... ... fiiS

Masonic Presentation at Okehampton ... ... ... ... 61 S Reception of Bco . Macklin , W . M . 1319 , in the U . S . A . ... ... ... G 19 Dedication of new Masonic Hall at Saltburn ... ... ... ... 6 ig New Masonic Hall in Glasgow ... ... ... ... ... 619 Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... r 'ig Masonic Notes ... ... ... ... ... 623 C ORRESPONDENCELodge of Friendship , No . 44 ... ... ... ... G 24

Masonic Vagrants ... ... ... ... ... 624 Masonic Notes and Qu < ries ... ... ... ... ... ( 12 4 Reviews ... ... — ¦•• ¦¦• •¦• ••¦ <> 24 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... (" 127 Mark Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... fcS Koval Ark Mariners ... ... ... ... ... ... fao Lodges and Chapters of Instruction ... ... ... ... ... 629 O BITUARYBro . John Aspinall ... ... ... ... ... 629 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... 630

Election Of Workshipful Master.

ELECTION OF WORKSHIPFUL MASTER .

In thc address which Bro . \ V . L . JACKSON , M . P ., Prov . G . M . of West Yorkshire , delivered at the recent half-yearly meeting of his Prov . Grand Lodge , our distinguished brother drew the attention of his audience to the near approach of " the time

when a large number of new W . Ms , will be chosen , " and in doing so , he expressed the hope that " only those brethren will be selected who are in all particulars fully fitted to occupy so important a position . " Very properly did Bro . JACKSON point

out that " no brother can claim the ollice by right—it is a privilege which the brethren confer , and it is their duty to see that lliis most valuable privilege is only granted to those whose Masonic ability and moral fitness are commensurate with thc

position . " He further , and with equal propriety , impressed upon them that " the privilege involves serious responsibilities , and the men so chosen should be those who , sensible of their responsibilities , lead daily blameless lives , and are prepared to

maintain the traditions in tin ' s respect which this Province long has cherished . " Advice of this kind , coming from such a quarter , runs little risk of being treated cavalierly . It is true , ; md Bro . JACKSON was not slow to admit , that the lodges in his

Province had to a great extent anticipated his advice by establishing and maintaining for years past a high standard of fitness for office , and for the most part had elected to rule over them only those brethren who were known to possess , or who there

were good grounds for believing would exhibit , those qualities which their present Prov . Grand Master has rightly described as essential attributes of a Worship ful Master . Nevertheless , it was liis duty , in view of the near approach of the lime for electing new

W . Ms ., to impress , with all the weight of his authority , upon the members of lodges present the importance of continuing in the course they had already marked out for themselves , and exhibiting the same care , as heretofore , in the selection of rulers . In this

matter , as in the acceptance of new candidates for thc mysteries and privileges of Freemasonry , it is well nigh impossible for the members of a lodge to be over-cautious , for just as the harmony of

¦ 'i lodge may be disturbed by the admission into its ranks of one unsuitable candidate , so may its character and cl ' ikiency be more or less seriously affected by the election of an incompetent Master .

Naturally enough , on hearing such an exhortation as this 'oncerninglhe election only of those brethren " whose Masonic abilit y and moral fitness are commensurate with the position , " "ie question arises , at least as regards the "Masonic ability" of

Election Of Workshipful Master.

the candidate for the chair , what constitutes "fitness for office . " The general qualifications are very ably summarised bv the late Bro . Dr . OLIVER in his "Masonic Jurisprudence , " where , in quoting from the Charges prefaced to the " Book of

Constitutions , " he says : " He ought to be true and trusty , of good repute , held in high estimation amongst thc Fraternity , skilled in Masonic knowledge , a lover of the Craft , exemplary in his private

conduct , courteous in his manner , and steady and firm in principle . " Thc possession of these qualifications , or of a majority of them , is calculated to ensure the successful fulfilment of the duties of

any brother who has the honour to be elected to the Master ' s chair . A man of good repute who is held in high estimation by his brethren , and who , being exemplary in his personal and private conduct , is certain to exercise a strong moral inlluence

on those he is called upon to rule , must in the very nature of things prove a good Master in all those respects in which the exercise of tact and discretion , of a gentle firmness , and of an easy and kindly bearing towards his fellows is necessary . ft

follows almost as a matter of course that such a man would be a sincere lover of the Craft , that is to say , of the principles on which the Craft is founded . Yet it is quite probable that through his unfamiliarity with the work of Masonry , this man of high repute and

exemplary in his private as well as in his public conduct , might fall very far short of perfection as a Master . On the other hand , the perfect ritualist , who is " skilled in Masonic knowledge , " would . acquit himself marvellously well ,

performing admirably the various ceremonies which it happened to be his duly to render , and generally doing and suggesting all those things which enable a lodge to carry out its work smoothly and creditably . He may , likewise , be morally

lit for the position to which he aspires , and yet , through some infirmity of temper , through lack of judgment , or owing to some other cause , he may prove a weak and undesirable ruler . It is too

much to expect that every successive aspirant for the chair ol his lodge shall possess all those qualifications which Bro . Ol . lVKR pointed out as essential , and the question arises as regards the kind and extent of fitness which he should exhibit—Whether it

is better that he should possess tact and judgment and gentleness combined with firmness , but with only a very slender knowledge of thc ritual ; or that he should he a perfect ritualist and yet wanting in sundry or all of the other qualities we have

enumerated . Of course , we look upon moral fitness as being indispensable in both classes of aspirants , but a lodge may well be pardoned if when the time arrives for electing a new Master it fixes its choice , and in the great majority of cases , its unanimous

choice , on thc brother occupying the office next in rank to that oi Worship ful Master , without stopping to inquire too minutely into the precise extent and character of his fitness as judged by the standard of efficiency we have before quoted from the late Bro .

Dr . OLIVER'S work aforesaid . In theory , no doubt , the principle of election by merit works admirably ; but in practice we are afraid if it were insisted upon too scrupulously , a considerable number of well-to-do lodges , in good standing and of high repute ,

would come , to grief . In our humble judgment , the best course for a lodge to follow when it is called upon to elect a new Master is to choose the occupant of the Senior Warden ' s chair , provided always that he has never exhibited any of those disqualifications

in respect either of character or ability , which would render it well nigh impossible , or , at all events , most undesirable that he should have conferred upon him the highest honour it is in the power of his lodge to bestow . One thing is clear , and those of