Masonic Offences And Masonic Punishments.

"It ought to be inflicted only for the most heinous offences ; offences which , say . nature , affect the character , the well-being , and the safety of the whole ' ¦ tv and hence some Grand Lodges have very wisely ordered that it shall only Soj- ' v „ ross violation of the moral law , or the fundamental principles of Masonry , ft mots against any part of the framework of its government . ' The penalty P f leeted so much for the punishment of the guilty person as for the security ¦ s " ? Order . The object is not to reform an evil , but to prevent its influence on 0 r- „ ^ i-nitv "—Freemasonry and its Jurisprudence , p . 360 .

The above passage almost exactly follows the words of Dr . Mackey in his t ' se on Masonic Jurisprudence , expressing chiefly an American view , except 'ft Dr . Mackey quotes the Grand Lodge of New York , instead of " some " Grand 1 rises ' and he refers to Section 47 of the Constitutions o . f the Grand Lodge of w ew York . „ - „„„„• <*•„ , ..,. ¦ ,.,. „ mUj . ; .. u .. Robertson in his Digest of Masonic Jurisprudenceemboding the

, „„ Uro , , y adian view , says : " Immoral conduct , or violation of any of the Masonic KlVations will render the offender liable to expulsion . " And in ' another place he thus defines Masonic offences " Every violation of his VI sonic covenant or obligations , or of the established laws , usages , and customs of ' , Order—every violation of the moral law , and every violation of the laws of the moral is Masonic offence violation of the laws

1 A involving turpitude a . ... A f the land , which is malum in se and not merely malum prohibitum is a Masonic " ( fence . Upon this principle it is that murder , larceny , assault , adultery , " and ° ch offences as are evil in themselves are recognised to be Masonic offences , 5 | iilst issuing an unstamped note , or neglecting to observe a by-law for the removal \ snow althoug h in direct violation of the statute or municipal law , will not be noticed by Masonic authorities . Among the offences that are recognised as Masonic

offences are the following :- _ , . , 11 All public crimes and misdemeanours involving moral turpitude . " Adultery . " Cruelty to wife or child . " Atheism . " With a number of others that need not be noticed here , winding up with" Any violation of the Constitution , laws , edicts , rules or regulations of the

G . L . "Any violation of the By-laws of a lodge by a member thereof . " Thus treating as last and ol the least importance those vvhich we are asked to consider the only ones to be noticed . Dr . Mackey lays down as an important principle of Masonic law that " If A shall have been tried and convicted of a crime in the Courts of his country , charges

may be preferred against him in his lodge for conduct unbecoming a Mason ; and on the trial it will not be necessary to introduce testimony to prove the commission of the act , as was done in the temporal Court . It will be sufficient to adduce evidence of his conviction , and the fact of this conviction will be alone a good reason to render him obnoxious to a Masonic penalty . He has , by the conviction , brought ' shame upon the Craft , ' and for this he shall be punished . " And this

seems the true test of what constitutes a Masonic offence " outside Masonry . " Does it bring " shame upon the Craft ? " And of this the local authority ought to be the best judge . It has long been the custom of the Grand Lodge of England to recognise and act upon the . principle above laid down by Mackey , by removing from the Craft , without further trial , a brother who has been convicted of felony . And to prove

this I quote my last authority—the official reports of our Grand Lodge proceedings . On 4 th December , 1872 , the Marquess of Ripon , G . M ., in the Chair—the Grand Master , including to Bro . Stebbing ' s opening remarks respecting the difficulty of excluding a'brother who has been convicted of felony , & c , said " I should be very sorry if it should accidentally go forth out of this Grand Lodge that there is any

difficulty in that respect . It would not be for the credit of the Craft that it should be supposed there was any difficulty in that matter . I hold that it is perfectly open to any lodge to remove a brother under those circumstances , and if a brother so excluded were to appeal to Grand Lodge , and the facts of the case were clear , this Grand Lodge would uphold any private lodge that took that step . " And so recently as the ist of June 1887 Bro . Thomas FennPresident of the

, , , Board of General Purposes , moved that the Special " Report of the P . G . M . " of Devonshire—under Art . 93 , Book of Constitutions—transmitting and recommendln g a Memorial from a lodge for the expulsion from the Order of a brother recentl y convicted of felony— " be received and approved by this Grand Lodge , " arid the motion was carried , though G . L . was asked to refrain from exercising its power .

Surel y this was a case as much " outside Masonry" as that decided by the Unterbury D . G . L . ? The gist of the Masonic offence in each case is surely the shame brought upon the Craft . " To sum up then—it is submitted that all the authorities quoted practically take , e same view ; that though some of them are foreign , and we may grant that they nave taken a wider and more ample view of the Masonic jurisdiction over moral ottences

than we in England are inclined to , yet that if they have done so they are 5 , _ Justified in their view by the Antient Charges ; that even under the English on stitutions there does still exist , however seldom exercised , and however inadisable as a rule to exercise it , in the proper authority , due power to take Masonic ^ gnizance of , and Masonically punish , all offences bringing discredit on the Frails f W ' lef ; ' - th 056 offences are against the system of Freemasonry , or against . . . 'Rework ; that under Rule 210 a lodge has power to ounish . if necessary bv

reDor " - - ' for gross immorality if it bring shame upon the Craft , and that on its # .,. * 7 i , 0 r ex mero motu suo , a District Grand Lodge , or Grand Lodge , has power to « M the offender from the Craft . Cantk ly ! wittl a ^ due respect , that , therefore , in reversing the decision of the eroury District Grand Lod ^ e uhtm the ernund that trip nffenr-es alleo-ed . viz ..

arte " ° ' fe and fam ' * y adultery , were " outside Masonry , " Grand Lodge resp U . P ° [ 1 erroneous and insufficient view of its ' own power , authority , and

The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION FOR GIRLS

t'fiOM ITS ORIGIN , 1788 , TO ITS CENTENAKY , 1888 . ( Continued from page 249 . ) CHAPTER VIL

• -H . Pitoca OF WALSS , M . W . G . M ., AS PRESIDENT , 1875-88 . flitch ll 0 t - neCeasar y We should dilate Upon the amazing impulse of ^ ^ & iven to Freemasonry in all its branches by the acceptance liv l , ;! £ of . Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England

U | c ii , Yi T 5 - 8 ' liness tho Prince of Wales and his installation in ° ^ SOOfll r < i ¦^ ^» South Kensington , ill the presence of upwards bl ' ethren , on the 25 th April , 1 ' 875 , It is sufficient for our

The History Of The Royal Masonic Institution For Girls

purpose that the Girls' School , of -w hich the Prince at once became , ex-officio , President , received its full share of the enthusiastic support which was immediately forthcoming in behalf of all the systems and Institutions which are associated with , or have been established by , the Freemasons of this country . The lodges and brethren vied with

each other m doing it service as Stewards , its Festivals Avaxed more productive , and , as a consequence , it became possessed of sufficient means to enable its ruling authorities to enlarge its premises , augment the number of its pupils , and extend and make still more nearly perfect its system of education . In fact , during the 1 . 3 years his

Royal Highness has been President of the Institution , the work of extension and augmentation has been proceeding regularly , by slow but certain steps , till now it stands in the front rank of English middle-class' educational establishments , and its pupils , by the moral

and mental training they receive , are fitted on leaving to undertake any of the positions and duties which are open to young women who depend on their own exertions for their means of livelihood . A brief sketch of the events which have occured during ; this period will make this sufficiently clear .

The first Festival after the Prince ' s installation having been held under the auspices of Bro . Lord Mayor Stone , J . G . Warden of England , and the resignation for private reasons of Miss Davis

withdrawn , and that lady re-installed m her position as Head Governess , Sir F . Burdett and Colonel Creaton having been appointed Trustees of the Sustentation Fund , and the Earl of Carnarvon and Lord Skelmersdale—now the Earl of Lathom—Trustees of the General

Fund , it became evident to the Committee that , notwithstanding what had been done during the years immediately preceding , a further and more costly enlargement of the premises had become imperative , and the question how this could be done was at once

taken into consideration . Various plans were suggested , and a Special Committee appointed to consider them ; and at length , at the Quarterly Court in April , 1876 , it was resolved that a modified scheme prepared by Col . Creaton for the erection of a large Hall or School Room with dormitories over it for the accommodation of 56

children at an estimated cost of £ 9400 should be adopted , and Bro . Massa was invited to prepare the necessary plans , while a Building Committee , with Col . Creaton as its permanent Chairman , was appointed to superintend the carrying out of the work . In June the tender of W . Smale for erecting the new wing at a cost of £ 7017 was

accepted , and m September the first stone was laid by Col . Creaton , while about the same time it was determined to utilise the existing Laundry for general purposes and build a new one at a cost not to exceed £ 2800 . Bro . Massa having prepared the plans and the tender of C . Fish for £ 2500 having been accepted , operations were rapidlypushed

forward , and so much progress was made that it became evident the new buildings would sopn be ready for occupation , and steps were accordingly taken to have them opened with appropriate ceremonial . In the meantime , however , the opportunity for obtaining some additional land to the rear of the existing premises for the sum of

£ 2500 was taken advantage of , and a Special General Court having been summoned for the 9 th August , 1877 , it was unanimously agreed to complete the purchase on the terms proposed , the ground thus acquired being especially valuable as it would to a great extent neutralise the loss of open space caused by the erection of the new

wing and new Laundry . 1 he expenditure incurred m carrying out these various plans was necessarily heavy , and for current purposes it became necessary to draw upon the Bankers of the Institution to the extent of some £ 2000 , but the benefits to the Institution were so manifest , that the Governors willingly took upon themselves the

responsibility of passing the various resolutions submitted to them , and by the end of the year 1877 , the buildings were ready , and tho Committee took steps to invite the Princess of Wales to inaugurate the new premises , and began making the necessary arrangements for the ceremony . At an early date , her Royal Highness vouchsafed a

favourable reply to the Committee , to whom it was officially notified that the Prince and Princess would be present for the purpose on such day in the spring as would be most convenient to their Royal Highnesses , and at the same time it Avas requested that the preparations for the ceremony should be on a modest scale . Unfortunately ,

the whooping-cough broke out in the School just when the arrangements were in progress , and the formal ceremony of opening by tho Princess became impossible . But Her Royal Highness was graciously pleased to give her sanction to the new wing being named after her the "Royal Alexandra Wing , " and accepted also the gold key which

would have been handed to her had the ceremony , as originally proposed , been carried out . However , the new building became available for use in the spring of 1878 , and the object of the Governors in erecting it was gratified , the number of children , which had been 148

—irrespective of those admitted by purchase—the year previous to the accession of the Prince of Wales to the Presidency , having been gradually increased during thc progress of the work until at the Quarterly Court in April , 1878 , it reached exactly 2 U 0 . ( To be continued . )