The Eastern Division Of South Africa.

passed , but more particularly from the District Grand Master ' s address , we judge that , in spite of the adverse circumstances of the time , Freemasonry has fared better than might have been expected . Speaking generally , Bro . EGAN was able to congratulate

the meeting on the excellent spirit that had been shown by the lodges and brethren during the progress of the war . As regards the lodges in those localities which have been more immediately affected , Lodge Rising Star , No . 1022 , Bloemfontein , had been kept "in working order by the energies of their W . M ., Bro .

HAARBURGHER , but no working was recorded until after the occupation" of the town by the English army , and since then there had been four joinings and two initiations . Bro . HAARBURGHER , though he has been W . M . for two years in succession , still continues to occupy the chair , but this is due to the fact

of no one having been elected in his stead . The lodge at Burghersdorp , for which Bro . EGAN , just before the war broke out , had granted a Provisional Warrant , and the M . W . G . Master has since granted a Regular Warrant , did no work at all while the town was in the occupation of the Boers , but since British

rule has been established it has met and framed bye-laws , and will , at no distant date , be regularly constituted . Frere Lodge , No . 2089 , Aliwal North , at the outbreak of the war applied for a Dispensation to cease work , and as no Returns had been received , the Dist . G . Master inferred that work had not been

resumed . Wodehouse Lodge , No . 1467 , Dordrecht , was in a somewhat similar position , and the St . Paul ' s , No . 9 8 9 , Adelaide , was only held together by a few brethren who paid the customary dues in the hope that more prosperous times might come , and the lodge be once again on the road to prosperity .

Bro . EGAN also referred at some length to the steps which had been taken during the year for relieving the distresses of brethren who had suffered by the war , and especially to the appointment of a Sub-Committee to administer relief in the District derived from the South African Masonic Relief Fund

which was started early last year by United Grand Lodge ; but on the whole there does not appear so much distress as might have been anticipated , though no doubt , as the country becomes more settled , cases will turn up of which , under present

circumstances , no report is possible . Indeed , of all the various Funds connected with or fostered by the District Grand Lodge the Educational appears to have fared the worst , the subscriptions during tne ye ' ar having fallen to £ 315 as ' compared with £ 485 in the previous year .

As regards the general financial position , it seems to be on the whole satisfactory , the balances in bank and on deposit totalling up ^ 2286 , made up of—^ 150 on General Fund ; ^ 905 on Reserve Fund ; £ 1113 on Benevolent Fund ; and £ 112 on Special Relief Fund . We may also mention that the year ' s-

Statement of Receipts and Expenditure in respect of the Masonic Education . Fund , is , save in the particular we have specified favourable , there being balances of £ 237 and £ 4 in Standarc Bank and Savings Bank respectively , at the close of account , in

addition to Mortgage Bonds to the value of £ 1500 and Fixed Deposit in Standard Bank of £ 200 . The number of children at present on the Fund is 26 , while as many as 148 have been elected recipients of its benefits since the Fund was established

Masonic Jurisprudence.

MASONIC JURISPRUDENCE .

[ COMMUNICATED . ! RULES OF DEBATE .

( Continued . ) It should be remembered that collective expressions ol approval—as we may call them for want of a better termsuch as applause and clapping of the hands , as well as similai expressions of disapproval , are quite out of place in a lodge

room . A single clap is sometimes permitted , the origin of which is obvious . Article 72 refers to a particular form of expressing disapproval , and describes it very fittingly as un-Masonic , and

conduct which demands exclusion ipso facto without vote taken . Whilst Article 72 refers to Grand Lodge only , the conduc ; referred to would doubtless be considered as " sufficient cause " in Article 210 , and even come under the summary jurisdiction of

Article 209 . It is a general impression that the speaker may at any point of his remarks be interrupted by any one who " rises to a point of order . " This is strictly true , but it is very desirable that the brother who acts in such a manner should first of all have accurate

knowledge of what constitutes disorder , and , secondly , that his motive should be beyond suspicion . The W . M . is after all the best judge of what is Masonieally decorous or otherwise , and the frequent interposition of other brelhren , where they are not personally concerned , is somewhat of a reflection upon tht Master ' s capacity .

Masonic Jurisprudence.

As a matter of fact , the occurrence of disorder within the lodge-does not usually arise from the conduct of a brother speaking , but from those who ought to be listening . We might with advantage read No . VI . of the Ancient Charges and

Regulations"You are not to hold private committees or separate conversation without leave from the Master , nor to talk of anything impertinently or unseemly , nor to interrupt the Master or Wardens , or any brother speaking to the Master , nor behave yourself

ludicrously or jestingly while the lodge is engaged upon what is serious and solemn , nor use any unbecoming language upon any pretence whatsoever , but to pay due reverence to your Master , Wardens , and fellows , and put them to worship . "

The frequent occurrence of private conversation during the progress of lodge work is a serious nuisance , and one which demands the stern interposition of the Master . It is somewhat noticeable that the brethren on the dais are often offenders in this respect , and so long as this is so , how can humbler brethren be expected to maintain due decorum .

All business other than routine should be notified in the summons , and , having in view the possibility of non-confirmation at a succeeding meeting , the Worshipful Master should think twice before he allows this rule to be broken . It would form a very good ground indeed for a motion to that effect if it were

found that contentious business had been sprung upon the lodge is it were , and a vote taken in the absence of brethren who might possibly have the keenest interest in the subject , and who would have made strenuous efforts to be present had they known

it was coming on . The moral weight of a snatch vote is not much , and even if the Master ' s action be acquiesced in , brethren are discontented , and feel that they have not been treated with proper respect .

Many lodges have a wholesome bye-law limiting the hour at which business of any kind—other than ceremonial—may be entered upon , and unless such bye-law expressly gives the Master a discretionary power to suspend it , there ought to be no question as to its observance . A lodge is bound b y its own

bye-laws quite as much as by the Constitutions , and , in fact , the Grand Master ' s approval of the bye-laws has the practical effect of making them constitutions as far as the particular lodge is concerned . In addition to its entry in the summons there is business of a certain kind which demands notice of motion in

open lodge . Propositions are , of course , included in such , and . he suspension of the rule is hedged about with such formalities ( Art . 185 ) as to show that only very real emergencies are contemplated . In Grand . Lodge there is no option . Articles 52 and following require that no business shall be considered in Grand

Lodge of which notice has not been given to the General Committee . We . hold that a Worshi pful Master would act within his legal right in declining to admit any proposition of

which notice had not been given in open lodge , but inasmuch as he writer cannot recollect any official decision as to that effect , he opinion must be regarded as a personal one , and taken / Itanium valeat .

The brother who gives notice of motion should not make a speech . First of all , by so doing he forestalls what he has to say when the time comes for it to be put forward . Then he gives his opponents , if any , a whole month in which to work up

a case against him , with the advantage of knowing what line he is going to take . And , again , if it be notice of a motion to the prejudice of any brother , as , for instance , a question of exclusion , he has no right to make an ex parte statement , possibl y in that brother ' s absence .

Notice of motion necessaril y secures precedence The writer once had to contend with a very obstinate bye-law of his lodge which said that no opposed motion could be considered after eight o ' clock . As certain official brethren were anxious to avoid the discussion of a question which he was equally anxious

to bring forward , the ceremonial work was protracted each evening of lodge meeting until the hour named was reached , when he was blandly informed that the bye-law referred to stood in the way of the business being brought on . A reference Lo the Provincial authority elicited the opinion that as it did not

matter apparently at what hour ceremonial work was undertaken , the writer ' s notice of motion gave it a claim to be heard immediately after the opening routine was despatched . The opinion may be right or it may be wrong , but it served its purpose . Article 55 , which deals with the comparative priority of

motions , would seem to indicate its correctness , but then there is no ceremonial work in Grand Lodge , and , as a general principle , no proposition , however important , ought to interpose between a candidate and the Light . A very important part of lod ge proceedings is the con-