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Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article To Correspondents. Page 1 of 1 Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00600
GRAND LODGE OF MARK MASTER MASONS OF ENGLAND AND WALES AND THE COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES OF THE BRITISH CROWN . THE RIGHT HON . LORD HENNIKER , M . W . GRAND MASTER . THE RIGHT HON . EARL OF KINTORE ,
R . W . DEPUTY GRAND MASTER . INSTALLATION OF H . R . H . THK DUKE OF ALBANY , K . G ., AS M . W . PAST GRAND MASTER . THE WINTER HALF-YEARLY
COMMUNICATION Of this Grand Lodge will be held in the LARGE HALL , FREEMASONS' T AVERN , GREAI QUEEN ST ., LINCOLN ' INN F IELDS , On TUESDAY , the 6 th of DECEMBER , 1 SS 1 ,
When and where all Grand Officers ( Past and Present ) , W . Masters , Past Masters , Wardens , and Overseers of Private Lodges are hereby summoned to attend , and at which , by permission , all regularly registered Mark Master Mason ? may be present . Grand Lodge will be opened at
Five o clock p . m . By command of the M . W . Grand Master , FREDERICK BINCKES , P . G . J . W Grand Secretary . Office , SA , Red Lion-square , Holborn , London , W . C ., 17 th November , 1 SS 1 .
N . B . —A Banquet will be provided at Seven o ' clock . The Tickets will be 1 . 5 s . each , inclusive of Wine , if taken before the day of Meeting , and 17 s . fid . if taken on that day , and it is requested that every Brother intending to dine will forward his name to the Grand Secretary not later than Saturday , 3 rd of December .
Ar00601
npHE BRIGHTON HEALTH 1 CONGRESS . President—B . W . RICHARDSON , M . D ., LL . D ., F . R . S . Tuesday , December 13 th , 1 SS 1 . OPENING ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT .
Sections A , Wednesday ; B . Thursday ; C , Friday ; Presidents—Edwin Chadwick , C . B . ; J . R . Hollond , M . A ., M . P . ; Alfred Carpenter , M . D .
livening Addresses by R . P . B . Taafe , M . D ., and Brudenel Carter , F . R . C . S ., in the Dome , Royal Pavilion . Wednesday Evening—Soiree by the Mayor and Mayoress . Many places of interest are arranged for to be viewed by Associates on presenting their tickets , as well as
The Domestic and Scientific Exhibition in the Koyal Pavilion and Grounds , with Electric Lighting , to be opened by the President of the Exhibition , ' the EARL OF Clll-CIIESTKR . Associates' Tickets , 10 s . fid ., are being issued by the
Congress Secretary , Brig hton . Seats can be also secured . Chairman of Executive 1 W . II . HALLETT , F . L . S ., Committee , j Mayor . General Hon . Secretary , WM . HAMILTON , Ship Street , Brighton .
THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF SUSSEX Will meet under SIR . W . W . BUKRICI . I ., Bart ., M . P ., Prov . G . M ., in the ROYAI . PAVILION , On Monday , December 12 th , at Seven p . m ., to welcome all Brethren ( Master Masons ) attending the Health Congress . Bro . V . P . F RKKMAN , Brighton ( Prov . G . S . ) , will issue tickets , which include Admission to the Opening of the Domestic and Scientific Exhibition .
To Correspondents.
To Correspondents .
BOOKS , & c , RECEIVED . " Blackwood ' s Shilling Scribbling Diary for 1 SS 2 , " " Voice of Masonry , " "The Hebrew Leader , " "The Broad Arrow , " "The Walhalla Chronicle , " "The West London Advertiser , " "The Play , " " The Citizen , " "The European Mail , " "The Jewish Chronicle , " " New York-Dispatch , " "Allen's Indian Mail , " "EI Taller , " "The Communicability to Man of Diseases from Animals as Food , " "The Public Ledger , " " The New Zealand Freemason , " La Escuadra Boletin Oficial del Grand Orient de Espana , " " The Freemasons' Monthly , " " Der Long Islaender , " " The Freemason " ( Sydney ) , Report of the Committee of the Free Public Library of Hereford , " "The Hull Packet . "
Ad00606
TO OUR READERS . THE FREEMASON is published every Friday morning , price 3 d ., and contains the fullest and latest information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Subscriptions , including Postage : — United States , ... ,.. . Australia United Kingdom . Canada , the Conti- '"^ fe ^ ' & . nent , oiC . 13 s . 15 s . 6 d . 17 s . 6 d . emiUances may be made in Stamps , Init I ' oat Otliee Orders or Cheques are preferred , the former payable to ( IKOKUK KENNIXI ; , Chief Ollicc , London , the latter crossed London Joint Stock Bank .
Ar00605
THEFREEMASON. SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 26 , 1881 .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving of , the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit of fair ptay to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]
THE PROVINCE OF CHESHIRE AND THE CHARITIES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Your correspondent "Cheshire" passes some strictures in your last issue on the work of the province in
relation to the three great Charities of the Order . His letter bears internal- evidence that he is not so well acquainted with his subject as he might be . That he is not , however , posted up in the details of what the Province of Cheshire has done , and the position it holds in
relation to the central Chanties is , perhaps , no fault . of his , for there is nothing published in the province giving the information , and the only means of ascertaining the facts is by consulting and sifting the annual reports of the Charities themselves , and the process is a tedious and uninviting
one . That we are not so backward , however , as your correspondent imagines , may be gathered from the brief summary of the charitable work of the province given by our R . W . P . G . Master at Knutsford , on the occasion of the presentation of his portrait :
" In 1 SG 5 they had no votes in the Charities ; they had now 940 , and their contributions had been between ^ 2000 and £ 2500 , and all their candidates had been carried . Twenty-one brethren had served as Stewards to at least two of the Charities , and had qualified themselves as Life-Governors , and had also taken subscriptions of upwards of
£ 1500 . The Cheshire Educational Masonic Institution had educated 304 children , and possessed funded property representing £ 4000 . Within the province they numbered eight Vice-Patrons of the threo great Charities , and eleven Vice-President . "—( Extract from Bro . Lord de Tablcy ' s speech . )
And your correspondent ought to know , unless he is a very young Mason , that with reference to the Charity he singles out , viz ., the Boys' School , it is only a few years since the province contributed 1000 guineas lorthe purpose of purchasing a perpetual presentation to this Institution . Still , notwithstanding what has been done for the
Charities in this province during the last sixteen years , I am of the same opinion as your correspondent—that much more might have been , ought to have been , and could in future be done , if the charitable work of the province were placed on a better system than at present obtains . It is a " haphazard " system ; individual lodges being left to do what
they please and how they please , without any sort of guiding or suggestive agency on the part of the province , and what success it has met with already is due rather to the earnest example of our noble P . G . Master than to any merit it possesses as a provincial organisation . I do not think with your correspondent that there is any
want of " go" amongst Cheshire Masons , but I do think that our charity organisation wants placing on a better footing . It is a broader and more popular basis that is wanted ; one that will give individual lodges within the province a greater amount of interest in the work . At present they are too isolated , and the result is that many lodges are
apathetic , and the Charities suffer . It is true we concentrate our votes when the elections come round , but how many lodges are there in the province which have no votes at all for either of the Charities ? The real charitable work of the province is confined to a few lodges where there is some zealous brother or brethren who have made
the subject of the Charities a speciality , and who keep up the interest of their lodge in the cause from year to year ; but these lodges might be counted on one ' s fingers so far as this province is concerned . The great success that has attended the Cheshire Educational Masonic Institution I attribute to the fact that it is
near home , it is better understood , its objects and claims upon the Craft are brought before the brethren more regularly , than those of the London Charities , and it is exceedingly well managed ; but even in regard to this Charity there is too much lithographed-circular business , and too little personal contact between the " authorities " and the
lodges they appeal to for support . What appears to me to be wanted in the province , and what 1 am sure would conduce to the increased prosperity of the Charities—London and local—is a re-arrangement of the Provincial Committee of Benevolence . Instead of consisting , as now , of Present and Past Grand Officers ( who never attend the ' meetings ) , and W . M . ' s of lodges ( who arc
of necessity birds of passage ) , and the real work being left to some half-dozen zealous P . G . Officers , I should like to see the plan adopted in the neighbouring province of West Yorkshire , of giving every lodge in the province a real , instead of a nominal , representation on the Committee , by requiring each lodge to elect annually from amongst its members a zealous and expert brother as " Charity Member . " Thirty-eight duly accredited " Charity Members " from the Cheshire lodges meeting periodically to compare notes ,
Original Correspondence.
gather knowledge , report progress , and carry back to their respective lodges the state of the " cause , " would , I feel , convinced , be . the means of giving a poweful impetus to the charitable work of the province . I need only point to W . York-shire , and the wonderful results achieved by that province , in support of my conviction .
I am sanguine enough to believe that under the scheme I have suggested , coupled with such administrative details as would suggest themselves to the Committee—take for example the excellent idea adopted in W . Yorkshire , of publishing annually a tabulated statement of the work of each lodge in the province in regard to charity , one
copy being- supplied to the Charity Member , " and another to be placed throughout the year on the W . M . ' s pedestal—I believe , I say , that the Cheshire contri . butions to the Charities might be doubled , that the moneys contributed might be laid out to better advantage than at
present , and that they might be distributed more evenl y each year amongst the several Charities of the Order . I have already trespassed too much on your space , but the importance of the subject must be my apology . I am , dear sir and brother , yours truly and fraternally , A CHESHIRE P . M .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Your correspondent " Cheshire , " in your issue of the 19 th inst ., page 520 , expresscssurpri . se that the province of Cheshire " does not get anywhere near the front " as respects the Charities , particularly the Boys' School . As he asks for an " explanation of what appears to be a bad
case" I would refer him to the report of the presentation to the R . W . P . G . M ., on the previous page ; he will there find the province is doing good work , and if he examines the last report of the Rojal Masonic Institution for Boys he will find the province has , up to December , 1 SS 0 , contributed £ 2340 , in addition to the 1000 guineas given to purchase a perpetual presentation to that Charity . I am , yours fraternally , ONE WHO KNOWS .
rilE PERFORMANCE OF CEREMONIES BY OTHERS THAN DULY INSTALLED MASTERS IN THE CHAIR . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , —
I am greatly surprised to see in your last number a letter by "Querist" upon the above subject , and your reply giving the ruling of Grand Registrar in Grand Lodge of 7 th March , 1 S 77 , relative to this much discussed question , also a further foot-note from yourself to the effect that " As a matter of course a P . M . occupying the chair in
the absence of the W . M . can exercise the same right . Before referring to your interpretation of the law I will give you a copy of a letter written by the late Grand Secretary , which , if I interpret correctly , is a contradiction of the ruling of the Grand Registrar . It is as follows : — " 4 th April , 1 S 74 . " Dear Sir and Brother , —
" The performance of a ceremony by a Warden is , to say the least of it , most undesirable , although there may be cases in the Colonies where such an irregularity might be condoned . I have not , however , the least hesitation in saying that a Warden ought never to perform a ceremony when a W . M . or P . M . is present . The
Wardens are appointed for the purpose of performing certain specific duties , which are or ought to be explained to them at their investiture , and certainly the performance of ceremonies is not amongst them ; besides , they must neglect their own duties if they undertake those of others . I repeat , therefore , that in the presence of an * Installed Master a Warden should never be called upon to perform
the duties of the chair . " Yours truly and fraternally , "J HERVEY , G . S . " I may perhaps , " en passant , " be permitted to say that the cases mentioned to the Grand Secretary in 1 S 74 , and the one supplied by your correspondent " Querist , " are parallel ones , and , therefore , the ruling in each case should be the same .
Now the Master at his installation solemnly declares that he will execute the duties of the chair faithfully , zealously , impartially , and to the best of his ability ; that he will not permit or suffer any deviation from the established landmarks of the Order . If , however , the W . M . is at liberty to call upon any brother to perform ceremonies which he , the W . M ., has undertaken to do , he is not preserving the established landmarks of the Order . If a Warden is
called upon to stand near the W . M ., or sit in front of the W . M . ' s pedestal , he is certainly not occupying the chair , and 1 contend that no initiations can legally be performed from any other place . The terms " ruling a lodge" certainly do not embrace the privilege of admitting candidates . Granted that it might under certain circumstances
become a matter of expediency , in the two cases quoted , there were P . M . ' s present who were both able and willing to do the work . As a matter of law I believe you are quite incorrect in saying a P . M . can exercise in this respect the same rig ht ; as a W . M . The I . P . M . is the the locum tenem of the
W . M . in his absence ; but it does not follow because ho is so that he has the right to call upon any brother to come forward and perform the ceremonies . In this view I am supported by the opinion of a Past Provincial Grand Master , who has devoted much time and thought to the question . * Or Past Master .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00600
GRAND LODGE OF MARK MASTER MASONS OF ENGLAND AND WALES AND THE COLONIES AND DEPENDENCIES OF THE BRITISH CROWN . THE RIGHT HON . LORD HENNIKER , M . W . GRAND MASTER . THE RIGHT HON . EARL OF KINTORE ,
R . W . DEPUTY GRAND MASTER . INSTALLATION OF H . R . H . THK DUKE OF ALBANY , K . G ., AS M . W . PAST GRAND MASTER . THE WINTER HALF-YEARLY
COMMUNICATION Of this Grand Lodge will be held in the LARGE HALL , FREEMASONS' T AVERN , GREAI QUEEN ST ., LINCOLN ' INN F IELDS , On TUESDAY , the 6 th of DECEMBER , 1 SS 1 ,
When and where all Grand Officers ( Past and Present ) , W . Masters , Past Masters , Wardens , and Overseers of Private Lodges are hereby summoned to attend , and at which , by permission , all regularly registered Mark Master Mason ? may be present . Grand Lodge will be opened at
Five o clock p . m . By command of the M . W . Grand Master , FREDERICK BINCKES , P . G . J . W Grand Secretary . Office , SA , Red Lion-square , Holborn , London , W . C ., 17 th November , 1 SS 1 .
N . B . —A Banquet will be provided at Seven o ' clock . The Tickets will be 1 . 5 s . each , inclusive of Wine , if taken before the day of Meeting , and 17 s . fid . if taken on that day , and it is requested that every Brother intending to dine will forward his name to the Grand Secretary not later than Saturday , 3 rd of December .
Ar00601
npHE BRIGHTON HEALTH 1 CONGRESS . President—B . W . RICHARDSON , M . D ., LL . D ., F . R . S . Tuesday , December 13 th , 1 SS 1 . OPENING ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT .
Sections A , Wednesday ; B . Thursday ; C , Friday ; Presidents—Edwin Chadwick , C . B . ; J . R . Hollond , M . A ., M . P . ; Alfred Carpenter , M . D .
livening Addresses by R . P . B . Taafe , M . D ., and Brudenel Carter , F . R . C . S ., in the Dome , Royal Pavilion . Wednesday Evening—Soiree by the Mayor and Mayoress . Many places of interest are arranged for to be viewed by Associates on presenting their tickets , as well as
The Domestic and Scientific Exhibition in the Koyal Pavilion and Grounds , with Electric Lighting , to be opened by the President of the Exhibition , ' the EARL OF Clll-CIIESTKR . Associates' Tickets , 10 s . fid ., are being issued by the
Congress Secretary , Brig hton . Seats can be also secured . Chairman of Executive 1 W . II . HALLETT , F . L . S ., Committee , j Mayor . General Hon . Secretary , WM . HAMILTON , Ship Street , Brighton .
THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF SUSSEX Will meet under SIR . W . W . BUKRICI . I ., Bart ., M . P ., Prov . G . M ., in the ROYAI . PAVILION , On Monday , December 12 th , at Seven p . m ., to welcome all Brethren ( Master Masons ) attending the Health Congress . Bro . V . P . F RKKMAN , Brighton ( Prov . G . S . ) , will issue tickets , which include Admission to the Opening of the Domestic and Scientific Exhibition .
To Correspondents.
To Correspondents .
BOOKS , & c , RECEIVED . " Blackwood ' s Shilling Scribbling Diary for 1 SS 2 , " " Voice of Masonry , " "The Hebrew Leader , " "The Broad Arrow , " "The Walhalla Chronicle , " "The West London Advertiser , " "The Play , " " The Citizen , " "The European Mail , " "The Jewish Chronicle , " " New York-Dispatch , " "Allen's Indian Mail , " "EI Taller , " "The Communicability to Man of Diseases from Animals as Food , " "The Public Ledger , " " The New Zealand Freemason , " La Escuadra Boletin Oficial del Grand Orient de Espana , " " The Freemasons' Monthly , " " Der Long Islaender , " " The Freemason " ( Sydney ) , Report of the Committee of the Free Public Library of Hereford , " "The Hull Packet . "
Ad00606
TO OUR READERS . THE FREEMASON is published every Friday morning , price 3 d ., and contains the fullest and latest information relating to Freemasonry in every degree . Subscriptions , including Postage : — United States , ... ,.. . Australia United Kingdom . Canada , the Conti- '"^ fe ^ ' & . nent , oiC . 13 s . 15 s . 6 d . 17 s . 6 d . emiUances may be made in Stamps , Init I ' oat Otliee Orders or Cheques are preferred , the former payable to ( IKOKUK KENNIXI ; , Chief Ollicc , London , the latter crossed London Joint Stock Bank .
Ar00605
THEFREEMASON. SATURDAY , NOVEMBER 26 , 1881 .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We do not hold ourselves responsible for , or even approving of , the opinions expressed by our correspondents , but we wish in a spirit of fair ptay to all to permit—within certain necessary limits—free discussion . ]
THE PROVINCE OF CHESHIRE AND THE CHARITIES . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Your correspondent "Cheshire" passes some strictures in your last issue on the work of the province in
relation to the three great Charities of the Order . His letter bears internal- evidence that he is not so well acquainted with his subject as he might be . That he is not , however , posted up in the details of what the Province of Cheshire has done , and the position it holds in
relation to the central Chanties is , perhaps , no fault . of his , for there is nothing published in the province giving the information , and the only means of ascertaining the facts is by consulting and sifting the annual reports of the Charities themselves , and the process is a tedious and uninviting
one . That we are not so backward , however , as your correspondent imagines , may be gathered from the brief summary of the charitable work of the province given by our R . W . P . G . Master at Knutsford , on the occasion of the presentation of his portrait :
" In 1 SG 5 they had no votes in the Charities ; they had now 940 , and their contributions had been between ^ 2000 and £ 2500 , and all their candidates had been carried . Twenty-one brethren had served as Stewards to at least two of the Charities , and had qualified themselves as Life-Governors , and had also taken subscriptions of upwards of
£ 1500 . The Cheshire Educational Masonic Institution had educated 304 children , and possessed funded property representing £ 4000 . Within the province they numbered eight Vice-Patrons of the threo great Charities , and eleven Vice-President . "—( Extract from Bro . Lord de Tablcy ' s speech . )
And your correspondent ought to know , unless he is a very young Mason , that with reference to the Charity he singles out , viz ., the Boys' School , it is only a few years since the province contributed 1000 guineas lorthe purpose of purchasing a perpetual presentation to this Institution . Still , notwithstanding what has been done for the
Charities in this province during the last sixteen years , I am of the same opinion as your correspondent—that much more might have been , ought to have been , and could in future be done , if the charitable work of the province were placed on a better system than at present obtains . It is a " haphazard " system ; individual lodges being left to do what
they please and how they please , without any sort of guiding or suggestive agency on the part of the province , and what success it has met with already is due rather to the earnest example of our noble P . G . Master than to any merit it possesses as a provincial organisation . I do not think with your correspondent that there is any
want of " go" amongst Cheshire Masons , but I do think that our charity organisation wants placing on a better footing . It is a broader and more popular basis that is wanted ; one that will give individual lodges within the province a greater amount of interest in the work . At present they are too isolated , and the result is that many lodges are
apathetic , and the Charities suffer . It is true we concentrate our votes when the elections come round , but how many lodges are there in the province which have no votes at all for either of the Charities ? The real charitable work of the province is confined to a few lodges where there is some zealous brother or brethren who have made
the subject of the Charities a speciality , and who keep up the interest of their lodge in the cause from year to year ; but these lodges might be counted on one ' s fingers so far as this province is concerned . The great success that has attended the Cheshire Educational Masonic Institution I attribute to the fact that it is
near home , it is better understood , its objects and claims upon the Craft are brought before the brethren more regularly , than those of the London Charities , and it is exceedingly well managed ; but even in regard to this Charity there is too much lithographed-circular business , and too little personal contact between the " authorities " and the
lodges they appeal to for support . What appears to me to be wanted in the province , and what 1 am sure would conduce to the increased prosperity of the Charities—London and local—is a re-arrangement of the Provincial Committee of Benevolence . Instead of consisting , as now , of Present and Past Grand Officers ( who never attend the ' meetings ) , and W . M . ' s of lodges ( who arc
of necessity birds of passage ) , and the real work being left to some half-dozen zealous P . G . Officers , I should like to see the plan adopted in the neighbouring province of West Yorkshire , of giving every lodge in the province a real , instead of a nominal , representation on the Committee , by requiring each lodge to elect annually from amongst its members a zealous and expert brother as " Charity Member . " Thirty-eight duly accredited " Charity Members " from the Cheshire lodges meeting periodically to compare notes ,
Original Correspondence.
gather knowledge , report progress , and carry back to their respective lodges the state of the " cause , " would , I feel , convinced , be . the means of giving a poweful impetus to the charitable work of the province . I need only point to W . York-shire , and the wonderful results achieved by that province , in support of my conviction .
I am sanguine enough to believe that under the scheme I have suggested , coupled with such administrative details as would suggest themselves to the Committee—take for example the excellent idea adopted in W . Yorkshire , of publishing annually a tabulated statement of the work of each lodge in the province in regard to charity , one
copy being- supplied to the Charity Member , " and another to be placed throughout the year on the W . M . ' s pedestal—I believe , I say , that the Cheshire contri . butions to the Charities might be doubled , that the moneys contributed might be laid out to better advantage than at
present , and that they might be distributed more evenl y each year amongst the several Charities of the Order . I have already trespassed too much on your space , but the importance of the subject must be my apology . I am , dear sir and brother , yours truly and fraternally , A CHESHIRE P . M .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Your correspondent " Cheshire , " in your issue of the 19 th inst ., page 520 , expresscssurpri . se that the province of Cheshire " does not get anywhere near the front " as respects the Charities , particularly the Boys' School . As he asks for an " explanation of what appears to be a bad
case" I would refer him to the report of the presentation to the R . W . P . G . M ., on the previous page ; he will there find the province is doing good work , and if he examines the last report of the Rojal Masonic Institution for Boys he will find the province has , up to December , 1 SS 0 , contributed £ 2340 , in addition to the 1000 guineas given to purchase a perpetual presentation to that Charity . I am , yours fraternally , ONE WHO KNOWS .
rilE PERFORMANCE OF CEREMONIES BY OTHERS THAN DULY INSTALLED MASTERS IN THE CHAIR . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , —
I am greatly surprised to see in your last number a letter by "Querist" upon the above subject , and your reply giving the ruling of Grand Registrar in Grand Lodge of 7 th March , 1 S 77 , relative to this much discussed question , also a further foot-note from yourself to the effect that " As a matter of course a P . M . occupying the chair in
the absence of the W . M . can exercise the same right . Before referring to your interpretation of the law I will give you a copy of a letter written by the late Grand Secretary , which , if I interpret correctly , is a contradiction of the ruling of the Grand Registrar . It is as follows : — " 4 th April , 1 S 74 . " Dear Sir and Brother , —
" The performance of a ceremony by a Warden is , to say the least of it , most undesirable , although there may be cases in the Colonies where such an irregularity might be condoned . I have not , however , the least hesitation in saying that a Warden ought never to perform a ceremony when a W . M . or P . M . is present . The
Wardens are appointed for the purpose of performing certain specific duties , which are or ought to be explained to them at their investiture , and certainly the performance of ceremonies is not amongst them ; besides , they must neglect their own duties if they undertake those of others . I repeat , therefore , that in the presence of an * Installed Master a Warden should never be called upon to perform
the duties of the chair . " Yours truly and fraternally , "J HERVEY , G . S . " I may perhaps , " en passant , " be permitted to say that the cases mentioned to the Grand Secretary in 1 S 74 , and the one supplied by your correspondent " Querist , " are parallel ones , and , therefore , the ruling in each case should be the same .
Now the Master at his installation solemnly declares that he will execute the duties of the chair faithfully , zealously , impartially , and to the best of his ability ; that he will not permit or suffer any deviation from the established landmarks of the Order . If , however , the W . M . is at liberty to call upon any brother to perform ceremonies which he , the W . M ., has undertaken to do , he is not preserving the established landmarks of the Order . If a Warden is
called upon to stand near the W . M ., or sit in front of the W . M . ' s pedestal , he is certainly not occupying the chair , and 1 contend that no initiations can legally be performed from any other place . The terms " ruling a lodge" certainly do not embrace the privilege of admitting candidates . Granted that it might under certain circumstances
become a matter of expediency , in the two cases quoted , there were P . M . ' s present who were both able and willing to do the work . As a matter of law I believe you are quite incorrect in saying a P . M . can exercise in this respect the same rig ht ; as a W . M . The I . P . M . is the the locum tenem of the
W . M . in his absence ; but it does not follow because ho is so that he has the right to call upon any brother to come forward and perform the ceremonies . In this view I am supported by the opinion of a Past Provincial Grand Master , who has devoted much time and thought to the question . * Or Past Master .