A Wild Suggestion.

A WILD SUGGESTION .

A short while since we referred with extreme satisfaction to certain remarks in the address which Bro . the Earl of LATHOM delivered at the annual meeting in September of his Provincial Grand Lodge of West Lancashire . Towards the close of his observations his lordship is reported to have expressed his regret that he was unable to attend the Quarterly

Communication of United Grand Lodge in September , when a proposal was made for increasing- the number of Grand Officers , his lordships' impression being that had he been present , " he would have been able to explain away some of the difficulties which seemed to exist in the minds of some of the brethren . " And lie added that " he hoped that next year ,

however , he would have the pleasure of placing * collars on thc necks of at least six more brethren . " From these remarks we not unnaturally drew the conclusion that the proposed creation of additional offices in Grand Lodge and the larger Provincial Grand Lodges will not be dropped , and that at the December communication or such time as may be deemed convenient by

the authorities , the proposal which was withdrawn in September will be again brought forward . Nor , after what has passed , do we think that there will be the slightest difficulty in obtaining the unanimous support of Grand Lodge in behalf of such a scheme . There may be differences of opinion as to whether " Grand Chancellor "

is the most appropriate title to bestow on the new legal adviser it is proposed to appoint , and , if rumour speaks correctly , to retain in office during pleasure , while , for ourselves , we are unable to discover any sufficient

grounds for disturbing the present Order of Precedence , and placing him above , instead of after—as the Grand Registrar now is—the Grand Chaplains and Grand Treasurer . The irreverent critic may likewise object that the duties of Grand Sword Bearer are not so onerous that he should need

an Assistant to support him in their performance ; while others may suggest that two or three Assistant Directors of Ceremonies might be appointed , and would be found really useful on State occasions when the bretliren assemble in more than their usual numbers . But , after all , these are matters of detail which there should be little or no difficulty in arranging . It is

very generally allowed that , considering the enormous increase which has taken place in the Craft during the last 18 years , Grand Lodge is underofficered , and that no time should be lost in placing additional offices at the disposal of the Grand Master , so that he may have it in his power to confer thc honour of the Purple on a large number of worthy brethren whose

claims , in the existing constitution of Grand Lodge , are perforce postponed for several years , if not indefinitely . We do not doubt , therefore , that Grand Lodge will accept the scheme of the M . W . Grand Master for an increase in the number of Grand Officers , if not precisely in the form in which it was submitted to the brethren in September , at all events in such

• i form as will commend itself to his Royal Highness and the Craft generally , and at the same time be found in strict consonance with the Jaws , "sages , customs , and ' traditions of our Society . But though we are in favour of such an increase as has been proposed , we desire above all things that the constitution of Grand Lodge , in relation to the private lodges on

Us roll , should remain unaltered in its character . Let it remain as it now is ¦ * ind always has been , the supreme governing body of the Craft , so far as the general interests of the Craft arc concerned , but there must be no undue interference with the freedom of action Which , within the limits prescribed '') ' the law , is now and always has been possessed by the private lodge . We

say this because our attention has recently been called to a wild suggestion made by some irresponsible person who evidently knows little or nothing ° f our system of organisation , that a Grand Record Keeper should bc a Ppointed , whose duty it should be " to supervise a staff of three or four Paid officials whose function it would be to annually examine the minute

books of all the lodges , and make a precis of their contents , which should be accessible to anyone who might desire to make reference to them , and for w'l'icha small charge could be made , similar to that made for the examination ° ' a will . " It is difficult to imagine anything more abhorrent to the nature of ° 'ir Society than this . It must be borne in mind that Freemasonvy , as it has

always existed in this country , is essentially a private body . Its government ls vested in a Grand Lodge , which is composed for the most part of the re presentatives of the private lodges . The code of laws , by which our a "airs are administered , is contained in our Book of Constitutions , to which * e must all pay a loyal obedience . But there has never been anything of a

Purel y inquisitorial character in the relations between the supreme authority ° ' Grand Lodge and the lodges under its obedience . By Article 139 , ( he master , Wardens , and members of a private lodge , when summoned to do ° > must" attend the Grand Master or his Deputy , or the Provincial or , s lrict Grand Master or his Deputy , or thc Board of General Purposes , or

A Wild Suggestion.

any other Board or Committee authorised by the Grand Lodge , and , if required , shall produce the warrant , books , and papers of the lodge , under pain of suspension and of being reported to Grand Lodge . " But this particular prescription of the law is only enforced in cases where there are prima facie grounds for believing that a lodge is not being properly

conducted . Again , by Article 147 , the Grand Master , and , by Article 14 S , the Provincial or District Grand Master , may send his representative " to visit any lodge whenever he may think lit to do so , " and at such visit the representative of the Grand Master—or of the Provincial or District Grand Master—would no doubt examine " the warrant , books , and papers of the

lodge , " if , in the exercise of his judgment , there appeared to be any valid reason for doing so . But , so far as we know , there is no law by which the Grand Master , —or , in the case of a country lodge , a Provincial Grand Master , or in that of a district lodge , a District Grand Master—is empowered to call upon a lodge to furnish particulars of its proceedings for

general and public purposes . Indeed , in the present stale of our laws—and heaven forbid they should ever be altered in the direction indicated by this suggestion !—we are strongly of opinion that a lodge would bc justified in declining * to produce its books and papers or furnish any particulars , except in those cases which are contemplated by Article 139 , Book of

Constitutions . The reason assigned for this preposterous suggestion is that lod ge minute books are not infrequently lost or lodge registers not kept with sufficient regularity ; and hence , when a brother proposes to write a lodge history , the particulars on which his history must be based are not forthcoming . This is no doubt to be deplored , but thc opportunity to publish

lodge histories will be dearly purchased if the privacy of our private lodge proceedings is no longer held sacred , and every brother who is smitten , or fancies he is smitten , with the cacoithes scribendi , is to be allowed to pry into particulars which in no wise concern him . Lodge histories are most useful , but lodges are not constituted in order that thc desire

of a few brethren for a little literary lame may be satisfied . I ' reemasonry is not made for the historian , but thc historian for Kreemasonry ; and if a brother who aims at being a Masonic MACAULAY , or GROTE , or Tinimv . ux , finds himself unable to prosecute his task because minute books arc wanting or registers ill-kept , let him manfully set about making good the deficiency

from the other sources of information which are open to him , or give up the idea of writing altogether . To all Masonic histories , which aie written under the sanction of the authorities , we are always prepared to extend a cordial welcome ; but there is no place in Masonry for the kind of Grand Record Keeper which is contemplated by the originator of this proposal .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Cumberland And Westmorland.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORLAND .

The annual Provincial Grand Lodge of Cumberland and Westmorland was held on Friday , thc 21 st inst ., in the Drill Hall , Millom , under the banner of the Whitwell Lodge , No . 1390 . The day being line and the place of meeting central there was a large attendance oi members and visitors . Bro . the RightHon . the Earl of Bective ,: P . G . M ., and Bro . Geo . J . McKay , J . P ., P . G . Std . Br . Eng ., D . P . G . M ., were reported , supported by Bros . Col . Le Gndre N . Starkie , P . G . M . East Lanes . ; Jas . Terry , P . G .

Std . Br . ling . ; XV . V . Lamonby , P . G . W . Victoria ; and the Present and Past Prov . Grand Officers , when they were received and saluted according to rank . The P . G . M . invited the P . G . M . for East Lancashire to preside , and Provincial Grand was opened , thc roll of lodges and Provincial Grand Ofiicers were called , when the former wero all represented with one exception , the latter a few officers were absent and had tendered their apology . The minutes of the half-yearly meeting held at Maryport were read and confirmed .

Bro . Gol . STARKIE then said he had one of the most pleasing duties to discharge that had fallen to his lot in the Craft . It was lo present an address to the Prov . Grand Master , Bro . the Right Hon . the Karl ol Bective , on thc completion of a quarter of a century as Prov . Grand Master of the united Province of Cumberland and Westmorland , and he then called upon the Prov . Grand Secretary to read the address , which was as follows :

To the Right Worshipful Brother , the Right Honourable the Eirl of Bective , Provincial Grand Master for Cumberland and Westmorland . We , the members of the Provincial . Grand Lodge aud brethren of the province , beg most sincerely , to congratulate your lordship on having completed the twentyfifth year of your genial and most successful government over the Province of Cumberland and Westmorland .

The prosperity of the province during your lordship ' s rule is ample testimony of the good work that has been accomplished . The Craft province has increased more than one-third . A Provincial Grand Royal Arch Chapter , and Provincial Grand Mark Lodge have been established , and the voting power of the province twenty-live years ago was more in name than reality , but now it is worthy to be compared wilh provinces of a similar membership .