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llBjflisanc ILLUSTRATED .

The Masonic Veteran.

The Masonic Veteran .

THE question is often asked , and remains unanswered , " What becomes of the Past Masters ? " Every year a fresh addition is made to the ranks of those brethren who ought to adorn the line of seats to the left of the Worshipful Master , and yet , for some unexplained reason , those seats are never crowded . On the contrary , unless

there be some special function in progress , the Worshipful Master and his immediate predecessor in office , are , as often as not , the only occupants of the dais . It is worth while considering very seriously to what is to be attributed this continued neglect of their duties by these

distinguished members of the lodge . All of these worshipful brethren were once keen , alert , exact , and diligent in the discharge of their duties , and that they should all at once become lax and indifferent , demands explanation . Is it because they consider they have no duties to perform ? This will have to be considered , but meanwhile

there is a certain defect in the Masonic bringing up of many of our young brethren that may be held accountable . The young Mason is told at the outset of his career , and it is being continually impressed upon him , that as the climax , the goal and summit of his Masonic ambition , he must constantly keep in view the chair of K . S ., and it is not

impossible that he may grow to conceive that it is to be the end of his ambition also . He may honestly think that when he has passed the chair the lodge has no further use for him and no further claim on his services . When , therefore , he has attained that honourable position and worthily

maintained its traditions , and has handed an unsullied Charter to his successor , he begins to consider himself a Masonic veteran , talks about having borne the heat and burden of the clay , and says that he will now stand aside and "let the younger brethren have a chance . "

Is it true that there is no Masonic future for these selfstyled veterans ? No duties , no privileges ? We cannot think so . A brother only attains his Masonic prime when he has served the office of Master . To dismiss him or let him dismiss himself as superannuated is a culpable waste of the

greatest force in Masonry . What can be done to convince the Past Masters that they are among the most valuable assets of the Order ? For the few there is a career in Provincial Grand Lodge , but unless the brethren whom the P . G . M . delights to honour

regard their attainment of provincial rank as giving them increased powers for usefulness , we are no further on . Besides , the lodge , and not the provincial assembly , is the natural unit in Masonry . Now , in the lodge , there are two classes of officers . There are those constitutional offices which we expect to be filled by those brethren who hope ,

that by patient continuance in well doing , they may some day attain the chair . We should be sorry to see these filled by Past Masters . They can be so well filled by juniors . The duties are so precise , so cut and dried , that there is no opportunity , or , at all events , no excuse for turning either to the right hand or the left . But there are other offices

which give scope for originality which can be magnified or belittled by the brethren who hold them . There is the Chaplain . Perhaps there is not a reverend brother on the dais , but the Constitutions do not prescribe that the Chaplain ' s duties are to be confined to the apostolic

succession . The present practice of appointing none but a minister of religion to this office often entails injustice , because it comes to pass that a young brother full of Masonic ambition finds himself confined , year after year , in an office which has no Masonic outlet .

Moreover , the Chaplain has , on occasion , to be the lodge orator , and a brother is needed who can grasp a proper idea of the responsibility involved . Brother Secretary ' s office is often practically a freehold . It is not for the good of the lodge when such is the case , but there is less to be said against it when the brother who adorns it is a trusted Past

Master . What a comfort it is to have a Tyler who knows his business . Should it not be the exception to find outside the lodge a brother who has to learn his business ? There are the Almoner , the Treasurer , the Director of

Ceremonies . Here , then , are spheres of activity for at least five P . M . ' s . What about the rest of the unemployed ? There should be a systematic division of labour . That the Master should go through the process of conferring one degree after another without assistance may be a tribute to

his endurance and his knowledge , but hardly to his tact or wisdom . It often occurs that the occupant of the chair has spent much time and trouble in making himself efficient in work , which it turns out he has very limited opportunities of performing . The idea must cross his mind that he has

wasted his time , if , after quitting the chair , he never has another chance of showing his efficiency . How much more impressive it must be for the candidate to find half-a-dozen of the leading members of the lodge taking part in his admission . And , incidentally , how much additional lustre it sheds on the chair . It strikes the imagination if nothing else .