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ASSURANCE . EXCHANGE ROYAL INCORPORATED A . D . 1720 . Funds in Hand Exceed - - £ 4 , 900 , 000 Claims Paid Exceed - - . £ 41 , 000 , 000 UNIMPEACHABLE SECURITY . FIRE , LIFE , MARINE , ANNUITIES , ACCIDENTS , BURGLARY , EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY . Apply for full Prospectus to W . N . WHYMPER , Secretary . Head Office : —ROYAL EXCHANGE , LONDON , E . C .

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/ Iftasonic Gbe 5 Hustratei > , : *>» ^* i * -i ^^

Masonic Tradition.

Masonic Tradition .

THE Freemason is guided by two sets of laws , the written and the unwritten , and in many respects the latter is the more important—at all events , it is the more interesting . Seeing that a candidate for admission into our Order is asked to declare that he will abide by the antient usages of the Order at the very outset of his career ,

and that he never even knows that there is a Book of Constitutions until he is a brother among us , our Masonic traditions may well be held to come first . On the principle that the sumutuin jus may often become summa injuria , it is quite possible for a brother to keep in

line with every jot and tittle of the Book of Constitutions , and still his conduct may be in many respects " un-Masonic " —in fact , the term " Masonic conduct" generally means conduct in accordance with the principles to be found in our traditions , and which are nowhere to be found in the

written law . It is for this reason that the charge to an entered apprentice occupies so high a place in our estimation , embodying as it does all that is best of the antient charges handed down to us from the earliest times . Of the many

guides to Masonic conduct therein contained , that which most forcibly strikes the imagination is the injunction to secrecy , and for that reason it is the one universally observed . But it is worth while to remember that the secrecy of the

Institution occupies a very subordinate place in the charge we are referring to . There are duties to God , our neighbours and ourselves , and our social obligations , which take a higher

place , and these are matters which regulate the Freemason ' s attitude to the outside world , so that when a person is known to be a Freemason , the world may also know him to be one whose hand is guided by justice . Whenever , then , any brother is found to have an imperfect understanding of the obligations thus laid upon him , the

reputation of the whole Craft suffers . Any violation of the constitutions affects only a Freemason ' s relations with his brethren in the Order . The

outside world is not concerned with our internal regulations , but it is concerned with the establishment in its midst of a community pledged to the observance of such lines of conduct as are enjoined in our ancient traditions , and therefore the brother whose conduct is in the widest sense " Masonic , " is a living recommendation of the Order .

Our separation from political prejudice and from sectarian differences within the lodge room is bound to have a modifying effect upon our demeanour in other places not consecrated by Masonic association , and we are thus led to be more tolerant , and , without sacrificing any single one of our

convictions , we learn to respect those of others . Obedience , again , as understood by the Freemason , both to the laws of the Craft and those of any country which may afford him the shadow of its protection , as well as his subordination to the Master and Wardens of the lodge , is

by no means confined to the observance of the written constitutions and by-laws . An instinct of discipline is one of the most valuable assets of a community ; and the possession of this instinct accounts more than anything else for the marvellous organization of the Craft , its ability to

concentrate effort where most needed , its power of giving attention to the minutest details and never losing sight of the imperial questions often demanding solution .

There is nothing very wonderful in our secrets . They are but our safeguards , to protect us from the encroachments of the unworthy ; but there are many matters not protected by any obligation which demand a certain reticence . The result of an unfavourable ballot , if generally known , might not impossibly injure a man socially or his credit in business .

The public discussion of matters of Masonic difference might bring discredit on the whole Craft . The allocation of our charitable funds should certainly be private . Let us remember the old proverb—Otiinc ignoluin , pro magnijico . There is no Masonic tradition more valuable than the

necessity of harmony . There is a point beyond which criticism ought not to go . There is a point—a good many points , in fact—beyond which insistence upon personal rights ought not to go . A brother , for instance , whose life is regulated by the best Masonic tradition , will suffer much before he prosecutes an appeal ; and in this connection it

is remarkable how few appeals ever find their way to the highest court of appeal . Considering the many and manifold interests involved in nearly 3000 lodges , and the ease with which differences of opinion might originate , it speaks volumes for the good sense and for the traditional instinct

that permeates our Order . To say that less than a dozen appeals are disposed of annually , does not mean that only one brother out of every 250 lodges every year labours under a grievance , real or fancied , but it means that in the vast majority of cases that might go forward the process is

arrested by the tact and instinct of those most nearly concerned , who feel that the necessity of harmony is a paramount consideration , transcending in importance any individual right or interest . We all know what brother is the most respected and

who holds the highest place in the estimation of his brethren . It is not the eminent expounder of ritual , nor is it the brother who is always laying clown the law and putting his brethren right . Both these brethren bave their value and their sphere of usefulness , but they are both

limited . The brother who is always watchful of what is highest , and whose influence is always on the side of peace , will be found to be the brother who best advances the interests of the Order , and whose presence serves to make Freemasonry

a pleasure and profit to all who meet with him .