Lodge Officers, Their Powers And Duties.

have quoted , is somewhat ideal , and that in general practice , it is seldom if ever reached ; but we may be reminded that if we never raise our eyes from the ground Ave shall fail to perceive the beauties that are placed above our level , noi- should we be

deterred from attempting to reach higher elevations on account of the apparent difficulties of the ascent ; for he is unworthy of his manhood who does not strive to equal the best , and to leave beneath him the common herd of grovelers . While

then I would deter no brother from looking to the Mastership as the goal of a legitimate ambition , I would make it a- post of such honour , an office of such distinction , and requiring of its occupant so much knowledge , tact , and discrimination , that the dull , the indifferent , the apathetic should fear

to aspire to its responsibilities . The powers of the Master of a lodge , in these days , are , indeed , very great , and are appropriately summed up in the Avord autocratic ; but he may well be reminded that , should he attempt

their undue exercise , he would find a power greater than himself ready and prompt to check his excesses : happily for us , the assumption of high office ahvays seems to put a check on extreme tendencies , and a man ' s OAVU good sense and

desire to merit the approval of his felloAvs leads him to act with caution , reserving his power for an emergency which he earnestly desires may never occur . He fails , however , in the proper discharge of duty , if lie alloAvs the feeling of conciliation to interfere with the strict and serious discipline ever to be maintained in a Masonic lodge .

The first prerogative of the Master is the rightto congregate his lodge . Not only to issue the usual notice , or to call a meeting of emergency , but hi the strictly technical sense of the word , which really means setting the Craft at labour ,

* * * . This is a most important function , and oue Avhich can only be delegated to others under certain fixed conditions . As , for instance , where it is impossible for the Master to be present at the meeting of his lodge , he cannot laivfully give

the warrant to another Master , to a Past Master , or floor member , and authorise them to proceed with the business of the lodge , because he cannot invest them with power to compel obedience to their mandates . The reason , is that the Master

being absent , or unable to act , his powers for the time being revert to the Wardens in turn , and the lodge , would , therefore , be bound to obey the Warden and not the person delegated to act in

their place by the Master . When actually present in the lodge , however , his power of delegation and substitution is unlimited . He may then cause the lodge to be congregated , and all the work to be performed by the youngest Master

Mason present under his direction , he , of course , being responsible for all that is done . He has the right to preside at all meetings of the lodge , except when the Grand Master , or his duly authorised agent , appear for that purpose , when , of

course , his right , temporarily , disappears . The right to fill temporary vacancies in the lodge offices , and that Avithout any other proviso than that the appointee for the time being shall be a Master Mason in good standing .

The right to control the admission of visitors is a most important , and sometimes delicate , exercise of power on the part of the Master of a lodge . Abstractly every Master Mason is a member of the fraternity in general with the right to

participate in its deliberations whenever or wherever he may think proper to attend , but practically a Master Mason can only be a member of one lodge , and can only claim to exercise the full rights of such membership so long as he

continues to conduct himself Avith propriety , and to . observe the by-laws and regulations of the lodge . Hence , when he proposes to visit a lodge , of which he is not a member , his admission will depend on the will and pleasure of the Master of that lodge ,

and the exercise of that will is always governed by the pleasure of the brethren ; so that if a sitting member refuse to felloAvship in the lodge with a brother from another lodge , the intimation of the objection is always respected by the

Master in the exclusion of the visitor . The Grand Master of England holds the right to visit to be absolute , and that all lodges are so far bound to respect the broad seal of the Grand Lodge of England as to admit those bearing it Avithout other

condition than that they shall prove themselves iu possession of the degrees . It is unnecessary to say more than that if this be sound doctrine then the duty imposed on the Tyler of " suffering none to pass or repass except such as are duly qualified

and have permission of the Worshipful Master" is an idle formula , and the Master is at once impeded in the right to rule and govern his lodge . We are not much given to waiving what we consider established rights , and it is , therefore , unlikely that the English idea will ever prevail among us .