Address To The Officers And Brethren Of The Lodge Of Antiquity, Montreal.

ADDRESS TO THE OFFICERS AND BRETHREN OF THE LODGE OF ANTIQUITY , MONTREAL .

LONDON , SATURDAY , APRIL 6 , 1867 .

By Bro . J . 0 . FBANCK , W . M . of the lodge , P . D . G . M ., ' P . G . Z . of the Grand Chapter of Canada , § -c . { Continued from page 247 . ) The election of Grand Master is not in consequence of any laAV or regulation of Grand . Lodge

the office is indebted for its existence to a landmark , nay , if Grand Lodges AA'ere abolished , a Grand Master would on that account still be indispensable . Indeed , although in a period of very recent date a Grand Lodge Avas unknoAvn , there

never Avas a time Avhen the Craft did not have a Grand Master . Hence he had certain inherent rights , Avhich are his AA ithout any action , or even opposed to the action of Grand Lodge , one of which is the fifth landmark , the prerogative of the

Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the Craft wheresoever and AA'hensoever held . Not so with the Deputy Grand Master : this was an office established as late as A . D . 1721 , with the sole object of relieving the Grand Master from the

inconvenience of attending * to the details of business . The Deputy has no inherent right all his privileges are in the case of death or absence of the Grand Master from the province ¦ and those

specially conferred on him by the Constitution . The rights and privileges of Deputy Grand Master have been a vexed question at various meetings of the Grand Lodge of Canada and , finally , the many privileges granted him under the old

Constitution were abandoned , excepting only the privilege of presiding in any lodge he may visit , but it adds no other authority or power while so presiding . The probable reason that this one privilege Avas granted may be attributed to the

first general regulation of the 39 general regulations adopted in 1721 , which says : " That the Grand Master , or his Deputy , has authority and right , not only to be present in any true lodge , but also to preside wherever he is : " but since the

Constitution grants no authority to the' Deputy to examine books , try complaints , or otherwise interfere with the body , one would surmise that the intention was he should preside in the place of the Grand Master when by him so required ,

then indeed assuming the powers of the Grand Master himself . But not denying him the privilege to preside under any circumstances ;

should he assume the chair when entering ? I think he should ; that the Master may at once understand his OAVU subordinate position for that meeting , and not be forced to lo ' . ver his dignity by being at any moment , at the pleasure of the

Deputy , called upon to abandon the work entered upon , or be ejected from the chair ; a still stronger case , when the Deputy on entering specially declares that he did not come in his official

capacity , nor did he desire to take any part in the evenings' proceedings for reasons then named ; and the latter is really the case which came before me . In such case no unbiassed person but would admit the higher the officer the more is he bound

by his Avord . It may be asked , but supposing something illegal suddenly transpires . I reply , his assuming the chair cannot afford a remedy ; he has no higher powers in the chair than the Master , who can , as soon as he reassumes it , or

at the next meeting reverse the decisions of the Deputy . As to politeness , Ave should almost expect that a Grand Officer would apprise a subordinate lodge of an intended official visit , he certainly does not lower his dignity thereby . The

Queen herself notifies the Lords Avhen her Majesty intends to honour the House ; the Governor-General does likeAvise ; the army is notified of an intended revieAV by the General , and in almost every instance the humbler body is apprised

of the visit of the superior to insure such reception as may be a pride instead of humiliation to the inferior .

Thus it was certainly never intended a Deputy G . M . should interfere with the prerogative of the Master in the routine business of the loclge ; nay even Grand Masters , who have a perfect right so to do , in courtesy generally abstain from their

right . I will not refer to ancient cases ; it may be said that we live in more enlightened , even though in less polite times . Let me allude to a case of the present century ; nay , of the present year ; nay , even of the last month only .

On the 19 th of November last , the centenary meeting of the Lodge of St . Mark , - S . R ., was held in GlasgOAV , Scotland : the Grand Master Mason , as the Grand Master is there called , was present . Bro . Major Barber , the Master of the

loclge , addressing the Grand Master , said : " I have much p leasure in requesting you to take the niall , and the chair of St . Mark ' s Lodge . " The Grand Master , having taken the chair , said : " R . W . Sir and Brethren , you are all , no doubt ,