Masonic Responsibility.

the brethren . HOAV important , then , m every sense that Ave should practise this great duty , aud obey this august command . HOAV doubly important to tis as Masons that Ave should clo so ! The high behest is to us as well as to the rest of mankind , and in addition to this it is a fundamental

part of our creed , it forms the very groundAvork upon AA'hich our institution rests for its support . We avoAV to the world that it is the great characteristic of our Order AA'hich more than anything ( besides , in fact , more than all things else ) distinguishes us from our felloAV-beingsand makes ns a

, peculiar people . We profess to be a society of " friends ancl brothers . " We say that although our kindness and benevolence are not restricted to the walls of the loclge , or confined to the circle of the brotherhood , but are co-extensive AA ith the human raceand should be exercised wherever want

, orsufferingmaybefound , yetthatwe should be particularly careful to extend them to the fraternitA * . One charge is •"* " Do good unto all men , but remember it more especially to the household of the faithful . " We greet each other by the endearing term " brother" and in all that Ave sayseek to convince

, , the Avorld that harmony presides over all our councils , and that " peace is in all our borders . " We are solicitous to impress our fellow-men AA'ith this belief , for we know full well that is the only certain means of recommending our beloved institution to their esteem and favour .

But does our conduct square with our profession ? Alas for the Order ! A mournful negative is the only true ansiver AA'hich can be given to this question . With shame must Ave confess that our practice has fallen far short of our professions . We knoAV that Ave have " fallen from our

high estate , " and that our conduct in this regard has furnished the enemies of Masonry witli more and stronger arguments -against it than could bo found in a combination of any and all grounds of objection . With suicidal hands Ave haA'e furnished our adversaries with tho Aveapon 'which can be

used with more effect than all others for the destruction of our OAVII dearly cherished institution . Like the stricken bird , Masonry ( or rather its votaries ) has helped to prepare the means of its own destruction .

" With its own feather plumed the fatal dart , And winged the shaft that quivered in its heart . " It is not contended or believed that Masons as a distinct body , or that any considerable number of the fraternity , indulge in violent outbreaks , or engage in personal encounter Avith each other ;

but , on the contrary , it is well known that the tie which unites Masons to one another has ever been of sufficient force to prevent such conduct . It is true that there are exceptions to this rule , but as exceptions they only go to prove the rule , ancl for the credit of the Order , be it saicl , that such

instances arc exceedingly feAV in number ; but that of Avhich the friends of Masonry haA'e the most cause to complain is the absence of cordiality and

good-feelmg among its members . That our hearts no longer alow with that ardent fraternal affection Avhich warmed them Avhen Ave first became one of the " sons of light ; " that Ave too often evince by our conduct a feeling of coldness , ancl not unfrequently of aversion towards one another ; that

instead , of the kindly tone , and the friendly ancl familiar manner Avhich should characterise the social intercourse of Masons , Ave are too much accustomed to indulge in harsh and unpleasant language . Our brother's foibles are viewed by us as serious offencesand Ave magnify his indiscretions

, into crimes . If he Avanders from Avhat we conceive to be the right path , instead of recalling him by the gentle tones of kindness , we launch against him words of reproach and denunciation ; if his conduct is in any particular opposed to our notions of propriety , no matter hoAV peculiar they may be ,

no terms of scorn and condemnation are too strong to suit our taste . This Avould be Avrong in anybody , but it is partioulary objectionable in Masons . It shows that Ave have not Charity enough to believe that our brother ' s motives may be good , although Ave approve not of his conductand that

, he may be conscientious in the use of the means AA'hich he employs to attain the object Avhich he has iu view . If Ave hacl thus much Charity , and would but recollect that it is the intention which

constitutes the offience , we could be less unforgiving of each other . The Mason is the last man in the world Avho should sport with the feelings , or contribute to tear to pieces and prey upon the character of his brother ; ancl Ave may rest assured that there is nothing AA'hich can place us in an

unenviable light before our brethren ancl fellowcitizens at large , than the practice , Avhich has become but too frequent , of applying odious epithets , and the language of denunciation to our brother Masons . Ancl arrain if Ave have the

slightest misunderstanding with a brother , or objection to any proceeding of the loclge , Ave straight-Avay manifest our bad temper by ceasing to have intercourse AA'ith the brother in the one case , and by AvithdraAving from the loclge in the other . All this is eminently Avrong . It shows that Ave

have lost our " first love ; " it proves that Ave have Avandered so far from the proper path as to be no longer able to see the ancient landmarks of the Order . Nothing argues more strongly , or proves more conclusively , the great declension of Masonic principles , than the utter want of brotherly love .

It behoves eA ery one Avho lias the well-being of the fraternity at heart to contribute all in his power to remove the cause Avhich has induced the downward tendency of our time-honoured institution . The Masters of lodges should be scrupulously exact in the discharge of their dutiesand

, ought on all occasions to impress upon those over AA'hom they preside the indispensable necessity of attending to this great duty of brotherly love . From their high stations they should teach it bv