Working Masons.

WORKING MASONS .

LONDON , SATUltDAT , APRIL 10 , 1869 .

By CRUX . It cannot fail to have occurred to many reflecting brethren , that there are no Masonic honours or rewards , attached to really Working Masons .

Under this term , we include those who have worked "sections" at various re-unions of the members of the fraternity , sometimes for several years in succession in the presence of a large assemblage of the brethren . We exclude under

the phrase of Masonic honour or rewards , the P . M / s jewel , for two distinct reasons . In the first place a capability of merely performing the routine duties of a lodge constitute , but a very insignificant portion of the real secrets and

mysteries of our Art . Secondly the presentation of this jewel is , in the majority of instances , a pure farce , a complete mockery of real merit . It is in fact impossible to bestow it according with the principles of the Craft , without giving rise to

invidious comparisons . It is given indiscriminately to the good and the bad , and it is no wonder that it is an honour which has ceased to impart any distinction . If a master performs his duties in such a manner as to signally deserve

the admiration of the members of his lodge , it is very easy for them to mark their sense of his valuable services , but to make a , practice of voting a P . M . jewel to every master who fills the chair , is a custom that we should be glad to see abolished .

There is scarcely any society or community of men , upon a scale of magnitude not to be compared with that of our Order , who has not rewards for any of its members , who choose to obtain them by actual down right working , for which purpose

alone they are intended , and by which means alone they can be gained . The nature of the honour is of little consequence . In some societies they take the form of books , in others of medals , in others again of the current coin of the realm , but

in whatever shape it may be presented to the deserving member , it is the honour that is prized , the distinction conferred by its bestowal , that is esteemed , and not the intrinsic value it may possess . It may be as costly as the celebrated

Earl of Moira ' s jewel ; it may be as intrinsically valueless as Horace ' s " Doctarum ederaj prsemia frontium" but in either case , it is equally dear to those who " prize honour and virtue above the

external advantages of rank and fortune . Is it true then that Masonry has no rewards to bestow upon her faithful sons ? no honour to confer upon those who exercise their talents and abilities in her behalf , and who bring to her service and assistance

what no money can purchase ? Can it be said of Masonic jewels of honour as Juvenal said of Ancient Rome , " omnia venalia sunt ? Are all , all , her rewards , only attainable through the aureum medium ? If so , then is she far behind

the age , and of all Institutions the only one that can offer no inducement to her poorer children to distinguish themselves in her cause . It must not O be understood , that we are advocating the claim of

sheer ability and intellectual advantages , which are as unequally conferred by the Great Architect of the Universe as wealth and poverty , to the exclusion of the just claims of money and interest-On the contrary we maintain that in every instance ,

money and interest should always possess theirlegifcimate influence , but we also maintain that they should not be the only avenues available for distinction or preferment . There should be one Order of merit , one distinction to which every

brother might look forward to possessing , and which would require nothing more from him than the devotion of a certain amount of his time , and the " exercise of those talents wherewith God has

blessed him . - " We have no hesitation in asserting that it is owing to this total absence of all recognition of Masonic working , that so few are to be found who take any active share in it . A . brother who has worked publicly every section

in the three degrees or a portion of them , is surely deserving of as much distinction as one who acts as a simple steward upon any occasion , and who pays indirectly for the decoration he

receives . No one in the world works in any cause without some motive for his exertions , and what nobler or purer stimulus , what more honourable spur can a Mason wish for , than that of having the recognised

approbation of the whole Craft at large . This however cannot be meted out satisfactorily to him by a mere proposal of his health , by the passing of an eulogy upon his services , or by the cordial applause of an attentive audience . Such

ephemeral approval is but a poor reward for the undertaking and execution of a task , that not one brother in a thousand ever contemplates . It is rarely borne in mind what the meaning of a " section " is . The majority of the brethren know little