Recollections Of The Lodge Of Freemasons At Thornhill.

" Hade festive to the zeal In his Great Master's cause , of one expert—Saint John the Evangelist . " A fine of two shillings is the penalty for nonaccepfcance of the Masters !^ Avhen duly elected

thereto , and for refusal to fill auy subordinate office in the lodge a fine of one shilling is inflicted . Up till 1823 , it had been the practice of the W . M . elect to appoint his OAVII Depute ; but on Sfc . John's Day of thafc year , on fche Master , Bro .

John Begg , declining * fco avail himself of the privilege referred to , it Avas unanimously resolved by the brethren that " in all time coming the Depute Master shall be chosen by the lodge "—a laAV Avhich is still acted upon . It Avould appear that

in the appointment of office-bearers , votes by proxy had at one time been allowed ] for , on the " change of clofching * night , " 1834 , a brother is found protesting against the election , on the ground that " he was not alloAved the benefit of

proxy votes . " In the face of this protest , hoAvever , the installation of officers was proceeded wifch , bufc ifc Avas subsequently enacted " that the elections shall hereafter be conducted by ballot" — an arrangement Avhich also still obtains in the lodg * e . . . . While Sfc . John ' s has again and

again been aiding in the promotion of schemes of public benevolence , there have been a feAv exceptional cases of misappropriation of its funds , marring the general comliness of the lodge in its personification of the column of beauty , " whose

ornaments , more precious than the lilies and pomegranates that adorned the pillars of the porch , are the widow ' s tear of joy , and the orphan ' s prayer of gratitude . " On St . John ' s Day , 1838 , before adjourning to partake of a " substantial

dinner , " the members , Avith a hearty unanimity , ff carried that one pound one shilling * shall be g iven from the funds to assist in a survey c-f the railway about to be made in this district ] " and Avhile thus alienating their funds in forwarding an

undertaking * depending * for its accomplishment more upon commercial enterprise than upon private charity , the brethren , in the same breath , authorise the payment of six shillings in alleviation of the distress of the poverty-stricken Avidow of a

brother AVIIO for six years had guarded the lodge from the intrusion of the profane ! It should here be told , as a redeeming feature to the above , that in 1856 both the lodge and its members in their private capacity Avere liberal contributors towards the Masonic fund raised for the relief of those

brethren in France Avho had suffered from the inundations of the year mentioned . The repair of the mausoleum of Robert Burns , and erection of the Wallace Monument afc Abbey Craig , Avere works in furtherance of AA'hich subscriptions by

No . 252 Avere also given . It is held by some of the most eminent of Masonic jurists that the infliction of . fines by a lodge is , in point of principle , un-Masonic . The Grancl Lodge of Scotland thinks otherwise ; for

the bye-laws of St . John's , Thornhill , sanctioned so recently as July , 1865 , authorise the imposition of fines for non-attendance , as Avell as for certain breaches of Masonic etiquette . In this the Lodge of Thornhill is the perpefcuator of an ancient

custom of the Craft ; for in the " Statutis and Ordinanceis , " published for the guidance of the Fraternity three centuries ago , and homologated by Mother Kilwinning and other ancient lodges , fines Avere freely imposed for minor

offencesleaving the immortalities of the Craft to be dealt Avith by admonition , suspension , or expulsion ; although for drunkenness or profane swearing , committed within the lodge , the payment of a fine frequently absolved from further punishment .

Certain old " charges" fix the maximum length of a Mason ' s cable-tow at fifty miles ] but the former limit of that of the sons of St . John ' s may be inferred from a recent enactment of the lodge exempting " brethren furth ofthe British Empire " from fines for non-attendance . If Avithin the

bounds of Great Britain , members absent on the day of election are fined sixpence—a fine of tAVO shillings being exacted from absentees AVIIO reside Avithin five miles distance of the lodge-room . Office-bearers Avere Avont to be fined for refusal to

" go on deputation . " The original bye-laws of No . 252 are gems in their way , and as such Ave cull for preservation a few extracts : — " . . . That if it were possible , by deviating from our sacred principles , Ave should

indulge in any impropriety , the following penalties are hereby annexed , viz ., to blasphemy of any kind , immediate exclusion ] fco cursing * , swearing , or obscene talking , a fine of sixpence for the first offence , doubled for the second , tripled for the

third , and if persisted in to the fourth , final exclusion . To drunkenness , either immediately previous to or during the hours of the lodge , immediate expulsion for the time , AA'ith a discretionary censure to be inflicted thereafter ; and also in the poAver of the lodge to take two shillings and