Masonic Notes And Queries.

" Of all the monstrous absurdities that modern Masonic usage has invented , that of subjecting the characters of old aud well-known residents to the most rigid scrutiny , aud passing those of entire strangers without any investigation at all , is the most absurd . Common sense aud ordinary prudence would dictate that the less a man is knownthe more precise

, and careful should be the inquiry into his character . But too many act on an entirely different principle , and hold that he who is well known shall submit to a thorough investigation , while he who is totally unknown shall escape an investigation at all . " Many of the Grand Lodges of the Union have at

length acknowledged the impolicy of this system of conferring degrees on transient persons , and exempting them by dispensation from the process of due inquiry into character . Accordingly , they have resolved that transient persons shall no longer be eliible to initiations within their respective

jurisdicg tions . The Grand Lodges of South Carolina and Georgia have , for instance , declared that ' no lodge shall initiate , pass , or rise any candidate who has not resided in the State for twelve consecutive months previous to his application . ' A similar regulation has been adopted by several other Grand

Lodges , and of course in all these jurisdictions the system of granting dispensations for the initiations of transient candidates is abolished . The effect must be most salutary on the safety and reputation of the institution , for , under the old system , many candidates were abroad , ivhose application would have been unanimously rejected by any lodge iu the neighbourhood of their own residence .

But transient candidates do not present the only instance of what is improperly called ' cases of emergency . Long residents , who are about to leave the country , sometimes become , on a sudden impulse , desirous of initiation , that they may participate , during their expected travels , in Avhat they suppose to be the benefits of our fraternityand lication is

, app often made for dispensations to confer the degrees on them as ' cases of emergency . ' Such are indeed cases of emergency , but it is of emergency to the candidate and not to the Order . On this subject the remarks of the Committee of Correspondence of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana are ivell Avorthy of perusal : ¦—

-" ' We are of opinion that no dispensation should ever be given for the first degree , and our constitution wisely prohibited it . The Ancieut Charges of our Order require that no person shall be initiated " withoutprei'ious notice and due inquiry into his character . " The period during Avhich an applicant ' s petition is

required to lie over previous to action , is to enable this notice to be given aud the inquiry to be made ; if this he disjiensed Avith , it results that neither one nor the other can be properly performed , and is therefore tantamount to a violation of the Ancient Charges , which the Grand Master , above ail others , is pledged to maintain inviolate . Moreover , we canuot understand how a case of emergency can arise , at least so far as the Order is concerned . All the cases of this

character that we have ever heard of were emergent only for the individual applicant . They almost invariably arise from persons ivho are on the point of embarking on some journey to , or about to take their residence in , some strange , distant , or foreign place or country , where they probably have neither friends nor

acquaintance ; and who having either heard of , or perhaps witnessed the benefits , which Masonry confers upon its members under similar circumstances , conceive that it would serve them iu lieu of a letter of recommendation . In short , they seek admission from motives of self-interest aud personal convenience . Againin almost all tho instancesthe licants have

, , app resided , for years probably , in the vicinity of some lodge , and been daily spectators of the operations of the Craft , but their eyes have never been opened to the beauties of Masonry , or their hearts penetrated by its principles , until the impulse of self-interest caused them to discover that it miht be turned to

g effect for their own private purposes . How can such men declare upon their honour and conscience that they are " uninfluenced by mercenary motives , " and " that they are prompted to solicit the privileges of Masonry by a favourable opinion conceived of the institution , a desire of knowledge , and a sincere wish

of being serviceable to their fellow creatures ? "' And yet it is for this class of postulants that we are constantly asked to put our members to the inconvenience of meeting at unseasonable times , to keep late hours , depart from and neglect our regular routine of business and duty , and risk the violation of the sage precepts of our Ancient Charges . ' ,: There is mucli ivholesome truth in these remarks

and it would be well that they should be carefully studied by the fraternity , and especially by Grand Masters , in whose hands the dispensing power is placed . " For ourselves , we believe that cases of emergency in which the due inquiry may be dispensed with , are exceedingly rareand transient candidatesor residents

, , suddenly intending to remove , are not to be ranked among them . " From what has been said in these remarks , it will be perceived that the due inquiry into character was originally intended , and still should be considered , as a safeguard or security agaiust the introduction of

unworthy persons into the Order ; that it should still be observed as the very best means of preserving the purity and integrity of the institution ; aud that , as it can only be omitted under the high authority of the Grand Master , a dispensation for that purpose should never be asked or granted , except in a very

rare case of emergency , which would sanction , by its excellent reasons , so unsafe a violation of our ancient regulations . Transient persons , whose character and jireidous conduct are wholly unknown to the lodge , and long residents , who desire to hurry through the degrees , too often from mercenary motives , should , above all others , be excluded from the benefit of such a dispensation . —Masonic Miscellany .

A DOUBTFUL GAIN TO THE OEDEE . Is the following anecdote , cut from a public journal , if true , a case in which the person seeking admission to the Craft was one in whom there was no hope of mercenary or other advantage ?— " One of the heroes of the Crimean War was exalted in a chapter not long ago . His entrance into Freemasonry was

induced by a remarkable occurrence of which he was an eye-witness during one of the engagements of that war . A brother officer was disarmed , and a soldier of the enemy ivas about to thrust him through with his bayonet , when a Russian officer with his sword forced the weapon aside , and saved the life of the