Lodge Officers, Their Powers And Duties.

and that one may , with great propriety , be the Junior Warden . The presence of the Junior Warden is essential at the opening of the lodge , and the brother who accepts this office should do it with a firm determination to be early and ahvays

at his post . Should the Senior Warden be called to the East it does not follow that the Junior Warden is to occupy his vacant place , for the reason that temporary absence from one station does not necessarily vacate the other , and for the further reason that when the Senior Warden ascends the

East , in the absence of the Master , he is to all intents and purposes Master for the time being , the appointing power vests in him , and he proceeds to fill the vacancy to suit himself . Finally , it is to be remarked that , in the

absence ofthe Master and Wardens , thore can be no lodge . The governing power ceases with the Junior Warden , and there is no authority in the lodge to support the vacuum . Under the English laAV the power reverts to the last Past Master , but our constitution declares that no past officer has

any powers . Tins TREASURER . This office is one of comparatively modern origin ; for so late as 1723 AVO find it provided that the brethren at a making were to appoint a cashier to receive and apply such bounty as the

newly-made brother might think proper to give ; from which it is evident that the office of Treasurer of a subordinate lodge was not then in existence , although iu the regulations of 1 . 721 the Grand Treasurer is named , and it is required that he

shall be a man of good worldly substance . Nevertheless this officer has ever since been deemed of so much importance that in the Grand Lodge of England , as iu her subordinates , he is the only one after the Master required to be elected by ballot . I believe that anion

general thing- inquire Avhether our Treasurers are men of wealth or not , but rather whether they are honest men , zealous Masons , and of prompt business-like habits . The open-handed fashion of giving to all who ask , especially if there be a

glibly-tolcl story and an imposing package of soiled papers to back the call , is such that our treasuries are rarely so heavy with gold that their custodians are likely to risk the reputation of a lifetime by surreptitiously despoiling them . This fact , however , in no way interferes with the importance of selecting a discreet and reliable brother to ocenpy

tho Treasurer ' s station ; for , whether the lodge have five dollars or five thousand in funds , it is essential that the brethren should have the most implicit confidence in their Treasurer . It is a fact for which I am unable to account , on

philosophical or other principles , that members are more solicitous about lodge funds than of their own private stoves . I have been present at an evening's debate over a proposition involving five dollars , - hence ifc will not do for the Treasurer to be like the chap who was hired to collect a bill on condition that he was to receive one-half the

amount for his trouble . A couple of weeks after , the emj ) loycr , meeting him , asked IIOAV he was getting along with the bill . Oh , said he , I collected my half some time ago ! But , on the other hand , I think the Treasurer should possess in a

moderate degree the qualities expected of a City Comptroller , and exercise a certain supervision over the payments demanded of him You can easily suppose a case where an unjust appropriation of the lodge funds might be carried , ancl where ,

the / orais being regular , the Treasurer would be justified in paying ; but , under such circumstances , I think he would be greatly more justifiable by double locking the treasury , ancl taking what General Jackson called the " responsibility ; " frora

all of which we may conclude that the office of Treasurer is a most responsible one , and should be in charge of an able , zealous , and discreet brother .

THE SECRETARY . Next in importance to the duties of the Master , in conducting the affairs of a lodge , are those devolving upon the Secretary , who , though in reality but the clerk of the brethren , is none the less

charged with duties most important to the wellbeing ancl stability of the lodge . On his tact and skill in preserving a fair record of lodge proceedings may be said to depend the order , regularity , and in some measure the legality of the

transactions . He has at all times the record before him , and should possess sufficient knowledge of the manner of conducting the business of assemblies to be able to detect any departure from regularity , which would at once offend his systematic

arrangement of the business passing through the alembic of his pen . Upon the clearness , legibility , directness , and freedom from erasure or interlineation of his minutes will in a great measure depend their legal value , should they be needed in the adjustment of