Lodge Officers, Their Powers And Duties.

LODGE OFFICERS , THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES .

From a Lecture delivered before Stella , Lodge ( Wo . 458 , N . Y ., U-S ) . It is a common failing among men either to suppose that they fully understand those things which daily pass their inspection , or to adopt the

still worse theory that it is not worth AvhileTio inquire into matters which get along very well by themselves ; which they presume to have always been moving at the same pace , and which , they take it for granted , will always continue to run in

the same groove . There is a certain amount of laziness in this trait of our mental conformation , which ought not to be encouraged among Masons , who should not be satisfied Avith accepting opinions at second-hand when the way is open to them to

verify what they read or hear , by personal examination . It is given to every Masou , and every generation of Masons , to maintain intact the landmarks and distinguishing character of the institution , and to transmit them unimpaired to

their successors , on whom the same responsibilities will in turn devolve . Now , if we do not take the trouble to understand the nature of o ' ur trust , if we are satisfied to observe the mere routine , and trust to Providence to take care of the loose ends

for us , it is somewhat difficult to believe that at the lapse of another century Masonry , as Ave have it , will not have essentially changed its features * and assumed such a form that we who know it now , if we could again walk the earth and visit a

lodge , would fail to recognise our old love , and bewail us that our Masonic pen-at & s had fallen into the irreverent hands of the profane . During the last hundred years the ritual has undergone radical changes , and the rite we UOAV practice , though still

named the Ancient York rite , is no more like that system in its original form than a modern banquet is like "' a dinner of herbs . " The tendency to cumulate Avords and ceremonies , though partially held in check , like the waters of a river when , they

meet an obstruction , is nevertheless constant ; and from the simplicity of the fathers Ave have progressed to the rather ornate composition which puts the words of Shakspeare into the mouth of Solomon , and rounds its periods with , quotations

from poetry not written till the frost of ages had settled on the broAV of the institution . In like manner the laws of the Craft and the powers and duties of officers under them have grown from a simplicity within the comprehension of every man

to a complex system , requiring study and application to understand , and long practice to apply . I feel entirely free to say that unless a greater interest is manifested in the subject by the brethren at large , unless Ave have more reading ,

thinking , and acting Masons , the time will speedily come Avhen the innovators will get tne best of us , and ancient Masonry will be consigned to the dust and cobwebs of memory . We have no right to accept anything as a matter of course , and in

view of the fact that every man fit to be made a Mason has been endoAved by the Great Architect with the power of thought and the talent for inquiry , Ave are sinning against our manhood in quietly accepting as genuine the feathery

impostures of the host of innovators , from Webb to Drew , from Lawrence Dermott to the association of Conservators .

These preliminary remarks are offered not because it is expected they will at once be acted on , or even secure immediate assent , but on the principle exemplified by the lady who , having attended a festival , Avhere every applianceof wealth

and luxury was exhausted in making a disply of dress and ornament , distinguished herself by wearing a simple wreath made from a branch of living oak , and who , the next morning , planting the acorns which formed part of it , left a monument

to her memory in the noble and lofty trees which grew therefrom . Thoughts germinate and bear fruit , and these are submitted in the hope that , finding congenial soil in the minds of some who listen to them , they may in time bring forth verdure , and aid in weaning the Masonic mind from the love of novelty , from the desire for

change ; in increasing a love for the quaint old forms of the past , in making stronger the determination to " stand on the old ways and then make progression , " in fostering a desire for knowledge , and encouraging a determination to knoAV

the right , and , knowing , to maintain it . Their application to the present theme will be noticed as we proceed . The idea of a Masonic lodge carries Avith it a Master as distinguished from a mere presiding

officer , as being in keeping ivith the whole symbolism of the Craft , based , as it is upon the acts and implements of operative Masonry ; but a Master now-a-days is no longer , except in name , the same official as—to go no farther back—his antetype in 1717 . Previous to that time , Preston informs us , lodges had no continuous existence ,