Contents.

CONTENTS .

E DITORIAL * MASONIC ADULLAMITES ( continued ?) Frontpage F REEMASONRY ON A RAILWAY ENGINE .. .. .. 172 SUPREME GRAND CHAPTER .. .. .. .. 172 FOREIGN NOTES—INDIA , SOUTH AFRICA AND N . S . WALES 172 THE M ASONIC POET ' S CORNER .. .. .. .. 173 NOTIFICATIONS .. .. .. .. .. 173

OUR TRESTLE BOARD .. .. .. .. .. 173 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS .. .. .. 171 I NSTALLATION MEETING—DERBY ALLCROFT LODGE , 21 G 8 174 C ORRESPONDENCE .. .. .. .. .. 175 REPORTS OF LODGES OF INSTRUCTION .. .. .. 176

REPORTS OF LODGE AND CHAPTER MEETINGS .. .. 176 ..M ETROPOLITAN LODGE , & C , MEETINGS FOR PRESENT WEEK 177 PROVINCIAL LODGE MEETINGS FORTHCOMING .. 178 & 179 METROPOLITAN LODGES OF INSTRUCTION FORTHCOMING 180 ADVERTISEMENTS Front cover , 170 , 181 , 182 , 183 , 184

Masonic Adullamites.

Masonic Adullamites .

[ CONTINUED . ] " And there were with him about four hundred men . "

HERE is a common saying that it is an Englishman's privilege to grumble ; in fact , to be discontented at any time or under any circumstances with—anything !

Perhaps since the days of the Sacred Recorder this trait in national character has been intensely developed ; or it is difficult to conceive that so small a number of men

as four hundred replied to David ' s proclamation from the " cave . " In this year of grace , 1888 , we should think that the difficulty would be to count the crowds

who would flock together , say in London alone , if such a proclamation were issued now . It can only be

concluded that mmds were more evenly balanced then , or that the state of their earthly affairs was such as to be in every way satisfactory .

For the purposes of the present article we propose to deal only with the discontented portion of that section of the community included under our heading . We

wonder how many amongst our readers and the Craft at large , were it possible to poll them , would be found ranged under the banner of discontent ? Some with

tales of how " certain brethren have been preferred to them , " and how " this or that honour has been conferred , not in the spirit of right , but simply on the principle

' of kissing going by favour . ' " It would fill pages to enumerate each and every subject of complaint ; suffice it to say that , as a matter of fact , grumbling shows itself

far too often amongst our members . Nearly all have a hobby of this kind , and they ride it to death . No one can deny that this is detrimental to any society of men , nor that , beyond this consideration , it is not in accord-

Masonic Adullamites.

ance with the spirit of Freemasonry . Of course many cases doubtless occur ( it cannot fail to be so in so ramified a body as ours ) where conflicting interests clash , and brethren cannot receive what they may consider their

"just due , " but to even these we Avould say " tout rienl a jioint a qui salt attendre " ( but so few know how to wait ) that , for the sake of our order , we ought , so far as in us lies , to live peaceably together ; and most strongly should

it be impressed on the minds of all that Masonic " discontent" should be shown as little as possible to the outside or profane world . Our motto of brotherly love shows up in marked contrast to the spirit which in so many cases appears the predominant one .

Here is an extract from the Masonic Review , of Cincin

natti , which is , we think , worthy of serious thought : — " Tlie Masonic organization has its share of weak and ignorant men , who sometimes , with , the best intentions possible , misrepresent the character and aims of the institution . Brethren of this stamp ,

who mean well but do not know , are sad stumbling-blocks in tlie way of Masonic progress . This class , however , is not so much to be dreaded as another , made up of selfish-minded brethren , full of suspicions , quick to form likes and dislikes , and ready to use the

most unfraternal , not to say unjust , methods in carrying out their pet projects , electing themselves and friends to ofEce , or antagonizing the interests of brethren who may chance to have excited an

opposition which is at once fierce and unrelenting . A Lodge is in the way of trouble and disaster when men of this sort direct its affairs . "

We entirely agree with the writer of these lines ; in any lodge , leavened with brethren of the sort ho alludes to , continual bickerings and strife must be the natural outcome of discontent , which other members are certain to feel and

show in consequence ; no good can result therefrom , and we say again and most emphatically , on the principle that prevention is better than cure , that a greater strictness ought—aye , and is absolutely necessary—to be observed in

connection with admission to Freemasonry . Our correspondent , Bro . Thompson , last week said , that " Masters of lodges endeavour to initiate more candidates than their immediate predecessors . " This may or may not be— - ( we

are inclined to the belief that he is correct );—if so , then it should be enquired into , but individual members , for their own good , and indirectly for that of all fellow-craftsmen , ought to carefully do their part in protecting , so far

as lies in their power , the Order from the incursion of those whose membership would be in many cases undesirable , and whose presence would conduce to discord and discontent rather than to peace and harmony .

This subject - \ Vould bear much more expatiation than space will allow ; but we think that our readers will have grasped our meaning as regards the Masonic Adullamites who may be fairly qualified to be amongst the " discontented . "