Our Twenty-Third Volume.

OUR TWENTY-THIRD VOLUME .

AT the commencement of a new year the journalist claims for himself tho indulgence and privilege of saying a . few words of a personal character which may be considered out of place at other seasons ; and , having

wished our readers all the "happiness and prosperity " they can desire for themselves , we feel at liberty to make one or two observations respecting the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE , with the current issue of which is commenced

our Twenty-Third Volume . It is a trite saying amongst many of the brethren that , as a rule , Masons aro not particularly assiduous in their study of the literature of the Craft , but this , in our opinion , is a verdict which must bo

taken cum ' grcmo talis . Our experience , extending over the many years during which the FREEMASON ' CHRONICLE has ranked amongst the leading ancl recognised organs of Freemasonry is , that a growing spirit of inquiry and

desire for interchange of thought and information on matters of interest to Masons generally—not only in this country bufc on the Continent and our Colonics—pervades a very large section of the

Fraternity . " Constant readers " of the pages of this journal will not havo failed to observe that such is the case , ancl we regard it as a very healthy sign of the times . In former ( lays tho publication of any of the doings of

Masonic Lodges was considered not only highly improper , but , to some mind . « , almost amounting to a violation of the Book of Constitutions . Now , however , a much broader ivad moro cosmopolitan view is taken of the case ; ancl

Masons aro fully alive to the fact that , so far from there being anything derogatory or injurious to the welfare of the Craft , by recording the most important events in connection with it , or the exchange of ideas and criticisms on salient

points , quite the reverse is the fact . Of course , in the hands of indifcreet or injudicious writers much harm may result , and not a few instances of this might be found in the amateur reports that ono comes across from time to

time in tlio columns of non-Masonic newspapers . Tho case is quiio different when ifc rests in the hands of those who have mado the Craft a study during tho greater portion of

their lives . That useful adjunct to the editorial sanctum sanctorum , the waste paper basket , could " a tale unfold " were the whole of the debris that is cast into

ifc allowed to seo the light of day . Bat in Masonic , as in sill other branches of journalism , the eye of experience and tho hand of constant discrimination have to be brought into play , so thafc the safeguards of the

Craft may not be unduly exposed to the attacks of the insidious and the profane . This is a point we have always striven to observe ourselves , and to inculcate in the minds of our numerous correspondents ; and to the credit of the

litlt-r it must be said that they appear anxious to inflict as little unnecessary work on the revisers of their " copy " as possible . Wo observe a growing tendency on the part of those who favour us with their communications to avoid

persona ! quibbles and that friction of opinion which formerly disfigured the pages of Masonic journals , and , whilst calmly and dispassionately discussing questions in which all Masons are in common interested , they abstain

from the errors committed by many contributors to the Press in former days . Thus a happier spirit is cultivated amongsfc the writers themselves , whilst tho reading

section of the brethren have much less to complain about than hitherto of heartburnings caused by the " undue publicity " of Masonic matters .

At this period of the year , when there is by tacit consent a comparative cessation of activity in Masonic circles , forming a break in the routine of work whilst the festivities of tho season are in full swing , there is little to

record in tho way of Lodge reports ; whilst the course of Masonry runs on so smoothly ancl harmoniously that the difficulty we experience is to find anything worth criticising . There is always plenty of scope , however , for

intercommunication of ideas and opinions respecting the general aspect and the increasingly useful operations of Freemasonry , iu all parts of the world , for the subject is simply inexhaustible in its interest to thoso who have the

cause most thoroughly at heart . In these columns we are studious to record the spread of those principles of charity and benevolence which are the boast of our Institution ,

ancl whenever they are presented to onr notice ; and in doing so thero is no greater satisfaction to fche mind of the Masouic journalist than to convey the intelligence of such

Our Twenty-Third Volume.

noble efforts to the ear of every member of the Order . Whilst overlooking many minor details , and eliminating from reports sent to us such extraneous matter as may be superfluous or undesirable , it has been our aim to give a reflex of the work of tho Craft over as wide an area as the

space at our command permits , and thus to keep fche brethren in all parts within the scope of our circulation an emirant with the most important events in Masonry as they transpire . A diary of Lodge meetings may be

unattractive reading , taken as a whole , but every line in it has an interest somewlieve , and this is a necessary and useful adjunct to a Masonic paper . We venture to hope that by a perusal of the pages of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE a

very wide circle of Masonic readers have derived a certain amount of satisfaction and instruction ; and we can only promise that in the future we shall endeavour to pursue the same consistent course as that which during the past eleven

years has characterised the management of this journal That course , we are gratified to say , has won for us a large , and still increasing , number of friends , to whom we can only promise a punctual and regular supply of the best

budget of news possible under varying circumstances , together with kindly , yet impartial , criticism of events that are passing around us . To those who have assisted ancl encouraged us in the past in the uphill work which

necessarily attends the establishment of a class journal we return our heartfelt thanks ; and , looking hopefully on the new year just opened , we may confidently anticipate a substantial addition to the number of our subscribers ,

advertisers , ancl friends . In dedicating to them our TWENTY - THIRD VOLUME we assure them of our determination to preserve the character of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE for the

completeness of its record of Masonic intelligence , and wifch undiminished energy to promote the best interests of the Craffc to which we one and all are so deeply and sincerely attached .

Undue Publicity.

UNDUE PUBLICITY .

TTNDER this heading we last week published an extract \ J from our American contemporary the Freemasons ' Repository , in which somewhat pointed allusion is made to " foreign Masonic periodicals that make a practice of

publishing the names of applicants for fche degrees ; " who print in full " the names of candidates initiated or advanced . . . . also the names of officers , regular or otherwise , performing the work ; while the manner in which the

ceremonies are rendered is likewise described . " These , and similar acts , our contemporary stigmatizes , "undue pub . licity—a practice alike unwise and un-Masonic . " We should be very dull of comprehension if we did not assume that

some , afc least , of the remarks to which we last week gave a place in our columns were intended for us . The cap fits , and we are prepared fco wear ifc . In doing so we think a few words may not be out of order on this subject of

" Undue Publicity . " Iu the first place we would impress on the Editor of the journal in question , and on all who would write as he has done , thafc there is a very wide difference between English Freemasonry and Freemasonry as

practised in the United States , Canada , and other countries outside our " tight little island . " What we do here we are not ashamed of publishing to the world , and we fail to see that any harm can come , either to the brethren in

particular or to the Order in general , by any reference to Masonic actions in a public newspaper , while we may also say that the outside world reaps no benefit from the information thus vouchsafed . Freemasonry in this country is so

essentially a society for extending the principles of Brotherly Love , Relief and Truth , that we incline to the belief that the more the actions of its members are published the better it will be for mankind in general . We know

nothing of politics , of differences of religion , or of the thousand and one controversial subjects on which men disagree ; and the fact of our publishing to the world reports of our

meetings—even " literal copies of the official records of Secretaries " though they be—is evidence of our desire to challenge contradiction on these points . If the reports were not true they would—at least once now and then—be

challenged by some of those who are ever anxious to pick a hole in the Masonic organisation , but we believe they have always been allowed to pass unquestioned—perhaps unnoticed , as being too trivial to call for even passing comment . Our contemporary and onr foreign brethren