Labour And Refreshment.

LABOUR AND REFRESHMENT .

THE Labour of Freemasonry is actual , and so the Refreshment should bo actual . Does any one doubt the actuality of tho Labour ? Ho might in an exceptional Lodge , where no one takes any interest in its progress or

proceedings , where the Officers and a handful of members meet only to open and close ; bufc that , fortunately , is not tho condition of the average Lodge , where work , and often hard work , is the order of tho evening . How often ,

Brethren , havo you seen a W . M . at Labour , in entering , passing or raising a Mason ! And havo you not observed all of his powers of mind and body engaged in the workperhaps the perspiration standing in beads on his forehead ,

his memory and power of expression taxed to their uttermost ; , and his anxiety to do his work correctly and forcibly evident to every beholder ? And his Officers , do they not i'lare in his Labour ? Yet will any one say , this is not

real Labour ? If it be real , so should the Refreshment be rea !—if the Lodge can afford to have it so . Sometimes it omnofc afford to have it anything else than real . At the same time ifc should be remembered , that every Lodge

should conduct its finances upon business principles ; and yefc how often do we find that organised bodies of men conduct their monetary affairs upon principles the reverse of reasonable . It is always a sound rule of policy to earn

your money before you spend ifc , ancl hence no Lodge has the right to run in debt , or trench on its permanent fund , for the purpose of supplementing Labour with Refreshment . Captain John Smith laid ifc down as a rule in the

Government of his Virginia Colony , thafc those who would not work should nofc eat . In like manner every Masonic body ia not only justified , but required , by the dictates of Masonic ¦ wisdom , to have Masonic Labour to pi-ecede Masonic Refreshment .

But what shall be the character of the Refreshment r There is a wide range of choico among eatables and potables . Thero are crackers and cheese on the one hand , and terrapin and quail-on-toast on the other . There is ice-water at

one extreme , and champagne at the other . Which shall be chosen ? Ifc is nofc necessary to say to the Lodge which has but twenty dollars to expend nofc to indulge in terrapin and champagne , nor to tbe Lodge with two hundred dollars

too much in its treasury that crackers and cheese are the Refreshment for it . But we may say to ail , be temperate . A Lodge with bufc twenty dollars fco spend might intemperately indulge in certain inexpensive potables , while the

Lodge with two hundred dollars to spend mighfc bo constrained to be temperate in the employment of expensive wines . The golden rule of moderation is laid down by Freemasonry itself , in its authorized charges . We will

quote from two of them . The W . M ., in his charge at opening ( see " Ahiman Rezon , " p 99 ) , says : " Let our recreations be innocent , and pursued with moderation ; and never let us suffer irregular indulgences to expose our character to derision and contempt . " Again , in

the Wor . Master ' s charge to the Junior Warden , at installation , this language is used : " Carefully observe

that none of tho Craft be suffered to convert the purposes of Refreshment into intemperance and excess . " It will thus be seen that Freemasonry , by its very genius , and expressly in its formal charges , seeks

to conserve and promote the highest and best interests of all its members , and especially cautions them thafc they should govern themselves while at refreshment , no less than while at labour .

Tbe Craft affords no excuse to , and offers none for , any Brother who trespasses against the plain teachings of the Fraternity . Jnst as it requires of every Master of a Lodge that before his installation he shall agree " strictly to obey

the moral law , " so it expects every individual member to obey the same moral law . Freemasonry is a system of morality , and the Mason who is not moral is recreant alike to his duty and his self-assumed obligations . So the Mason who

indulges overmuch in eating or drinking , thereby undermining his constitution , sapping his powers of mind and body , and it may be eventually perilling his hopes for

happiness hereafter , is not only a foolish Mason , bufc is a foresworn Mason . He has broken the law of the Craffc , he has transgressed against the Masonic obligations he assumed and the charges he assented to .

Especially is it requisite that Masters of Lodges should be exemplars to their members , by their faithful performance of all Masonic duties , and hence ifc is important that

Labour And Refreshment.

the Brethren iu their choice of Masters should select not only those who can demean themselves well at Labour , bufc also at Refreshment , never " converting the purposes of Refreshment into intemperance and excess . "

In this connection it is appropriate to remark , thafc Labour and Refreshment , jointly , should not occupy so much time in any Masonic body as to keep a Brother from his family until " an early hour in the morning . " And

Brethren when they leave tho Lodge should not then go elsewhere , and have the time thus spent " charged up " at home against the Lodge . It is not fair to the Lodge , and ifc is nofc fair to themselves . It brings reproach upon Masonry , and it alienates our wives and daughters from all possibility

of sympathy with the Fraternity . If Lodges would devote more attention to the purposes of the " proper observance of the laws of Refreshment , they would conserve their own best interests , advantage their individual members , and make Masonic precept and practice in this regard fully to agree * —Keystone . \ j

Meeting Of The Committee Of Petitions Of Devonshire.

MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF PETITIONS OF DEVONSHIRE .

A MEETING of the Committee of Petitions of the Prov . Grand Lodge of Devonshire waa held at the Huyshe Masonic Temple ,

Plymouth , on Monday afternoon , the 30 bh nit . There was a goodly number of the representees of the Lodges in the Province . The Hon . Secretary ( Bro . J . B . Gover ) reported : —Since the last meeting of the Committee , in August , there have been two elections , viz ., Boys ' and Girls ' , and the number of votes received bear favourable

comparison with former years , there being an increase of 81 Boys and 11 Girls , and this notwithstanding a loss of 40 votes by the death of Bro . Goedtschalk . The increase in Boys is largely owing to the kindness of

W . Bro . H . Horton . From an error in the Secretary ' s Office , there was an accumulation of some forty votes , and having placed them in my hands your London representative was enabled to obtain the votes which were used for the Province . An increase in the Girls ' votes

was attributable to the exertions of W . Bro . the Kev . T . W . Lemon , who lately acted as Steward for this Institution . The extra exertions being made in all parts of the Province for the annual meeting of the Boys' Institution , when our esteemed P . G . M . ( Lord Ebrington , M . P . ) will preside , will doubtless increase our voting powers in that

direction , but much still remains to be done by the representatives of the Lodges , whose aim it should be to see that none of the votes in their Lodcres and neighbourhood aro lost , either by beinsr eiven ontside tho Province or sent too late to be of service . The 739 votes received in October were used by your liberal representative in pavmenb of

debts . The Province now owe somewhat over a thousand votes , and it is confidently expected that after the April and May elections we shall not only bo clear of debt but have a good balance in our favour . From circumstances , which need no allusion , the credit of the Province is not what it was some years since ,

but when we are clear from all liabilities , and have a balance in our favour , we hope to gain our former proud position , when the credit of Devon was second to no Province in England . Tho Secretary then read a letter which he had received from Bro . the Rev . Wm . Whittley P . M . P . P . G . S . W . P . G . D . England , the London

representative for the Province , who regretted being unable to attend fche meeting , on account of its being held on a Monday . Bro . Whittley reported that he used the votes received in October last towards paying off the debts of the Province , and expressed a hope that the Province would be quite free from debt after the elections in April

and May next . He trusted that all the brethren in the Province would send him their votes to enable him todo thia . The Committee then considered two petitions for relief , from brethren of Lodges 1099 and 1847 , and granted £ 5 to each , witb a recommendation for further relief to Provincial Grand Lodge . Bros . W . G . Rogers P . G . D .

England D . P . G . M ., the Rev . W . Whittley , and J . B . Gover were unanimously re-elected Chairman , London Representative , and Secretary respectively . A meeting of the General Purposes and Finance Committees of the Devon Educational Fund was afterwards held . It

was reported that the amount of money received during the past year amounted to £ 302 . The balance on the year ' s working was £ 128 , bringing the total balance up to £ 730 lis . It was decided to hold the annual meeting , for the election of two candidates , at the Temple on Tuesday , 3 rd April .

The Onslow Lodge , No . 2234 , was consecrated on Tuesday , 24 th ult ., at the Constitutional Hall , Guildford , by the Provincial Grand Master of Surrey , the R . W . Bro . General J . Studholme Brownrigg , C . B . After the ceremony of consecration , Bro . George Payne P . M . P . P . G . D . C . Surrey was installed by Bro . Frederick West D . P . G . M . of Surrey , as the first W . M . The followine- are the Officers for the

year -. —Bros . J . Ball P . M . 1564 S . W ., S . George P . M . 813

J . W ., E . Miles 2101 S . D ., G . Burrell J . D ., G . B . Cockredge I . G ., Councillor E . H . Hitchcock Treasurer , and T . Dodd W . M . 2101 Secretary . Afc the conclusion of the Lodge business , the brethren dined at the White Hart Hotel .

Ad00403

FUNERALS properly carried out and personally attended in London and Country , by Bro . Q . A . SUTTON " , 17 Newcastle Street , Strand , W . C . Monuments erected . Valuations made .