For Love Of Freemasonry.

FOR LOVE OF FREEMASONRY .

ALL is fair in love or war , we are told ; and w hilo we aro not prepared to question the truth of this old adage , we yefc feel justified in asking if there are any among us who can look back , and think of the times when they were engaged in the one or the

other , and in calmer moments satisfy themselves that all they then did was either fair or politic ? Wo are afraid a negative answer would have to he given ; for most men , in their excesses of zeal or love , will

do what in the ordinary course of events they would regard as next to madness , and if they had not unmistakable proof to tho contrary , would even go so far as to doubt the possibility of their having acted in the way they did . Freemasonry

is not different in this respect to other worldly pursuits , and many men must be surprised to discover what they have done for the good of the Order , or on behalf of some of its members , when the excitement under which they acted has worn off , and they are able to regard matters in a ouiet and business-like

manner . ^ It would of course be unjust to say that the principal work of Freemasonry is carried out by men led away by enthusiasm for the Craft , but , on the other hand , it would be equally wrong to believe that Freemasonry would have made the rapid strides it

nas made during the last quarter of a century if its members had not at times been carried away by their love for the Order and its teachings . If we had to depend wholly and solely on plain , matter-of-fact sentiment in Freemasonry , what would be its position to-day ? It certainly would not occunv its nresent

place ; but fortunately its teachings are of so fascinating a character as to arouse strong sentiments of loye in the hearts of a large number of its votaries , with the result that they undertake and accomplish iar more than they would dream of if they looked

about from a quiet , matter-of-fact standpoint . Wo are ready to believe that in the majority of cases men are satisfied that what they do in times of excitement will bear consideration in moments of ease , but there are many others who are not

only annoyed , but also ashamed , to confess how much they neglected ordinary caution during some ? t the enthusiastic outbursts they have experienced m association with Freemasonry . Many of us devote ° m- time and means to our friends—both outside as

» reu as inside of Freemasonry—far more than we ° an actuall y afford to do , and in view of such a failing it would be unjust to charge to Freemasonry all jne excesses committed under this head , but we must cognise the ties of Freemason rv as mvino- n . n

jcuutional power to those who seek our help , while of P ^ neiples and teachings preclude tho possibility om- wholl y turning a deaf ear to any of the appeals made through its channels . Wa mnst .. tl , m-. lai

b d ourselves against too great a love for tho Order , 'L u * ^ llst 8 uard against cultivating contempt its teachings or practices .

The Constitutions Of English Freemasonry.

THE CONSTITUTIONS OF ENGLISH FREEMASONRY .

Bv BRO . H . J . WHYMPER , CLE . " Of all the boohs to try the patience and excite the

dis-THB above reference is to the earliest printed Constitutions of Freemasonry , in which there is an exceedingly imaginative " History of Masonry from tho Creation throughout tho known earth till good old Architecture , demolish'd by the GOTHS , was revived in Italy . Chap . I .,

( just of a sensible reader , I woidd prescribe thc earlier Masonic Historians ....the first was James Anderson , D . D . "—Stone ' s Letters on Masonry , p 8 ? i .

From the CREATION to Grand Master NIMROD , " & C , & C . The well-known Masonic writer Mackey , carried his contempt for this history , which is embodied in our Constitutions , to still greater lengths , for he entirely omitted Craffc Constitutions from his Encyclopaedia , and under the head

of " Old Records " he wrote that their historical portion , " as written by Anderson , Preston , Smith , Calcott , aud writers of that generation , was little more than a collection of fables , so absurd as to excite the smile of every reader . " The first printed Constitutions were published in 1723 , and it was then considered that the true Constitutions of

the Fraternity consisted m , or were composed by , its history , its ancient charges to its members , and its regulations . In and after 1813 history disappeared as a part of the Constitutions , —in a former article on Theories of Origin , excerpts were given from the " Ahiman Rezon , "

which contained tho Constitutions of the Atholl Masons , showing how even in the middle of last century the historical part bad been a subject for laughter . That history does , however , form a part of tho real Constitution of any society is well shown by the following quotation : —

" The word Constitution m the time of the Roman empire signified a collection of laws or ordinances made b y the Emperor . We find tbe word used in the same sense in the early history of English law , e . g ., the Constitutions of Clarendon . In its modern use Constitution has been

restricted to thoso rules which concern the political structure of society . If we take the accepted definition of a law as a command imposed by a sovereign on the subject , the Constitution would consist of the rules which point out where the sovereign is to be found , the form in which his

powers are exercised , and the relations of tho different members of the sovereign body to each other where it consists of more persons than one . In every independent political society , it is assumed by these definitions , there will be found somewhere or other a sovereign , whether

that sovereign be a single person , or a body of persons , or several bodies of persons . The commands imposed by the sovereign , person or body on the rest of the society are positive laws , properly so called . The sovereign body not only makes laws , but has two other leading functions , viz .,

thoso of judicature and administration . Legislation is for the most part performed directly by the sovereign body itself ; judicature and administration , for tho most part , by delegates . The constitution of a society , accordingly , would

shoiv how the sovereign body is composed , and what are tho relations of its members inter se , and how the soverei gn functions of legislation , judicature , and administration aro exercised . " It will be seen by this that history cannot really be