Leaders Of The Craft.

LEADERS OF THE CRAFT .

THE annbuncement we were enabled to make last week , to the effect that H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught Past Grand Master of England , had consented to preside at the 1892 Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls , is worthy of notice from various points of view . It is especially gratifying to learn that tho Institution is again to have the patronage of the Royal Family for its

Anniversary Festival . It is satisfactory to know that thus early a President has been secured for next year ' s celebration ; and , above all , it is pleasing , from a purely Masonic point of view , to see that the leaders of the Craft take such real and active interest in the doings of the Order as to lead them to identify themselves year after year with its greatest works . We have iust had practical proof of the interest our

Pro Grand Master takes in the Charities of English Freemasonry , and the last few months has seen the Grand Master himself taking the lead at more than one important Masonic function : now we have

unmistakable evidence that this interest on the part of our leaders is to be continued , with results which can hardly fail to prove advantageous to the Craft as a whole , for with activity displayed by those at the head of affairs it is hardly possible to imagine anything like apathy among the rank and file .

So much has been said in years gone by as to the advantage which Freemasonry enjoys in having at its head the Heir Apparent , with other members of the Royal Family warmly supporting the Prince of Wales in his endeavour to advance the welfare of the Craft , that it is hardly necessary to say more on the subject now ; we all recognise how much the Craft owes to the encouragement it has received from the

Royal Family , but it is not merely the fact of having the Royal Princes associated with us which has led to such splendid results ; it is raiher because they make a . point of performing their work thoroughly , and show a lively interest in the doings of the Craft , thereby setting an example which , in turn , is followed by the Provincial Grand Masters , the officials of Grand and Provincial Grand Lodge , and others who have the control of the -members of tho Ordfir .

Although the Prince of Wales is unable , from his many other engagements , to make many appearances among Freemasons in the course of the year , we can well believe that our Grand Master takes , as those nearest him at the head of the Craft freauentlv tell

us he does , a lively interest in all that concerns the welfare of English Freemasonry ; and the same may be said of the other leaders of the Craft , who seem to take a pride in properly performing the worii

attached to their appointments , and even vie with each other , in a friendly way , as to who shall make the best record or do the most good . For sometime past it has seemed as though Freemasonry ipafe ^ somewhat " waning in popular favour .

Leaders Of The Craft.

The great stimulus it received on the acceptance by the Prince of Wales of the Grand Mastership had apparently spent itself , and many members of the Order were looking forward to a period of comparative quietude , in which the Craft would

hold its own , and probably show a regular , if somewhat slow increase ; but the events of the past few months have seemed to arouse fresh interest , and there is the possibility of further advancement , if

not so rapid as during the busiest times of the past , at least of a very pronounced character . The conferring of a Past Grand Mastership on the Duke of Connaught , the installation of the Duke of Clarence as Grand Master of Berkshire , and now the promised presidency of the Duke of Connaught at next year's Girls' School Festival , all show the desire of our leaders to keep up interest in the Order : and all point

to greater popularity for the Craft , which , without being actual worshippers of Eoyalty , yet cannot fail to follow in the ordinary course , and benefit from the patronage of the Koyal Family , especially when , as is the case here , the members of that family take the lead , and carry out their work in such a way as to prove that they appreciate the responsibility of their high office , and take a personal interest in the work associated with it .

Looking lower down the scale we must recognise the power for good exercised by this action of the leaders of the Craft on even the humblest of the Officers . Let us take one example—that of the Master of a Private Lodge on the day of his retirement from the chair . In years gone by the number of Masons who installed their successors was comparatively

small . A certain brother came to be recognised as the Installing Master of a district , and every installation in that neighbourhood fell to his lot ; in many cases not another Mason for miles round being able to go through the ceremony . This system might have continued to the present time but for the example of our leaders , who have set patterns of proficiency in the ritual and other work of the Order which their

juniors have striven to emulate . Many a Worshipful Master has made himself proficient in his work simply because he recognised that what it was possible for the heads of the Order to learn in their station it was possible for him to do in his . When the Prince of Wales presides at a Masonic ceremony , and performs the work of the day , without a hitch , it is proof the head , of the Craft recognises the value of personal effort and it must strike the ordinary ruler of a Lodge that

anything short of personal discharge of the work of the office is undesirable in a junior , and , in turn , the minor Officers of a Lodge seek to perform their work as well , or better , than the Master under whom they

serve . Viewing the matter as a whole , it may truly be said that activity among the leaders of the Craft implies activity among the minor members , and on that account we may congratulate ourselves on the interest displayed by our present leaders , and express