About Vouching.

ABOUT VOUCHING .

THE question of vouching for a Brother has long been a vexed one . A voucher is permitted in Masonry to save the trouble of an examination . It is a right which every Mason

possesses . It is an all important , prerogative and should be most carefully exercised , and guarded by the most stringent regulations . If it is carelessly regarded , and injudiciously used , impostors may be admitted among the Brethren .

To vouch for one is to bear witness to the truth of his position in the Fraternity , and his right to mingle with the Craft . Every precaution should be taken that the one vouched for is truly what he professes to be . The Brother vouching should know of a certainty that the one vouched

for has all the qualifications requisite , not from a casual conversation , or from a loose and careless enquiry , but from " strict trial , due examination and lawful information . " These are the three requisites which are laid down as essentially necessary to authorise the act of vouching .

Not a night passes , but some Brothers are vouched for , and we have been struck by the careless manner in , which some perform that duty . They do not want to be discourteous , and after asking - a question or two they are " satisfied , " or take it for granted that the Brother is really

what he professes to be , and so they say he is . While it is probably true that very few men who are not Masons ever seek to enter a Lodge , yet occasionally one does , and the admission of one such might work incalculable harm . Having once gained admission he meets with many Brethren who are

able to vouch for him because they have sat with him in open Lodge . In some jurisdictions the sitting in open Lodge is made a pre-requisite for one Brother to vouch for another . The Master , who alone decides whether the voucher is proper

or not , is required to ask the question if the Brother ever sat in open Lodge with the stranger , if he has hot , then the voucher is not satisfactory , and a committee is appointed to examine the visitor .

It is not enough , either , that the voucher has met the intended visitor in one of the " higher " bodies . All he must know is whether he is a member in good standing of his Lodge . The knowledge that he is a Royal Arch Mason , or a Knight Templar , does not qualify a Brother to vouch for

another . Strict trial means that every question must be asked and properly answered , which is necessary to convince the examiner that the party examined is in truth what he professes to be—a Brother . ' Nothing should be taken for granted , nor forgetfulness excused , nor lack of memory

considered a valid reason for want of knowledge . Due examination alludes to the mode of investigation . It should be preceded by the Tyler ' s oath , and an enquiry as to the time and place of initiation , and then the needed examination follows . In doing this , " leading " questions should never be

asked , nor should the party being examined have his memory aided by hints . Lawful information includes the •foregoing , for no Mason can give lawful information without having actually tested the Brother .

These rules should never be violated . Mackey says •. '" It is better that ninety and nine true men be turned away from the door of a Lodge , than that one cowan should be admitted . " Too much care cannot be taken to avoid the admission of improper persons into a Lodge . — " Masonic Standard . "

About Vouching.

The Town Clerk of Beverley , Yorks ., Bro . J . Willis Mills , was installed as Worshipful Master of the Constitutional Lodge , No . 294 , on Thursday evening , 3 rd inst . The installation ceremony was performed by Bros . T . Turner P . M ., M . M . Westerby P . M ., and Thomson Foley P . M .

A respectably dressed woman was recently prosecuted at the Birmingham Police Court , charged with fraudulently obtaining a charitable contribution by false pretences . It appeared that the prisoner called at the offices of Brother Loxdale Warren , the Almoner for the Birmingham Lodges ,

in Bennett ' s Hill , and applied for a few shillings to meet pressing wants . Bro . Warren allowed her 12 s , but the next day she returned saying that her husband was dead , and the funeral was fixed for two o ' clock , but the undertakers would not move the body unless they received £ 2 down . Believing

this statement , Bro . Warren gave her an order for that sum , but on making inquiries at an insurance office , in which the husband had a policy , he found there had been no claim , and he afterwards found the husband was alive , was , in fact , in the Court at the time of the trial . Bro . Warren went on

to say that so many frauds were perpetrated that he felt it his duty to press for punishment in this case . Prisoner pleaded guilty , but said that her husband was nearly blind , and had been out of employment , and they were starving . They expected to have the bailiffs in , and she got the money to

avoid the disgrace . Detective-sergeant Goldrick said that the husband had been in the King ' s Own Borderers , and had a pension of is 6 d a day , and when he went to the house the family were sitting down to a very good meal indeed . The Prisoner said that was a bit of bacon Miss Cadbury sent

them , hearing that they had nothing in the house . Prisoner ' s husband said he was in ignorance of what his wife had done . He had only earned 2 s gd during the previous six or seven weeks . The Stipendiary said the couple did not look as if they were in want . The woman must go to prison for a month ' s hard labour .

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