Masonry's Aspiration.

shall know , face to face , when brought to light in the blazing splendour of that orient for which the heart of every Mason yearns , and whitherward his feet are ever tending .

Masonry stands ranged beside the Church of God , as one of the great interpreters and monitors of human life . It bears to that Divine Society a relation much like that which the Holy Saint John Baptist , whom Masonry ever delights to honour as a patron , bore to the Prophet of

Prophets , Jesus , the Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee . It goes before the Church ' s face , to prepare her way , to be a herald ancl forerunner of the fuller truth , and of the

mightier office , of which tho Church is the sole ancl only instrument , of reconciling human souls to God . Masonry does not profess to make men saints . The Church does that . She is the preceptress , the mother , the

alma mater of the saints . But Masonry can and does profess to inculcate that morality—not the cold , ethical abstractions of the philosopher—but that evangelical

morality ; that glowing religious morality—if I may use a term like that—which will prepare men for those transforming ancl sanctifying powers of the world to come , which the Church will bring to bear upon them . Masonry does a preparatory work in bringing men into a state wherein they will be more readily susceptible to the

motives of the Spirit of the Lord , and the animation or the spiritual and supernatural life . Addressing us then in such prophetic guise , in such prophetic speech , we next inquire , —Whence came this Prophet , dealing so aptly with the stern realities of the life

that now is , and so earnestly predicting that which is to come ? What is its nativity ? Masonry is of ancient and venerable extraction . It is truly an offspring and descendant of the instincts and strivings of the human mind .

Its lineage is most honourable , representing mens best , most upward , and most enlightened tendencies . The probabilities of its origin declare how men began to esteem the triumphs of intellectual power above brute force , mere

possession or animal gratifications . In reflection and invention they found something to charm them , something to really take pride in . Prizing their ingenuity and skill , and making the most of their gifts as artificers and artists ,

they shielded the processes of their achievements and acquisitions as secrets from the vulgar gaze and from idle curiosity . They kept their arts to themselves , out of honour to their avocations , and for the protection of their

interests . The reputation which they sought and the fame which they held dear were based upon the excellence of the work which they produced . Masonry , in its inception , was the nobility , the knighthood of skilled and

proficient labourers . Men treasured the conceptions of their minds , fertile in design , and their handiwork of rare and exquisite execution . Not every one could carve the column or lay the wall , or plan the roof , or cause the metal to bloom into life in delineations fit to cover the breast of

an Achilles . Not every one could do these things . These were the arcana , the mysteries , the heritage of precious knowledge , belonging only to the few , and they were things , too , only to be acquired by persevering and severe

apprenticeship . These organisations of the higher grades of labour perhaps were not the direct ancestors of our Order , but they were its historical precedents and analogies , and they furnished the suggestion , the similitude , and

the image of the Order as it exists to-day . They were the

roots of Masonry deep down in the past , from which this wide-spreading and fruit-laden tree of philanthropy and benevolence has grown . The associative instinct is no new faculty , and its instances , always abundant and

innumerable , are found in large proportions in the sphere of the constructive arts . There was art and science and organised employment among the builders who did their work in the forenoon of the world . In Assyria , in Bashan , in

¦ ^ gypfcj * ney have left memorials of their marvellous ability . The building of the ark , the erecting of the Tower of Babel , the orderly array of Tyrian and Jewish workmen on the Temple at Jerusalem , the Roman Collegia

or Guilds—all these , apart from each other in time and place , were monuments which , though not concerted or unified , were so many protoplasms of their later Masonic life .

Ar00302

Jurisdiction.

JURISDICTION .

A REVIEW of the decisions of Grand Masters and Grand Lodges present some curious anomalies in what is generally called Masonic Jurisprudence . Thus , for instance , a gentleman having presented his petition to a Lodge was in due course elected to receive the degrees .

Before doing this , however , he removed to the jurisdiction of another Lodge , to which he applied for initiation . While entirely willing to receive him this second Lodge

deemed it proper to apply to the other for waiver of jurisdiction , to which response was made that not having conferred any degree there was no jurisdiction to waive .

This action precisely expresses our own view , namely , that when a Lodge agrees to accept a candidate it simply expresses its opinion that the party in question is fit to be initiated , and that on his personal appearance it will proceed

to the ceremony , but the transaction is not complete until the party elected shall fill the contract by presenting himself for the degree or degrees . It takes two to make a bargain , and such a bargain as relates to initiation after

election depends upon the individual and not upon the Lodge . The well-known rule is that a candidate must come of his own free will and accord , and when he is

notified of his acceptance ifc remains with him to say whether he will or will not accept the privilege accorded him by the favourable vote of the Lodge .

This proceeding involves the question whether the election of a candidate , or technically the acceptance of his petition for initiation , gives the Lodge petitioned jurisdiction over him . We insist that it does not : that there is no law

to compel an unwilling candidate to present himself to a Lodge which , notwithstanding his petition and acceptance , he upon afterthought finds himself unwilling to join . He

may remove to another jurisdiction , or he may prefer a Lodge having concurrent jurisdiction , for reasons of his own , but in either event he is his own master and may rightfully follow his own inclination .

This is one of the questions still befogged by the ideas of brethren who assume to decide without knowing , bufc which will gradually submerge into the sunlight of personal

privilege . ' ^ Nevertheless it would be entirely proper to inquire of the first Lodge as to the status of the individual , and whether

any good reason could be advanced why he should not be initiated . The result is that jurisdiction is not acquired by the mere fact of petition and acceptance , but only by the act of the party in interest presenting himself for initiation . A

due regard to these facts would save many disappointments and subsequent heart-burnings , and prevent Lodges assuming rights to which they have no legitimate claim . As already said , the whole subject is undergoing a

change , and we trust the time is not far distant when there shall be a better understanding than now prevails . —New York Dispatch .

The General Committee of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys held its monthly meeting on Saturday last , at Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street . Brother

Raynham W . Stewart P . G . D ., occupied the chair , and there were present Bros . Paas , Richardson , Miller , Powell , Parkhouse , Cooper , Faulkner , Soppet , Webb , Gladwell , C . H . Webb , Saunders , Cumberland , Imbert-Terry , Mather ,

Bowyer P . G . S . B ., Ferryman A . G . P ., Adlard , Murray , Hogard , Dr . Morris , Williams , Griffiths , Belfcon , Cubitt P . G . P ., Motion , Maple , Eve , and Binckes Secretary . After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and verified , those of the House Committee were read for

information . Bros . Bowyer , Miller , Gladwell , and Webb were appointed Scrutineers for the election of nine out of a list of ten brethren nominated in May last to serve on the Finance and Audit Committee . The result , afterwards

furnished , was as follows : —Bros . Gillard , Cubitt , Goodall , Cooper , Hogard , Soppet , Maple , Richardson , and Griffiths were elected . The House Committee of last year were

reelected . Four petitions were next considered , and the names of the candidates ordered to be placed on the list for election in October next . Grants of £ 5 each were made to

three ex-pupils , but the appeal of a lad , educated in the school , seeking assistance , was ordered to lie on the table , as not coming ; within the scope of the purposes of the

Institution ; moreover , some time had elapsed since the lad in question had left the School . Totes of thanks to the Scrutineers and Chairman terminated the proceedings .