Restricting Our Numbers.

RESTRICTING OUR NUMBERS .

IT has often been argued in the columns of the FREEMASON ' S CUBONIOLE that individual Lodges depart from the true spirit of Freemasonry when they lay down laws in any way limiting or restricting their membership , but as Grand Lodge

time after time sanctions and even encourages the principle , by the creation of class Lodges and the confirmation of restrictive bye-laws , nothing can bo said likely to put an end to the system , even were such a course necessarv or desirable .

Within certain limits it may be well to impose restrictions , and once having admitted the desirability of doing this in one direction , it is difficult to argue against its practice in any other . The same rules and principles should be recognised all round ,

and that being so the whole subject resolves itself into one of expediency or individual taste , though , all the same , we cannot see that it is any the less opposed to the principles of . the Craft on that account .

Freemasonry requires a perfect freedom of action in all its affairs , and this spirit of freedom is distinctly assailed by tho Lodge which shuts its doors to candidates after a certain number of members have been enrolled , or which says that only men of a certain

class or profession shall be eligible for proposition , but on the other hand Lodges are allowed to make laws for their own comfort , provided they do not depart from the actual spirit of Freemasonry . In the case of restricting the number of members ol a Lodge

that is a matter purely within the power of the members , provided that by so doing they do not put a stop on Masonic progress , and they can hardly be accused of doing that in the present day , for if a

candidate cannot be admitted in one Lodge there is generally another within reach whero he may find a home , although in doing so he is driven away from the natural quarter where he should find Masonic light—the one nearest home , and forced to associate

himself with comparative strangers . On this account it would be well for the rulers of the Craft to cause inquiry to be made as to other Masonic accommodation in a district before they allowed a Lodge to close its doors against all comers , merely because the membership has risen to a certain point , for while wr

recognise that our Lodges have a perfect right to refuse whoever they choose , there are also rights on the part of an outsider , who should find no obstacle in the way of knocking at the portals of Freemasonry .

with the certainty of being admitted , provided he is of good character and worthy of recognition . The subject of class restrictions has been threshed out time after time—the richt to limit Lodees to

certain sections of the community has been firmly established , and no particular harm has been found to result from its practice . Why , therefore , need we concern ourselves as to its ultimate effect on the

Restricting Our Numbers.

'Brotherhood ? That it is opposed to the principles of the Craft is certain , but the Order of to-day is more cosmopolitan and more amenable to the rules of general society than it could have been in the days of

its foundation and as a consequence much is now possible that would have been undesirable then . From the opposite side we find subject for

congratulation in the fact that the Lodges of to-day are ' so strong and so firmly established that they can afford to dictate terms to intending members , rather than tout for candidates , or express a willingness to admit all or any who may offer themselves .

Masonry And Parish Affairs.

MASONRY AND PARISH AFFAIRS .

EROM Brighton to Wigan is a far stretch , but it would seem that Freemasonry is regarded in the two towns in much the same light , its opponents in each accusing members of the Craft invested with municipal power of making an unfair use of their

position , in order to advance the interests of fellow members of the Craft to the detriment of outsiders . It will be in the minds of our readers that the dispute at Brighton is associated with the letting of

tne Pavilion Duildings wmen , say tne opponents ol Freemasonry , are rented to the Masonic Lodges at a price far below that charged to other tenants . The controversy on the subject has waxed hot and furious , some very unseemly remarks having been uttered in

the Council Chamber , while outside the feeling is even more acute , the large majority of local members of the Craft , who care little or nothing for the squabbles of their representatives on the Council , strongly objecting to be referred to in the terms that

have been introduced into the discussion , and expressing a determination of severing their connection , if need be , with quarters held from such unsatisfactory owners . On the part of the Masons it is urged that the quarters rented at the Pavilion are not suitable

for general purposes , that the Craftsmen are regular occupiers , and that taking the matter in its entirety they are not the undesirable tenants they aro described as , but rather an acquisition to the property of the town . We can leave the matter of rent to be

settled on the spot , as it involves questions of fact which it is impossible for outsiders to fully appreciate , but we cannot equally ignore the subject from a general Masonic point of view . The Craft has been fl . ssn . ilfir 1 in n . rnnst nnwn . vvfi . ntn . lVlft mjinnmv nnrl nn — — ~— >— ™ ^ *—

....... „„ . — „ „„„ ., „ ,,. _ . „„ . _ v „„„ - , „„ ., „„ has been previously urged in our pages , the whole subject should form matter for consideration , either at the hands of the local Masonic authorities , or at a meeting of representatives of all the Lodges interested in the buildings .

Going to the North we find the members of the Wigan Watch Committee accused of betraying their trust , and acting in a manner calculated to upset