A Few Of Our Opinions.

A FEW OF OUR OPINIONS .

FROM THE VOICE OF MASONRY . PERFECTION cannot be attained this side of tho shores of immortality , aud honce here there can bo no end or limit to queries . Tho mind is ever on the alert for now discoveries , and the problems it develops are as varied as tho order ' s , powers and properties of

Nature , and tho infinity of objocts it presents to view . Indeed , inquisitiveness is an essential of human being , and Freemasons are quite as apt at " asking questions " as any of tbe race . Therefore it is not to be wondered at that they burden Grand Masters and others with all sorts of queries .

PRAYER . —A Brother , puzzling himself with the expression FOB CHRIST ' S SAKE , wrote to the Grand Master of Masons of Alabama , desiring to know if there was any Masonic regulation prohibiting a Chaplain from using it in closing his prayers , and was informed that there was not . Also that the propriety of its use was to be

determined by each Lodge for itself , but that no Brother should use in a Lodge a form of prayer to which another Brother has conscientious objections . We hold that prayer is a work of devotion and conscience , and not properly a subject of legislation , and the Chaplain should be left free

to use language which his heart and conscience may dictate as appropriate to the time , and place , and feelings of the audience , or his prayer must bo deemed the mere utterance of words and sheer mookory . His con 3 cienco certainly is to be respected quite as much as that of any one of his auditors , and no dictation concerning his

petitions is admissible , save in the prayers of the degrees , where , of course , generally the proscribed form shonld be followed . But , really and truly , any question as to the phrase , " FOR CHRIST ' S SAKE , " is out of place , and only exposes tho ignorance and intolerance of the person propounding it . The fact is , the Supreme Architect of the

Universe , and the Word , are none other than the LORD JESUS CHRIST , and an acknowledgment of either of the former is an acknowledgment of tho latter . To get away from this is impossible , without repudiating Freemasonry in toto , not a step in which can be made without practically demonstrating that tho Institution is a Trinity in Unity .

SEAL . —Any document issued from a Lodge , without its seal , is unofficial , and may be disregarded with impunity . To make it legal and binding the seal must be attached , as that alone is the evidence of its official character . Anything short of this can only be regarded , at best , as a semi-official notice .

INSTALLATION . —The installation of the Officers of a Lodge in public is permissible and beneficial . Excepting the investiture of the Master elect with the secrets of the Oriental Chair , there is nothing in the ceremony which is esoteric , and which may not just as appropriately be performed publicly as privately .

REVIEW . —The Grand Master can review the proceedings of a Lodge , and can set aside its judgment and sentence , subject finally to the judgment of the Grand Lodge . RELIEF . —Primarily it is the duty of the brethren to contribute to

the relief of widows and orphans of deceased Master Masons ; secondly , it is the duty of the Lodges , and lastly the duty of the Grand Lodge . We seriously donbt the propriety and feasibility of any plan that will place the responsibility wholly upon the Grand Lodce .

ARE DUES EVERYTHING ?—The Grand Master of Masons of Colorado having granted a dispensation to confer burial rites , atprivate expense , upon a brother who had been dropped from the roll for non . payment of dues , and subsequently repented thereat , we reflected over the matter in this wise : Dropping from the roll and

suspension are very unlike . The first leaves the brother in good standing in the Fraternity—that is , simply non-affiliates him , while suspension deprives him of all rights and privileges . Thus viewing the matter , we hold that the burial of the brother mentioned , at private expense , was an eminently Masonic act . A little thought as

to what makes a man a Mason will convince any reasonable brother that the dispensation was proper , and that the act may well be considered a precedent . Not affiliation , bnt the solemn and irrevocable ties entered into at tho altar of Freemasonry are what unite us into one society of friends and brethren , whose Faith , Hope , and

Charity are a unity . Right here it may be asked , What wonld be thought of the Church if it would accord Christian burial solel y to those who were in full communion with it , and constant contributors to its funds ? Would it not be condemned as wanting in Charity ? On the same principle , is it not the height of selfishness in

Freemasonry to deny Masonic burial to a brother simply because he is non-affiliated ? It may be truly said , He ought to belong to a Lodge , but is that the whole duty of a Mason ? Are his faith in GOD , his mystic tie , his moral life , and his Masonic work , nothing , that they must be subordinated to mere Lodge membership ? If so , then

paying dues is everything , and all heart and soul relations and work are but sounding brass and tinkling cymbal . Less grasping after filthy lucre , and greater practice of real Freemasonry , would be like an oasis in a desert , when compared with the present state of Masonic affairs . It would win back the army of non-affiliates , and make the Institution flourish like the Green Bay tree .

PREROGATIVES . —We are now the subjects of constitutions and laws , and by them we must stand or fall . All talk about prerogatives , outside of them , is fallacious . Besides , if Masters or Grand Masters can violate constitutions and laws , with impunity , how can they , with any degree of consistency , hold brethren amenable to them .

" ONLY THIS . " —Bro . W . R . Singleton , of the District of Columbia , commenting on Silver City Lodge ' s adherence to the Grand Lodge of Missouri , in preference to yielding allegiance to the assumed Grand Lodge of New Mexico , has recorded himself as follows : While it seems to be hard for Missouri to surrender one of her children , on account of the unwillingness to leave , yet to carry out our

A Few Of Our Opinions.

American doctrine it must be done , and the refusal of that Lodge is simply childishness , and should not prevent a proper settlement of tho difficulty . Is it not strange that in the formation of every Grand Body on this continent , some suoh stubborn body or bodies have been found to interrupt the harmony of our Institution , and cause trouble and the spilling of fraternal—ink ?—and at last all comes right in tho

end . Only this , and nothing more ! These dissentient " bodies get their names in the papers , " which was a satisfactory reflection to the man who was condomned to bo hung . We answer that in onr opinion Silver City Lodge has bat justly defended her indefeasible right to choose whom she will serve . If that is ohildishness then the more of it we have the better it will be for

Freemasonry . Now , to us , the fact , that in the formation of many of the Grand Lodges on this continent some suoh body has been fonnd , is conclusive evidence that the action taken was not Masonic , but the exercise of the self-assumed antooratio authority to which Brother Singleton affirms Brother Robbins would cheerfully sabjeot us all . It has been the defvine of right , and the overriding of every fraternal

equity and comity , to hasten ambitious and often reckless brethren into dignities , which most likely they could , under no other circumstances , have reaohed . It is they , and their defenders , who have sacrificed the peace and harmony of the Institution , and made it lasting enemies , all for the distinguished honour of being first Grand Officers of the jurisdiction . Now , we think this nnfraternal work has

gone on entirely too long , and we esteem it onr solemn and unavoidable duty to demand a halt , and an about , or , at least a right-face concerning it . We want no more of such autocracy as that of putting to death Lodges that have simply acted out their own free-will and nccord concerning tho formation of a Grand Lodge . We want no more twitting of them us dissenting merely to " get their names in

the papers , " nor classing of them with criminals who are to bo hung . Nay , we want no more un-Masonio dealing with them , no more Popish-bnll throwing at them , no more blottings of them out of ex ; istence . On the contrary , -we do not want them to be treated Masonically , and by unity principles and real cement of brotherly love to bo won into assent to the formation of genuine Grand Lodges , vested

with real sovereignty and actual exclusivenesB of jurisdiction . Such a body does not exist in New Mexico , and Silver City Lodge is legally vested with all the rights and privileges she ever had , one of which is jurisdiction co-extensive with the limits of the territory . The strange part is that Brother Singleton plays hot and cold on autocracy , in some instanoes opposing it and in others defending it ;

rebuking it when attempted by Masters and Grand Masters , and defending it when exercised by assumed Grand Lodges . We dissent to it in toto , and will continue that dissent so long as we have a voice to speak , a right hand and arm to move and a pen to wield . The eternal power of truth , of right , of equity , and of JVeemasonry , are on the side of UNITY and it will fully triumph .

ACTING MASTER ' S WORK . —If the legality of any regular work of an acting Worshipful Master may be disputed , then the legality of all the proceedings had may be denied , and it mnst be held that only the Worshipful Master , or the Grand Master , or his Deputy , can lawfully preside over a Lodge . Nothing , however , is better settled than , that

in the absence of the Worshipful Master the Senior Warden is to pre . side , or , that in tbe absence of the Worshipful Master and Senior Warden , the Junior Warden is to preside . And further , that in either case the proceedings are regular , provided always that by inadvertence or design no bye-laws or regulations have been violated .

FREEMEN . —Is not the method of forming Grand Lodges in this country one of the most potent means of driving " from us all who will not be enslaved by the unrighteous government of arbitrary force ? " Was ever a more unrighteous dogma promulgated than this , that a majority of Lodges in a territory unoccupied by a Grand Lodge may form a Grand Lodge to which ALL MUST SUBMIT , or bn deemed recusant and deolared clandestine , or Masonically dead ?

Freemasons art freemen , and they will not meekly submit to coercion , sequestration and ann ihilation . They " will not be enslaved to the unrighteous government of arbitrary force , " and will not be identified with an Institution that says they shall . They want , and will have , a voice in forming and conducting their government , and he who Bays nay had better remember what the Constitution of the United States guarantees to all who are loyal thereto .

G RAND MASTER ' S POWER . —If a Grand Master can set aside the Constitution of the Grand Lodge at will , or violate it with impuuity , with what propriety can he punish others for following his example ? May not a Worshipful Master , with as much propriety , claim the prerogative of setting aside the bye-laws of his Lodge , and of trampling under his feet the Regulations of his Grand Lodge ? Now , the fact

is that Grand Masters' prerogatives are not near so great as some of them would fain have us believe . They are not imperial autocrats , but limited potentates . They are bonnd by obligation and law precisely as their brethren are , and have only those official ri ghts and privileges which are defined by tho Landmarks and Constitutions of the Fraternity .

Anent this topic , the Grand Lodge of Kentucky holds that the Code of the Jurisdiction sets forth all the constitutional provisions and decisions on the subject , and is sufficient . Eminently so , we would say , and we just hope that all Grand Lodges will as promptly and decisively squelch all pretensions to power not bestowed by the Constitution and law .

NON-A FFILIATES . —Bro . Rob . Morris says the lash applied to nonaffiliates is music to hi 3 ears . ' Wherefore ? May there not be many just causes for non-affiliation ? And is a man any the less a Mason because circumstances debar his membership in a Lodge ? If he wilfully is a non-affiliate , and avoids all performance of a Masonic duty , there may be reason in lashing him , but of what use is one to the Fraternity whose heart is not in his work , and what benefit can there be in lashing him into the ranks ? No INTEREST . —There are plenty of people who might be placed in a diamond field with perfect assurance that they never would diS f