Installing A Successor.

INSTALLING A SUCCESSOR .

MANY Freemasons regard the elevation of a brother to the office of Worshipful Master of his Lodge as the summit of a Craftsman ' s ambition , but others consider the crowning point is not reached until the Mason thus honoured has completed his vear of office , and has remilarlv installed his successor —¦

v s - o ^ into the chair of King Solomon , with all the ritual and ceremony customary on such auspicious occasion . We have so often expressed our views as to what is needed in a Worshipful Master , that it will be no surprise to our readers when we tell them we do not

regard the personal installation of a successor as being of paramount importance . A successful ruler of a Lodge is not . necessarily the Mason who can best work the ceremonies of the different degrees , or

wiio can tiie most efficiently instal the succeeding ruler . Much more than mere words are needed from the brother who desires to be remembered as having done well in the office of Master , and a new Officer would much rather have a Lodge handed over to him

in a state of prosperity , with unity and concord reigning among its members , though he had to be installed by an old Past Master , or even a visitor , than he would to have the affairs transferred in a state of chaos , with an elaborate installation by his predecessor as the only equivalent . Some men , we are told , are

born to rule , but as we cannot hope to always have such men at the head of our Lodges , we must adapt ourselves to circumstances , and show our appreciation of the benefits we do receive . In doing so we must be prepared to recognise , amongst other things , that

it is not always possible for a Mason to instal his successor , and as there are some among us who do not hesitate to express a very different opinion , we take the opportunity of urging them to be more guarded in their remarks , for we assure that in no small number of cases their utterances are not only regarded with disfavour , but very often cause actual

garn m the minds of those who are not naturally piffced with the ability to properly rehearse the long ritual and ceremonies of Freemasonry . The installation as Worshipful Master should create the same impression on the experienced Craftsman as

the initiation ceremony does on the novice ; the one is an experience , seldom , if ever , forgotten by the man who goes through it with any regard to earnestness , and the other should remain for ever impressed on the mind of the Mason whose fellows have united to

corner the distinction of office upon him . But while the two ceremonies are so similar , tliey are also widely different . In the one case the novice advances blindly towards an unknown goal , led b y men who in

many cases are strangers to him , and only having the word of a friend and the reputation o : f the Masonic Order to shield him from the many dangers into which it is possible for him to be led . In the other case , the Mason of experience , who las passed a

Installing A Successor.

period of probation in the Craft—long or short , according to circumstances—knows exactly what is required of him , and has had ample opportunities of measuring the degree of responsibility entailed bv his acceptance of office : so that , as

we have said , the two occasions are alike , and yet dissimilar ; but in both cases the actual words of the ceremony are intended to impress both the brother on whose special behalf they are rendered , as well as all those oresent to take part in the work , or to witness

it . On this account efficiency to perform the ceremony is desirable , if not necessary . Kecognizing , then , that efficiency is an advantage , we at once admit the impossibility of enforcing a regular system of installation by outgoing Masters , for we must all allow that ability to work the ceremony is not , always

possessed by Lodge rulers , although they may have the greatest desire to shine as active workers in their Lodges . Such being the case , we once more direct the attention of those who love to preach of the absolute necessity of a Master installing his successor , ' and

with all due deference to them we argue that such a course should not be urged as imperative , although desirable wherever possible , for the reason , as we have already explained , that Masons who do not consider themselves efficient for the work are thereby led to regard themselves as defaulters , or at least behindhand

in properly discharging tneir duties . The ceremony of installation of a Masonic ruler is , perhaps , the one best suited for the display of oratorical ability and , if we may so term it , stage effect . The work is easily divisible among three or four Past Masters , and we have been more impressed in this

ceremony than any other by a judicious division of the work , particularly if the several Past Masters have spent a little time in rehearsing their parts , and are fully prepared to commence their individual sections of the ceremony at the proper moment . The installation proper may be performed by one brother , who ,

It has been arranged that the Grand Master Mason of Scotland , Sir Archibald Campbell , Barfc ., M . P ., will instal Sir Henry Macandrew as Provincial Grand Master of Inverness , on the 23 rd inst ., and that on the same day he will instal the newly appointed Grand Master Mason of Koss _ and Cromarty , Sir Hector Munro , of Ponlis , Bart .

we may add in passing , can be materially Helped by an efficient Director of Ceremonies ; the address to the new ruler may be given by a second Past Master , that to the Wardens by a third , and the general one to the Lodge by yet another . Not only is the strain

on the one brother thus lessened , but if properly arranged the work becomes very effective and gratifying . Taken generally we recognise the ceremony of installation as one eminently qualified to impress those who witness it , and the moral lessons it is

intended to convey lose none of their force or beauty when they are properly performed , whether it be by an old Past Master or by a Mason qualified and capable of installing his successor .