The Colonial Board And A Black-Balling Scandal.

THE COLONIAL BOARD AND A BLACK-BALLING SCANDAL .

THE Combermere Lodge , No . 752 , E . G ., meeting in Melbourne , recently expelled two Brethren for un-Masonic conduct , an alleged conspiracy to black-ball and an exposure of the ballot . These Brethren appealed to the Grand Lodge of England , and the Colonial Board , which all good Masons hoped would have been disbanded long ago , as an effete body , has

instructed the Lodge to re-instate the expelled Brethren . It appears to us that the Colonial Board has overlooked a most important point , i . e ., that the announcement that there were two black balls put in the box was not made until some of the unused balls had been collected . The Board states that the W . M . had it in his power , by permitting the examination of the box , to

prove to the Lodge that the statements were false ; but , as we understand the matter , the statement was made when the W . M . did not have it in his power to again examine the box , as other black balls had then been returned to it , and it was no longer in the condition in which it was when the ballot was taken . There is also this overwhelming fact against the statement of the

individual Brethren , that Bros . Morton , Oldfield and Virgoe all declare that two black balls did not appear , and although the Brethren who were expelled have received a cutting admonition as to their line of conduct , this Board directs their re-instatement amongst gentlemen , who could not under the circumstances

associate with them ; indeed , their rapid withdrawal from the precints of the Lodge after its last meeting was evidence enough that they were themselves aware that they are permanently " in Coventry " so far as all good Freemasons are concerned . The letter is as follows * . —

W . B . VIRGOE , ESQ ., Secretary Combermere Lodge , No . 762 . DBAB SIB AND BBOTHEB , —Adverting to your letter of the 17 th December last , and the papers and documents which accompanied it , I am desired by the Colonial Board to acquaint you that by the same mail was received a complaint from Bros . and against the Combermere Lodge for having improperly excluded them . The Board has very carefully considered the

circumstances of the case as disclosed in your communication , in the minutes of the meeting of the Lodge on the 3 rd December last , and in the copy of the shorthand writer ' s report . The Board particularly notes the absence of any denial of tha truth of the very grave charge preferred by and against , the Worshipful Master , Bro . Dr . Morton , of having declared elected a" candidate for joining , against whom it w . a ? openly stated two black balls had been

deposited in the ballot box . If the allegations of fsros . and as to the deposit of the black balls were untrue , the W . M . had it in his power , by permitting the examination of the box , to prove to the Lodge that the statements were false . As no attempt appears to have been made either at the time or at the gubs . equeftt meeting on the , 3 rd December , to disprove Bros . —— and — - — assertions , the Board is driven to the conclusion that they were founded oh fact . It is ho part of the duty ofthe Co . ionial Board to

inquire into the motives which may have induced Bros . —— and " to exercise , to the prejudice of the candidate , the right which the Constitutions give to every member of a Lodge to exercise his own discretion in the matter of voting , but the Board desires me to point out that although no one has a right to inquire of any Brother how he may have voted , it would not be possible to guard against a fradulent use of the ballot if members of a Lodge were precluded from challenging the correctness of an announcement by the W . M . that there were not a sufficient number of black balls in tho box to

cause a candidate ' s rejection . The charge preferred against Bros . and did not include any allegations that the statement made by them in open Lodge of having black-balled was otherwise than true , and the Board , after the fullest consideration of the circumstances disclosed in the statement and documents received from you , is of opinion that the action of the Lodge in excluding Bros . and was illegal , the causes alleged being insufficient to justify such a proceeding , those Brethren being within their legal rights in black-balling the candidate , and the decision of the Board is that Bro . and Bro . be re-instated members of the Lodge .

I have to request you will be good enough to report to the Board that this has been done . I enclose for the information of the Lodge a copy of the letter addressed by the Board's direction to Bros . and . I am , dear Sir and Brother ,

Your faithfully and fraternally , E . LETCHWOETH , G . S . Freemasons' Hall , London ,

, 6 th February 1896 . But the Colonial Board does not set the Craft any better example in the legitimate use of the English language than did the executive in Victoria in the recent" deprecatory " circular on the qpening p'f the Board of Installed Masters . In a" letter to the W . M . of the 10 th January , the Board terms itself in the same

sentence first as "it" and within a few lines as " they . " The appeal now made by the Lodge to the Grand Lodge against the finding of the Colonial Board is emphatic and unmistakable , and the members of the Combermere Lodge have the sympathy of all true Freemasons in their present unpleasant position . That an alleged ruffianly conspiracy to

stab a Brother whom these self-confessed black-ballers had never seen , for the sake of venting petty spite on an Officer of the Lodge into which he sought admission , should be condoned by this Colonial Board , without sifting to the utmost all the evidence available in the case , is a lesson which is not likely to be soon forgotten in the Lodges which spread themselves all over Australia under the English Constitution , and affords the

The Colonial Board And A Black-Balling Scandal.

Combermere Lodge an excellent opportunity of taking shelter under the United Grand Lodge of Victoria , where speedy and equitable treatment could be secured . We are fully aware that the rights of membership are always carefully preserved , and that expulsion is not easily sustained , but the Colonial Board in England flouts all the great Masonic authorities when it asserts

that Brethren are justified in declaring how they voted in the interests of and for the protection of the purity of the ballot . The declaration of the W . M . is supported by his I . P . M . and his Secretary , both of them Brethren who are held in high esteem as citizens of unblemished reputation , and that their declaration ^ or affidavits should have so little weight against the absolutely

unsupported statements of men who were self-confessed blackballers of a man highly recommended , and of whom they personally had no knowledge of an adverse nature , is a scandal upon the Craft which nothing but the speedy abolition of this Board can obliterate , and all colonially situated English Freemasons will watch with great interest the result of the appeal to the Grand Lodge of England . — " Masonry . "

We congratulate our contemporary , " The American Tyler , " on the progress it is making with its tenth annual volume , which opened with the issue of 15 th February last . The editor said , in the issue of that date : " it seems like yesterday since after much mental cogitation and anxiety the first number rolled from under

the press . . ... . . The battle since then has been severe and constant , and although our armour shows many dints , and saw teeth in our sabre indicates the blows warded off , we rejoice to find ourselves still armed for the fight , and our face

to the foe , for God and human brotherhood . " As our Brother editor remarks it is on such occasions as the one he refers to that one notices the rapid flight of time . In our case it is nearly twenty-two years since we helped to produce our first issue , yet it seems , in a manner of speaking , but yesterday .

The Friars Lodge of Instruction , which usually meets every week at the Plough Inn , Mile End Eoad , has closed for the summer , until the first Monday in September , in consequence of structural alterations which are about to take place in the house .

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