Proficiency Before Advancement.

PROFICIENCY BEFORE ADVANCEMENT .

IT would seem that the examination of Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts before allowing them to proceed further in Masonry , which in the majority of English Lodges is nothing more than a farce , is carried out religiously in some of the Jurisdictions of America , so much so that we read in one case of

a Grand Master refusing to grant three dispensations that were petitioned for , " to confer second and third degrees on Entered Apprentices incapable of learning the work sufficiently well to pass a satisfactory examination , " and we are pleased to see that

this strict adherence to the letter of the law is applauded by others , who agree it would be well for Freemasonry if all its leaders had equally firm convictions of what is right , and bad

the courage to stand by them . But on the other hand it may be urged that Freemasonry does not consist of a mere observance of certain forms and ceremonies , but rather a sincere and

conscientious observance of its great principles of Brotherly Love , Belief and Truth , and these are as capable of being practised by the Brother who cannot learn the work sufficiently

well to pass a satisfactory examination as by the most expert elocutionist who is able to easily commit the words to memoryand probably as easily forget them .

It is in reviewing such items as this that we get ideas as to the working of Freemasonry in distant parts , and are able to compare outside systems with our own . How different this action of the American Grand Master to what we should

expect in this country , where such a dispensation has probably never been thought of , much less asked for . Here we should expect to hear the candidate prompted in his replies and flounder through somehow , to be followed by the usual

formula of " very well answered , Worshipful Master" from some of the Brethren who , as has been argued in our pages ere this , seem to regard such an expression as part and

parcel of the ceremony , to be made use of irrespective of its adaptability , and often in direct opposition to the dictates of common sense .

Having disposed of the matter in so far as it concerns English and American ideas of what is right in regard to the observance of the letter of the law—with anything but a satisfactory verdict for the English system—we may ask how

far a knowledge of the test questions is likely to affect the future of the new member , and how much we in England are to blame for allowing a candidate with the flimsiest pretence at knowled ge to pass as efficient ? We have often argued that

mere knowledge of ritual and ceremony does not make a Freemason , in the true acceptation of the term . The spirit of Masonry is what is required , far more than the mere letter , and this being so it would almost seem that an early knowledge

° i certain test answers is not so essential as a proper appreciation ° f what is required from one Mason towards his fellows ; but lt is a great mistake to suppose that slovenliness at the outset has no effect on the future of a Mason . We have previously Ur ged the necessity of creating good first impressions , and wo

Proficiency Before Advancement.

believe that to a careful rendering of the three ceremonies many a good Mason can ascribe his position in the Graft , while the opposite is equally noticeable in cases where the ceremonies have been carelessly worked , and no attempt has been made to

impress the candidate with the necessity of earnestness and regularity . The ordinary candidate who is told he has to pass an examination before he can be allowed to take a further step in Freemasonry , and finds that the examination is merely

empty form , is very apt to entertain an unfavourable opinion of the Order , while the candidate who is carefully prepared by his proposer and seconder , or other members of the Lodge ,

cannot fail to entertain respect for the Order , and goes on in his studies with the feeling that he is really required to take an interest in the work .

Reviewing , then , the whole of the features of the case , we may safely compliment our American Brethren for being more thorough in their preliminary lessons , and commend their action to Officers and Members of those English Lodges in which the

examination of candidates prior to their advancement to a superior degree is regarded as mere empty form , the answers to the several questions being dictated by the Deacon , and repeated

without any recognition of their meaning or actual knowledge of the words , much less an appreciation of the hidden lessons they are intended to convey .

Politics And Masonry.

POLITICS AND MASONRY .

IT is not often politics and Freemasony are associated in an official way , but this has recently been done in the case of the Provincial Grand Mark Lodge of Berks and Oxon , which was to have been held in Abingdon on the 16 th , and has been

postponed by the Provincial Grand Master , in consequence of the general election , until Friday , 26 th inst . Strange as such a course may appear we regard it as worthy of commendation , as

a Provincial gathering of Freemasons at such a time might have caused criticism and unfavourable comments , particularly if any of the prominent politicians of the district were present , as would most likely be the case .

Masonic Pilgrims At Winchester.

MASONIC PILGRIMS AT WINCHESTER .

npHE interesting city of Winchester , interesting in a peculiar I degree to Brethren of the " mystic Craft , " had on Friday and Saturday , 28 th and 29 th ult ., the honour and pleasure of welcoming in a quiet but influential way the members of the illustrious Lodge known as the Quatuor Coronati , No . 2076 , Brethren of which include mauy men well known in the ranks of

literature ancl art , and who , through the medium of the Lodge , devote a portion of their work-a-day life to the wide field of Masonic research . The principal members of the Lodge arrived on Friday evening , and quarters had been prepared for them by Bro . Chappie , mine host of the Black Swan Hotel . Here they

were met Bro . Hinxman Master of the ancient ( Economy Lodge , No . 75 , T . Stopher , W . H . Jacob , Ward , and some other local Brethren , a pleasant hour being spent in the discussion of Masonic matters in general and the arrangements for the pilgrimage of the morrow in particular .