Canvassing For Office.

CANVASSING FOR OFFICE .

IT will be seen from the Agenda paper for the Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge to be held on Wednesday next , and of which we give a copy elsewhere in this issue , that Bro . W . F . Lamonby P . M . 062 once again returns to his assault against the practice

of canvassing for office , to which , as our readers will probably remember , he has on more than one occasion in the past drawn the attention of the rulers of the Craft ,

the result of his efforts in this direction being that the Parliament of English Freemasonry agreed to his motion at the March Communication of last year , in the following

terms : That the Grand Lodge of England in Quarterly Communication assembled , hereby expresses its strong disapproval of the system of canvassing and touting

carried on at the annual elections , and earnestly appeals to its members to discountenance and prevent the continuance of a practice . which is contrary to the principles and tenets of English Freemasonry .

As we have said , this motion by Bro . Lamonby was endorsed by Grand Lodge eighteen months ago , but we suppose Bro . Lamonby is of opinion that this mere expression of opinion is not sufficient to meet the case , that it is virtually a dead letter , and that the evil is as

great as ever ; hence it is that we find a proposal in his name for the consideration of Grand Lodge next week , to this effect : That the following addition be made to the Book of Constitutions : —

"Canvassing for any elective office , personally , by letter , or by circular , is prohibited . Any candidate , who shall on appeal , be proved to the satisfaction of the Board of General Purposes , or of an appointed

Committee , after due enquiry , to have canvassed for votes , or to have been canvassed for by brethren or other agents on his behalf , shall be held incapable of entering upon the duties of the office to which he may

have been elected , and such election shall , in consequence , be void and of no effect . The vacancy so caused shall be filled up in the manner provided by the Constitutions . "

It will doubtless be in the recollection of our readers that Bro . Lamonby ' s proposition of March 18 96 followed one which he submitted for the December Communication of 1805 , but which was not proceeded with , as the Grand

Secretary then announced that the proposer was not present . This earlier suggestion of Bro . Lamonby ' s also took the form of a proposed addition to the Book of Constitutions ( to follow Art . 75 ) , and was in the following terms :

75 A . Canvassing by or for a Candidate for any elective office , or for a Board or Committee in Grand Lodge , a Provincial or District Grand Lodge , or Private Lodge , is unconstitutional and therefore not

to be permitted . Any Brother or Brethren so offending shall be dealt with as the Board of General Purposes , or similar District , or Provincial Authority may decide .

Canvassing For Office.

As we have said , this earlier motion of Bro . Lamonby was not brought forward at the Communication of Grand Lodge , on account of the absence of Bro . Lamonby , and it was generally imagined he recognised that the course

he proposed was far too stringent , and was , in fact , quite outside the range of successful adoption . This opinion was strengthened when three months later Bro . Lamonby submitted to Grand Lodge his modified proposal ( as given

above ) , in which Grand Lodge was asked to express its " strong disapproval" of the system of canvassing and touting , and which was duly agreed to when regularly brought forward .

Our views in regard to this subject were expressed in November 18 95 , when Bro . Lamonby ' s proposal for a new Article ( 75 A ) in the Book of Constitutions was first before the Craft , and our opinion is much the same to-day . We

then said we did not imagine Bro . Lamonby had the smallest possibility of carrying his suggestion—at least not in its then form—as the course he suggested was far too severe , even if the evil he proposed to deal with was much

more acute than was actually the case , and we further argued that the difficulty of carrying such a law into force seemed to be so great as to virtually nullify it , as the law would either have to remain a dead letter , or ninety-nine

of every hundred elective appointments would be brought within its scope , the mere suggestion that such and such a Brother was qualified for a particular post being capable of being construed into an act of canvassing on his behalf .

If such criticism was possible in regard to the proposal of November 18 95 , how much more so is it applicable to the present proposal of Bro . Lamonby , which is couched in much more stringent terms than his earlier suggestions ,

and seems to us to be so severe as to virtually come within the range of an absurdity which , if carried into effect , would result in the disqualification of every elected Officer ?

It is very difficult to show why the friends of a popular Mason should not be allowed to urge his claims on those who , being entitled to vote on his behalf , have no personal acquaintance with him , or personal knowledge

of his special qualifications for a particular appointment , and in this direction we may repeat our query of two years back , and ask , how is a deserving Brother to

secure a coveted honour if he and his friends are compelled by the Book of Constitutions to allow his light to remain hidden ?

Bro . Lamonby is no doubt sincere in his opposition to this canvassing or touting among Masons for the different elective Offices of the Craft , but he does not tell us what alternative method is to be adopted in

order to secure the election of the best men . Let us , for the sake of argument , introduce Bro . Lamonby into an imaginary contest for the Grand Treasurership . We suggest he has been nominated , in company with three