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CANVASSING FOR MEMBERS .

ONE of the earliest lessons impressed on every member of the Craft is that which teaches him that Freemasons are not expected to seek for candidates ; rather , that any one desiring to receive the

benefits of the Order must be the suppliant , and must ask of a friend the means of securing the light of the Craft . No matter how much we may desire to see a friend admitted as a member of our Lodge it is not our place to induce him to take the steps necessary to ensure a participation in our mysteries , and ,

as a consequence , we sometimes lose good men , or see our friends remain outsiders for all time , or perhaps admitted to some Lodge other than our own , whose members were not ouite so strict in this

matter of canvassing as we had been . Under such circumstances we have sometimes asked ourselves if there is really any need or desirability for such a

rigid observance of this rule as is generally urged on the members of the Craft ? We are aware it would be very wrong for the members of a Lodge to make a point of touting in their district for new members , or to use any unworthy means to secure additions to their ranks : but is a little iudicious advocacv of the

benefits of Freemasonry , or a brief description of its advantages out of place when we meet a friend who we would desire to introduce into the ranks of the

Craft ? We think not , and we fail to see in what part of our ritual canvassing is especially prohibited , provided that in seeking new members we confine ourselves to worthy advocacy of the Craft .

It may be said that any gentleman desiring admittance within the portals of Freemasonry can find a friend to introduce him , but is such always the case ? Even if he know some one already a member it does not follow that he has the courage to make

the needful application ; he may think the request might come with better grace from the Mason , rather than from the one who desired to become a brother ,

and for these and many other reasons he may fail to take the step he desires , and which we , as members of the Craft , should be equally anxious for him to take ; for , be it understood , we consider the principal object

oi every uraitsman snould be to extend the benefits ol Freemasonry as far as lies in his power , both by practising its principles himself , and by inducing others to do so ; to accomplish which it is almost

imperative that we should occasionally use our influence towards securing new members , which , we urge , is not only legal from a Masonic point of view , but might be encouraged , under certain conditions , with great

advantage to tne crait . It is not alone in the matter of initiates that canvassing is to be commended . We should also seek to extend the number of joining members for our

Lodges , and in this respect particularly is a little energetic canvassing to be approved of . The objections to which we have already referred as apply-

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ing to the admission of gentlemen to the ranks of Freemasonry do not affect the case of those who have already been received into our ranks , but for whom a change of Lodge is desirable , and there can be no

possible harm in keeping a sharp look out for those who may , from one cause or other , seek a change in their Lodge . Removal is not the least of the many points which have to be considered in this respect .

and this particularly applies in the suburbs and Provinces , where every new arrival should be regarded as a likely addition to the local Lodge , instead

of which it sometimes happens that it is years before a new resident discovers there is a Lodge meeting close lay . 01 course in such a ease the apathy is not wholly confined to the Lodge , as it would be far

easier for the new arrival to find out the Lodge than it would be for the members thereof to discover that their new neighbour was already a Mason , and was desirous of extending his acquaintanceship with the

Crait . The more closely we examine this matter the more are we convinced that judicious canvassing is desirable , and we think it would be well if Lodges and individual members were to take the matter into

consideration , with a view of relaxing the hard rule which has so long existed in many quarters , and adopt in its place one of a more tolerant and less restricted character . If it were not deemed desirable to set at once to the work of canvassing for initiates

something might be done among the large body of Masons at present unattached , and the ranks of whom are daily swelling in all parts of the country . By

securing some of these as joining members we should strengthen our Lodges , lessen the number of inactive Masons , and , in all probability , afford enjoyment for

the brethren introduced . All or any of these objects are sufficient to warrant us setting at once to the task of canvassing .

Masonic Dues.

MASONIC DUES .

THE season of the year suggests this topic . December is emphatically the month for the collection of dues , and in some Grand Jurisdictions tho payment of same is prerequisite to the right to vote at the annual elections of the

Lodge . The regular notice is familiar—we have all received such—and , omitting the heading and date , reads something like the following : " Bro Jones : You are hereby notified to attend the annual communication of this Lodge , to be held * * * The amount of your annual dues is 3 " 00 dols , and is

payable on or before that date . " And yet notwithstanding all efforts put forth by Secretaries , any casual glance at the proceedings of Grand Lodges disclose the fact that there is a largely increasing army of non-affiliates in Masonry , whether reckoned as holding dimits , or the larger class of brethren

suspended for the offence of non-payment of dues . This is a state of affairs greatly deplored , for which many