Provincial Honours.

PROVINCIAL HONOURS .

The correspondence on " The Future of Freemasonry" is taking a wider range than we anticipated . As originally started by Bro . WHYTEHEAD , the subject was limited for the most part to what are undoubtedly the two most material points , namely ,

the carelessness exhibited by many lodges in the acceptance of candidates , and the very great prominence which has been given of late years to the Masonic Institutions . But gradually o . ther topics which are supposed to bear upon these material points have

been considered . The other day , for instance , " Latomus" set forth his views upon the necessity for a more regular and careful supervision of Provincial private lodges than he is inclined to think takes place at the present time . Two weeks ago a " P . P . G .

Officer" expressed his belief that the alleged deterioration of Freemasonry is due , in the case of country lodges , to the comparative cheapness of Provincial honours . He began his letter by stating that during the last few years he had been greatly

struck by " the large proportion of Provincial Grand Officers there are in proportion to the members of the lodges wearing the blue apron , " this being especially the case in the smaller Provinces . He says that upon inquiry he finds that in too many

Provinces Provincial " honours are granted as a matter of course , and expresses his opinion that they should be giyen " in consideration of good , real , ancl honest work in the lodge , coupled with a due recognition of services rendered to our great

Charitable Institutions . " He then proceeds to argue that " instead of an ' honour' being conferred either upon the lodge or the officer , this kind of thing is a farce , and causes disgust upon the part of the officers who have done something for the Craft , and

discourages others who have its welfare at heart . The result , " he states , " is that instead of the Craft being composed of ' worthy men and worthy men alone , ' I fear it has opened its portals to and conferred honours upon those who , in many

instances , will not ultimately ' reflect credit' upon the brethren who have admitted them to their fellowship . " Then follows the general proposition , expressed in somewhat appalling terms : " All this means incalculable harm to our excellent Institution , and it behoves those who are concerned for its welfare to see

where the remedy lies , although I much fear , judging by past experience , that there is too much apathy upon the part of those who rule to lead us to hope for any drastic remedy being applied to this cankerous growth that is gnawing the very vitals of the Craft . "

For the sake of argument we will allow that these remarks of our worthy correspondent contain a certain amount of truth ; that Provincial honours , especially in the smaller Provinces , are too numerous , and therefore cheap , and that

in some Provinces they may be granted " as a matter of course" and not as the reward of merit . Still , we fail to see what bearing they have upon Bro . WHYTEHEAD ' S main proposition , that many lodges are the reverse of careful as to the candidates

they accept as members . It would undoubtedly be very unwise on the part of any Provincial Grand Master to bestow Provincial honours on brethren " as a matter of course" that is , because they happen to be Masters or minor officers of the

lodges under his control ; but what has this to do with the initiation of undesirable candidates ? It will be conceded on all hands that Provincial honours should be conferred on brethren who have done good service to their lodges and to our

Institutions , but the most scrupulous of Provincial Grand Masters in the distribution of the honours at his disposal will have difficulty in bestowing them rightly if the lodges are not careful in accepting as members " worthy men and worthy men alone . " Let us

Provincial Honours.

see that our lodges are composed of the right material , and it will be , comparatively speaking , of little consequence how Provincial or any other honours are conferred . But will the remarks of our correspondent stand the test of a closer and more careful examination ? As far as our experience

goes , the Provincial Grand Masters are familiar with the personnel of the lodges under their control . There is hardly a Province , of which we have any knowledge , in which the Provincial Grand Master , or his Deputy or Secretary , does not periodically visit each lodge . We do not say their visitations

are made in accordance with any particular system , or with machine-like regularity , but they are made often enough for the authorities to know who among the officers and members of each lodge are the most worthy of appointment to Provincial office , and we believe it is a tolerably hard-and-fast rule in every

Province that the appointments are annuall y made on the strength of the knowledge thus acquired . But here comes in the crucial question of all—Who shall decide that the brethren appointed to office in a particular Province are not deservinoof the honours bestowed upon them ? It must be remembered

that each lodge is rightly jealous of the reputation of its Master and officers ; each thinks them , if not exactly the best in any particular group of lodges , at all events as good and as worthy as those of any other lodge in the same group . Again , there are many different kinds of excellence , to each of which

the recognition of the authorities is due . Thus one Master may be an expert in lodge work ; another has done splendid service in aid of our Institutions , not so much by gifts from his own pocket as by the influence he has successfully exercised in their behalf among his brother members ; while a third has

successfully guided the lodge through a critical period of its existence under more or less adverse conditions . These three Masters each in his own particular way , have rendered services which are worthy of recognition , but except in a very few Provinces , there are also several other lodges whose Masters have established for themselves similar or other claims to distinction of

equal value , while the number of collars is limited , and all a Provincial Grand Master can possibly do is to distribute them according to the best of his judgment . Whatever selection he may happen to make , he must find himself compelled to disappoint many worthy brethren who rightly consider they have done '

some service to the State . Even in those Provinces in which it is more commonly than not the custom to appoint the actual Masters of lodges to Provincial office almost as a matter of course , there is this to be said in defence of the custom , that the lodges have themselves elected these brethren to preside over

them , and therefore , the Prov . Grand Master is merely endorsing the favourable opinion of the members . There are also manv other circumstances which cannot be dealt with in the limited space of a single article , to which a Provincial Grand Master who is only ordinarily careful in the distribution of his patronage will feel it

his duty to give weight ; but , as a rule , we think it will be found that our Provincial Grand Masters are just in awarding honour , and would be but too glad if occasionall y it were in their power to make one collar do duty for two or three worth y brethren . In any circumstances , we consider it very questionable policy on

the part of any brother , however able and experienced he may be , to set himself up as a , judge of the acts of a Provincial Grand Master who , in the award of Provincial honours , has a difficult and by no means enviable task to fulfil . As for the number of Provincial officers , a " P . P . G . Officer" will find a list of those a

Provincial Grand Master is empowered to make in Article . 8 7 of the Book of Constitutions . They are the same for all Provinces , with the exception—see Article 88—that those which contain 30 lodges and upwards are entitled to have four Provincial Grand

Deacons instead of two , and a Deputy Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies , as well as a Director and Assistant Director . It is clear , therefore , that in small Provinces of from five to ten lodges , it is not the fault of the Provincial Grand Master if the purple brethren are more numerous than the blue .