The Masonic Vagrant.

THE MASONIC VAGRANT .

The subject of Masonic vagrancy is notoriously one of the most difficult to cope with . Like the poor in the Scriptures , the vagrant is always with us , and will remain so to the end of the chapter . Measures more or less skilfully arranged- have again and again been taken with a view to ridding ourselves of his vagabond importunities , but with no enduring success .

His game is far too profitable to be abandoned in consequence of an occasional conviction followed by a seven or fourteen days' experience of the treadmill . And thus it comes about that he lives and moves from place to p lace with all the nonchalance imaginable , levying toll with the strictest impartiality on all the lodge Almoners , lodge Secretaries , and lodge

members he is able to interview and impose upon , and chuckling the while at the facility with which he obtains money which would be a Godsend to a really distressed brother . His theory is that the world is composed of knaves and fools , and that , as the latter are in an overwhelming majority , it is the duty of the former to prey upon them whenever there is a chance of doing

so with comparative , if not absolute , impunity . He delights in his various impostures , which bring grist to his mill , and practises them with all the greater zest , because experience has shown him that only on the very rarest occasions

does detection involve him in any unpleasant consequences . He knows that 99 out of every 100 brethren would rather sacrifice the shillings or sovereigns he may have obtained from them than prosecute him for the fraud of which they have been the victims .

But though these disreputable Masons have hitherto succeeded in evading the penalties imposed by the law on vagrancy , there are excellent reasons why steps . should be taken to mitigate the evil as far as possible . Those who suffer most by the malpractices of these fellows are not the goodnatured brethren who thoughtlessly bestow alms upon them or the lodge

Almoner , who , in spite of the care he exercises , is occasionally duped into g iving them crowns or shillings , but the . brethren who are genuinely in nee J of help . The truly " poor and distressed brethren " rarely , if ever , disclose their pitiable condition till driven to do so by sheer desperation , and even then their sense of shame at being compelled to seek relief is such that the

genuineness of their distress is oftentimes doubted . Their unwillingness to say more about themselves than is absolutely necessary often inclines people to regard them as impostors , especially if the brethren or Almoner they apply to has at any time been victimised by a real impostor . It is not many years ago that a brother who had occupied a good

position in the sphere of life in which he moved and had held high ofiice in his lodge , was found dead or dying in an unoccupied house in London , and at the coroner ' s inquest into the circumstances of his death , which necessarily followed , it was shown that he had kept the secret of his distress entirely to himself . The members of his lodge were in ignorance of his condition , or

they would have relieved him instantly , and to the full extent of their ability . A feeling of shame—of false shame , no doubt , but one which every honourable man must have respected—had restrained him from disclosing his needs , and the poor fellow died on the bare floor of what had once been his wellfurnished , house , without a soul , to comfort him in his dying moments ,

and with scores of generous-minded brethren living within easy hail , who would have deemed it their highest privilege to succour him at such a time . This was an exceptionally painful case , but there are others of a similarly , if not equally , distressing nature , which are continually being brought' under the

cognisance of brethren , but more particularly of lodge Almoners , and in not a few of these relief is withheld , or given with a niggard hand because of the impostors who traverse the country in all directions , seeking whom they may defraud of their sp "' e shillings or sovereigns . A few weeks since we published a letter from the Secretary of St . John ' s Lodfe , No . 15 ( 14 ,

Woking , in which he very properly endeavoured to put our readers on their guard against one of this class of Masonic vagrants who had applied to him —fortunately without success—for relief . According to his letter , which appeared in . our issue of the 23 rd February , and in which were given details as to the man's personal appearance , this particular impostor gave

the name of "J WHARTON , " and stated he had been initiated in the Tyne Lodge , No . ( jgi , Wallsend , in 1872 or 1873 , when a certain HENRY KINS LAKE was Secretary of the lodge . In further support of his identity the fellow produced a letter dated 19 , Summer-street , Wallsend , November

14 th , 1894 , addressed to him , and signed " Eu . PRESTON , Sec . 991 . " On inquiry , the Secretary of No . 1564 learned firstly that this " JOHN WHARTON" was not , and never had been , a member of No . 991 , and that KINSLAKE had not been , in 1872 or 1873 , and ED . PRESTON was npt , in November , 1 S 94 , Secretary of the said lodge . This informa-

The Masonic Vagrant.

tion he obtained partly from the Grand Secretary's Register , and partly from Bro . TURNBULL , who was at the time , and had been for the last 12 years , the bond file Secretary of the Tyne Lodge . A few days later we were favoured with a letter—which will be found elsewhere—from the Almoner of the Royal Albert Edward Lodge , No . 1326 , Redhill , in which

he cautions the reader against a batch of seven , who have all come under his personal notice , and respecting whom he offers to impart the intormation he possesses about them , and the devices they have recourse to in their raids upon the pockets of the benevolent . More recently still , we have had forwarded for our perusal a whole series of documents , including a circu ' a

addressed by the Almoner of the Medway Lodge , No . 16 78 , Tonbridge , to his brother Almoners throughout the Province of Kent , in which he warns them against relieving a man , who , on seven different occasions , had applied successfully , either to his predecessor in office or himself , for help and been assisted . This individual is the " WILLIAM HILL , St . John ' s , 270 ,

Leicester , " mentioned by the Almoner of No . 1362 , and the aliases he had adopted at his various applications to the Medway Lodge Almoner are stated by Bro . J W . LITTLE , the present holder of the office , as follows : " W . DAWSON , of the Newstead Lodge , No . 47 , Nottingham , in April , 1890 , and February and December , 1893 ;

" W . FOSTER , " of the Knights of Alalia Lodge , No . 50 , Hinckley , in May , 1892 ; "VV . A . FOSTER , " of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 279 , Leicester , in August , 1894 ; " W . HILL , " of the Knights of Malta Lodge aforesaid , in February , 1890 ; and " W . HILL , " of Trinity Lodge , No . 254 , Coventry , in April , 1892 . On the 17 th January last he applied to Bro . LITTLE for relief ,

and on this occasion he impersonated the character of Bro . " DAVID ALLEN , " of St . John ' s Lodge , No . 279 , Leicester . Fortunately Bro . LITTLE , from information he had received most opportunely , was able to dismiss the fellow without the customary alms . But the matter has not been allowed to rest here . The day following the visit of this DAVID ALLEN alias W . DAWSON

alias W . FOSTER altasW . A . FOSTER ahasW . HILL , Bro . LITTLE addressed a circular letter to his brother Almoners throughout Kent in which he suggested they should meet and concert measures to put down , or to mitigate , at all events , the evils of this Masonic vagrancy . On the 22 nd February he wrote to Bro . ALI-RED SI'ENCER , Prov . G . Secretary of Kent , with a view to

obtaining that brother's approval of the step he had taken , and inviting him to sanction an early meeting of Almoners , as suggested by aMaidstone brother . The approval and the sanction were immediately forthcoming . The meeting was held at the Town Hall , Maidstone , on Friday , the 15 th inst ., under the presidency of Bro . SPENCER himself . There were present the representatives

of 16 lodges in the Province , and telegrams of sympathy with the movement and regret that they were Unable to attend were received from as m any more . The subject was fully discussed , and ultimately a Committee , consisting of Bros . A . SPENCER , Prov . Grand Secretary ; HOLCROFT , P . M . 1414 , P . Prov . S . G . W . ; 'PERSON , P . M . 199 , P . Prov . S . G . D . ; HIRE ,

P . M . 125 , P . Prov . G . S . B . ; and CLAPHAM , P . M . 913 ; with Bro . J LITTLE , Almoner 1678 , as Secretary , was appointed to inquire as to the course pursued by the different lodge Almoners in dealing with Masonic wayfarers , and inviting suggestions to be laid before a meeting to be held at an early date . It has further been explained to us by Bro . LITTLE , to whom

belongs the credit of having initiated the movement , that there is an ulterior object in what is now being done in Kent , this object being to secure the cooperation of the other Provinces , and , we presume , of the lodges in the Metropolitan district , and their cordial assistance in putting a stop , as far as possible , to Masonic vagrancy . It is hardly necessary for us to say that

any well-ordered scheme to effect this most desirable object will command our sympathy , and shall receive all the support and influence in its behalf which we are able to command . We do not shut our eyes to the difficulties which will be encountered in bringing the scheme into working order . It is no light task to bring about a concerted

plan of action among 46 Provinces and the numerous body of lodges in London . It means , if the thing is to be done effectually , the organisation of a Committee for each Province , with , it may be half-a-dozen or more district Committees for the Metropolitan area , and a central Committee for the whole of England , which shall be in regular , communication with the local

Committees . But such a scheme is far from being impossible of organisation , and as Masonic vagrancy is acknowledged throughout the whole of England to be an unmitigated evil , we trust the efforts which are now being put forth in Kent to cope with it will be attended with the success it deserves .

We shall be glad to receive any suggestions which our readers may think proper to offer , and if they or he desire it , we will place them in communication with Bro . LITTLE , the honorary Secretary of the Committee of Kentish Almoners .