Freemasonry Considered.

FREEMASONRY CONSIDERED .

WoETIIY AN"D UXWOETHY BEETIIEEK . The query , Who ought to be a Freemason ? has for some time occupied my attention . We are taught that the object and duty of the Craft is to be allied with mankind for the good of mankind .

Heading an article in a back number of the FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE , reminds me in words similar to the above , of our duties as members of the Fraternity . Each brother should question himself , Have I done my duty ? Have I exercised myself

in those " cardinal virtues " we profess to uphold ? Has the three " great principles " found in me an exponent ? Am I a Avorthy member of that Fraternity which claims the great and good of all ages as fellows ? which has existed from the very

dawn of time ; whoso origin is lost in the dim vista of the past , which has out-lived all other societies has seen the various ancient mysteries rise and fall , Avhile it is steadily progressing in its onward march to perfection , spreading its ramifications in every corner of the earth , exalting those virtues we prize .

We have men of all shades of political and religious opinion in the Fraternity men who are an honour to any society with which theyare connected men who are earnest and zealous in the cause they are pledged to maintain ; whose course of life is one

of well squared conduct aud upright actions , whose love for their fellows is known by their practice of those leading principles , we are proud to acknowledge as the firm base of our great superstructure . Their life is strictly associated with that which is great aud good . These are M . asons indeed . 'Tis such as those men who have

preserved our Fraternity through countless generations . These are truly brethren . These are men AVIIO have done honour to the Craft , honour to the country and times in which they lived . To such as those the poet alluded when he wrote—

"Lives of great men all remind us We may make our lives sublime , Ancl , departing , leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time , " for surely such are the great men , the truly noble , great , and good in every age . Men who devote

their talents and their substance for others welfare , whose aim through life is good to men , and honour to their God .

Tho question should occur to every worthy brother , How can I best serve the Craft ? My answer would be in the words of Bro . Fox ( as stated page 254 of the F . M . for September ) . He

attributed the perfect harmony with which they worked , to the " scrupulous care they exercised in admitting members , " and I quite agree with him in advising aud strongly impressing it upon every brother to study quality , rather than quantity , in

admitting members to a lodge , and not excuse an admission ( as did a member of a lodge which I venerate ) on account of the lowness of the funds-A Freemason after all is but human . The lodge can have but little influence over the rampant

passions of the man when without its doors , yet I ask of my brethren , is it not their duty to deprecate the conduct of a brother , and , if possible , bring him to a sense of his unworthiness ? When he has not only been guilty of an offence against

the recognised laws of the Fraternity , but has also been publicly pronounced guilty by one of the tribunals of his country , ought he not to be censured for his conduct , denounced as an erring , unworthy brother , who Avas inadvertently admitted to the sacred mysteries of thc Craft .

The case which has elicited the above remarks , Avas that of A . H . W ., who was recently convicted at Cambridge , of an assault in a railway carriage on a child of tender years . He , too , ranking * as P . M . in a lodge in the province . If the Fraternity

tacitly acknowledge Such conduct in a prominent member , it will materially damage the interest of the Craft in tbe neighbourhood -. of which tbe

following testimony of a gentleman is ample evidence : —¦ " If such men ( alluding to ) are prominent in your society , you must know that to thc outside world , as you call it , it appears the o-i-Riitev honour to have no connection with it . "

As I have tvespassed to a great extent on youv space I will just remark , iu conclusion , on a statement g iven in a former number , as conclusive evidence of the feeling existing between members of the Craft , and their good offices one to another ,

( viz . at p . 248 ) , of a ship attacked by pirates . The captain saved both ship and crew by beingacknowledged as a Mason by his piratical brother . In a Fraternity widespread as Freemasonry , we must of necessity have many erring brethren .

Where we have not influence enough to reclaim , where publicity can do no good in that line , would it not be well to exercise that other virtue —•

silence ? And as there is no great honour attached , individually or collectively , by acknowledging pirates or brigands as liaving belonged to the Fraternity , it would have been well if the passage alluded to had remained among the unwritten annals of Freemasonry . —Lux .