Promotion-Merit Or Seniority?

PROMOTION-MERIT OR SENIORITY ?

HpHE right of a Worshipful Master to appoint ' * whoever he chooses to assist him as Officers of a Lodge is recognised throughout the Craft , but at the same time there is something very much like an

unwritten law that provides for the Officers of one year each going up in rotation the next , unless there is some very good reason to depart from such a practice ,

or a Brother desires to stand aside . Promotion by merit is really the law of the Craft , but promotion by seniority is the almost universal practice , and we can but think the latter to be the better course .

We have lately received letters from widel y separated , parts of . the country in reference to this question . In one case a Worshipful Master selected his Officers according to his views of " merit , " with the result that some of the older members of the

Lodge , who had worked up . step by step , in the hope of ultimately reaching the chair , were ousted from Office in favour of younger Brethren—more energetic , perhaps , but by no means more desirous of promoting

the best principles of the Craft than those they displaced , and the result was a year of discontent and unhappiness in the Lodge . In another case the new Master rewarded " exceptional merit " on the part of

a younger member of the Lodge by promoting him to one of the Warden ' s Chairs , right over the heads of the past Officers , who had each looked forward to a step's promotion •and there also confusion reigns , and

yet "; it may be urged , neither Master did more than he was perfectly justified in doing—but might is not always right , and we would strongly advise new

Masters to pause ere they run the risk of upsetting a Lodge , by forcing upon its members their views as to individual merit , as opposed to the claims of the members themselves to rise by seniority .

Death Of The Provincial Grand Master Isle Of Man.

DEATH OF THE PROVINCIAL GRAND MASTER ISLE OF MAN .

GREAT regret , both within the ranks of the Craft and generally throughout the Isle , is manifest at the death of Brother Sir John Senhouse Goldie-Taubman Provincial Grand Master of the Isle of Man , Speaker of the Manx House of Keys , which took place on Wednesday morning , at his residence at Douglas , at the age of sixty-one .

Our deceased Brother , who was appointed to the Prov . Grand Mastership by H . R . H . the Prince of Wales in 1886 , was a prominent personage in the Isle of Man , having been a

member of the House oi Keys for forty years , and having been appointed to the Speakership in 1867 . He was knighted three years ago , and at the time of his death was Chairman of the Isle of Man Railway Company .

The fifty-seventh birthday of our Grand Master H . R . H . the Prince of Wales was observed at Sandringham very quietly on Wednesday , the festivities that usually mark the auspicious anniversary being this year in great part passed

Death Of The Provincial Grand Master Isle Of Man.

over , on account * of the recent death' of the mother of our beloved Princess . His Royal Highness was the recipient of many congratulatory letters and telegrams . n n rt

From a letter which appears elsewhere in this issue , in connection with a Church Service at Chart Sutton , we regret

to hear from our distinguished Brother the Dean of Rochester P . G . Chaplain that he is suffering from " maladies incidental to old' age . " Ihe Dean is well advanced in" years , his 80 th birthday being next month , but one cannot

help a feeling of sympathy ior those who , even at that great age , are suffering from the ills that fiesh is heir to . We trust our distinguished Brother may live for many years yet to come , and that the maladies that accompany old age may in his case be particularly light .

' At a meeting on Wednesday the Portsmouth Town Council resolved to confer the freedom ot the borough upon t leld-Marshal Bro . ; Lord Roberts , on the occasion of his visit next month to present prizes to the 2 nd Hants Artillery Volunteers .

We are very pleased to hear that Bro . J . H . Whadcoat P . M . 19 , & c , whose many munificent gilts for Masonic purposes— -culminating with his handsome donation of one thousand guineas to the Boys School Centenary—havebeen

referred to from to time in our pages has , on the recommendation of the Loid Lieutenant 01 Doiset ( Earl of Ilchester ) been placed on the Commission of Peace ior that county , by the Lord Chancellor .

Bro . Whadcoat , who filled the office of Mayor of Poole during the past year , and was by virtue ol his office Admiral ot the port , was in strong evidence there on Friday , 21 st ult ., when he arranged a gathering at the Amity HaU , in commemoration of the battle of Trafalgar . Invitations

had been extended to the members of the Corporation and Borough officials , the Royal Naval Reserve , Artillery and Rifle Volunteers , the Lifeboat crews , and Fire Brigade , together with the wives of the men , as well as many of the elite of the neighbourhood , and between 500 and 600

responded to the invite oi the Mayor , who , with his usual generosity , had provided a "high tea" for his guests . At its conclusion the only toast on the programme : " To the glorious memory of Lord Nelson and his brave men , " was submitted by the Mayor , who made one of his characteristic

speeches in addressing the large assemblage . A lecture was delivered " on the battle of the Nile , " songs and recitations were given , and altogether a most enjoyable evening was spent , thanks to the kindly thought and the bounteous hospitality oi Bro . Whadcoat . A very handsome little

volume had been provided by the Mayor as a memento of the occasion , and was distributed to those present by the M . Cs . of the evening . We are pleased to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the book from Bro . Whadcoat ,

who thereby proves that he does not forget his Masonic friends in London , despite the many calls made upon him as Mayor and Admiral of the port of Poole . Long may he live , to practice such true Masonic principles as have marked his past career .

It was arranged , that Bro . J . L . Toole should leave the Royal Eye Hospital yesterday afternoon for his home in Maida Vale . His sight has been completely restored . On Thursday our worthy Brother was able to write a letter to his old companion and bosom friend Sir Henry Irving , and later in the day he went for a drive .