Masonic Jurisprudence.

tradition among Freemasons from time immemorial that a Lewis may be initiated at the age of iS provided that his father be a party to the O . B . But the present Constitutions make no reference to this privilege of a Lewis . All that is said about minors is to be found in Article 186

and the case of a Lewis would have to be considered along with that of any other minor . The tradition referred to might possibly influence the Grand Master ' s private judgment ; but as far as the law is concerned , his discretion is absolute . A Lewis has privileges , but not of this kind . A Lewis would claim privilege

under the following circumstances : If there were more candidates for initiation than permitted by Article 192 , a Lewis could claim to be included in the first batch . If the lodge memberships are limited by its bye-laws , and there were more candidates than vacancies , he could claim precedence at the ballot . These , we believe , exhaust the privileges of a Lewis .

The further qualifications requiring the possession of a sound judgment and a moral character beyond question scarcely need any reference . It may be , however , suggested that the

possession of a moral character beyond question cannot be assumed unless the question has been asked , and in this respect a heavy responsibility is with the W . M . as well as with the proposer and seconder .

A profession of belief in a Supreme Deity is an essential qualification—and not only a belief , but a trust in His goodness . This has been held by Grand Lodge to include Mahometans , Parsees , and Hindus .

One of the first Mohammedans ever made a Mason was the Ambassador of the King of Oudh . He was initiated in the Lodge of Friendship , No . 6 , on April 14 th , 1836 , the W . M . being a clergyman . ( "Freemasons' Quarterly Review" for , 836 , p . 192 . )

The services of an interpreter , Bro . Miya Ibrahim , were utilised , and the M . W . G . M ., the Duke of Sussex , sent a copy of the Quran , on which the candidate was obligated . In fact , the charges

begin" Let a man s religion be what it may . . , he is not excluded from the Order provided he believe in the g lorious Architect ol heaven and earth , and practise the sacred duties of morality . "

The late Bro . H . J . Whymper has exhaustively dealt with ( he religious qualifications of candidates ( Religion of Freemasonry ) The conclusions he arrives at are , of course , personal opinions . But , as our task is to discuss Masonic questions from a purely legal standpoint , we cannot very well enter into his arguments ,

which tend to show what should be rather than what actually is . And the present situation is that the possession of a religion at all is a satisfaction of that requirement in a candidate that we

are now discussing . No . 20 of Mackey ' s list of landmarks adds " a belief in a future life , " but an expression of such belief is not called for during the ceremonies , although it is laid down as a doctrine .

The candidate for admission is required to sign a declaration as to his motives . He must have preconceived a favourable opinion of the Order . How is he to have formed that opinion ' : This question is answered in the well-known address to the

brethren generally at the conclusion of an installation , " when the world knows a man to be a Freemason . , . . " In other words , every member of the Order ought to be a living advertisement of its excellences .

He must be unbiased b y the improper solicitations of friends . The limitation seems to admit the inference that a certain form of solicitation may not be improper , but we are inclined to think the term was added in order to emphasise the impropriety of any kind of solicitation . At the same time ic cannot be

denied that many are inclined to seek admission to our Order b y solicitation , and therefore adopting the former inference , an improper solicitation would be one which promised commercial advantages or social benefits . A solicitation whose inducement

was the promise of an extended sphere of usefulness and a wider field for cultivating knowledge , could not , of course , be condemned except in that it contravened the strict letter of the law .

The reason of the prohibition is that any such proceeding tends to make Masonry cheap , and that which is cheaply acquired or pressed on a man ' s . acceptance will never be so hi ghl y valued as that which has been attained with difficulty . As the candidate cannot yet tell in what way he can increase

cither his knowledge or his usefulness , his declaration in these two respects must be treated as an affirmation that his motives are of the best and purest kind . Until the time of his initiation , the candidate is entirel y in the hands of his proposer and seconder , who may , if they suspect an unfriendly feeling , withdraw his name . But the lodge should not act on the bare recommendation of the proposer and seconder . It is incumbent on the Worshipful

Masonic Jurisprudence.

Master to see that inquiries are made both as to the candidate ' s position in life and his character . Before ( he ballot is taken the Worshipful Master reads out his description in full from the printed summons , and the lodge has a right to expect , when this occurs , that the Worshipful Master has caused these requisite inquiries to be made and is satislied .

One month must elapse between the proposition and the ballot , and the old regulations go on to say "in order to make due enquiry into the reputation and capacity of the candidate . " Article 185 allows this period to be shortened in case of emergency , which emergency must , in the W . M . ' s opinion , be real .

There are one or two variations from English procedure which are to be found in some -Foreign jurisdictions , and these deserve notice . In some . American Grand Lodges considerable

emphasis is laid on physical fitness as well as on mental and moral qualifications . Thus it has happened that a candidate has been rejected because he has lost a finger , and , with more show of reason , because he was deaf .

It has also been insisted by some American Grand Lodges , that a candidate shall apply for admission to the lodge nearest to him ; the presumption being that , if a candidate sought to

be received by a lodge at a distance , and where he was not known , there must be some unworthy reason . In any case inquiry has to be made from some lodge in the town in which he resides .

The Grand Lodge of Texas has the following : " All petitions for initiation shall be presented by a Master Mason and recommended by two other Master Masons at a regular meeting of

the lodge , which petition shall be held over until the next lodjre when , if the Committee appointed for that purpose shall make a favourable report thereon , the ballot shall be taken , and if unanimous in his favour the petition shall be granted . "

Two other classes of disabilities may be noticed in conclusion . A military lodge may not initiate any person residing in the town in which the lodge may , for the time , be holden . And no lodge may initiate a private soldier , except in the capacity ot serving brother . The presumption is that a private

soldier has not that freedom from control which would allow him to be described as a freeman , But there is no restriction upon the private soldier joining a lodge . In fact the writer

knows of a sergeant who was , for service reasons , degraded to the ranks in the interval between receiving the First and Second Degrees . He received his other Degrees in due course however and retained his lodge membership .

Province Of West Yorkshire And Its Masonic Library.

PROVINCE OF WEST YORKSHIRE AND ITS MASONIC LIBRARY .

As Masonic students well know , Bro . William Watson , P . Prow G . W ., has been the Honorary Librarian of the Masonic Library and Museum of West Yorkshire , ever since it : was started mainly through the munificence of the late R . W . Bro . Thomas W . Tew , so long the esteemed Prow Grand Master ,

The collection has increased by leaps and bounds through Bro . Watson ' s fostering care and zealous services , the result bei ' iv that the province has one of the most valuable Masonic Libraries in the World , and especially in relation to the " Old Charges , " of which it contains more original Rolls or Scrolls than any other Library , not even excepting the British Museum .

All these copies of the " Old Charges " have been carefully transcribed and published under Bro . Watson ' s competent Editorship , excepting the one recentl y discovered and known , in brief , as the

"Beaumont MS . " Hitherto it has been known only by a transcript made of recent years , which Bro . Watson had reproduced in the Freemason . Now , however , this Manuscript is to be exactl y reproduced , with a photo facsimile of a portion , so that ere long we shall be

favoured with a typographical reproduction of this old and important MS .. It is to be edited b y Bros . W . Watson and \ V . L . Wilson , and in the excellent manner which has characterised all the previous publications in connection with this trul y ina » -ni / icent Library .

Bro . W . L . Wilson was appointed Assistant Librarian , so as to aid Bro . Watson in his onerous and honorary labours and undoubtedly , a better appointment could not be made . The

K . W . Bro . the Right llon . W . L . Jackson , Prow G . M ., announced the honour he had thus conferred on a young but zealous Craftsman at the Prow Grand Lodge held at Barnsley on the 26 th October , 1900 .

I he Assistant Librarian is a son of the respected Deputy Prow G . M ., Bro Richard Wilson , P . G . D . of England , ( who was , we believe , initiated b y Bro . Win , Watson in the Lodo-e o £