The Inquisitor v Magistrates

Sir,
    In the Spring issue’s interview with Chris Mullin MP, he states that in a certain Magistrates’ Court, more than one third on the bench were masons. Now, if that bench was properly constituted as representative of the community, then 50% would be female. That would mean that more than two thirds of the members were masons. I find that totally inconceivable, and to an objective person, the statement would merit the gathering of detailed statistics, which he does not appear to have taken the trouble to do.
    He also says that the Magistrates’ Clerk contacted the “local masons” (whatever that body might be) and they agreed on a 5 year moratorium in recruiting magistrates who were masons. This is ridiculous. Appointments to the bench are made by the Lord Chancellor on the recommendation of a Court committee. Selections for appointment are decided entirely within the court system and are not within the remit of any outside organisation, be it masonic or otherwise. Mr Mullin is further quoted as claiming that the attempt to reduce the number of masons on the bench actually had a reverse effect because “they [local masons] waited... then recruited them [newly appointed magistrates] as masons.” I have never heard such drivel. Since when has anyone in Freemasonry mounted a recruitment drive?
    Mr Mullin also says he is “not aware...of anyone who has been discriminated against because they were a mason.” More drivel, as scores of masons in my area would testify. It appears that this gentleman can make the most outrageous assertions with impunity. Masonry is “an honourable institution”. Let us not be ashamed of telling that to the public in general.
    J Shelmerdine JP, PJGD. Dukinfield, Cheshire.

Guilty by Suspicion

Sir,
    Last evening my wife and I watched an old film entitled Guilty by Suspicion about that period in 1950s America when there was a witch hunt against anyone thought to have any connection with the Communist Party.
    My wife asked me afterwards, ‘How was that allowed to happen?’ Not being a political creature myself, I explained as best I could by saying that I thought the US justice system was not up to challenging something being carried out for the purpose of political expediency. She then said, ‘That couldn’t happen here, could it?’ and I was about to respond that it couldn’t when it struck me that the similarities between what happened in America 40 years ago and what is happening here with the Mullin Committee in regard to Freemasonry are too great to be ignored.
    Gordon M Infield PJGD. Stanmore, Middlesex.

Secrecy

Sir,
    Recent demands made to Grand Lodge by MPs concerning police officers under investigation for corruption were, at first, alarming. However, I recall that when I was made a mason in 1962, lodge secretaries were required to register members with JPs. Logically therefore, distasteful as it is, I cannot object to registration being reintroduced, having once accepted it as a condition of membership. It would also put an end to many of the accusations of furtiveness on our part, while preventing members of certain professions feeling unfairly singled out.
    Gerald Prior. Horndean, Hants.

Sir,
    For what purpose secrecy? Why do we have a Tyler with a drawn sword at the door? It is for the protection of members from “intruders and cowans to Freemasonry.” Cowan is an old word, and the modern equivalent might be ‘jerry-builder’. The word also suggests a sneak, imposter, profane person, one who pretends to knowledge of the Craft. Once a lodge is opened, those within open their hearts to one another and are brothers in spirit. If there were people not in the Craft around, they might try to take advantage, financial or otherwise, of those who were. When a lodge opens, we pass from the physical world to the celestial sphere both metaphorically and figuratively. It is an act done routinely, and many forget its significance.
    Alex Lewis. Oswestry, Salop.

Sir,
    I believe that we are too secretive. I don’t mean in regard to the finer points of the ritual. I refer to the foundations of the Craft. The very word ‘Freemasonry’ is almost taboo. I get the distinct impression that many people look on it as a kind of ‘mafia’ - hardly surprising in the light of fairly recent unbalanced TV programmes on the subject. It should be sufficient to point out that we have in our ranks more than a sprinkling of the clergy and other fine, honourable men are devoted adherents. This is why I say we should be more open. We have nothing at all to be ashamed of. Our numbers are declining, and I believe I have hit on the reason : no-one wants to belong to the Blackhand Gang!
    Noel E Kershaw. Lowton St Lukes, Wigan.

Sir,
    Re the letter from W Bro Marlborough in your last issue about making our donations to charities known to the general public. It is precisely this attitude which has led to the difficulties we are presently experiencing. The majority of the general public are uncertain as to what we represent and do, and not knowing assume we must be up to no good. The more we make the public aware of our charitable work, and that this is one of the cornerstones of Masonry, the better we shall be able to control the amount of openness we want to give. I am proud to be a mason and do not seek to hide it, but equally resent the possibility that one day my name may be registered for every nosey-parker to see.
    W Bro JG Greenly. Wolverhampton.

Sir,
    Freemasonry has an important task in civilising society, in acting as custodian and teacher of those values which represent the finest and most important keystones of well-ordered society and well-balanced men. To this extent, Freemasonry must grow along with society while not rejecting or degrading in any way the ancient landmarks and the stabilising momentum of tradition. In other words, the Craft must avoid the temptation of becoming a secretive gentleman’s club and seek always to be at the forefront of social change : socially progressive and active but maintaining the tradition while guided by the divine principles. Freemasonry is spiritually, socially and racially ecumenical. Unlike so many mass movements in today’s world, Freemasonry is concerned with what all men share in common, beginning with a belief in One Divine Force which animates all creation.
    At the moment, regrettably, we have lost the high ground. To regain it we need to act : to remove the secrecy which protects and attracts those who would use the Craft for themselves for gain. We need to start by being dynamic and proactive in making the public aware of the true breadth and depth of our ecumenical nature and ambitions, pride in our membership, charitable deeds and deeply held humanity which derives from the most ancient and most profound traditions, but which remains as vital and relevant today as in times past.
    Michael Baigent. Winchester, Hants.

Mentors

Sir,
    Re the letter from Bro Roochove in the last issue. We in Minnehaha Lodge No 2363 in the Province of East Lancashire have had a Lodge mentor for a number of years. Our Mentor’s manual (by W Bro Keith McLeod) has proved such a great success that it has been picked up at District and Provincial level and a large number of lodges within the province have requested it. If Bro Roochove or any other Bro would like to get in touch, I will be more than willing to talk to them about the role of a Mentor within the lodge and send them a manual.
    Peter Cowin. Glossop, Derbyshire.

Sir,
    I agree wholeheartedly with the idea of appointing Mentors as suggested by Bro Roochove. Experience inclines me to fear, however, that many lodges would lack a Brother with the necessary knowledge - let alone skills - to do the job. When compared to our continental brethren, the average mason in this country has very little desire to learn about - let alone education in - the history and philosophy of our Order. For many, being able to ‘do’ the ritual is the only consideration in making “a daily advancement in masonic knowledge”. This is sad but not impossible to remedy. I have long felt that Grand Lodge should produce a book similar to the Grand Lodge of Canada’s Beyond the Pillars, which could be given to every initiate and would be a useful starting-point for any would-be Mentor.
    David Hope. Old Veseyan Lodge No 7924 , Sutton Coldfield.

I am happy to inform readers that the Province of Gloucestershire has introduced a Candidate Introduction & Education Programme, while a lucid paper entitled MENTORING - A Working Tool for Membership Retention may be obtained from Bro JMG Bartlett, Provincial Grand Lodge of Gloucestershire, Masonic Hall, Venn’s Acre, Wotton under Edge, Gloucs. GL12 7BE. (Please include SAE) Tel : (evening) 01242 575000. Ed.

340,000 Ambassadors

Sir,
    Why the appalling ignorance of the Craft? Do we blame the student or the teacher? Blaming others is just too easy. If a world-class corporation with 340,000 employees had such a difficult and unwarranted image problem, shareholders would demand of directors to embark on a professional solution. The solid foundation of the Craft is stated in the First Degree Charge “...the practice of every moral and social virtue.” How many non-masons realise this? We have too long hidden behind the most publicly identifiable output - charity - as a convenient and mollifying label. It is misleading. Freemasonry is about making a better, stronger, more worthy person, from the inner man outwards. Charity is a consequence of this, not a cause.
    We have 340,000 potential ambassadors who are effectively dormant in the matter of communication. Many of them have PR skills, unused. Ambassadors are only as good as the brief they are given, the more professionally prepared the better. It’s no good having eternally valid precepts if they are not actualised in the present. We need to shake off the turgid old-fashioned 19th century image which so puts off potential quality members. If Her Majesty the Queen has the courage to accept the need for modernisation of the monarchy, and is seen pro-actively to do so, then so too can we. She is setting an example of grit and determination to modernise with dignity, style, charisma and eloquence. Hopefully we, the ambassadors of Freemasonry, will be led - yes, led - to replicate her example.
    Graham S Mills. Southwell, Notts.

Magic House

Sir,
    I congratulate all who are responsible for bringing out this long-awaited organ of Freemasonry Today, from the land of its origin. This will give an opportunity for masons worldwide to express themselves as well as enabling non-masons to know about an institution which has remained a mysterious secret society to them for centuries. In India people still call masonic halls “Jadughar” (Magic houses), where the general public say magic tricks are taught. Last year, some of the Brethren wishing to attend the North India Lodges Area Committee asked for the Freemasons’ Hall, which nobody knew. But when I asked for the JADU GHAR the local shop-keeper told me it was 30m away!
    People know very little about the Craft and the media can play a vital part in telling people what we stand for. We have to dispel the myth of the “Jadu Ghar” from the hearts of the people.
    Kishore Nagal. Simla, India.

Sir,
    Many years ago when I was a young operative mason, I had to replace an eroded pinnacle on one corner of an eroded village church tower. After the scaffold’s erection I took measurements, cut the templates and started to carve the new pinnacle. After about a month’s work, we hauled it to the top of the tower and started to cut away the old masonry in readiness for the new. Imagine my surprise when, after the old masonry was removed, there stood the centre dowel consisting of two swords with the pommels, handles and cross members removed, while the points faced and overlapped each other by about 4 inches, heated in the fire and hammered together by a smith.
    I have heard about turning swords into ploughshares, but this was the first time I witnessed it carried out.
    Bro John Ivory. St Hugh Lodge 1386, Lincoln.

Misogyny

Sir,
    Re Malcolm Sadler’s letter concerning Women Freemasons in which he asks for one organisation where he can escape from them (women in general) for a while. Really Bro Sadler, why not be the founder member of a new organisation : Misogynists United? There you can indulge your dislike of “them” to your heart’s content. The days of the “little lady” staying at home and waiting to greet the breadwinner with his slippers and pipe are gone. Most women nowadays have to work from economic necessity, and why shouldn’t they expect to join business and professional associations which were once the exclusive province of men? But Bro Sadler, you are missing the point. Women Freemasons are not insisting on merging with the men, rather they want some official recognition of their existence. How would you like to have spent more than 21 years of your life as a member of a fraternity, only to be told that because of your sex, you can’t be acknowledged to be a Freemason?
    Bro Sadler, I think you will find yourself in a minority in your opinions. For the past 15 months I have talked via Compuserve Masonry Forum to Freemasons all over the world, and during that time have only ever encountered one hostile reaction.
    Christine Chapman. PM Constance Leaver Lodge No 39 (HFAF), London.

Not Amused

In our attempt to mollify criticisms of the Order, masons have increasingly been referring to the Craft as “fun”. No self-respecting mason can say that he is going to the lodge “to have fun” without running the risk of being misunderstood. Even if the most charitable meaning is placed on this statement, one can see why some, in attempting to defend the Craft, can pass it off as a harmless eccentricity or worse still a kind of buffoonery. What is more worrying is that some brethren are allowing this sinister definition of the Craft to influence their attitude to the serious work involved. To them, since Freemasonry is fun, poor rendering of a beautiful and meaningful ritual is immaterial. Their priority is the opportunity afforded for fellowship before and after the ceremony.
    At initiation, one is enjoined to study such of the liberal arts and sciences as may be within the compass of one’s attainment, and to make a daily advance in masonic knowledge. Lodges of Instruction (or rehearsal in some constitutions) were established to facilitate this process of continuing masonic education, and certainly not for fun. True, we are reminded at installations that we are to unite in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness in our lodge; but this means that we must enjoy even the effort we put into learning the ritual, and let the brethren feel happy with the quality and dignity of our work in the temple.
    Masonry is not fun. It involves serious study, which is rewarded by the enjoyment we get when the job is well done. May the day never come when masters have to read rather than deliver the ritual from memory!
    Henry M Lynch-Shyllon. Academic Lodge 1138. Lodge Mt Aureol 1612 (Scottish Constitution).

Masonic Music

Re Howard Stephens’ article on music in the Spring Issue. I take issue with his point regarding music at installations. I was first introduced to the idea of playing tunes to fit officers’ appointments as they received their collars 25 years ago, since when I have never heard any voice of disapproval or suggestion that it detracts from the dignity of the occasion. On the contrary, I have been told it adds to the enjoyment of the ceremony once the new Master is in his chair. I have some 75 tunes, classical pieces &c from which I select my programme, and members have told me how they enjoy identifying the different ones I am using. In doing this, I am carrying out that part of the address to brethren which states : “To please each other and unite in the grand design of being happy and communicating happiness.”
    W Bro RH Morgan. Fleet. Hants.

Disillusionment

Sir,
    I recently attended the initiation of a friend of mine, whom I had seconded, into my Rose Croix Chapter. The ceremony so disturbed and upset him that he felt unable to continue and join the brethren for dinner. His initial reaction was that the whole thing was blasphemous. This was not so much due to the content as the way the ritual was performed. He is a highly spiritual person, without being dogmatic in his beliefs, but was deeply offended to have been part of a ceremony in which the name of God was invoked and used in such a careless and perfunctory manner.
    Freemasonry is suffering under a deep malaise. The Chapter in question is quite a small one, yet it is driving out younger members of high quality as fast as it is initiating them and can ill afford to do so. In too many lodges ritual is dismissed as little more than theatre, a necessary preamble before the real business of drinking with friends, thus offending the conscience of the genuine truth-seeker. The word ‘hypocrisy’ was understood in ancient times as meaning ‘play-acting’ and in spiritual matters (with which Rose Croix is concerned), Christ regarded it as a particular sin. I may be in a minority, but I view Freemasonry as a spiritual journey. The spirit, not the letter, is of primary importance.
    Name and address supplied. London.

Chinese Wisdom

Sir,
    I was interested in your article on masonic traditions in China (Spring Issue). When I worked as a guide at Fountains Abbey, a schoolboy asked me : “Please sir, how did the monks cut their toe nails?” This led me to look into the development of scissors, which, like many other technological developments originated in China. I found the following quotation from Hsun Tzu (The Book of Master Xun. c.240BC) :
    “When the plumb line with its ink is truly laid out, one cannot be deceived as to whether a thing is straight, or crooked. When the square and compasses are truly applied, one cannot be mistaken as to squareness or roundness. So, when once the great souled man has investigated rightness of conduct, he cannot be deceived by what is false.” (Quoted in Joseph Needham’s Science & Civilisation in China). This seems to me to be close to our masonic philosophy. Incidentally, the monks at Fountains would have rubbed their toe nails away with sandstone, but it was a very interesting question!
    JH Shepherd. PPJGW (Yorks WR) PPGStdB (Herts)