SECTION VIII.

THE CHAPLAIN.
I can find neither example in the old usages, nor authority in any of the Ancient Regulations, for the appointment of such an officer in a subordinate Lodge as a Chaplain. I think it is only within a few years that some Lodges have been led, by an improper imitation of the customs of other socie- ties, to inscribe him in the list of their officers.
The Master of a Lodge, by the ritualistic usages of the Order, possesses all the sacerdotal rights necessary to be exercised in the ceremonies of our institution. There is therefore no necessity for a Chaplain, while I have no doubt that as the ritual prescribes that certain duties shall be performed by the Master, he is violating the Landmarks when
* In England he is always elected.
CHAPLAIN. 395
he transfers the performance of those duties to another person, who holds no office recognized by any of our regulations.
This section is therefore inserted, not to prescribe the duties of the Chaplain of a Lodge — for I know not where to find the authority for them — but to enable me to express my opinion that the appoint- ment of Chaplains in subordinate Lodges is an innovation on ancient usage, which should be discouraged.
Of course, on public occasions, such as the cele- bration of the festivals of the patron Saints of Masonry, when there are public prayers and ad- dresses, there can be no objection, and indeed it is advisable to invite a clergyman, who is a Mason, to conduct the religious portion of the exercises.