CHAPTER III.

balloting for ®antotrates.
The petition of the candidate having been refer- red to a committee, and that committee having reported favorably, the next step in the process is to submit the petition to the members of the Lodge for their acceptance or rejection. The law upon which this usage is founded is contained in the sixth article of the General Regulations of 1721, which declares that " no man can be entered a Brother in any particular Lodge, or admitted a member thereof, without the unanimous consent of all the members of the Lodge then present when the candidate is proposed, and their consent is formally asked by the Master."*
No peculiar mode of expressing this opinion is laid down in any of the ancient Constitutions ;t on
* Anbekson's Constitutions, first ed., p. 59.
f The mode of voting does not seem to have been prescribed in the firs years after the revival in 1717. But in 1736, on the 6th April, a new Regu- lation, marked in the second edition of the Constitutions as the Fortieth, was adopted, in one clause of which it is .declared that " the opinions or votes of the members are always to be signified by each holding up one of his hands, which uplifted hands the Grand Wardens are to count, unless the numbers of hands be so unequa. as to render the counting useless." (Anderson's
BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 135
the contrary, the same sixth article goes on to say that the members '; are to signify their consent o: dissent in their own prudent way, either virtually or in form, but with unanimity." Universal and uninterrupted usage, however, in this country, has required the votes on the application of candidates to be taken by ballot, which has been very wisely done, because thereby the secrecy and consequent independence of election is secured.
Before proceeding to any further inquiry into the laws concerning the ballot, it will be proper to explain the mode in which the ballot is to be taken.
In some jurisdictions, it is the custom for the Senior Deacon to carry the box containing the bal- lots around the Lodge room, when each officer and member having taken out of it a white and black ball, it is again carried round empty, and each
Const, second ed., p. 178.) And although the Regulation was especially en- acted in reference to the conducting of business in the Grand Lodge, yet it seems to have been made of general application in all Lodges, by the con- cluding sentence, -which says : " Xor should any other kind of division be ever admitted among Masons.'' Although, according to the general opinion of Masonic jurists, the regulations adopted after 1722 are not to be con- sidered as of equal authority with those enacted previous to that period, still a deference to the character of the Grand Lodge of England, whose juris- diction, up to the time of the promulgation of this Fortieth Regulation, had not been seriously impaired, the custom of holding up hands has been prac- tised by a large number of Grand Lodges, and may be considered as good Masonic nsage. But this mode of voting never applied to the question on the admission of candidates, which has always been by ballot, as evidently ap- pears from a reference to it in the second edition of the Book of Constitu- tions, (1738), where it is said, "and therefore the Grand Masters have allowed the Lodges to admit a member, if not above three ballots are aga:nsj nim."' — Page 155,
136 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES.
Brother then deposits the bail of that color which he prefers — white being always a token of consent, and black of dissent. The box is then inspected by the Master, or by the Master and Wardens, and the result declared, after which the Deacon again goes round, and collects the remaining balls.
I have always objected to this method, not be- cause the opinion of the Lodge was not thus as effec- tually declared as in any other, but because there seemed to be a want of solemnity in this mode of performing an important duty.. I therefore prefer the more formal ceremony practised in some other jurisdictions, and which may be thus described :*
The ballot box, containing two compartments, one holding a number of black and white balls, and the other empty, is first exhibited to the Junior Warden, then to the Senior, and afterwards to the Master, that these officers may be satisfied that the compartment which should be empty is really so. This compartment is then closed. A hole, however, in the top of the box communicates with it, which is for the purpose of permitting the balls deposited by the voters to be dropped in. The compartment containing the white and- black balls indiscrimi- nately is left open, and the Senior Deacon, hav- ing placed the box upon the altar, retires to his seat.
The roll of members is then called by the Secre- tary, beginning with the Master ; and as each
* See this ceremony described in full in the author's Lexic m of Free masonry, art. Ballot
BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 137
Brother's name is called, lie advances to the altar,
niasonically salutes the East, deposits his ball taken from the compartment lying open before him, through the hole in the top of the closed compart- ment, and then retires, to his seat.*
When all the officers and members have voted, the Senior Deacon takes the box from the altar, and submits it to the inspection of the Junior and Senior Wardens and the Master, when, if all the ballots prove to be white, the box is pronounced " clear," and the candidate is declared elected. If, however, there is one black ball only, the box is pronounced " foul," and the Master orders a new ballot, which is done in the same form, because it may be possible that the negative vote was deposited by mistake or inadvertence. t If, however, on the second ballot,
* " The box is placed on the altar, and the ballot is deposited with the solemnity of a Masonic salutation, that the voters may be impressed with the sacred and responsible nature of the duty they are called on to discharge." — Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry , art. Ballot, third ed., p. 54.
f In the " Principles of Masonic Law," (p. 200) I had erroneously stated that " if on the second scrutiny, one black ball is again found, the fact is an- nounced by the Master, who orders the election to lie over until the next stated meeting," to enable the opposing Brother to call upon him and privately state his reasons. Into this grievous error I must have fallen from the force of habit, as this has long been the usage pursued in South Caro- lina. But that it was an inadvertent error, must be apparent from the fact, that it is a practice contrary to all my stringent notions concerning the secrecy and independence of the ballot, and I have labored, not altogether without success, in my own jurisdiction, to abrogate the usage. I am con- soled in the commission and the acknowledgment of this error by the recol- lection that even the great Homer sometimes slept. But I cannot agree with those who deny the propriety of an immediate second ballot, when only one black ball has been deposited. In such a case, the chances of a mistake from careless or hurried handling of the balls, from an obscurity of light or from badly prepared balls, are so great, that we owe it to the candidate
138 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES.
the one black ball again appears, the candidate is declared by the Master to be rejected. If, on the first ballot, two or more black balls appear, the candidate is announced as having been rejected, without the formality of a second ballot.
Three things are to be observed in the considera- tion of this subject : 1. The ballot must be unani mous. 2. It must be independent. 3. It must be secret.
1. The unanimity of the ballot has the sanction of the express words of the Regulation of 1721. No one can be admitted into a Lodge upon his applica- tion either for membership as a Mason, or for ini- tiation as a profane, " without the unanimous consent of all the members of that Lodge then present." This is the true ancient usage. Payne, when he compiled that Regulation, and presented it in 1721 to the Grand Lodge of England, for its adoption, would hardly have ventured to propose so stringent a law for the first time. The Society, under its new organization, was then in its infancy, and a legis- lator would have been more likely, if it were left to liis option, to have made a Regulation of so liberal a character as rather to have given facility than diffi- culty in the increase of members. But Payne was a conscientious man. He was directed not to make new Regulations, but to compile a code from the old
whose character is on trial, that he should have all the advantages of this possibility of mistake. If, however, on the second ballot, when more care will of course be taken, a black ball still appears, the rejection should lw definitely announced without further remarks.
BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 139
Regulations, then extant. He had no power of en- actment or of change, but simply of compilation. * And, therefore, although this subject of the election of candidates is not referred to in words in any of the ancient Constitutions, we have every reason to suppose that unanimity in the choice was one of the " immemorial usages" referred to in the title of the Regulations of 1721, as the basis on which those Regulations were compiled.
It is true that a short time afterwards, it was found that this Regulation was too stringent for those Lodges which probably were more anxious to increase their numbers than to improve their ma- sonic character — an infirmity which is still found in some of our contemporary Lodges — and then to ac- commodate such brethren, a new Regulation was adopted, allowing any Lodges that desired the privilege to admit a member, if there are not more than three ballots against him.t It might be argued that the words of the new Regulation, which are, " to admit a member," while the old Regula- tion speaks of entering a Brother or admitting a
* Hence, in the title of these " General Regulations," we are informed that Dr. Anderson " has compared them with and reduced them to the ancient records and immemorial usages of the fraternity." — Anderson, Const., first ed., p. 58.
f " But it was found inconvenient to insist upon unanimity in several cases. And therefore the Grand Masters have allowed the Lodges to admit a mem- ber, if not above three ballots are against him ; though some Lodges desire no such allowance." — And. Const, second ed., p. 155. It seems that this privilege was secured, net by a regulation of the Grand Lodge, but by virtue of the Grand Master's dispensation to set aside the old law, which, it will be hereafter seen, he had no power to do.
140 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES.
member, might seem to indicate that the new privi lege referred only to the application of Masons for affiliation, and not to the petition of candidates for initiation. But it is altogether unnecessary to dis- cuss this argument, since the new Regulation, first published in the second edition of Anderson's Con- stitutions, in the year 1738, has never been deemed of any authority as one of" the foundations of Ma- sonic law. It is to be viewed simply, like all the other Regulations which were adopted after the year 1721, as merely a local law of the Grand Lodge of England ; and even as such, it was no doubt an in- fringement of the spirit, if not of the letter, of the Ancient Constitutions.
Unanimity in the ballot is necessary to secure the harmony of the Lodge, which may be as seriously impaired by the admission of a candidate contrary to the wishes of one member as of three or more ; for every man has his friends and his influence. Besides, it is unjust to any member, however humble he may be, to introduce among his associates one whose presence might be unpleasant to him, and whose admission would probably compel him to withdraw from the meetings, or even altogether from the Lodge. Neither would any advantage really accrue to a Lodge by such a forced admis- sion ; for while receiving a new and untried mem- ber into its fold, it would be losing an old one. For these reasons, in this country, except in a few jurisdictions, the unanimity of the ballot has always been insisted on ; and it is evident, from what has
BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 141
been here said, that any less stringent Regulation is a violation of the ancient law and usage.
From the fact that the vote which is given on the ballot for a candidate must be one in which the unanimous consent of all present is to be given, it follows that all the members then present are under an obligation to vote. From the discharge of this duty no one can be permitted to shrink. And, therefore, in balloting on a petition, every member, as his name is called, is bound to come forward and deposit either a white or a black ball. No one can be exempted from the performance of this respon- sible act, except by the unanimous consent of the Lodge ; for, if a single member were allowed to de- cline voting, it is evident that the candidate, being then admitted by the affirmative votes of the others, such admission would, nevertheless, not be in com- pliance with the words and spirit of the law. The " unanimous consent of all the members of the Lodge then present," would not have been given — one, at least, having withheld that consent by the non-user of his prerogative.
It follows also, from this view of the Regu- lation, that no Lodge can enact a by Jaw which, for non-payment of dues or other cause, should prohibit a member from voting on the petition of a candidate.* A member may forfeit his
* It is not very unusual for Lodges to incorporate a Regulation in their by- laws, depriving members who are more than one year in arrears from vet- in/?. - As long as this is interpreted as referring to ordinary questions before the Lodge, or to the annual election of officers, there can be no objection ie
142 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES.
right to yote at the election of officers, or other occasions ; but not only cannot be deprived of his right to ballot on petitions, but is, as we have seen, compelled to exercise this right, whenever he is present and a candidate is proposed.
2. Independence of all responsibility is an essen- tial ingredient in the exercise of the ballot. A Mason is responsible to no human power for the vote that he casts on the petition of a candidate. To his own conscience alone is he to answer for the motives that have led to the act, and for the act itself. It is, of course, wrong, in the exercise of this invaluable right, to be influenced by pique or preju- dice, or by an adverse vote, to indulge an ungener- ous feeling. But whether a member is or is not in- fluenced by such motives, or is indulging such feelings, no one has a right to inquire. No Mason can be called to an account for the vote that he has deposited. A Lodge is not entitled indeed to know how any one of its members lias voted. No inquiry on this subject can be entertained ; no information can be received.
So anxious is the law to preserve this independ- ence of the ballot, as the great safeguard of^its purity, that the Grand Lodge, supreme on almost all other subjects, has no power to interfere in reference to the ballot for a candidate ; and notwith- standing that injustice may have been done to an
it. But it is evident, from the course of the argument I have pursued, that it would he unconstitutional to apply such a by-law to the case of voting on the petition oi candidates for initiation or affiliation.
BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 143
apright and excellent man by his rejection, (and such cases of clear injustice must sometimes occur,) neither the Grand Lodge nor the Grand Master can afford any redress, nor can any dispensation be granted for either reversing the decision of the Lodge, or for allowing less than a unanimous ballot to be required. Hence we perceive that the dis pensation mentioned in the edition of the Book of Constitutions for 1738, permitting a candidate tc be admitted with three black balls, was entirely unconstitutional.
The right of a Lodge, expressed by the unanimous consent of all the brethren present, to judge of whom it shall admit to its membership, is called " an in- herent privilege,'7 and it is expressly said that it is " not subject to a dispensation."* The reason as- signed for this is one that will suggest itself at once to any reflective mind, namely, because the members are themselves the best judges of the particular reasons for admission or rejection ; and if an objec- tionable person is thrust upon them, contrary to their wishes, the harmony of the Lodge may be im- paired, or even its continuance hazarded.
3.^ The secrecy of the ballot is as essential to its perfection as its unanimity or its independence. If the vote were to be given viva voce, it is impossible
* This provision is found in the latter clause of the Sixth Regulation ol 1721, and is in these words : " Nor is this inherent privilege subject to a dis pensation, because the members of a particular Lodge are the best judges of it ; and if a fractious member should be imposed on them, it might spoil their harmony, or hinder their freedom, or even break and disperse the Lodge." — And. Const, first ed.,p. 59.
144 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES.
that the improper influences of fear or interest should not sometimes be exerted, and timid members be thus induced to vote contrary to the dictates of their reason and conscience. Hence, to secure this secrecy and protect the purity of choice, it has been wisely established as a usage, not only that the vote shall in these cases be taken by a ballot, but that there shall be no subsequent discussion of the subject. Not only has no member a right to in- quire how his fellows have voted, but it is wholly out of order for him to explain his own vote. And the reason of this is evident. If one member has a right to rise in his place and announce that he de- posited a white ball, then every other member has the same right ; and in a Lodge of twenty members, where an application has been rejected by one black ball, if nineteen members state that they did not deposit it, the inference is clear that the twentieth Brother has done so, and thus the secrecy of the balLot is at once destroyed. The rejection having been announced from the chair, the Lodge should at once proceed to other business, and it is the sacred duty of the presiding officer peremptorily and at once to check any rising discussion on the subject. Nothing must be done to impair the inviolable secrecy of the ballot.
He-consideration of the Ballot.
It almost always happens, when a ballot is un- favorable, that the friends of the applicant are not
BALLOTING FOE CANDIDATES. 145
satisfied, and desire a re-consideration, and it some-
tlZrTUt:- ">*» f°r t,Mt -considerS is made. Now, it is a subject worthy of discussion how far such a motion is in order, and how " re-consideration is to be obtained.
a motioTrCe Wiih.r°ttnCing the Pr°P°siti^ *at SyZne T^r aU ™fa™aMe ballot is en-
«« to °b '• In,the firSt Place> the eIem^ necessary to bring such a motion within the pro-
-~fParliamen tary rules of order are want^. i ! , f°r,re-consid^tion must always be made by one who has voted in the majority.* This is a wise provision, to prevent time being lasted Tnr *
Efissr of th,esame quest1°ns- "«
But the vl Tn When a qUeStion is done »ith.+ But the vote on the petition of a candidate beW by secret ballot, in which no member is p rmiS to make his vote known, it is, of course, impos bio
to know when the motion for re-consideration s made, whether ffie ^ ^ ^ ^ at„ 1 is
or the minority, and whether therefore he is or s not entitled, under the Parliamentary rule to make such a motion. T]le mot.on would / e t m ke
out for want of certainty.
ofBtUheibalttPt!rtiCUlar ^ °f a -^deration the ballot, there is another and more strictly
• ™« i — ti°;::;:rmgie rn,e; of the uoiM **■ *«- ■
negative, it shal, be in *h"S^ camedta^e afflrmative w re-coasideration thereof."-^ 20. maJ°r"J' t0 move for «*
t Jefferson's JfonwaZ, sect xliii, p. 03 7
146 BAL.OTING FOR CANDIDATES.
Masonic rule, which would make such a motion out of order. To understand the operation of this second rule, it is necessary to make a preliminary explanation. The proceedings of a Lodge are of two kinds — that relating to business, and that relat- ing to Masonic labor. Now, in all matters purely of a business character, in which the Lodge assumes the nature of a mere voluntary association of men, such, for instance, as the appropriation of the funds, every member is entitled to a voice in the delibera- tions, and may make any motion relative to the business in hand, which would not be a violation of the Parliamentary rules of order which prevail in all deliberative societies, and of those few other rules of order which particularly distinguish the Masonic from any other association or society. But all matters relating to Masonic labor are under the exclusive control of the Master. He alone is re- sponsible to the Grand Lodge for the justice and excellence of his work, and he alone should there- fore be permitted to direct it. If the time when and the manner how labor is to be conducted, be left to the decision of a majority of the Lodge, then the Master can no longer be held responsible for results, in producing which he had, in common with the other members, only one voice. It is wisely therefore provided that the labor of the Lodge shall be wholly and solely controlled and directed by the Master.
Now, the ballot is, on a petition for initiation, a part of the labor of a Lodge. The candidate may
BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES. 147
be said symbolically to be the material brought up for the building of the temple. The laws and usages of Masonry have declared that the whole Lodge shall unanimously decide whether this material is 'good and true," and fit for the tools of the work- men.* But as soon as the Lodge has begun to ex- ercise its judgment on the material thus brought before it — that is, as soon as it has proceeded to a ballot on the petition — it has gone into Masonic labor, and the authority of the Master as the Chief Builder becomes paramount. He may stay the elec- tion— he may refuse to sanction it — he may set it aside — and against his decision there can be no ap- peal, except to the Grand Lodge, to which body, of course, he is responsible, and before which he must show good reasons for the act that he has done.
From all this, then, it follows that the Master of the Lodge alone has the power to order a re-con- sideration of the ballot. If, on the annunciation of the result, he is satisfied that an error of inadvert- ence has occurred, by which, for instance, a black
* But even here the Master may justly interpose his authority, as the superintendent of the work, and declare that material selected by the Lodge is unfit, and reject it. Suppose, for instance, that a Lodge should have unani- mously elected a blind man to receive the degrees, (this is a supposable case, for such an election and initiation once took place in Mississippi,) will any Masonic jurist deny the right— nay more, the duty of the Master to interpose and refuse to* proceed to initiation? And in this refusal he would, on an appeal, be undoubtedly supported by the Grand Lodge.
Let it be understood, once for all, that when I speak of the powers and prerogatives of the Master of a Lodge, I always do so with the implicit re- servation, that for the abuse of these powers, he is responsible to the Grand Lodge. The Master has, it is true, the power to do wrong, but not tha right.
14.8 BALLOTING FOR CANDIDATES.
ball has been deposited, where the depositor intended a white one, or if he supposes it probable or pos- sible that such an error may have been committed, or if he has any other equally good reason, he may order a re-consideration of the ballot. But even this must be done under restriction, that the re-con- sideration is to be ordered at once. If any member has left the room after the first ballot has been taken, it would be clearly wrong in the Master to order a re-consideration, because it might be that the party so leaving had been the very one who had voted for a rejection. Of course it follows, on the same principle, that the Master would not be justi- fied in ordering a re-consideration on any subsequent meeting. The Lodge having been closed, there is no power in Masonry which can order a re-con- sideration. The result cannot be affected except by a new petition.
After what has been previously said, it is hardly necessary, in conclusion, to add, that neither the Grand Master nor the Grand Lodge has the power, under any circumstances whatever, to order a re- consideration of a ballot. Everything concerning the admission or rejection of candidates is placed exclusively in the Lodge. The Regulations of 1721 declare this to be " an inherent privilege not subject to dispensation."
CHAPTEK IV. £f)r ^oiTseqttences of 3&ejecttotr.
Whex a candidate for initiation into the myste- ries of Freemasonry has been rejected in the manner described in the last chapter, he is necessarily and consequently placed in a position towards the fra- ternity which he had not before occupied, and which position requires some examination.
In the first place, there can be no re-consideration of his application on a mere vote of re-consideration by the Lodge. This subject has been already suf- ficiently discussed, and I need only here refer to the preceding chapter.
In the next place, he can apply to no other Lodge for initiation. Having been once rejected by a certain Lodge, he is forever debarred the privilege of applying to any other for admission. This law is implicitly derived from the Regulations which forbid Ledges to interfere with each other's work, The candidate, as I have already observed, is to be viewed in our speculative system as " material brought up for the building of the temple." The act of investigating the fitness or unfitness of th»t
150 THE CONSEQUENCES
material, constitutes a part of Masonic labor, and when a Lodge has commenced that labor, it is con- sidered discourteous for any other to interfere with it. This sentiment of courtesy, which is in the true spirit of Masonry, is frequently inculcated in the ancient Masonic codes. Thus, in the Gothic Con- stitutions, it is laid down that " a Brother shall not supplant his Fellow in the work ;"* the " ancient Charges at makings/' adopted in the time of James II., also direct that " no Master or Fellow supplant others of their work ;"t and the Charges approved in 1722 are still more explicit in directing that none shall attempt to finish the work begun by his Brother.!
* See ante p. 45, art. 10. f See ante p. 51, art. 2.
$ " None shall discover envy at the prosperity of a Brother, nor supplant him, or put him out of his work, if he be capable to finish the same ; for no man can finish another's work so much to the lord's profit, unless he be thoroughly acquainted with the designs and draughts of him that began it." — . Charges of 1722, ch. v. See ante p. 59. There has always been a dispo- sition in modern times to evade the stringency of ancient laws, and notwith- standing the warning cry of all in authority, that the portals of our Order are not sufficiently guarded, the tendency of our modern constitutions is to put facilities rather than obstacles in the way of admission. If the ancient law is not in absolute words abrogated, it is often so construed as to become a mere dead letter. Thus, in the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, (Proceedings from 1808 to 1847, lately published, page 438,) it is enacted as follows : "No Lodge shall initiate into the mysteries of the craft any person whomsoever, without being first satisfied by a test, or otherwise, that the candidate has not made application to some other Lodge, and been rejected ; and if it shall appear that he has been rejected, then the Lodge must be satisfactorily convinced that such rejection has not been on account of any circumstances that ought to preclude him from the benefits of Ma- sonry." The first clause of this Regulation is completely in accordance with the ancient law ; but the second clause virtually annuls the first. One Lodge is thus placed in judgment upon the motives of another ; and having
OF REJECTION. 151
There is another and more practical reason why petitions shall not, after rejection, be transferred to another Lodge. If such a course were admis- sible, it is evident that nothing would be easier than for a candidate to apply from Lodge to Lodge, until at last he might find one, less careful than others of the purity of the household, through whose too willing doors he could find admission into that Order, from which the justly scrupulous care of more stringent Lodges had previously rejected him. It is unnecessary to advert more elaborately to the manifold evils which would arise from this rivalry among Lodges, nor to do more than suggest that it would be a fertile source of admitting: un- worthy material into the temple. The laws of Masonry have therefore wisely declared that a can- didate, having been once rejected, can apply to no other Lodge for admission, except the one which had rejected him.*
determined that the former rejection was not based on satisfactory grounds, it proceeds forthwith to admit the rejected candidate. According to this Regulation, any Lodge may interfere with the work of another Lodge, pro- vided always it will first resolve that the said work, in its opinion, was not well done. Such a Regulation is an incentive to rivalry and contention in any jurisdiction.
* In 1851, the Committee of Foreign Correspondence of the Grand Lodge of New York presented the Craft with thirty-four maxims of Masonic juris- prudence, which are distinguished for their general legal accuracy. To the Twenty-ninth, however, I cannot attribute this character. The committee there assert that " the majority of a Lodge can, at any regular stated meet- ing thereof, recommend a rejected candidate for initiation to a neighboring Lodge, which can then initiate him, on a petition and reference, and a unani- mous vote." I look in vain through all the Landmarks, usages and constitu- tions of the Order, for any authority under which a Ledge can assume the
152 THE CONSEQUENCES
A candidate who lias "been rejected may, however, again apply to the Lodge which has rejected him. The ancient laws of the Order are entirely silent as to the time when this new application is to be made. Some of the Grand Lodges of this country have enacted local Regulations on this subject, and decreed that such new application shall not be made until after the expiration of a definite period. The Grand Lodge of New York requires a proba- tion of six months, and some other states have ex- tended it to a year. In all such cases, the local Regulation will be of force in the jurisdiction for which it was enacted. But where there is no such Regulation, it is competent for the candidate to re- apply at any subsequent regular communication. In such a case, however, he must apply by an en- tirely new petition, which must again be vouched for and recommended as in the original application, by the same or other brethren, must be again refer- red to a committee of inquiry on character, must lie over for one month, and then be balloted for precisely as it was before. The treatment of this
irerogative of recommending a candidate, rejected or not, to " a neighbor- ing Lodge" for initiation. Any Lodge, it is true, having elected a candi- date to receive the degrees, and being prevented by subsequent circumstances, such, for instance, as the removal of the candidate, from conferring them, may request another Lodge to do its work for it ; but it is contrary to all the principles of Masonic jurisprudence for a Lodge to depart from its proper sphere, and become the recommenders or vouchers to another Lodge of a candidate, and he, too, a rejected one. I will say nothing of the implied in- sult to the Lodge to whom the discarded material is recommended — dis- carded as not being good enough for their own Lodge, but recommended as fit enough for the one to which he is sent. The constitution of the Grand Lodge of New York contains T am happy to say, no such provision.
OF EEJECTION. 153
new petition must be, in all respects, as if no former petition existed. The necessary notice will in this way be given to all the brethren, and if there are the same objections to receiving the candidate as existed in the former trial, there will be ample op- portunity for expressing them in the usual way by the black ball. It may be objected that in this way a Lodge may be harassed by the repeated petitions of an importunate candidate. This, it is true, may sometimes be the case ; but this " argumentum ab inconvenienti" can be of no weight, since it maybe met by another of equal or greater force, that if it were not for this provision of a second petition, many good men who had perhaps been unjustly re- fused admission, and for which act the Lodge might naturally feel regret, would be without redress. Circumstances may occur in which a rejected candi- date may, on a renewal of his petition, be found worthy of admission. He may have since reformed and abandoned the vices which had originally caused his rejection, or it may be that the Lodge has since found that it was in error, and in his rejection had committed an act of injustice. It is wisely pro- vided, therefore, that to meet such, not infrequent cases, the candidate is permitted to present a re- newed petition, and to pass through a second or even a third and fourth ordeal. If it prove favor- able in its results, the injustice to him is compen- sated for ; but if it again prove unfavorable, no evil has been done to the Lodge, and the candidate is just where he was, before his renewed application. 7*
154 THE CONSEQUENCES OF REJECTION.
All that has been here said refers exclusively to the petitions of profanes for initiation. The law which relates to the applications of Master Masons for admission into a Lodge as members, will be con- sidered when we come to treat of the rights and duties of Master Masons.
The subject of balloting, on the applications for each of the degrees, or the advancement of candi- dates from a lower to a higher degree, will also be more appropriately referred to. in the succeeding Book, which will be devoted to the consideration of the law relating to individual Masons ; and more especially to that part of it which treats of the rights of Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts,