C. There may be some mistake or misunderstand-

ing in the identity of the person spoken of. A may have been referring to one individual and B to another. And the person afterwards vouched for by A, may prove to be entirely different from the one intended by B. But if B, in the presence of C, shall say to A, " I know this person C to be a Mas- ter Mason," or words to that effect, then it is com-
RIGHT OP A.VOUCHMENT. 221
potent for A to repeat this avouchment as his own, because he will thus have derived " lawful infor- mation" of the fact.
But here again the same principle of competency must be observed, and B must not only be known to - A to be a skillful and experienced Mason, incapable of being imposed upon, but A must himself be a fit- ting judge of that skill and experience.
This second-hand avouchment is, however, always dangerous, and should be practised with great cau- tion, and only by eminently skillful Masons. It is to be viewed rather as an exception to the general rule, and as such is generally to be avoided, although between Masons of great learning and experience, it may sometimes be a perfectly safe dependence.
The regulations by which avouchments are to be governed appear, therefore, to be three :
1. A Mason may vouch for another, if he has sat in a Lodge with him.
2. He may vouch for him if he has subjected him to a skillful private examination.
3. He may also vouch for him if he has received positive information of his Masonic character from a competent and reliable Brother.
Of these three, the first is the safest, and the last the most dangerous. And in all of them it is essen- tial that the voucher should be a skillful Mason, for it is better to subject the visitor to a formal exami- nation, than to take the avouchment of an ignorant ' Brother, though he may declare that he has sat in the Lodge with the psrson desirous of being admit
222 RIGHT OF RELIEF.
ted. In fact, the third kind of avouchment by an eminently skillful Mason, is safer than the first kind by an ignorant one.
Lastly, no written avouchment, however distin- guished may be the Mason who sends it, or however apparently respectable may be the person who brings it, is of any value in Masonry. Letters of introduction, in which light only such an avouch- ment can be considered, are liable to be forged or stolen ; and it is not permitted to trust the valuable secrets of Masonry to contingencies of so probable a nature. Hence, whatever confidence we may be disposed to place in the statements of an epistle from a friend, so far as they respect the social posi- tion of the bearer, we are never to go further ; but any declarations of Masonic character or standing are to be considered as valueless, unless confirmed by an examination.