CHAPTER III.

ST&e Officers of ar lolige,
Hutchinson very properly says, that in our insti- tution, some must of necessity rule and teach, and others learn to submit and obey.* Indeed, in all well-regulated associations, there exists this neces- sity of a government, which must consist of author- ity on the one part, and obedience on the other. Hence it is not to be supposed that a Lodge of Masons, which its disciples claim to be one of the most perfect of human institutions, would present an organization less calculated than that of any other society to insure the peace and harmony on which its welfare and perpetuity must depend. Accordingly a Masonic Lodge, which consists of a certain number of members, sufficient to carry out the design of the institution, and yet not so many as to create confusion, is governed by officers, to each of whom a particular duty is assigned.
The number and the names of the officers differ,
* " A Charge by the E- W. Master on resigning the chair." Preston subsequently incorporated the sentiment, and even the words in his Installa- tion service. Our modern ritual is indebted to Hutchinson for some of its best portions.
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338 OFFICERS OF A LODGE.
not only in the different rites, but also in different jurisdictions of the same rite. Thus the Grand Lodge of England requires, in addition to-the officers usually recognized in this country, another, who is called the " Inner Guard/' and permits the appoint- ment of a Chaplain and Master of Ceremonies, officers who are known in only some of the jurisdic- tions of America. The Grand Lodge of Scotland recognizes, among other officers, a " Depute Master" and a " Substitute Master," and there are a variety of titles to be found in the French and German Lodges which are not used in the York rite.
The officers most usually to be found in an American Lodge are as follows :
1. Worshipful Master.
2. Senior Warden.
3. Junior Warden. '
4. Treasurer.
5. Secretary.
6. Senior Deacon.
7. Junior Deacon.
8. Two Stewards.
9. Tiler *
Of these officers, the Worshipful Master, the two Wardens and the Tiler, are essential to any Lodge organization, and are consequently provided for by the Landmarks. The other offices are of more re- cent invention ; but we have no knowledge of any
* There is a Chaplain also in many Lodges ; and although I have not placed such an officer in this list, I shall appropriate a section to the con- sideration of his functions.
OFFICERS OF A LODGE. 339
period at which. Lodges were not governed by a Master and two Wardens, and their portals secured from intrusion by the vigilance of a Tiler.* Ac- cordingly, however much the various rites and juris- dictions may differ in respect to the names and number of the subordinate officers, they all agree in requiring the four just named.
It is a law of Masonry that these officers should be elected annually. All offices in Masonry are held by annual tenure, which is perhaps derived from the fact that the General Assembly of the craft was anciently held annually. This election must also be held in subordinate Lodges on the festival of St. John the Evangelist, or at some meeting imme- diately previous to it. It will be seen hereafter that the time of the election of the officers of a Grand Lodge varies in different jurisdictions ; but I do not know of any country in which the election of the officers of a subordinate Lodge is made at any other time of the year than the one just indi- cated. The Masonic year always and everywhere begins on the festival of St. John the Evangelist, or the 27th of December, and the officers commence the discharge of their functions on that day. The election must therefore take place at that time, or immediately before it, and if by any cause it has been neglected, it becomes necessary to obtain a dispensation from the Grand Master for holding one on a subsequent day. The authority vested in the Lodge by the warrant of constitution is to
* See Landmarks 10 and 11, anie,\). 26.
340 OFFICERS OF A LODuE.
hold the election on the legal and spe/'ified day, and if it is held afterwards, as no power to order it exists in the Lodge, the authority mast be supplied by the dispensing prerogative of the Grand Masters- It has been supposed by some that when a mem- ber has been elected to occupy an office, he canno refuse to obey the call of his brethren ; and Dr. Dalcho expressly lays down the rule that " no Free- mason, chosen into any office, can refuse to serve, (unless he has before filled the same office,) without incurring the penalties established by the by-laws./Vf There is a great deal of looseness in this enuncia- tion of an important regulation ; for we are of course unable to say to what particular by-laws he refers. No such regulation is to be found in any of the Ancient Constitutions, and if contained in the by-laws of a particular Lodge, it is certainly con- trary to the voluntary spirit of the institution. Indecdjthe whole tenor of the lessons we are taught in Masonry is, that no one should accept an office unless he feels that he is fully competent to discharge its duties ; and hence, if an ignorant and unskillful brother were chosen to fill the office of a Warden, it should rather be the duty of the Lodge, -in further- ance of the principles of the institution, to dis- courage his acceptance of the trust, than to compel him, by the threatened infliction of a penalty, to
* The nature and design of dispensations will be hereafter considered Tvhen 1 come to speak of ths prerogaives of a Grand Master, t Ahiman Rezon, 1822, p. 156.
OFFICERS OF A LODGE. 341
assume a position whose duties he was convinced that he could not discharge.
The installation of the officers should follow as soon as possible after the election. The installation is the commission under which the officer elected is entitled to assume his office ; and by ancient usage it is held that the old officer retains the office until his successor is installed. Hence, as the term of office begins on the festival of St. John the Evangelist, it is evident that the installation, which always fol- lows the election, should take place on the same day, or immediately before it. If it has been un- avoidably postponed until after that day, a dispen- sation must be obtained from the Grand Officer foi performing it at any subsequent period.
An office terminates in Masonry only in three ways — by the expiration of the term, by death, or by expulsion.* Suspension does not vacate an office, but simply suspends the office-bearer from the privi- lege of discharging the duties of the office, and restoration immediately restores him to the enjoy- ment of all the prerogatives of his office.
It is now held by a large majority of authorities that an officer, after having once accepted of instal- lation, cannot resign the office to which he has beei: elected. And this seems to be in accordance with reason ; for, by the installation, the officer promises to discharge the functions of the office for the con
* The Grand Lodge of New York (Const. 1854, § 39) adds resignation removal beyond the jurisdiction and suspension. I have assigned, in the text the reasons why I :annot assent to this doctrine.
342 OFFICERS OF A LODGE.
stitutiona] period, and a resignation would be a violation of his oath of office, which no Lodge should be willing to sanction. So, too, when an officer has removed from the jurisdiction, although it may be at the time with an intention never to re- turn, it is impossible, in the uncertainty of human events, to say how far that intention will be ful- filled, and the office must remain vacant until the next regular period of election. In the mean time the duties are to be discharged by the temporary appointment, by the Master, of a substitute ; for, should the regularly elected and installed officer change his intention and return, it would at once become not only his privilege but his duty to resume the discharge of the functions of his office.
In the case of any of the offices, except those of the Master or Wardens, death or expulsion, which, it will be remembered, is Masonic death, completely vacates the office, and an election may be held, pro- vided a dispensation has been obtained from the Grand Master for that purpose. But this rule does not refer to the Master or Wardens ; for it is now held that on the death of any one of these, the in- ferior officer assumes the duties of the office ; and no election can be held, even by dispensation, to supply the vacancy until the regular period. But this subject will be more fully discussed when I come to the consideration of the duties of those respective officers.
WOUSHIPFUL MASTER. 843