especially, for the education of youth and other benevolent purposes; and it is recommended to each Lodge, in accordance with the suggestions of the M. W. Grand Master, to appoint a Standing School Committee, and to take such measures as may be best calculated to advance the cause of education among them.

T. J. LEMAY,

C. W. D. HUTCHINGS."

In conformity to the above Resolutions, recominending the appointment of a Standing Committee on Education, the M. W. Grand Master appointed the following Brethren on that Committee: Bros. T. J. Lemay, Thomas Loring and W. Hollister.

THANKS TO THE GRAND MASTER.

The following resolution was submitted by Br. Duncan McPherson, which was read and unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That the thanks of this Grand Lodge are due, and are hereby tendered to the Most Worshipful Grand Master, P. W. Fanning, for the able, dignified, and impartial manner in which he has presided over the deliberations of this Grand Lodge during the present Communication, as well as for his uniform zeal and untiring industry at all times, in nobly endeavoring to advance the interests of Masonry.

Upon which, the M. W. G. Master arose and thanked the Brethren, for the unequivocal and unexpected manifestation of their approbation of his humble efforts to fulfill his responsible duties, as expressed in the very complimentary resolution just adopted; and concluded by remarking, that he had never in all his experience realized, to so happy an extent, how good and how pleasant it was for Brethren to dwell together in unity;' not the least circuinstance having occurred to mar the harmony of their proceedings, or prevent an entire unanimity of sentiment.

EXPULSIONS.

At a special communication of Halifax Hiram Lodge, No. 96, held in the Masonic Hall, at Halifax, Va., on Monday evening, the 20th of April, A. L. 5846, the following resolution was offered and unanimously adopted:

Resolved, That Thomas McCargo, a member of this Lodge, be, and he is hereby expelled from all the rights and privileges of Masonry, on account of gross unmasonic conduct; and that the Secretary communicate said resolution to the editor of "Moore's Masonic Magazine," with a request that he publish the same therein. A true copy from the minutes,

ED. R. FERRILL, Sec'ry. At a special communication of Halifax Royal Arch Chapter, No. 28, held in the Masonic Hall, at Halifax, on Thursday evening, April 15th, A. L. 5846, the following resolution was offered and adopted unanimously:

Rrsolved, That Thomas McCargo, a member of this Chapter, be, and he is hereby expelled from all the rights and privileges of Royal Arch Masonry, on account of gross unmasonic conduct; and that the Secretary communicate said resolution to the editor of "Moore's Masonic Magazine," with a request that he publish the same therein. A true copy from the minutes,

ED. R. FERRILL, Sec'ry pro tem.

MASONIC CHIT CHAT.

The next number will complete the 5th volume of this Magazine. The sixth volume will of course be continued to such as do not give directions to the contrary; and those Brethren who are not now subscribers, but propose to enter their names on our list for the ensuing volume, are desired to do so, if convenient, before the middle of October, in order that we may be enabled to fix, with some degree of certainty, the number of copies that will probably be required for the coming year. We need a considerable increase to our present subscription, and to this end we ask the co-operation of all our agents, and other friends of the work. We have a large amount of money due us from tardy subscribers, some of whom are in arrears for several years. This we also need, and trust we shall not be under the necessity of calling for it again.

JEWISH FREEMASONS.-The Grand Lodge of England has, after a correspondence and remonstrance, conducted by the Earl of Zetland and the Grand Secretary, resolved to withdraw their representative from the Grand Lodge at Berlin, in consequence of the refusal of the Prussian Lodges to admit Jews to their meetings, though such Jews have diplomas of the Grand Lodge of England. The representative of the Grand Lodge of Berlin is to be informed that he can no longer be acknowledged or take his seat in the Grand Lodge of England, in his official character of representative.

We learn that our Brethren at Pawtucket, R. I., will dedicate their new and beautiful Hall, on the fourth Thursday of the present month. A public procession, address, dinner, &c. will be had on the occasion.

The address delivered by Br. Sheppard, at Fitchburg, on the 24th June, may be had at this office.

Br. E. F. Greenleaf, M. D., is an authorized agent for the Magazine, at Alexandria, Mo.

Br. Teulon writes us from Calcutta, that he has recently been taxed $3 25 postage for a printed copy of the proceedings of one of our Grand Lodges, forwarded to him by the overland mail. We state the fact for his benefit, and for the information of the Grand Secretaries, by one of whom the proceedings referred to were forwarded. will cheerfully take charge of, and forward any documents intended for him, or for the, Grand Lodge of Bengal, if they are sent to us free of postage.

We

We publish in a preceding page, the official announcement of the organization of the Supreme Grand Council 33d degree, for England and Wales. It has been established by the authority of the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States, and is another and a strong link in the "indissoluble chain" which unites the members of the Fraternity in both countries, into one "sacred band of friends and Brothers."

We have to acknowledge the receipt of copies of several addresses delivered on the late anniversary of St. John.

The request of our correspondent at Beaufort, N. C., shall be complied with on the receipt of the names of the officers of his Lodge.

The Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter of this State, meet the present month,-the latter on Tuesday, the 8th, and the former on Wednesday, the 9th.

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We regret that we are under the necessity of informing our Brother at Charleston, Ill., that the diplomas he wishes, are not to be had in this city.

We have been compelled, by press of matter, to defer a large amount of general intelligence, foreign and domestic, which had been prepared for the present number. We shall try to find room for it next month.

THE RIGHT TO MASONIC BURIAL.

Livingston, Ala., July 20, 1846.

COMP. MOORE:-A question came up before the Lodge in this place, upon which I should like to have your opinion. The question is this:—

"Can a Mason, being under suspension for non-payment of dues at the time of his death, be entitled to Masonic burial, upon the payment of said dues ?"

The circumstances which gave rise to the above question are these—a member of the Lodge in this place was suspended under the By-laws of the Lodge, for non-payment of dues and during the existence of the suspension, he died, with the request on his death-bed, that his remains should be buried Masonically. A friend of his, and a Mason, informed the Lodge of his request, and tendered the amount of dues for which he had been suspended-upon which application, the above question was submitted to the Lodge and decided in the negative.

The question is to me entirely novel, and one upon which, "with the light before me," I am not able to decide. It seems that the disability, not extending to the character or worthiness of the individual, but probably arising from incompetency, should, upon an offer to cancel the cause of the disability, though after death, entitle the party to this Masonic rite. And again, it may be argued, and was, upon the decision of the above question, that no disability can be removed after death, the party then being beyond the jurisdiction of the Lodge. Please give us your opinion, at your earliest opportunity.

Yours, fraternally,

C. S. McCONNICO.

Masonic funerals, strictly speaking, are not of great antiquity: that is, the attending of funerals in Masonic regalia, and the burying of Brethren with Masonic ceremonies, seem not to have come into practice until about the middle of the last century. The oldest Masonic "Funeral Service" to be found in the books, was drawn up by William Preston, and is given in the Trestle-Board, and other text-books of modern date. The older works do not, to our recollection, contain any set form of ceremonies, or make any reference whatever to the existence of the practice. Nor are there any general regulations on the subject, other than those attached to the Service as given by Preston. Neither is the custom a universal one. Germany, and other of the Continental States, it is rarely observed. In France, the service is generally performed in the Lodge-room, and only

In

on particular occasions, as in case of the death of the Master, or a Brother of distinction, who has rendered important services to the Craft. The inquiry, therefore, as to the obligation on the part of the Lodge, to comply with the request of a Brother to be buried in Masonic form, is not to be settled by reference to the ancient Constitutions and regulations of the Fraternity; for they are silent on the subject.

What, then, is the usage which has most generally obtained ?

This is embodied in the following extract from the introduction to the Funeral Service above referred to:

"No Mason can be interred with the formalities of the Order, unless it be by his own special request, communicated to the Master of the Lodge of which he died a member, foreigners and sojourners excepted; nor unless he has been advanced to the third degree of Masonry; and from this restriction there can be no exception. Fellow-crafts, or Apprentices, are not entitled to funeral obsequies, nor to attend the Masonic procession on such occasions.

"The Master of a Lodge, having received notice of a Master Mason's death, and of his request to be interred with the ceremonies of the Order, fixes the day and hour for the funeral, and issues his command to summon the Lodge. He may invite as many Lodges as he thinks proper, and the members of those Lodges may accompany their officers in form; but the whole ceremony must be under the direction of the Master of the Lodge to which the deceased belonged, and he and his officers must be duly honored, and cheerfully obeyed, on the occasion. But in case the deceased was not a member of either of the attending Lodges, the procession and ceremony must be under the direction of the Master of the oldest Lodge."

From these regulations it appears, that in order to be eligible to Masonic burial, a Brother must be-1st, a Master Mason;-2dly, a member of the Lodge to which he makes the request, or a foreigner and sojourner ;-3dly, if a member, he must have communicated the request to the Master of the Lodge before his decease. All these requisites having been fulfilled, the Lodge may, and generally will,* proceed to perform the service; unless there be special reasons to the contrary. But in doing so, it is influenced entirely by the respect and affection it bears to the deceased. It is under no obligation whatever to grant the request. It judges of the propriety of the measure for itself, and is at full liberty to act according to its own convictions of duty-not merely to the deceased, but to the Fraternity.

Requests of this character are frequently made by worthy, but not always wisely discriminating Brethren, when a compliance would not only be attended with unpleasant consequences, but would often result prejudicially to the interests of the Institution. This is especially true in large and populous cities, where the Fraternity, under a more stringent regula

*Under a dispensation from the Grand Master, in States where dispensations for public processions are required.

tion, would be liable to be called daily into the public streets; and not always under auspicious circumstances. It has, therefore, been wisely left with the Lodge to determine the propriety of granting such requests when made.

The rule, as given by Preston, and which, he says, is "according to ancient custom," excludes all Brethren, except members of Lodges, "foreigners and sojourners," from the privilege of a Masonic burial; and this is nearly in accordance with the present constitutional regulation of the Grand Lodge of England. The difference is, that the latter makes no exception in favor of foreigners or sojourners. The deceased must have been a member of a Lodge, and the request must have been made to the Master of the Lodge of which he was a member. But the practice in this country has, to some extent, given a broader construction to the rule; or, in other words, the rule is not always strictly regarded; and aged Brethren, who have served the Institution long and faithfully, or distinguished themselves in the service of their country, though, at the time of their decease, not members of any particular Lodge, are frequently honored with Masonic burial. And this is occasionally done at the desire of friends, and when the request has not been made by the deceased.

In the case proposed by our correspondent, the Brother referred to was, at the time of his decease, under suspension from membership. The act of suspension, during its continuance, deprived him of all his rights and privileges as a member of the Lodge. If, therefore, it be assumed that, while a member in full standing, he possessed any claim to the privilege of a Masonic burial, it must at the same time be conceded, that he forfeited that claim, when he forfeited all the other privileges with which he was invested by his membership. These could be restored only by restoration to membership. This could not take place after death; for that is the final termination, not the renewal, of earthly relations. The decision of the Lodge, in this respect, was, therefore, correct.

But there is another point in the case, on which we will venture to say a few words. Our correspondent intimates that the disability under which the deceased labored, did not "extend to his character or worthiness," but "probably arose from incompetency" or inability to discharge his pecuniary obligations to the Lodge. If this be true, we do not hesitate to say, that the fact was not known to the Lodge at the time of the suspension, or it would not have taken place. There is not a member of the Lodge who would not have paid the dues from his own pocket, if the suspension could not have been otherwise arrested. There is not a Lodge in the world, that would suspend an honest and worthy Brother for such a

cause.

And we refer to it thus particularly, merely for the purpose of