more light #265
Signing of By-Laws and Candidate
by Ed Halpaus
Grand Lodge Education Officer
Grand Lodge of A. F. & A. M. of Minnesota
Brother Albert Mackey
asks us a good question, and then he gives us the (his) answer. I think you will
enjoy reading his thoughts.
How long after his election does the right of signing the by-laws inure to
the candidate; in other words, how long is it after his reception that the
recipient may still come forward, and by affixing his signature to the by-laws,
avail himself of his right of membership, and without further application or
ballot, be constituted a member of the Lodge in which he has been initiated?
Although the landmarks and ancient Constitutions leave us without any
specific reply to this question, analogy and the just conclusions to be derived
from the reason of the law are amply sufficient to supply us with an answer.
The newly made candidate, it has already been intimated, possesses the right
to claim his membership without further ballot, on the reasonable ground that,
as he was deemed worthy of reception into the third degree, it would be idle to
suppose that he was not equally worthy of admission into full membership; and we
have seen that this was the reason assigned by the Grand Lodge of England for
the incorporation of this provision into its constitution.
Now, this is undoubtedly an excellent and unanswerable reason for his
admission to membership, immediately upon his reception. But the reason loses
its force if any time is permitted to elapse between the reception of the degree
and the admission to membership. No man knows what a day may bring forth. He
that was worthy on Monday, may on Tuesday have committed some act by which his
worthiness will be forfeited. It may be true, as the Roman satirist expresses
it, that no man becomes suddenly wicked; and it may be reasonable to suppose
that, for some time after his initiation, the habits and character of the
initiate will remain unchanged, and therefore that for a certain period the
members of the Lodge will be justified in believing the candidate whom they have
received to continue in possession of the same qualifications of character and
conduct which had recommended and obtained his reception. But how are we to
determine the extent of that period, and the time when it will be unsafe to
predicate of the recipient a continuance of good character? It is admitted that
after three months, it would be wrong to draw any conclusions as to the
candidate’s qualifications, from what was known of him on the day of his
reception; and accordingly many Lodges have prescribed as a regulation, that if
he does not within that period claim his right of membership, and sign the
by-laws, that right shall be forfeited, and he can then only be admitted upon
application, and after ballot. But why specify three months, and not two, or
four, or six? Upon what principle of ethics is the number three to be especially
selected? The fact is that the moment that we permit the initiate to extend the
privilege of exercising his right beyond the time which is concurrent with his
reception, the reason of the law is lost. The candidate having been deemed
worthy of receiving the third degree, must, at the time of his reception of that
degree, also be presumed to be worthy of membership. This is in the reason of
things. But if a month, a week, or a single day is allowed to elapse, there is
no longer a certainty of the continuance of that worthiness; the known
mutability and infirmity of human character are against the presumption, and the
question of its existence should then be tested by a ballot.
Again, one of the reasons why a unanimous ballot is required is that a
“fractious member” shall not be imposed on the Lodge, or one who would “spoil
its harmony.” Now, if A is admitted to receive the third degree on a certain
evening, with the unanimous consent of all the Lodge, which must, of necessity,
include the affirmative vote of B, then on the same evening he must be qualified
for admission to membership, because it is not to be presumed that B would be
willing that A should receive the third degree, and yet be unwilling to sit with
him in the Lodge as a fellow-member; and therefore A may be admitted at once to
membership, without a needless repetition of the ballot, which, of course, had
been taken on his application for the degree. But if any length of time is
permitted to elapse, and if after a month, for instance, A comes forward to
avail himself of his right of admission, then he shall not be admitted without a
ballot; because, between the time of his reception at the preceding meeting, and
the time of his application at the subsequent one, something may have occurred
between himself and B, a member of the Lodge, which would render him
objectionable to the latter, and his admission would then “spoil the harmony” of
the Lodge, and “hinder its freedom.” The Regulation, therefore, adopted by the
Grand Lodge of England, which prescribes that the candidate, to avoid a ballot,
must express his wish to be received a member on the day of his initiation, that
is, of his reception into the third degree, seems to be the only proper one. Any
Regulation that extends the period, and permits the candidate to sign the
by-laws and become a member without a ballot, provided he does so within two or
three months, or any other determined period extending beyond the day of his
reception, is contrary to the spirit and tenor of the law, and is calculated to
be sometimes of a mischievous tendency. If the candidate does not assert his
right on the day of his reception into the third degree, he loses it altogether;
and must, to acquire membership, submit to a petition and ballot, as in the case
of any other affiliation.
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