The Master and Wardens

01/02/2024, 23:02 The Master and Wardens
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The Master and

Wardens
MWB R. V. Harris, PGS, PGM
The Grand Lodge Of Nova Scotia
Very few of the Craftsmen realize the wide

powers enjoyed by the three principal officers
of the Lodge. As a matter of Masonic Law, the
fate and fortunes of the Lodge are largely in
their hands, hence the importance of choosing
most carefully these three officers.
The Master's Duties
When Dr. James Anderson and Dr. Theophilus

Desaguliers codified the Ancient Charges, they
summarized those regulations which point out
the duty of the Master of a Lodge. We hear this
summary read whenever a new Master is
installed in order to impress the new Master
with the great responsibility resting upon him,
and to make known, or rather recall, to the
brethren the qualifications which a Master
should have. Let us run through them:
1. To be a good man and true and strictly to
obey the moral law.
2. To be a peaceable citizen, and cheerfully
conform to the laws of the country in
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which he resides.
3. Not to be concerned in plots and
conspiracies against the government of
the country in which he lives, but
patiently to submit to the decisions of the
law and the constituted authorities.
4. To pay a proper respect to the civil
magistrates, to work diligently, live
creditably, and act honourably by all men.
5. To hold in veneration the original rulers
and patrons of the Order and their regular
successors, supreme and subordinate,
according to their stations, and to submit
to the awards and resolutions of his
brethren in Lodge convened, in every case
consistent with the constitutions of the
Order.
6. To avoid private piques and quarrels, and
to guard against intemperance and excess.
7. To be cautious in his behaviour, courteous
to his brethren, and faithful to his Lodge.
8. To respect genuine brethren and to
discountenance imposters and all
dissenters from the original plan of
Masonry.
9. To promote the general good of society, to
cultivate the social virtues, and to
propagate the knowledge of the mystic
art.
10. To pay homage to the Grand Master for
the time being and to his officers when
duly installed; and strictly to conform to
every edict of the Grand Lodge that is not
subversive of the principles and ground-
work of Masonry.
It is an imposing list of qualifications, but most
appropriate in respect of one upon whom "the
honour, reputation, and usefulness of his Lodge
will materially depend", for one who is "to set
the Craft at work giving them proper
instruction for their labour", for one who is "to
rule and govern his brethren".
His Prerogatives
Master comes from the Latin magister, from

which we also derive the word magistrate. The
Master is the most important officer of a Lodge.
He is elected "to rule and govern the Lodge".
Upon his skill, integrity, and prudence depend
the usefulness and welfare of his Lodge; so, he
should be "of good morals, of great skill, true
and trusty, a lover of the whole Fraternity". His
prerogatives are:
1. To preside over his Lodge: He is possessed
of powers not enjoyed by the presiding
officer of any other association:
a. He presides over all business and all
Masonic labour of the Lodge; he
decides all points of order; his
decision is final, for no appeal can be
taken from his decision to the Lodge
itself. Only the Grand Lodge can
override his decision on a point of
order.
b. He has the right to convene his
Lodge at any time. Emergent
meetings cannot be held without his
consent or direction.
c. If the Master is present at the time
for opening a Lodge, he alone has the
right to open it. He has the sole right
to open the Lodge when he pleases,
to close it when he pleases, to
suspend business, to call the Lodge
from labour to refreshment, and to
terminate a debate. A motion to
adjourn or to close or to go to
refreshment is out of order, for it
interferes with this prerogative.
2. To represent the Lodge of all
communications of Grand Lodge:
Originally all members of the Lodge were
members of the Grand Lodge, or assembly,
of Masons. As this was found to be
inconvenient, the Lodges placed their
rights in the hands of their Master and
Wardens. They are the link between

Grand Lodge and the Lodge. At
installation, the Installing Officers ask the
Master if he promises to attend Grand
Lodge.
3. To control the admission of visitors:
Quoting again from the installation
ceremony: "You agree that no visitors
shall be received into your Lodge without
due examination, and producing proper
vouchers". The sufficiency of the
examination is solely in his discretion. He
should not, apart from the examination,
admit any visitor whose presence will
disturb the harmony of the Lodge. There
is no appeal from his decision.
4. To refuse to admit a member of the Lodge:
In the opening, the Inner Guard recites, as
one of his duties, that of "suffering none to
pass except such as are qualified and have
the Master's permission". He has the
power to exclude a member whose
admission might create discord. This right,
however, must be exercised with the
greatest caution for, if unjustly or without
sufficient cause denied the privilege of
entering his own Lodge, a member may
prefer a charge against the Master in
Grand Lodge.
5. To have the custody of the warrant of the
Lodge: The warrant is placed at the Altar
in full view of the Master when Lodge is
open. He is responsible for its care and on
quitting office transmits it to his successor.
If Grand Lodge demands the return of the
warrant, it demands it of the Master — not
of the Secretary — not of the Lodge itself.
6. To appoint all committees: Sometimes this
prerogative is restricted by the bylaws.
a. Special committees are always
within the Master's prerogative and
he has the right to act as chairman,
for they are his committees, not the
Lodge's.
b. He has the right to fill temporary

vacancies among the officers.
7. He has one vote on all questions and, in
addition, a casting vote if there be a tie;
this prerogative follows the practice in
Grand Lodge since 1721. It is not an
inherent right and some authorities
dispute it; some Grand Lodges deny the
right; the better practice would seem to be
for the Master to declare the motion lost,
for it clearly has not been carried.
8. He must have served as Warden for
twelve months prior to his election as
Master. This is stated in the charges of
1722:
a. His services as Warden need not be
in the Lodge over which he is called
to preside. If he has served in any
Lodge, he is eligible, for when a
brother affiliates with a Lodge he
brings with him all the rights which
he has acquired whether as Master
or Warden. The twelve months need
not be the twelve immediate prior to
his election as Master.
b. There is one exception. When a new
Lodge is instituted by the Grand
Master, it is his prerogative as the
creator of the new Lodge to appoint
as Master a brother who has never
been a Warden. In our Constitution,
this provision does not apply in a
new Lodge until after the second
annual election of officers.
9. He is eligible to re-election: Usage in the
United States and Canada places no
restriction on the number of times a
Master may be re-elected; in England,
however, a Master may be re- elected only
once without a dispensation from the
Grand Master.
10. To install his successor: No one can
exercise the prerogatives of the office of
Master until he has been regularly
installed and received the Degree of

Installed Master. A Master, named in a
dispensation but not a Past Warden, is not
invested with the secrets of an Installed
Master and does not receive them until
the warrant is issued and he is installed as
the first Master of the new Lodge.
11. The Master is exempt from trial on
charges by his Lodge or one of its
members: The right of trial belongs to
Grand Lodge because the Master cannot
be deprived of his right to preside over his
Lodge and, whenever the Lodge is
exercising judicial functions, the Master
becomes the presiding officer. If he were
on trial his presence is necessary, and
being present he must assume the chair,
which of course is shocking to our sense
of justice; so it is necessary to find another
tribunal for the trial of a Master and,
therefore, Grand Lodge retains the right.
His Qualifications
1. Of good morals: Aristotle, the Greek

philosopher said: "He who is to govern
must be perfect in moral virtue." The
world often judges an institution by the
behaviour of its presiding officer. If a
Master is immoral or licentious, the lodge
will be scandalized before the public and
in private also.
2. Of great skill: His knowledge of the work
and of Masonry should be superior. He
must know and understand the subject
which he is to teach. An illiterate, indolent
man will make an incompetent Master.
3. Of pleasing personality: Socially the
Worshipful Master must be acceptable to
the lodge and truly a lover of the whole
fraternity. He will be zealous for the Craft,
and anxious to promote its influence. His
devotion to his brethren is of the greatest
importance.
4. Of wise leadership: He should rule his

brethren with love rather than force. He
should be a leader rather than a driver. He
should be firm with moderation; he
should cultivate the spirit of conciliation;
he should learn to subdue by mildness
and friendliness the irritations which may
arise in debate; he should appeal to
reason, rather than claim obedience by
force of authority.
The Senior Warden's Duty
The Senior Warden's duty is indicated in the

installation ceremony:
1. In presence of the Master: "You are
assiduously to assist the Master in the
discharge of his trust, diffusing light and
imparting knowledge to all whom he shall
place under your care.
2. In the absence of the Master: He is to
preside and govern the Lodge.
a. He has an inherent right to preside
when the Worshipful Master is
absent. He may resign the chair to a
Past Master, but he must first open
the Lodge and call the brethren to
labour before handing over the gavel
to the Past Master.
b. A warden in this jurisdiction cannot
confer a degree unless he is a Past
Master. Here we have a shared or
divided authority. If the Worshipful
Master is absent and the Senior
Warden opens the Lodge, he may
transact the ordinary business of the
Lodge, but, unless he is a Past Master,
he cannot confer degrees and must
ask a Past Master to take the chair
for that purpose. At that point his
authority as Acting Master ceases
until the time for closing the Lodge
arrives when the gavel is again
handed to the Senior Warden who
alone is authorized to close the

Lodge.
c. If the Worshipful Master dies or is
suspended from the Craft, there can
be no election of his successor until
the constitutional time for election,
and the Senior Warden, Junior
Warden, or Junior Past Master
present must act in his place. If an
election were held immediately the
office of Worshipful Master became
vacant, it would deprive the Senior
Warden of his right to become a
candidate for the vacant office,
because he has already obligated
himself to serve as Warden for
twelve months. If he were allowed to
be a candidate, there would have to
be an election for his office and so
on, possibly all down the line.
The Junior Warden's Duties
The Junior Warden's duty is indicated in the

installation ceremony:
1. In the presence of the Master: "Your are to
assiduously assist the Master in the
discharge of his trust, diffusing light and
imparting knowledge to all whom he shall
place under your care."
2. In the absence of the Master: If the
Worshipful Master and Senior Warden are
both absent, the Junior Warden assumes
the Chair and opens the Lodge.
3. The columns: Our ritual says that the
Senior Warden presides over the Craft
during the hours of labour and the Junior
Warden during the hours of refreshment.
Each has a little column standing near
him and, when the Lodge is at labour, the
Senior Warden's column is standing up
and the Junior Warden's lying down; but
when the Lodge is at refreshment, the
positions of the two columns are reversed.
4. Preferring charges: Because the Junior

Warden is placed over the Craft during the
hours of refreshment and because at his
installation he is charged to see "that none
of the Craft be suffered to convert the
purposes of refreshment into those of
intemperance and excess", it has been
very generally supposed that it is his duty
to prefer charges against any member
who by his conduct has made himself
amenable to the discipline of the Lodge.
While there is no ancient regulation
which imposes this unpleasant duty upon
him, it does seem appropriate that he
should, as the guardian of the conduct of
the Craft, bring the conduct of any
offending member to the notice of the
Lodge.
Conclusion
It is my belief that a considerable number of

Masters do not equip themselves for Lodge
administration apart from their several years
experience in various offices. They have read
little, have probably never bothered to visit our
Home at Windsor, and have failed to attend
District Meetings and Grand Lodge
Communications with any regularity. They rely
on the Lodge Secretary, or the Grand Secretary,
or their Past Masters "to get by". They may
know the ritual, they may even know the by-
laws of the Lodge, but they know next to
nothing about the history of their Lodge, nor of
the Craft in Nova Scotia, nor of the symbolism
of the ceremonies, nor of their inherent rights
as Masters.
There is so much to be done in any Masonic
year that the Master who undertakes it all by
himself is heading for failure. Degree work is
but a fraction of his responsibilities; there is the
social side, most important if he is to hold his
Lodge together — picnics, outings, a dance or
social, a banquet, an anniversary to celebrate, a
Church Service to arrange. There is Grand
Lodge to attend with a report to the Lodge;
there is the District Meeting each fall; there are
visits from the District Deputy and the Grand

Master, and visits to and from other Lodges.
Then there is the educational side, for it is the
duty of every Mason "to improve himself in
Masonry". Candidates are instructed in
questions and answers, but, if that is all the
Freemasonry they are to learn, the Lodge has
failed in its duty and the members will be
pardoned if they conclude that that is all there
is to Freemasonry.
One of the virtues which Freemasonry
inculcates is punctuality. "Your regular and
punctual attendance is earnestly requested".
The Lodge should be opened precisely on time,
the business conducted with dispatch, the
Lodge closed at a reasonable time. If the Master
is late and everyone has to wait for him, it will
ruin the attendance record of his Lodge. How
many times have we heard someone say, "They
dilly-dally around and waste time, and I felt so
fed up I don't go any more".
With all these duties and responsibilities
devolving upon a Master and his Wardens, let
me conclude with the recommendation to all
Lodges that every Lodge should have regular
meetings of its officers to help, aid, and assist
one another in promoting the welfare of the
Lodge and the Craft. Some Lodges have an
Advisory Committee meeting a week before the
regular monthly meeting, and presided over by
the Senior Warden. It is composed of all the
officers of the Lodge and any Past Masters who
care to attend. It forms an excellent training
ground for the officers, particularly for the
Wardens, who are soon to reach the Chair.
Difficulties and differences are ironed out in
private and not allowed to disturb the harmony
of the Lodge. Efforts are made to collect dues in
arrears without that drastic action in Lodge
which might prove embarrassing, and plans
are made for the ceremonial, educational, and
social life of the Lodge. It is unfair to place all
the burden on the Worshipful Master. Where
the burden is shared the Lodge succeeds and
the Craft advances. To try it temporarily is to

adopt it permanently.
© 2024 The Skirret

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01/02/2024, 23:02 The Master and Wardens

The Master and

Very few of the Craftsmen realize the wide

The Master's Duties

When Dr. James Anderson and Dr. Theophilus

Master comes from the Latin magister, from

Wardens. They are the link between

b. He has the right to fill temporary

installed and received the Degree of

1. Of good morals: Aristotle, the Greek

4. Of wise leadership: He should rule his

The Senior Warden's Duty

The Senior Warden's duty is indicated in the

alone is authorized to close the

The Junior Warden's Duties

The Junior Warden's duty is indicated in the

4. Preferring charges: Because the Junior

It is my belief that a considerable number of

visits from the District Deputy and the Grand

the Craft advances. To try it temporarily is to

© 2024 The Skirret

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