THE ARCANE SCHOOLS - Fort Myers Beach Masonic Lodge No. 362

peculiar to his dignity.
By an ancient regulation, contained in the Old Charges, Past Masters
alone
were eligible to the office of Grand Warden. The Deputy Grand Master
was
also to be selected from among the Masters, or Past Masters of Lodges.
No
such regulation was in existence as to the office of Grand Master, who
might be selected from the mass of the fraternity. At the present time,
in
this country, it is usual to select the Grand officers from among the
Past
Masters of the jurisdiction, though I know of no ancient law making
such a
regulation obligatory, except in respect to the affairs of Grand
Wardens
and Deputy Grand Master.
Chapter VI.
Of Affiliation.
Affiliation is defined to be the act by which a lodge receives a Mason
among its members. A profane is said to be "initiated," but a Mason is
"affiliated."[91]
Now the mode in which a Mason becomes affiliated with a lodge, in some
respects differs from, and in others resembles, the mode in which a
profane is initiated.
A Mason, desiring to be affiliated with a lodge, must apply by
petition;
this petition must be referred to a committee for investigation of
character, he must remain in a state of probation for one month, and
must
then submit to a ballot, in which unanimity will be required for his
admission. In all these respects, there is no difference in the modes
of
regulating applications for initiation and affiliation. The Fifth and
Sixth General Regulations, upon which these usages are founded, draw no
distinction between the act of making a Mason and admitting a member.
The
two processes are disjunctively connected in the language of both
regulations. "No man can be made, _or admitted a member_ * * * *
without
previous notice one month before;" are the words of the Fifth
Regulation.
And in a similar spirit the Sixth adds: "But no man can be entered a
Brother in any particular lodge, _or admitted to be a member_ thereof,
without the unanimous consent of all the members of that lodge."