Page 81 - An account of the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235. 1777 to 2012UGLE

Lodge of the Nine Muses 81

NINETEENTH.
That the Tyler be appointed annually in the Month of February; he is to see that
every person previous to admifsion enters his name in the Book provided for that
purpose, to take care of and keep in good order the Furniture &c belonging to the
Lodge, and to collect the visitors fees and account with the Treasurer for the amount
the same Evening.

As printed here the By-laws follow the original text, but in the book they have
been freely altered and amended in red ink as they have gradually approached their
present form. This does not differ very greatly from 1824, but the old By-law as to
black-balling, No. 8, gives a second chance which a candidate no longer has, and
the Junior Warden might now find the duties prescribed in No. 15 rather onerous.
Ten years later, on 11 March 1834, “The Secretary gave notice that he should
at the next meeting or some early day move the consideration by the Lodge of
the present state of the Bye laws. After some discufsion ... it was proposed that the
Sec . sho . – go through the bye-laws & inform the Lodge what alterations were
d
y
necefsary.” But nothing seems to have been done about it.
In 1862 the subject crops up again. On 8 April “The Secretary was directed to
obtain an estimate of the cost of printing 100 copies of the By Laws”, whether
revised or otherwise is not stated. On 13 May, “Read estimate from H. O. Arliss
to print 100 copies of the By Laws for 30/- Resolved that they be printed
accordingly.” But they were not, for on 12 December, it was again “Resolved that
the By Laws be now printed”
On 11 December 1907, revised By-laws were adopted, a printed copy of which
is annexed to the minutes; these By-laws, reprinted with slight modifications in
1928 and again in 1937, are still in force. 28
For many years past the ritual in the Lodge has been carried out in accordance
with the so-called “Emulation working”, with some trifling peculiarities handed
down by tradition, which are known to members and need not be specified.
In Lodge the aim is dignity with informality. There is no dais, and no
appropriation of seats, except of course in the case of the officers whose places
are fixed by ancient prescription, or such reservations as are called for out of

28 The Bye-Laws were again revised and approved by MWGM in April 2003. The text of this
edition appears as Appendix E.