Of the Officers of a Subordinate Lodge - Section V. Of the Secretary.

from the book "THE PRINCIPLES OF MASONIC LAW"
A Treatise on the Constitutional Laws, Usages And Landmarks of Freemasonry
by Dr.Albert Gallatin Mackey, 1856


It is the duty of the Secretary to record all the proceedings of the lodge, "which may be committed to paper," to conduct the correspondence of the lodge and to receive all moneys due the lodge from any source whatsoever. He is, therefore, the recording, corresponding and receiving officer of the lodge. By receiving the moneys due to the lodge in the first place and then paying them over to the Treasurer, he becomes, as I have already observed, a check upon that officer.

In view of the many laborious duties, which devolve upon him, the Secretary, in many lodges, receives a compensation for his services.

Should the Treasurer or Secretary die or be expelled, there is no doubt that an election for a successor, to fill the unexpired term, may be held by dispensation from the Grand Master. But the in competency of either of these officers to perform his duties, by reason of the infirmity of sickness or removal from the seat of the lodge, will not, I think, authorize such an election. Because the original officer may recover from his infirmity, or return to his residence and, in either case, having been elected and installed for one year, he must remain the Secretary or Treasurer until the expiration of the period for which he had been so elected and installed and, therefore, on his recovery or his return, is entitled to resume all the prerogatives and functions of his office. The case of death, or of expulsion, which is, in fact, Masonic death, is different, because all the rights possessed during life cease ex necessitate rei and forever lapse at the time of the said physical or Masonic death, and in the latter case, a restoration to all the rights and privileges of Masonry would not restore the party to any office which he had held at the time of his expulsion.