I used to be genuinely disgusted by the Metropolitan Police and their new policy that requires every Freemason to declare their membership. At the time it felt like yet another strange idea born from the old conspiracy theories that cling to the Craft. The claim that membership needed to be recorded in order to prevent corruption struck me as unfair, unnecessary, and completely out of proportion. It seemed wrong that Freemasons were being singled out while countless other groups were not. What about the Lions, the Round Table, the RAC, the AA, any hobby club, fan club, band, choir, Scouts, Guides, St Johns, charity groups, or even family associations. Every group or association on earth could be described as a place where two members might look out for one another or do a favour.

For a long time I supported Grand Lodge in their opposition to the policy. I believed the whole thing was misguided and that it placed an unreasonable burden on ordinary members who had done nothing wrong. But recent events have forced me to rethink my position. My view has shifted completely. I now find myself fully on the side of the Metropolitan Police. I believe that Freemasons should be registered and that proper oversight is necessary.

I will now explain why my views have shifted so dramatically.

I am in Rose Croix, and as in every other order there is a steady progression. People on the ladder usually move up one step at the annual Installation meeting. This year the Brother who was due to go into the chair had been unwell for some time. He was not really strong enough to take the chair, but he dearly wanted to, and we were prepared to support him and make it work. Then, in the weeks leading up to the Installation, quiet conversations began to circulate. The Craft Provincial Grand Master wanted to go into the chair of Rose Croix.

I should make it clear that he is indeed a member. He joined, attended for about a year, and then vanished for eight or more years. Now he wished to go through the chair so that he could be made a Thirtieth Degree Mason. The quiet talk suggested that the plan was to hold back everyone on the ladder who should have been promoted this year and simply place the PGM at the top of the list.

More details then leaked out, and the truth was even worse than that. The plan was not only to jump the PGM ahead of everyone who turns up to every meeting and does the work. The plan was to put his name at the top of the line, then on the night when the Master was due to be installed, make that Brother step down because of his health and place the PGM in the chair for one single meeting. He would only need to attend once, do nothing, and then receive his Thirtieth Degree, even though every other member must perform every part of the ritual before becoming eligible.

Sadly the Brother who was due to take the chair became too ill to continue, and the plan had to be rushed. They placed the PGM directly into the chair on his first appearance in eight years. The difficulty was that the order has rules, and those rules state clearly that he was not eligible to go into the chair. The Secretary therefore wrote to the powers above, explaining that the Brother due to be installed was too ill to advance and that no one else was eligible, and asking for a special dispensation to allow the PGM to take the chair even though he did not meet the requirements. As a side note, every single member of our Chapter is more eligible to take the chair than the PGM.

Since the PGM is friendly with those in authority, the dispensation was granted. He was placed in the chair, and he will no doubt receive his higher degrees without doing the work. Not through merit, not through effort, but simply because he holds office in another order.

This is why my view has changed completely. If some Freemasons are willing to trample over their own Brethren in order to advance themselves, then it raises a troubling question. If they will do this to fellow Masons, what might they do to people who are not Masons?