If the information is derived from another Brother, who states that he has examined the party, then all that has already been said of the competency of the one giving the information is equally applicable.  The Brother, giving the original information, must be competent to make a rigid examination.  Again, the person giving the information, the one receiving it, and the one of whom it is given, should be all present at the time; for otherwise there would be no certainty of identity.  Information, therefore, given by letter or through a third party, is highly irregular.  The information must also be positive, not founded on belief or opinion, but derived from a legitimate source.  And, lastly, it must not have been received casually, but for the very purpose of being used for masonic purposes.  For one to say to another in the course of a desultory conversation:  “A.B. is a Mason,” is not sufficient.  He may not be speaking with due caution, under the expectation that his words will be considered of weight.  He must say something to this effect:  “I know this man to be a Master Mason,” for such or such reasons, and you may safely recognize him as such.  This alone will insure the necessary care and proper observance of prudence.

If the information given is on the ground that the person, vouched has been seen sitting in a lodge by the voucher, care must be taken to inquire if it was a “Lodge of Master Masons.”  A person may forget, from the lapse of time, and vouch for a stranger as a Master Mason, when the lodge in which he saw him was only opened in the first or second degree.

Section V.

Of the Right of Claiming Relief.

One of the great objects of our institution is, to afford relief to a worthy, distressed Brother.  In his want and destitution, the claim of a Mason upon his Brethren is much greater than that of a profane.  This is a Christian as well as a masonic doctrine.  “As we have therefore opportunity,” says St. Paul, “let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

This claim for relief he may present either to a lodge or to a Brother Mason.  The rule, as well as the principles by which it is to be regulated, is laid down in that fundamental law of Masonry, the Old Charges, in the following explicit words, under the head of “Behavior towards a strange Brother:” 

“You are cautiously to examine him, in such a method as prudence shall direct you, that you may not be imposed upon by an ignorant, false pretender, whom you are to reject with contempt and derision, and beware of giving him any hints of knowledge.

“But if you discover him to be a true and genuine Brother, you are to respect him accordingly; and if he is in want, you must relieve him if you can, or else direct him how he may be relieved.  You must employ him some days, or else recommend him to be employed.  But you are not charged to do beyond your ability, only to prefer a poor Brother, that is a good man and true, before any other people in the same circumstances.”