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The Meeting Of Grand Lodge
THE MEETING OF GRAND LODGE
AT the Quarterly Communication , to be held on Wednesday next , after the minutes of the last Quarterly and the Special Meeting on the 3 rd January have been read and confirmed , the M . W . Grand Master will recommend the adoption of the motion passed on the
latter occasion , when it was determined to present the sum of £ 4 , 000 to the Royal National Life-Boat Institution , for the purpose of building , furnishing , and endowing two additional Life-Boats , as a memorial , in perpetuity , of H . R . H . the Grand Master's safe return from his visit to
India . Then will take place the election of the Grand Master and Grand Treasurer . The reports of the Lodge of Benevolence and Board of General Purposes will then be submitted for approval . The former recommends certain grants of money , amounting together to £ 600 .
The latter brings under notice certain irregularities committed by two provincial Lodges , in passing and raising sundry brethren at shorter intervals than are prescribed by the Constitutions , and the penalties inflicted by the aaid Board in consequence . To this latter report is
appended a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts at the last meeting of the Finance Committee , on the 16 th ult ., showing a balance in the hands of the Grand Treasurer of £ 6 , 997 19 s 2 d , together with the usual balances , in the hands of the Grand Secretary , for petty expenses and
servants' wages . The report of the auditor for the year 1876 will then be read , and certain appeals made against a decision ( a ) of the D . Prov . Grand Master of Northamptonshire and Hunts , and ( b ) of the Board of General Purposes . Then will follow two motions . The first of these will be
brought forward by Bro . the Rev . H . J . Hatch , W . M . No . 160 , to the effect that a Masonic Temple , with more extended accommodation , and worthy of the rank , wealth , and increasing importance of the Craft , be erected , either on the Thames Embankment , or in some conspicuous part
of London , and that to this end a committee be appointed to consider what steps should be taken to promote this object . The new Temple thus to be erected might also form a lasting memorial of the Grand Master ' s visit to India . The second motion is by Bro . Benjamin Mallam , P . M . 108 ,
who proposes thafc a sura of money be voted to the Alexandra Orphanage , sufficient to allow the Committee to place one of the blocks of the buildings apart for the use of infant orphans of Freemasons . As to the first of these motions , we are not in the secrets of our Rev . Bro . Hatch .
We cannot , therefore , even divine tbe nature of the arguments he will adduce in support of his proposition . It is not to be denied thafc on important occasions , when the attendance of members is unusually large , Grand Lodge is inconveniently crowded , and , doubtless , this will form the
chief ground of his motion . But in all respects the Hal ) , though it may not accord with the more expensive tastes of the time , is not unworthy of the Craft . The simpler Masonry is in its tastes and habits the better . The receipts of Grand Lodge are considerable , and show annually , as
the Pro Grand Master said at the Special Communication in January , a large surplus . But tbe demands on its Charity are increasing likewise , while our three Institutions have already a hard battle to fight in order to raise the
necessary funds for their maintenance , and enable them to keep pace ^ with the heavier claims which are now made on their resources . The sum that was raised last year towards their support was considerable , and we trust that when the present year is ended it will be
The Meeting Of Grand Lodge
found that a still greater sum has been raised on their account . But there is such a thing as " having too many irons in the fire . " There is no doubt the English Craft , as a body , is wealthy . Its members stand well in society , and its importance is steadily on tho increase . But we
must not attempt too many things at once . The Girls ' School will shortly accommodate over two hundred pupils . In May next , the number of annuitants , male and female together , on the Benevolent Fund , will be raised from 243
to 273 , and there are in addition twelve other females in receipt of more modest pensions . A scheme is now under consideration for the purpose of raising the number of pupils in the Boys' School from about 180 to 300 . Once all these additional claims on our Charitable Institutions
have been established , it will require still more strenuous efforts to be made yearly in order to satisfy them . What suffices now for their maintenance will not suffice when the numbers have been thus greatly enlarged . Grand Lodge may need more extended accommodation , but we must not
trespass too far on the benevolence of the Craft . We already have in hand a large amount of charitable work which must be done . There never was a time when the Fraternit y generally were better able or more willing to satisfy the claims of charity . But the construction of a suitable
Temple , " on the Thames Embankment , or in some other conspicuous part of London , " will be costly . The new Masonic Temple at Philadelphia cost over a million and a half of dollars , or about £ 300 , 000 in English money . The Grand Lodge of New York is at the present time in
debt to the extent of between seven and ei ght hundred thousand dollars on account of its new Temple , opened in June 1875 . Nor do we imagine thafc the erection of a similar structure in some favoured spot in our metropolis , would be in any respect less costly . The site alone would
probably cost a large fortune , for land in London commands a very high price , while the structure itself would require a still larger expenditure , to say nothing of the furniture and fittings which would be needed in order to make it suitable for Masonic purposes . Let us then be
content with what we have already . If not as large and commodious as we could wish , it has at least the merit of satisfying the ordinary requirements of Grand Lodge . For the present let us turn our whole and undivided atteutiou to the necessities of different Charitable Institutions .
The motion of Bro . Mallam must be described as inopportune . We have said a plan is now being considered for the extension of the Boys' School , and one of the propositions which will be brought under the notice of the House Committee of that Institution , is to establish a Preparatory
School for small children . This , of course , would meet the case of the small boys . Let us know , first of all , the decision of the House Committee before any further proposition is made , and likewise ascertain if a similar proposal in connection with the Girls' School may not be practicable .
Nothing , at all events , will be lost by waiting the issue of a well-digested plan . And if Grand Lodge is at a loss to dispose of its surplus funds , we know no better way of
appropriating them than by increasing its annual grants to our existing Charities . This seems to us , at all events , a far preferable course to that of giving money for the purpose suggested in Bro . Mallam ' s motion .
It remains for us to add that attached to the proceedings of Grand Lodge at its last Quarterly Communication on 6 th December , the usual statements of account , showing in the first place , the receipts in detail from the different Lodges during the quarter ended the 30 th September , and then the receipts and expenditure for the same period of ( a )
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Meeting Of Grand Lodge
THE MEETING OF GRAND LODGE
AT the Quarterly Communication , to be held on Wednesday next , after the minutes of the last Quarterly and the Special Meeting on the 3 rd January have been read and confirmed , the M . W . Grand Master will recommend the adoption of the motion passed on the
latter occasion , when it was determined to present the sum of £ 4 , 000 to the Royal National Life-Boat Institution , for the purpose of building , furnishing , and endowing two additional Life-Boats , as a memorial , in perpetuity , of H . R . H . the Grand Master's safe return from his visit to
India . Then will take place the election of the Grand Master and Grand Treasurer . The reports of the Lodge of Benevolence and Board of General Purposes will then be submitted for approval . The former recommends certain grants of money , amounting together to £ 600 .
The latter brings under notice certain irregularities committed by two provincial Lodges , in passing and raising sundry brethren at shorter intervals than are prescribed by the Constitutions , and the penalties inflicted by the aaid Board in consequence . To this latter report is
appended a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts at the last meeting of the Finance Committee , on the 16 th ult ., showing a balance in the hands of the Grand Treasurer of £ 6 , 997 19 s 2 d , together with the usual balances , in the hands of the Grand Secretary , for petty expenses and
servants' wages . The report of the auditor for the year 1876 will then be read , and certain appeals made against a decision ( a ) of the D . Prov . Grand Master of Northamptonshire and Hunts , and ( b ) of the Board of General Purposes . Then will follow two motions . The first of these will be
brought forward by Bro . the Rev . H . J . Hatch , W . M . No . 160 , to the effect that a Masonic Temple , with more extended accommodation , and worthy of the rank , wealth , and increasing importance of the Craft , be erected , either on the Thames Embankment , or in some conspicuous part
of London , and that to this end a committee be appointed to consider what steps should be taken to promote this object . The new Temple thus to be erected might also form a lasting memorial of the Grand Master ' s visit to India . The second motion is by Bro . Benjamin Mallam , P . M . 108 ,
who proposes thafc a sura of money be voted to the Alexandra Orphanage , sufficient to allow the Committee to place one of the blocks of the buildings apart for the use of infant orphans of Freemasons . As to the first of these motions , we are not in the secrets of our Rev . Bro . Hatch .
We cannot , therefore , even divine tbe nature of the arguments he will adduce in support of his proposition . It is not to be denied thafc on important occasions , when the attendance of members is unusually large , Grand Lodge is inconveniently crowded , and , doubtless , this will form the
chief ground of his motion . But in all respects the Hal ) , though it may not accord with the more expensive tastes of the time , is not unworthy of the Craft . The simpler Masonry is in its tastes and habits the better . The receipts of Grand Lodge are considerable , and show annually , as
the Pro Grand Master said at the Special Communication in January , a large surplus . But tbe demands on its Charity are increasing likewise , while our three Institutions have already a hard battle to fight in order to raise the
necessary funds for their maintenance , and enable them to keep pace ^ with the heavier claims which are now made on their resources . The sum that was raised last year towards their support was considerable , and we trust that when the present year is ended it will be
The Meeting Of Grand Lodge
found that a still greater sum has been raised on their account . But there is such a thing as " having too many irons in the fire . " There is no doubt the English Craft , as a body , is wealthy . Its members stand well in society , and its importance is steadily on tho increase . But we
must not attempt too many things at once . The Girls ' School will shortly accommodate over two hundred pupils . In May next , the number of annuitants , male and female together , on the Benevolent Fund , will be raised from 243
to 273 , and there are in addition twelve other females in receipt of more modest pensions . A scheme is now under consideration for the purpose of raising the number of pupils in the Boys' School from about 180 to 300 . Once all these additional claims on our Charitable Institutions
have been established , it will require still more strenuous efforts to be made yearly in order to satisfy them . What suffices now for their maintenance will not suffice when the numbers have been thus greatly enlarged . Grand Lodge may need more extended accommodation , but we must not
trespass too far on the benevolence of the Craft . We already have in hand a large amount of charitable work which must be done . There never was a time when the Fraternit y generally were better able or more willing to satisfy the claims of charity . But the construction of a suitable
Temple , " on the Thames Embankment , or in some other conspicuous part of London , " will be costly . The new Masonic Temple at Philadelphia cost over a million and a half of dollars , or about £ 300 , 000 in English money . The Grand Lodge of New York is at the present time in
debt to the extent of between seven and ei ght hundred thousand dollars on account of its new Temple , opened in June 1875 . Nor do we imagine thafc the erection of a similar structure in some favoured spot in our metropolis , would be in any respect less costly . The site alone would
probably cost a large fortune , for land in London commands a very high price , while the structure itself would require a still larger expenditure , to say nothing of the furniture and fittings which would be needed in order to make it suitable for Masonic purposes . Let us then be
content with what we have already . If not as large and commodious as we could wish , it has at least the merit of satisfying the ordinary requirements of Grand Lodge . For the present let us turn our whole and undivided atteutiou to the necessities of different Charitable Institutions .
The motion of Bro . Mallam must be described as inopportune . We have said a plan is now being considered for the extension of the Boys' School , and one of the propositions which will be brought under the notice of the House Committee of that Institution , is to establish a Preparatory
School for small children . This , of course , would meet the case of the small boys . Let us know , first of all , the decision of the House Committee before any further proposition is made , and likewise ascertain if a similar proposal in connection with the Girls' School may not be practicable .
Nothing , at all events , will be lost by waiting the issue of a well-digested plan . And if Grand Lodge is at a loss to dispose of its surplus funds , we know no better way of
appropriating them than by increasing its annual grants to our existing Charities . This seems to us , at all events , a far preferable course to that of giving money for the purpose suggested in Bro . Mallam ' s motion .
It remains for us to add that attached to the proceedings of Grand Lodge at its last Quarterly Communication on 6 th December , the usual statements of account , showing in the first place , the receipts in detail from the different Lodges during the quarter ended the 30 th September , and then the receipts and expenditure for the same period of ( a )