The Colonial Board.

THE COLONIAL BOARD .

THE Quarterly Communication of December 1895 will be notable for the decision of Grand Lodge to abolish the Colonial Board and to return to the old system of keeping all Colonial as well as Home Lodges under the control and supervision of the Board of General Purposes . Whether the

change will be for good or evil remains to bo seen , but irom tho discussion in Grand Lodge it certainly looks as if the proposed alterations in thc Laws had not received the consideration that changes of such a character require and should receive .

When the Grand Registrar and the President of the Board of General Purposes differed as to the meaning of their proposed rule , the one holding that the six Brethren to retire were eligible for re-election , and the other holding they were ineligible—it is hardly to be wondered at that tho suggestion was made , and strongly backed up , that the matter should be

referred back to the Board for re-consideration , and it seems a great pity tho suggestion was not insisted on in the form of a motion . However , this was not done , and the new scheme will therefore become law , if it is confirmed at the Quarterly Communication in March . The object of this paper is to

draw attention to the matter , in order that tho Brethren may consider before March whether it would not bo advisable to non-confirm all the proposed alterations and refer the matter back to the Board to re-consider and to bring up a more satisfactory scheme in June—or leave the law as it stood .

The first question is as to the necessity and advisability of doing away with the Colonial Board and substituting a Colonial Committee of the Board of General Purposes . On the ono side it may of course be contended that a large Board is stronger and can better deal with a difficult matter than a small Board ; but , on the other hand , it may be argued , that a small Board

elected for the special matter alone and presumably for their special qualifications , and having to report to the Grand Lodge direct , is moro likely to give the time and consideration required , and to feci moro responsibility for their decisions than a mere Committee having to report to the whole Board . What is there to prevent the larger Board rejecting entirely the

report , and acting absolutely in opposition to the views of their Committee ? Again , whilst the Colonial Board exists it is to be presumed that the special qualifications of the candidates would be alone taken into account in their election , but it by no means follows that a Colonial P . M ., who might be considered by Grand Lodge as the best man to be found for Colonial matters ,

would necessarily be considered the best man for all the duties of the Board of General Purposes ; and although if elected to the Board of General Purposes he would undouhtedly be put on tho Colonial Committee , it might well be that -he would fail to secure election on the General Board . It is greatly to be feared , especially under the present system of canvassing and caucus

arrangements , that no Colonial P . M . will have any chance of election , and that unless the M . W . G . M . appoints Colonials , the Colonial Committee will contain no Colonial element , but will simply be a Committee of the Boardpossibly without any member of special qualifications for the post . It must

be remembered that the Colonial Board was first appointed on account of the complaints from the Colonials against the way in which things wero managed by the then Officials and Board of General Purposes , and that the Colonial Board was therefore to report direct to Grand Lodge .

The principle involved in these alterations has not yet been really discussed in Grand Lodge . In March last the Board of General Purposes reported that it appeared to them that great advantage would result by having but one Board , and suggested that they be requested to submit proposals to Grand Lodge for tho purpose of bringing the jurisdiction of the

Colonial Board under that of the General Board . This was carried without discussion , after hearing tho speech of the President of the General Board , in which he stated that the Colonial Board was formed in 1856 " because there happened at that time to be an unusually heavy amount of correspondence with the Brethren in Canada . " It is submitted that this was

hardly a correct statement of the causes , as it will be seen by a careful perusal of the reports of Grand Lodge at that date ( which are more fully given in the " Freemasons' Magazine and Mirror" than in the official

report ) , that this reason was not given , but that thero were numerous and grave complaints from various Colonies of neglect and inattention to their matters—Brother Col . Burlton P . Prov . G . M . of Bengal mentioning an appeal he had sent home , which had remained unattended to for ten years .

In June last it was ruled that this consent to the Board's request to bo allowed to submit proposals was a decision that the Colonial Board should be abolished and that discussion of the main question was precluded . The matter was then adjourned to enable the Colonies to bo consulted on the proposals .

We were told the other evening that twenty-eight Districts and Lodges had been consulted , and only five had replied . It would be interesting to know how many of the Districts have held meetings since they received the notice , as some of them may not have done so . The time given has been none too long .

It is noteworthy that only one answer , from the District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelogo , approves of the alteration ; another , from the District Grand Lodge of Bombay , seems to think it a matter of indifference ; the District Grand Lodge of Queensland and Lodge 656 ( the Cambrian of

Australia ) are against the abolition of the Board . The District Grand Lodge of Queensland , and the District Grand Secretary of Sonth Africa ( Western Division ) urge the desirability , if a change bo made , of having Brethren with Colonial experience on the New Board . In considering these answers it must be borne in mind that in the Indian Districts , where the European element is so largely official , so to say , the

The Colonial Board.

difficulties arising from the formation of independent Grand Lodges , which now form such a serious part of tho work of the Colonial Board , do not arise so strongly as in the case of the more purely Colonial Districts such as New Zealand , Australia , and Africa ; and the Indian element is more likely to be

represented at home through natural causes , moro Indian Brethren of position in Masonry returning to England to reside than Brethren from the other Colonies ; tae Indian Districts would therefore bo hardly so likely to feel the necessity for a special Board as the others .

Iu June , one ot the speakers , Bro . J . S . Cumberland , urged that in consequence of tho secessions of Lodges to join independent Grand Lodges the labour of the Colonial Board had been much lightened , as compared with 185 G . This is hardly correct . Up to September 1856 the last Lodge Warranted bore the number 984 , which at the re-numbering in 1863 , only

seven years after , came down to 684 . The total number of Colonial and Foreign Lodges now on tho roll , according to tho calendar for 1896 , is 446 out of a total of 2 , 146 . If the proportion was the same in 1856 it would give tho number of Colonial Lodges as 205 , but this is on the manifestly incorrect assumption that all the 984 were working—probably 150 would be much nearer

the mark . It would seem , therefore , that tho work of fche Colonial Board , so far from being lightened , must bo so much increased that it is a question whether , instead of abolishing the Colonial Board , tho time has not now come for appointing an Assistant Grand Secretary for the Colonies , India , and Foreign parts ? .

At any rato it is clear that the Colonial Committee should be largely , if not entirely , composed of men with Colonial experience , and it is much to be regretted that some scheme cannot be formulated which would ensure this . The Grand Registrar ' s objection to that part of Bro . Eve's proposed amendment , which would give tbe Board power to add Colonial Past Masters

to the Colonial Committee , if there wero not a sufficient number elected on the General Board—viz ., that such power would enable the Board to overrule Grand Lodgo—was , it appears to us , an oversight . If the Constitutions expressly give that power to tho Board they would not bo over-ruling Grand Lodgo by exercising it . The Board would only be acting in accordance with powers given them to deal with such an emergency .

Failing this it would be better to revert to the form of the Constitutions cf 1858 , ancl provide that so many Colonial members shall be appointed b y tho Grand Master . If it be argued that this would be an interference with his prerogative , it must be remembered that his power fco appoint depends upon the Constitutions , and the Craft can , at pleasure , diminish or enlarge his powers in this respect .

If , however , the law is to be as passed the other evening , some regulation should bo made as to tho form of thc Agenda and voting papers , to enable the Brethren to see who of the candidates nominated have had Colonial experience . At present the papers do not give this information , in fact they are very unsatisfactory , and the general body of the Craft have nothing to guide them as to who are the best men to elect .

In connection wifch this point arises the question of the method in which the six to retire are to be determined . They should be fixed upon by some principle , and those who aro to retire should not be allowed to stand for re-election . Then the Craft would known a little what they were doing , and

not throw away votes . If the President's explanation was correctly understood all are allowed to stand , but if all the old members are re-elected , the six lowest on the poll would havo to retire , in favour of the next highest six not elected I A more unsatisfactory way of doing things it is difficult to

imagine . It would be a great assistance to the Craft in forming a proper opinion whom to vote for , if with thc nominations there were printed a record of the attendances at Board and Committee meetings of each old member , showing how many attendances each could have made , and did not make , in the past year ; and also the nnmber of years each had been upon the Board .

Afc fche present time this is absolutely unknown to the Craft in general , and Bro . Dr . Pocock might lose very valued colleagues through the Craft being unaware what services thoy had rendered , and allowing themselves to be guided simply by the popularity or otherwise of the individual Brethren , Popularity is a strong recommendation to a Brother , but it should not in these days bo his only or principal qualification .

What can be the reason for omitting Rule 287 without some equivalent ? The great complaint in 1856 was of neglect and inattention on the part of the then Officials and General Board , and tho Rules establishing the Colonial Board therefore provided that the Grand Secretary should submit to the Board , at its first meeting after their receipt , all communications received from the Colonies .

The assurances of the President that all Colonial business coming before the Board shall go before the Committee , and that Colonials , if on the Board , shall bo of right on the Colonial Committee , are satisfactory as far as they go ; but the Colonies have a right to ask that some provision shall be made to ensure a fair Colonial representation ; and the Craft at large have a right

to ask that they may have a chance of coming to an intelligent decision . It is to be hoped that before March the Board may see their way clear to suggest some rules that will secure those points , and so save the chance of a non-confirmation of the minutes being carried , with a reference back to the Board for a new scheme to be prepared and submitted at some future time . LEX SCRIPTA .

The Masonic bazaar held at Glasgow , on behalf of the Kilwinning Hall Fund , ended on Saturday , the takings for the three days during which it was opened reaching upwards of £ 900 .