Quarterly Court Of The Girls' School.

QUARTERLY COURT OF THE GIRLS' SCHOOL .

THE Quarterly Court of the Governors aud Subscribers to tho Eoyal Masonio Institution for Girls was held on Saturday last , at Freemasons' Hall . Thero wero present Bros . Col . Creaton ( in the chair ) , A . II . Tattcrshall , A . E . Gladwell , T . F . Peacock , It . B . Webster , Griffiths Smith , J . E . Le Fenvre , II . Massey , James E . Peters , H . Dicketts , W . Eoebnck , A . F . A . Woodford , Thos . W . White , A .

Tisley , A . Hopwood , C . Harcourt , Thomas Massa , Raynham W . Stewart , S . Rawson , C . J . Perceval , Tyerman , F . W . Ramsay , John Faulkner , C . F . Matier , L . Euf , J . Terry , P . do L . Long , D . D . Berry , H . Potter , F . Binckes , J . G . Stevens , H . T . Thompson , Hugh H . Riach , G . J . Row , T . Kingston , W . Marne , W . 11 . Woodman , Robert Berridge , and F . R . W . Hedges Secretary . The list of candidates

for the April election was declared , by which it appeared thero wero 48 candidates , and 1 - vacancies for children to bo elected . Ou the motion of Bro . Peacock , seconded by Bro . Griffiths Smith , Bro . John Faulkner was appointed honorary dental surgeon to the Institution . The brethren then considered tho now laws of the Institution as drawn by tho Special Snb-Committcc . Tho discussion ou theso laws

occupied about two hours . Tho brethren struck out that portion of the new Law 55 which proposed that a candidate ' s father should havo subscribed to ono of tho Masonic Institutions . Bro . Woodford submitted that such a law would be making Freemasonry a benefit society , and this was entirely contrary to the spirit of Masonry . Bro . R . B . Webster , as ono of fcho sub-committeo , explained thafc tho

suggestion that there should be such a condition of candidature emanated from one or two members of tho sub-committee , and that it had been put in only for the purpose of ascertaining the opinion of the Court , nnd not in any belief that it would bo carried . Tho subcommittee would bo perfectly satisfied by the proposition being negatived . The Court closed with a voto of thanks to the chairman .

Quarterly Meeting Of The Boys' School.

QUARTERLY MEETING OF THE BOYS ' SCHOOL .

THE Qrarterly Meeting of the Subscribers and Governors of tho Royal Masonic Institution for Boys was held on Monday last at the . Freemasons' Hall . Thero were present Col . Creaton ( chairman ) , S . Rawson , W . Roebuck , F . W . Ramsay , H . Massey , W . H . Perry , man , Geo . Bolton , Don . M . Dewnr , C . F . Matier , J . Terry , A . F . A . Woodford , H . A . Dubois , J . W . Baldwin , Eev . Richard Morris , Head

Master , J . IT . Cox , Eavnham W . Stewart , John Mason , Arthur E . Gladwell , C . F . Hogard " , W . R . Applcbee , A . Tisley , L . Rtif , C . Pulman , and F . Binckes Secretary . Bro . Hedges , Secretary of the Girls' School , also attended . After the minutes had been read and confirmed , the brethren resolved that tho letter from Bro . John Symonds , thanking thom for tho vote of last Quarterly Conrt , in which they acknowledged his numerous services to tho Institution ,

was ordered to be entered on the minutes . Bro . W . H . Lovejoy was appointed honorary dental sergeon to the Institution . Sixty-eight candidates for election in April were then declared to be the number , and the vacancies in the School to bo then supplied wero declared to bo sixteen . Tbe brethren then passed tho now laws sent up to the Court by tho Sub-Committee , aiid in a discussion of nearly two hours mado various alterations in thom , and afterwards adjourned .

There Is No Middle Path.

THERE IS NO MIDDLE PATH .

From the VOICE OF MASONRY . THE recent action of the Grancl Lodge of Illinois in declining any longer to recognise the Grand Lodge of Scotland as a legitimate Masonic organisation , or its members as worthy of being received as brethren so long as they are falsa to that jurisprudence which declares that no Grand Lod ge shall dare to infringe tho jurisdiction of a sister Grand Lodgo by establishing Lodges within its territory , ia right . This law is almost considered a landmark bv American Grand

Lodges , and although tho Masonic Magazine , of London , England , may insinuate that our legislation is hasty , ancl influenced by surrounding circumstances , which is false ; and notwithstanding Bro . Woodford , of The Freemason , also of London , may write essavs to the Fame effect , I defy him even to say that the Grand Lodge of Scotland acted with courtesy or common decency towards a Grand Bodywhich

, only a few months previously it had declared to be the Supreme Masonic governing organisation over tho Province of Quebec . The Grand Locige of Illinois saw the matter iu its true light , and did not attempt to sneak out of tho roaponsibilityofdealingwith . it as did the Grand Lodge of Canada , by laying it over for another year .

ISo , the Grand Lodge of Illinois , having recognised the Grand Lodgo of Quebec , threw policy to the winds , and supported justice and honour by afc once upholding the hands of her sister Grand Lodge in the hour of her peril , and by one sharp incision laying open tho ^ foul ulcer , and then severing all further intercourse with a Grand Lod » e so void of honour as that of Scotland . °

Ifc was far easier to act in tho sneaking , roundabout way suggested in the non-committal policy advanced by the timid Grancl Master of Canada , but Illinois declared , " There is no middle path , " ancl without hesitation nobl y supported tho doctrine , universall y held on this Continent

, of exclusive Grand Lodge Sovereignty , and declared all intercourse between itself aud the Grand Lodge of Scotland at an end till snch time as that Grancl Body acknowledges its error and withdraws its spnrions charters from the jurisdiction of tbe Grand Lod ^ c ol Quebec . °

There is no middle path in Freemasonry . It has certain fixed laws and standing regulations that aro acknowledged as binding upon all legitimate Grand Lodges , and if any one of the great sisterhood of Graud Lodges dares to break these laws and infringe upon this

There Is No Middle Path.

Masonic comity it must reap tho just punishment ifc so richly deserves , and the older that Grand Lodge is the more condign and universal must the necessity be of at once protesting against and denouncing its acts and edicts . If we permit the weaker sister to be pushed to the wall by the arrogance of a stronger sister we aro untrue to ourselves and false to those professions of honour aud justice

thafc wo , as Freemasons , hold to be so dear to our hearts . Wo cannot permit the weak to bo trampled upon because they are weak , nor can wo allow tho strong to triumph because they aro strong , venerable , and powerful . Au insult offered to a Grand Lodgo with which we are on friendly terms must bo accepted as an insult , to ourselves , or otherwise what

uso is there of our fraternal relations , our constant correspondence , onr mutual expressions of esteem , ancl our exchange of Grand Representatives . There is either a something in our acceptance of a newly organised Grand Lodge into our common sisterhood of Grand Lodges or there is nothing . Which is it ? In ordinary life if a man attacked tho character and injured the reputation of our friend and brother ,

wo would resent the insult ancl avoid or denounce tho creature that dared to do so ; how much more necessary is it for us to do so in our collective , executive , or legislative capacity as Craftsmen in Grancl Lodgo assembled , when we see tho rights ancl privileges of our allies infringed upon by those from whom wo shonld expect friendship , advice , and support .

Our boasted system of Grand Lodgo Sovereignty is a farce if we do not support each , other in upholding it . If wo remain on friendly terms and greet as brethren those who knowingly violate it , we expose ourselves justly to the taunts and sneers of our opponents . We drag our flag in the dust , aud soil our aprons nofc with the cement of friendship and brotherly lovo , bufc with tho dirt of meanness and the filth of cowardice .

To proclaim a doctrine and join an alliance , as it wero , in support of that doctrine , and then permit a Grand Lodgo upholding that dogma , and with which wo aro on friendly terms and have exchanged Grancl Representatives , to have its jurisdiction infringed and spurious Lodges established iu its midst , and finally , as if to add insult to injury , a so-called illegal Provincial Grand Lodgo organised in its

commercial metropolis , without protesting and at once hurling back the menace , by severing all Masonic connection with it and ifcs subordinates till such time as it retracts , is to act the parfc of the coward and the poltroon . As I before observed , " there is no middle path , " ancl the Grancl Lodge of Illinois by making a stand afc once has merited the praise and insfc approval of the six hundred thousand

Masons on this Continent . It is easy to say , " Let timo heal the wound . ' Does tho surgeon say , when he sees gangrene assuming its fatal form , let nature tako i ( s course , or docs ho use the cautery and the knife ? Does tho law allow the culprit to escape because ifc is a first offence , or does it punish him for the deed ? Does tho clergyman tell tho fallen one ,

" never mind , yon have only committed the sfu a few times , " or does he nofc protest and censure , in the name of his Master , and explain that unless ho or sho repents and returns to tho right path a just and awful punishment awaits him or her ? Likewise with onr Masonio organisation , we must warn , protest , and sever connection with those who defy our laws and act without feeling or care for those whom

we acknowledge as friends and brothers . The do-nothing policy does not answer in Masonry any more than ifc does in politics , medicine , surgery , law , or religion . Ifc proclaims , in tho first place , a laxity of moral stamina , and in the second place , it shows a cowardly spirit that would shirk a trial and shun a difficulty . There is no middle path in Freemasonry , and those

brethren who think there is will find themselves mistaken , and when the hour of their trial arrives will perceive that their former lukewarmness and indifference to the rights ancl welfare of their neighbours aud allies will recoil with interest upon themselves . Experience teaches us that a straightforward and honourable course will tell in the long run far better than duplicity and deceit ,

and consequently I argue that it ; doubly behoves the Freemason to act the part of an honourable aud upright man , and our governing bndies must conduct their proceedings in au equally straightforward manner . If a wrong has been done to tho Ciaffc Universal , they must denounce it with no uncertain sound . Meally-mouthed utterances and smooth-tongued platitudes are out of place on such an

occasion . What has a Grand Lodge to fear when she proclaims the right and acts with justice ? Absolutely nothing . Why , then , in this particular instance are the Graud Lodges of this Continent to hesitate , when a fragrant ) outrage has been committed on the Graud Locige of Quebec by the Grancl Lodgo of Scotland—an outrage so contemptible that The Scottish Freemason , tho organ of the Craffc itself in thafc

country , has beseeched its ruling members to wait , to stop , before it committed an outrage so absolutely without principle that no Masonio jnris-consult on this Continent , or writer of eminence , has dared , through the columns of tho press to even excuse , leave alone defend it . All honour then to tho Grand Lodge of Illinois in tho nolde stand it has t-ken in support of the rights , titles aud privileges of tho Grand Lodgo

of Quebec . The Grancl Lodge of New Brunswick touched the keynote at its re . cent Animal Communication , and now the Grand Lodge of Illinois has blown a clarion blast , which will bo tak ^ n up by evpry American Grand Lodge from tho Atlantic to the Pacific , from the frozen lakes of the north to the sweet smelling forests of tho south . We rejoice at the

sound of it . It is clear , pure and lond , and all that is good and true in Freemasonry will answer to that ca'l , whi .-b -a * , s , "Our SiVer . the Grand Locige of Quebec has been inau ted , her i .-rri'ory I as been invaded , her rights having been ignored , her jurisdr tion has been infringed upon and tho invader must he driven forth , his followers no

lmger received in oar Lodgo rooms , and his adherents n > more ac knowledged as Masons and Brethren . " This is what , the Grand Lodgo of Illinois declares , and her noble stand will never be forgotten by tho friends , allies and members of tbe Grand Lodge of Quebec . Truly there is no middle path in Freemasonry . Junticiri Semper Reget Imperiu .