United Grand Lodge Of England.

UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND .

The following is the business to be transacted in Grand Lodge on Wednesday next : — i . The minutes of the Quarterly Communication of the 4 th December , 188 9 , for confirmation . 2 . Election of a M . W . Grand Master .

3 . Election of a Grand Treasurer . Bro . Augustus Glossop Harris , P . M . 2127 , London , the only nomination . 4 . Report of the Board of Benevolence for the last quarter , in which are recommendations for the following grants : —

A brother of the Lodge True Friendship , No . 160 , Rochford ... £ 50 o o A brother of the Union Waterloo Lodge , No . 13 , Woolwich ... 50 o o A brother of the Royal Lancashire Lodge , No . 116 , Colne ... ... 50 o o A brother of the Forest Lodge , No . 1 S 52 , Mansfield 50 o o A brother of the ConstitutionalSLodge , No . 55 , London 50 o o A brother of the Great City Lodge , No . 1426 , London ... ... fio o o A brother of the Clerkenwell Lodge , No . 1964 , London ... ... 75 0 o A brother of the Pythagorean Lodge , No . 79 , Greenwich ... ... 70 o o

5 . REPORT OK THE BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSESTo the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England . The Board have to report that they have had under their consideration the rate

of salary at present received by Brother Adam John Berry , fifth clerk in the Grand Secretary ' s office , who has served them for 14 years , and arrived four years ago at the maximum rate of £ 200 a year—as fixed for all the junior clerks by Grand Lodge in the year 1874—and whose age renders his prospects of future advancement very remote .

It appears to the Board that under the circumstances some small addition might fairly be made to his present rate , and they therefore recommend the following arrangement for the approval of Grand Lodge : —

That the salary of Brother Adam John Berry be raised to £ 225 from the ist January last . " The Board have further to report that R . W . Brother Sir John Braddick Monckton , P . G . W ., has offered for the acceptance of Grand Lodge a portrait of himself , painted by Brother B . S . Marks , and vvhich vvas presented to him some years ago by the Buckingham and Chandos Lodge , No . 1150 . The Board are much gratified that an opportunity should occur of placing in some honourable

position , the portrait of the eminent brother who presided over the Board for a period of 10 years with such distinguished ability , and have great pleasure in recommending that it be accepted with thanks b y Grand Lodge , and placed on the walls of the Board Room . ( Signed ) THOMAS FENN , President . Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C , 18 th February , 1890 .

To the report is subjoined a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts , at the last meeting of the Finance Committee , held on Friday , the 14 th day of February inst ., showing a balance in the Bank of England ( Western Branch ) of £ 5319 14 s . 3 d ., and in the hands of the Grand Secretary for petty cash £ 100 , and for servants ' wages £ 100 , and balance of annual allowance for library £ 23 8 s . 1 id . 6 . Report of Bro . John Smith , Auditor of the Grand Lodge accounts , of receipts and disbursements during the year 188 9 . List of lodges for vvhich warrants have been granted by the M . W . Grand Master since the last Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge .

Lodge 2334 , The Jersey , Bicester , Oxfordshire . w 2 335 , The Cycling and Athletic , Wavertree , Lancashire ( W . D . ) „ 233 6 , The Shadwell Clerke , Penang , Eastern Archipelago . » 2 337 . The Read , Kvvala Lumpor , Selangor , Eastern Archipelago . „ 2338 , The Aramac , Aramac , Queensland . n 2 339 i The Mistley , Manningtree , Essex . „ 2340 , The Ganges , Cawnpore , Bengal .

„ 2341 , The Clemency , Oldham , Lancashire ( E . D . ) ,, 2342 , The Easterford , Kelvedon , Essex . „ 2343 , The Sir William Harpur , Bedford , Bedfordshire . „ 2344 , The Albert , Southport , Queensland . „ 2345 , The Duke of Fife , Clapham Common . „ 2346 , The Warrant Officers ' , Freemasons' Hall . London .

,, 2347 , The Grafton , Beak-street , Regent-street . „ 2348 , The Lombardian , Leadenhall-street . „ 2349 , The West Lancashire Century , South Shores , Blackpool , Lancashire ( W . D . ) ,, 2350 , The Corinthian , Hindley . Lancashire ( W . D . )

„ 2351 , The Ermine , Lincoln , Lincolnshire . ,, 2352 , The Universities , Durham . 11 2353 , The Broxbourne , Broxbourne , Hertfordshire . » 2354 , The Heidelberg , Heidelberg , South African Republic .

Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

FESTIVAL OF THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

The Annual Festival of the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons vvas held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Tavern . Bro . Sir Henry Aaron Isaacs , Lord Mayor of London , was to have presided , but , unfortunately , his lordshi p vvas seized with an attack of lumbago , which rendered him incapable of moving , and at the last moment he sent

a telegram informing Bro . Terry that he could not leave the house . Bro . the Earl of Euston , Provincial Grand Master of Norths and Hunts , generously threw himself into the gap , and presided during the evening with the greatest ability . I he company vvhich supported him vvas a large one , numbering some 400 brethren , and there vvas also a very large gathering of ladies .

The brethren sat down to a splendid repast , and after it was disposed of , grace was said , and the list of toasts vvas proceeded with . The CHAIRMAN , in proposing the toast of "The Queen , " said before he proceeded to the toasts of the evening , he must apologise for being where he vvas . ( INO , no . ) He had to ask the brethren to accept him as deputy for one who would so worthil y have occupied the chair , and who would have given them a speech vorth listening to—one who was capable of carrying away their hearts and the hearts

of the ladies in the gallery . The cause of his being in that position was nat shortl y before the meeting a telegram vvas received from the Lord Mayor sayng he was confine < i to t ^ house with lumbago and vvas unable to move . All the nr-tnren would feel regret as much as the Lord Mayor himself—a man who had one much for Freemasonry in the past , vvas doing much in the present , and who H hi 'S r * . wotlld do much in tlle future when he had recovered from that attack . eas , , Chairman ) h ; icl taken the chair at a few minutes' notice , ancl it was no bea * u ^ What he did wouldbe £ or the best . he hoped the brethren would r with him . ( Hear , hear . ) The toast he had to propose was one that needed

Festival Of The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

very few words : it needed very few words from anybody when he was addressing a body of Masons , because their motto vvas Charity for one thing , and faithful allegiance to Masons' unwritten laws and the laws of the country in vvhich they lived : therefore they vvere loyal to the backbone ; and he asked the brethren

heartily to drink to her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen , who vvas I ' atron of that Institution , and so long ago as 1845 began her subscriptions with a donation of , £ 50 . Her Majesty vvas one who took an interest in all institutions that vvere charitable , and vvas a woman who , as a mother and as our Queen , vvas the best woman that the world had seen for many years .

The CHAIRMAN then said the next toast on the list vvas one vvhich he was certain would be received as it always was , among all Masons , with acclamation and pleasure ; it was " The Health of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M . " No better Mason lived in England , or in any part of the world , for among all the various and innumerable calls on his time , he never forgot

Freemasonry ; he had always Masonry at heart , and knew everything that went on very nearly as well as many of the brethren present did . When he said that bethought they had a Grand Master they ought to be proud of , and whom they ought to welcome when he came among them , vvhich they only wished he could do a little oftener .

The CHAIRMAN next said the toast he had then to bring before the brethren vvas one that was not difficult to propose , but it vvas difficult to tell men who had done good and long service before their faces in flattering terms of vvhat they had done . There vvere many present who had done good and valuable service in Grand Lodge as Grand Officers . To come shortly to the point , he would mention the name of the Earl of Carnarvon , a most worthy Mason . The name of the Dep ,

Grand Master , the Earl of Lathom , vvas the name of a man who in years gone by had done , and was doing still , as in the past , good and active service for the welfare of the Craft , both generally and in his province . To come to many others whom they met at the festive board , he might mention Bro . Col . Shadwell H . Clerke , Bro . Fenn , Bro . Baron de Ferrieres , and other Grand Officers . There vvere no less

than four Past Grand Treasurers present , and , although they vvere Past Grand Officers , they were not lacking in their interest or zeal for the good of the cause of Freemasonry as it lived and prospered in England . In connection with that toast , he should ask only one to respond—the senior Past Grand Treasurer , Bro . Derb y Allcroft . Long might those brethren live to serve the Craft , and to be a guidance to those who were growing up under them .

Bro . J . DERBY ALLCROFT , P . G . Treasurer , in * reply , said he concurred in the observations of Lord Euston that the brethren who were promoted to Grand Office did not by being raised cease to be active members of the Craft in general . Many others , to his knowledge , took part in lodge meetings , and , as the brethren saw that day with satisfaction , a great many took part in the charitable gatherings

of the Order . They vvere very happy to be present to support the Chairman , and to show their interest in charitable works . So long as they were spared to be of use to the Craft , whether it vvas the Earl of Carnarvon , the Earl of Lathom , or any other , their desire was for the good of the Craft , and their services would be at the disposal of the brethren .

The CHAIRMAN again rose and said it vvas With very great diffidence that he put the next toast , because it vvas a toast which the Chairman who vvas to have been present would have put in such language and so nicely , even without any preparation whatever , that he ( Lord Euston ) with no preparation felt utterl y unequal to it . He regretted sincerely that the Lord Mayor vvas not present to propose the toast , because he had been looking forward to hear a speech he would be able to

think of and carry away with him . The toast was the toast of the evening , " Success to the Institution" they vvere met to celebrate another anniversary of , and to show that they vvere still in harmony with their Charities , and vvere willing , so far as they vvere able , to continue that support of them vvhich vvas necessary to their maintenance . ( Hear , hear . ) To go back for many years , to the start of that Institution , he supposed it vvas a duty to use a stereotyped speech on those

occasions , but if the brethren would excuse him , he would go very cursorily into particulars and he should be much obliged to them . The fund ori ginall y vvas started many years ago under the Duke of Sussex , when onl y . £ 400 a year was voted from Grand Lodge towards annuities , to be given to those Masons whom affliction , distress , and poverty , from no fault of their own , had overtaken . When they looked back and considered that it started at £ 400 and that they could now say they vvere

spending nearly , £ 15 , 000 a year , it showed that they had made progress , and that the Institution vvas well and thoroughly supported by those who , when tbey became Masons , professed Charity to be the aim and object of the step they then took . ( Hear , hear . ) It vvas an old and tried saying in the country , " that the proof of the pudding vvas in the eating , " and he thought when they looked on those two figures of . £ 400 and £ 15 , 000 there was a very reliable and solid proof that they

vvere doing vvhat was rig ht and just by those old and aged ones . He would to God they could do more . It might interest the brethren to know that in the past few years over £ 200 , 000 had been paid away in annuities , and that they vvere going on and could go on , if they only had the money , relieving many more . There were an enormous number coming up for the next election , and there were very few vacancies ; but the Institution could

not go beyond its means , and the Committee very rightly said in their report , which he had before him , that they kept to vvhat they vvere doing , to the numbers they vvere relieving , and anything that was over from the annual income they invested . He only wished they could invest a great deal more , because they never knew from day to day or from year to year how times might change , how everything that might affect property , mercantile arrangements , and other business mi ght affect

them ; for what affected one affected others , from the hi ghest to the lowest ; it went right through , because when properties went down , rents went down , and labour vvas not employed so much . He vvas not going into any political questions , but they all knew those greater subjects came before them when people came to them and said— " Can you help so and so ? Can you do this ? Can you do this for us ? Can you do it for others ? " They had to look to themselves , to look at the

balance at a certain house either in London or in the provincial towns , before they could say they could afford to give . If they could only get a large sum of money invested , it would be a great thing to have an annual income , and not to depend on a fluctuating sum , though he was happy to say in that Institution it had onl y fluctuated in the right direction , as they would see when Bro . Terry announced the lists . He hoped it would not be less than last year , but rather that it would be

more . On behalf of him who ought to have been in the chair , who had been placed in the position of Lord Mayor of London , the head of the oldest civic body in the world , he might say that that civic body , from time immemorial , had been one , and continued to be one , of the most charitable organisers . Whenever necessity had to be relieved , where did the world go to but to the City of London ? ( Hear , hear . ) The first person they went to was the Lord Mayor of London , at

the Mansion House . ( Hear , hear ) And how had such a fund always been responded to throughout England ? Putting aside Masonry , what sums of money had they sent , not to our own people , but to people who had absolutely nothing to do with them , but simply because they were in want and distress . Therefore , he thought the brethren would agree with him in saying that the Mansion House , putting apart Masonry altogether , set Masonry an

example that should be followed . The Lord Mayor continued to do vvhat , by the old traditions of the City of London , it had done in years past . Long might it continue to do it , and might that old custom never be interfered with . ( Hear , hear . ) When he said that the Chairman who should have been there that ni ght had been elected as head of that City of London , he would remind the brethren that the Lord Mayor had done good service in Masonry in years past ; he was one of the finest workers in the Craft . He ( Lord Euston ) regretted exces-