Provincial Grand Lodge Of Somerset Shire.

Bro . J . L . STOTHERT , G . S . B ., P . P . S . G . W ., next proposed the follower * resolution , remarking that the occasion referred to therein was a special an ' d exceptional one : "That on account of the Centenary Festival of the Royal Masonic Institution for Girls taking place this year , the sum of 15 puineas usually granted to the brother serving the office of P . G . Steward n . i . ___ * ji . 1 . 1 _ f * _ — A " 1 1 . * _ _ C LU !_ 0—n «» the whole contribution of this

jje increased to 100 guineas , forming a Prov . G . Lodge towards the funds of the Institution in celebration of the special occasion . " . Bro . ASHLEY , in seconding the resolution , which was carried unanimously , remarked that Bro . Stothert had omitted to inform the lodge that be had contributed the sum of £ 75 out of his own pocket .

On the proposition of Bro . EDWARDS , P . G . 'Ireas ., seconded by Bro . R ADWAY , it was resolved ' * That a Committee be appointed to revise , if necessary , the by-laws of this P . G . Lodge , and that such Committee consist of the Charity Organisation Committee . The P . G . M . said that the foundation stone of All Saints' Church , Rockwell-green , Wellington , would be laid on the ioth September next . The

Bishop of the Diocese was to be present , and many of the brethren interested had made a very urgent appeal to him to lay the stone , if possible . He would very gladly have acceded to the request , but he found that another engagement which he could not possibly set aside would call him into the Midland Counties , and it would be impossible for him , of course , to be in two places at the same time . He had , however , considered the

matter , and should be perfecty ready to accord the necessary dispensation for wearing Masonic clothing on the occasion . He hoped the affair would pass off very satisfactorily . Bro . FORTY , P . M . 291 , proposed that a grant of £ 50 be voted to Bro . Woodward , of Burnham , 7 6 years of age , and for many years P . G . Tyler . Bro . J . B . MARWOOD seconded the proposition .

Bro . C . W . RADWAY moved as an amendment , and it was seconded by Bro . J HUGHES , that Bro . Woodward be voted 7 s . 6 d . per week until the sum of . £ 50 be exhausted . Bro . FORTY withdrew his proposition in favour of the amendment , and it was unanimously agreed to .

The collection of alms amounted to £ 6 18 s . 4 d ., and on the motion of Bro . S . TOMS , the sum was voted to the Taunton and Somerset Hospital . The brethren afterwards dined together at the George Hotel , where a splendid banquet was served . The R . W . P . G . M . the Earl of Carnarvon presided , and was supported by most of the Provincial Grand officers .

After dinner the usual Masonic toasts were proposed , including " The Health of the R . W . the Prov . G . Master , " and that of "The Health of the R . W . the Deputy Prov . G . Master . " The R . W . P . G . M . the Earl of CARNARVON , in responding to the toast of his health , said some of the remarks made by his excellent friend , the Deputy Prov . Grand Master , reminded him of the fable told of a certain

person , not a very reputable character he was afraid , of whom it was said that when he was thrown upon the surface of mother earth he rose with increased vigour . Similarly when he came to Somersetshire and touched upon the red soil he rose up a better man than he left it . It was indeed a great pleasure to him to find himself there that day amongst his Somersetshire brethren . He had experienced on many former occasions so much

kindness and good-will from them that he should be very ungrateful indeed if he did not reciprocate the cordial welcome and reception they invariably gave him . His health was much less strong than he could desire , and to recover it he had made a long journey . He believed he travelled not much less than 13 , 000 miles b y sea and land , and he was thankful to say that those 13 , 000 miles of sea and land , with all the kindness he experienced on

the other side of the world , had sent him back to England very much better and stronger in health than when he set out , and he rejoiced to take advantage of that renewed strength and health to come into the Province of Somerset on one of his first public appearances . Time Hew fast , and trains waited for no man , and therefore what he had to say to them must be compressed into a few minutes ; but first let him convey

' or himself and for all those who did not belong to the Chard Lodge their thanks for the gracious hospitality which they had received that day . The spacious lodge room in which they were entertained , the warm and brotherl y feeling by which they were welcomed , would live as an abiding recollection in the minds of all of them . Next let him congratulate them upon the state of the province generally , and let him give praise where

praise was due . He owed great thanks as Prov . Grand Master to all the Officers of Grand Lodge , and to all the Masters of every lodge , for it was oy their stead y inculcation of Masonic principles , by their maintenance of Masonic rule , that Masonry had been maintained in the old paths . Next ' him thank his excellent friend and Deputy , who , in his absence , his too requent absence , did all that he could do or all that he could desire . Let 1 •~~ , — *— »¦* - * -- •«- "W WWW .. — WW W . U . . h .. W . W .. W WWW .. W . W . WO .. W . ^ . Wb

* nim say now—as he should not be able to do so when his toast came in its d « e order—that in that toast he had cordially joined in anticipation of its coming round . As he said just now , he had travelled 13 , 000 miles across the ocean to regain his health in a different climate , and he ound himself in a second England . It was a wonderful land , wonderful to him in all ways—both from what he had observed and Known of it , and also from what he could not have known—a land

v "ere the English race had taken root in all its strength , where Sreat towns had sprung up occupying the places which but a few years ago e _ re covered with wilderness and forest , with railroads , with high roads r 'ven through the bush , with rivers navigated , wealth accumulated , with ve rything in fact that constituted a great , powerful , and civilised com-Unity . All these things struck him more than he could say . He watched e m with the deepest interest , but one of the things which struck him I ° trmn all was that , concurrently with other institutions , with English , . > With English lanpuap-e and relicion and literature . F . norlish Mannnrv

of tif £ one fort-b , and had made its indelible impress upon . the character Pre new cont ^ nent - Nothing pleased him more than to see how English am ^ sonr y had not only grown enormously in numbers , not only numbered tre ° j £ 'ts adherents men of wealth and station and influence , but how it was " vas lnf '" t'le * ° " ' 00 tste P the parent Society in England ; how it nt . flavouring to found similar Institutions for the benefit and welfare

get ) . 5 how it was honestly labouring to be charitable , to be liberal , to be steij , . > to be all they desired Masonry to be . He was not only greatly col nj Wlth this > but greatly delighted to find when he visited other English cent infl ' SUCh as the Cape of Good Ho P > that there the same benefigr nuen ce was at work . At the Cape , as they knew , there were two other r ^ ru ^ ° *' - t ' ^ an ^ most fr > dly terms with each 3 ^ eddin ( S ^ * ^ * 3 uarre ' anc * dissensions ; there had been sometimes fast one ^ f 1 ! i " ^ Well , now , he honestly believed that Freemasonry was e ° i those influences which had gone far and was doing still more to

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Somerset Shire.

conciliate differences and to make friends ! where there ought to be no enemies . Looking at it from a purely public and non-Masonic point of view , he was satisfied that there was no institution which exercised a more wholesome effect upon the whole community than Freemasonry did at the Cape of Good Hope . He would only say , in conclusion , that whereever he went as Pro Grand Master of England he received the most cordial

Masonic we / come . The first welcome he received was Irom his brother Masons . There was no colony he visited , no town he entered , no place of importance in which he did not find Freemasons , and in which they did not seek to cover him with kindness and hospitality such as he could never forget , and which it was impossible for him to repay . All he could say to them was

that when he returned to England he should make known to his brethren there how warmly the Masonic heart beat in those distant colonies , and how firm he believed the bond ot union- was between England and her colonies , and how heartily that feeling was reciprocated towards those colonies by us .

Important Decision Of Grand Lodge.

IMPORTANT DECISION OF GRAND LODGE .

No doubt our readers will be glad to have in full the speech delivered by the Grand Registrar , in which he recommended that Grand Lodge should support the decision of the District Grand Master of Jamaica in the important case of Bro . F . W . Hollar , W . M . of the Phcenix Lodge , No . 914 . As our readers know , Grand Lodge acted on the recommendation of the Grand Registrar , and the decision in question was upheld and the appeal dismissed , but the speech itself did not appear in our report of Grand Lodge , and for that reason will be acceptable to many of our readers .

Bro . FREDERICK ADOLPHUS PHILBRICK , Q . C , Grand Registrar : The next business is an appeal by Bro . Francis W . Hollar , W . M . of the Phcenix Lodge , No . 914 , Port Royal , Jamaica , against a ruling of the District Grand Master ot Jamaica , declaring that the exclusion of Bro . Francis Leith White by the said lodge was not in accordance with Article 210 of the Book of Constitutions , and must be cancelled . Before , Most Worshipiul

Pro Grand Master , entering upon the facts of that appeal , which I lay before Grand Lodge in a few words , I venture to crave tne indulgence of Grand Lodge while I make a statement in reference loan appeal Irom New Zealand , which was disposed of at the last Quarterly Communication , and wilh regard to wnich some amount of misapprehension has arisen . That was a case in which a brother was appealing against his expulsion from the

Craft—not his exclusion from the lod ^ e—and there being several appeals before Grand Lodge at that last Quarterly Communication , 1 refrained as far as possible Irom stating more than the barest facts of the case . Indeed , I am afraid that having stated tne facts rather shortly was the cause of the misconception which has arisen . The brother in question was alleged to have committed an offence which was cognisable by the Criminal

Courts of the land . He had been brought before those Courts ; proceedings had been commenced , but owing to what happened by the action of the parties , those proceedings were never continued and no judicial decision was come to . One of the persons implicated in the transaction then died . Now it has always been the rule that in those cases which come before the Courts of the land , Grand Lodge itself , or the District Grand Lodge , holds

its hand in matters of expulsion until the proper tribunal has come to a decision . Where a Judge and jury pronounces an adverse opinion , that decision is accepted at once , but the matter is not discussed till that is seen in the paper . In the particular case in question , it was one of expulsion , expulsion entirely ; but it has been supposed that the advice I had the honour to give to Grand Lodge on that appeal , and the consequent action

of Grand Lodge , had in some way put it out of the power or right of a lodge to exclude one of its members for what , according to an article in the Constitutions , is called " sufficient cause . " I desire to guard myself against this misapprehension , and prevent that case of Bro . Messenger , which I feel was rightly decided , and ought to be decided in the same way if brought up again to-day , from being thought a case that had anything

to do with the jurisdiction of the lodge to exclude one of its members ; it specially has to do with expulsion from the Craft in circumstances where a criminal charge is made , and there was nothing in the decision Grand Lodge arrived at in that particular case which precluded his lodge from excluding that brother . As a matter of fact he was excluded from the lodge and his appeal was not against such exclusion , which I may point

out practically prevents him from joining another lodge unless that lodge sees the clearest evidence , on going into the whole matter , that he is fit to be a member of it . I should be sorry if it was thought that Grand Lodge laid it down that a lodge had not power over one of its members who is guilty of un-Masonic conduct and brought a scandal and disgrace to the lodge . Now with regard to this particular case of Bro . Hollar . It seems that the

lodge excluded a brother from it , there being twelve brethren present in the lodge . Six of them voted for the exclusion , three , including the brother himself , voted against it , and three declined to vote at all . The law says this power of exclusion can only be exercised by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present . Now two-thirds of twelve would be eight , and six voted , therefore the District Grand Master said that the

brother had not been properly excluded . Against that decision Bro . Hollar , the Master of the lodge , appeals , and he actually insists that he has complied with Law 210 , because two-thirds of those who voted were for the exclusion . It is certainly impossible that six should be two-thirds of twelve , which was the number present . Then he says he ought to have asked any brother who did not vote to retire from the lodge . I can only say that if he had done so he would have grossly abused his oowers

as W . Master ; and then again , because the District Grand Master has not sustained his action , or the action of the lodge in excluding Bro . White , he has actually broken the by-laws of his lodge by suspending the holding of its regular meeting . It is quite clear that Bro . Hollar is entirel y wrong all throughout , and that . the brother who was excluded was improperly excluded because he was not excluded by the votes of two-thirds of " the members present . I move— " That the appeal be dismissed , and the ruling of the District Grand Master upheld . "

Bro . the Rev . Canon GEORGE RAYMOND PORTAL , P . G . Chaplain ; Most Worshipiul Grand Master , in seconding the resolution just proposed by the Grand Registrar , I wish to express my individual thanks and the thanks of many other brethren to the Grand Registrar for the very clearexposition of Masonic law which we have heard irom his lips , laying down

as clearly as possible that conduct involving scandal to our Order justifies a lodge in excluding a member irom its society . This is a point about which there has been some considerable misapprehension as well as some uncomlortable feeling , and I therelore desire to thank tne Grand Registrar for the very satisfactory statements which we have just heard from him , The motion , on being put , was carried unanimously .