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Ar00200
AN ingenious penman in the Montreal Post for April 19 th , under the heading "An Unknown Fact , " challenges the legality of all the Masonic bodies in the Province under the "Quebec Statutes" except those hailing from the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland . He states that the exemption made by the statute in favour of the Society
exists only for the "lodges which had their warrants and charters from the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland . " He does not we observe profess to give the exact words of the tenth chapter of the consolidated statute , so that it is impossible to see how far his contention may be well founded on a fair interpretation of the words of the
¦ statute itself . We should " a priori" somewhat doubt the existence of such a limitation in the Quebec statutes ; but we may be wrong . We should be glad if any competent brother will kindly send us the section of the consolidated statutes on which the writer professes to rely . If the fact
be so , as he so distinctly states , several very serious points must immediately arise ; and , therefore , it is most important for us , in the first instance , to ascertain what are really the words of the statute . We have thought it well to reprint the short article elsewhere , as it raises questions which it is most desirable to clear up and settle at once .
V THERE is a little matter we wish to call attention to , which we think has hardly received the consideration it deserves . It is often argued that there are too many lodges in the metropolis , whereas the truth is , that , taking population as a basis of calculation , the metropolis might fairly ask for an
extension of the number of its lodges . If we take the actual population within the 10 miles radius and compare it with the rest of England , we shall soon find that the proportion is really in excess in the provincial circles , and that the " London Village" has clearly not its fair share . It seems off-hand inadvisable to multiply lodges in the metropolis ,
for fear of their jostling and infringing on one another . But , curiously enough , in the metropolis itself this actuality is the least felt of any place in the world . There are many lodges where , from numbers or tradition , promotion is checked and advancement slow . Many zealous Freemasons find themselves condemned to inactivity often for long
years , and therefore it is , we venture to suggest to our friendly and considerate authorities , that in applications for new lodges their " raison d'etre " shall be looked at closely from this point of view— " have the promoters evidently , in the eyes of common sense , the elements with them of stability and continuation . " The mere number of metropolitan lodges in any
district or section really matters very little . I he great risk to be avoided , and the one danger to be feared , is the hasty formation of lodges for no good purpose , to gratify a private pique , or to flatter a personal vanity . If there be a " legitimate " desire for a " swarm" from an old and full and stagnant lodge ; if some worthy and qualified brethren are wishful to extend the pure
light of Masonry , and give a guarantee alike for their zeal and solidity , we venture to think that they have a claim on the favourable consideration of our rulers , inasmuch , as in the metropolis as elsewhere , the impulse given to Freemasonry under the genial rule of our Royal GRAND MASTER is sensibly felt , and gratefully appreciated .
* * * A very numerous meeting of Life Governors of the Girls' School assembled in the Zetland Room , at Freemasons' Hall , on Thursday . The voting ran high , as will be seen by our report elsewhere . We may allude to the subject again next week .
United Grand Lodge.
UNITED GRAND LODGE .
The following is the business to be transacted in Grand Lodge on Wednesday next : 1 . The minutes of the Quarterly Communication of the 7 th March for confirmation . 2 . The minutes of the Grand Festival of the 25 th April for confirmation .
3 . Election of members of the Board of General Purposes . 4 . Election of members of the Colonial Board . 5 . Election of members for the Committee of Management of the " Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons . "
6 . Report of the Lodge of Benevolence for the last quarter , in which are recommendations for the following Grants , viz .: — £ s . d . The Widow of a brother of the Chislehurst Lodge , No . 1531 , Chislehurst ... ... ... ... ... ^ A brother of the Wcllesley Lodge , No . 1 S 99 , Sandhurst , Berkshire ... ... en n „ UA 3 I , IM ; •¦* •••¦¦¦ 50 o o
" _ •••... A brother of the Albion Lodge , No . 9 , London ... ... 100 o o The Widoxv of a brother of the Royal Sussex Lodge , No . 402 , Nottingham ... ... ... ... .,, 50 o o A brother of the Mount Lebanon Lodge , No . 73 , London ... 100 o o A brother of the Lodgeof Fidelity , No . 3 , London ... ... 150 o o The Widow of a brother of the Britannic Lodge , No . 33 , London 50 o o 7 . REPORT OF THE B OARD op GENERAL PURPOSES .
To the United Grand Lodge of Ancient , Free , and Accepted Masons of England . The Board of General Purposes have to report as follows : A fire having unfortunately occurred at Freemasons' Hall on the 3 rd May , causing considerable damage to the premises , the Board have received the subjoined report thereon from their Premises Committee , which they
United Grand Lodge.
have carefully considered , and believing , the . recommendations therein to be for the welfare and convenience of the Craft , they submit them for the favourable consideration of Grand Lodge . Report of Premises Committee to Board of General Purposes , dated 22 nd May , ixS 83 .
The Committee deeply regret to have to report that a disastrous fire occurred at Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street , on the night of Thursday , the 3 rd inst ., resulting in the almost entire destruction of the timehonoured " Temple " in which the meetings of Grand Lodge have taken
p lace for over 100 years , together with the valuable pictures of Past Grand Masters contained therein , as also a great part of the furniture and other fittings ; the statue of his late Royal Hi ghness the Duke of Sussex being likewise greatly damaged by fire and smoke .
The old hall now destroyed was commenced in the year 1775 , its foundation stone being laid on the ist May in that year by the Right Hon . Lord Petre , then Grand Master , and the hall being formall y dedicated to Masonry on the 23 rd May of the following year by the same Grand Master , since which time Grand Lodge has uninterruptedly held its meetings within its walls .
The premises were , as a matter of course , fully insured ; but the Craft have to deplore the loss of many articles , amongst them the " Ark of the Covenant , " wherein were deposited the Articles of Union between the two Grand Lodges on the occasion of their being united on the 27 th of December , 1 S 13 , the documents themselves being , however , fortunately preserved in another part of the building .
The Committee are glad to be able lo report that by great exertions the fire was confined to the Temple itself , and that the other portions of the building containing the archives , offices , lodge and board rooms , & c , are entirely uninjured . The Committee have lost no time in directing their most serious
consideration to the steps necessary to be forthwith taken for the reconstruction of the Hall and for taking advantage of the opportunity thus offering for considerably enlarging the accomodation for the meetings of Grand Lodge , which has of late years been quite insufficient , oxving to the great increase in the number of members .
The Committee have , in the first place , given careful attention to suggestions already made for the removal of Grand Lodge premises to the Thames Embankment , and in result they are of opinion that many financial and other reasons render such a step impracticable , as not only is involved the question of constructing at an immense cost , a building
sufficiently large to contain a grand hall , ante rooms , board rooms , offices for the executive , lodge rooms for private lodges , & c , and this on one of the most expensive sites in London , where the difficulty as to obtaining foundations is unusually great , and where a freehold is unobtainable except at a
price far beyond the resources of Grand Lodge , but also the almost equally prominent question of the Freemasons' Tavern , the good will of which is , of course , dependent mainly on the continued existence of the hall on its present site—while , on the suggested situation no accomodation would exist for dining purposes at grand festivals and for private lodge meetings .
The Committee consequently requested the Grand Superintendent of Works to consider and report to them his opinion as to the best possible plan for carrying out such works of renovation and enlargement as will afford accomodation for the attendance in Grand Lodge of at least 1500 brethren , being about double the number now able to be present therein .
The Grand Superintendent of Works , in his report thereon , states that to renew the premises destroyed on the old lines would be a simple matter , and , looking at the insurance , of little expense to the Craft ; but he submits the following scheme for doubling the present accommodation , viz ., to add to the area occupied by the hall just destroyed , the present great dining hall of
Freemasons' Tavern ( the two now running side by side ) , and that by due and equitable arrangements with Messrs . Spiers and Pond ( Limited ) , the lessees of the tavern , and with Mr . Bacon , the lessee of Bacon ' s Hotel , adjoining the tavern , the necessary substituted accommodation for a new dining hall , and for improved kitchen accommodation for the tavern should be provided on the site of the hotel .
The Grand Superintendent of Works points out that at the present stage it is impracticable to submit any accurate estimate of the cost of the abovementioned scheme ; but he is of opinion that the total expense would probably not exceed from £ 30 , 000 to £ 35 , 000 beyond what would be received from the Insurance Companies and from Messrs . Spiers and Pond as a contribution for improvements especially affecting their premises .
The Committee may here mention that at the present moment Grand Lodge possesses some £ 21 , 000 in the funds , and that its nett average income , as shown in a report of a special Committee to Grand Lodge on the 7 th June last was , to that date , about £ 40003 year , since which time £ 800
a year has been alienated as a permanent grant from Grand Lodge to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , which , with the interest on the £ 21 , 000 ( on its expenditure for the rebuilding ) henceforth have to be deducted , leaving a future nett average income of some £ 2 , 500 a year .
The balance of from £ 10 , 000 to £ 15 , 000 required to carry out the scheme now submitted , could no doubt be raised without difficulty , and the Committee have therefore no hesitation in submitting the scheme for the favourable con sideration of the Board , fully believing that should it be adopted by Grand Lodge , it will possess premises worthy of the present flourishing state of the Craft in England .
The Board have also to report that , a fresh catalogue of the library and Museum of Grand Lodge being shortly about to be prepared , donations of Masonic works , & c , will be gladly received by the Library Committee . ( Signed ) J B . MONCKTON , President . Freemasons , Hall , London , W . C , 22 nd May , 1883 .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ar00200
AN ingenious penman in the Montreal Post for April 19 th , under the heading "An Unknown Fact , " challenges the legality of all the Masonic bodies in the Province under the "Quebec Statutes" except those hailing from the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland . He states that the exemption made by the statute in favour of the Society
exists only for the "lodges which had their warrants and charters from the Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland . " He does not we observe profess to give the exact words of the tenth chapter of the consolidated statute , so that it is impossible to see how far his contention may be well founded on a fair interpretation of the words of the
¦ statute itself . We should " a priori" somewhat doubt the existence of such a limitation in the Quebec statutes ; but we may be wrong . We should be glad if any competent brother will kindly send us the section of the consolidated statutes on which the writer professes to rely . If the fact
be so , as he so distinctly states , several very serious points must immediately arise ; and , therefore , it is most important for us , in the first instance , to ascertain what are really the words of the statute . We have thought it well to reprint the short article elsewhere , as it raises questions which it is most desirable to clear up and settle at once .
V THERE is a little matter we wish to call attention to , which we think has hardly received the consideration it deserves . It is often argued that there are too many lodges in the metropolis , whereas the truth is , that , taking population as a basis of calculation , the metropolis might fairly ask for an
extension of the number of its lodges . If we take the actual population within the 10 miles radius and compare it with the rest of England , we shall soon find that the proportion is really in excess in the provincial circles , and that the " London Village" has clearly not its fair share . It seems off-hand inadvisable to multiply lodges in the metropolis ,
for fear of their jostling and infringing on one another . But , curiously enough , in the metropolis itself this actuality is the least felt of any place in the world . There are many lodges where , from numbers or tradition , promotion is checked and advancement slow . Many zealous Freemasons find themselves condemned to inactivity often for long
years , and therefore it is , we venture to suggest to our friendly and considerate authorities , that in applications for new lodges their " raison d'etre " shall be looked at closely from this point of view— " have the promoters evidently , in the eyes of common sense , the elements with them of stability and continuation . " The mere number of metropolitan lodges in any
district or section really matters very little . I he great risk to be avoided , and the one danger to be feared , is the hasty formation of lodges for no good purpose , to gratify a private pique , or to flatter a personal vanity . If there be a " legitimate " desire for a " swarm" from an old and full and stagnant lodge ; if some worthy and qualified brethren are wishful to extend the pure
light of Masonry , and give a guarantee alike for their zeal and solidity , we venture to think that they have a claim on the favourable consideration of our rulers , inasmuch , as in the metropolis as elsewhere , the impulse given to Freemasonry under the genial rule of our Royal GRAND MASTER is sensibly felt , and gratefully appreciated .
* * * A very numerous meeting of Life Governors of the Girls' School assembled in the Zetland Room , at Freemasons' Hall , on Thursday . The voting ran high , as will be seen by our report elsewhere . We may allude to the subject again next week .
United Grand Lodge.
UNITED GRAND LODGE .
The following is the business to be transacted in Grand Lodge on Wednesday next : 1 . The minutes of the Quarterly Communication of the 7 th March for confirmation . 2 . The minutes of the Grand Festival of the 25 th April for confirmation .
3 . Election of members of the Board of General Purposes . 4 . Election of members of the Colonial Board . 5 . Election of members for the Committee of Management of the " Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and Widows of Freemasons . "
6 . Report of the Lodge of Benevolence for the last quarter , in which are recommendations for the following Grants , viz .: — £ s . d . The Widow of a brother of the Chislehurst Lodge , No . 1531 , Chislehurst ... ... ... ... ... ^ A brother of the Wcllesley Lodge , No . 1 S 99 , Sandhurst , Berkshire ... ... en n „ UA 3 I , IM ; •¦* •••¦¦¦ 50 o o
" _ •••... A brother of the Albion Lodge , No . 9 , London ... ... 100 o o The Widoxv of a brother of the Royal Sussex Lodge , No . 402 , Nottingham ... ... ... ... .,, 50 o o A brother of the Mount Lebanon Lodge , No . 73 , London ... 100 o o A brother of the Lodgeof Fidelity , No . 3 , London ... ... 150 o o The Widow of a brother of the Britannic Lodge , No . 33 , London 50 o o 7 . REPORT OF THE B OARD op GENERAL PURPOSES .
To the United Grand Lodge of Ancient , Free , and Accepted Masons of England . The Board of General Purposes have to report as follows : A fire having unfortunately occurred at Freemasons' Hall on the 3 rd May , causing considerable damage to the premises , the Board have received the subjoined report thereon from their Premises Committee , which they
United Grand Lodge.
have carefully considered , and believing , the . recommendations therein to be for the welfare and convenience of the Craft , they submit them for the favourable consideration of Grand Lodge . Report of Premises Committee to Board of General Purposes , dated 22 nd May , ixS 83 .
The Committee deeply regret to have to report that a disastrous fire occurred at Freemasons' Hall , Great Queen-street , on the night of Thursday , the 3 rd inst ., resulting in the almost entire destruction of the timehonoured " Temple " in which the meetings of Grand Lodge have taken
p lace for over 100 years , together with the valuable pictures of Past Grand Masters contained therein , as also a great part of the furniture and other fittings ; the statue of his late Royal Hi ghness the Duke of Sussex being likewise greatly damaged by fire and smoke .
The old hall now destroyed was commenced in the year 1775 , its foundation stone being laid on the ist May in that year by the Right Hon . Lord Petre , then Grand Master , and the hall being formall y dedicated to Masonry on the 23 rd May of the following year by the same Grand Master , since which time Grand Lodge has uninterruptedly held its meetings within its walls .
The premises were , as a matter of course , fully insured ; but the Craft have to deplore the loss of many articles , amongst them the " Ark of the Covenant , " wherein were deposited the Articles of Union between the two Grand Lodges on the occasion of their being united on the 27 th of December , 1 S 13 , the documents themselves being , however , fortunately preserved in another part of the building .
The Committee are glad to be able lo report that by great exertions the fire was confined to the Temple itself , and that the other portions of the building containing the archives , offices , lodge and board rooms , & c , are entirely uninjured . The Committee have lost no time in directing their most serious
consideration to the steps necessary to be forthwith taken for the reconstruction of the Hall and for taking advantage of the opportunity thus offering for considerably enlarging the accomodation for the meetings of Grand Lodge , which has of late years been quite insufficient , oxving to the great increase in the number of members .
The Committee have , in the first place , given careful attention to suggestions already made for the removal of Grand Lodge premises to the Thames Embankment , and in result they are of opinion that many financial and other reasons render such a step impracticable , as not only is involved the question of constructing at an immense cost , a building
sufficiently large to contain a grand hall , ante rooms , board rooms , offices for the executive , lodge rooms for private lodges , & c , and this on one of the most expensive sites in London , where the difficulty as to obtaining foundations is unusually great , and where a freehold is unobtainable except at a
price far beyond the resources of Grand Lodge , but also the almost equally prominent question of the Freemasons' Tavern , the good will of which is , of course , dependent mainly on the continued existence of the hall on its present site—while , on the suggested situation no accomodation would exist for dining purposes at grand festivals and for private lodge meetings .
The Committee consequently requested the Grand Superintendent of Works to consider and report to them his opinion as to the best possible plan for carrying out such works of renovation and enlargement as will afford accomodation for the attendance in Grand Lodge of at least 1500 brethren , being about double the number now able to be present therein .
The Grand Superintendent of Works , in his report thereon , states that to renew the premises destroyed on the old lines would be a simple matter , and , looking at the insurance , of little expense to the Craft ; but he submits the following scheme for doubling the present accommodation , viz ., to add to the area occupied by the hall just destroyed , the present great dining hall of
Freemasons' Tavern ( the two now running side by side ) , and that by due and equitable arrangements with Messrs . Spiers and Pond ( Limited ) , the lessees of the tavern , and with Mr . Bacon , the lessee of Bacon ' s Hotel , adjoining the tavern , the necessary substituted accommodation for a new dining hall , and for improved kitchen accommodation for the tavern should be provided on the site of the hotel .
The Grand Superintendent of Works points out that at the present stage it is impracticable to submit any accurate estimate of the cost of the abovementioned scheme ; but he is of opinion that the total expense would probably not exceed from £ 30 , 000 to £ 35 , 000 beyond what would be received from the Insurance Companies and from Messrs . Spiers and Pond as a contribution for improvements especially affecting their premises .
The Committee may here mention that at the present moment Grand Lodge possesses some £ 21 , 000 in the funds , and that its nett average income , as shown in a report of a special Committee to Grand Lodge on the 7 th June last was , to that date , about £ 40003 year , since which time £ 800
a year has been alienated as a permanent grant from Grand Lodge to the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , which , with the interest on the £ 21 , 000 ( on its expenditure for the rebuilding ) henceforth have to be deducted , leaving a future nett average income of some £ 2 , 500 a year .
The balance of from £ 10 , 000 to £ 15 , 000 required to carry out the scheme now submitted , could no doubt be raised without difficulty , and the Committee have therefore no hesitation in submitting the scheme for the favourable con sideration of the Board , fully believing that should it be adopted by Grand Lodge , it will possess premises worthy of the present flourishing state of the Craft in England .
The Board have also to report that , a fresh catalogue of the library and Museum of Grand Lodge being shortly about to be prepared , donations of Masonic works , & c , will be gladly received by the Library Committee . ( Signed ) J B . MONCKTON , President . Freemasons , Hall , London , W . C , 22 nd May , 1883 .