United Grand Lodge.

Giand Lodge was dore on / . iS . ooo , and they were then spending . £ 1377 . Now the ircome was ^ 2 < i 000 , and the money paid to clerks only amounted to £ ;/> 5 . Two of these clerks were actually paid more than the Grand Secrliary used to be paid . In 1857 , when he ( Bro . Eve ) became a Mason , Bro . Gr .-y Claike had only £ y . u a year . In 1 . % . ¦ > , Bro . John Harvey

had / . ' , S <» o , and it wns raised to ^' Soo . Now , if the ircome of Grand Lodge in 18 73 vws under j / , " iiS . 000 , and ihe clerks and Secretary combined came to ^ 1300 , were they li ^ ht in saying to-day that thev would raise the Grand Secretary ' s salary to £ 1250 , with increases up to ^ 1500 a year . ( Cries of " Yes , yes , " and " Vote , vote . " ) In 1 S 73 , they had 1380 lodges , now they had 2 ( 167 . He said they were spending loo much of the money of Grand Lodge ,

and they should have their attention drawn to the facts . If they were going to vote the money , let the matter be adjourned for three or six months —till next spring . He did not wish to stand in the way at all , but he wished the brethren in the country to know . He moved that the matter be put before the provincial brethren that they might have an opportunity of further considering the question . Rro . S . R . BASKETT seconded the motion of Bro . Eve .

Bro . Sir J B . MONCKTON 111 rising to support the original proposition , said he vould not take take up the brethren ' s time so long as Bro . Eve , whom he was always sorry to differ from . He begged to say that the Board meeting which recommended the increase of Bro . Letchworth ' s salary was a very large and representative one , and Grand Lodge meeting to-day was also large ar . d representative—larger , he thought , than he had ever seen

before . He ventured to say he never had seen a more intelligent Grand Lodge . ( Loud laughter . ) He begged to say he only mentioned what he th u _ , 'ht . The brethren should remember that the position of the Craft was different from what it was 40 or 50 years ago . When Bro . John Hervey and Bro . Shadwell Cl tke became Grand Secretaries the woik was very

much less than itwas now . He thoroughly endorsed what had been said of Bro . Shadwell Gierke , who was a most enthusiastic Mason . With the progress of Freemasonry his salary was raised to £ 1000 a year . It was now proposed to raise this sum in Bro . Letchworth ' s case , when Freemasonry and the work entailed had progressed still mjre . He hoped Grand Lod ^ e would settle the question to-night .

Bro . Eve ' s amendm nt was loit , and the original resolution of the President of thc Board of General Purposes was carried practically with unanimity . Bro . W . F . LAMONBY moved , in accordance with h ' s notice

—Canvassing for any elective office , personally , by letter , by circular , or otherwise , is prohibited . Any candidate who shall , on appeal , be proved to the satisfaction of the Board of General Purposes , after ilue enquiry , to have canvassed for votes , or to have tacitly known of

or sanctioned , canvassing by brethren or other agents on his behalf shall be held incapable of entering upon the duties of the oflice to which he may have been elected , and such election shall , in consequence , be void nnd of no effect . The vacancy so caused shall be ii I le cl up in the manner provided by the Book of Constitutions .

. He faid , after apologising for his absence through illness from the September meeting , when he was to have brought forward the motion , that in the interval he had to express his deepest and warmest thanks to the President of thc Board of General Purposes , inasmuch as that brother had made some very valuable improvements and alterations in the notice . When he brought forward a former resolution on the same subject , Grand Lodge

unanimously condemned thc . systematic canvassing and touting in Grand Lodge at elections . All Past Masters would remember they took the obligation to strictly respect and adhere to every edict of Grand Lod ge . He was sorry to say they forgot that , and carelessly , or , perhaps , wilfully , ignored the pledge given when they were installed in the chair of K . S . Such being the case , the time evidently had arrived when Grand Lodge should adopt a drastic method of dealing with the situation of touting bv

p ' acing on its statute book a provision making canvassing and touting a penal offence . Year by year they had writing , circularising , and ticket toutirg , both in the election of Grand Treasurer and in the election of menbtrs of the Board of General Purposes . He did not mean letter writing by one brother , asking him to vole for a brother , but sending circulars out to brethren , and that he considered a scandal , and it was with confidence he submitted his proposal to Grand Lodge .

Bro . the Hev . R . J . SIMTSON , P . G . Chaplain , seconded the motion , believirg that a provision to the tff > : ctof it should be incorporated in the laws as a durable record .

Bro . Dr . HOAN ( South Africa ) differed ; it would affict and strike at every private lodge in its election of Master , and Treasurer , and Committees . If they endeavoured to legislate for Masonic morality they would find it very difficult . Bro . THOMSON LYON thought the resolution incomplete . The Bjard of General Purposes was made by it the Court of Appeal , when it ought to

be Gvard Lodge . Members of the Board mi ght be the subject of appeal . Bro . J . \ MI : S STEPHENS , Dep . G . D . C , moved " the previous question . " Bro . \ V . RrssEi . i ., Prov . G . Treas . Kent , did not sec wh y a letter written by one brother to another asking for a vote should not be permitted . He suggested the omission cl the words , " by letter , by circular , or otherwise , " and substituting the words "in Grand Ledge in person by the candidate or his friends . "

After some further discussion in which Bros . BASKI . TT , LL FKUVRI : and HORTON SMITH , Q . C , took part , Bro . Lamonby ' s motion was lost . Bio . K . HORTON SMITH , O . C , Deputy G . Registrar , brought up an appeal by Bro . Horley of the I " nited Lodge , No . 1341 , Hong Kong , against a decision of the District Board of General Purposes in reference to the description in the lodge summons of certain candidates for initiation

He said the appeal raised a very short point whether the letters " R . N . " in the case of naval candidates for initiation sufficientl y in a Hong Kong lodge summons represented the place of abode as required by Rules 1 S 4 and jR ? of the Bnok of Constitutions . In the presmt case there was a firs -class petty officer , another was a steward , another an engine room artificer , all of ¦ . << ,, 11 were described as " R . N . " It was set up by the appcll mt that that did not denote their address . The W . M . decided tint it w . 'is sufficient and

5 ; voted wilh him i nd l wo against , one of the \ a--, t was the appellant , who went be-fore the District Board ol General Purposes with his appeal . The B . jard of General Purposes dismissed the nope . il , holding that " R . N . " sufficiently tenoted the address to a 1 long Kong lodgo . From this Bro . Horley appealed to Grand Lodge . ( )/ i the facts—and this was a question of fact the appeal must be dismissed . In I long Kong there was a long thoroughfare on the side of the water , with barracks and naval yard on the other side .

United Grand Lodge.

Ships were close to the Navy Yard , and it was perfectly easy to have communication with the ship . Consequently there was no difficulty in finding a " R . N . " officer . It might be belter perhaps to put in the name of the candidate ' s ship . The bottom of this case was that some of the brethren of this lodge had been working to get a lodge consecrated under the Scotch Constituti n , and the appellant was one of these brethren . The matter was a question the brethren of the English Lodge and the brethren who belonecd to it who wanted a Scottish lodge .

Bro . LOYI ' . LAAD L OVELAND , Q . C , second-id the dismissal of the appeal on the same grounds as B o . R . 1 I Jiton Smith , Q . C . Bro . IVOR MURRAY , P . M ., said that as a former Master of the Hing Kong Lodge in question , many years ago , he might inform Grand Lodge that when he was Master , a great many naval men were among his initiates .

It was the custom then to do what had been suggested by the Grand Registrar , that the name of the ship ~ shou'd be put as well as the " R . N ., " and that was always done in his time , and consequently there was never any difficulty about the address . The appeal wns dismissed , and Grand Lodge was cloned in form .

Mark Grand Lodge.

MARK GRAND LODGE .

The Q uarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales and the Colonies and Dependencies of the Biitish Crown was held on Tuesday evening at Mark Masons' Hall . The Earl of Euston , M . W . Pro Grand Master , presided . Bros . Viscount Dungarvan , R . W . Dep . G . M . ; Sir Reginald Hanson , as S . G . W . ; Thomas Fenn , as J . G . W . ; Charles Belton , as G .-M . O . ; Church , as S . G . O . ;

Stevenson , as J . G . O . ; C . F . Matier , P . G . W ., G . Sec . ; Frank Richardso . i , G . Registrar ; R . Loveland Loveland , Q C , President General Board ; John Strachan , Q . C . ; Admiral Hastings Markham ; Major Clifford Probyn , P . G . T . , Dr . Cockburn , Dr . Lawrence , Major Woodall , Richard Eve , Dr . Clement Godson , J . S . Eastes , VV , Jl . Stiles , J . J . Thomas , George Graveley , Wm . Vincent , W . E . Brymer , M . P . ; H . R . Graham , M . P . ; Dr . Egan ( South Africa ); and Lord Addington , S . G . W ., were also present .

Grand Lodge having been formally opened and the minutes of the September meeting read and confirmed , The Earl of EUSTON rose , and said : Brethren , —Before we go on to any business I wish to move that this Grand Lodge do pass a vote of deep sympathy with our M ) st Worshipful Past Grand Master , Lord Lathom , in this his hour of allliction . I do not think more words are necessary from me because every Mason in England loves , honours , and respects Lord

Lathom and feels with him in this his hour of affl ction , and mav the Great Overseer of the Universe give him strength to bear his £ Miction and support him in his great trouble ! Viscount DUNGARVAN , M . W . Pro G . M .: I rise to second the motion . I am perfectly certain that we all have a great feeling of affection for Lord Lathom , and I trust I am speaking the feelings of all when I say that I hope that vc te which will be conveyed to Lord Lathom by the Grand Secretary will do something to soothe his lordship in the great shock he has sustained .

The Earl of EUSTON read the motion as follows : " That this Grand Lotlge do record on its minutes its deep sense of the sad and irreparable loss sustained by the Right Hon . the Earl of Lathom , Past Grand Master , and also its most sincere antl heartfelt sympathy and condolence with him in his hour of allliction . ' ' The motion was carried unanimously .

The Earl of HUSTON : Then I will ask the Grand Secretary to forward this vote to Lord Lathom . Bro . C F . MATIER , G . Sec , informed the Pro Grand Master that at the Grand Lodge in June the M . W . G . M . was pleased to appoint Lord Addington as S . G . W . Lord Addington , however , was not present at that Grand Lodge lo be invested , but he was now present .

Lord Addington was then invested , and afterwards conducted by Bro . Dr . Balfour Cockburn , who was acting as G . D-C . for Bro . Major C . W . Carrell , to his chair of S . G . W ., Bro . Sir Reginald Hanson vacating that seat and going to the dais . On the motion of Bro . R . LOVELAND LOVELAND , Q . C , President of the General Board , seconded by Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , G . Reg ., ths report of the General Board was taken as read , and ordered to be received and entered on the minutes .

Bro . R . LOVELAND LOVELAND moved the adoption of the recommendation of the Board that the rate of interest payable on the loans of £ \ 7 63 n _) i . 6 i . from the Annuity Fund and . £ 400 from the Benevolent Fund respectively to the General Fund be reduced lrom four per cent , to

two-anda-half per cent . He said four per cent , was the interest some time ago when the loans were effected ; it had now gone down , and the Bjard thought that two-and-a-half was the proper interest to pay . He was happy to say that annually the amount of money borroAred was being reduced , and the Board hoped in a short time to pay it off altogether .

Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , G . Reg ., in seconding the motion , said that was not a matter of Grand Lodge borrowing the money for someone outside , but it was a case of one fund of Grand Lodge borrowing from another find , both funds belonging to the Grand Lodge . Therefore they ought to look on it in an equitable spirit and see what one fund ought to pay the other . 1 le had had considerable experience now in investing money for Trustees , and he found that 2 . \ per cent , was all they could get . Other people had had the same experience as himself .

The motion was carried , and on the motion of Bro . LOYF . LAND-LOVE - r . ANu , Q . C , seconded by Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , G . Reg ., the report of the General Board was adopted . Bro . THOMSON LYON , Grand Steward , rose to nominate the Prince of Wales ior election as M . W . G . Master . He said , M . W . Pro Grand Master , it is a matter of the greatest satisfaction to myself that the task of nominating the Grand Master for election to the chair is placed in my hands . That

his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales should be once more re-elected Grand Master of this Order is not to be wondered at ; and I am sure that I am only echoing the sentiments of every one in the Mark Degree when I say that his Royal Highness is an indefatigable worker in Freemasonry . He has performed immense services to this Degree , and I therefore nominate him for election as Grand Master of this Order for the ensuing year . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) P . ro . H . R . GRAHAM , M . P ., W . M . 104 , nominated Bro . William Mason Stiles for eleclion as Grand Treasurer . Addressing the M , W . Pro Granel