United Grand Lodge Of England.

Thrupp , P . G . A . D . of C . ; J . H . Matthews , P . G . S . B . ; Col . J . Peters , P . G . S . B . ; George Lambert , P . G . S . B . ; Lieut .-Col . S . G . Taylor , P . G . S . B . ; C . Greenwood , P . G . S . B . ; loshua Nunn , P . G . S . B . ; Ed ? ar Bowyer , P . G . Std . B . ; H . G . Buss , P . Asst . G . Sec . ; " j . Brett , P . G . Purst . ; C . A . Cottebrune , P . G . Purst . ; and L . F . Littell , P . G . ' Purst .

After Grand Lodge had been formally opened , the minutes of last Grand Lodge were read and confirmed . The following recommendations of the Board of Benevolence were also confirmed : — The widow of a brother of the Huddersfield Lodge , No . 200 ,

Huddersfield ... ... ... ... ... £ 50 o o A brother of the Sykes Lodge , No . 1040 , Driffield ... ... 50 o o The widow of a brother of the Lodge oi Harmony , No . 275 , Huddersfield ... ... ... ... ... 75 o 0

A brother of the Mount Edgcumbe Lodge , No . 1441 ! , Southwark ... 50 o o A brother of the Hornsey Lodge , No . S 90 , London ... ... 50 o o The widow of a brother of the Pleiades Lodge , No . 710 , Totnes ... 50 o o A brother of the Lodge True Love and Unity , No . 24 S , Brixham ... 50 o o A widow of a brother of the Southern Star Lodge , No . 115 S ,

Southwark ... ... ... •••... so o o The widow of a brother of the Grosvenor Lodge , No . 938 , Birmingham ... ... ... . ... ... 100 o o A brother of the Egyptian Lodge , No . 27 , London ... ... 60 o o A brother of the Arboretum Lodge , No . 731 , Derby ... ... 50 o o

A brother of the St . Alban ' s Lodge , No . 29 , London ... ... 75 o o Bro . BRACKSTONE BAKER , referring to one of the grants , thought it was excessive , considering the services the brother deceased had performed to Freemasonry . He did not , however , oppose the grant ; but thought that in all such cases great caution should be exercised .

Bro . SAMPSON PEIRCE , P . G . D ., said the case was thoroughly considered by the Board ol Benevolence . It was frequently the case that the Board gave to the widow and children of a deceased brother a larger amount than they gave to a brother who was stricken down by ill-health . When an objection was taken to a grant , he thought it should be stronger than that stated by Bro . Brackstone Baker . Bro . BRACKSTONE BAKER said he did not object to the grant .

Bro . Josnu \ NUNN , President of the Board of Benevolence , said the case was thoroughly considered by the Board . The late brother was a Steward of all the Charities and a Past Provincial Grand Officer . He thought the amount was not too much .

The following report of the Board of General Purposes was adopted : — To the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England . The Board of General Purposes beg to submit a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts , at the meeting of the Finance Committee , held on Friday , the 14 th day of August inst ., showing a balance in the Bank of England of

£ 3734 5 S . 3 d ., and in the hands o £ the Grand Secretary , for petty cash , £ 100 , and for servants' wages , £ 100 , and balance of annual allowance for library , £ 11 . ( Signed ) THOMAS FENN , President . Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C , iSth August , 1 SS 5 . The next business was the consideration of the following appeal : —

By Bro . William Hilson Pigott , P . M . of the Prince of Wales Lodge , No . 1653 , Sydney , New South Wales , against the ruling of the District Grand Master of New South Wales , that a motion proposed by the said Bro . W . H . Pigott for discussion at the District Grand Lodge was irregular , and could not be considered thereat . Bro . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C ., G . Registrar , in laying the appeal before Grand Lodge , said the motion which the District Grand Master of New

South Wales ruled to be out of order was a somewhat lengthened one . It would be in the recollection of Grand Lodge that in the District of New South Wales there were many lodges which owed allegiance to and held under the Grand Lodge of England . There were other lodges which were held under other jurisdictions . But a body had been established , or had established itself , within the District of New South Wales which styled itself

the Grand Lodge of New South Wales . In 1881 Grand Lodge of England declined to recognise that body as a lawfully constituted Masonic Body on the ground that it was irregularly constituted . The motion of which the brother appealing desired to give notice was , " That in the opinion of this District Grand Lodge it would be for the good of Freemasonry in general and to this Colony in particular that a Grand Lodge should exist in this

Colony , that the above opinion be immediately forwarded to the Grand Lodge of England , with an intimation that this District Grand Lodge , having the prosperity of the Craft at heart , and being anxious to exert its best endeavours to promote the general principles of the art and the good thereof , respectfully prays for the permission of the Grand Lodge of England to hold a conference with the body calling itself the Grand Lodge of New

South Wales , with the object of agreeing and uniting with the said body in the formation of a Grand Lodge of New South Wales , and to negotiate and agree with the said body upon all matters affecting or incidental to the formation of the said Grand Lodge . " The notice of motion was probably given because the District Grand Master had interfered with , and prevented the discussion in District Grand Lodge of another motion , of which notice

was given , to the effect that the time had arrived when , in the interest of Freemasonry in the Colony of New South Wales , there should be a union in Grand Lodge of New South Wales of all persons who had been initiated in any Masonic lodge under any Constitution , and that there should be a Committee of officers and representatives of Grand Lodges of England , Scotland , and Ireland upon the matter . The District Grand Master interfered , no doubt , on the ground

that it was not competent for a District Grand Lodge which derived its authority from the warrant conferred upon him by the Grand Master to discuss a motion of that nature . The brother thereupon withdrew his first notice , and gave the second , which the District Grand Master forbade the discussion of , and the present appeal was brought . It must be evident to any brother who had followed him in reading these motions that the second notice practically brought before the District Grand Lodge the discussion

United Grand Lodge Of England.

of the same matters as were involved in the first , and it was quite clear that no District or Provincial Grand Lodge could possibly discuss or entertain a proposition of the nature referred to in the resolution , notice of which Bro . Pigott gave . The high authority of a District Grand Lodge was derivative . Recognising other Masonic bodies was a matter on which the Grand

Lodge of England acted for itself , with a knowledge of the responsibility which it bore in taking action , and with the full sense of the weight which that action imperilled . It was an authority which Grand Lodge would not delegate to any other body , and more particularly when , as in the present case , it had declined to recognise the body styling itself the Grand Lodge

of New South Wales . It was impossible that Grand Lodge could delegate to any other body the power of discussing a motion with the object of a conference for agreeing and uniting with the said body , which was irregular , and with which Grand Lodge was not in accord . He , therefore , advised Grand Lodge to dismiss the appeal .

Bro . Canon PORTAL , Grand Chaplain , quite agreed with the Grand Registrar , and seconded the motion . Grand Lodge had already declared the Grand Lodge of New South Wales to be an irregular body . He was surprised that Bro . Pigott found it in accordance with his Masonic obligation to have given notice of this motion . The appeal was dismissed , and Grand Lodge was closed in form .

The Provincial Grand Lodge Of Northumberland.

THE PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF NORTHUMBERLAND .

The annual meeting of this Provincial Grand Lodge was held on Wednesday afternoon , the 19 th inst ., in the Assembly Rooms , Newcastle , under the auspices of the Percy Lodge , No . 1427 . There was a large attendance . The R . W . Prov . Grand Master , the Right Hon . Earl Percy , M . P ., presided , and was supported by Bros . R . H . Holmes , W . Deouty Prov . Grand

Master ; B . J . Thompson , P . P . G . S . W ., Prov . G . Sec ; E . D . Davis , P . P . G . S . W ., Prov . G . Dir . of Cers . ; Addison Potter , C . B ., P . P . G . S . W . ; Thomas Anderson , P . P . G . S . W ., Prov . G . T . ; J . Straker Wilson , P . P . G .

S . W . ; Robt . L . Armstrong , P . P . G . S . W . ; George Spain , Prov . G . S . W . ; Sir Matthew White Ridley , Bart ., M . P . ; Ralph Thompson , Prov . G . J . W . ; and numerous other Provincial Grand Officers and brethren ; also Bro . F . Binckes , Secretary Royal Masonic Institution for Boys .

The various reports were presented , and the roll of lodges was then called and responded to by the various Worshipful Masters , after which the Provincial Grand Officers were appointed for the ensuing year , and duly invested by the R . W . Provincial Grand Master .

Earl PERCY , in addressing the brethren , congratulated them upon the efficient state of the various lodges of the province . He thanked the members oi the various Committees for the work they had done during the past year . The next annual meeting would be held under the auspices of the Dr . Ogle Lodge , at Morpeth .

The meeting afterwards terminated , and the annual banquet was held in the evening , an excellent repast being admirably purveyed by Mr . T . R . Dobson . The Right Hon . Earl Percy , M . P ., presided . The vocalists were Bros . Walker , Leatham , Whitehead , and Nutton .

The So-Called Grand Lodges Of Victoria And New South Wales.

THE SO-CALLED GRAND LODGES OF VICTORIA AND NEW SOUTH WALES .

The Victorian Freemason , with every apparent desire to treat matters in a kindly spirit , is both clumsy and uncomplimentary in its remarks-on the recognition by the United Grand Lodge of England of the Grand Lodge of South Australia , and its non-recognition of the pseudo-Grand Lodges of Victoria and New South Wales . It regards the former circumstance as

being of a most gratifying nature , while , at the same time , it is careful to point out , with a lame sort of an apology , however , for doing so , that our Grand Lodge did not take this step in respect of the South Australian Grand Lodge until it " had not a leg to stand upon in refusing recognition . " We have no desire to cavil at the style in which our contemporary has been

pleased to congratulate the Grand Lodge of England on doing what it has done . It is something to know that this latter body has elicited a stinted measure of praise from a journal which is laboriously anxious to destroy the harmonious relations existing between it and its subordinate lodges in the Australasian colonies—South Australia now being , of course , excepted

as a recognised sovereign and independent Grand Lodge . We must deferentially point out , however , that the Victorian Freemason itself has not " a leg to stand upon " when it presumes to place the conduct of the South Australian G . Lodge and that of the New South Wales and Victorian G . Lodges on precisely the same footing . So far as our knowledge goes of any law or

usage which governs the conduct of lodges when about to take the necessary steps for severing their connection with the parent Grand Lodge or Lodges , and setting up one of their own , our South Australian brethren did what was

right , proper , and respectful to the supreme bodies from which they derived their existence . They were practically unanimous at the very outset of their movement in the proposed direction , and in a very short time they became absolutely so .

As regards New South Wales and Victoria , there has never been anything approaching to unanimity on the part of the lodges in the scheme for establishing Grand Lodges in those colonies ; there has never been anything like a majority of voices in favour of the movement ; but there has been a small minority of lodges which from the beginning have endeavoured to foist upon the Masonic public generally the belief that they , and they