The Festival Of The R.M. Benevolent Institution.

assuming that the number of fresh applicants is about the same as usual , there will be not far short of 160 men and women , whose claims have been admitted , but for only a small proportion of whom it will be possible , even under the most favourable circumstances , to make any provision . It behoves the Craft ,

therefore , to make a great effort in order to reduce this array of indigent people to more manageable dimensions , for it is clear that if an effort is not made in this direction , the lists will keep on increasing every year . We trust , therefore , there will be such a total in February next as will enable the Committee of

Management to recommend a further addition to the present numbers . As to the prospect of this wish being realised , it is too early yet to be able to form anything like a just opinion . There are still nearly three months for Bro . TERRY to enlist the services

of brethren as Stewards , and we all know from past experience what he is capable of accomplishing , no matter what the difficulties and disappointments by which he is confronted . On this occasion , however , the Chairman has no province to support him , and though we have every confidence that the Drury Lane

Lodge , of which the Lord Mayor is W . M . elect , will support him loyally , and that the City and Hebrew lodges especially will contribute even more generously than is their custom , the lack of any particular group of lodges which may be trusted to work well

together in support of the Chairman is always regarded as a serious drawback . Still , several of Bro . Lord Mayor ISAACS ' S predecessors have presided with very considerable success , and we have no doubt the Stewards will exert themselves in order that the result under his lordship ' s presidency may be at least as satisfactory as theirs .

United Grand Lodge Of England.

UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND .

The Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England vvas held on Wednesday evening , at Freemasons' Hall . Bro . W . W . B . Beach , M . P ., Prov . Grand Master of Hants and the Isle of Wight , presided . Bro . the Earl of Euston , Prov . Grand Master of Norths and Hunts ,

acted as Deputy Grand Master . Bro . Hugh D . Sandeman , Past District Grand Master of Bengal , took the office of Past Grand Master . Bro . Sir Victor Hedworth Williamson acted as Senior Grand Warden , and Bro . the Hon . W . W . Vernon , P . J . G . W ., as Junior Grand Warden . There was also a numerous attendance of Grand Officers , Past Grand Officers , and other brethren .

After the formal opening of Grand Lodge , the minutes of the Quarterly Communication of September 4 th were read and confirmed . Bro . Sir HK . NRY AARON ISAACS , Lord Mayor of London , then rose , and vvas received with loud and general applause . He said : Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , —I beg leave to nominate our Illustrious Brother the Most Worshipful Grand Master to be the Most Worshipful Grand Master of

Freemasons for the ensuing year . ( Applause ) . Happy for me—indeed , I may say happy for this lodge , and happy for the Craft , the nominor of such a nominee is perfectly independent of the aids of oratory or rhetoric , inasmuch as the name of our Most Worshipful Grand Master is engraven upon the heart of every true Mason . ( Applause ) . Lord Bacon said "Princes are like to heavenly bodies which cause good or evil times , and which have much veneration and no rest . " If I vvere asked to point to a Prince who in all history has earned

and deservedl y enjoyed more veneration than others , I should point to our Most Worshipful Grand Master . If I vvere asked to point to the Prince who has least rest , whose mind is most occupied by good works , whose heart is moved by a desire to serve his fellow creatures , I should again point to his Royal Highness our Most Worshipful Grand Master . ( Applause . ) Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , I feel I need say no more , and I formally nominate the Most Worshipful Grand Master for the present to be our Grand Master for the ensuing year . ( Applause . )

Bro . Sheriff HARRIS : Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , —I have great pleasure in nominating for the post of Grand Treasurer for the ensuing year a brother whose name is known throughout the length and breadth of the land—Bro . Augustus Henry Glossop Harris—a member of the London County Council , and of Drury Lane , Covent Garden , and other theatres . He has been for many years a Freemason , having been initiated , passed , and raised in the St . Clair Lodge , No . 349 , Edinburgh , in 1875 ; he afterwards joined the Maybury Lodge , No . 969

London ; and in 1 S 85 became one of the founders and the first S . W . of the Drury Lane Lodge , No . 2127 . In 1886-8 7 , ' served the office of W . M . of the Drury Lane Lodge . He is M . E . Z . of the Royal Naval Chapter , No . 59 ; he is Life Governor of the three Masonic Charities ; he has given special prizes to the Masonic Schools , the pupils of which he has entertained at Drury Lane Theatre . I beg to nominate Bro . Augustus Henry Glossop Harris for the office of Grand Treasurer .

Bro . BEACH : Has any brother any other , candidate to propose ? No response vvas given to this question . Bro . BEACH , in investing Bro . Robert Grey again as President of the Board of Benevolence , to which post he had been appointed by the M . W . G . M ., said : I congratulate you on having been again appointed by the Grand Master , and I congratulate Grand Lodge on having a brother in that office whose services have been so cheerfully , willingly , and ably given . ( Cheers . )

Bro . BEACH announced that the Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents of the Board of Benevolence who had been nominated b y the brethren were Bros . James Brett and C . A . Cottebrune , and as those brethren vvere the onl y brethren nominated , he declared them duly elected . The 12 Past Masters nominated for the Board of

Benevolence vvere Bros . William Peter Brown , 90 ; James Bunker , 1158 ; George B . Chapman , 27 ; George A . Cundy , 901 ; Charles Dairy , 141 ; James Burgess Grieve , 1351 ; L . C . Haslip , 813 ; ' George R . Langley , 183 ; George Read , 511 ; E . Shedd , 276 ; R . J . Taylor , 144 ; and Alfred Cooper Woodward , 153 8 ; and as only 12 vvere required , he declared these brethren duly elected .

Bro . the Rev . C . J . MARTYN , P . G . C .: Most Worshipful Grand Master in the chair , —Before the report of the Board of Benevolence is put , I should like to propose one vote , which I am sure will obtain the approval of every member of this Grand Lodge ; it is that the hearty thanks of this Grand Lodge be given to Bro .

Brett and Bro . Cottebrune , the Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents of the Board of Benevolence , for the kind attention and the constant and unwearied perseverance with which for many years past they have attended the meetings of the Board of Benevolence . It is all very well for us to talk about our grand Masonic Charity , and the way in which it is dispensed , and it is all very well to p lume our-

United Grand Lodge Of England.

! selves on the way vve relieve , month after month , candidates who appear before us for help , but it is mainly to those , who , month after month , attend the Board of Benevolence that our thanks are due , for the constant and unwearied attention they pay to those meetings . I therefore propose our hearty thanks to Bro . Brett and Bro . Cottebrune , the Senior and Junior Vice-Presidents of the Board of Benevolence , for their constant and unwearied attention to the Board of Benevolence for

many years past . The Earl of HUSTON seconded the motion . The motion was put and carried nem . con . The next business vvas the consideration of the report of the Board of Benevolence , which was as follows : Report of the Board of Benevolence for the last quarter , in which are

recommendations for the following grants , viz . : The widow of a brother of the Canynges Lodge , No . 13 88 , Bristol ... ... ... ... ... £$ 0 o 0 The widow of a brother of the Highgate Lodge , No . 13 66 , Highgate ... ... - •¦ 60 o o The widow of a brother of the Belgrave Lodge , No . 749 ,

London ... ... ... ... ••¦ 50 O 0 A brother of the Mount Edgcumbe Lodge , No . 1544 , Camborne ... ... ... 60 o 0 The __ widow of a brother of the Southwark Lodge , No . 879 , London ... ... ... ... ... 50 o 0

The widow of a brother of the Grey Friars Lodge , No . 1101 , Reading ... ... ... ... ••• 50 o 0 A brother of the St . John ' s Lodge , No . 167 , Hampstead ... 100 o o A brother of the Lodge of Unity , No . 183 , London ... 200 o 0 The widow of a brother of the Britannic Lodge , No . 33 ,

London ... ... ... ... ... 50 O 0 A brother of the De Loraine Lodge , No . 541 , Newcastle-on-Tyne ... ' ... ... ... ... 50 o o

Bro . ROBERT GREY , President of the Board of-Benevolence , rose and said that before moving that those recommendations be confirmed he vvould wish to call the attention of Grand Lodge to certain irregularities that occurred , as far as the Board were able to know , in the petitions that vvere set before the Board of Benevolence , and he ventured to think that that was the first time that it could be laid before the whole Craft . According to Section 244 , when a

petition came before the Board from a lodge , the lodge which recommended the petitioner should state that " We , the undersigned , the Master , Wardens , and majority of the members of the lodge , in open lodge assembled , " recommend the case . Frequently petitions came before the Board of Benevolence signed by the Master and Wardens and one or two of the brethren . No doubt it was an inadvertance on the part of the lodge . Surely they could not think that the Master

and Wardens carried the whole weight of the lodge , or that that vvas sufficient . In fact they were not the majority , and although the Board had not absolute proofs of it they believed that was the case . Now that he had called attention to the matter , he hoped they would conform to the Constitution in that particular . He hoped that no harm had happened to any petitioner in that respect , but certainly it could

do them no good if their case was recommended by so few members of their lodge . He vvould now move that the several recommendations of the Board of Benevolence be confirmed by Grand Lodge . Bro . J AMES BRETT , Senior Vice-President , seconded the motion . The report was adopted .

The following report of the Board of General Purposes vvas , on the motion of Bro . THOMAS FENN , President , taken as read :

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSES . To the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England . The Board have to report that , acting under the advice of the Grand Superintendent of Works , they have had the electric light introduced into the premises of Grand Lodge under his supervision .

The installation is being carried out on very favourable terms by Messrs . Laing , Wharton , and Down , and the Board hope and believe that the new lig ht vvill not only greatly increase the comfort of the brethren attending Grand Lodge and using the private lodge rooms , but will also materially conduce to the preservation of the costly gilding and other decorations of the building .

The Board submit a statement of the Grand Lodge accounts , at the last meeting of the Finance Committee , held on Friday , the 15 th day of November instant , showing a balance in the Bank of England ( Western Branch ) of ^ 3973 7 s . 5 ' - > and in the hands of the Grand Secretary for petty cash ; £ 100 , and for servants ' wages ^ 100 , and balance of annual allowance for library £ 26 7 s . nd . ( Signed ) THOMAS FENN , President . Freemasons' Hall , London , W . C , ioth November , 1889 .

The motion that the report be received and entered on the minutes , moved by Bro . Thos . Fenn , having been carried , Bro . THOS . FENN said he vvould like to explain to the brethren that the electric light with which the Temple was now illuminated for the first time was quite of a temporary and experimental nature . It was only that night at 5 o'clock that the connection vvas made with the works of the Metropolitan Electric Supply Association , whose works were close at the back of Freemasons' Hall . The brethren

vvould see they were by no means complete , nor vvas the lig ht so brilliant as it might be . He hoped on the next occasion of the meeting of Grand Lodge it would be found to the great advantage of the brethren and would be an addition to their comfort . Unfortunately they vvould see that some of the lig hts were not perfect , and one in particular which happened to be over the portrait of the Most Worshipful Grand Master vvas not alight . But all these things would be set rig ht in a short time .

very Bro . Philbrick , Q . C , Grand Registrar , then brought up the following appeal : By Bro . Henry Godber , P . M . of the Victoria in Burma Lodge , _ No . 8 ^ 2 , Rangoon , against a ruling of the District Grand Master of Burma , dismissing his complaint against the said lodge for permitting Bro . Joseph Dawson , P . M ., to withdraw his resignation of membership of the lodge , which had been regularly

announced in writing to the Secretary and entered on the minutes . Bro . PHILBRICK , Grand Registrar , said the ruling of the District Grand Master against which this appeal was brought vvas this : "Ruling , 9 th June , 1889 , tha there vvas no confirmation of the minutes accepting Bro . Dawson's withdrawal ; 1 fact , though Bro . Dawson tendered his resignation it was never accep ted by 11 lodge ; it was , therefore , never in form according to the by-laws of the Iodge for-Article 22 , and therefore the District G . Master dismissed the appeal . " Now he (»

ro-Philbrick ) could not help thinking that the question which the District Gnm Master had to solve in this appeal was entirely answered by his own ruling . 3 - beeu ruled by his ( Bro . Philbrick ' s ) distinguished , and , he was sorry to say , deceased , predecessor , Bro . Mclntyre , and it had always been held as accep ted < that Masonry being a voluntary Society , the moment a brother announced his resig nation and communicated it to his lodge he ceased to be a member of Vj , ^ It was customarv to accomoanv the resignation with terms asking the lo g

accept it , and often—usually—with expressions of good feeling and regar attachment to the lodge . But those were individual matters which did not a ^ the status of the brother as a member of the lodge ; he had a right to vvlth . : |^ revV ) signifying his intention to the lodge ; and vvhen he wiihdrew , and said he wl , t 0 ' and signified it to the lodge , it was no longer in the power ' of the lo ^ -f hat retain him against his wish as a memberof the lodge for a single day .