Contents.

CONTENTS .

LHADER— FAGH . Confirmation of Minutes ... ... ... ... ¦•• 295 The District Grand Lodge of Bengal ... ... ... ... = 95 The Grand Lodge of Hungary ... ... ... ... ... 29 G Mithraic Worship ... ... ... ... --... ... 296

Consecration of the Jubilee Masters'Lodge , No . 2712 ... ... ... 297 Consecration of the Temperance Lodge , No . 2714 ... ... ... 29 S Consecration of the St . Sampson ' s Chapter , No . 259 S ... ... ... 29 S Provincial Grand Lodge of Kent ... ... ... ... ... 299 Board of Benevolence ... ... ... ... ... ... 299 The Craft Abroad ... ... ... ... ... ... 299 MASONIC

NOTESSummer Outing of Quatuor Coronati Lodge , No . 2076 ... ... 301 Boys' School Athletic Sports ... ... ... ... ... 301 District Grand Lodge of Bengal ... ... ... ... 301 Correspondence ... ... ... ... ... ... 302 Masonic Notes and Queries ... ... ... ... ... 302

Craft Masonry ... ... ... ... ... ... 302 Royal Arch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 303 Annual Picnic of the White Rose of York Lodge , No . 2491 ... ... 304 Obituary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 304 Instruction ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 304 Masonic and General Tidings ... ... ... ... ... . ufi

Confirmation Of Minutes.

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES .

Thc more carefully we examine into this question , the more convinced arc wethatourcontenlion is right—thai the confirmation of minutes is something more than a mere verification of proceedings as recorded by thc Secretary and we are confirmed in litis

opinion by the views we published last week from two brethren , of whom one was Bro . W . J . HUGHAN , P . G . D ., who has been for many years a member of our Society , and is , therefore , well qualified to give advice on the subject of lodge procedure . Bro . HUGHAN ' S argument is to the effect that as "the Grand Lodtre

of England has //^// -confirmed a portion the minutes a previous meeting .... the members of lodges may also do the same , even if the record be correct as such , " and we added— " Confirmation , Masonically , would seem to mean

agreement with the business transacted at the previous meeting as well as approval of the accuracy of the minutes . " " C . II . W . " expressed himself to a somewhat similar effect . " The confirmation of thc minutes , " said he , " is necessary , and the mere

statement that they are a correct record of what took place is not sufficient , " the reason given being that " the minutes may contain matter improper to be written , and the business not transacted may be contrary to the Constitution and in nowise

agreeable to the general opinion of the members of the Lodge . ' In our article of the 1 tth instant on the subject , we took occasion to point out , firstly as regards , Bro . J . J . LAMISKRT ' assertion thai the "N . B . " in Article 126 of the Mark Book of

Constitutions was " irregular and misleading" that note to the said article—( " N . B . —Minutes can be confirmed only at the next regular meeting of the lodge " )—means neither more nor less than what it says , namely , that lodge minutes must be confirmed

at regular lodge meetings , the proceedings at a special meeting or meeting of emergency being restricted to the transaction ol the special or emergent business for which it was convened . We further pointed out , as regards Article 00 of the Mark Book

of Constitutions , that as the law provides that a Worshipful Master shall be annually elected at one regular meeting , and installed at the next ensuing regular meeting , and , as it further provides that he shall not be so installed in office until that

portion of the minutes relating to his election at the previous meeting has been confirmed , it is absolutel y necessary that the confirmation should take place then and there as prescribed .

I he main body of the minutes , so to speak , may be confirmed ° i" non-confirmed ; but that particular portion relating to thc election of Master must be so dealt with or the prescriptions of

Confirmation Of Minutes.

the law as to installation at a regular period cannot be complied with . Our interpretation of the law is as follows : All minutes of lodge proceedings must be put for confirmation—that is , for ratification , not for mere verification as records—at regular loda , e

meetings but it is not necessary that they should be confirmed or non-confirmed en bloc . That portion of them which relates to thc election of Master must be put for confirmation at the ne . rl regular meeting and confirmed or non-confirmed , as

the members of the lodge may be pleased to determine ; otherwise the election becomes , ipso facto , void and of none effect , If the said portion is confirmed , then and then only is the brother upon whom the choice of the members has fallen deemed to be

duly elected and his installation follows . If the said portion is nonconfirmed , then thc whole thing must be gone through again as provided for in the aforesaid Article 99 . There is , as we know , nothing in the Mark—or Craft—Constitutions declaratory of the

precise meaning to be attached to the word " Confirmation " as applied to minutes of lodge proceedings ; there is certainly nothing to be found in them which in any way justifies the assumption that the word is to be interpreted as meaning nothins ? more than the verification of thc correctness

of the record of proceedings . Nor , in our opinion , does it matter what is the practice adopted b y other Societies or Companies . What concerns us is thc meaning which applies Masonically to the word " confirmation , " and we say that meaning is " ratification . "

We shall conclude these few remarks with the following quotation from a writer who may not stand high in the general estimation as an accurate compiler of Masonic history , but who was undoubtedly conversant with the law as to lodge procedure .

The late Bro . Dr . OLIVER , 111 his " Masonic Jusisprudence , " has the following on thc subject of " Confirmation of Minutes : " " no resolution of a lodge or any other business , how unanimously soever it may have been agreed to

in the first instance , becomes binding , and no action can be taken upon it , till it has been confirmed by open voting at a subsequent regular meeting , with at least live Master Masons and members of the lodge present ; for as no business can be

transacted at a lodge of emergency , except what is named in the summons , it would be improper at such a casual meeting of the brethren to read any minutes except those which distinctly refer to the matter for which the special lodge has been convened . So

stands the law—and a very judicious law it is—for it prevents all factions intriguing , which could scarcely fail to be occasionally successful if a resolution or law established b y a majority of votes at one lodge were irreversible at another .

The District Grand Lodge Of Bengal.

THE DISTRICT GRAND LODGE OF BENGAL .

It rarely happens that so interesting and important a meeting is held as that of tin : District Grand Lodge of Bengal which took place at Freemasons' Hall , Calcutta , on the 21 st March last . The presiding officer was that distinguished brother the Hon .

Sir II . TllOBV PuiNSF . P , who resigned the office of Dist . G . Master as recently as June , 18 9 6 , after having held thai-position for 18 years , and who , on this occasion , occupied thc chair of

Dist . ( j . M . in his capacity of Dep . Dist . G . Master in charge . 'I he chief business of the meeting was the installation of that same brother on his re-appointment in succession to the late Bro . Major-General YKAT . MAN-BIGGS , C . B ., who died earlier in the year