Contents.

CONTENTS .

LEADERS 477 Old Masonic Workings 47 8 The Late Bro . Dr . Wilson lies , Deputy-Grand Master Hens 479 Scotland 479 CORRESPONDENCEStatus of Past Masters 480

Instructions lo the Special Building Committee 481 Bro . Binckes ' sOfiiccand thc Candidature of Edward Bramble Green . —An Explanation | 8 l The October Elections 481 Bro . Jacob Norton 4 81 Reviews 481

Notes and Queries 4 S 1 REPORTS OF MASONIC MEETINGSCraft Masonry 4 S 2 Instruction 4 S 3 Royal Arch 483 Knights Templar 4 S 3 Royal Masonic Institution for Girls 4 S 3

South Africa 4 S 3 Australia 4 S 4 The Grand Conclave of Knights Templar at San Francisco 485 Thc Masonic Dillicnltv in Quebec 48 ^ The Theatres " . 4 _ i ' s Masonic nnd General Tidings 486 Lodge Meetings for Next Week ... page 3 Cover ,

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IT would seem as if it was thought that we are paying " too dear for our whistle , " to use a common expression , in the purchase of the lease of Bacon ' s Hotel , & c , and that the bargain as proposed is not a good one for the Craft . One or two considerations necessarily supervene at this state of the proceedings , which require careful thought and serious attention . The

matter is a very important one in itself , and we cannot afford to treat it , as a great Body , with anything like indifference or * ' laissez faire . " Are we then , as a financial transaction or mere matter of business , giving too much to the lessees of our own property for the purchase of the remainder of the lease ? Is the arrangement proposed to be effected to be carried out at too

great a cost , and with too little of return to ourselves ? If this be the case , as some appear to contend publicly and privately , then we shall have to amend the financial as well as the building proposals . Grand Lodge , we may remember , is called upon apparently to spend a large sum of money , and in order to justify such a demand , or authorize such an expenditure , it

ought we think to be clearly shown that we shall obtain a reasonable profit , as well as needful accommodation . If then the financial outline of the scheme be too hastily drawn , and will not commend itself to more minute and business investigations , Grand Lodge will assuredly not approve of it . We have no right to sacrifice the abiding interests of Grand Lodge for any

other considerations whatever . Neither is it befitting for us , as dealing with the money of the Craft , to make arrangements which will hardly accord either with the state of our income or the financial safety of Grand

Lodge . If Grand Lodge is going to spend £ 30 , 000 or £ 40 , 000 it ought to have reasonable return for its large outlay . Is that the case , speaking to men of business and financial experts , as regards the proposal to purchase the remainder of the Baconian lease ?

«* # AND then another question at once crops up . Is the idea of the proposed alteration a sound one ? Bro . J AMES STEVENS and , we understand , others contend , that the absorption of Bacon's Hotel is not necessary , and that by the present proposal we do too much and too little at the same

time . It is true that the Tavern will be greatly improved at the cost of the Craft , but will the Craft itself be benefitted materially by such large operations ? Is it necessary to take in Bacon ' s Hotel ? Are there no other means of extension less costly and more effective ? These are questions to which Grand Lodge will certainly want a lucid answer when next it

assembles . We fancy we understand what Grand Lodge really requires ; e . g \ , a good hall , ' a commodious banqueting room , —a supper room , if you like ; but it also asks for increased Craft accommodation in the shape of a waiting room , a library , a museum , and a readjustment of the executive

offices . We think , as we have often said before , that everything has been done in too great a hurry , for the mere sake , apparently , of saying that " something has been done . " But there is an old English proverb which is applicable to this as to many other sublunary affairs , " the more haste the worse speed . "

* * * THE following Notice of Motion appears on the Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire Agenda Paper at Ripon , for October 3 rd : 1 . — " That this Provincial Grand Lodge of West Yorkshire , whilst fully appreciating the services of the Special Committee appointed to report to Grand Lodge on

the subject of the Masonic Temple recently seriously damaged by fire , regards with surprise and alarm the report of such committee , which contemplates the purchase of the unexpired term of five-and-a-half years ' lease , with furniture , of Bacon ' s Hotel for £ 6000 ( annual rent £ 3 60 ) , and the granting of an extension of Messrs . Spiers and Pond ' s lease to 50

years . That this Provincial Grand Lodge is of opinion that the leasing of any property of Grand Lodge , except for a very limited period , is , under any circumstances , highly objectionable , and may prove , as in the cases of the three leases now existing , extremely inconvenient , and that the question of f ent is quite a secondary consideration compared with the retention of full control of the premises and the tenants of Grand Lodge . " 2 . — "That in

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regard to Section 10 of such report , this Provincial Grand Lodge would recommend that , under the direction of the Grand Superintendent of Works , competent architects , Masons or non-Masons , be invited to submit plans oi any scheme for reconstruction or enlargement of the Masonic Temple . " 3 . —" That copies of these resolutions be transmitted to Grand Lodge and to the Board of General Purposes . "

As regards the design for the New Hall itself , we apprehend there cannot be two opinions but that it is utterly inadequate either for the wants or dignity of Grand Lodge . It has its good points undoubtedly , but they are overshadowed utterly by most defective internal arrangements , and a want of realization of the true character of an assembly hall for a Grand Lodge of Freemasons .

The new building is calculated , it is said , to seat 1500 . But have an ) ' of us ever seen a room in that particular form which is made to hold 1500 sitters , and in which the speakers can be heard ? The House of Commons only holds 658 , and complaints are often made of its acoustic properties . What then of 1500 ? In order lo meet this known difficulty we apprehend the

designer has introduced the lateral gallery , —a very objectionable feature , — and it may very well be a question whether the attempt to seat 1500 brethren in a long high hall can result in anything but failure . The amphilheatral form is of course not so difficult for hearing , but we doubt if such a shaped hall would suit the Craft . All this shows the necessity of other plans and

careful reconsideration . " Festina Iente " ought surely to be our motto , and truth compels us " nolentes volentes " to say this much , that by some " concatenation of atoms" the present position of Grand Lodge in the matter may teach us to feel how true is the French saying that from the " sublime to the ridiculous there is but one step . "

* # THE Special Building Committee ' s report has been a great disappointment to many , inasmuch as it has practically been "hung up , " and Grand Lodge is almost without a guide or advice on a most vital question for its progress and prosperity , its convenience and its comfort . The Special Building

Committee , for some unaccountable reason , brought forward a report of which it did not seek formally to propose the adoption , and submitted a design which it did not affect to recommend . The consequence naturally was a " most lame and impotent conclusion . " To say the truth , we are not the least surprised at it . The Special Building Committee is the " outcome " of

a " mistake in policy , " and the product of an appeal which ought never to have been made to a startled Grand Lodge . It was the creation of hurry and excitement , and its very return as to the numbers voting was neither universally accepted nor altogether unchallenged . It did not profess to represent the expert knowledge and business

ability of the Craft , and was both a compromise and a makeshift , in that it was the formation of a moment , a temporary expedient , without prepiration and without consideration . In our humble opinion , the Board of General Purposes missed their way grievously in not recommending themselves the

creation of a Special Building Committee . This motion would have been well taken by Grand Lodge , and would have met every difficulty of the case . As it is , we are in this position , —we have entered a report in our minutes , and thanked the Committee for it . Has that Committee anything further to do ? Is not "OTHELLO ' occupation gone . " ?

# * # WE print elsewhere a portion of a letter from a non-Mason at San Francisco , California , United States , sent to us by an old Masonic friend of many years , because we think it gives a description which will be interesting to our Knights Templars , and not without some attraction for our

readers of the Craft . We make this remark at first starting that what suits America , will not probably suit us in the old country , and what is approved there in such matters would not go down here . Each country must be governed by its own laws , customs , and procedure , and its own "inner consciousness " of the " eternal fitness of things . " The scenes graphically

described by the writer of the letter have in them something which may harmonize with the American view of the matter and the condition of social affairs there . We should not like to behold such gatherings in " Old England , " or such public manifestations of even " Templar Chivalry . " The object of it all is not very apparent to us ; still , as we said before , if it pleases

the American I emplars there to parade in full dress for public processions and religious worship before admiring thousands ; if the taste of the great multitude unequivocally approves of such a display and such gatherings ,

we do not see that we have much to say to it all in England . In one sense , as a " spectacle , " it is no doubt very taking , and in another sense , as in America , where all that pertains to Freemasonry and the Chivalric Associations has been the subject of base , cruel , and unjust persecution , it may be advis-