United Grand Lodge Of England.

United Grand Lodge of England .

r PHE Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge was held j at Freemasons' Hall on the 4 th December , and Avas largely attended . R . W . Bro . George Richards , District Grand Master for the Transvaal , presided as Grand Master , and R . W . Bro . Hamon Le Strange , Provincial Grand Master for Norfolk , acted as Deputy Grand Master , in the absence

of both Earl Amherst and the Earl of Warwick . Colonel John Davis , A . D . C , Provincial Grand Master for Surrey , acted as Past Grand Master . The chairs of Senior and Junior Grand Warden were . filled respectively by R . W . Bros . Sir John B . Monckton , P . G . W ., and F . S . W . Cornwallis , J . G . W .

The Grand Secretary read the minutes of the Quarterly Communication held in September , which Avere duly confirmed .

Ihe Grand Secretary then read a letter from His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught , M . W . G . Master , in reply to a vote of condolence passed by the Grand Lodge at the September meeting on the death of the Empress Frederick . The Acting Grand Master then announced that the Most Worshipful Grand Master had been pleased to sanction the appointment by Provincial and District Grand Masters of a certain number of brethren to Past Grand rank in

commemoration of the installation of His Royal Highness as Grand Master . It Avas further announced that the Most Worshipful Grand Master had been pleased to appoint Lieut .-Colonel G . W . Dixon , Deputy Grand Sword Bearer , as Grand Sword Bearer , in place of Colonel C . Malony , C . B ., deceased , and Colonel J . Stohwasser as Deputy Grand Sword

Bearer in the place of Lieut .-Colonel Dixon , promoted . A further announcement was made that the Most Worshipful Grand Master had been graciously pleased to appoint W . Bro . Gotthelf Greiner , W . M . elect of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge , as Assistant Grand Secretary for German Correspondence in the room of Bro . C . Kupferschmidt ,

deceased . The nomination of a Alost Worshipful Grand Master for the ensuing year fell to Bro . Thomas Wakley , W . M . of the Cheselden Lodge , in the absence of Bro . Manistv , who had

undertaken that agreeable duty , but who Avas unable to be present . Bro . Wakley acquitted himself excellently—as well he might Avith so acceptable a proposition ; and our brother ' s confident assertion that he Avas but the mouthpiece of every English Freemason was received with the greatest applause . The nomination of a Grand Treasurer followed . Bro .

Colonel Davies Sewell again submitted the name of Captain John Barlow for that important office . The nomination Avas very heartily received , and , there being no other candidate , Bro . Barlow may be congratulated in advance on his practically unanimous election . The next business was the appointment and investiture

of a President of the Board of Benevolence , and it was announced that the Most Worshipful Grand Master had been pleased to re-appoint W . Bro . James Henry Matthews to that office , and he was duly invested . Bros . D . D . Mercer , P . G . P ., and Henry Garrod , P . G . P ., were respectively

reelected as Senior and Junior \ ice-Presidents , and twelve Past Masters were elected to serve on the Board . Other routine business was then dealt with , and Grand Lodge proceeded to consider an appeal by the Regent's Park Lodge , No . 2202 , London , against a decision of the Board of General Purposes , by which it was ruled that the election of

the Worshipful Master Avas void by reason of his not having served as Junior or Senior Warden for the full period of twelve months . The case was presented by the Grand Registrar , Y . W . Bro . John Strachan , K . C , and the arguments adduced involved some very nice points of Masonic law . It Avas submitted that Rule 130 of the Book of Constitutions

required that due service meant a service in one or other of the Wardens' chairs for the full period of one year from investiture , and that IAVO broken periods as Senior and Junior , although those periods may amount to one year or more ,, could not make the qualifying year . The familiar

illustration that two halfpennies won't do when you have to put a penny in the slot Avas quoted by the Grand Registrar with some effect , and it Avas further asserted that this was the view taken by the kite Bro . Thomas Fenn , Avhose knowledge of Masonic jurisprudence always carried great weight . The

Grand Registrar concluded by advising Grand Lodge to abide by the uniform authorised practice in this respect , and moved that the appeal be dismissed . This was seconded bv V . W . Bro . J . Vesey Fitzgerald , K . C , Past Deputy Grand Registrar .

R . W . Bro . Sir John Monckton followed on the other side , and maintained that if a brother had served for twelve months in the Senior and Junior Wardens' chairs that was sufficient . In the case under discussion the brother had served eight months as Junior and eight months as Senior Warden . The speaker stilted that he had been a member of

the Board of General Purposes for thirty-six years , and it was not likely that he would lightly oppose what Avas brought up as the opinion of the Board , but he felt strongly that they should look at the spirit as Avell as the letter of the Constitutions . He moved that the appeal be allowed . This amendment was seconded by R . W . Bro . Frank

Richardson , P . G . Registrar , who expressed an opinion that what Grand Lodge wanted was not common law but common sense , and common law Avas not always common sense . He hoped the brethren would take this view , and decide according to common sense—they would , he felt , decide that two eights

Avas a good deal more than one twelve . The Grand Registrar replied at some length , and concluded by asserting that the offices of Junior and Senior Warden were entirely distinct the one from the other . The case under discussion might be a hard one , but hard cases made bad law .

The brethren then divided , with the result that there was a majority of seventy-five in favour of the appeal . Bro . T . H . Roberts , who had a motion on the business , paper to alter Rule 130 , asked that he might be allowed to withdraw it , and Grand Lodge Avas then closed in form .

Grand Mark Lodge.

Grand Mark Lodge .

rIAHE Quarterly Communication of Grand Mark Lodge was I held at Mark Masons' Hall , on Tuesday , December 3 rd , the Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master , the Earl of Euston , presiding . R . W . Bro . C . Letch Mason , Prov . G . AI . M . for West Yorkshire , acted as Deputy Grand Master , R . W . Bro . Lord Herschell was Senior Grand Warden , and R . W . Bro . H . J . Sparks was Junior Grand Warden . The Grand Secretary , Bro . Charles Fitzgerald Mater , read a letter from Colonel

Egerton , conveying the thanks of His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught for their fraternal sympathy with him on the great loss he had sustained by the death of the late Empress Frederick , and also a letter of thanks from Mrs . Beach for a similar expression of earnest sympathy on the death of Bro . the Right Hon . W . W . B . Beach . The Grand Director of Ceremonies announced the appointment of Bro . Frank Richardson , Grand Registrar ,