The Royal Benevolent Institution For Aged Masons And Their Widows.

Two years ago the Board of General Purposes deliberately reported that the duties performed in the Grand Secretary ' s office were not of such an extent as to warrant any increase in the expenditure . Since then £ 250 have been added to the various salaries , and , seeing that

the Canadian dispute has been settled by the acknowledgment of the independence of that jurisdition , thereby largely reducing the number of lodges to be communicated with , it is almost impossible that the business can now have so far increased as to render any additional

assistance necessary . If it has , however , let it be met in the legitimate way , and not by depriving an old and faithful servant of a portion of his income , because , in the aggregate , it is equal to , or larger than , that of the Grand Secretary , and that too , to the injury of our most

important charity—that through which we provide for our aged brethren and their widows . We cannot close these remarks without asking Bro . Clarke whether , if another clerk were appointed , there would in reality be an hour ' s work in the day for him to do ; and whether others besides the clerks may not sometimes waste their time ? In the discussion on the

question of raising Bro . Clarke's salary , Bro . Gregory said , " The duties of the Secretary of a Club are far inferior in importance to those of our Grand Secretary ; and I have seen the Secretary of my own club come quietly in at eleven o ' clock in the morning , and when I have looked for him at three or four o'clock in the

afternoon he was not to bo found . " We believe the Grand Secretary goes to his office pretty punctually between ten and eleven o'clock , but we have looked for him at one , and he was not to be found .

The Three Grand Principles.

THE THREE GRAND PRINCIPLES .

{ From- a Correspondent !) The three Grand Principles of Brotherly Love , Belief , and Truth are so truly the foundation of all human excellence , that no action can be really good which violates any one of the three , and few good actions can

be conceived which , do not involve some of them , while the majority will involve , more or less , all three . Brotherly love , above all , has from time immemorial been the basis of the true Eltlms : it forms the motive of every generous act of relief , it should be the chief motive of truthfulness in our mutual intercourse .

It is not , however , our intention to enlarge at present upon these great Masonic principles , the force and beauty of which , every one can feel in his heart however little lie may exemplify them in his life ; Ave wish rather to indicate a way in which they may be manifested not only

in the lives of individual Masons , but in that of Masonry as a whole . In the year 1721 ( Duke of Buccleugh , G . M . ) the activity of our eminent brother Dr . Desa-guliers laid the foundation of the "Fund of Benevolence" for aged Masons of impoverished means : to this charity have j since been added others for the benefit of the widow and

The Three Grand Principles.

orphans ( sons or daughters ) of poor and worthy Masons . Such admirable institutions could not fail to succeed , and while Masons have hearts to feel and means to bestow they will continue to thrive and to be , as they are now , the glory and the ornament of English Masonry . But

we are struck with one peculiarity ( we had almost said defect ) , connected with these institutions—they are exclusive . Their benefits extend to Masons alone . And not only will this be thrown in our teeth by those who are unable to appreciate the silent good which Masonry

secretly works in the community , hub also our own consciences whisper to us that this is not all that Masonry might undertake , and , therefore , not all that she ought to do .

Far be it from us to forget that the very nature of our sacred compact points out a true brother in distress in preference , to any other—Masonry has done right in commencing with her exising charities—but can any brother who remembers his initiation ever forget that the very first act of his Masonic career was one continued

exhortation never to shut his ears against the cries of the distressed ? And when his " preference " for the " true brother " has been duly shown , and his ability is still unimpaired , should he not at once turn to his nonmasonic brother and do what he can for him ? Ay ,

doubtless , for Charity , which is an unalterable landmark of Freemasonry , is not stinted , it is co-extensive with Christian Charity—it is the third and greatest round of our heavenward ladder , even that round which , when all the rest of the ladder through disuse has fallen away

, decayed , will remain eternally fixed where it now rests , in the mansions of bliss , veiled from mortal eye . Now , there are a multitude of fearful evils in the present constitution of society , all crying for redress , and not one but can be traced to some cause or

combination ot cases more or less primary . Here there is a field of labour for an exalted charity to work upon ! We see the poor around us badly fed , badly clothed , badly housed and warmed , cheated in their marketing , for they p > ay dearer for worse articles than do their wealthier brethren : they are confined to one particular

time for making their purchases , and so are at the mercy of dishonest petty-tradesmen who know when and howto prepare for them ; they are deprived of their rightful Sunday rest , exposed to temptation which the rich never dream of . and are almost destitute of religious privileges !

Surely these are sufferings which call loudly on the soldiers of charity to arise and fight till the evils which lie at the bottom of them are trampled down and destroyed . Many , without doubt , are the efforts made by single individuals to counteract the wrong , but what can

individuals do beyond effecting a slight diversion ? To fight an array of evil we must have an array of goodin other words , combination is the great need . Now who , if not Masons , are calculated to comhine easily and profitably for any good purpose , especially one of brotherly love ? We meet , once a month , or oftener , in bodies of sufficient magnitude to discuss measures of