The Masonic Mirror.

Grand JIaster , AVIIO had failed in inducing Bro . Howard to surrender the charter of the Lodge . Bro . the ECA ' . J . S . Sidebothani moved that the matter be referred back to the Provincial Grand JIaster of Sussex . Bro . Havers briefly replied , and contended that it had al ways boon tho practice , or ought to have been , to take the opinion of Grand Lodge relative to the suspension of a brother , and no sucb power should be allowed to exist in any but the supreme body . The Board of General

Purposes had not , or ought not to have , tho power of suspending a brother without the confirmation of Grand Lodge ; and even if there were not many precedents for the course now proposed to be taken , he would call upon Grand Lodge to make a precedent for the future , and thereby prevent the supreme power being exercised by other than themselves . AA'ith regard to what had been stated relative to the Provincial Grand JIaster , it was not until the Deputy Provincial Grand JIaster had done his best to secure the charter of the Lodge for the brethren that lie had remitted it to the consideration of the Board of General Purposes , whose power to deal with it could not be questioned . The resolution was then put and carried , with five dissentients .

THE HALL . - Tlie President of the Board of General Purposes AA-ould , as an introduction to his next motion , read a paragraph from the report of the Board : " The Board further report chat they have received an application from Messrs . Elkington and Co ., the lessees of the tavern , requesting the grant of a stun of money , to be expended in repairs of the great hall ; that they have caused inquiry to be made under the authority of the Grand Superintendent of AA ' orks , who reports that the

repairs necessary may be completed for a sum not exceeding £ 275 , and that competent persons are ready to undertake the work . The Board , therefore , recommend that the sanction of Grand Lodge be given for such outlay . " He might mention that their house had cost them a , large sum in repairs—in ten years grants having been made for the purpose to the extent of £ 1 , 500 . It had been proposed by Messrs . Elkington and Co . that a grant of £ 500 or . £ 700 should be made for repairing the hall . The question had been referred to the Grand Superintendent of Works

, who had reported that the necessary repairs might be made for £ 27 5 . He believed that the tenants were satisfied Avith Avhat was proposed to be done , and he , therefore , moved that that sum be granted . Bro . AA . Pulteney Scott seconded the motion . Bro . Masterinan thought that the lessees ought to repair the house themselves . AVere they not bound to do so under the lease ? Bro . Havers : They were not .

Bro . Jlastermau : Then they ought to be . The lessees got the benefit of the house , and the Craft had the benefit of paying for the repairs , ivhich was no benefit at all . ( Laughter . ) Bro . Stebbing rose to oppose the motion , as he thought it most ridiculous to expend £ 275 on the repairs of the hall , when they were ou the eve of a discussion with regard to the future arrangement of the premises ; ivhich might make those repairs perfectly useless . He

looked upon this as a most reckless expenditure of £ 275 , abstracted from charity . ( Cries of " No , no . " ) He maintained that it ivas so ; for , though the money Avas not avowedly subscribed for that purpose , whenever they had a surplus of money they transferred it to the funds of one of their charities . ( Hear , hear . ) He thought , on the eve of making alterations in their property , the expenditure most inopportune , and that the utmost they should be called upon to do before tho Avhole question was taken into consideration should be to keep out wind and water . ( Hear , hoar . ) The resolution was then put and carried .

THE ORGANS . The President of the Board of General Purposes had next to bring forward a resolution , which he believed AA-as to be opposed by one of his earliest friends . It was a question in ivhich neither himself nor any member of the Board of General Purposes had the slightest personal interest , nor could have . It related to the organs . They had received from the Grand Organist an opinion that the present organs were perfectly useless , and he ivas opposed to all expenditure upon them . The

Board had come to the conclusion to recommend that they should be repaired at an expenditure of £ 70 , but they had not done so Avithout the fullest consideration . He held in his hand a report from Jlr . Bates—he believed he ought to say Bro . Bates , for ho was a highly esteemed member of the Order—the organ builder , of Ludgate-hill , which stated that not only could ho put them into serviceable repair , but that if properly looked to from year to year they AA-ould last for twenty-five years . He took the opinion of that gentleman as that of an upriht manand he stated

g , that he could efficiently repair the organs for £ 70 , and guarantee to keep them in good order for £ 5 5 s . a year ; the reason they were out of order being , that they ivere not sufficiently used . Seeing that in Bro . Bates ' s opinion the organs might be made serviceable for twenty or twenty-five years at a moderate expenditure , and not believing that organs which they bad had in use but a comparatively short time could be altogether ii-orn out to render he would move thafc £ 70

so as new ones necessary , be granted for the repair of the organs . Bro . Dr . Kinsman seconded the motion . He had seen Bro . Bates , who assured him that he could keep the organs in good repair at an expense of £ 5 5 s . per annum each ( not £ 5 5 s . the two ) , ivhich sum should include every expense . The cost of repairing the organ in the temple he estimated at £ 40 . and thafc in the lull at £ 25 .

Bro . Horsley , G . Org . said he was sorry to intrude himself upon the brethren . Indeed this AA-.-IS the only subject upon which ho would venture to address them . He had noiv had the honour to hold his office for nearly three years , aud Avhen he Avas first appointed ho was asked to examine the organs , lie did so , assisted by a most competent person , aud he found thorn in such a state of rack and ruin , that the first thing he recommended was that they should discontinue the payment of £ 12 12 s . a-year for keeping them in repair . He sent his report to the

Board of General Purposes , but Avhether it was received he had never heard . Last year another committee was appointed to examine the organs , ou A \ -hich were Bros . Eoberts and Le Veau and upon their consulting him ( Bro . Horsley ) he repeated that the organs were perfectly useless ; and that to attempt to repair them would be to throiv the money away . He recommended thafc they should have tivo entirely neiv organs , Avhich might bo obtained for about £ 300— £ 200 for the hall and £ 100 for the temple . No notice was taken of his report , and

the first intimation he received of the proposed expenditure of £ 70 unrepairs , was when hesaAvit on the printed paper of business—not having been at all consulted with regard to it . He had the greatest respect for Bro . Bates , with ivhoni he had had business transactions , and knew him to be a gentleman of the highest honour and probity , but he AA-as convinced from the rottenness of the materials that they might as well throiv the . money in the Thames as attempt to repair their present organs . Ho was convinced that they ivere utterly ivorthless , and ho

would recommend that they should either have IIBAV organs , or Avaifc until the whole question of the property was under consideration . In the meantime he could manage to play a little on the organ in the Temple , and Avhen they liict ^ in the hall it ivould be better to dispense with the music altogether , or to hire an harmonium . He would move as an amendment that that part of the report Avhich recommended an expenditure of £ 70 on-the ~ o ' rgans be not approved . Bro . the Eev . J . S . Sidebothani seconded the amendment ; considering that as the Grand Registrar was the legal adviser of the Craft , so ought

the Grand Organist to be as regarded the organs , and they were bound to act upon his opinion . Bro . Col . Browning thought it Avould be useless to expend . £ 300 upon IIOAV organs , when they had the assurance of Bro . Bates that those they IIOAV had might be put in good repair for £ 70 . As to the rottenness of any portion of the materials , that was for Bro . Bates to consider iu making his contract , and not for them . Bro . Jennings , G . D . C , said that the question of the organs had been

full } ' considered by the Board , after placing them under the closest inspection . They had heard the opinion of the Grand Organist , that the organ in the gallery ivas utterly useless , and that in tbe temple ivorthless ; but they must recollect that the Grand Organist ivas a player of extraordinary skill and standing , and that he was in the habit only of porfonning on instruments of a character commensurate ivith his position in the profession , and great alloAvanccs ought , therefore , to be made for his opinion , that nothing could be done ivith the present ,

organs . They should also recollect that they had the organs inspected by a manufacturer , who stated that for every purpose of the Craft hi ; could put them in repair , and guarantee to keep them so for twenty-live years at an annual cost of £ 5 5 s . each . AVhen they considered the solemn silence with ivhich thoy had opened their business that evening , and the entire absence of any attempt of the Grand Organist to produce any notes from their organ , it surely became them to make an effort to give bettor effect to their ceremonies if they could do so through an

expenditure of £ 70 . He ( Bro . Jennings ) had taken considerable pain- ; to make inquiries on the subject , and ho Avas authorized by Bro . Bates to say that , if he did not put the two organs in a satisfactory condition , he " would make no claim for payment . " ( Hear , hoar . ) If they weiv placed in such a condition that any ordinary player could perform upon them , IIOAV much more might they not expect from the skill of their esteemed Grand Organist . ( Cheers . ) The amendment ivas then put and negatived , and the original resolution carried .

EUASunt : or LODGES . The President ofthe Board of General Purposes had now the painful duty to move that seven Lodges be erased from their books ; but , if any brother had anything to advance why in any case the erasure should not bo proceeded with , the Board ivould willingly consent to its beingheld over to give au opportunity for resuscitation , though ho looked upon the Lodges proposed to bo erased as defunct . In the first place he should mention that , since their hist meeting , five Lodges had been

removed from tho list proposed to be erased , simply on the ground thafc they have complied Avith the requisition of Grand Lodge , and made the necessary returns . And here he might be alloived to say that , in some instances , this had been done under circumstances highly honourable to the brethren in the provinces , ivho had come forward and paid the duos for a quarter of a century , iu order to revive the Lodges ; and he had great pleasure in omitting them from the resolution he had to move . He would noiv go through the list of those proposed to be erased

, begging them to recollect that they ivould only put them iu a position su . bjudiee until the resolution was confirmed ,- and if anything could be done to resuscitate either of the Lodges in the meantime , there Avould bo nothiug to prevent its being taken out of the list at their next meeting . The first Lodgo ou the list w-as No . 4 S , Lodge of Concord , London , and was formerly held at the Turk ' s Head , in tlle Strand . The Lodge had not met for many years past , and ought properly to have been erased