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  • June 13, 1868
  • Page 14
  • UNITED GEAND LODGE.
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The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine, June 13, 1868: Page 14

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    Article UNITED GEAND LODGE. ← Page 3 of 5 →
Page 14

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United Geand Lodge.

life , he did not see why these compounding members should be interfered with . There was no doubt that many of these persons belonged to several lodges , so that they paid their quarterage over and over again . Bro . Binckes said he was connected with one of the largest lodges—the Westminster and Keystone—in Avhich this principle

of compounding was adopted by several distinguished members of the lodge , and he thought that it was a matter that ought to be referred back to tbe Board of General Purposes for further ¦ consideration . He felt that this ivas a very important question , and required more consideration than had at present been given to it ; and that might be an argument to induce the Board to

modify their recommendation . He felt that some further inquiry should be given to it before there was any positive recommendation to Grand Lodge on the subject . He hoped that Bro . Victor Williamson , who had intimated that he intended to give notice of motion , would adopt his ( Bro . Binckes ' s ) suggestion , and ask the Board to reconsider this question .

Bro . Stebbing , P . G . D ., said he rose to propose a resolution , that the subject be referred back to the Board of General Purposes , for he was sorry to say that this paragraph bore the marks of hasty legislature . The good old rule of having some Provincial Masons on the Board of General Purposes , had been passed by and they had got into the old stereotyped practice

which prevailed some years ago . He proposed that the subject should be referred to the Board of General Purposes , not only as it affected the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge , for he did not like class legislation , bufc he wanted a law Avhich would apply equally to tbe humblest as well as the greatest in the land . It was his opinion that this laAv would prove to he a great mischief to Freemasonry . He did not say , because a man paid five guineas or twenty guineas , that he could

claim the benefit of all their Charities , bufc he would alloAV him to compound with his mother lodge , and he should be a contributing member of some other lodge . He Avould take the case of a man initiated in a lodge in Northampton , Avho might have been there for ten years , and he then went to Southampton , and it must be painful to him to have to leave ifc , and it

must be equally so to have to subscribe to a lodge which he could not attend . He Avent to the new town ancl there he joined another lodge , but he remained a member of his mother lodge by paying down five guineas . Many captains in the navy and colonels in the army went away for three * four , five , or six years , and they compounded with their lodge Avhile they

were away j when they came back they paid their full subscriptions , and that being so he said it would be a groat pity if they disturbed that arrangement . A brother who was now a resident might have his subscriptions commuted , but that there was a want of practical knowledge , and he ivas sorry to see it in this ¦ recommendation for he ivas afraid that the Board was

deteriorated in its making . He ivas sorry to see it . The men who ranged under the banner of Freemasonry ivere spread over the habitable globe , and this law affecting them appeared like hasty legislation , which was never done well , and therefore he hoped the Board of General Purposes ivould take it into further

consideration . He implored the Grand Lodge not to settle the question thafc night , for people had been under an imagination that they had been obeying the law , and if that law Avas not clear it ought to be made so . Up to 1835 a man thought he had been obeying the law in marrying his Avife's sister , bufc the Government of the country then took up the subject , and they

said that for the future all such marriages should be illegal , but all that had taken place in the past should stand good . In the same way the Board of General Purposes , when they touched

this subject , should have said they would consider all legal that had been done in the past , bufc such and such would be the practice for the future . Lord de Tabley , Prov . G . Master for Cheshire , held that to refer this matter back to the Board of General Purposes Avould not be expedient on the present occasion . The Board had

merely expressed their opinion as to ivhat was the law , and when an amendment in the constitution of the Grand Lodge was proposed then would be the proper time to consider such alteration .

A P . M . of the Westminster and Keystone Lodge said he should like to say a few words upon this question , as tbey had not the slightest reason for supposing that the practice was objectionable . They believed that it was sanctioned by the " Book of Constitutions , " and he was completely taken by surprise as to what was then s > aid about ifc . By adopting the

report they adopted the principle , for if they adopted this recommendation , and ifc Avas confirmed at the next meeting , it would become the law of the Grand Lodge . That was not the proper way to make a new law of the Grand Lodge . As to the policy of doing so , that Avas an open question . They had no right to assume that it was contrary to law , for there was

no Avritten law in the " Book of Constitutions" forbidding the practice of compounding . If it was desirable to abolish the practice , then it Avould be better to give notice to do so . He begged to second the motion that the paragraph in the report be referred back to the Board of General Purposes .

The Earl of Limerick , Prov . G . M . for Bristol , saicl it did not appear to him from the report that any fresh or stringent law was to be made . It appeared to him that the laAv then stood that this practice Avas " contrary to the law as well as the policy of Grand Lodge ; " and he suggested that the words " as Avell as the policy" might be omitted , and come to a vote on

the other part of the question . The Grand Master said he was going to obsarve on the same fact as his noble friend ( the Earl of Limerick ) had just alluded to . Tbe Board of General Purposes had stated the fact that this practice was contrary to law , and they did not recommend the law to be altered ; but it would require them to define some

regulation to make it legal under particular circumstances . If tlie Grand Lodge adhered to the letter of the laAv , then the practice must be given up . His own opinion was , that , if under certain circumstances they could agree to this plan , ifc would be imperative on lodges to invest these sums so received , so that no loss should fall upon the Grand Lodge .

Bro . Bedford , P . G . Chap , was in favour of this subject being referred back for further consideration , for he had heard nothing to convince him that any very serious harm had been , done . If they hastily adopted the resolution , they would do great wrong for the future . Bro . Nunn , as a humble member of the Board of General Purposes , said that Bro . Stebbing had said that the Board had

deteriorated , and was not as it used to be , as it did not include provincial brethren . The Board had merely told them what was illegal , and they had only done their duty in presenting their report to Grand Lodge . The Grand Master suggested that as the Board of General Purposes had ascertained the fact that commutation was

illegal , that they should reconsider the law as it then stood , to ascertain if it could be modified in such a manner as to make commutation legal . The President of the Board of General Purposes said the Board had not the slightest feeling on this matter ; but the question had come before them as to the legality or illegality of

“The Freemasons' Monthly Magazine: 1868-06-13, Page 14” Masonic Periodicals Online, Library and Museum of Freemasonry, 24 Aug. 2025, django:8000/periodicals/mmr/issues/mmr_13061868/page/14/.
  • List
  • Grid
Title Category Page
No. XII.—DOYLES LODGE, GUERNSEY. Article 1
EARS OF WHEAT FROM A CORNUCOPIA. Article 4
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS. Article 7
MASONIC NOTES AND QUERIES. Article 9
CORRESPONDENCE. Article 10
DR. ROB. MORRIS AND FREEMASONRY AT DAMASCUS. Article 10
MASONIC MUSIC. Article 10
Untitled Article 11
MASONIC MEMS. Article 12
UNITED GEAND LODGE. Article 12
METROPOLITAN. Article 16
PROVINCIAL. Article 16
SCOTLAND. Article 18
CHANNEL ISLANDS. Article 18
ROYAL ARCH. Article 18
HIGH KNIGHTS TEMPLAR. Article 19
RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE. Article 19
Obituary. Article 19
Poetry. Article 20
MEETINGS OF THE LEARNED SOCIETIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING JUNE 20TH, 1868. Article 20
METROPOLITAN LODGE MEETINGS, ETC., FOR THE WEEK ENDING JUNE 20TH, 1868. Article 20
TO CORRESPONDENTS. Article 20
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.

United Geand Lodge.

life , he did not see why these compounding members should be interfered with . There was no doubt that many of these persons belonged to several lodges , so that they paid their quarterage over and over again . Bro . Binckes said he was connected with one of the largest lodges—the Westminster and Keystone—in Avhich this principle

of compounding was adopted by several distinguished members of the lodge , and he thought that it was a matter that ought to be referred back to tbe Board of General Purposes for further ¦ consideration . He felt that this ivas a very important question , and required more consideration than had at present been given to it ; and that might be an argument to induce the Board to

modify their recommendation . He felt that some further inquiry should be given to it before there was any positive recommendation to Grand Lodge on the subject . He hoped that Bro . Victor Williamson , who had intimated that he intended to give notice of motion , would adopt his ( Bro . Binckes ' s ) suggestion , and ask the Board to reconsider this question .

Bro . Stebbing , P . G . D ., said he rose to propose a resolution , that the subject be referred back to the Board of General Purposes , for he was sorry to say that this paragraph bore the marks of hasty legislature . The good old rule of having some Provincial Masons on the Board of General Purposes , had been passed by and they had got into the old stereotyped practice

which prevailed some years ago . He proposed that the subject should be referred to the Board of General Purposes , not only as it affected the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge , for he did not like class legislation , bufc he wanted a law Avhich would apply equally to tbe humblest as well as the greatest in the land . It was his opinion that this laAv would prove to he a great mischief to Freemasonry . He did not say , because a man paid five guineas or twenty guineas , that he could

claim the benefit of all their Charities , bufc he would alloAV him to compound with his mother lodge , and he should be a contributing member of some other lodge . He Avould take the case of a man initiated in a lodge in Northampton , Avho might have been there for ten years , and he then went to Southampton , and it must be painful to him to have to leave ifc , and it

must be equally so to have to subscribe to a lodge which he could not attend . He Avent to the new town ancl there he joined another lodge , but he remained a member of his mother lodge by paying down five guineas . Many captains in the navy and colonels in the army went away for three * four , five , or six years , and they compounded with their lodge Avhile they

were away j when they came back they paid their full subscriptions , and that being so he said it would be a groat pity if they disturbed that arrangement . A brother who was now a resident might have his subscriptions commuted , but that there was a want of practical knowledge , and he ivas sorry to see it in this ¦ recommendation for he ivas afraid that the Board was

deteriorated in its making . He ivas sorry to see it . The men who ranged under the banner of Freemasonry ivere spread over the habitable globe , and this law affecting them appeared like hasty legislation , which was never done well , and therefore he hoped the Board of General Purposes ivould take it into further

consideration . He implored the Grand Lodge not to settle the question thafc night , for people had been under an imagination that they had been obeying the law , and if that law Avas not clear it ought to be made so . Up to 1835 a man thought he had been obeying the law in marrying his Avife's sister , bufc the Government of the country then took up the subject , and they

said that for the future all such marriages should be illegal , but all that had taken place in the past should stand good . In the same way the Board of General Purposes , when they touched

this subject , should have said they would consider all legal that had been done in the past , bufc such and such would be the practice for the future . Lord de Tabley , Prov . G . Master for Cheshire , held that to refer this matter back to the Board of General Purposes Avould not be expedient on the present occasion . The Board had

merely expressed their opinion as to ivhat was the law , and when an amendment in the constitution of the Grand Lodge was proposed then would be the proper time to consider such alteration .

A P . M . of the Westminster and Keystone Lodge said he should like to say a few words upon this question , as tbey had not the slightest reason for supposing that the practice was objectionable . They believed that it was sanctioned by the " Book of Constitutions , " and he was completely taken by surprise as to what was then s > aid about ifc . By adopting the

report they adopted the principle , for if they adopted this recommendation , and ifc Avas confirmed at the next meeting , it would become the law of the Grand Lodge . That was not the proper way to make a new law of the Grand Lodge . As to the policy of doing so , that Avas an open question . They had no right to assume that it was contrary to law , for there was

no Avritten law in the " Book of Constitutions" forbidding the practice of compounding . If it was desirable to abolish the practice , then it Avould be better to give notice to do so . He begged to second the motion that the paragraph in the report be referred back to the Board of General Purposes .

The Earl of Limerick , Prov . G . M . for Bristol , saicl it did not appear to him from the report that any fresh or stringent law was to be made . It appeared to him that the laAv then stood that this practice Avas " contrary to the law as well as the policy of Grand Lodge ; " and he suggested that the words " as Avell as the policy" might be omitted , and come to a vote on

the other part of the question . The Grand Master said he was going to obsarve on the same fact as his noble friend ( the Earl of Limerick ) had just alluded to . Tbe Board of General Purposes had stated the fact that this practice was contrary to law , and they did not recommend the law to be altered ; but it would require them to define some

regulation to make it legal under particular circumstances . If tlie Grand Lodge adhered to the letter of the laAv , then the practice must be given up . His own opinion was , that , if under certain circumstances they could agree to this plan , ifc would be imperative on lodges to invest these sums so received , so that no loss should fall upon the Grand Lodge .

Bro . Bedford , P . G . Chap , was in favour of this subject being referred back for further consideration , for he had heard nothing to convince him that any very serious harm had been , done . If they hastily adopted the resolution , they would do great wrong for the future . Bro . Nunn , as a humble member of the Board of General Purposes , said that Bro . Stebbing had said that the Board had

deteriorated , and was not as it used to be , as it did not include provincial brethren . The Board had merely told them what was illegal , and they had only done their duty in presenting their report to Grand Lodge . The Grand Master suggested that as the Board of General Purposes had ascertained the fact that commutation was

illegal , that they should reconsider the law as it then stood , to ascertain if it could be modified in such a manner as to make commutation legal . The President of the Board of General Purposes said the Board had not the slightest feeling on this matter ; but the question had come before them as to the legality or illegality of

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