The Grand Lodge Property.

THE GRAND LODGE PROPERTY .

LONDON , SATURDAY , AUGUST 20 , 1861 .

We had lioped that at least for some months we should be excused from writing on this subject , but we have received a letter from Bro . Havers which cannot be altogether passed without notice . Our respected brother confirms Avhat we stated

from the first , that under no circumstances can the Freemasons ' ' Hall and buildings proper be leased to any parties , either" in an individual or corporate capacity ; but that the Tavern is to be a thoroughly distinct establishment , over which the Graft will have no further control than that of lessees . Bro .

Havers g ives a distinct approval of the new company , Avhich we doubt not will have its wei ght with the Craft , whilst we cannot otherwise than approve the decision which the committee has come to of abstaining from becoming shareholders ; for had

they done so . , it must have created some dissatisfaction with , regard to any arrangement entered into with the Tavern Company . We understand that , up to the present moment , of the 6 , 500 shares to be subscribed for , applications

have been received for upwards of 4 , 000 , and that without any regard to the directors or their friends , whose applications are yet to come in , and which , if only equal to one-half of what is promised , will more than cover the whole amount .

We subjoin Bro . Havers letter : TO TUB EDITOR OP THE FBEEMASONS' MAGAZINE AUD MASONIC HIUKOJl . DEAII SIR AND BROTHER , —So many inquiries Lave been made of me , both verbally and otherwise , on the subject of the Now Buildings , and of the proposed Company , that I think it better to ask your permission to lto them generall .

repy y I . The new "Freemasons' Hall" and the Tavern , which will adjoin it , will be separate and distinct . The former will contain the present great hall , boardrooms , lodge-rooms , offices for the Grand Secretary and his clerks , offices for the Charities , Grand Masters' and Grand Officers' rooms , library , coffee-room , waitingrooms , Grand Tyler ' s apartments , & c . This part of the

building will possess a handsome facade of Portland stone , and will be devoted solely and exclusively to the use of the fraternity . The Tavern will contain all the recommendations necessary for carrying on a first-class business , including ( besides dining-rooms of ordinary dimensions ) a new great halllarger and more commodious than the present

, one , and two subsidiary dining-rooms of large dimensions , with suitable approaches and ante-rooms , & c ; the ( s uite of apartments which can be thrown open will , I believe , be unequalled in any similar establishment in London . II . The contemplated lease to the company refers to the Tavern only .

III . Neither I , nor any member of the committee , as far as I know , I believe , have , or propose to have , any share or interest in the new company , and for the sole but sufficient reason that , as representing the interests

The Grand Lodge Property.

of Grand Lodge , we could not be in the position of being both buyers aud sellers . IV . AVere I not so debarred I should willingly become a shareholder in the company . Y . I thiuk that the company has every prospect of a great success , and is a good and legitimate thing for the brethren to take up . Its promoters have agreed to give

us a liberal rent , but there is ample margin for the shareholders to make a large profit . YI . The risk appears to me to be slight . This company is unlike other companies formed for similar purposes—inasmuch as it is not required to lay out one shilling of its capital in land , bricks , or mortar , the society completing at its own cost tbe whole of the

building ; and it has not got to make a business , but has a really good business ready made to its hand , which a moderate capital and good management cannot fail to increase immensely . Lastly . The / aptuZs and rooms forming the front of tho new building have not been commenced , because it is necessary to carry on the work in sections for the convenience of the Craft , and to avoid interfering with the

business of our tenants . Before we can take away the old lodge-rooms and the executive offices , we must have the new ones ready . These latter are now being roofed in , will be finished in December , and will , I trust , be occupied early in the new year . We are breaking through into the vestibule of the present great hall in order to form the staircase , and

( Masonic ) approach to the present and future great balls , and we are doing it now because such new means of access will shortly be necessary , because the present slack time of year suits best the convenience of our tenants , and because by getting all the interior work finished and ready for occupation , we shall occasion the least inconvenience , and we shall be able to carry up the

whole facade at once . There must , of course , be some inconvenience to all parties , and chiefly in the means of access , till the work is completed . I am sure that our brethren will put up with the inconvenience good-naturedly , and I can assure them , on behalf of the committee , that we will spare no pains to make it felt as little as possible . Tours fraternally , Aug . 16 , 1864 JOHN HAVERS ; -

Le Monde Maconnique And The Freemasons' Magazine.

LE MONDE MACONNIQUE AND THE FREEMASONS' MAGAZINE .

Our French contemporary once more takes us to task for the manner in which our MAGAZINE is conducted—founding its observations on the preface to our last volume , winch is , in fact , a resume of the events of the previous six months . In the

first place we are blamed for devoting too much of that two-paged address to the matters of the outer world , and too little to matters purely Masonic , especially the " intellectual movement of Masonry in all parts of the ' world . " Alas !

where are we to find them ? Certainl y not in English lodges—assuredly not in the pages of lie Monde Maconnicfue . We are told that the English brethren " see with regret that Masonry does not possess a more earnest organ in England" than the FBEEHASONS * MAGAZINE . We regret if it is not as earnest and