Colonial.

have held the office of W . M . for a full year before he can rank as a Past Master and be entitled as such to a seat in the Grand Lodge , it would be gross injustice to sacrifice the rig hts of the individual to the whims or wishes of the many . Several questions having reference to honorary memberships have been submitted for my decision , which for the sake of conciseness I shall give in the form of qv \ estions and answers : Q . Can an honorary member who has been elected as such by

an open vote be elected an officer of that lodge ? A . He cannot . No brother can be an officer of a lodge until he has been admitted a member thereof by ballot , iu accordance with the constitution . Q . Can a brother Avho was a paying member of a lodge at the time ho was made an honorary member be elected an officer of that lodge ? A . He can ; but must become a paying member during the

time he holds office . This does not , however , apply to a Chaplain . In accordance with my promise to the Grand Lodge at the annual communication , I directed the Grand Secretary to issue a circular to all the subordinate lodges , directing them to forward him a copy of their by-laws for my inspection and approval , in order as far as possible to establish uniformity in the government of the Craft . On examining the copies which were

transmitted to me , I found that most of them contained clauses which I considered objectionable ; but as they had in many instances received the confirmation of my predecessors , I , in courtesy and and deference to them , refrained from making those alterations which I considered necessary , preferring , if any action were taken in reference to them , that it should proceed from the Grand Lodge . What I most object to in these by-laws is that they infringe

the rights of the individual brother , which should be quite as much protected as those of a lodge—as , for instance , in the following by-law . " Any brother who lias failed to pay his dues for six months shall not be permitted to vote in the lodge or ballot for a candidate until his clues are paid up . " This is clearly unconstitutional , for no brother can be deprived of anv of his rights or privileges without due trial

neither can a brother be suspended for non-payment of dues until he has been duly summoned to show cause why he should not be suspended . Should no attention be paid to the summons , then of course the case would go by default . But if the brother attend , be has a right to a trial . It having been reported to me by Bro . S . Baker , AV . M . of Provost Lodge ( No . 1 ) , that the warrant of said lodge had disappeared from the lodge room under very peculiar and

suspicious circumstances , I instructed the Deputy Grand Master to proceed to Dunham to enquire into the facts of the case , which he accordingly did with great care and judgment ; and on its appearing from his report that the same care had been taken of the warrant as in previous years , I directed tho Grand Secretary to issue a duplicate wan-ant to the lodge , the said warrant to be returned iu the event of the recovery of the old

one . As this case may , however , call for further adjudication , I have placed all the documents in connection therewith in the hands of the Board of General Purposes for your information . It having been intimated to me that on the Gth of February last , two candidates had been blackballed in Maple Leaf Lodge ( No . 119 ) , and *) i ; ifc afterwards by a resolution of the lodge , the consideration of the said ballot was postponed until the

next regular meeting , at which time the candidates were again balloted for and . accepted , and one of them initiated , I at once wrote to the Worshipful Master directing him to send me a copy of the last three meetings of the lodge , on l'eceipt of -which , finding the charges only too true , I suspended the lodge until such time as I could personally investigate the circumstances attending this gross violation of Masonic law . SubsequentlI received a communicationsigned bthe Worshipful

y , y Master , Wardens , Past Master , and Secretary , most humbly acknowledging their fault , pleading ignorance on the cause , and throwing themselves on my clemency and forbearance . Having , however , in the interim received formal charges against the lodge , I deemed it still advisable to hold the investigation , and accordingly directed the lodge and the brethren preferring the charges , to meet me in Bath on the 28 th April , at which time

I carefully entered upon the investigation ; although the facts , as already stated , were fully borne out in the enquiry . I nevertheless became convinced that nought had been done , except through ignorance , or , strange as it may appear , a desire

to preserve peace and harmony in the lodge , Avhich , taken together Avith the evident contrition of the officers and brethren , induced me to treat the lodge more leniently than I otherwise would have done . After , therefore , severely reprimanding the Worshipful Master , officers , and brethren for their couduct , I informed them that I should only continue their suspension until the 8 th of the following month ( making the suspension in all two months ) , after which the lodge might again x > vocee & to

work , but that on no consideration would I permit the candidate who had been blackballed and afterwards accepted , to be initiated , nor would for the present allow the candidate who had been initiated to be advanced . It is my melancholy duty to report , and I am sure you Avill receive the announcement with heartfelt sorrow , that since our last meeting we have lost one whose name was intimately connected with the Grand Lodge from its formation . On the 5 th of Oct .

last our Right Worshipful Bro . W . Bellhouse , for several years Grand Treasurer , afterwards Deputy Grand Master for the Hamilton district , and lastly a member of-the Board of General Purposes , was carried to his last resting place by the brethren of Hamilton . I trust the Grand Lodge will take an early opportunity of paying a tribute of respect to the memory of so worthy a brother .

I regret I have been unable to visit as many of tho lodges during the past year as I would have desired . I had much pleasure , however , in visiting the lodges in Montreal and Toronto , where I was received with that fraternal kindness and hospitality which have always distinguished them . Many matters of importance will be submitted for your consideration by the Board of General Purposes , amongst others that of the finances of Grand Lodge , to which I desire

particularly to draw your attention . By the Grand Lodge ' s annual report it would appear that tho net income of the Grand Lodge for 1864 , exclusive of interest from investments , Avas 3 , 150 dols . 25 cents , and that the total amount of fnnds invested and otherwise belonging to the Graud Lodge , was 15 , 829 dols . 55 cents , which , if properly invested , ought to yield between twelve and fifteen hundred dollars per annum more , with the exception , however , of 1 , 000 dols . invested in Middlesex debentures at G ^ , this sum lying' in the bank yielding only 4 , and

thus is the Grand Lodge deprived of a large sum which might be applied to benevolent and charitable purposes . What I therefore suggest is that this sum be immediately invested either iu county debentures , good bank stock or bonds and mortgages , and that we one and all exert every energy we possess to increase our Fund of Benevolence and make it worthy of the Grand Lodge . Whilst on the subject of Masonic charity , I would draw attention to the fact that whilst many other

Graud Lodges annually place a certain sum at the disposal of their Grand Master iu order that he may be able to relieve the urgent wants of those who apply to him ( and to whom should a Mason apply if not to his Grand Master ?) , yet that Grand Lodge last year , I believe inadvertently , omitted to make any such provisiou , thus throwing the Graud Master entirely on his own resources to meet the immediate and pressing wants of those brethren who lied to him . I would therefore earnestly

app recommend this subject to the consideration of the brethren , for although , as they are well aware , I am opposed to the Grand Master checking out tho funds of Grand Lodges , I nevertheless think he should have a certain amount placed at his disposal for charitable purposes , and not to be placed in such a position as to be obliged at times to send a deserving Mason from his door without adequate relief .

We live , my brethren , in eventful times . A mighty political agitation on our borders is , thank God , drawing to its close . Across the wide Atlantic many changes have taken place , and yet upon the dim horizon of the future portentous clouds loom up . Who can foresee the evil ? We may speculate , but who can know ? While it behoves the Mason in accordance with the time-honoured laws of the Craft as such to keep aloof from

all political concerns , it is yet his duty as a member of a worldwide organisation , powerful in its isolation , strong in the oneness of its purpose , to take a comprehensive view of the affairs of this life , and in the faithful performance of his individual duties , to seek , in all , the aggrandisement of our ancient and beloved Order in the furtherance of those objects for which it exists . This fact we shall do well to bear in mind .

In conclusion , my brethren , permit me to return you my heartfolt acknowledgments for the honour you conferred upon me in elevating me to the exalted and responsible position of Grand Master of Masons in Canada . It is a distinction of which