Grand Lodge.

the brother from Masonry , ancl he Avill be held as having " seceded from the Craft . " As regards the fees to the Fund of Benevolence , that is another question ; and whether they should be paid for honorary members or not we do not

now intend to argue , though we are aware that a lodge , in recommending a petitioner to the Board of Benevolence , has to declare that the brother '' hath been a regular contributing member , paying the stipulated subscription to this lodge . " That ,

of course , means that the brother ancl the brother only shall pay his Grand Lodge dues , but how much further it goes is a moot point ; and we know the late Grand Secretary , whom we regard as a far better authority than either of the present

executive officers of Grand Lodge , held that the payment of any sum above the quarterage was sufficient , if set forth in the by-laws . In one lodge to which we belong there are four series of fees ; " stipulated subscriptions : " —1 st , ordinary

members , £ 5 per annum ; 2 nd , musical members , £ 1 per annum , and surely their services are worth the other £ 4 ; Srd , country members , £ 1 per annum , and the visiting- fee whenever they attend a

banquet ; and 4 th , honorary members , 10 s . per annum being a " stipulated subscription , " ancl , therefore , Ave suppose within the meaning of the law . We are not honorary members of that lodge , but we are of another , and through that lodge we always pay

our quarterage to the Fund of Benevolence ; indeed , we have paid more years' subscriptions to that fund than we are old . The manner , too , in which the motion was brought forward at last Grand Lodge was

altogether unsatisfactory . No notice had been given of any motion on the subject ; and had it emanated from any brother below the dai ' s Ave have no hesitation in saying it Avould not have been received . Then , again , it enacted nothing ; indeed , the

Grand Registrar distinctly stated it Avas not intended to enact anything—it Avas only a declaration of opinion , Avhich the Deputy Grand Master explained-would not legally bind anyone . If it does not , we would ask Avhat is the use of the

resolution ? and whether Grand Lodge and the Board of General Purposes have not stultified themselves in the eyes of any reflecting brother ?

We trust the subject will not be allowed to stop . vhere it is , but that some brother Avill again bring it before Grand Lodge in such a form as shall finally decide the law , and render it legally binding on the Craft .

Freemasonry In The Levant.

FREEMASONRY IN THE LEVANT .

We are indebted to the Naples correspondent of the Freimaurer-Zeitmig , for a highly interesting account of the condition of Freemasonry in the Ottoman Empire . In reproducing the substance of this article , we do not , however , mean to

endorse the whole of our contemporary ' s views . In 1859 , there was only one English lodge in Constantinople ; a French one had been started , but had quietly expired for want of support , and owing to the bad elements it consisted of . The

ambition of the English inhabitants led to the foundation of two more lodges , with a view of establishing an English Provincial Lodge for Turkey . After this , eight German brethren , dissatisfied with the arid forms of these lodges ,

established a German lodge under the auspices of the Hamburg Grand Lodge . The English Provincial Lodge opposed this step in a solemn protest , pursuant to the theory of district rights ; but the objection was overruled by the founders , and

the protestation laid ad acta . Encouraged by this SIIOAV of energy on the part of the German brethren , the French and Italian Masons soon started lodges of their OAVU .

A very good understanding prevails among the non-English lodges , a disagreement having only occurred with respect to the reception of new members . The Germania am Goldnen Horn Lodge made it a practice to refer to the French and

Italian lodges respectively all those applicants not fully conversant with the German language , and claimed a reciprocity from the other lodges for German applicants , pointing out , more particularly , that each lodge must know its countrymen best .

But the French and Italian lodges declined acceding to this demand , declaring themselves ready to receive any " respectable gentleman , "

irrespect _ A e of nationality ; and thus many Germans joined more particularly the Italian Lodge , and the Germania Avas , of course , impeded in its progress . Notwithstanding this , the three lodges continue on excellent terms of friendship ; a short

time ago only , the Lodge Italia , in conjunction with the Fenice Lodge , of Corfu , presented Bro . Georg Treu , W . M . of the Lodge Germania am Goldnen Horn , with its honorary membership , for having laid before them a very practical project for

the foundation of Greek lodges and a Hellenic Grand Lodge . A proposal has also been made by him to draw a complete net of lodges over the Orient , starting from Constantinople , with a view