Quarterly Communication Of Grand Lodge.

formanccof which it is specially appointed . ( Hear ) . The causes which led to the appointment of that Committee have been delicately alluded to , and the M . W . the G . M . has intimated that the G . Secretary is about to retire . ( Hear , hear ) . That is a step I am sure which we all regret , although we see the necessity for it . That step , however , will remove all necessity for the appointment of this Colonial Committee . ( Loud cries of " No ! no 1 " and partial cheering ) . This Colonial Committee is not a Committee which will work welland it will certainly produce effects which

, the movers of this resolution by no means desire . ( Hear , hear , and " No ! no ! " ) It will create an imperium in imperio ( "No I no ! " ) . If you agree to this Committee , you will pass a law which is contrary to existing laws . You are giving to this Colonial Board some of the powers of the General Purposes' Board . You will thus have two rival bodies in Masonry , the precise limits of whose powers and duties are not clearly defined ( hear ) , and they will be continuallcoming into collision with eaeh other ( Hearhearand cries

y . , , of "No ! no ! " and " Not necessarily" ) . Such a Board is not needed at all . If in a regiment the duties of an Adjutant have been inefficiently performed , would a Board of General Officers be appointed ? ( Laughter ) . Why , no , of course not . A new Adjutant would be appointed ( hear ); and when your Lordship appoints a successor to our respected Brother White you have the cure in your own hands . ( No ) . You will do all that is necessary by appointing a successor to Brother White , a Brother who , though he will

will not have Brother White ' s experience , possess that energy and activity which younger years alone can give . I believe that this is the only remedy to be applied to the evil which has justly been complained of . It seems to me , M . W . Sir that this Committee is not a legitimate kind of remedy to be applied to such an evil . For these reasons I move that the minutes be confirmed , except in so far as they relate to the appointment of this Colonial Board "

. This amendment having been duly seconded , was put by the M . W . the G . M ., on which Brother Darkham said : " M . W . Sir and Brethren , the Brother who has j ust sat down has not given us any valid reason why the resolutions which were so carefully considered at the last G . L . should now be altered or repealed . ( Hear , hear ) . The first

objection which he made was that this Committee would be an imperium in imperio ; but the worthy Brother himself put an end to whatever force there was in that objection when he stated that these resolutions put an end to the powers of the General Purposes ' Board , so far as Colonial matters were concerned . ( Hear , hear ) . That observation fully answers the objection that we are creating an imperium in imperio . We are setting up concurrent jurisdiction , it is said ; but this is not uncommon in this country , and the resolution which is to be moved this evening by the RevBrother Portal

. will put an end to any objection which may arise under that head . The Colonial affairs will be placed entirely under thejurisdiction of this Colonial Board . I will tell the Brethren who say that this Board is not needed that there are grave and serious reasons why it should be established , and which , for the sake of saving time , I will not now enter into . ( Hear , hear ) . There has been gross neglect and great inefficiency . ( Hear , hear ) . There have been great evils —evils which are even now crying aloud for remedy , and if it rested

with any body to put an end to those evils , it rested with the Board of General Purposes . ( Hear , hear ) . I have every respect for every officer of G . Lodge , and for every one of its members ; but I will say that there has been gross neglect in Colonial matters , and that no measures to prevent these evils have been taken by the parties by whom they ought to have been taken , viz ., the Board of G . Purposes . ( Hear , hear ) . That Board having failed to fulfil its duty so long , does not deserve to retain any longer the power of Colonial matters hear havetherefore

dealing with . ( Hear , ) . We , , bestowed those powers upon the new Colonial Board , which will use them efficiently . The time for mere suavity of manners on such points has passed away . ( Hear , hear ) . We must have efficiency ( hear , hear ) , and not mere politeness , at any cost . ( Hear , hear ) . I think , therefore , that it is right and proper that the resolutions passed at last G . L . should be now confirmed in their entirety" ( Applause )

. . Brother Aria next attempted to address G . L ., of course in support of the Colonial Board , but he was put down by cries of " Time , time , " and other maiks of impatience . The Rev . Brother Portal : "Brethren , if there is no one else who will rise to " — Brother Dobie : "M . W . Sir , I rise to order . I beg to refer the Rev . Brother to the Bj < ok of Constitutions , page 26 , where he will find that any Brother speaking in G . L . must address himself to

the M . W . the G . M . ( Hear , hear , laughter and cheers , and cries of "Divide , divide " ) . The Rev . Brother Portal having complied with this formality , said : * ' If there is no one else , my Lord , who will rise to protest against the accumulated blame of Canadian mismanagement being thus thrown on the shoulders of an old man of past 80 , 1 will do so ; ( loud cheers ); and having now the permission of the Chair . 1 shall not be cried down by those calls for a division from the Brother on my left . The Brother who opened this debate said thatinasmuch as

, the G . Secretary had resigned his functions , there was no occasion for the appointment of this Special Board to conduct Colonial business . Now , if this objection holds good , we must suppose that the whole of the blame for neglect and delay rests with the G . Secretary , which I , for one , am prepared flatly to deny . ( Hear , hear ) . In despatches from Canada , which I received only yesterday , and which , if it please G . L ., I shall be happy to read , I find that , unless something be promptly done , the whole P . G . Lodge of

Canada will secede in a body , and a petition is now circulating amongst them asking the G . L . of England to sanction them as an independent Body . ( A voice : " So much the better" ) . A Brother says , "So much the better ; " but I say so much the worse . ( Hear , hear , and loud cheers from all parts of G . L . ) . And it is because I think that the G . L . of England should continue to exercise supreme power throughout our dominions that I wish it to consent to the appointment of this Board , which will keep it cognizant of what is passing between ourselves and the Colonies . " The amendment was put and lost , and the minutes were then confirmed amidst loud cheering , it being just a quarter to ten o'clock when the business had reached this stage .

NOMINATION OF G ., M . FOR THE ENSUING YEAR . Brother Bradford nominated the Right Hon . the Earl of Zetland as M . W . G . M . for the ensuing year . In the presence of his Lordship he would not say much in his praise . They all knew how ably he had ruled the Order during a long course of years . ( Hear ) . Brother Henry George Warren , P . M ., No . 202 , begged to nominate the Right Hon . Brother Lord Southampton . This announcement evidently took G . L . somewhat by surprise . At first there was for an instant silencethenseeing that Brother

; , Warren was serious in his proposition , there was a very loud and general cheering from all parts of G . L ., mingled here and there with derisive laughter . A Brother then rose amidst loud laughter , and wanted to ask Brother Warren , through the G . M ., whether he had the permission of Lord Southampton to make such a nomination ? The G . M . said he did not think he could allow such a question to be put . Besides , it would rest with Lord Southampton to

decide if he would accept the office should they do him the honour to elect him . ( Hear , hear ) . It was not necessary that such a question should be put . LODGES ERASED FROM THE LIST . The G . Secretary said that the Lodges which stood upon the order for erasing were as follows : — Ho . 179 , Wakefield , Yorkshire .

No . 603 , Reigate , Surrey . No . 651 , Deva Lodge , Chester . No . 662 , Castle Hakingham , Essex . No . 675 , Lodge of Gratitude , Newton Green , Cheshire . No . 681 , Lodge of Verity , Ripon , Yorkshire . As there was some hope , it appeared , that No . 179 would be resuscitated , it was ordered to stand over . No . 603 had made the required returns and payments . The others were ordered to be erased .

BOARD OF BENEVOLENCE . At this stage of the proceedings the Scrutineers received and an nounced the names and numbers which follow : — Barns ... 139 , No . 30 Lodge . Sheen ... 84 , No . 237 Lodge . Adlard ... 130 , „ 7 „ Lyall ... 89 , „ 10 „ Robinson 122 , „ 8 „ Varden 89 , ,, 57 „ Young ... 119 , „ 11 „ Burton 85 , „ 202 „ Lee 99 9 { Barrett 84 188

... , „ , , ,, „ Alrich ... 97 , „ 196 „ Gale ... 83 , „ 19 „ These were declared to be duly elected on the Board of Benevolence for the year ensuing ; but the request being made by some Brother , the following list of the unsuccessful candidates , and the number of their votes , was also read : —