Grand Lodge, June 3rd, 1857.

notices of motion on the hooks for a length of time , should at each quarterly communication find them thrown to the bottom of the list , and precedence given to notices of a recent date . If the proposals in those notices were good , the sooner they were carried into effect the better ; and if on the contrary they were worthless or injurious , it would , he conceived , be a great advantage to have them removed from the paper as speedily as possible . W . Bro . BINCKES had great pleasure in seconding the motion , as he thought it must have a good practical effect . He was himself a

sufferer by the system hitherto in vogue , having had a notice of motion on the paper since September last , without ever having an opportunity of bringing it forward . He alluded to his notice of motion for an increased grant to the Widows' Annuity Fund to the extent of £ 500 . He had repeated that notice over and over again , and had attended in his place to move it , but without having an opportunity of doing so . The proposal of Bro . Warren would , he thought , do away with such inconvenience , and would save Grand Lodge a great

deal of trouble . . W . Bro . TAYLOR remarked that the motion seemed to have a twofold object : first , that all the old notices should formally take precedence of the new ones ; and secondly , that the law which required that all motions should , before being placed upon the paper , be brought before the Board of Masters . That the old notices should take precedence of the new ones he saw no objection to , and he fully concurred in the observations which had fallen from Bros . Warren and Binckes ; for it went on the good old principle of " first come first served . " With respect to the second part of the proposition that the notices should continue on the paper , without being , from time to time , renewed , it was a proposal with which he could

not agree . He could not agree with Bro . Warren that the present system pressed hardly upon any Brother . That Bro ., at all events , did not that evening seem to labour under any difficulty , as almost all the motions which had been brought forward proceeded from him . ( Laughter . ) He would now conclude his observations by moving , as an amendment , the addition of a proviso to the effect that a notice of renewal should each time be given to the Board of Masters . W . Bro . ARIA thought G . L . ought to go by the rule of similar

assemblies . It was the practice of all deliberative bodies that notices of motions should be considered in the order of their precedence . He thought that the observations of both the mover and seconder were well grounded . ,.- ; , W . Bro . SYMONDS- thought Bro . Aria intended to second the motion of Bro . Taylor , but as he had not done so , he ( Bro . Symonds ) would now do so , as , while he thought the right of precedency should be maintained , he was strongly of opinion that it was necessary to save the expense of printing , and trouble , that notice of

renewal should be served on the Board of Masters . R . W . Bro . DOBIE suggested that the objection raised against the motion might be removed if Bro . Warren would consent to insert after the word precedency , the words , "if renewed by notice at the Board of Masters . " V . W . Bro . HENDERSON said he agreed in the suggestion of Bro . Dobie . W . Bro . WARREN having consented to Bro . Dobie ' s alteration the motion was agreed to , and it being now past Eleven o'clock , Grand Lodge was closed , in ample form , and with solemn prayer .

The Earl Of Carnarvon At Stonehouse.

THE EARL OF CARNARVON AT STONEHOUSE .

From the Freemasons' Magazine . The EARL of CARNARVON visited the Lodge of Sincerity , No . 224 , on the 26 th of March , when he was met by a large number of Brethren from tho different Lodges in the three towns . After the ordinary business had been concluded , the W . M . Bro . J . C . Hancock begged the noble Brother to express his opinion upon the present position of the Craft , in accordance with which desire he

said , " He was gratified to have had this opportunity of making the personal acquaintance of so many Brethren in that neighbourhood . He had heard with pleasure of the fame of the Lodges , and of the number of Freemasons in Plymouth , Devonport , and Stonehouse ; but he heard with still greater pleasure the expression of their interest in the welfare of the Order . If those to whom ho had the pleasure of now speaking had read the recent proceedings in Grand Lodge , they would be aware that he had felt most anxious that the country Lodges should take an interest in tho business of Grand Lodge . It was a main element of their prosperity and of the right administration of their affairs , that the country Lodges should show

an interest in the proceedings of Grand Lodge . As individual Brethren were represented in their Lodges , so should the country Lodges find their representation in Grand Lodge . That this was often otherwise , was in a great measure the fault of the Lodges themselves ; and the resumption of this principle of representation , as it would have anticipated , so now it would obviate many difficulties , and cure many evils which had grown up . It had been his fortune to press upon Grand Lodge three subjects , two of which affected to a considerable extent the restoration of the representative

character of Grand Lodge . Having regard to the numbers of Freemasons and their diffusion over the country , the colonies , and the associated Lodges of other countries , English Freemasonry might be viewed as a kingdom ; and its policy , like that of a kingdom , had three great relations—foreign , colonial , and domestic . With their permission he would say a few words on the existing position of Grand Lodge with respect to each of these interests . In the first lacein connection with their foreign relationsthere was a subject

p , , of great importance to some of their Brethren in foreign countries at present before Grand Lodge ; he referred to the persecutions of Freemasons by the Roman Catholic clergy—persecutions which no doubt sprung out of a misconception of the character of Freemasonry , and the objects it had in view . In all ages Freemasonry had been regarded witli suspicion , and assailed in turn by calumny , and by open oppression ; but nowhere was the prejudice against it stronger than in Roman Catholic countries . In Malta , the

Mauritius , Trinidad , and at Hong-Kong , Freemasons had been deprived of their civil and religious privileges , and had been interdicted from the holy offices of baptism , marriage , and burial , by the Roman Catholic clergy . Facts proving but too plainly and painfully that this was the case were before Grand Lodge , and , as others had failed to do so , he could not avoid calling attention to the subject ; and with the view , if not to remedy the evil and to convince the oppressors , at least to place them ina false positionto render the persecution

. , itself more difficult , and to prove to our foreign and suffering Brethren that they had the sympathy of English Freemasons , he had proposed that a statement of the principles of Freemasonry be drawn up by the Board of General Purposes for circulation . He believed such a statement , being authorized by the Grand Lodge , would have had the effect of showing how much the persecutors had mistaken its purpose , and the character of its members : it would have

shown them that its first and fundamental principle was a ; recogm .. tion of religion , and its second a rigid non-intervention in the politics of any country . That proposal was conceived in a moderate spirit , and expressed in temperate language : but it unfortunately did not obtain the concurrence of Grand Lodge . It was opposed by various Brethren on the Dais—first on one ground , then on another ; now because it proposed too much , then because it proposed too little ; and at last seemed to be shelved in a manner very prejudicial to the dignity , the justice , and the interest of the Craft

at home and abroad . He regretted to say that the real objection at the root of these minor cavils seemed to be a fact which he had stated in the course of the debate little creditable to Masonic administration , but which had been unchallenged and uncontradicted . It was this : tho G . M . of France had addressed a letter to our authorities in England , dwelling on the oppression of foreign Masons , and requesting their co-operation . This letter had remained ¦ buried in the official archives of England for nine or ten months , not only unattended tobut without meeting with the usual

cour-, tesy of a formal acknowledgment . He next adverted to the colonial relations of English Freemasonry ; without entering at length into the history of their claims , their repeated complaints , the neglect of their remonstrances , and the revulsion of feeling which had followed upon the treatment of their interests , and which had converted Canada into a disaffected province , he called particular attention to the present position of affairs . He alluded to the concessions announced by the Most Worshipful G . M . at the recent meeting of Grand Lod and expressed a hope that concessions made in so

ge , conciliatory a manner , carrying with them all the influence which was derivable from so high an authority , and accompanied by an honourable and candid acknowledgment , which set no unbecoming example to many of those who had assumed the position of advisers to the Most Worshipful G . M ., would prove successful . He could not however disguise that these concessions came tardily , that the feeling in Canada in favour of independence had grown very strong , and that it was more than doubtful if their colonial supremacy could now be preserved . He was afraid that in this matter they had gone

too near that fatal rock , 'Too Late , ' which had shipwrecked so many empires , dynasties , and governments . This was a matter upon which the country Lodges would have done well to have put their views before Grand Lodge . With respect to domestic affairs , his lordship explained at some length the constitution and working