Grand Lodge.

matters not referred to in the report of the Board of General Purposes . The M . W . GRAND MASTER rose to call both Brethren to order . There was a motion before Grand Lodge , and that was , that the report should be taken as read , and to that they should confine themselves . Bro . WHITMORE said , that to put himself in order , he should move as an amendment that it should not be taken as read . The reason he did so was , that there stood upon the business paper a letter

which took precedence of the report of the Board of General Purposes , and he would now ask if they were not to be at liberty to comment upon it ? The M . W . GRAND MASTER replied in the negative . Bro . Rev . G . R . PORTAL rose to a point of order . He had listened to the explanations of Bro . Havers and of his worthy Bro . the G . Registrar with the greatest patience , but he regretted that ho could not understand the principle they wished to lay down . He had the most perfect confidence in the fairness of the decision of the

M . W . Grand Master , but he wished to remind Grand Lodge that at a recent meeting a correspondence with the Brethren in Tasmania was laid before them , and on that being read , the noble Brother Lord Panmure , the D . G . M ., got np , and without any previous notice whatever , made a motion upon it . Bro . Dobie , P . G . Reg ., did the same thing on a letter being read from Bro . Lord Naas , relative to Lodges in the colonies refusing to receive Brethren initiated in the Lodges holding under Irish warrants . These were two important occasions on which resolutions had been entertained and passed on the

presentation of papers without any previous notice . He could mention several precedents , but those to which he had alluded would serve his purpose . Bro . HERVEY , P . G . D ., said it was seldom he rose to interrupt any Brother , but he wished to refer Bro . Portal to the Book of Constitutions , and he would see there that the reports of the several committees took precedence of all other business . Bro . Rev . G . R . PORTAL did not see the point which Bro . Hervey wished to urge . There was a certain letter on the paper : that letter had been passed over by tbe Grand Secretary for the sake of avoiding discussion , and that , he and many other Brethren considered unfair .

Bro . HERVEY , P . G . D ., explained that it was in obedience to the command of the M W . Grand Master that the correspondence was laid before Grand Lodge for information only , and that being the case , he wanted to know what motion could be put upon it . Bro . ROXBURGH , G . Reg ., thought it his duty to call the attention of Grand Lodge to the real state of the matter before them . When the M . W . Grand Master laid before Grand Lodge any communication requiring action , it was competent for any Brother , without previous notice , to move that that action be ' or be not taken .

There was , however , no analogy between such a case and the present , and Bro . Portal himself would see if he read the words on the paper , ( and no man could read them with more acuteness ) , that this Harington correspondence was printed for the information of the Brethren and nothing more . He was surprised one of such ingenuity and sagacity as the worthy Brother whom he had mentioned , did not himself see this . The M . W . GRAND MASTER wished , in reply to the question which had been put to him , to reiterate what he had already said . He

agreed with the G . Reg . that the correspondence formed no part of the report of the Board of General Purposes , and that it was not competent to any Brother to make a motion upon it without having given due notice thereof . The motion was then agreed to , that the report be taken as read . Bro . HAVERS , G . D ., next moved that it be received and entered upon the minutes , and in doing so , begged leave to remark that it would be his duty to move the adoption of the last paragraph . If there was any portion of the report objectionable to a Brotherthe

, present was the moment for his moving that it be not received . Bro . ROXBURGH , G . Reg . seconded the motion , which was carried without further discussion . , Bro . HAVERS then moved that the copyright of the forthcoming edition of the Book of Constitutions be vested in the G . Sec . This was duly seconded , and at once agreed to .

THE PROVINCES . Bro . the Rev . G . R . PORTA L , in moving the resolution of which he had given notice— "It appearing , from the returns now before Grand Lodge , that some irregularity has occurred in holding Provincial Grand Lodges , it is the opinion of Grand Lodge that a Provincial Grand Lodge should be held in each province at least once in every year , either by the Provincial Grand Master or by his Deputy ; " said he wished to commence by saying that all cause

for his motion would have been removed if the P . G M . of Bucks and Berks , or his Deputy , had held a meeting of the Grand Lodge of the province , as requested by the G . M . I The M . W . GRAND MASTER must be permitted to interrupt the worthy Brother , by informing him that he had heard from the Provincial Grand Master , who had informed him that his wish should he complied with . Bro . HERVEY observed , that there was no necessity for the motion , as the rule it would lay down was already part of the Book

of Constitutions , as he would find by reference to page 47 . Bro . the Rev . G . R . PORTAL was aware , on page 47—[ Bro . Roxburgh— "Section 8 . " ] Yes , section 8 . He thanked Bro . Roxburgh for section 8—page 47 , section 8 . ( Great laughter ) That law , however , seemed , through some irregularity , to have fallen into abeyance , or probably , the Grand Registrar had not looked sharp enough after the Provincial Lodges . It was extraordinary that those answers invariably came at the same time with his motions . The M . W . GRAND MASTER wished to set the worthy Brother

right on that point . Long before the notice was given in , he had received from Lord Downsbire the assurance referred to . Bro . ROXBURGH , G . Reg ., could only assure Bro . Portal that he should feel obliged to him if he would point out—if he would be kind enough to point out—the Grand Registrar ' s laches . A fillip from Bro . Portal would be a compliment to the delinquent . The motion was then withdrawn . Bro . WHITMORE then moved— " That it shall be competent for any Memoer of Grand Lodge to move , without previous notice

being given , the adoption , or otherwise , of any report , or recommendation contained in such report , of any Board or Committee appointed either by the Grand Lodge , or by the Grand Lodge and Grand Master conjointly ; and it shall also be competent for any other Member of Grand Lodge , upon such motion being duly made and seconded , to propose an amendment to the same . " He said , that it seemed , from circumstances that had lately occurred , that Grand Lodge had but a very qualified power in dealing with the reports of the several Boards , and the authorities were at variance with regard to the extent of it On the occasion of the last meeting of Grand Lodge , Bro . Green had enquired of the Grand Master if it were competent for him to to move that a certain portion of the report of the Board of General Purposes be not adopted , and he

was told that it was . Consequent on that decision of his lordship , a conversation took place between him and the Grand Registrar , and the result of it was , that he was induced to reverse his own ruling . The M . W . GRAND MASTER wished to set Bro . Whitmore right . He had not at all reversed his decision . He clearly stated that Bro . Green had that right , but that was not the time for him to exercise it . Bro . WHITMORE said he stood corrected ; but the mere fact of a difference of opinion between his lordship and the Grand Registrar—Bro . ROXBURGH , G . Reg ., —No , I hope you will not say that .

Bro . WHITMORE—The impression of the Brethren was ! that there was a difference of opinion . Bro . ROXBURGH , G . Reg ., I am not liable for impressions . Bro . WHITMORE said he did not find fault with those pleasurable interruptions ; at the same time it might be as well that the worthy Brother should hear him to the end and then explain . ( Hear , hear . ) It bad been his opinion that there was not a coincidence of views between them . His experience of public bodies was , that when a report of a committee was presented to themit became

, their property to deal with it as they might think fit , and therefore it was that he brought forward the present motion . He thought the responsibility of deciding how far these reports might be discussed , should not be imposed upon the G . M ., but that Grand Lodge itself should do so . He had another reason for his resolution . It was , that he was jealous of the privileges of Grand Lodge . ( Hear , hear . ) As they had the power of making laws , so they had the power of dealing with their defects . His resolution went to make that power distinct . When a report from any committee

came before them , it should be their business to receive , improve , amend , or alter it , in any way they thought proper , such amendment having reference to the subject matter of the report . Here he felt that his notice was detective ; but if any Brother would add to it as an amendment , the words he had mentioned , namely , " such amendment having reference to the subject matter of the report , " he should most \ villingly support him . Bro . BINCKES seconded the resolution , and confirmed the statement that the impression in Grand Lodge wasthat there was a

, difference of opinion between the M . W . Grand Master and the G . Reg . The resolution would be more satisfactory if words were interpolated , giving them a right to move upon all communications as well as the reports of the committees . Bro . ROXBURGH again explained that it was only where Grand