Trading On Masonry.

were once an object of reverence , but now , to his depraved mind , the spring from which he may extort black-mail almost at will . Wo fail , therefore , to seo what advantage

tho system can bo to a Freemason—whatever it may be to others ; for while on the ono hand it causes the vory mon "whom they strive to catch as customers to hold aloof , ou the other it tends to breed a class of loafers who , it must

be admitted , have foisted their unwelcome presence upon the ranks of Masonry , though perhaps not toquite so large an extent as upon those of every other institution in the "world . A careful and judicious note taken in individual

Lodges of those who adopt this nefarious system of trading , and an equally careful avoidance of dealing with such brethren , would speedily cure the evil which now rests as a blot and a slur upon the social system of the Masonic Craft .

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

THE ROYAL MASONIC BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION .

AS will be seen from the agenda paper we publish in another part of our columns , the business that will come before Grand Lodge on Wednesday next is of unusual importance . Not the least important , however , is Bro .

Raynham Stewart ' s resolution , which has already been once accepted by Grand Lodge , to the effect that an additional grant of £ 800 per annum be made to the Eoyal Masonic Benevolent Institution , £ 300 to the Male Fund , and £ 500 to the Female Fund , thus equalising the grants to the two Funds . It will of course be in the recollection of our

readers that in December last Bro . Raynham Stewarts motion to this end was carried nnanimously , the only change in the wording of his resolution being that the money should be provided out of the General Purposes Fund , instead of being apportioned equally between that

and the Fund of Benevolence , as was originally proposed . In March Bro . Philbrick P . G . D . and Deputy P . G . M . Essex moved , that so mnch of the minutes of the December Communication as referred to the motion of Bro . Stewart should be non-confirmed , and the motion "was carried ; a

Committee , consisting of Bros . Raynham Stewart , General Brownrigg P . G . M . Surrey , Lieut .-Colonel Creaton Grand Treasurer , Sir John B . Monckton President of the Hoard of General Purposes , and Colonel Shadwell H . Gierke Grand Secretary , being subsequently appointed to inquire

into and report upon the funds of Grand Lodge , and the income it derives therefrom . Many , no doubt , will suggest that the services of a Board of General Purposes may very well be dispensed with , if , with an elaborate system of accounts , duly audited by a professional

accountant , it is incapable of stating roughly whether or not the Funds of Grand Lodge , with an average annual balance of income over expenditure to the extent of over £ 4 , 000 , is competent to endure the additional outlay of £ 800 annually . A schoolboy who has just bad his first

lesson in the rule of three would solve so simple a problem off hand , but the collective wisdom of our said Board of General Purposes is unequal to the occasion . A Committee of Enquiry , consisting of our worthy brethren , Tvho know as little about arithmetic as Jumbo does about

Latin , must needs be appointed , and after three months of most laborious work , they have arrived at the conclusion that , " at the present time Grand Lodge is in receipt of an average nett income of about £ 4 , 000 , which is , however , liable to considerable fluctuations in proportion to the

number of admissions of members into the Order , and from various other causes . " Tlie exact meaning of the Report is not , perhaps , as clear as it might bo , and we can onl y suppose the Committee intend to convey to the Craft the idea that after it has cleared all its expenses Grand Lodge

has a balance in hand of over £ 4 , 000 a year . This , if we have interpreted it correctly , is in accordance with our own views . The accounts for the Quarter ended 31 st December 1881 show receipts to the extent of £ 6 , 854 Is 6 d , including a balance brought forward of £ 4 , 087 16 s 8 d , the

expenditure being no more than £ 1 , 609 17 s lOd , so that the balance left in hand was £ 5 , 244 3 s 8 d . Now , fluctuations apart , one quarter will be as well as another in

guiding the curious brother . At all events , in the three months of 1881 , the Board of General Purposes received upwards of £ 2 , 500 , or at the rate of £ 10 , 000 per annum ; and it must be borne in mind that of this sum close on £ 1 , 000 was income derived from rents and investments .

The Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution.

On the other hand the expenditure was , in round figures £ 1 , 600 , or at tho rate per annum of £ 6 , 400 . Consequentl y tho balance in hand , on this calculation , must be quite ; 6 ?» , 600 . Under these circumstances we doubt if there if any one , outside the Board of General Purposes

who will question the ability of Grand Lodge to sustain the additional charge of £ 800 per annum , for even then it may reckon on an average annual surplus of £ 2 , 800 , or considerably over 25 per cent , of its incomings . We can only express our astonishment—with the

figures before him for the September , if not for the December quarter—Bro . Philbrick , himself a member of this wonderful Board of General Purposes , should have

risen in his place in Grand Lodge and exposed his ignorance , which , by the way , would seem to havebeenmore than shared by his colleague , Sir John B . Monckton , President of the Board .

As to the merits of the case there is no doubt . If we take only the few years whicb this journal has been in existence , we find that the number of annuitants has increased over 50 per cent ., while each of them receives £ 4 more than he or she did in 1874 . Grand Lodge has added

nothing to its annual contribution since 1858 , and were there no Benevolent Institution it is hard to say how it would fare writh the Fund of Benevolence , which is now spending more than its income , and has the greatest difficulty in rubbing along . But for the Benevolent Fund , the

Fund of Benevolence would be instantly in a condition of insolvency , and hence the necessity for—to say nothing of the justice of—Bro . Stewart ' s motion . We may occa .

sionally feel it to be our duty to question the consistency of Grand Lodge , but we will not doubt its ability to understand a few plain figures , or its readiness to further support a Charity of its own creation .

"Honour To Whom Honour Is Due."

" HONOUR TO WHOM HONOUR IS DUE . "

WE wish to draw the attention of our readers to a cor . respondence , bearing the above title , which was initiated by " 609 " a fortnight since , and is still progressing in our columns . It had its origin in the first instance in a letter headed "A Little Help , " by " P . M . 458 , I . G . 609 . " which appeared on the Gth ult ., the writer of which

expressed surprise that out of twelve or so active promoters of a case at the recent election for the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution , which he was invited to support , only five were subscribers to one or the other of our Charities , while the great majority had obtained Grand or

Provincial Grand honours . His advice was of a practical nature , and was to the effect that people who take so deep an interest in a candidate as openly to recommend his claims to election would set the best example of their

good intentions by purchasing votes for him . On the strength of this letter , " 609 , " in the letter which he communicated to us , and which appeared on the 20 th ult ., went on to advocate the policy of conferring Grand and Prov . Grand office on those who contribute to our Institutions . To

this policy , " Reader , " in his long and interesting letter we published last week , took exception , very properly remarking that it was tantamount to making those offices dependent on the possession of ample means , and pointing out that such a course was in direct opposition to the

fundamental principles of the Craft . What has since been written on this subject will be seen elsewhere , and as the discussion has reached an interesting stage , we may as well avail ourselves of the present opportunity to contribute

a few observations , though , as the subject is manifestly one of extreme delicacy , they will be of a purely general character , so that , even in laying down a principle , we may as far as possible avoid giving offence .

We have no wish to inflict a sermon on our readers , but

we think they will agree with us that , in the examination of this question , it is next to impossible to avoid reference to a certain well-known Biblical exposition of the constituent parts of that greatest of all virtues—Charity . This necessity is the more obvious , seeing that the tendency of

the day appears to be to limit the meaning of the word " Charity " to the mere bestowal of alms . Indeed , something of the kind lies at the bottom of this discussion , or

how otherwise should we have one brother suggesting that the first duty of those who recommend the claims of a candidate is to qualify as electors , and another that honour should be conferred , if not only , at all events principally