Quarterly Communication Of Grand Lodge.

QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION OF GRAND LODGE .

THE following is the bnsiness to bo transacted in Grand Lodge oa Wednesday , 1 st December 1880 . 1 . Minutes of tbo Quarterly Communication of the 1 st September 1880 for confirmation . 2 . Nomination of a Grand Master for tho ensuing year .

3 . Report of the Committee , appointed by Grand Lodge , 3 rd March 1880 , on the purchase of property adjoining Freemasons' Hall . 4 . Election of a Member of the Board of General Purposes in the

place of Brother Frederick H . McCalmont W . M . of No . 394 , deceased . 5 . Appointment of a President of the Lodge of Benevolence . 6 . Election of a Senior and Junior Vice-President of the Lodge of Benevolence .

7 . Election of twelve Past Masters to serve on the Lodge of Benevolence for tho ensuing year . 8 . Report of tho Lodge of Benevolence for the last quarter , wherein the recommendation made on the 18 th Angnst last for a grant of

£ 150 to a Brother of Lodge No . 1326—having been referred back by Grand Lodge on the 1 st September for reconsideration—is cancelled , except so far as the £ 10 already paid on account of such recommended Grant . And recommendations are made for the following Grants , viz .:

—The Widow of a Brother of St . James' Lodge , No . 448 , Halifax , Yorkshire £ 50 0 0 The Widow of a Brother of the Royal Brunswick Ledge , No . 732 , Brighton 50 0 0 The Widtw of a Brother of the High Cross Lodge , No . 754 , Tottenham 50 0 0

A Brother of the Capper Lodge , No . 1076 , London 50 0 0 A Brother of the Windsor Castle Lodge , No . 771 , Windsor 100 0 0 A Brother of the Portsmouth Lodge , No . 487 , Portsmouth 100 0 0

The Widow of a Brother of the Wellington Lodge , No . 784 , Deal 50 0 0 A Brother of the Nyauza Lodge , No . 1197 , Ilminster 50 0 0

The Widow of a Brother of the St . John ' s Lodge , No . 279 , Leicester 75 0 0 A Brother of the Royal Sussex Lodge of Emulation , No . 355 , Swindon ... ... 100 0 0 The Widow of a Brother of the Wellington Lodge , No . 548 , Deptford 75 0 0

9 . REPORT OF THE BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSES .

To the United Qrand Lodge of Ancient Free and Acctpted Masons of England . The Board of General Purposes beg to submit a Statement of the Grand Lodge Accounts , at the Meeting of tho Finance Committee ,

held on Friday , the 12 th day of November inst ., shewing a Balance in the Batik of England of £ 4 , 573 12 s lid , and in the hands of the Grand Secretary for Petty Cash £ 75 , and for Servants' Wages £ 96 13 s .

( Signed ) JOHN B . MONCKTON , President . FKEEMASONS' HALL , LONDON , W . C . 16 th November 1880 . NAMES or BRETHREN NOMINATED TO FILL THE VACANCY ON THE

BOARD OP GENERAL PURPOSES . Bros . Henry Harben P . M . 92 . John Messent P . M . 231 . NAMES OP PAST MASTERS NOMINATED TO SERVE ON THE LODGE OF BENEVOLENCE .

Bros . George P . Britten 183 , Walter T . Christian 1662 , Joseph D . Collier 1366 , John Constable 185 , Charles Dairy 141 , Henry Garrod 749 , Charles F . Hogard 205 , John M . Klenck 1686 , William Mann 186 , Henry Massey 619 , William II . Ferryman 3 , William Stephens 1489 . No more than twelve were nominated .

List of Lodges for which Warrants have been granted by the M . W . Graud Master since the last Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge . 1877 . —Ashley Lodge , Eangiora , Canterbury , New Zealand . 1878 . —Northern Light Lodge , Kawa Kawa , Auckland , New

Zealand . 1879 . —Lord Warkworth Lodge , Amble , Northumberland . 1880 . —The Goulbourn Valley of St . George Lodge , Shepperton , Victoria . 1881 . —Neptune Lodge , Melbourne , Victoria .

1882 . —St . John ' s Lodgo of Rochester , Rochester , Victoria . 1883 . —William of Wykeham Lodge , Winchester . 1884 . —Chine Lodge , SbankJin , Isle of Wight . 1885 . —Torridge Lodge , Great Torringtou , Devon . 1886 . —Sfc . John ' s Lodge , Kokatad , Griqnaland .

Correspondence.

CORRESPONDENCE .

We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions of our Cor . respondents . We cannot undertake to return rejected eomrmmications . All Letters must bear the name ani address of the Writer , not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of good faith .

j PROPOSED EXTENSION OP THE BOYS' SCHOOL .

To the Editor of the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE . DEAR SIR AND BROTHER , — Continuing my letter , whioh you were kind enough to find space for a fortnight since , I will , before carrying my arguments against Bro . Stewart ' s scheme further , take note of an objection which it is not improbable may be raised against the points I have already urged . There are those who will plead ,

and with a certain show of reason , that considering the great success which during the past few years has attended the policy of extension , and how promptly the Craft meet the ever-increasing calls that are made upon them for the support of our Institutions , the same readiness will be shown in providing such farther sums as may be required if effect is given to Bro . Stewart ' s or any similar resolution .

There is always great difficulty in meeting an argument of this kind , yet none will deny that a limit must ultimately be reached , beyond which any attempt at increase will be a source of danger to our Institution . It is not because the Craft generously provide the £ 40 , 000 whioh are necessary for the maintenance of our Institutions in their present state of efficiency that they will always be disposed ,

or if disposed , in a position , to find the larger sum [ say ] of £ 50 , 000 . There is an old saying which it will be well for Bro . Stewart and those who think and act with him to bear in mind , about overtasking the willing horse ; and because we , Freemasons , have cheerfully acquiesced in a policy whioh , in the course of a very brief season , has about doubled our responsibilities , that is no reason why we

should be forced into a position of such delicacy that we must either overtax our strength or fall short of our undertakings . It is very easy for an irresponsible committee-man to step forward and tell his friends and associates that , though they have subscribed very liberally up to the present time , they must go on increasing their subscriptions . It is doubtless pleasant to have one's name connected

with the enlargement of a charity , bnt we may depend upon it that his is the sounder and more judgmatical counsel who advises that the foundations of a building shall be strengthened before another storey is added to it . What has borne the superincumbent weight of 100 tons or 200 tons may not be equal to the strain of an additional 50 tons ; or if it is , it does not follow it is wise to test it to the

uttermost limits of its capabilities . I shall not be far wrong if I put down the average annual amount of donations and subscriptions to the Boys' School during the last five years at £ 13 , 000 , and the ex . penditure that is needed for its maintenance with its present complement of pupils at £ 10 , 000 j and if I assume that the same relative strength of income and expenditure is maintained for the next ten

years , and the whole of the surplus regularly invested , even then the permanent income of the Institution would not be very greatly in excess of £ 2 , 500 , or the fourth of what is absolutely necessary for the year ' s requirements . I will , however , suppose the permanent income of the Boys' School for 1890 is £ 4 , 000 , or , in other words , that , in the course of a single decade , it has quintupled itself . Even then the amount that must be found annually will be considerable ,

and greatly in excess of what was thought , only a very few years ago , a very large subscription . On the other hand , it will be impossible to increase the permanent income , if new premises are to be erected and additional pupils taken on to the establishment . Consequently we shall , if we adopt this course , compel the brethren who come after us to raise not only the £ 13 , 000 which is annually necessary , but a further very considerable sum likewise , which it would be most unwise to set down at less than £ 5 , 000 . The man whose

income is derived from property may be excused if he spends every shilling of it , but the same cannot be said of the man who earns his living . The former has a property to leave behind him ; the income of the latter dies with him , and his family become a burden upon his friends or the State . We have increased the strength of the Boys ' School quite fifty per cent , in a short time ; let ns now see what can

be done towards making its strength permanent . We have been busy enlarging our premises , let us now give them all possible stability , so that , when the inevitable rainy day sets in , and the subscription lists show a very serious diminution , there will be no necessity for curtailing the good we are doing . Onr School at Wood Green , including the latest additions , has ,

in round numbers , cost about £ 60 , 000 , and the average cost per boy last year was , as stated in your article , £ 43 10 s 5 . fd . Is it likely that an additional school large enough to accommodate 150 pupils will cost much less than £ 20 , 000 , and if I estimate the cost of clothing , maintenance , and education at no more than 10 s per week , or £ 26 per annum , that will give a permanent additional expenditure

of not far short of £ 4 , 000 a year . It will be said by Bro . Stewart and his supporters , All this is going to be done gradually , and as occasion may require . But we mnst look in the face fche whole amount of the liability we are likely to incur , and I hardly think I am exaggerating the case-if I set down the cost of building and the additional annual expenditure at the figures I have just stated . Are we justified in handing down to our successors a greater responsibility

than we have ourselves had to bear ? There is , as you very properly pointed out last week , a plan by which the necessities of our orphan boys can be met , and that without committing the School to so serious an outlay . If I adopt your rate of interest , then 5 per cent , on the £ 20 , 000 to be sunk in building would yield £ 1 , 000 per annum —a sum sufficient to allow of fifty small boys receiving each a sum of £ 20 annually towards their keep and schooling . In other words