United Grand Lodge.

mons . The President bids—the Board asks —you to come and help them to do thisand I get this summons in these words : — "You are hereby summoned to attend a special meeting of the Board of General

Purposes , to be holden at this place on Tuesday , the 31 st current , in order to afford any information of which you may be in possession respecting certain allegations made by you at the last Grand Lodge ,

charging the officials "—and this on the Grand Secretary ' s counter-charge against me— " charging the officials in the Grand Secretary ' s office with selling information to certain Masonic manufacturers , and

receiving per centages for the same . " Well , brethren , I took some little trouble about it : I feel very strongly upon the point ; and took some trouble about it . I collected as much information as I possibly could ,

and of course , having no power , I could not compel the persons who had told me , to come forward and give their evidence . The first portion they selected of my speechfor it resolved itself into that , that I was to

answer two particular sets of expressions I had made use of in this Grand Lodgethe first portion broke down , and I'll tell you for why . It broke down for this—simply that the persons who had given me

information were afraid to meet the Board and would not come up ( Cries of " No , " " No , " and uproar ) . Yes , yes : it doesn ' t matter . The second proves what ? It proves that in these premises unrecognised degrees

were given . Then what comes of this ? The Board make two resolutions , and neither of those resolutions is embodied in the report . I take the report that the President has brought forward—not the

report of the Board , it is the report of the President watered down by the Grand Secretary ( Great laughter . ) I ask—and I leave you to be the judge—I ask the

President , will he produce or read to you the two resolutions come to by the Board ? and then I ask you to look at your Grand Lodge papers . ( Hear , hear . ) Will he do so ?

Bro . D . Evans : Certainly . ( The Grand Sect clary here left the Grand Lodge for the purpose of fetching the originals from his office , and on his way was most enthusiastically cheered ) .

Bro . Matthew Cooke continued : Wc will take the resolutions presently . I then s . iy this , that it was an affair that was burkedthat thc questions which should have been put to the official were literally burked .

lhere were 126 of them prepared , and thirteen were asked . But , brethren , I go further than that , and I say that on this occasion I shall have to make a charge against the Grand Secretary , and I will

wait till he comes back . ( Laughter . ) The Grand Master , on Br . Cooke pausing , remarked that rather than waste time he had better proceed with another branch of his subject .

Bro . Matthew Cooke said : Very well . I will reserve quietly that for some few minutes , and state what I think this necessarily proves . I think that the manner in which any brother may be had before that

Board single-handed to fight the officials of the Order is a thing which calls for an open Board , where every brother is allowed to be present . There is nothing so healthy as public opinion , and if we create a

masonic opinion I think these things would not be done covertly , and away from the sight of thc whole Craft . It m ty be said

it is not the custom ; but if Freemasonry is a progressive science let it walk with the custom of the country . The custom of the country is not to hold courts in sly holes

United Grand Lodge.

and corners ; but when a subject of complaint is made and a court tries its truth or falsehood , the court is thrown open . Why ? To shew the fairness of the enquiry . So it should be with the Craft ; we should have a certain day fixed for holding enquiries ,

and any brother who liked should be present . At this point of his speech Bro . Cooke made use of such a strong expression that the Grand Master called him to order , and said : Bro . Cooke , you cannot be allowed to use that word .

Bro . Matthew Cooke replied : I withdraw that word , my lord ; perhaps I was carried away by my feelings and the heat of discussion when I used it . 1 withdraw the word , if you please . I am not a practical speaker , and therefore it is

rather awkward to be called upon to answer at a moment ' s notice things of this kind and before a lodge ; but I do say this—I stand alone , and I am trying to fight your battle every one of you . ( Laughter . ) It may be your case ; you may be placed in the same position as I am ;

and then you would say directly , if I had given way and gone before the Board without a pretest , there was a precedent created , and your rights were burked . ( Grand Secretary here returned into Grand Lodge ) . Now the Grand Secretary has returned I will proceed with what I was saying .

The Grand Secretary read the minutes , which were in substance the same as given in the report printed above , only that in addition it stated that " Bro . Little" was the clerk in Grand Secretary ' s office , who was proved on one

occasion forapeiiod of twenty minutes or less to have held a meeting of an unrecognised degree on the premises , and as is generally understood , in the Coffee room or Library . Bro . Matthew Cooke continued : And now ,

I ask Grand Lodge , that being one half those allegations . this was culled from what I have said , one half of those allegations being the fact Grand Lodge will judge how difficult it was to prove the other half . Now I will bring

something before Grand Lodge . I say that Bro . Hervey is not a proper custodi .-ai of anything belonging to the Grand Lodge . ( Laughter anil great disturbance ) . Stay a minute : yon shall hear . I am not in a position at this moment of

not being able to prove the allegation . I have the whole Board of General Purposes ; every man is a proof . Bro . Hervey , to shield his subordinate , what does he do ? He says , ' * I looked out the charter or warrant , or some such

document , empowering , or forming or being thc nucleus on which the Order of Const inline was founded , I looked that out ; I bnnidit it to the notice of the Grand Master , and by his leave forwarded that to Lord K . enlis . " I siy distinctly , that is your property and not tie

Gr . ind Master ' s or lhe Grand Secretary ' s to dea ! with . ( Cries of "No . ' ) I say distinctly : Bro . Hervey has no more right to give away your documents , which are part of the property of the Grand Lodge , than I have to go and take away a lease or any other document I may find in a noble-nan ' s muniment room .

Bro . Raynham W . Stewart , G . J . IX , asked whether these observations bore on anything whicli occurred in the report . The G-and Master said that Bro . Cooke's remarks had latterly been of a somewhat desultory character : but it must be remembered that

lira Cookes character had been seriously impugned by the Board of Gent rai Purposes , and he thought the Grand Lodge would agree with him in thinking that liro . Cooke ought to have all due latitude . If he thought him out ol order he would at the proper time close the discussion . ( Cheers . )

Uro . Matthew Cooke proceeded : I am exceedingly obliged 40 jour Lordship and for the heaiing Grand Lodge has givm me . I go for an open board , for every man to speak his

opinion without being pulled up before the Board ; and I say that actuated by that feeling 1 saitl what I did in last Grand Lodge , and I had no right to be called to account . CoL Lowry Cole , P . G . D ., said he had no idea

United Grand Lodge.

III | P . I . — . . — I-l . . III ... !¦<¦¦ « ¦¦ . Ill l | I . 1 — , ... . I ,-, ! I , of speaking on this occasion , but he could not help thinking that the President of the Board had convicted himself of having offended against the liberty of Freemasons in this Grand Lodge . He had understood him to say that before the resolution of the Board was laid before the

Board of General Purposes they thought it their duty to enquire into allegations made , before the resolution of Grand Lodge was laid before the Board . Bro . LI . Evans assured Bro . Cole it was quite a misunderstanding . A reference was made to

the Board ; but considering that grave charges and allegations were made against the Grand Secretary ' s office , the board thought it their duty to enquire into tiie matter . Col . Lowry Cole maintained that that was exactly his position . Every brother near him

understood Bro . Evans to say so . Bro . LI . Evans said it was subsequent to the charge being made . Col . Lowry Cole replied : Yes * it was on that very point , Bro . M . Cooke was right—the broad principle that what takes place—although

he ( Col . Cole ) , differed from Bro . Cooke in a g eat deal — what was said and done by a brother in Grand Lodge he was not responsible for to the Board of General Purposes directly . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) It was on that principle he called on Grand Lodge not to

adopt this report until it was clearly placed on that report , that it was made in accordance with the reference to it from Grand Lodge . Bro . Philbrick , W . M . of iS , in a long and eloquent speech defended the course pursued by

the Board of General Purposes . Bro . F . Bennoch , thought the last eloquent harangue had only missed the subject , which was before Grand Lodge , which was the report , not the way in which the report was arrived at .

' 1 he Grand Master said : Before I put the resolution which has been moved , to Grand Lodge I think it my duly to make one observation upon a portion of the statement contained in this report . It appears from a paragraph which has often been read , and to which

consequently I will not more particularly refer , that in the opinion of the Board of General Purposes , a competent authority for the examination of such a question , a case has occurred in which an official employed in the office of" the Grand Secretary did upon these premises of ours here ,

perform some ceremony , whatever it may have been , connected with a degree of Masonry not reeognized by this Grand Lodge . I think that that having been the case in this building , and on the part ( I feel every confidence , through inadvertence ) , of an officer employed in the

department of the Grand Secretary , it is my duty to express openly the opinion which undoubtedly I entertain , that any such use of any por ion of this building ought not to be permitted . ( Hear , hear , and cheering ) I have no doubt that tnis building is intended solely for purposes connected with tlie degrees of Masonry

recognized by this Giand Lodge , and that to purposes of that description it ought to be closely and strictly confined ( Hear , hear ) , and I shall consequently feel it right to give directions to that effect ( cheers ) . 1 have now to put to you the motion which has been made . The report was then adopted . Bro . Clabon ' s motions were carried .

Bro . F . Bennoch moved and Bro . J . Savage seconded a donation of ,- £ 500 for lhe relief of the sufferers by the fires at Chicago and the Western prairies . The Giaiul Master said : I cannot help taking part in this question . Bro . Bennoch has alluded to the truly fraternal feeling of the

Masons of the United Slates towards me as your representative when I was in that country . I have carried away from there so strong a feeling of the reception I hail there that I feel it would indeed be most ungrateful in me if I were i . ot very heartily to concur in the resolution which has been proposed on this occasion .

Tae motion was carried unanimousl y , and Bro . S nv . iel Tomkins , Grand Treasurer , said he t * oul I pay lhe amount at once without waiting for confirmation by next Grand Lodge . Grand Lodge wns then closed .