The Masonic Vagrant.

should be little or no difficulty m winning the hearty co-operation of other , if not of the whole of the remaining , Provinces . As the nuisance is general , so should any scheme for coping with it . be the result of a general agreement among the whole body

of the Provinces ; and accordingly we invite our Provincial readers to bring all the influence they can to bear upon the Provincial authorities with a view to securing that hearty co-operation , without which any plan for dealing with this acknowledged

evil must sooner or later fall to the ground . We must bear in mind that the Masonic tramp is supremely indifferent as to where he is able to levy toll upon our lodges and their members , so long as he succeeds in levying it ; and if he finds there is just a

trifle too much risk in playing his little game in the Provinces of Kent and Surrey , the only result will be that he will betake himself to Hampshire , Dorsetshire , or some Midland or Northern Province and there cultivate , with greater or less success , the

acquaintance of Lodge Almoners . In short , n a few Provinces only take part in the war we propose to wage against the Masonic Vagrant , it will be better than leaving him to pursue his career unhindered ; but if all join in the warfare

there will be a reasonable chance of reducing the evil to a minimum . For ourselves , we can only repeat what we said in our article of the 30 th March last— " that every well-ordered scheme to effect this most desirable object will command our

sympathy , and shall receive all the support and influence 111 its behalf which we are able to command . " Now , as then , we recognise that there are difficulties which will have to be encountered in order to bring the scheme into good working

order . But these difficulties are very far from being insuperable . If the Provinces can once be brought to combine together , and within a reasonable time , what will have to be done subsequently

will be comparatively easy . Let the Provinces follow the lead of Kent , Surrey , and Norfolk , and a scheme for dealing with the Masonic Vagrant will soon be arranged , and that scheme will , as we have said , receive our most cordial sympathy and active support .

The Grand Lodge Of New York, U.S.A

THE GRAND LODGE OF NEW YORK , U . S . A

The 114 th annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of New York was held in the Masonic Hall , New York , on the 4 th ult ., under the presidency of Bro . JOHN HODGK , M . W . Grand Master . Of the 743 lodges on the roll , as manv as 720 were

represented , and there was likewise a full attendance of Grand Officers , Present and Past . The proceedings passed off most harmoniously , the retiring Grand Master's address being , as usual , replete with valuable information as lo the condition of the

Craft in the jurisdiction , and , at the same time , with sundry wellconsidered opinions on the leading Masonic events of the past year . A very full , and we doubt not correct , version of the

address appeared in the New York Dispatch of the 9 th ult ., and from this we have made a few extracts , which strike us as being calculated to interest our readers .

As to the constitution of "New Lodges , ' the views expressed by Bro . HODGK appear to be just and reasonable . " I am , " said he , " heartily in accord with the policy of the Grand Lodge in the past with reference to the formation of new lodges . I believe

that no new lodge should be erected if the prosperity and welfare of any old lodge would , in the slightest degree , be affected thereby . I believe , also , that authority to form a new lodge

should not lie given unless all the conditions are such as to assure , so far as human wisdom can determine , the gradual rise of a successful and permanent body . " On the subject of " Foreign Relations , " he expresses himself as follows :

"With much satisfaction J report that the utmost harmon } exists in our relations with the Grand Lodges ot Craft Mason r ) in the world . Those with which we are in fraternal correspondence have evinced upon every occasion a hearty desire to con

tinui : the friendly relations so long and so firmly established . In this connection 1 may be permitted to say that two of the Grand Lodges with which we formerly exchanged

representatives ¦ -Kentucky and Wyoming—have abolished the system . The principal reason assigned by both is that the . system has sown dissensions and engendered strained relations between Grand JurisdicUoi's It is also alleged that the system has

The Grand Lodge Of New York, U.S.A

broken up friendly relations between Grand Lodges , and that it is , at best , of doubtful utility and of no material benefit . I am not informed that any dissensions have arisen , or that strained relations have resulted through the instrumentality of Grand

Representatives , or that friendly , relations have been disturbed thereby . Controversies have arisen between Grand Masters as to the method of the appointment of Grand Representatives , but these controversies were the outcome of a difference of

opinion and 111 no way affected the harmony of the general Craft . Because a Grand Master expresses his " contempt" for the whole system , it does not follow that it should be at once abolished by all Grand Lodges , as it is just possible that some

personal reason may have given birth to that contempt . Measured by the standard of authority it can be claimed that the system is of doubtful utility , because the Representative is simply the guarantor of friendship of the Grand Lodge

appointing him . Without power , without authority , he nevertheless is the visible evidence of the friendship entertained by the Grand Lodge he represents for the Grand Lodge by which he is accredited . I am fully in accord with the sentiment that

underlies the system . ihe fact that at this moment I am in the presence of brethren who , with a very few exceptions , represent the Grand Lodges of the world , brings me in touch at once with all Free and Accepted Masons on the face of the earth . "

After referring at some length to the question of " Nonaffiliates , " and expressing his belief that if greater and more persistent efforts were made by lodge Secretaries in the collection of dues , a very material diminution in the number of these

non-subscribing brethren would be effected , Bro . HODGE went on to speak of those " Vagrant Masons " about whose knaveries there has latterly been so much correspondence in these columns . On this subject his remarks are well worthy of our attention ,

especially as the testimony he furnishes to the important . work done by the " General Masonic Relief Association of the United States and Canada" in every way confirms the statements

made by one of our correspondents as to the great utility of the said Association . "The Craft , " he was good enough to point out , " continues to be largely benefited by the useful work of the General Masonic Relief Association of the United States

and Canada . Very many impostors have , through the medium of this Association , been discovered , and in jurisdictions which subscribe towards its maintenance , applications for relief from the 'travelling' brother have greatly diminished . It is

unquestionably a fact that our lodges are too prone to help a strange brother without making due inquiry as to his worthiness to receive Masonic relief , and through this negligence hundreds upon hundreds of those not in good standing have received

donations of money to which they were not entitled . The object of the General Masonic Relief Association is to detect and publish , in the monthly circulars issued by it and mailed to its subscribers , all who are travelling about the land and

imposing upon the Chanty of the lodges , who either by having been suspended or expelled from the Fraternity , ought not to receive its bounty . It is a source of regret that all Grand Lodges are not subscribers to this Association , and thereby hasten the time

when it would be impossible for an unworth y Mason to impose upon the generosity of our brethren . I recommend that ;« i appropriation be made from the funds of the Grand Lodge , in the same amount as heretofore , for the purpose of retaining i ' membership in the General Masonic Relief Association . "

As regards the Masonic Home , which not long since was erected by the Fraternity at Utica , Bro . HoDGE stated that he had visited it some two months previously , and that it was then occupied by 73 brethren , 31 widows , II boys , and seven girls , who

were being generously maintained and cared for , and that the medical men and clergymen of the city " cheerfully and freely ' did all they could to promote the bodil y and spiritual welfa re of the inmates . He considered , however , that the accommodation

was insufficient , and strongly recommended that new premise ' should be erected—a recommendation which the Grand Lodge subsequently adopted , the sum of 70 , 000 dollars being set a ] W '

for the purpose , the invested capital , the income from which ' ° the present is more than sufficient for the requirements of the Institution , being left untouched . It remains for us to add that Bro . JOHN STEWART is the i '