United Grand Lodge.

UNITED GRAND LODGE .

The order of business to be transacted at the Quarterl y Communication of United Grand Lodge on Wednesday next contains nothing of an unusual character . There will be the nomination for the offices of Grand Master and Grand Treasurer : the President of the Board of Benevolence will be

appointed and invested ; and two brethren for the Senior and Junior Vice-Presidencies and 12 Past Masters will be nominated to serve as members of the same Board . In the majority of cases this will be tantamount to election , and should it turn out—¦ as seems not improbable—that Bro . AUGUSTUS HARRIS , P . M ., is

the only candidate proposed for the Grand Treasurership , the election in March next , in this instance also , will be a mere formal proceeding . The reports of the Boards of General Purposes and Benevolence contain nothing material , while the list of lodges for which warrants have been granted by the Most

Worshipful Grand Master since the September Grand Lodge contains only seven , of which , the Borough of Greenwich Lodge , No . 2332 , will meet in the Metropolitan District , four in the Provinces , and two in districts abroad . Of the four Provincial , three will belong to the northern Provinces of Northumberland

and the two Yorkshires , while the fourth will help to strengthen thehome County of Herts . One of the two lodges in foreign parts will be located at Buenos Ayres and the other at Ouetta ,

in Belochistan , within the district included under the District Grand Lodge of the Punjab . It is evident , therefore , from this brief survey of the agenda that the time of Grand Lodge will not be occupied for long at its meeting next week .

The Province Of Lincolnshire.

THE PROVINCE OF LINCOLNSHIRE .

The published report of the proceedings which took place at the annual meeting in June last of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Lincolnshire shows unmistakably that , whatever may have been the case a few years since , our brethren in this county are now

thoroughly imbued with a desire to keep on level terms with their sister provinces . It seems to have taken them some little time to realise that everything in connection with Freemasonry has been progressing rapidly—we might almost say " by leaps and bounds "—ever since the Prince of WALES was installed our

Grand Master . Not onl y has the number of our lodges and subscribing members increased amazingly during the 15 years which have elapsed since then ; but there has also been an equally amazing increase in the activity of our lodges , while our Charitable Institutions have been enlarged to an extent which would

hardly have been supposed possible in times anterior to the present . It is not surprising , therefore , that some of our lodges and brethren should for a time , at all events , have failed to appreciate the more bustling spirit which prevails in the Craft . But Lincolnshire , if we maybe pardoned for including its lodges and

brethren among those that have advanced somewhat deliberately , is clearly making headway now at a rate which will compare favourably with that of Provinces of equal or even of greater numerical strength . It is true that no material alteration has taken place either in the number of lodges or the number of

subscribing brethren , only a single lodge—the Smyth , No . 228 4 , Great Grimsby , warranted last year—and some 25 members having been added to the roll since the previous report ; but the increase on the voting strength in respect of our Charitable Institutions is very considerable , the number of votes according

to the returns included in this Report being 1960 as compared with a previous record of 1455 votes . All three Institutions have benefited by this greater activity of the Lincolnshire brethren , but the Benevolent , for which Bro . H . E . COUSANS , who acted as representative of the whole Provincesucceeded in raising

, £ 450 , received the lion ' s share of the support . But in addition to this indication of increased service in aid of the Central Charities , we have the further evidence afforded by the existence ° no less than three separate funds for assisting necessitous brethren of the Province or their families . These are the Oliver

The Province Of Lincolnshire.

Memorial Fund and the Smyth Scholarship Fund for the education of children , and the Sutcliffe Memorial Fund ; the first of which has an invested capital of ; £ i 200 ; the second one of £ 1005 ; and the last one of £ 1060 . The first two have been in existence for some time , but the Sutcliffe Fund is of recent establishment , its

by-laws having been confirmed at this very meeting . The Provincial Benevolent Fund is also in a flourishing condition , its balance in hand on the last account being £ 119 , and the sum invested for its use £ 600 . With such strong evidence as this before us of the admirable work

which it is capable of doing , both at home and abroad , when it bestirs itself , there can be no doubt that Lincolnshire has , as we have said , been making considerable headway during the last year or two . We are sanguine enough to believe that

its efforts in the same direction will be maintained , and that when the report of the proceedings during the current year comes under our notice , there will be still greater occasion than now for offering to our Lincolnshire brethren our hearty congratulations on the prosperous state of their affairs .

The Huckstering Spirit In Masonry.

THE HUCKSTERING SPIRIT IN MASONRY .

We note with very sincere regret that latterly the spirit of the huckster has been unpleasantly conspicuous among a section of the brethren , whenever a reference has been made to the services rendered by the paid officers of our Institutions . To speak in terms of eulogy of the work that has been done by one of

these officers in the presence of any of these gentlemen is like throwing a red rag at a bull . The words of praise are hardly out of your mouth , before one or more of them charges down upon you furiously with some . such unhandsome rejoinder as " And so he ought to work well , for he is paid a high salary . " We have

no intention whatever of denying the soft impeachment thus delicately hurled at the official ' s eulogiser . On the contrary , we are quite ready to admit that the remuneration of these officers has been determined in a generous spirit . What , however , we do most emphatically protest against is the doctrine , which , as we

have said , has latterly found favour among a certain class of Masons , that only a strictly commercial understanding shall be allowed to prevail between the authorities of our Institutions and the brethren whom they employ as officers . We certainly desireindeed , we have a perfect right to expect—that the affairs of out-Charitable and other Institutions shall be administered in

business-like fashion , and with a due regard to economy . All three of them depend principally for their means of support on the voluntary subscriptions of the brethren . We know how large is the sum which each requires to be raised annually to enable it to do its work efficiently , and how excessive is the labour which

devolves on those who raise the supplies . We are not likely , therefore , to encourage anything in the nature of extravagance on the part of the governing bodies ; the money thus obtained from year to year with so much difficulty is too precious to be wasted . In our opinion , however , it is not extravagance , but in

accordance with true economy , for an Institution to remunerate its employes liberally , and extend towards them , as well on their retirement from active duty as during their tenure of office , every possible consideration . It is our belief , and the belief of a good many other people besides , that in a certain sense you cannot

pay a good official too well , or show too high an appreciation 01 his services . It is only human nature after all that the employe should take his cue from his employer , and that according as he

finds the latter is considerate or exacting , liberal or niggardly , so he should meet him in a precisely corresponding spirit . This huckstering may pay as between hucksters , but there should be no place for it in the dealings of Masons .

Hitherto , at all events , the policy of consideration as adopted by the governing bodies of our Institutions towards their paid officials has been productive of benefit to the Institutions themselves . No one can say that either Bro . BlNCKES or Bro . TERRY has measured out the precise quantum of labour which , in his opinion , represents the equivalent of the salary assigned to him .