United Grand Lodge Of England.

must be a great grief to them , as Englishmen , that Her Majesty , unsparing in her solitude for , and sympathy with the sorrows of her subjects , should be subject at her age to such grief . The resolution was carried unanimously and in silence , the brethren standing .

On the motion by the Vice-President of the Board of General Purposes , that the Report of the Board be taken as . read and entered on the minutes , Bro . Frank Richardson , P . G . D ., Chairman of the Premises Committee , in seconding the resolution , asked Grand Lodge to formally sanction the expenditure of £ 2500 in addition to the £ 12000 already

, , provided for the erection of the Library and other additions to the Grand Lodge premises—which all would acknowledge did credit , not only to Grand Lodge , but to Masonry in general . Only . £ 4 6 4 additional had been required in respect of the original building contract , a sum which those who had experience in such matters would admit was a small one .

Great care had been taken in providing the very best fittings , and it was felt that it would be the wish of Grand Lodge that there should be no bad work and no tinkering . Every item of the work had been tendered for , and th 6 sum of £ ^ 2 , 500 now asked for , included in addition to the extras on the building itselfthe expenditure on the installation of the

, electric lighting and fittings , the solid oak book cases and show cases for the Library and fittings , and the furniture for the new rooms , including the extra lodge room . The motion was put and carried .

The only notice of motion on the paper was that by Bro . G . W . Speth , P . A . G . D . C , and was in the following terms : — " That the brethren of Grand Lodge be furnished with printed copies of the minutes of any previous communications then due for confirmation . " In support of the motion , Bro . Speth explained that the

object of it was to enable Grand Lodge , on the motion of one of its members to take the minutes of the last meeting as read , should the business on the agenda be of such a nature as to render a long sitting probable , and that a copy of such minutes should be placed in the hands of every brother attending Grand Lodge . The resolution was secondedand

, after a few questions had been asked , it was put and carried unanimously . The Grand Registrar , V . W . Bro . John Strachan , Q . C ., then brought forward an appeal that had been received from Bro . Coxon , of the Hopeful Lodge No . 26 34 , against a ruling of

the District Grand Master of Queensland , who had declared Bro . Coxon's election as Master of the lodge to be null and void , on the ground that he had not " served for one year as Master or Warden in a regular lodge , " as required b y Rule 130 of the Book of Constitutions . It appears that Bro . Coxon was initiated so long ago as 18 49 , and was put through the

chair of the lodge in 1851 to enable him , as he stated , to be exalted to the Royal Arch , and to strengthen the Roll of Past Masters of the lodge , although , at the same meeting , another brother was installed as Master and fulfilled the duties of the chair for the ensuing twelve months . This so called " passing the chair " appears to have satisfied Bro . Coxon that he was

qualified some 40 years later to occupy the chair of the Hopeful Lodge , Queensland , to which he had been elected . This fallacy , however , was disproved in the clearest possible manner by the Grand Registrar , and that brother ' s motion , that the appeal be dismissed , was carried without a dissentant . Grand Lodge was then closed in the usual form .

Grand Mark Lodge.

Grand Mark Lodge .

Ihe M . W . Pro Grand Master of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales and the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown , Bro . the Earl of Euston presided at the September Quarterl y Communication on the 4 th lilt ., and was supported by Bro . Charles Letch Mason , P . G . M . of West Yorkshire , as Deputy Grand Master , while Bro . Thomas Fenn

occupied the chair of S . G . Warden . Considering the holiday season there was a numerous attendance of Grand Officers and brethern . After the reading of the minutes the M . W . Pro Grand Master referred in feeling terms to the loss that Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queenand the Most Worshipful Grand

, Master had sustained by the death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha , and proposed that they recorded on the minutes their most respectful sympathy and condolence with the M . W . Grand Master on the sad event , and that a copy of those minutes be forwarded to the Grand Master .

Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON ' , Grand Reg ., on behalf of the President , moved that the Report of the Board of General Purposes be taken as read , and in doing so called attention to the proposed alteration of the rule in respect to the granting of dispensations to enable lodges to meet on a day other than that fixed by the Bye-laws . Hitherto only the days of

election or installation could be so altered b y dispensation ; but the hard and fast rule with regard to the ordinary days of meeting should , it was thought , be relaxed as well , and the law as altered would enable a lodge in cases where there appeared to be a necessity for so doing , to apply to the M . W . Grand Master , or the Provincial or District Grand Master for

permission to meet on a day not more than seven days before or after that named in the By-Laws . The motion was seconded by Bro . Colonel CLIFFORD PROHYX , P . G . T ., and was carried . Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON then moved the several grants to certain widows recommended by the Boardwhich were

, carried . Bro . Walter Newton , who had been appointed at the last meeting of Grand Lodge , a Grand Standard Bearer , and was unable to be present , was now invested with the Collar of that Office . The announcement by the Earl of Euston that the M . W .

Grand Master had been pleased to confer the rank and dignity of Past Grand Junior Warden upon Bro . Charles Belton , was received with much satisfaction by the assembled brethren .

An interesting feature in the proceedings was the presentation to the Earl of Euston of an album , recording a vote of thanks by the Board of Stewards of the last Mark Benevolent Festival , at which his Lordship presided , when a sum of £ " 5 , 113 was raised . Bro . C . F . Matier , P . G . W ., G . Secretary , in making the presentation on behalf of the

Stewards , expressed a hope that it might long be a record to his lordship of the great efforts he had made on behalf of the Benevolent Fund . The EARL OF EUSTOX , who was evidently much affected by this sincere mark of personal regard and appreciation of his servicesthanked the brethren for the very handsome Book .

, No one , he said , could be more pleased than he was at the success of the . Festival , which had been due to the Board of Stewards , and he deeply felt the kindness and heartiness with which the brethren had rallied around him . Grand Lodge was then closed in ample form .

IfliO . FRANCIS H . WESTLAKE .

The most interesting feature of the proceedings of the Annual Provincial Grand Lodge of Devon , which took place at Freemasons' Hall , Plymouth , on the 29 th ultimo , was the presentation of an address and testimonial to Bro . Francis B . Westlake , P . D . G . D . of C . The testimonial took the form of Patronships of the three Masonic Institutions , and certainl y no more appropriate recognition of the great services rendered by Bro . Westlake to the Masonic Charities could be conceived .