Grand Lodge.

of salary—those services being " en tilled to a grateful recognition nt . their hands . " Bro . Stebbing also objected to the vote , on the ground that it would limit the power's of Grand Lodge in their charitable donations ; apparently forgetting that tho increase of salary to the officers would come , not from the Benevolent , but from the General Fund of Grand Lodgewhich at the present moment is in excess of

, the demands made upon it b y upwards of . 82000 a year . Bro . Symonds , in supporting the original motion , stated that Bro . Stebbing had not urged that . 6400 a year ivas more than the Grand Secretary ought to have , but that as Bro . White only had £ 300 per annum for many years , so should the present Grand Secretary be content with the same amountforgetting IIOAV largely the business of the office

, had increased ; for whereas the number of certificates for new members issued in 1842 only amounted to 1 , 403 , they had gradually increased , until in 1 S 5 G the number was 3 , 821 : and the revenue of Grand Lodge had increased in the same period from £ 2 , 774 to . 63 , 809 per annum . The Grand Secretary therefore now ] had to devote his whole time to the duties ol" the office , whereas tlie previous Grand

Secretary had in addition to that office held a lucrative situation apart from Freemasonry . We need not follow the discussion at any length beyond stating that after Bro . Cooper , the Prov . ^ Grand Master for Kent , hacl supported tho original motion , Bro . Mason , in a speech marked for its good taste and absence from passion , moved that that part of the report ivhich recommended the increase to the salary ol

the Grand Secretary , bo not adopted . On this a long and animated discussion followed , in ivhich Bro . Binckes supported the amendment on the ground that twelve months since the Board of General Purposes had recommended that there should be no increase in the salaries—tivelvo months since Bro . Binckes voted for setfciiu * that

report on one side so far as regarded Bro . Farnfield and Bro . Whitinore ( who entertained the highest respect for Bro . Clarke ) for the most comical of all comical reasons—that as Bro . Clarke had nofc asked for any increase of salary , they bad better' wait till he did so . Whilst one or two other speakers , to carry out this excellent joke , argued , that if they raised Bro . Clarke ' s salary now , they would

deprive themselves of the power and pleasure of doing so five or seven years hence . The case in support of the increased grant having been well argued by Bros . Le Veau , Gregory , and Savage , Bro . the Bev , G . B . Portal rose , and wifcli the amenity , and charit y ivhich so distinguishes him , imported the first spice of personalit y into the discussion by calling attention to the circumstance , that in the correspondence on

the late Canadian dispute , Bro . Harington wrote , "Your letters are sopersonal as very much to embarrass matters , " etc ., thereby showing the want of efficiency and courtesy of tlie Grand Secretary . Bro . McEntyre followed Bro . Portal , but upon tlie opposite side , and was followed by the Deputy Grand Master wifch a crushing answer to Bro . Portal , declaring that the letters complained of , were in fact written by direction of the Grand Master—letters of which the Grand Master