Special Grand Lodge.

of sewers , which were very voluminous , were audited by a thoroughly competent professional auditor for £ 15 , although it occupied him three whole days . ( Hear . ) The motion was put and carried . THE SO-CALLED BRAND LODGE OF TURKEY . The President of the Board called attention to this illegal Masonic bodywith whichhe regretted to that several hihlrespectable

, , say , gy persons had connected themselves . It was stated that a Captain Atkinson , who was at Smyrna at the end of the Crimean war , said that he was ( there is no proof that he was ) in possession of an Irish warrant . He made twenty Masons , divided them into three Lodges , and they declared themselves the Grand Lodge of Turkey . ( Hear , hear , and laughter . ) A number of gentlemen had been innocently entrapped into joining it . The Master of the regular " Oriental " Lodge had done the best he could , and deserved much credit for the h he fell

discreet and zealous manner in which he had acted , thoug into some errors at first . Bro . Havers concluded by asking Grand Lodge to agree to a motion calling , upon all regular Lodges to discountenance this so-called grand body , and to lead back its members into the right path by means provided for in the Book of Constitutions ( page 77 ) . Agreed to . COLONIAL BOARD .

The report of this Board was taken as read , and ordered to be received and entered on the minutes . ROYAL BENEVOLEKT INSTITUTION . The report was received , and ordered to be entered on the minutes

THE PRINTED MINUTES . W . Bro . Frederick Binckes , P . M ., No . 11 , moved— "That it is inexpedient to publish the discussions in Grand Lodge in the minutes of proceedings of the quarterly communications as issued from the Grand Secretary ' s office . " The reason Bro . Binckes wished to have the printing and circulation of these minutes discontinued , appeared to be—because some year or so ago , he had been , as he conceived , inaccuratelreported in themWhat BroBinckes was then ( June 16

y . . , 1858 ) reported to have said was , that he " supported the motion and said that the report of the Board of General Purposes did not represent the report of the committee . " Bro . Binckes would have been , it seems , content had the summary added the grounds on which he contended that the report of the Board did not represent the report of the committee , namely , "that he had been informed that the report of the committee bore testimony to the efficiency of the services rendered bthe officers of Grand Lod" Another point in

y ge . the minutes , referred to by Bro . Binckes as being inaeurrate , was in a subsequent passage , in which Bro . Havers is represented as having charged Bro . Binckes with saying , that the report in question was come to by a " narrow majority , " which Bro . Binckes denies having said . He protested generally against what he called " the unfair and garbled manner in which those reports are presented to the Cralt . " The official reporter he believed to be a most able man ,

who had been connected with the Times for thirty years , and he felt that any report which he gave would be always fair and impartial . Without specifying any one by name , Bro . Binckes insinuated that some Grand Officer or Officers garbled these reports before they were sent out to the Craft . Having " vindicated his character , " he said he should withdraw his motion . ' In reply to Bro . Gregory , the Grand Master said it was not competent for Bro . Binckes to withdraw his motion without permission of Grand Lodge .

Bro . Havers said he had examined the report in question , and it contained not one single word which was not to be found in the shorthand writer's notes . ( Hear , hear , hear ) . He hurled back upon Bro . Binckes the insinuation which he threw out of " garbling" with respect to these reports , on the part of the executive , as a base fabrication . ( Sensation . ) Neither himself nor any Officer of Grand Lodge , except the one who had charge of these reports , had at all interfered with them . ( Hearhear )

, . Bro . Whitmore—In reply to an unseemly interruption on the part of Bro . Havers , at an earlier stage of our proceedings , I said that I pitied him for the observation he had made ; but now I would say , if it be not unmasotvic , that I despise him . ( Oh , oh ! and loud cries of Shame ! and Order !) If a brother gets up in this Grand Lodge , I have a perfect right to reply to his observations .

The Grand Master—Not unless you withdraw your unmasonic observations . ( Cheers . ) Bro . Whitmore—May I ask yonr lordship if " base fabrication " be a Masonic observation ? ( "Hear . " ) The Grand Master—Any assertion that cannot be substantiated , is unmasonic . ( Cheers . ) Bro . Whitmore—And if I substantiate what I say , shall I be equally in order ? The Grand Master—You can never be in order in ing that

say you despise Bro . Havers . Bro . Whitmore—If you say it is irregular , of course I withdraw it . The Grand Master—I say it is more than irregular , it is disorderly and unmasonic . ( Hear , hear ) . Bro . Whitmore—I am quite sure his lordship gives me no indulgence , but as the expression is declared to be unmasonic , of course I withdraw it . ( Hear , hear . ) Bro . Whitmore then said , his own observations having been grosslmisrepresented in the minutes

y alluded to , he . should support Bro . Binckes , as ho would rather have no report at all than a garbled one . Bro . Roxburgh having been present on the occasion alluded to , and having read the passage to which objection had been made , declared that the report was fair and accurate , and that there was no garbling or misreporting whatever in the case . If they were to report all Bro . Binckes's observations , these minutes would fill volumes instead of sheets . ( Laughter . ) Such motions ought not to be allowed to be

put upon the paper , unless it could be shown that the executive had in some way violated their duty . Bro . Stebbing deprecated these gross personalities , which were highly discreditable to them in Grand Lodge , and would appear still more so when they got into print . ( Hear , hear . ) He hoped the authorities would consider the propriety of prohibiting any publication whatever of the proceedings of Grand Lodge . ( Hear , hear . ) Bro . Lord Panmure , D . G . M . —My lord , I wish to make a few remarks on the motion of Bro . Binckes , and the speech of the brother

who has jnst sat down . I am old enough to remember when the anthoritative publication cf our proceedings under the sanction of G L . was first adopted by Grand Lodge ; and I think , if my memory fails me not , it was adopted in consequence of garbled reports which , appeared in spurious publications , giving rise to much internal disputation within the walls of Grand Lodge . It was then determined that a report , on the authority of Grand Lodge , should go forth of all its proceedings , and that that should be the means of rectifying any evil lained of by the Craft at largevizthat they in

comp , ., were ignorance of what passed within these walls . I believe that up to the present time the plan then adopted has worked very well . If Bro . Binckes had taken the proper course , such a notice as this would have been unnecessary . The misrepresentations of which he complains took place , on his own showing , twelve months ago . ( Hear , hear . ) Now Iapprehend , in the first place , itisnotaveryeasymatter but a very invidious task , to curtail discussions in Grand Lodge so as to bring them within the of an ordinary to be trans

compass paper - mitted into the country , but on no one occasion since this system existed has there been a well grounded complaint brought before Grand Lodge . Such a motion as this is not the manner in which the complaint should be made . The publication in question is sent forth by authority , and if any brother is misrepresented , his duty and business is to appear at the next quarterly communication in his place , and appeal to Grand Lodge on a question of breach of privilege . ( Hear , hear ) . That is the course the brother should have taken to state his

complaint , and he would doubtless have met with ready redress at the hands of Grand Lodge . But to abolish the publication of these minutes , by means of which the brethren in the country can procure Masonic information in a Masonic manner , would cause great discontent . I hope , therefore , Grand Lodge will not agree to the motion of Bro . Binckes —( hear , hear)—and that for the future , if any brother shall have reason to complain of being misrepresented , he will come forward in a manly manner , and I am sure he will be heard with attention . ( Applause . )

GENERAL APOLOGY TO GRAND LODGE . Bro . Whitmore said that a few minutes reflection had convinced him that the observations which had escaped him were highly improper , and he begged to withdraw and apologize for them ; he wished that he could come to the conclusion that the observations which provoked his were as regular as his expressions were irregular . Bro . Binckes in reply said that he regretted deeply that anything he might have said should have been offensive to Grand Lodge . It was not his wish to attack or offend any brother . He wished he could hear Bro . Havers express himself as Bro . Whitmore had done .