Special Grand Lodge.

the whole of his time to the duties of the Grand Secretaryship . Bro . Stebbing has urged that by adding this £ 100 to the salary of our Grand Secretary , we should be taking it from moneys which are devoted to charity : but our Bro . Stebbing , if he considered for a moment , must know that this is not the case , inasmuch as all the salaries are paid out of the funds of the Board of General Purposes , and not out of the funds of the Board of Benevolence . He urges also that Bro . Gray Clarke took office on that salary ; but I believe it was never clearly explained to Bro . Clarke that he would have only £ 300 a year ;

I know that there were other Brethren anxious to be appointed to the office , and they thought that they were to receive £ 400 a year . But the question is , whether £ 400 is too mucb for a gentleman who devotes the whole of his time and attention to the matter , and not what , in times gone by , we have given as salaries to our officers . Tne business of the office has very much increased ; for , whereas , in 1842 , there were issued 1 , 403 certificates , in 1856 the number was 3 , 721 . In 1842 the amount of money received was £ 2 , 774 , and in

1856 it was £ 5 , 809 . Now we must be well aware that there could not be that additional number of certificates and that additional amount of money , without involving a large increase of labour in the Secretary ' s office ( hear ); and it is ou these grounds that the Grand Secretary has been required to give up his whole time to tho duties of his office , and that he should not be allowed to undertake any other appointment . Under these circumstances , I cannot but think Bro . Stebbing ' s observations ill-timed . We must not consider how long Bro . Clarke has been in the office , but whether or not £ 400 is too much to give a gentleman who devotes his whole time to the duties of bis office and to our service . I trust , therefore , that Grand Lodge will support the recommendation which the Board of General

Purposes has felt it its duty to make . ( Hear , hear .- ) Bro . E . Purton Cooper brought forward as an analogous case the librarian of the Hon . Society of Lincoln's Inn , with respect to whom a similar question had recently been raised , and the result was , that they had increased his salary from £ 300 to £ 400 , and they had had reason to be satisfied with the result . Bro . Mason said , for thirty-five years Bro . White had only £ 300 a year . In fact , at the time of the union , the joint Secretaries only had £ 150 a eachwhichwith feeswas increased to about £ 270 each

year , , , ; when , however , it ¦ was thought proper to pension Bro . Hsvrtlana , and do with one Grand Secretarj r instead of two , Bro . White had £ 300 a year . They must bear in mind also that although there had been an increase in the business of the office , there had at the same time been an increase in the staff . ( Hear . ) He had yet to learn that the duties of the office of Grand Secretary required so much talent and so much skill , or that so much talent and so much skill had been displayed , as to warrant the money now asked in addition .

It was certainly not a pleasing task , but he felt it a matter of duty to move the following amendment— " That so much of the report as recommends the increase of the salary of the Grand Secretary to £ 400 a year , be not adopted . " A Brother , whose name we could not learn , seconded the amendment , on the ground that it was premature to raise the Grand Secretary ' s salary so short a time after his entrance upon the duties of his office ; and that the present salary was sufficient , judged by what was paid elsewhere , such as to secretaries of clubs , who rarely get over £ 400 a year . In fact , he believed he was correct in stating that that was the highest salary paid to the secretary of a club , and the duties of the Grand Secretary's office had decreased instead of

increasing . In reply to Bro . Hearne , Bro . Havers said that the Grand Secretary received £ 50 a year as Grand Scribe E . Bro . Le Veau—I feel sure that every member of this Grand Lodge , and every brother throughout the Craft , will agree with me when I say , that the responsible office of Grand Secretary to our important body , should be rilled by one who is in every sense of the word a gentleman . ( Hear , hear , and applause . ) By those cheers I learn that in this point with me ( Hearhear ) My next

you agree . , . point is , that the brother filling such a situation should he amply repaid for his services . ( Hear , hear . ) The proposer and the seconder of the amendment tell us that the duties of the office have not been increased , but that they have been decreased ; but I think I shall be able to show you that such is not the fact—that not only have those duties not decreased , but that they have greatly increased . The gratuity of £ 100 a year to our late . Grand Secretary was made partly for the lengthened services to the Craftbut partly also on account

, of additional labours devolving upon him . ( Hear . ) That gratuity was passed by a vote in 1838 or 1839 ; . and has that vote ever been taken since ? If not , how can it be said that the £ 100 did not substantially form part of the £ 400 a year ? ( Hear , hear . ) Our late respected Grand Secretary also received £ 50 as Grand Scribe E ., which made his salary £ 450 in 1839 , when the Lodges were 669 , and

all we ask is , the same allowance for Bro . Gray Clarke , in 1859 . when the Lodges number 1 , 094 , instead of 669 , or nearly double . ( Hear . ) I will now call your attention to another important point , which entails great labour upon the Grand Secretary , and that is , that he answers every letter himself —( hear , hear)—be it long or short . ( Hear ) In 1842 , the first yeav in which they were numbered , 1 , 030 letters were received by post and by hand ; but in 1858 , the number was 3 , 384 ; and in the first six months of the present there had been received 2147 and if they came in in the same

year , , ; ratio for the rest of the year , the number will be 4 , 294 for 1859 . Now , I ask you , whether that does not entail a vast amount of labour . ( Hear , hear . ) I ask any brother here , who will sit down and answer four thousand and odd letters during the year , whether it is not a work of labour ; and then the Grand Secretary has other letters to write by command of the Board of General Purposes , and other hoards and committees connected with Grand Lodge . Than he has the minutes to and to ive attendance the Grand

prepare , g upon Master , and on other parties connected with Grand Lodge , so that his duties engage him many an evening when he ought to be taking repose . Instead of his labours being confined to the office hours , from nine till five , he often labours at home for four or five hours in the evening . The Colonial Board has also added to his labours very materially , and therefore I feel sure that the brethren here will agree with me , that they would not wish any gentlemen who gives up the whole of his time for the benefit of the Craft , and the promotion of

its welfare , to work not merely during office hours , but also at ho / ne during the evening , without being amply repaid . I call upon you , therefore , in the name of justice , and in the name indeed of all that is honourable , to vote this extra £ 100 a year to Bro . Gray Clarke ' s salary , and to enhance the value of it by voting it unanimously . — ( Applause . ) Bro . Binckes had not intended taking part in this debate—( laughter)—in fact he had fulldetermined not to do so ( Renewed

y . laughter , and ironical " Hear , hear . " ) He was at a loss to understand the risibility of which he was the innocent cause ( laughter ) , for he did not know that he had so far stultified himself as to render what he said unworthy of the attention of Grand Lodge , He admitted , in reply to Bro . Symonds , that the salaries were paid from the Boaru of General Praposes , and not fioto the fomls of the Boaid of Benevolence ; but at the same time they must not forget that it was from the funds of the Board of General Purposes that , rightly or

wrongly—he could not then stav'to inquire— £ 1000 had been granted to the Crimean Relief Fund , and £ 1000 to the Indian Mutiny Fund ( hear , hear ); and if any brother proposed , as he had a perfect right to do , that a contribution should be made from this fund to our charities , he would now be met with the objection that the Grand Secretary's salary had just been raised , and that , at any rate by £ 100 a year , the resources of the fund had been diminished . ( Hear . ) In 1858 , the Board of General Purposes , in a report signed by Bro . Havers and BroRoxburghwere against the salaries in the Grand

. , Secretary ' s office being raised ; and nothing had been shown to have occurred since that report which would justify the change of opinion wdiioh had taken place in that Board on this subject . He would be the last man in the world to grudge any man a fair reward for the work done ; but this request was made prematurely and unjustly ; when , however , the proper time came , he had no doubt but that Grand Lodge would unanimously award to the Grand Secretary some recognition of his services .

Bro . Stebbing next rose , but was assailed with loud cries of ( "Spoke ; spoke ! " ) Bro . Jennings—The brother has a right to speak to the amendment . Bro . Stebbing—Eh ? Bro . Jennings—I said you have a right to speak to the amendment . Bro . Stebbing—Of course 1 have . ( Loud Laughter . ) I have a right to speak on every resolution . It is absurd . ( Renewed laughter . ) The brother went on to say that Grand Lodge ought to be consistent

in disposing of its funds , and they ought not to give to Bro . Clarke , after eighteen months' service , the salary they gave to Bro . White , after a service of more than a quarter of a century . It would have a bad effect out of doors , particularly amongst the poorer brethren . Bro . Gregory said that the services of the Grand Secretary's office should be efficiently performed , and , being efficiently performed should be duly compensated . ( Hear , hear . ) They were told that BroWhite ' s sa ' lary was only £ 300 a and that the other £ 100

. year , was merely a gratuity ; but gratuity or salary , it was given year by year ; and if they only gave Bro . Gray Clarke this £ 100 a year , he did not suppose he would care a great deal whether they called it a gratuity or an addition to his salary , ( Hear , hear , and laughter . ) Let them not forget , moreover , the fluctuation in the value of money , £ 300 , some years ago , was worth as much as £ 400 now . ( " Oh , oh !" and hear , hear , ) Even assuming that the business of the office has