BRO. CHARLES A. C. HARDY.
(PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF GENERAL. PI?RPOSES.)

THE

NEW ZEALAND CRAFTSMAN
SUBSCRIPTION: 7s. 6d. PER ANNUM, PAID IN ADVANCE.

BOOKED, 10s. PER ANNUM.
Vol.. II.—No. 7.] MAY 16, 1891. A.D. 1891 ; A.L. 5891. ; A.M. 5651 ; A. In., 2421.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSES.

ERY Worshipful Bro. CHARLES A. C. HARDY, President of the Board of General Purposes, is a
merchant residing at Rakaia, Canterbury. He was initiated in 1869 in Lodge Charleston Kilwinning.
No. A87. Grand Lodge of Scotland, affiliating to GreymouthhLodge, No. 1233, Grand Lodge of

England, in 1870. In that Lodge Bro. HARDY served the offices of Secretary, Treasurer, Junior Warden, and
Master.

In 1875 Bro. HARDY established Lodge Rakaia, and filled the office of Master three times.

Bro. HARDY is a Past Director of Ceremonies, Past Deacon, Past Junior and Senior Warden of the District
Grand Lodge of Canterbury. He is a Mark Master, a Royal Arch Mason, and a member of the Excelsior
Chapter 18th Degree, Christchurch. We believe nothing would please the Craft better than his re-election as
President of the Board of General Purposes.

__________________________
ENGLAND AND BRO. STOUTS PRESENT MASONIC POSITION.

THE action of Bro. Sir ROBERT STOUT, Deputy District Grand Master of Otago and Southland, and Past
Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies, in inaugurating in Wellington, some twelve months ago, a Lodge
holding under the Grand Orient of France, was of course widely canvassed amongst Freemasons, and much
wonderment was expressed as to the course that would be taken by the United Grand Lodge of England.
Time passed, however, and it seemed as though nothing were about to be done in the matter, when, like a
thunderbolt out of a clear sky, came the telegraphic announcement that Sir ROBERT STOUT had been
deprived, by the Prince of Wales, of his Masonic rank. In commenting upon this in our March issue, we
suggested that the deprivation applied to his Grand rank only, i.e., to the position of Past Assistant Grand
Director of Ceremonies, conferred upon him in the Jubilee year ; and we expressed our belief that his
removal from the Deputy District Grand Mastership would need to be the act of the D.G.M. of Otago and
Southland, Bro. T.. S. GRAHAM. And so it has proved. We have now the full report of the proceedings of the
March Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge, as well as Bro. Sir ROBERT STOUT'S letter, in reply to
the Grand Secretary's requiring an explanation of his conduct. After reading this letter we are by no means

surprised that our London contemporary, the Freemason, should suggest that it will be rendered "impossible
for Bro. Sir ROBERT STOUT to insult our Grand Lodge on any future occasion ; "for we dare to say that that
communication will have appeared to our exalted home Brethren as pettifogging, flippant, and even as rude.
Pettifogging, in the abortive attempt he makes to challenge the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge;: flippant, in
the indecorous allusions to " Oddfellows, Foresters, and Buffaloes ; " and rude, when, towards the end, he
coolly desires Grand Lodge to mind its own business. Sir ROBERT STOUT'S challenge of jurisdiction—
which, however, he afterwards somewhat ostentatiously waives—is at once swept aside by Bro. PHILBRICK,
Grand Registrar, who pertinently asks how a District Grand Lodge could possibly interfere between Grand
Lodge and a Grand Lodge officer.

In the leader in our March issue, we said :
It will, we opine, be found that the fact that the Grand Orient of France do not require belief in a
Supreme Being as a qualification for membership—though foremost in and strongly influencing, it
may be, the minds of every member of Grand Lodge—was not the actual reason alleged for Bro. Sir
ROBERT'S deprivation. We believe it will be found that such reason has been the invasion of
territory by the French Orient. The unpardonable offence of which BRO. Sir ROBERT has been
found guilty is the procuring of a warrant from a foreign Masonic body, which enabled him to
establish on British soil a subordinate Lodge holding allegiance to the Grand Orient of France.

It will be noted that this is exactly the attitude, both of the M.W, the Grand Master and the other
distinguished, Brethren. who spoke on the question.

Regarded as a piece of reasoning, Bro. Sir ROBERT STOUT'S letter is—well, peculiar ; but perhaps the
strangest passage in it is this : "The very fact that the Grand Orient of France is not recognised makes
attending it no Masonic offence. If I had joined in getting up a rival and recognised body, there might be
something said to me, but not for what I have done." How the eminent legists in Grand Lodge must have
stared when this paragraph was read ! Had Sir ROBERT joined in getting up a rival and recognised body ; "
say, for instance, had he started a Lodge in Dunedin holding under the Grand Lodge of California, he admits
that he would have committed a Masonic offence. But let us follow this out. Immediately on such an act as
we have imagined above being brought to the knowledge of the United Grand Lodge of England, a protest
would have issued, and failing prompt reparation of the injury by the suppression of such Lodge, Masonic
communion of England with the Grand Lodge of California would cease. At once the Grand Lodge of
California would take the position of an unrecognised body ; and then membership of an English Mason in a
Dunedin Lodge, holding under such a body would—under the above " reasoning "—become no Masonic
offence ! Surely the reductio ad absurdum is evident and inevitable ! Oh! Sir ROBERT ! Sir ROBERT !

But—more seriously—it is manifestly no palliation of Sir ROBERT'S offence that the Grand Orient of France
is not in communion with the Grand Lodge of England ; but decidedly an aggravation of it ; for had it been
so in communion, action to resent the intrusion would have been easy ; whereas now it is almost impossible.
Hence the intrusion is far more mischievous, and Sir ROBERT'S action the more reprehensible.

We now await the course that the D.G.M., and the Board of General Purposes of Otago and Southland—to
whom Grand Lodge has formally remitted the conduct of the rest of this affair—will adopt. It was noticeable
that immediately upon the arrival of the British mail bringing the full report of the Quarterly Communication
of Grand Lodge, in March, the D.G.M. let it be known that he had accepted, " with regret," the resignation of
his Deputy. As to this, and other phases of the question, the R.W. Bro. THOMAS SHERLOCK GRAHAM may
have himself to reckon with Grand Lodge, and possibly there yet remains for him a mauvais quart d'heure.
Nous verrons.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

SCOTLAND—BRO. LORD ONSLOW AND THE FRENCH ORIENT.

THE following correspondence appears in the Proceedings of the District Grand Lodge of Scotland, New
Zealand South, under date of April 3rd, 1891 :

[Copy]
DISTRICT GRAND LODGE, S.C., NEW ZEALAND SOUTH,

Dunedin, November 27th, 1890.
D. MURRAY LYON, Esq.,

Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of Scotland, Edinburgh. Dear Sir and Brother,

I am directed by the R.W.D.G.M., Bro. James Gore, to bring under your notice the enclosed letters addressed
to Masters of Lodges under the jurisdiction of the District Grand Lodge of New Zealand South, holding
under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, by His Excellency Lord Onslow, Past Grand Junior Warden of the
Grand Lodge of England, and to ask if Lord Onslow has communicated with the Grand Lodge of Scotland on
the subject of these letters, and obtained the sanction of Grand Lodge to so address our Lodges, as District
Grand Master presumes that had such been the case you would have advised him to that effect in the
ordinary course.

District Grand Master further instructs me to say that he distinctly objects to anyone addressing his Lodges
on matters of vital importance without proper authority or without observing the usual formalities and
courtesies generally recognised in cases of this nature. He has to respectfully point out that His Excellency as
Governor of the Colony has no claim whatever to approach the Masonic body on Masonic subjects, and that
as Past Grand Junior Warden of England he has no privilege through his Past rank to address Scotch Lodges,
without first submitting any communication he may desire to make to our Lodges either to the Grand Lodge
of Scotland or to the District Grand Master, and obtaining permission to address the Lodges.

District Grand Master would esteem it a favour if the Grand Lodge of Scotland would communicate with the
Grand Lodge of England, and ask if it has in any way empowered Lord Onslow to address English Lodges in
New Zealand in the manner contained in these letters, and if so, if it will in future make its instructions
specific enough not to embrace other Constitutions without communicating with them first on the subject.

(Signed) HENRY NEILL, D.G. Secretary.
_____________

[Copy of Cablegram.]
Waka 12.
10—5—4

4

HENRY NEILL, (Dunedin, N.Z., Jan. 6, 1891.)
District Grand Secretary Dunedin.

" Publicly repudiate Lord Onslow's intrusion."
MURRAY LYON.

(Edinburgh 5.)

A copy of the letter sent to Grand Lodge and cablegram in reply was forwarded to His Excellency, under
date January 6th, 1891.

[Copy.]
GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND,

Edinburgh, January 15th, 1891.
HENRY NEILL, Esq.,

District Grand Secretary, Dunedin.

My wire would reach you last week to repudiate Onslow's interference. This will shew Grand Lodge will
uphold the position and authority of its representatives in New Zealand.

(Signed) D. MURRAY LYON,
Grand Secretary.

___________
[Copy.]

GRAND LODGE OF SCOTLAND,
Edinburgh, February I2th, 189r.

HENRY NEILL, Esq.,
District Grand Secretary, Dunedin.

Dear Sir and Brother,

On receipt of yours of November 27th, I telegraphed re Onslow's interference. My telegram was proof that
the Governor had no authority whatever to address Scottish-holding Lodges upon any Masonic subject. The
Provincial Grand Masters are the medium of communication between Grand Lodge and its daughter Lodges
under their jurisdiction.

With reference to the French-holding Lodge or Lodges in New Zealand, there can be no communication or
intercourse held with them or their members, and Scottish holding Brethren joining such Lodges forfeit their
membership under the Scottish Constitution.

Intercourse between the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Orient of France ceased in 1877.
(Signed) D. MURRAY LYON,

Grand Secretary.
___________________________________________________

SCOTLAND AND NEW ZEALAND.
_______

EXPULSION AND SUSPENSION OF AUCKLAND BRETHREN.

THE following is an extract from the Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, page 155, Nov. 6th, 1890.
We refrain from making any comment :

The Committee gave special consideration to the appeals of William Forrest, George Foulds, and
Alfred H. Jones, the Master, Secretary, and Treasurer of Lodge No, 708, against the sentence
pronounced by the District Grand Lodge of the Northern Island. The first-named Brother had been
expelled the Craft, and the two others suspended from Masonic privileges for twelve months, for
having moved a majority of their Lodge to transfer their allegiance to the so-called Grand Lodge of
New Zealand, and carry along with them the charter, books, monies, and other property belonging to
the said Lodge, and in otherwise acting in a rebellious and disrespectful spirit towards Grand Lodge.
The Committee recommend that the judgment of the District Grand Lodge be confirmed.

WILLIAM OFFICER, Convener.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

BENEVOLENCE.

THE subject of Masonic Benevolence seems coming again to the front. Lodge Ara, Auckland, has agreed to
dispense with the annual banquet, and devote the sum saved to Masonic orphans. The Brethren in Hawkes
Bay are discussing the proposal to start a Fund of Benevolence. A modest Brother, writing under the nom de
plume of " Coromandel," sent us £5 last month to form a nucleus for some permanent charity, providing
nineteen more Brethren or Lodges subscribe the like amount within six months. An Oamaru Brother suggests
the getting up of bazaars, and devoting the proceeds to the strengthening of the Fund of Benevolence of
Grand Lodge ; while the Master of the Lodge of Otago wishes his Lodge to begin putting away one guinea
out of every initiation fee.

Following this little note comes a copy of the circular which we have addressed to the Masters of Lodges on
the subject of Benevolence. We have several times been requested to give expression to our views on this
question, but as no trustworthy information could be got without asking the Lodges for it, we remained
silent. The subject is again demanding attention, and we arc asked for figures ; as there is no other way of
pro-curing them except through the courtesy of Masters of Lodges, we fraternally ask them to render us what
assistance they can towards answering the six questions in our circular.

___________

Dunedin, May 16th, 1891.
The W.M., Lodge ..............................................................................

WOR. SIR,—We are asked to supply our readers with the annual amount of money granted by Lodges
towards the relief of distressed Brethren and widows and children of deceased Brethren. As this information
can only be gathered from the balance-sheets and minute books of Lodges, may we ask your fraternal
assistance in filling in replies to the six questions which follow.
The replies will be considered private.

1 Name of Lodge ..................................................................
2. How many applications for relief have you had during the last 5 years :

From Brethren .........................................................
From Widows ..........................................................
No. of Children ........................................................

3. What sums did you vote towards No. 2 in

{ Brethren, £
1886 {

{ Widows, £

{ Brethren, £
1887 {

{ Widows, £

{ Brethren, £
1888 {

{ Widows, £

{ Brethren, £
1889 {

{ Widows, £

{ Brethren, £
1890 {

{ Widows, £

4. Has your Lode a Benevolent Fund ?
5. What is the amount of No. 4, £ .....
6. What is your membership ? ..........

Copies of your Lodge's balance-sheet for the last five years would be of great use to us if they can be
spared.
Kindly forward your replies, as soon as you conveniently can, to

The Editor, N.Z. CRAFTSMAN,
Box 322, P.O., Dunedin.

N.B. —May we point out how necessary it is for all Lodges to send us a copy of their monthly circular. Please instruct
your secretary to place THE CRAFTSMAN on his list. A copy of your balance-sheet, when published, would be very
useful.

_________________
THERE are Brethren who have overlooked, or forgotten, our small claims on each of them. Will they kindly
assist us by remitting their respective amounts due as quickly as possible, and relieve us from the necessity
of having to apply again.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

THE evils of sending Masonic news to the secular press has been brought under our notice somewhat
forcibly of late. A reporter interviewed some brother in Auckland on Bro. Stout and the French Orient, and
the absurd statement was made that " The Grand Lodge of Scotland, whilst it does not acknowledge the
French Orient, does not prevent her members joining a French Lodge, so long as they declare their belief in a
supreme Being. The whole thing was copied into a Dunedin paper, and it brought forth the remark that
Scotland was not so wooden-headed in the matter as England. Those who read the letter sent by Bro. Murray
Lyon to the D. G. Secretary of New Zealand South, published in another part of this journal, will find that.
Scotch Brethren joining a Lodge under the French Orient forfeit their membership in Scotch Lodges.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

GRAND LODGES

NEW ZEALAND.
ANNUAL MEETING.

THE Annual Meeting of Grand Lodge will be held in the St. Augustine Masonic Hall, Uhristchurch, on
Tuesday, June 30th. The principal business will be the election of the Grand Master, Grand Officers,
Members of the Boards of General Purposes and Benevolence, the appointment of Superintendents, and the
consideration of the Auditors' Report and Balance-Sheet.

SINCE the above was put into type, the Board of General Purposes have granted the wish of the Wellington
Committee, and the annual meeting will take place in Wellington on July 6th.

____________________
ENGLAND.

THERE was only one question on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting of United Grand Lodge which was at
all calculated to arouse the interest of the Brethren and that related to the communication of the M.W. Grand
Master concerning the conduct of Bro. Sir Robert Stout, P.A.G.D.C., Deputy District Grand Master of Otago
and Southland, in establishing an irregular Lodge in New Zealand under a. warrant obtained from the Grand
Orient of France. The circumstances having been virtually admitted by Bro. Sir Robert Stout, and an attempt
made by him to justify his conduct, nothing remained but for Grand Lodge to adjudge the penalty which
should be inflicted on him for his violation of our laws. Accordingly, the Grand Registrar having laid the
facts fully and carefully before Grand Lodge, and having cited the laws bearing on the subject, proposed a
resolution, which was adopted by Grand Lodge unanimously, and which we consider will have the effect of
rendering it impossible for Bro. Sir Robert Stout to insult our Grand Lodge on any future occasion. By the
terms of this resolution, Bro. Sir Robert Stout is firstly deprived of his rank and privileges as a Past Grand
Officer of United Grand Lodge ; while in the second clause the attention of the Dist. G.M. of Otago and
Southland is formally directed to the conduct to which Bro. Sir Robert Stout, his Deputy District Grand
Master, has pleaded guilty, with a view to his (1) removal from the office of Deputy District Grand Master,
and (2) the further consideration of that conduct by the District Board of General Purposes. It appears to us
that the simple course would have been for Grand Lodge to have expelled Bro. Sir R. Stout from Masonry,
but as the facts have been admitted, his expulsion will in all probability be the final result of the proceedings
which have yet to be taken, the exact method of procedure in dealing with the case being of comparatively
small importance.—London Freemason, March 7th.

___________________________________________________________________________
UNITED GRAND LODGE OF ENGLAND.

The Quarterly Communication of United Grand Lodge was held on Wednesday evening, March 4th, at
Freemasons' Hall, London, when more than 500 brethren were present. Bro. W. W. B. Beach, M.P., Prov.
Grand Master Rants and the Isle of Wight. presided. Bro. Col. Sir Frances Burdett, Bart., Prov. Grand Master
of Middlesex, acted as Deputy Grand Master, and Bro. rThomas Halsey, M.P., Prov. Grand Master of Herts,
as Past Grand Master. Bro. Sir Gabriel Goldney occupied the Senior Grand Warden's chair, and Bro.
Major-General Somerset J. Calthorpe took the chair of Junior Grand Warden. Communication from the Most
Worshipful Grand Master :—

" The Most Worshipful Grand Master regrets to have to inform Grand Lodge that in the month of August last
he received a report from the District Grand Lodge of Wellington, New Zealand, that Bro. Sir Robert Stout,
K.C.M.G., Past Assitant Grand Director of Ceremonies, and Deputy District Grand Master of Otago and
Southland, had obtained a warrant from the Grand Orient of France to establish a Lodge under it in New
Zealand, and had, under that authority, recently opened a Lodge in the town of Wellington in that colony, of
which Lodge he is the Master.

"On receipt of this information, the Grand Master directed the Grand Secretary to address Bro. Sir Robert
Stout on the subject, and to call on him for an explanation of the grounds on which he felt himself justified iu
thus taking part in a invasion of British territory by a foreign Masonic boiy, and especially by one, many of
whose members had been declared by a solemn resolution of the Grand Lodge of England on March ,,6th,
1878, not to be true and genuine brethren.

"A reply has now been received from Bro. Sir Robert Stout on the subject, in which he admits the facts
alleged, and seeks to justify his action.

"Under these circumstances, the Grand Master, with much regret, feels that he has no alternative but to make
a complaint of the conduct of Bro. Sir Robert Stout, and to submit the matter, with the correspondence
relating thereto, to Grand Lodge for its eousideration and decision."

The Grand Secretary thereon read the correspondence which had taken place on the subject :
"Dunedin, N.Z., 29th October, 1890.

" Bro. Colonel Shadwell H. Clerke, Grand Secretary United Grand Lodge of England.

" Very Worshipful Sir and Brother,—I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 4th
September, and I have not the slightest objection to inform the Most Worshipful Grand Master through you
of the facts regarding the opening of a Lodge under an order from the Grand Orient of France. Iu doing this,
however, I think it right to point out that, according to my reading of the Book of Constitutions, it is the
District Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland, of which I am a member, and under whose immediate
jurisdiction I am, that should have made the inquiries you have made—that is, should such have been
deemed necessary by any Grand Lodge. It is no doubt true that the Grand Lodge has, under Rule 5 of the
Constitutions, the power of investigating, regulating and deciding all ` matters relative to the Craft, or to
particular Lodges or to individual brothers. But though the power has, so far as the colonies are concerned,
been vested in District Grand Lodges, in Rule 106 of the Constitution it is said: — The Grand Lodge
delegates to its District Grand Lodges the power of investigating, regulating, and deciding in all matters
relating to Lodges and individual Masons within their respective districts.' The only power left by the Grand
Lodge to itself is that of being the appellate tribunal. It could not have been contemplated that two co-
ordinate jurisdictions should deal with one subject matter, for their finding might not agree. The Grand
Lodge has, I submit, so long as the present Constitution regarding District Grand Lodges exist, delegated its
right of initiating a process against individual colonial Masons ; and it only exists so far as they are
concerned as an appellate tribunal. To use the words of lawyers, it is not a court of first instance.

"I proceed, however, to state the facts, and under the circumstances I expressly waive any question of
jurisdiction, as I have no wish to shelter any action of mine under any legal or technical objection to a mode
of procedure.

"Some Masons in the Wellington district (I need not inform you that by sea Wellington is distant about 332
miles from Dunedin) thought of founding a Lodge under the Grand Orient of France. One of their reasons
was that they liked the ritual, because it recognised modern progress, but I believe they mainly felt that many
were excluded from Masonry by the religious doctrine taught in Lodges holding under the diverse British
Constitutions. They believed that Masonry should be a society that was open to men of every shade of belief,
and that the French Orient, almost alone among Masonic bodies, fulfilled this condition. A Provisional
Lodge was formed, of which I, although not resident in Wellington, was chosen W.M. A Charter was
ultimately granted, and I was thereafter elected to the same office, and still am W.M. I don't know what the
speculative views of members of Lodge L'Amour de La Verite may be. As you are aware, under the French
Orient these are not required to be stated. All members save three were members of Lodges holding under
some one of the British or Irish Constitutions, and almost all are still subscribing members of such Lodges. I
think those are all the facts I need detail in answer to your inquiry.

"I now wish to refer to the resolutions of the Grand Lodge on March 6th, 1878, and a copy of which you
have forwarded to me. They have not been embodied in the Books of Constitution. I apprehend their object
was to prevent Lodges and Brethren under the Grand Lodge of England recognising Masons initiated in
Lodges under the Grand Orient of France as ` true and genuine Brethren.' There is not a single word in the
resolutions that would indicate that an English Mason would incur any censure by visiting or becoming a
member of a French Lodge. Suppose he was resident in France part of the year, and outside the English
jurisdiction, could it be a Masonic offence to become a member of a French Lodge ? There is no such
debarration in the resolutions. They may be thus summarised :—(1) The first regrets the omission from the
French Constitution of those paragraphs which assert a belief of T.G.A.O.T.U. (2) The second declares that
the Grand Lodge cannot recognise as true and genuine Brethren those who have been initiated in French

Lodges. (3) The third directs Craft Lodges to refuse admission to Brethren who have been initiated in French
Lodges since the chance in the Constitution of the Grand Orient. This is all. There is nothing preventing a
Freemason, a member of a Craft Lodge holding under the Grand Lodge of England, from joining a French
Lodge of Masons, or any other secret society he pleases, such as Oddfellows, or Foresters or Druids. The
very fact that French Lodges under the Grand Orient of France are not now recognised as Masonic Lodges,
any more than Lodges giving what are termed high degrees — Rosicrucians, &c.—shows that Grand Lodge
deems them outside of Masonry; and it might as well direct what other secret society a man may not join, as
to declare that he shall not belong to a body unknown to Grand Lodge, such as the Grand Orient of France
happily is. And here I might leave the matter. There is, however, an expression about British Masonic
territory that I must refer to. Now, there are at least four bodies known as Grand Lodges in New Zealand
outside the Grand Orient of France. These are the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, Ireland and New
Zealand, in whose territory we have only one political government, that of New Zealand. Can there be four
imperia in the one imperium ? In fact, can it be said to be British Masonic territory at all ? I submit that the
various Grand Lodges have no territoral claim. They are only bodies placed over Lodges recognising them—
that is, over their own Craft Lodges, and it will be a long time, if ever, before New Zealand is recognised
amongst New Zealand Masons as the territory of any one Grand Lodge. I notice from a return of Craft Lodge
holding under the Grand Lodge of England, that there are Lodges in foreign countries having English Grand
Lodge Charters. There are Lodges in Egypt, Turkey, China, Japan, &c. Obviously it could not be said these
countries are British Masonic territory. But how can there be an invasion of Masonic territory by a body not
Masonic? We might as well talk of invading Masonic territory by Good Templars or Oddfellows. The very
fact that the Grand Orient Lodge of France is not recognised makes attending it no Masonic offence. If I had
joined in getting up a rival and recognised body there might be something said to me, but not for what I have
done. However, it has not been deemed anything wrong for a District Grand Lodge officer, under the English
Constitution, to join a Scotch or Irish Craft Lodge. I repectfully submit that as long as I am a subscribing
member of a Craft Lodge holding under the Grand Lodge of England, and faithfully fulfil the duties imposed
on me by the laws of the Order, the fact that I belong to an unrecognised secret society is no Masonic
offence, and no business of your Grand Lodge. I may belong to a degree of Masonry deemed spurious and
unknown to Craft Masonry, and many hundreds of colonial Brethren do, but that has not yet been deemed
un-Masonic, and as far as I know no Mason has ever been challenged for joining a society not known or
recognised among English Masons, nor am I aware of any decision showing that joining the Grand Orient
Lodge merits inquiry. —I am, &c.,

"ROBERT STOUT, D. D. G. M., Otago, E.C."

Bro Philbrick, in laying the matter before Grand Lodge, said the Grand Master regretted to have to make a
communication to Grand Lodge, and had asked the Grand Lodge to take into consideration the complaint he
had made to it of the conduct of one of the officers of Grand Lodge, and that they should consider and decide
upon the circumstances of the case. After the correspondence which had just been read, he thought the fact
stood pretty clearly before them. The colony of New Zealand was a colony of the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland. Its Governor was appointed by the Sovereign of this country, and writs went in the name
of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and the ultimate appeal was here to Her Majesty in Council. He
could not conceive, therefore, apart from Masonic question, a case of a land which was more a colony of this
Kingdom. With regard to the Masonic jurisdictions, there were five English District Grand Lodges, the
District Grand Masters of which were appointed by the M.W.G.M., the Deputy of one of them being Sir
Robert Stout himself. There were also a District Grand Lodge holding under the Grand Lodge of Scotland,
and one under the Grand Lodge of Ireland, respectively ; besides which, as Sir Robert Stout mentioned, there
was a fourth body which, at a very recent Quarterly Communication, Grand Lodge declined to recognise as
being the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. Under those circumstances all three jurisdictions, England,
Scotland, and Ireland, being lawful within the colony, each having Masons all of whom held allegiance to a
Grand Lodge situate within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, and there having been no invasion of
that colony by any other actual or pretended foreign Masonic jurisdiction whatever, he thought he was not
going beyond what the good sense of every Mason present would confirm when he said that they had here a
clear case—as clear a case as ventured to say that that which had been alleged by Bro. Sir Robert Stout, in
his long and elaborate defence in answer to the Grand Secretory, who challenged him on the matter, would
hardly carry the opinion of Grand Lodge with it. With regard to Bro. Sir Robert Stout himself, his act was an
extremely clear one, as he himself admitted. In a colony such as he (Bro. Philbrick) had described, with
Masonic matters in it such as he had also put before this Grand Lodge, Sir Robert Stout had brought a

warrant purporting to establish a Masonic Lodge, of which he was, and is, the first W.M., holding under the
Grand Orient of France.

Bro. Sir Robert Stout took an exception tp the fact that Grand Lodge of England could be—of a territorial
Masonic jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. He had held themselves not to be in full Masonic union with
the Grand Orient of France. Unfortunately, at the moment from causes the existence of which they all
deplored that was true ; but if any Brother within the sound of his (Bro. Philbrick's) voice would reflect for
one moment, he would see it did not matter even where the body was irregular, which he was far from saying
the Grand Orient was, although there might be Masons in it professing doctrines to which English Masons
never subscribe, but if it were irregular that did not in any way alter the case. If the Lodge was the most
regular Lodge in the world, and in amity with the Grand Lodge of England, if it took on itself to establish a
Lodge of of its own anywhere where the Union Jack flew, it would be guilty of a great Masonic mistake. In
all cases he ventured to say the real and true sound doctrine was the general rule, that where the flag flies to
take another jurisdiction into that territory was invasion. It was so in common sense, in general and ordinary
matters, and according to French law, and he ventured to think the Masonic law in point of principle did not
differ. It was hardly worth while to quote principle in such a matter, but that was the accepted doctrine of
Grand Lodge in regard to the case of 1863, when a case came before the Grand Master of the Supreme
Conseil of France, which was another body, a supreme body in Masonry of France, and which had issued a
warrant for Jersey, and a Lodge had been established there under it, and its first Master was a Brother under
the English Constitution. He was summoned before Grand Lodge, and the matter was fully gone into. His
(Bro. Philbrick's) distinguished predecessor, the Grand Registrar (Bro. McIntyre), in advising the Grand
Lodge, very clearly laid down that the jurisdiction of Grand Lodge of England extended over the island of
Jersey, and bringing in a warrant under the Grand Conseil of France was an invasion, that the Brother was
therefore suspended from all his Masonic privileges till he had made due submission to the Grand Master,
and till the Grand Master was pleased to remove his suspension. He (Bro. Philbrick) did not think he need
trouble Grand Lodge by dilating further in the matter. Bro. Sir Robert Stout was not an inexperienced
Mason; he was one of us, he was initiated under our Constitution, he had occupied the chair in a Lodge
holding under the District Grand Lodge of England, and had been appointed and was under the District
Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland. Moreover, he had received the honours of Grand Lodge, having been
appointed Past Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies. Being, therefore, an experienced Mason, his act had
been a deliberate one, and he defended it, and said that the Grand Lodge was a Court of Appeal and not a
Court of First Instance. He (Bro. Philbrick) would very much like to know how a District Grand Lodge in
New Zealand or any other foreign part would interfere between Grand Lodge and an officer of Grand Lodge.
But apart from that, on principle this Grand Lodge had a jurisdiction, and a direct and absolute jurisdiction
over every Brother who was a member of it—certainly over the Grand Officers, and it actually asserted that
jurisdiction more than once, and in a very early period of United Grand Lodge of England, after the Union in
the year 1816, it did so, and in the case of a Bro. Bonner, the Grand Lodge resolved that he be deprived of
his insignia as a Grand Officer and all the privileges arising therefrom. Therefore both principles, Masonic
precedent and Masonic law showed that Grand Lodge had a direct and primary jurisdiction over all those
who were members of it, certainly over GrandOfficers. Bro. Sir Robert Stout says further, and in a matter of
this importance Grand Lodge would pardon him (Bro. Philbrick) for referring to what he said in his defence,
for the Grand Lodge ought to consider it fully — that Grand Lodge had no more concern with the matter,
than if he had joined the Oddfellows, the Foresters, or the Buffaloes. Sir Robert Stout said Grand Lodge had
no concern in the matter, because the Grand Orient of France was not a recognised Masonic body. Taking
the question of invasion, he would put an analogy not entirely exact, but sufficient perhaps to convey his
meaning. Suppose the case of the invasion of one country by another ; would it be any answer if the
invaders, caught red-handed, after landing were to say they were not invaders, because they were not
recognised as a regular enemy ? The answer would be—" We have endeavoured to stop you before your
invasion was successful." He thought Grand Lodge would say that the pleas put forward by Sir Robert Stout
in the long letter which was read, and which they were able to follow, were all such that they could make up
their minds upon them. Personally he felt the present was a case of great weight and extreme gravity with
regard to Masonry. The knowledge and position of Sir Robert Stout, who was high in authority on the other
part of the globe, where above all, his duty was to set an example of and show loyal obedience to the Craft,
rendered it a case of gravity. He considered, therefore, that Grand Lodge must feel that the complaint of the
Grand Master was a well founded one, and deal with it as a serious matter, and he had therefore to propose
that Grand Lodge, having carefully considered the report and the documents submitted to it by the Most
Worehipfnl Grand Master relative to the establishment by Bro. Sir Robert Stout, P.A.G,D.C., and Deputy

Distriet Grand Master of Otago and Southland, New Zealand, of a Lodge at Wellington in that colony, under
the Grand Orient of France, of which he is Master, resolves that in the opinion of Grand Lodge the complaint
against Bro. Sir. Robert Stout is well founded, and his plea in extenuation cannot be accepted, and Grand
Lodge therefore adjudges him guilty of a grave Masonic offence, and in accordance with the precedent in the
ease of Bro. Banner in 1816, hereby deprives Sir Robert Stout of his rank and status of Deputy District
Grand Master. Grand Lodge is further of opinion that by his action as herein stated Bro. Sir Robert Stout has
placed himself under provision of Article 204 of the Book of Constitutions, and directs that this fact shall be
brought under the notice of the District Grand Master and Grand Lodge of Otago and Southland, with the
view of being further dealt with by the District Grand Lodge according to Masonic law, and he moved
accordingly.

Bro Thomas Fenn, President of the Board of General Purposes, said, in seconding the motion, that Bro.
Philbrick had in this serious matter very rightly gone into it at some length, but really the matter was
comprised in a very small compass, and it would not be necessary for him to detain the Brethren very long.
He could conch for the correctness of the precedents which had been quoted by the Grand Registrar. The
case of Bro. Bonner was not the only case in which Grand Lodge had dealt with a Masonic offence by a
Grand Officer, and deprived him of his rank. This power the Grand Lodge had not delegated to District
Grand Lodges or any subordinate authority. All that was proposed to do was to exercise this power, and to
leave all other matters to the District Grand Lodges and District Grand Masters. The Masonic offence was
clearly laid down in the second precedent which had been put by the Grand Registrar. He distinctly
recollected a very painful scene in that Grand Lodge. It was fixed on his mind, because it was the first time
he ever saw a Brother introduced into Grand Lodge in the humiliating position in which that Brother was
introduced between the two Deacons, deprived of his Masonic clothing, to appeal against his suspension. On
that occasion the Grand Master in the chair very clearly laid down what the offence was ; it was precisely the
same as that of Bro. Stout, and the Grand Master there said that no foreign jurisdiction—that is, other
jurisdictions than that of the Grand Lodges of England, Scotland, and Ireland—could be exercised, or any
Lodge established in any part of the Queen's dominion. There could be no doubt that New Zealand was part
of the Queen's dominions ; and therefore any Lodge established or attempted to be established there under
another jurisdiction was an irregular Lodge. Bro. McIntyre on that occasion showed that according to the
antient charges, a Master solemnly admitted that no new Lodge could be formed without permission of the
Grand Master or his Deputy, and that no countenance ought to be given to any irregular Lodge or to any
person initiated therein. Yet the Brother there had proceeded to establish an irregular Lodge by accepting the
office of Master. The offence was precisely the same in this and it was clearly laid down to be a Masonic
offence which Grand Lodge had the power to deal with in the way proposed. He begged to second the
motion of the Grand Registrar.

Bro Beach said before he put this resolution he might remark that Grand Lodge would look with leniency on
a Masonic offence if it were not of an important character. No doubt a W.M. might go beyond his authority
by inadvertence a Provincial Grand Master might go beyond his authority in thinking he had a power, a
dispensing power, which appertained only to the Grand Master; but in such a case it would be an error
through inadvertence, and he thought that. Grand Lodge would look with great favour upon a fault so
committed. But the Brethren were dealing with a much more serious matter than that ; they had a Brother in
high authority who should set an example to others, and yet from the clear information of the details they had
received, Bro. Stout had no doubt transgressed and gone beyond all his proper authority, and committed a
flagrant violation of his Masonic duties. That any one in authority, and entrusted with authority under the
Grand Lodge of England, should apply to a foreign jurisdiction to establish a new Lodge, and then should
put himself at its head, was indeed a grave dereliction of duty : but that dereliction of duty was intensified
and aggravated by the fact that the Masonic authority to which he applied was one with which the Grand
Lodge of England had passed a resolution repudiating the association. He need not advert to the causes
which led to that ; they were stated by Bro. Sir Robert Stout in his own letter, in which he said they took a
view of Masonic progress. Grand Lodge adhered to the antient landmarks of the Order, and admitted no
progress which was not based on the antient landmarks. He need say no more than that be heartily concurred
with the resolution which he should have the honour now to put to Grand Lodge.

Grand Lodge having carefully considered the report and documents submitted) to it by the M.W. Grand
Master relative to the establishment by Bro. Sir Robert Stout., K.C.M.G., Past Asst. G.D. of C., Deputy

Grand Master of Otago and' Southland, New Zealand, of a Lodge in the town of Wellington in that colony,
under a warrant from the Grand Orient of France, and of which Lodge he is Master :

Resolved— "That in the opinion of Grand Lodge the complaint against Bro.. Sir Robert Stout is well
founded, and his plea of justification cannot be accepted. Grand Lodge therefore adjudges him guilty of a
grave Masonic offence, and in. accordance with the precedent set in the case of Bro. Bonner in the year
1816, hereby removes Bro. Sir Robert Stout from his rank and status as a Grand Officer of the Grand Lodge
of England.

"Grand Lodge is further of opinion that by his action as herein stated Bro. Sir Robert Stout has placed
himself under the provisions of Article 204, Book of Constitutions, and directs that this fact shall be brought
under the notice of the District Grand Master of Otago and Southland, with a view to the withdrawal of Sir
Robert Stout's patent as Deputy Grand Master of that District, and to his being further dealt with by the
District Grand Lodge according to Masonic law."

Article 204, referred to in the above resolution is as follows—" Offences Assisting at Irregular Lodges.—A
Brother who has been concerned in making Masons clandestinely, or at a Lodge which is not a regular
Lodge, or for small and unworthy considerations, or who may assist in forming a new Lodge without the
Grand Master's authority, shall not be admitted as a member, or even as a visitor, into any regular Lodge, nor
shall he be entitled to relief from the Fund of Benevolence, nor to any other Masonic privilege, till he make
due submission and obtain grace."
_______________________________________________________________________________________
IT is stated in Dunedin that Bro. Sir Robert Stout intends opening Lodges under the Grand Orient of France
in Wanganui and Dunedin.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

THE CONSTITUTION AND LAWS OF THE GRAND
LODGE OF ANTIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF N.Z.

GRAND LODGE.
THE PROPOSALS.

GRAND SUPERINTENDENTS.
25. The duty of a Grand Superintendent of a District shall be to hear all cases of Masonic irregularity or
complaints which may arise in his district, and forward the evidence taken thereon, with his remarks, and an
impartial statement of the matter in dispute, to the Grand Master, whose instructions thereon he shall fully
carry out. He is to forward all applications for warrants, dispensations, and certificates to the Grand
Secretary's office, prior to the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge, together with a statement of
the condition of Masonry within his district. He shall have the general powers of a Provincial Grand Master.

OUR REMARKS.
This regulation by giving a Superintendent the general powers of a Provincial Grand Master invests him with
a rank and power, within his District, similar to those possessed by the Grand Master. He may proceed to
admonish, fine. suspend, &c. Is this desirable? Why should a Superintendent be required to act as a kind of
Assistant Grand Secretary ? Is it not the province of Lodge Secretaries to forward applications for certificates
to the Grand Secretary? We submit the following in place of No. 25. It defines the duties and powers of a
Superintendent, and is very similar to the regulation adopted by the Grand Lodges in the States and Canada.
It has worked, and is working well:—"The duty of a Grand Superintendent of a District shall be to hear all
cases of Masonic irregularity or complaint which may arise within his district. The evidence taken thereon he
shall place before the District Board of General Purposes, whose decision he shall forward to the Grand
Master for confirmation. Should there be no District Board of General Purposes formed within his District he
shall forward the evidence and an impartial statement of the matter in dispute to the Board of General
Purposes. Applications for Warrants he shall forward to the Grand Secretary's office with a full account of
the status of the petitioners, and a recommendation from the nearest Lodge certifying to the truth of the
statement contained in the petition, and that the Brother named for Master is qualified to open and close a
Lodge and to confer the Three Degrees. His report shall also contain the name of the town, the estimated
population, whether in his opinion the material is sufficient to sustain a healthy and reputable Lodge;
whether the petitioners reside within the proposed jurisdiction ; if they have at their disposal suitable quarters

for the practise of Masonic rites, and whether the expenses incident to a new Lodge have been donated, or if
they are to be paid at a future time by the Lodge. The Superintendent shalt visit each Lodge within his
district at least once in each year, and at such visitations he shall thoroughly inspect the records, examine the
books of account and balance-sheet, inquire as to the attendance of the Officers and Brethren, the status of
the candidates and their number ; whether the Lodge room is secure, suitable, and properly furnished ; the
amount of insurance, and generally to note the Lodge's condition and the quality of the work. He shall report
in writing to the Grand Master on March 31st, June 30th, September 30;h, and December 31st in each year,
the result of his visits and inquiries during the quarter, along with such other matters as in his opinion the
good of Masonry may require. The reports of the Superintendent shall be embodied in the quarterly reports
of the proceedings of the Grand Lodge, after having been submitted to the Board of General Purposes for
such remarks as they may think fit to make. The Grand Superintendent of a District must. be a Past Master,
resident and a subscribing member of a Lodge within his district. The Grand Master may authorise a
Superintendent to grant Dispensations to Lodges and Brethren within his district. A list of Dispensations
granted must be embodied in the Superintendent's quarterly report to the Grand Master, and be accompanied
with the fees received,,which shall be placed to the credit of the library fund. The Superintendent of a district
shall be a member of the Boards of General Purposes and Benevolence, as well as a member of the District
Board of General Purposes and Benevolence. A Grand Superintendent shall be assumed and recorded as a
member of every Lodge within his district, but in that capacity shall not be liable in payment of any,
contributions authorised to be levied by such Lodges.

THE PROPOSALS.
GRAND SECRETARY.
26. The Grand Secretary's duly is to issue summonses
for all Communications of the Grand Lodge, its Boards
and Committees, and to attend and take minutes of
their proceedings ; to receive the returns from the
several Lodges, and enter them in the hooks of the
Grand Lodge; to receive the fees and contributions
payable by Lodges or Brethren to the Fund of
Benevolence, or the Fund of General Purposes, and pay
or cause the same to be paid to the account of the
Grand Lodge at such bank as he may be directed ; to
transmit to all the Lodges the accounts of the
proceedings of the Quarterly Communications, and all
other papers and documents which may be ordered,
either by the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge , rd
receive all petitions, memorials, etc., and to lay them
before the Maste authority d to attend the Gother rope
d Mp sterr and take to him any hooka and he papers
may direct ; and generally to do all such things as
heretofore have been done or ought to be done by a
Grand Secretary. He may, under the authority of the
Grand Registrar, affix the Seal of the Grand Lodge to
such patents, warrants, certificates, and other
documents, as shall be specified in any such authority.

OUR REMARKS.

Add the following to this regulation : Copies of the
Proceedings of Grand Lodge shall be sent by the Grand
Secretary to the Grand Secretaries of Sister Grand
Lodges who have a recognised representative in
the Grand Lodge of New Zealand, and sufficient copies
for the use of the members of the District Boards of
General Purposes and Benevolence, and to any
Freemason who wishes to have them, and pays in
advance five shillings per annum which shall go to the
credit of the library fund. The Grand Secretary shall
also forward a copy of the balance-sheet of Grand
Lodge, when certified as correct by the Auditors, to
every sufficient Grand Officer, subordinate Lodge, and
sufficient copies for the use of the District Boards of
General Purposes and Benevolence. At the annual
meeting of Grand Lodge he shall make a report of the
failure or want of punctuality on the part of
Subordinate Lodges, in paying dues and making proper
returns, and of such other matters as in his judgment
may require the action of the Grand Lodge. He shall
issue tickets of admission to all members of Grand
Lodge annually, on payment of their fees ; such tickets
to be presented before admission to the hall, and shall
not be transferable under pain of forfeiture. He shall,
30 days prior to each Quarterly Communication,
communicate with the proper officials of the Railway
and Shipping Co., and endeavour to secure concessions
on their usual fares and tickets good for one month
from the Saturday prior to each Communication, and
notify the different Lodges of the rate secured. The
Grand Secretary shall also be ex officio Grand
Librarian, and in conjunction with the Grand Master
shall purchase additional books for the library, as they
may think proper, and draw upon the library fund to
pay for the same.

DUTIES OF GRAND DIRECTOR OF
CEREMONIES.
27. The Grand Director of Ceremonies or his Deputy,
in addition to his other duties, has the care of the
regalia, clothing, insignia, and jewels belonging to the
Grand Lodge, and is to have the management of all
public processions of Grand Lodge, to see that Grand
Officers occupy their proper positions in Grand Lodge,
to have the direction of all Grand Lodge Installations,
to introduce visitors of distinction to the Grand Master
and Grand Lodge, and perform all such other duties as
have been hitherto discharged by Grand Directors of
Ceremonies.

GRAND PURSUIVANT.
28. The Grand Pursuivant, or his Deputy, is to preside
over the Brethren nominated to attend within the Porch
of the Grand Lodge. He is at every meeting of the
Grand Lodge to preserve order in the Porch, and, with
the assistance of the Brethren nominated to attend
there, to see that none be admitted except those wao are
qualified, have their proper clothing and jewels, have
signed their names to the accustomed papers, and are in
all respects entitled to admission.

BUSINESS OF GRAND LODGE COMMUNICATED
THROUGH BOARD OF GENERAL PURPOSES.
29. All business to be brought under the consideration
of the Grand Lodge must be previously communicated
in writing through the Grand Secretary to the Board of
General Purposes at least fourteen days previous to the
Quarterly Communication at which such business is
proposed to be considered ; nevertheless it shall be
competent for any member of the Board at the meeting
immediately preceding the Quarterly Communication
to then give notice of any business he may wish to
bring under the notice of Grand Lodge, and no motion
or other matter shall be discussed in the Grand Lodge,
except by permission of the Grand Master, unless it
shall have been so communicated, in order that notice
thereof may be printed on the summons ; but it shall be
competent for any member of the Grand Lodge to
move, without previous notice being given, the
reception, adoption, or otherwise of any report, or any
motion arising therefrom, or recommendation
contained in such report of any Board or Committee
appointed either by the Grand Lodge, or by the Grand
Master.

PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS.
30. Notices of motion shall be set down for
consideration in the order in which they were given,
and, if renewed at the Board of General Purposes, shall
stand on the paper of business in precedence of all
subsequent notices, and shall, so long as renewed,
maintain such precedence until they have been
considered by the Grand Lodge, or otherwise disposed
of.

Would it not be as well to state in Nos. 27 and 28, that
if the Grand Director of Ceremonies and Grand
Pursuivant cannot make it convenient to attend at each
of the Quarterly Communications, that they should
arrange for the presence of their Assistants? Why not
give these two officers three Assistants each, and make
it compulsory that both should be represented at each
Communication of Grand Lodge.

Is it possible, within the space of 14days, to print the
Business paper for the ensuing Quarterly
Communication, address and post copies to all Lodges,
officers and members of Grand Lodge, and allow
sufficient time after their receipt for members living at
the two ends of the colony—Russell and Bluff—to
object or record their votes in favour of any motion on
the Business Paper?

LODGES TO BE INFORMED OF THE BUSINESS
TO BE BROUGHT BEFORE GRAND LODGE.
31. In order that all Lodges may be duly informed of
the business to come before Grand Lodge, the printed
report of the proceedings of the last Grand Lodge, and
a printed copy of the notices of motion for the ensuing
Communication of the Grand Lodge, shall be sent to all
Lodges, and to all Grand Officers, at least seven days
before each Quarterly Communication. All Brethren,
being members of the Grand Lodge, may have such
business papers, and notices of Special Grand Lodge
Communications, together with all reports of the
Quarterly Communications, forwarded to them by post
on registering their addresses, and paying a registration
fee of half-a-guinea.

READING OF MINUTES.
32. The Grand Lodge being opened, the minutes of the
last Quarterly Communication, and of any intervening
Grand Lodge Communications, are to be read and
respectively put for confirmation ; but reports,
communications, or documents, approved or rejected at
any previous Communication, shall not be read in,
extenso, unless called for by a Brother with a view of
founding a motion thereon.

COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS.
33. All communications from the Grand Master, and
reports from the Board of General Purposes and other
Boards or Committees, are then to be read and taken
into consideration, and other business shall then be
regularly proceeded with.

MEMBERS TO KEEP THEIR SEATS.
34. All members shall keep their seats except the
Grand Deacons, Grand Director of Ceremonies, his
Deputy, and the Grand Stewards, who are allowed to
move about in the discharge of their duties.

DISTRIBUTION AND COLLECTION OF
BALLOTING PAPERS.
35. Whenever a ballot is to be taken for a member or
members of any Board or Committee, the balloting
papers shall be distributed under the superintendence of
the Grand Director of Ceremonies, and the Brethren
shall keep their seats until the balloting papers are
collected.

NO MEMBER TO SPEAK TWICE.
36. The mover of an original resolution shall have the
right of reply, but no other Brother shall speak twice to
the same question, unless in explanation. This rule does
not apply to the Grand Registrar, who is the adviser of
the Grand Lodge.

Our objections to No. 29 apply with greater force to
this regulation. The Business Paper would not reach
parts of the North Island until after the Quarterly
Communication. In England, 10 days are allowed.
District Boards of General Purposes and Benevolence
should have copies without charge. Is the registration
fee of half a-guinea an annual payment? Five shillings
per annum should be ample, and the library fund
should be credited with these amounts. On the tenth
line delete the words, "being members of the Grand
Lodge."

Should it not be " Grand Director of Ceremonies, his
Assistants," &c.

Nos. 35, 36, 37, 38 and 39 are taken
from the English Book of Constitutions

TO STAND WHILE. SPEAKING.
37. Everyone who speaks shall rise and remain
standing, addressing himself to the Grand Master, and
he shall not be interrupted unless any Brother shall
address the Grand Master on a point of order, or the
Grand Master shall him-self think fit to call the speaker
to order, but after he has been set right he may proceed
if he observe due order and decorum.

MOTIONS FOR ERASURE OR EXPULSION.
38. No motion for the erasure of a Lodge, or the
expulsion of a Brother, shall be made, unless the
Masters and Wardens of the Lodge, or the Brother
incriminated, shall have been first summoned, to
answer the complaint in person in the Grand Lodge, or
to make answer in writing as they or he may desire.

GRANTS OF MONEY, OR ALTERATION IN THE
LAW.
39. No resolution for a grant of money (except sums of
£50 or under, recommended by the Board of
Benevolence) or for a new Law or Regulation, or for
the alteration or repeal of an old one, shall become
valid unless confirmed at the next ensuing Quarterly
Communication.

VOTING.
40. All matters are to be decided by a majority of votes,
each member having one vote, and the Grand Master or
Presiding Officer a second or casting vote, unless the
Grand Lodge think proper to leave any particular
subject to the determination of the Grand Master.
Except in elections by ballot, the votes of the members
are to be signified by each holding up one hand, and
the motion is then to be declared carried or lost ; but if
two members demand that the votes be counted, and
such demand appears reasonable to the Grand Master,
the counting shall be conducted under the direction of
the Grand Director of Ceremonies.

ALTERATION OF CONSTITUTION OR RITUAL.
41. No alteration of Constitution or Ritual shall be
adopted by Grand Lodge until six months after full
particulars of what is proposed shall have been
submitted to every Craft Lodge ; and if any clause or
alteration contained in the proposals shall within that
period be objected to by one-third of the Lodges on the
roll, it shall not be competent for the Grand Lodge to
adopt it.

FORMATION OF COMMITTEES ON
CONSTITUTIONS OR RITUAL.
42. In all committees of Grand Lodge appointed prior
to the 30th day of April, 1893, to consider any question
affecting alterations of Constitution or Ritual, each of
the three parent Constitutions shall be equally
represented.

This Regulation allows the Board of Benevolence to
grant sums of £50 ; this no doubt does very well in a
rich body like the Grand Lodge of England, but to a
new beginner £20 should be the limit of the Board's
grants. Grand Lodge can always be appealed to for
more, in cases of extraordinary distress.

One member, one vote, was evidently the idea of the
framers of this English regulation, but it wont suit New
Zealand. A member of Grand Lodge holding, say ten
proxies, only has one vote according to this law. In
place of the latter part of the regulation we submit the
following :—Should a division be demanded, the ayes
shall go to the right and the noes to the left. The
numbers shall be ascertained by the Grand Director of
Ceremonies, and delivered in writing to the Grand
Secretary, who shall announce the result.

This regulation will come into force when the proposed
laws are adopted. Article 12, of the Basis of Union,
however, does apply. By that article, only six months is
given for the consideration of this Constitution, and it
would be as well for Brethren to remember that the
time will be up in September next. Brethren should
also bear in mind that our suggestions are meant for
their consideration, and if approved of, it rests with
them to bring: before Grand Lodge.

Better to leave out the words " prior to the 30th April,
1893."

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGES.
43. The Grand Lodge shall have power to constitute
Provincial Grand Lodges, with jurisdiction over given
areas, provided that there be not less than ten Lodges
working within each such area, and that not less than
two-thirds of the total number of Lodges included shall
join in the request for the establishment of a Provincial
Grand Lodge.

DISTRICT BOARDS OF GENERAL PURPOSES
AND BENEVOLENCE.
44. In order to provide full powers of local
administration in Districts where no Provincial Grand
Lodge is formed, the Grand Master shall have power to
establish within any area in which not less than three
Lodges are working, a District Board of General
Purposes and Benevolence. Such Board shall consist of
the Past Masters, Masters of Lodges, and Grand
Officers resident within the District.

POWERS OF DISTRICT BOARDS.
45. Subject to appeal to the Grand Lodge, such District
Boards shall, within their respective districts, have all
the powers of a Board of General Purposes under a
Provincial Grand Lodge, and may establish a
Benevolent Fund.

The two-thirds of ten leave a fraction,
but two thirds of nine does not.

Such Board shall consist of the resident Grand Officers
and a representative, elected by ballot, from each
Lodge within the District. Lodges too far away from
the seat of the District Board, shall commission some
brother to represent them. Representatives must be
either Past Masters or Masters of Lodges and cannot
represent more than one Lodge. The members of the
Board shall elect a President, who shall be a member of
the Boards of General Purposes and Benevolence.

At the end of the words " respective districts "on the
third line, read as follows : — Have all the powers of
the Boards of General Purposes and Benevolence, and
shall be governed by the Laws and Reeulations herein
laid down for the guidance of those Boards. District
Boards may establish Benevolent Funds in accordance
with Article 20, Basis of Union, which reads as follows
:—" Where a District Grand Lodge or a District Board
of General Purposes and Benevolence shall be
established, there shall not be required a greater
proportion than 10 per cent. from Lodge contributions
to benevolent purposes, towards any General Fund of
Benevolence which may be established." The
interpretation of this is, that at the present time a Lodge
50 strong pays £2 10s, or a shilling a year per member,
to the Fund of Benevolence. When the District Boards
establish Benevolent Funds, the General Fund of
Benevolence will take 10 per cent. of the £2 10s, equal
to five shillings, and the District Fund will take
£2 5s.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

(To be continued.)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
BRO. SIR FREDERICK WHITAKER, after investing the officers of his Provincial Grand Lodge in
Auckland, on May 3rd, relieved his mind on the subject of the Grand Lodge, " and commended the Brethren
of the old Constitution for adhering to the old Order, notwithstanding temptation to wander from the fold to
the arms of what he termed a clandestine Constitution." Bro. Whitaker's bitterness against Grand Lodge can
be understood, when it is remembered that it has left him only three Lodges in the North Island over which to
rule, viz. :—Lodges St. Andrew Kilwinning, Wanganui ; Montrose, Gisborne; and Whitanga, Mercury Bay.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

CORRESPONDENCE.
____________________________________

TO CORRESPONDENTS.
All communications should be addressed to the Editor, CRAFTSMAN, Box 322, P.O., Dunedin, and should be written on one side of
the paper only.
Correspondents and contributors are requested to be as brief as possible, as the space at our command is limited.
[Letters intended for insertion must be accompanied in all cases by the real name and address of the writer, as well as by the name
and number of the Lodge to which he belongs, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. We do not hold
ourselves responsible for opinions expressed by our correspondents.]

THE GRAND SECRETARYSHIP.
To THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,—I often chat with old friends belonging to Port Chalmers Marine Lodge. Are
the Brethren correct when they state that the Secretaryship of the Grand Lodge was offered to and declined
by Bro. Charles de Longueville Graham.—I am, &c., P.M., N.Z.

[The Masonic Unions appointed the first Grand Officers. We have therefore passed on your inquiry to Bro.
George Robertson, of Wellington, who acted as Secretary to the Central Executive.—Ed. CRAFTSMAN.]

____________________________
THE BENEVOLENT FUND—A SUGGESTION.

To THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,—Taking as I do a great interest in the N.Z. Grand Lodge movement (although
the Lodge to which I belong has not yet seen fit to join in), aed considering that a strong point would be
scored in its favour by its being able to show a substantial Benevolent Fund, it has occurred to me that a
good way to add considerably to said Fund would be by holding bazaars in two or three of the chief centres,
in connection with which there might be numerous art unions, so that Brethren in other places who could not
attend the bazaars might still, by taking tickets, help towards their financial success.

Should the idea be thought worthy of being carried out I shall be only too glad to do all in my power to make
the bazaars a success, either by preparing goods or in any other way I can,—I am, &c.,

MASTER MASON.
___________________________________

LODGE ST. GEORGE, LAWRENCE.
____

TO THE EDITOR.

DEAR SIR AND BROTHER,—In a late issue of the CRAFTSMAN you gave some statistics re Lodge St.
George, 1128, E.C. I have been accused of supplying you with such information. Please state in your next
issue, whether I have ever directly or indirectly, held any communication with you on such a subject. For
many years I have been a member of Lodge St. George, and shall never forget the very many happy
associations with the esteemed Brethren of the Lodge. I would not have one of its members think me guilty
of acting towards them but in a truly fraternal manner. You will see by the document herewith, that, until
now, I have ever been looked upon as a worthy Mason, and respectfully request that you let the brethren
know that I am still worthy of their friendship.—I am,
yours fraternally, E. TITCHENER, I.P.M., Lodge Hiram.

[Bro. Titchener has not, directly or indirectly, held any Communication with us on the subject of Lodge St.
George. We were ignorant of his connection with that Lodge until the receipt of his letter.—ED.
CRAFTSMAN.]
_______________________________________________________________________________________

MISCELLANEOUS

A MASONIC CURRICULUM.
BY G. W. SPETH, SECRETARY.

Transactions of the Lodge Quatuor Coronati.

THE question is often asked, "What books should a young English student read in order to master the
rudiments of Masonic history ?" It has been formulated in the London Freemason and other Craft journals
countless times, and has recently been reiterated in the South Australian Freemason, May 7th, 1890. Like
many other questions, it is easy to ask and difficult to answer. The literature of Masonry is extensive, not to
say diffuse, yet of the host of books that owe their inspiration to the history or doctrine of the Craft, there are
few indeed from which no profit whatever can be extracted by a discriminating mind. But, with very few
exceptions, they all contain grave errors, and necessitate the exhibition of an antidote. Hence the difficulty of
advising a course of reading ; the proposed list soon swells to a preposterous length, and the young student,

especially if not provided with a super-abundance of loose cash, views the prospect with alarm. Moreover,
many of the best hooks are written in German, and the question pre-supposes a knowledge of English only.

THE study of Masonry may be divided into six sections, often concurrent and always overlapping, yet fairly
distinct. They are—1st, Preliminary and general information ; 2nd, Masonic tradition ; 3rd, Authentic
history; 4th, Symbolism and Ethics ; 5th, Jurisprudence ; 6th, Ritual. These are not capable of being studied
separately to any useful purpose ; a bright Mason should be an all-round man, and well grounded in each :
withouti a general acquaintance with the other five, his special knowledge of the sixth will be incomplete and
unsatisfactory to himself.

Students may also be divided into three classes :—1st, Masons of scant leisure and small means, who would
fain content themselves with a good general idea to be acquired from one book only ; 2nd, Those of more
leisure, who would wish to be planed in a position to come to independent conclusions, and yet to
accomplish their purpose without too heavy a drag on their resources ; and 3rd, Those to whom neither
money nor time is of great consequence, or whose interest in the subject enables them to sacrifice some other
pleasures in order to attain the desired end. With the above a further class might be cited—viz : those
Brethren who possess a reasonable amount of leisure, and, though not able to purchase a large stock of
books, enjoy special facilities of research, such as the entry to good public or private libraries or Masonic
collections, from which the great bulk of Masons are necessarily debarred. Practically these are in the same
position as class 3, the only difference being that what one buys for himself the other studies without
purchase. For neither of these shall I prescribe in the following pages, beyond the advice to follow the course
laid down for class 2, and then master as many other of the writings of the Craft as they can gain access to.

To the first class of students, the one-book students, my advice is : "Get R. F. Gould's `History of
Freemasonry.'" As regards the first three sections, a general outline of Freemasonry, Tradition, and History,
it will supply the place of a whole library ; and this can be said of no other book. The information between its
covers is up to the latest date, it is thoroughly impartial and critical, and it is based upon the best evidence
procurable. As time rolls on errors will probably be discovered and corrections become necessary, but it will
never be discredited. To :the student of small means no book can be mentioned in preference to it, and I will
even venture to assert that no dozen books can supply its place. Thus, although the price of the cheapest
edition (6 vols. quarto) is £3 15s, it will cost less than a selection of books, which after all, will not answer
the purpose to anything like the same extent. But there is no royal road to Masonic knowledge, and "Gould's
History " will not fill an empty head : it is not a funnel in the bunghole through which information can be
poured, as it were, out of one cask into another ; it is not by any means abstruse, but neither is it elementary,
and should be studied with the brain, not merely skimmed with hasty eye. To those who would learn all
about Masonry without mental exertion, I have no advice to offer ; it cannot be done.

(To be Continued.)
___________________________

NOTES BY THE WAY.

ON May 6th, the Grand Master, Grand Superintendent of Otago, and the Grand Secretary, accompanied by
the writer, paid an official visit to Lodge Waikouaiti. Good attendance. W.M. Bro Robert Scott came over 40
miles ; other Brethern rode from 7 to 15 miles to be present. Opened and closed in the three degrees. Work
well done. Senior Warden, Bro. Stewart, evidently the coming man. The Lodge has had five initiations since
it joined Grand Lodge. Finances are healthy ; £25 on fixed deposit, and £16 in current bank account, and no
liability. This satisfactory condition principally due to Junior Past Master Bro. W. Henderson. The Secretary,
Bro. Affieck, is somewhat original, but he has a weakness—grapes—so has the Grand Secretary. After the
meeting the Brethren invited their visitors to supper, at which a couple of hours passed away very pleasantly.

The following evening Lodge Hiram, Caversham, had a visit from the Grand Master and his officers. A very
large attendance, with visitors from all the Lodges in and around Dunedin. Hiram has a membership of over
70, and is in a high state of prosperity. If the older Lodges in Dunedin don't put more life into their
proceedings, their younger but more vigorous sister will take first rank both in numbers and wealth. After the
meeting a banquet followed. Great credit is due to the Brethren who had charge of the arrangements. We
have seldom seen a more tasteful table or such good things provided by non-professionals. The Grand
Organist, Bro. Barth, was kept busy by many of his musical friends until nearly two o'clock in the morning.

Balclutha.—ln the teeth of a storm of wind and rain we found our way, at 8 30 p.m. on the 8th April, from
the station to the hotel. Having refreshed and dressed, we visited Lodge Clutha. The attendance was poor,
due to the weather and the harvest. The Master, Bro. T. Hay McKenzie, had a touch of la grippe, and sent an
apology for staying at home. The Wardens were also absent. Bro. Rev. Frank Dodd, Assistant Grand
Director of Ceremonies, took the chair, and with the assistance of P.M. Bro. Hargood, we were made as
comfortable as possible, but the cold and the poor attendance did have a depressing effect. A stove would be
an improvement in winter time. Lodge Clutha has a large membership, with £180 outstanding dues. The
pruning knife is now being applied. With careful management and a little more enthusiasm it should
overcome its difficulties. Lodge Clutha formerly belonged to Scotland. The Masonic Hall is shared with the
Oddfellows.

We reached Tapanui at 3 o'clock on the following day, and were met on the railway station by the Master of
Lodge Hercules, Bro. Crawford ; the Senior Warden, Bro. Wrensted; the Secretary, P.M. Bro. Fargher, the
Tyler, and other Brethren. Having dined, we were taken to the hall, the church, and over the township, and
admired the three. During our walk we learned much. Since 1886 one visit has been paid by a District Grand
Lodge Officer. He came from, Dunedin to install, and charged £5 5s for his expenses. The difficulties of this
Lodge have been many; they are now things of the past, and the future looks bright.

(To be Continued. )
_______________________________________________________________________________________

LODGE REPORTS
Secretaries of Lodges, and Scribes of Chapters, will confer a favour on the Editor of this Journa if they will forward
monthly a copy of their Lodge Circulars to Box 322, Post Office. Dunedin.
We shall also be glad to receive from the District and Provincial Grand Secretaries the printed proceedings of their
Quarterly Communications.

THE VICTORY LODGE, N.Z.C., NELSON, held its regular monthly meeting on April 28th. A candidate was
ballotted for, and elected. As this was the meeting prior to May 24th, the Lodge anniversary, the election for
W.M. Treasurer and Tyler took place. The choice of W.M. fell on Bro. A. W. Bain, S. W. Bro. H. Baigent,
V.M., of the Southern Star, was present, and congratulated the Lodge on their choice. P.M. Bro. Dr. Boor,
S.G.D., was elected Treasurer, and Bro. C. J. Bartlett was re-elected Tyler. The proposed Constitutions were
referred to the Standing Committee. The Installation will take place on the 27th May.

LODGE ST. ANDREW'S, N.Z.C., AUCKLAND.—The usual monthly meeting of this Lodge was held on
Tuesday, April 21st, at the Masonic Hall. There was a fair attendance of Brethren and visitors, amongst the
latter being Past Masters. T. Bracken (Dunedin), Vosper, Ellison &c,. The business consisted of the balloting
for two candidates, affiliating a Brother of the N. S. Wales Constitution, whose certificate had been also sent
for presentation, and the passing of Brothers. Bro. H. C. Tewsley R.W.M., performed the ceremony in a very
impressive manner. The charges being given by D.Master Bro. Symon, and Bro. W. H. Cooper, A.G.
Secretary and the Working Tools by P.M. Vosper and Page.

DISTRICT GRAND LODGE OF CANTERBURY, E.C.—We have to thank W. Bro. W. R. Mitchell D.G.
Secretary, for copies of the proceedings. At the quarterly communication held on April 16th, five Lodges
were represented. The Treasurer stated the balance at credit to be £591 4s 2d. Great regret was expressed at
the removal to Oamaru of the D.G. Chaplain, Bro. the Rev. J Luxford. The revised bye-laws were ordered to
be forwarded to London for the sanction of the M. W.G.M. The Board of General Purposes expressed their
regret that no reply had been received from the G.L. of England to the correspondence of October last ; they
think, however, that this may be accounted for by the absence of the G.R., W. Bro. Philbrick, from London.

LODGE EDEN, 1530, E.C., AUCKLAND.—At the last meeting of this Lodge, Past Master Bro. T. W. Kitt,
the W.M., and other Brothers spoke feelingly of the loss sustained by the death of Bro. James Carlaw, who
was one of its founders. The following resolution was carried unanimously :—" The Lodge Eden desires to
place on record its deep sense of the loss it has sustained by the lamented death of Bro. James Carlaw, P.M.,
and hereby transmits to the relatives of the deceased Brother a vote of sincere condolence in their
bereavement." At the funeral there was a thoroughly representative attendance of the Masonic Brethren of all
Constitutions, who took this opportunity of testifying their esteem for their deceased Brother. Bro. Carlaw
was an office-bearer in the D.G. Lodge of Mark Master Masons, and both these Lodges (Eden and the
Mark), as well as Lodge Ponsonby, S.C., attended in regalia. The D.G. Lodge, E.G., was represented by Bro.

G. S. Graham, D.G.M., Bro. W. Lodder, D.D G. M., Bro. H. G. Wade, D.G. Treasurer, and Bros. C.
LaRoche, Newton, and a number of other members, but not in regalia. All the sister Lodges of the English,
Irish, and Scotch Constitutions were well represented, and the Lodges holding under the New Zealand
Constitutions also mustered in strength, the Grand Lodge being represented by Bro. A. S. Russell Deputy
G.M., Bro. Cooper, A.G.S., and Bro. A. Kidd, G.P. The Ara, United Service and St. Andrew's Lodges,
N.Z.C., attended under their officers, but not in regalia. The Masonic funeral oration was read by Bro. W.
McCullough, D.P.G.M., S.C.

LODGE OF CONCORD, N.Z.C., PAPANUI, passed Bros. Penfold, Eccles, Schofield, and Benson at its
meeting on the April 23rd.

FOR some reason three issues of the " N. Z. Mail " have failed to reach us, hence the absence of " Lodge
Reports " from Wellington.

LODGE CALEDONIAN, N.Z.G., at its meeting on the 14th inst., elected Bro. S. Anderson as R.W.M., and
our old friend, W. Bro. Anthony Mills, Grand Steward, was re-elected Secretary.

LODGE OF UNANIMITY, N.Z.C., LYTTELTON, met on April 23rd, to ballot for Mr W. H. Wreath, to pass,
Bros. Laurenson and Russell, and to affiliate Bro. C. Smith of Lodge Heretaunga, No. 1812, E.G., Hastings,
Hawkes Bay.

LODGE WAITAKI, NZ.C., OAMARU. — This Lodge held their regular meeting on the evening of 22nd
April, We had a good attendance of members and several visitors from Lodges in Dunedin and elsewhere.
The minutes being confirmed, and Bro. Treasurer's report received, a Brother was affiliated and took his seat
as a member of the Lodge, after which two candidates were admitted and duly initiated. The election of
officers for the ensuing twelvemonths then took place, Bro. O. H .Pinel S.W. being unanimously voted the
W.M. to Chair ; Bro. C. Probert, Treasurer, was re-elected to that office, and Bro. H. Ridsdale elected tyler.
Two candidates for initiation were then proposed and with " Good Wishes " from our visitors, the Lodge was
closed.

THE SOUTHERN STAR LODGE, No 635, E.C., NELSON, met on the 21st April. Three candidates were
bailotted for and elected; and two were initiated by the W.M. Bro. H. Baigent, ably assisted by P.M.'s
Brown, Hall, and Bolton. The ceremony was greatly enhanced by the music and singing under the
conductorship of Bro. Morrish, organist of Christ Church, Nelson. The election of a Brother on the Standing
Committee, in place of our late deceased Bro. W. Healy, also transpired, and a very agreeable report by the
Treasurer, Bro. S. Bolton, on the reduction of the debt on the hall of £100, which he had been able to
accomplish since last meeting. Bro. W. Brown, P.M., of Lodge No. 467, Westland Kilwinning, was also
received as an affiliating Brother; and another application for membership announced.

LODGE CHARLESTON KILWINNING, 487, S.C., held its regular meeting on the 23rd April Rev. Bro. W. S.
Lucas in the chair. The business of the evening consisted in raising Bros. Geo. Hurburgh and R. Walker to
the sublime degree of M M. The ceremony being conducted in a very earnest and able manner by the W.M.
The W.M. having sent in his resignation, he having accepted a cure at Waikouaiti, it was resolved to accept
his resignation with deep regret. Before the Lodge was closed P.M. Bro. Gardner on behalf of the Brethren
presented the W.M. with a handsome P.M. jewel as a token of his service to the Lodge, and wished him God
speed in his new sphere. The W.M. suitably and briefly responded. The ordinary business being concluded
the Lodge was closed in peace and harmony at 10.30.

LODGE ARA, N.Z.C., AUCKLAND.—The regular meeting of this Lodge was held on April 28th. There was
a good attendance of members and visitors. The business of the evening was raising two Brethren. The
following nominations were received:—W.M , Bro. W. M. Chapman ; S.W., Bro. James Boskill ; J.W., Bro.
H. B. Dexter ; Treasurer, Bro. A. S. Russell, D.G.M. (re-elected) ; Secretary, Bro. George. H. Powley, P.M. ;
D.C., Bro. Alfred Kidd, G.P. ; S.D., Bro. Alfred Barltett ; J.D., Bro. W. R. Cook ; Organist, Bro. T. H.
Webbe ; LG., Bro. S. E. Hughes ; S.S., Bro H. L. Posseniskie ; J.S., Bro. W, I. Cousins ; Tyler, Bro. E.
Tonge. It is the intention of the Brethren of Lodge Ara, N.Z.C., to dispense with the usual banquet held after
the installation ceremony, and to vote the money thus saved towards founding a General Masonic Fund, to be
vested in trustees and to be used for establishing homes for the orphan boys and girls of Masons. It is hoped

that once a beginning is made in this direction, Lodge Ara will find many followers in the Lodges working
under the N.Z.C.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

INSTALLATIONS

LODGE ALBION, N.Z.C., DEVONPORT, AUCKLAND.—We hear that this Lodge had a very successful
installation in April. Among the visitors was P.M. Bro. Thomas Bracken, of Lodge Celtic, Dunedin, and Bro.
the Rev. James Hill, Past District Grand Master of Canterbury, S.C. Our usual report has not come to hand.

MANAWATU KILWINNING LODGE, N.Z.C., PALMERSTON NORTH.—One of the most largely attended
gatherings of the Craft ever held in this district assembled in the Lodgeroom on April 20th, when the
installation of Worshipful Master and investiture of officers of this Lodge took place. The United Manawatu,
1721, E.C., was numerously represented, and a fraternal visit was also paid by Feilding Lodge, while Lodges
in Wellington, Auckland, Hawera, and various parts of both Islands were represented. The gathering was
noteworthy as being the first occasion on which the Lodge has assembled to install a Master under the New
Zealand Constitution, and to Bro. Walter Rutherfurd belongs the honor of being the first to be installed under
it, the Lodge having during Bro. Walkley's Mastership decided to join the national movement. After a very
satisfactory report and balance sheet had been read and adopted, the installation was proceeded with, the
following constituting the Board of Installed Masters :—Bros. W. Forrest, A. Jack, J. C. Nathan, J. E. Perrin,
W. Carthew, T. Sutton, F. Meyrick, J. P. Leary, J. Walkley, and W. H. Smith, the last named acting as
Installing Master. Apologies for non-attendance were received from P.M.'s Bros. J. Herbert Hankins and W.
B. Franklin. Bro. F. Meyrick P.M. acted as D.C. The musical portion of the ceremony was under the
direction of Bros. Norberg (organ), A. Drew (flute) and G. Kendall (cello), and was excellently performed,
their contributions adding greatly to the success of the proceedings. The following officers were invested :—
I.P.M., Bro. J. Walkley ; D.M., Bro. W. Dixon ; S. M., Bro. W. Dawick ; J. W., Bro. H. B. Harvey ;
Treasurer, Bro. J. P. Leary ; Secretary, Bro. F. E. White ; Organist, Bro. Norberg ; S. D., Bro. J. Hocking;
J.D., Bro. Buchan ; I G., Bio. W. H. Taylor ; Tyler. Bro. T. Schlager. Hearty good wishes were tendered to
the new Master by the following Brethren : Bros. W. Forrest (Lodge Ponsonhy), J. E. Perrin (United
Manawatu), J. C. Young (1521, E.C.), A. Jack (St. Anil) s), C. Grubb (St. John's, 1858, E.C.); W. Carthew
(Fending), S. M. Wilson (United Service), A. ,Hi11 (25, S.A.), and T. Lloyd (Hawera). At the banquet the
following toasts were duly honoured— “The Grand Master," proposed by the W. M., and responded to by
Bro. Walkley, Grand Steward ; "Sister Constitutions," proposed by Bro. Sutton, and responded to by Bro.
Perrin ; " The newly-installed Master," proposed by Bro. Forrest, and responded to by Bro. Rutherfurd ; "
The Deputy Grand Master," proposed by Bro. S. M. Wilson ; " Visiting Brethren," proposed by Bro.
Walkley, and responded to by Bro. Jack ; " The I.P. M.," proposed by Bro. Rutherford and responded to by
Bro. Walkley ; " The Installing Master," proposed by Bro. Rutherford and responded to by Bro. W. H. Smith,
who also proposed the toast of the Organist, Bro. Norberg, who suitably responded. The toast of " Robert
Burns" by Bro. Forrest, and the "Tyler's toast," given by the I.P.M. concluded the list, and the proceedings
terminated with " Auld Lang Syne." The usual collection for benevolent purposes was taken up on the
Tyler's toast being given and realised a substantial sum which will be devoted to relief of a case of distress at
Kaikoura, which was brought under notice of the Lodge. In his reply to the toast of "Sister Constitutions"
Bro. Perrin expressed his entire sympathy with the New Zealand Constitution and trusted to see that only
working in the colony before next installation. In responding to " Visiting, Brethren ' Bro. Jack referred to
the working of the Mark Degree in connection. With Craft Masonry, and gave some useful information
which will probably be acted on. The evening was altogether one of the most enjoyable spent by the Brethren
for some time. During the evening songs were contributed by Bros. Taylor, Montague, Kendall, Rutherfurd,
Dixon, Perrin, and Grubb. Next evening a social for the wives. friends, and children of the Brethren took
place. Over 100 children sat down to tea at 5 p.m. Bro. Grubb gave great satisfaction to the children, and
they did full justice to the good things he provided. Bros. Dixon, Hocking, Walkley, Rutherford, Salmon,
Drew, Schlager, Taylor, Jack and White doing their utmost to keep the gathering amused. At 10 o'clock the
children went home thoroughly tired out.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

BRIEF MENTION

ANNUAL meeting of Grand Lodge on July 6th, in Wellington.

COMPLAINTS have reached us from Lodges of the non-receipt of copies of the Proposed Constitutions.

THE railway companies in New Mexico grant the Grand Lecturer of the Grand Lodge a free pass whilst on
duty.

THE following sentence wasfound upon an antient Greek tomb : " I was not, and I became—I am not, and I
shall be."

THE Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia proposes to compel all Masters-elect to pass a qualifying examination
before being installed.

LODGE AMBERLEY'S balance-sheet, showing receipts, &c., on behalf of Widow and Children, reached us
when going to press. In June it will appear.

THE W.M. of a Lodge in Nova Scotia lately laid the foundation stone of a bank with Masonic honours. This
is a most extraordinary proceeding.

A CORRESPONDENT of the South Australian Freemason is opposed to military dress in Lodge, which he
thinks is opposed to the teachings of the Sacred Law.

LODGE MANAWATU KILWINNING, N.Z.C., Palmerston North, made a new departure on April 30th, by
entertaining one hundred children, their mothers and friends.

THE "coloured" Masons in the United States run 36 Grand Lodges, with a total of 1086 Lodges and 23,832
members. The colour line is very sharply defined in some States.

OAMARU, according to the census returns, has 1111 houses, 1111 acres inside the town boundary, and
Lodge Waitaki's old number on the roll of the Grand Lodge of England is No. 1111.

THE extraordinary series of edicts issued by the District Grand Masters of the E.C. and S.G., and scattered
broadcast throughout the territory, have evoked much amusement and disgust. What sad reading they will be
in a year or two. —Freemason, Sydney.

THE Catholic Times, of May 8th, says : — Bros. Stout and Ballance have been guilty of an offence against
good citizenship in introducing French Masonry into this colony, and the Times asks this pertinent
question—" Does the Wanganui Lodge, of which Bro. Ballance is Master, own or disown him?"

ONE word of advice to Brethren who contemplate making their homes in New South Wales and Victoria.
Don't, when you get across the water, abuse and vilify the promoters and members of the Grand Lodge of
New Zealand. If you do, they might take a leaf out of your book, and begin to "boycott" the " boycotters."

NOMINATIONS which did not reach Invercargill in time for the last Quarterly Communication :—Lodge St.
Andrew, Auckland—R. B. Symon, D.M. ; Lodge Manukau, Onehunga—Rev. W. E. Mtugan, P.M., as Grand
Chaplain ; Lodge Coromandel, Thames—James Brown Gatland, as Grand Steward ; Lodge St. Andrew,
Wellington — Andrew Jack, P.M., as Grand Steward ; Lodge St. .Augustine, Christchurch—J. L. Fenerty,
P.M.

OUT of 504 members of the Italian Parliament, 300 are Freemasons.

THERE is some talk of opening a Lodge at Ashurst, Wellington District.

THE members of a Scotch Lodge in Otago the other day voted two to one to join Grand Lodge. They are
coming.

THE Official Report shows that five Scotch Lodges in New Zealand South have joined Grand Lodge.
Another is coming.

A MICHIGAN Lodge has had to apply to its Grand Lodge to annual life membership. It had 95 life and only
55 contributng members.

IT has been ruled in England that Masonic services should only be held in churches ministered to by a Past
or Present Provincial Grand Chaplain.

THE S.A. Freemason says : " There is a Masonic Lodge in Belfast for police-men, conducted on temperance
principles." This is class Masonry with a vengeance.

SCOTCH LODGES in the South Island are now getting regular visits from the D.G. Lodges. Credit should be
given to the Grand Lodge of New Zealand for this new state of things.

CIRCULARS have now been issued, calling a Convention of Delegates in Christchurch next June, to form a
Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons and a Supreme Grand Chapter.

THE phonograph is being used in the States by Grand Lecturers. A correct version of the Ritual is spoken
into the machine and afterwards " turned " out in far distant Lodges of Instruction.

THE mallet with which King Charles the Second laid the foundation stone of St. Paul's Cathedral is still in
possession of the old Lodge of Antiquity, London. It was made use of by the, Prince of Wales in laying the
foundation stone of Truro Cathedral.

THE Grand Lodge of Nebraska rules that the full title of the Chief Officer of a Lodge is " Worshipful
Master," and he should be addressed as such, but he should sign himself as " Master," and not as "
Worshipful Master." We agree. A brother should, not himself prefix to his title the adjective expressive of
respect used by his fellows in addressing him.—South Australian Freemason.

THE opponents of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand have lately circulated a story to the effect that the
Executive of the Grand Lodge, despairing of their obtaining recognition from England, Ireland, and
Scotland, had made overtures to the District and Provincial Grand Lodges for a settlement on the basis that
the New Zealand Grand Lodge was to accept the position of a fourth and junior constitution. The officers of
the Grand Lodge resident in Auckland simply laughed at the fabrication as being too puerile to require
denial; but as the story continued current, with various embellishments, authority to deny it was asked for,
and the reply from Christchurch is most emphatic and conclusive. There never was the slightest foundation
for the statement ; and under no circumstances would the Grand Lodge accept a position inferior to the
supreme authorities of England, Ireland, and Scotland in their respective home jurisdictions. The District and
Provincial Lodges now existing may be tolerated, but must and will always be kept in the subordinate
position they occupy in relation to the Grand Lodge of New Zealand, which claims and exercises supreme
authority in the Colony. —N. Z. Herald, April 24th, 1891.
_______________________________________________________________________________________

T0 SUBSCRIBERS AND OTHERS.
Subscriptions paid since April 16th :—R. Allan, Austin, Allport, Bergh, R. Brown, Baker, Bulford, Carnell,
Donald, Derbridge, Dimant, Dawson 15s, Fenerty, Grace, Hays, Heller, Hansen 28e, How (Jackson) 15s, Jull
(James) 15s, Kerr, Klinginstein, Lyne, Lodge Bedford 20s, Lodge Coromandel 20s, Mason (Amberley),
Lodge Charleston Kil winning 7s 6d, Mullaney 9s, Moyes, Mercer, Mason 15s, Male, Millar, Mangin,
McBride, Parker, Rintoul, Salmon, Scott 17s 6d, Tatton, Toomey, Frank White 15s, Wright, Williams.

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