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I N D I A.
solved , that the fees for patents of Prov . Grand Lodge Officers be carried to the Prov . Grand Lodge Fund , and that the expenses of Prov . Grand Lodge banquets be contributed by subscriptions of the Prov . Grand Lodge Officers and the several Lodges in Calcutta whose representatives attend the Prov . Grand Lodge—the Past
Masters and other Brethren who wish to attend the banquets being at liberty to do so by providing themselves with tickets from the Prov . Grand Director of Ceremonies . It was suggested that the subscription of Prov . Grand Officers should he 8 rupees per quarter , and that each Lodge should contribute 24 rupees per quarter , i . e . 8 rupees for each of the representatives , to consist of the Master and the Senior and Junior Wardens . "
Originally the Grand Officers' Fund , out of which the banquets at the Prov . Grand Lodge communications were provided , was composed of the subscriptions of those officers , and their banquets were confined to themselves . A proposition was made to admit all ( representatives of Lodges as well as other Brethen ) by tickets of 5 rupees for each ; but few or none availed themselves of the benefit of it . It was then proposed to and resolved by the Prov . Grand Lodge ,
that the fees for patents of Grand Officers should be appropriated towards the banquet , to admit of all representatives of Lodges being invited to them . This plan has been acted upon but the contributions derived from this source were so inconsiderable , that the Grand Officers' Fund could not support the expense of quarterly banquets . It was therefore agreed that there should be but two communications in the year .
W . Bro . Wray then brought forward his views , which went on the principle of assimilating the practice here to that of the Grand Lodge of England , by devoting half the patent fees to the Masonic Fund of Benevolence , and half to the Grand Lodge Fund , leaving Grand Officers and representatives to pay for their own dinners . His views were opposed by Grand Officers , on the ground that previous experience , as above stated , had shown that it was not likely to answerthe great test by which every new scheme should be examined . When , however , his views were referred to a committee / a Brother , who was ( C not a Grand Officer ,
showed , by a reference to the Book of Constitutions and Preston ' s History of Masonry , " that the state of things in England was wholly dissimilar , and that it was necessary in this country to adopt a very different procedure . There the Grand Stewards took upon themselves the expense of the banquet for the Grand Lodge , to which others were admitted by tickets , the amount of which went to square the accounts ; but in general the Stewards were considerably out of pocket . As there were no Grand Stewards here charged with the like responsibility , there was no particular reason why any portion of the patent fees should go the Masonic Fund of Benevolence . There remained , then , the question
whether the Prov . Grand Lodge could not directly provide funds for their entertainments , as the Grand Lodge had done indirectly by appointing Grand Stewards and granting them distinguishing principles . It was therefore considered , that a middle course might be struck out by the Committee ' s suggesting that the patent fees should be reserved to the Prov . Grand Lodge as before ; that the Prov . Grand Officers should contribute their quotas towards the banquet , as they then did ; and that the quotas of the representatives of Lodges should be paid by their constituent Lodges , while Past Masters and Past Grand Officers ( who attended Prov . Grand Lodge in their own right ) , and any Brethren who wished to be present at the banquets , should pay for their tickets .
When this proposition was put to the vote by the K . W . the I ) . Prov . G . M ., it was opposed by R . W . Bro . Judge and W . Bro . Ledlie , on the ground that the Prov . Grand Lodge could not tax the private Lodges . All attempts made to show that , when , with the Grand Officers , the representatives of Lodge voted according to the instructions of those Lodges , the resolution was binding on the dissentients ,
proved ineffectual . The other point on which there was some discussion , was on the suggestion of the Comnaitteo , that dispensations should be required not merely for " public processions , " but also for " assemblies . " This addition was proposed seemingly because one of the Lodges in Calcutta had not long ago asserted the right to hold a ball in the Town Hall without a dispensation , and had termed it a Masonic ball .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
I N D I A.
solved , that the fees for patents of Prov . Grand Lodge Officers be carried to the Prov . Grand Lodge Fund , and that the expenses of Prov . Grand Lodge banquets be contributed by subscriptions of the Prov . Grand Lodge Officers and the several Lodges in Calcutta whose representatives attend the Prov . Grand Lodge—the Past
Masters and other Brethren who wish to attend the banquets being at liberty to do so by providing themselves with tickets from the Prov . Grand Director of Ceremonies . It was suggested that the subscription of Prov . Grand Officers should he 8 rupees per quarter , and that each Lodge should contribute 24 rupees per quarter , i . e . 8 rupees for each of the representatives , to consist of the Master and the Senior and Junior Wardens . "
Originally the Grand Officers' Fund , out of which the banquets at the Prov . Grand Lodge communications were provided , was composed of the subscriptions of those officers , and their banquets were confined to themselves . A proposition was made to admit all ( representatives of Lodges as well as other Brethen ) by tickets of 5 rupees for each ; but few or none availed themselves of the benefit of it . It was then proposed to and resolved by the Prov . Grand Lodge ,
that the fees for patents of Grand Officers should be appropriated towards the banquet , to admit of all representatives of Lodges being invited to them . This plan has been acted upon but the contributions derived from this source were so inconsiderable , that the Grand Officers' Fund could not support the expense of quarterly banquets . It was therefore agreed that there should be but two communications in the year .
W . Bro . Wray then brought forward his views , which went on the principle of assimilating the practice here to that of the Grand Lodge of England , by devoting half the patent fees to the Masonic Fund of Benevolence , and half to the Grand Lodge Fund , leaving Grand Officers and representatives to pay for their own dinners . His views were opposed by Grand Officers , on the ground that previous experience , as above stated , had shown that it was not likely to answerthe great test by which every new scheme should be examined . When , however , his views were referred to a committee / a Brother , who was ( C not a Grand Officer ,
showed , by a reference to the Book of Constitutions and Preston ' s History of Masonry , " that the state of things in England was wholly dissimilar , and that it was necessary in this country to adopt a very different procedure . There the Grand Stewards took upon themselves the expense of the banquet for the Grand Lodge , to which others were admitted by tickets , the amount of which went to square the accounts ; but in general the Stewards were considerably out of pocket . As there were no Grand Stewards here charged with the like responsibility , there was no particular reason why any portion of the patent fees should go the Masonic Fund of Benevolence . There remained , then , the question
whether the Prov . Grand Lodge could not directly provide funds for their entertainments , as the Grand Lodge had done indirectly by appointing Grand Stewards and granting them distinguishing principles . It was therefore considered , that a middle course might be struck out by the Committee ' s suggesting that the patent fees should be reserved to the Prov . Grand Lodge as before ; that the Prov . Grand Officers should contribute their quotas towards the banquet , as they then did ; and that the quotas of the representatives of Lodges should be paid by their constituent Lodges , while Past Masters and Past Grand Officers ( who attended Prov . Grand Lodge in their own right ) , and any Brethren who wished to be present at the banquets , should pay for their tickets .
When this proposition was put to the vote by the K . W . the I ) . Prov . G . M ., it was opposed by R . W . Bro . Judge and W . Bro . Ledlie , on the ground that the Prov . Grand Lodge could not tax the private Lodges . All attempts made to show that , when , with the Grand Officers , the representatives of Lodge voted according to the instructions of those Lodges , the resolution was binding on the dissentients ,
proved ineffectual . The other point on which there was some discussion , was on the suggestion of the Comnaitteo , that dispensations should be required not merely for " public processions , " but also for " assemblies . " This addition was proposed seemingly because one of the Lodges in Calcutta had not long ago asserted the right to hold a ball in the Town Hall without a dispensation , and had termed it a Masonic ball .