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Article GRAND LODGE. ← Page 4 of 8 →
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Grand Lodge.
committee likewise desire to observe , that in making their contracts they were obliged to do so subject to an increase in tho event of there being a rise in the price of wages ; that rise ( as all know ) took place some two years ago , and tho extra cost on that account alone is considerable . Further , it is to be remembered that the committee have received the sum of £ 5 , 000 as premium on the lease of the new Tavern , which sum should be taken into consideration when estimating the total cost .
At the commencement of the work there was a sum of £ 21 , 000 Consols belonging to the Fund for General Purposes , and authority was given to tho committee to borrow , on mortgage of the freehold and buildings , a sum not exceeding £ 19 , 000 from the Fund of Benevolence . All claims have been discharged up to the present time , and there will be sufficient in hand to defray the further charges already referred to . The
committee have borrowed the sum of £ 17 , 500 from the Fund of Benevolence , upon which interest at thc rate of 4 per cent has been paid , and the principal of which the committee trust , to see in a very few years replaced to the credit of the Fund of Benevolence . There are heavy penalties duo by the builder for delay in
carrying on the works ; for that delay , in almost every instance , the builder is solely responsible , and there has been no reason why , if ordinary diligence had been employed , the building should not have been completed within the agreed-on-time . viz ., November 1 st ., 1 SGG , The consequence of the delay has been not only great
inconvenience to the Craft and tho tenants , but has been a positive loss to the Craft of the increased rent payable by the tenants for the Tavern , and of the rents payable by the lodges for the use of the various rooms in Freemasons' Hall . Tho committee have already reported the rates which they had fixed should be paid for the use of the various rooms , as
follow : —For the "Zetland" and "De Grey , " £ 2 2 s . for each meeting ; for the "Dalhousie" and "Moira , " £ 1 lis . Gd . for each meeting ; for the "Preston , " £ 1 Is . ; and these rates have been approved of by Grand Lodge . There are at present fifty-five lodges and chapters meeting in Freemasons' Hall , and tho committee anticipate that ( tho
buildings being now finished ) , if the brethren find that their wishes in reference to the banquets after lodges arc reasonably attended to , that many more lodges will hold their meetings in the new * building . So rent has been hitherto paid by lodges ; the Committe beg to recommend the following resolution for the adoption of Grand Lodge viz .:
—" That tho rents for tho use of lod ge rooms shall commence and be payable on and after the 1 st January , 1 SGS . " With reference to the coffee-room and library , the Committee have to report that they have given the subject their full consideration , and they beg to submit the following resolutions for the approval of Grand Lodge , viz .:
—"That the subscription of Masons residing within the London district shall be to the coffee-room , £ 1 Is .: and to the library , 10 s . per annum . " "That the subscription of . Masons residing out of the London district shall be—to the coffee-room , 10 s . Gd . ; and to the library , 10 s . "
"That a subscription of £ 1 lis . Gd . per annum from any country lodge shall entitle its Master and Wardens for tho time being to all the privileges of the coffee-room and library . " "That strangers , being Masons , who may be temporarily residing in England , shall be permitted to use the coilee-room
and library upon being- introduced , in writing , by a subscriber , and upon payment of subscription of os . for one month . " "That the amount of these subscriptions shall be subject to revision , aud to increase or otherwise , but that the subscription of original members ( in which list shall be included all those who become subscribers on or before the 1 st June , 1 SG 8 ) shall ,
under no circumstances , be increased . " It has been found necessary to delay the finishing and furnishing of the library until tho remainder of the building was completed : tho subscription to it will , of course , not commence ¦ until it is fit for use . There yet remains another subject of great importance to
which it is requisite that the attention of Grand Lodge should be directed , namely , the necessity of repairing ancl re-decorating the great hall , and thus rendering it worthy of its place in the-Masonic temple . The Committee have purposely deferred the consideration of this subject until the new works were completed j they now ask for authority to consider it , and for that purpose
submit the following resolution , viz ,: — "That the Buildings' Committee bo directed to consider the subject of the repair and re-decoration of the great hall , and to report thereon to the Grand Lodsrc at its Q . C- in March next . "
The Committee cannot conclude their report without congralating the Craft on the great work just completed . The Committee are well aware of their many short-comings , but looking to the whole result , they feel a pardonable pride in believing that they have deserved the confidence reposed in them . As was promised by them , there is now completed a Masonic
temple which , taking into consideration the nature and difficulties of tho site , possesses qualities which entitle it fairly to take rank with some of the best buildings in the metropolis . It is entirely separate from , but ministered to by , a tavern ,, which for extent , completeness of accommodation , and elegance of arrangement , is not only not surpassed but is unequalled by
any similar building in London . ( Signed ) Jon _* HAVERS , Chairman . Freemasons' Hall , London , Nov . 20 th , 1 SG 7 .
Bro . HAVERS , Chairman of the Committee , moved that the report be received and entered on the minutes , ami , in doing so , said he was rejoiced to see that noble meeting that evening before him . Having listened to the luxuriant address of one brother and the very curtailed speeches of other brethren who had reports to present , he thought that there must be something
in the background , and it almost seemed that he was to bo the victim . Ho was then before them to propose that the report be received and entered on the minutes . If they agreed to tli . it it pledged them to nothing , for , when they had done that , he proposed to submit to them a series of resolutions which they would find in the report set forth in italics , and ho
should ask the brethren to vote for them . At the same time he was prepared to answer any question that might fairly be put to him , or to any other member of the Committee ; therefore , it would be open to any brother to ask him any questions , and he would answer them as far as his judgment would allow . Bro . Lord ELIOT , S . G . W ., said the echoes ot the room were
very unsatisfactory , and he would suggest that the speaker should come into the middle of the room and read the resolutions , so that those at his end of it might know something as to what was going on . Bro . BRACKSTOXE BAKER said tho Chairman of the Building Committee had given them permission to ask any questions arising out of tho report . There ivere two questions that naturally presented themselves when they had the report of thc
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Lodge.
committee likewise desire to observe , that in making their contracts they were obliged to do so subject to an increase in tho event of there being a rise in the price of wages ; that rise ( as all know ) took place some two years ago , and tho extra cost on that account alone is considerable . Further , it is to be remembered that the committee have received the sum of £ 5 , 000 as premium on the lease of the new Tavern , which sum should be taken into consideration when estimating the total cost .
At the commencement of the work there was a sum of £ 21 , 000 Consols belonging to the Fund for General Purposes , and authority was given to tho committee to borrow , on mortgage of the freehold and buildings , a sum not exceeding £ 19 , 000 from the Fund of Benevolence . All claims have been discharged up to the present time , and there will be sufficient in hand to defray the further charges already referred to . The
committee have borrowed the sum of £ 17 , 500 from the Fund of Benevolence , upon which interest at thc rate of 4 per cent has been paid , and the principal of which the committee trust , to see in a very few years replaced to the credit of the Fund of Benevolence . There are heavy penalties duo by the builder for delay in
carrying on the works ; for that delay , in almost every instance , the builder is solely responsible , and there has been no reason why , if ordinary diligence had been employed , the building should not have been completed within the agreed-on-time . viz ., November 1 st ., 1 SGG , The consequence of the delay has been not only great
inconvenience to the Craft and tho tenants , but has been a positive loss to the Craft of the increased rent payable by the tenants for the Tavern , and of the rents payable by the lodges for the use of the various rooms in Freemasons' Hall . Tho committee have already reported the rates which they had fixed should be paid for the use of the various rooms , as
follow : —For the "Zetland" and "De Grey , " £ 2 2 s . for each meeting ; for the "Dalhousie" and "Moira , " £ 1 lis . Gd . for each meeting ; for the "Preston , " £ 1 Is . ; and these rates have been approved of by Grand Lodge . There are at present fifty-five lodges and chapters meeting in Freemasons' Hall , and tho committee anticipate that ( tho
buildings being now finished ) , if the brethren find that their wishes in reference to the banquets after lodges arc reasonably attended to , that many more lodges will hold their meetings in the new * building . So rent has been hitherto paid by lodges ; the Committe beg to recommend the following resolution for the adoption of Grand Lodge viz .:
—" That tho rents for tho use of lod ge rooms shall commence and be payable on and after the 1 st January , 1 SGS . " With reference to the coffee-room and library , the Committee have to report that they have given the subject their full consideration , and they beg to submit the following resolutions for the approval of Grand Lodge , viz .:
—"That the subscription of Masons residing within the London district shall be to the coffee-room , £ 1 Is .: and to the library , 10 s . per annum . " "That the subscription of . Masons residing out of the London district shall be—to the coffee-room , 10 s . Gd . ; and to the library , 10 s . "
"That a subscription of £ 1 lis . Gd . per annum from any country lodge shall entitle its Master and Wardens for tho time being to all the privileges of the coffee-room and library . " "That strangers , being Masons , who may be temporarily residing in England , shall be permitted to use the coilee-room
and library upon being- introduced , in writing , by a subscriber , and upon payment of subscription of os . for one month . " "That the amount of these subscriptions shall be subject to revision , aud to increase or otherwise , but that the subscription of original members ( in which list shall be included all those who become subscribers on or before the 1 st June , 1 SG 8 ) shall ,
under no circumstances , be increased . " It has been found necessary to delay the finishing and furnishing of the library until tho remainder of the building was completed : tho subscription to it will , of course , not commence ¦ until it is fit for use . There yet remains another subject of great importance to
which it is requisite that the attention of Grand Lodge should be directed , namely , the necessity of repairing ancl re-decorating the great hall , and thus rendering it worthy of its place in the-Masonic temple . The Committee have purposely deferred the consideration of this subject until the new works were completed j they now ask for authority to consider it , and for that purpose
submit the following resolution , viz ,: — "That the Buildings' Committee bo directed to consider the subject of the repair and re-decoration of the great hall , and to report thereon to the Grand Lodsrc at its Q . C- in March next . "
The Committee cannot conclude their report without congralating the Craft on the great work just completed . The Committee are well aware of their many short-comings , but looking to the whole result , they feel a pardonable pride in believing that they have deserved the confidence reposed in them . As was promised by them , there is now completed a Masonic
temple which , taking into consideration the nature and difficulties of tho site , possesses qualities which entitle it fairly to take rank with some of the best buildings in the metropolis . It is entirely separate from , but ministered to by , a tavern ,, which for extent , completeness of accommodation , and elegance of arrangement , is not only not surpassed but is unequalled by
any similar building in London . ( Signed ) Jon _* HAVERS , Chairman . Freemasons' Hall , London , Nov . 20 th , 1 SG 7 .
Bro . HAVERS , Chairman of the Committee , moved that the report be received and entered on the minutes , ami , in doing so , said he was rejoiced to see that noble meeting that evening before him . Having listened to the luxuriant address of one brother and the very curtailed speeches of other brethren who had reports to present , he thought that there must be something
in the background , and it almost seemed that he was to bo the victim . Ho was then before them to propose that the report be received and entered on the minutes . If they agreed to tli . it it pledged them to nothing , for , when they had done that , he proposed to submit to them a series of resolutions which they would find in the report set forth in italics , and ho
should ask the brethren to vote for them . At the same time he was prepared to answer any question that might fairly be put to him , or to any other member of the Committee ; therefore , it would be open to any brother to ask him any questions , and he would answer them as far as his judgment would allow . Bro . Lord ELIOT , S . G . W ., said the echoes ot the room were
very unsatisfactory , and he would suggest that the speaker should come into the middle of the room and read the resolutions , so that those at his end of it might know something as to what was going on . Bro . BRACKSTOXE BAKER said tho Chairman of the Building Committee had given them permission to ask any questions arising out of tho report . There ivere two questions that naturally presented themselves when they had the report of thc