The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1886-05-04 00:00:00

THE GRANI; IEEONT.

The repo;tr-Tel-tVe-G.ii...6.717.-, colt
gratolated the Order on the acquisition of new free-
hold preemie. for Birmingham for Grand Lodge °More;
and remarked that he had long "hoped for the time
when we might posses mach a visible proof that our
Order had 'come to stay' in old England, and our
new Grand Lodge offices will eloquently teddy to
that fact, in spite of those desertions, declensions, and
other dieetressee which sometimes try the beet of
inistitutions." Dealing with the "State of the Order,"
the report said—" The mune of the Order during the
past year haa bee. somewhat uneven. Soon after last
j Grand (+dire, summer brought its comparative
' lassitude and conseqnent looms, and later in the year
the general election inevitably created some local
ostentions and a general distractioa from lodge
work—the I slge attendance suffering while good
members were sopportirig Parliamentary candidates
favourable to 'oar princiOes. The fact that since
New Year's Day we have instituted about 50 new
lodgea is sorely an indication of a turn for the
better." Details having been given of the Order
in the different 'beelines of the country, and special
efforts recommended to revive the Order, the report
diacensarel thee "real good if the Order," pointed out
cause,. of weakness, and proreedesl—" The tendency is
li. expect that more latitude m amusement will enable
the meMbers to work better. I do not believe it. I
believe we must hold the standard higher- not lower
it. In doing the former we may have yet lever
members; beet what we most want is letter members,
even though they be fewer. We are in some district+
thinning out, ingtead of winning, the middle classes.
Our Order can neser be ammlete without them. We
have need to especially try to win end retain them.
In some telecom they are barely welcomed- their very
intelligence being aimed, objectionable to those who
are too untutored to fully realise the manyilided
mission of our great Order. The G.W. Secretary of
Scotland recently said that the Order there ' was
getting too respectable.' I make no such complaint
in England I write earnestly because I •ni not
eatiseed with the statue and numerical strength of
our army of shout 73,000 adults and 30,000 adherents
of the junior branch. It is our business not only to
, increase it. numerical strength, but to menage its
' pow,‘ b.r good in the land." On Parliementary
matters the iejmoet 4rettlrd the failure of some
temperance leaders to retain their settle, I..ni said the
general election gave the tempei &nee party a largely
increased numlwr if iniptiortrrs in Parliament, and
coutinoed—" We have need of a devoted and plodding
Parliamentary agent who can receive the ideas of this
Greed Lodge anti its offloers, and oi work them out
as to nee.s tau whole, membership who are outside the
Howie, and help to Meoe the is le'AP /he M.P.'B
inside the Howe. With all earnestness I urge this
Grand Lodge to take steps—and adequate steps -to
provide means for the engagement of someone for this
work. It ix more important than any other. If we
wisely and welfworked this department,. our activity
ifive playing members some work to do, and
would ton coif loiter!, besides winning adherent,
of • solid sort. There were Aldo rusersnaet to the
International Stipreme Court, National Temperance
Federation, Boded Science Conference on Temperance
Legislation, &a., in all of which the Grand Lodge had
Wien part.

" Mr. J. 11. Cott.nros, G.W. Sec. (Liver)xool),
reported ordinary receipt. from an sources
£1,1504 15s. 9d., and expenditure Cl 7 10*. lld. less than
that sum. The penny per head quarterly tax had
realiard £1.250; mileage fund for representatives
£314; 42,1411 had been received Imprinting and sales,
yielding • profit of 4232; LSM had been received ley
41rand ledge front Home Mission donations ; £194
was raised for Foreign Minion work; and 1:4123 Fur
the Good Templar Irrphatutge. Ti, retina or noun'
bership showed a present total of 74,126 (including
3,072 in fon.ign leidtree). as against 441,193 at Nos ein•
bin. 1, 16444, being a decrease of 7,067. The number
of lodges was 1.707.
Mrs. W.tiallOW, 0.14.J.T. (Halifax), reporter'
0,719 liuveqilu tnehil.ers in 700 Temples, rel of whieli
were opened last year.
Mr. .1. Kit/IP/STICK, (I. Electoral Superintendent
(London), KATO a review of efforts for teinperanm
',violation, particularly load veto and Sunday cboinir,
both in and out of Parliament, mired united action in
support of the direct local veto, and • if] ail temper.
amp census of the new Parlianient elabwi tiled 3.-e0
members isre in favour of local option in some form,
and that of these 204 are 1111•IIKTIgi I. c the
direct local it,. The liraj optiiinists id one kiwi or
another may be presume,' to include the. sumserters I if
Licensing Hoards, or of " Local Conine'," as proposed
by Mr. Stalforl soward's Hill, or ed whatever scheme
may be promised by the promised Government
nleiteutt,.
It was reported by the Credential Cotnmittroc--Mr.
S. vinusergh (Lancaster) chairman—that 1,4112
members had been initiated members of grand leslee
at specie/ meetings during the year, and that 172
candidates few the 0.1. degrpe wept in waiting.
noise *WV dnly initiator!.