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announced that a movement vvas on foot in the CeJony of Queensland whto a view to establishing a Grand Lodge in lieu of the District and Provincial G . Lodges vvhich now exist . But it is clear from the proceedings which took place at the Quarterl y Communication of the District Grand Lodge ( E . C . ) on the 6 th March last , that the bulk of the English brethren are desirovis of retaining the connection vvith their Mother Grand Lodge , and while this feeling is as clearly and unmistakably expressed as it was at that meeting vve shall uphold them in their views to the utmost of our ability . The leading English Masons in Queensland are of opinion that it is better they

should remain under the oldest and most influential Constitution m the * world than have a Constitution of their own which vvould be practically incapable of exercising any influence whatever outside the limits of the Colony , They are proud of being a part of the Grand Lodge of England . They consider it gives them a position and influence above

what they would enjoy as an independent Grand Lodge , and we on our part are proud to know that the feeling of respect and affection they bear us is so deeply implanted' in their hearts .. Nor , apart from this , are we aware of any reason why a change in the present position of the Craft in the Colony should be made . There is no * dissentient Grand Lodge to

contend with as there was in New South Wales and Victoria **•and if there is any dissatisfaction on the part of the Irish and Scotch lodges towards the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland , it does not follow that the English lodges , which are contented enough with their present position—and which , ¦ moreover , are considerably more numerous than the Irish and Scotch lodges

taken together—should become dissatisfied with their Mother Grand Lodge . We shall take an early opportunity of laying before our readers the views of our Queensland brethren on this subject , so that they may understand as fully as we do ourselves that the movement we recently referred to is the work of a few individuals only , and is very , very far from commanding the . sympathy of the great body of English brethren in the Colony .

The Report Of The Boys' School Committee Of Inquiry.

THE REPORT OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY .

It must be clear to every one who has read the Report of the Committee which Bro . Philbrick , Q-C , G . Reg ., was authorised by the Quarterly General Court of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys on the 27 th July , 18 SS , to constitute , and to which the said Quarterly General Court gave full powers to inquire into " the discipline , expenditure , and administration " of

the Institution , that the brethren composing it have discharged the important duty with which they were entrusted most exhaustively , nor is there the blightest reason to believe , or the smallest scrap of evidence to show , that they have performed this duty otherwise than with the most complete impartiality . They devoted 15 days to taking such evidence as they considered

necessary in order to enable them to arrive at a just opinion on the several branches of the inquiry , such evidence being taken indiscriminately from members of the various Committees , the Secretary , the members of the educational and domestic staffs at Wood Green , from the medical officers , from former pupils and their parents , and from sundry brethren who were

desirous of giving testimony before them . A most careful digest of this evidence is furnished , interspersed with such remarks and expressions of opinion as have seemed necessary or desirable , and at the end are given , first

of all , a series of the conclusions at which the Committee consider they are justified in arriving , and then a series of recommendations , vvhich they consider it will become the duty of the Governors to adopt , in order that the School may be wisely and economically administered in the future .

As to the conclusions vvhich the Committee have adopted with complete unanimity , after an investigation vvhich vve have described as most thorough and scrupulously impartial , there cannot be the slightest doubt that they are most unfavourable to the system of administration as it has hitherto been conducted , though we do not gather from any remark or opinion contained

in the Report that any blame is considered to attach to any individual officer or member of the Committees . " The Educational Staff " is pronounced to be " satisfactory , the teaching good , and the School discipline well maintained , " but the School itself is declared to be " in an unsatisfactory state as regards its management ; " it is affirmed that " the

expenditure is extravagant , and not properly regulated ; " that " the feeding and clothing of the boys are not such as are represented by the expenditure , and their health and comfort are not satisfactorily attended to by the Domestic Staff ; " and that "the Accounts are not kept on a proper svstem , and those published are misleading . " The grounds on which

this wholesale condemnation is based are the * ' antagonism between the Educational and Domestic Staff , which seriously impairs the usefulness of the Institution •" the facts that " the effective control has fallen away from the House Committee * " that "the Finance

Committee exercises no real check on the expenditure ; " and , lastly , and , above all , that " the Secretary has engrossed the control of the Institution into his own hands , and to this and the friction between him and the Domestic Staff on the one side , and the Head Master and his adherents on the other , the great part of the present evils is to be attributed . "

The principal recommendations which the Committee offer , vvith a view to remedying or removing the evils they consider exist in the present system of government , are that " there should be but one head authority , ( viz ., the Head Master ) at Wood Green ; and the entire establishment there be subject to him * , " that "the House Committee should be able and

willing to take and keep the control in its own hands , must be in touch vvith the daily life of the School , and give more personal attention , and exercise an intelligent authority in the Institution ; " that " the Finance Committee should regulate the expenditure under the House Committee , and not rest its efforts after merely checking the vouchers and books put before it , *"

The Report Of The Boys' School Committee Of Inquiry.

that " the accounts should be kept , as recommended , by a qualified publj accountant , and annually published as audited and approved b y the Finance Committee ; " and , lastly , that "the Secretary ' s duties should be strictly limited to the office , and he should not interfere at Wood Green save as the mere official channel of communication with the Head Master . " Taking the digest of evidence as it is presented in the Report—which however , it is an act of justice to the House and Audit Committees to state they consider is contrary to the minutes of evidence as taken—it is impossible to arrive at any other conclusion than that , as a whole , it full y justifies

the opinions at which the Committee have unanimously arrived , and , as a consequence , that the recommendations they make are , as a whole , if not in each individual case , the natural outcome of the opinions they have expressed . Or , to put the matter more distinctly—if the digest of evidence is correct , S ; he opinions expressed by the Committee are justified ; and if the

opinions of the Committee are justified , their recommendations follow as a necessary consequence . The Report , however , in its entirety is so important and its several branches so full of details , which require to be sifted in order that . their values , taken separately in their relations to each other , may be understo od , and that it vvill be necessary we should give it and them

further and more minute consideration than is possible in a single article . But we may as well take this opportunity of suggesting that the House and Audit Committees which acquiesced in , if indeed they did not invite , the appointment of this Committee of Inquiry vvill , if they are well advised , accept the result vvith as

little demur as possible . It is , perhaps , too much to expect that they should receive in silence a series of opinions vvhich so strongly condemn the system it has been their duty to administer ; but they will not gain in public estimation by resenting those opinions because they are unfavourable ; neither vvill it be to their advantage to plant themselves firmly in opposition to a

Committee which is composed of men of such undoubted ability and experience so qualified to pass judgment on the questions submitted for their consideration . and 0 $ such recognised independence of everythingin thenatureof bias or prejudice . At the same time , vve must call the attention of the Committee to the fact , of vvhich vve cannot suppose them to be ignorant , but to vvhich

as being no doubt outside the scope of their inquiry , they seem to have attached no weight , that it is owing to the energy and ability of the Secretary , vvho , they affirm , " has engrossed the control of the Institution into his own hands , " that our Boys' School has made such unexampled progress in

so short a space of time . It is only such a man as this same Secretary , who , in the brief period of 28 or 29 years , could have raised it from the position of a Charity School of 70 boys to a firmly established middle-class Institution providing for almost four times that number . In our haste to condemn a system , vve must not lose sight of the brilliant services of this veteran officer .

Consecration Of The George Gardner Lodge, No. 2309.

CONSECRATION OF THE GEORGE GARDNER LODGE , No . 2309 .

The consecration of this new lodge took place at the Village Hall , Datchet , Bucks , on Monday , the 13 th inst . The ceremony vvas performed by Bro . the Rev . J . Studholme Brownrigg , P . G . C , D . P . G . M . Berks and Bucks , who was assisted by Bros . A . E . Craven , P . M ., P . G . S ., as S . VV , ; J . E . Bowen , W . M . 1894 , J . VV . ; H . Bradley , P . G . D ., P . G . S ,, D . C ; and A . Williams , W . M . 2090 , I . G .

The musical arrangements vvere under the direction of Bro . Porter , W . M . 1793 . The brethren having assembled in the lod ge room , the Consecrating Officer took the Master ' s chair , and appointed his officers " pro tem ., " as above .

The lodge having been opened in the three Degrees , the brethren sang the hymn " Through the night of doubt and sorrow . " The CONSECRATING OFFICER then addressed thebrethren on the object of the meeting , saying they had met on an interesting occasion and one of

great import , viz ., to bring into existence a new Masonic lodge to add one more to the roll of lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of England . The lodge had been started by Bro . G . Gardner , and under their first Master , who had worked diligently for a long time in Freemasonry , he had no doubt vvould attain to high rank in the province .

The PROV . GRAND CHAPLAIN then gave the customary prayer , the D . of C then addressed the Consecrating Officers , and afterwards p laced the brethren in the centre of the lod ge room ; he then read the warrant , and the CONSECRATING OFFICER demanded of the petitioners whether , having heard the petition read , they still approved of the officers therein named .

Those brethren signified their assent , whereupon the CONSECRATING OFFICER addressed the brethren , and said the object of Freemasonry was to embody a class of men vvho would watch over the interests of their brothers , and act in a honourable and straightforward way to each other . He could not but regret to say that among the great number ranged under the

banner of the Craft there where many black sheep , but that among the vast majority there where those who strove to do unto others as they should be done by . Such , he thought and hoped , would be the character of the members of this new lodge—that they would strive to admit men who

vvould study the tenets of the Order , and by so doing assist in the great cause that was so noted for its good deeds of Charity , Relief , and Truth . He would strongly recommend the first Master , and in those who followed him , to pay strict adherence to all constituted authority , and careful attention to detail * and the lodge would rank , he had no doubt , among the first in the Order . The oration vvas followed by the hymn " To this temple where we call Thee . "