Grand Secretary's Office.

The books of this office are kept, as contemplated by the Committee on Printing Supplies in 1873, "in a systematic manner," that is, on the principle of double-entry, as the Journals of 1874-5-6-7 attest. This system, generally considered the only reliable method of book-keeping, exhibits in the balance-sheet annually published the entire operations of the office for the year.

There are some laws in existence, which, while they do not conflict with any system of book-keeping, yet, in order to comply with their provisions, special books must be prepared, and much additional labor is thereby entailed, and in the opinion of the G. C. and R. Secretary the repeal of such legislation will be a wise measure. I allude to the law of 1855 (Digest, Section 30), as follows: "It shall be the duty of the Grand Secretary to open an account in his books with each specific appropriation, charging to such appropriations severally the amount reported by the Finance Committee, and placing to the credit of such amount all payments made on account thereof; and in no case shall such payments exceed the amount of the specific appropriation on account of which they are made, nor shall any transfer of appropriation be allowed without the consent of this Grand Lodge." A single instance, of many that might be educed, will show that the enforcement of this law would seriously retard the progress of the Order and cripple the finances of the Grand Lodge. In 1873 (Journal, p. 5943), an appropriation was made "for printing odes and cards, $500.00." The report of the Grand Secretary in 1874 (Journal, p (5085, shows, among other expenditures, for odes, $431.56; visiting and withdrawal cards, $1,106.08; Rebekah cards, $66.65; dismissal certificates, $52.75; total, $1,657.04. I also note that in 1873 there was no appropriation for diplomas, yet the report of the Grand Secretary in 1874 (Journal, p. 6086) shows that the expenditure on that account was $178.51. It is manifest that, the above law ought to be rescinded, for it is inapplicable to the business of the Grand Lodge, it being impossible for any committee, however competent, to determine the amount that will be required for certain articles of supplies during the year.

A resolution, found in Digest, Section 31, requests the Grand Secretary "to arrange in his tabular statement of receipts, in parallel columns, the amounts for each specific purpose received from each Grand Jurisdiction and Subordinate Lodge and Encampment under this Grand Body. This request has been complied with by the annual publication of such a tabular statement as was indicated in the resolution, though the advantage of such arrangement has never been apparent, and every useful purpose, it would seem, might be subserved by stating the aggregate amount of receipts from each body, thus saving considerable expense in printing and lessening the labor of preparing the financial tables at a period when there is little time to devote to such work. Or, if the receipts for odes, cards, etc, are placed under the general head of "Supplies," the matter embraced in eight or nine columns may be presented under the several heads of Balance, Supplies, Representative Tax, and Total, and save the expense of three or four pages of "rule and figure work." As the tables are now prepared, it. will be seen that unless a separate book is kept, or the ledger is specially ruled with columns for the several items, the amount of each payment must be divided among the various objects at the close of the year.

I beg, therefore, to suggest that the Committee on Finance consider the propriety of rescinding the resolutions referred to.