decision and reinstate the Brother. Some of the lodges in this country
claim the right to expel, independently of the action of the Grand Lodge;
but the claim is not valid. The very fact that an expulsion is a penalty,
affecting the general relations of the punished party with the whole
fraternity, proves that its exercise never could, with propriety, be
intrusted to a body so circumscribed in its authority as a subordinate
lodge. Accordingly, the general practice of the fraternity is opposed to
it; and therefore all expulsions are reported to the Grand Lodge, not
merely as matters of information, but that they may be confirmed by that
body. The English Constitutions are explicit on this subject. "In the
Grand Lodge alone," they declare, "resides the power of erasing lodges and
expelling Brethren from the craft, a power which it ought not to delegate
to any subordinate authority in England." They allow, however, a
subordinate lodge to _exclude_ a member from the lodge; in which case he
is furnished with a certificate of the circumstances of his exclusion, and
then may join any other lodge that will accept him, after being made
acquainted with the fact of his exclusion, and its cause. This usage has
not been adopted in this country.

A lodge has a right to levy such annual contribution for membership as the
majority of the Brethren see fit. This is entirely a matter of contract,
with which the Grand Lodge, or the craft in general, have nothing to do.
It is, indeed, a modern usage, unknown to the fraternity of former times,
and was instituted for the convenience and support of the private lodges.

A lodge is entitled to select a name for itself, to be, however, approved
by the Grand Lodge.[46] But the Grand Lodge alone has the power of
designating the number by which the lodge shall be distinguished. By its
number alone is every lodge recognized in the register of the Grand Lodge,
and according to their numbers is the precedence of the lodges regulated.