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The Press And The Installation.
chief magistrate for this important office , the Grand Master was paying a well deserved compliment , not only to the noble Corporation of which the Lord Mayor is the head , but to the merchant princes of the greatest city in the world . The chief magistrate of tho city is a thoroughly
representative man , and the high honour accorded to him ¦ will be appreciated by the vast body of Masons who hail from the commercial centre of the metropolis . Sir Michael Costa and Sir Albert Woods were distinguished by honorary rank , and this too was a graceful act , which
will no doubt be highly appreciated . In spite of the scoffs of the Times , eminent persons in all the walks of life are anxious to deck themselves with the highest insignia of the Craft , and the fact that such honours as Masonry can confer are eagerly sought for by men of
acknowledged repute in the world should at least convince our cynical critic that there must be something after all of substantial value in the Fraternity . It is pleasing to find that our contemporary the Standard has latterly made Masonic intelligence a feature in its columns .
Its article on the Installation Ceremony is exceedingly able , and most friendly in its tone , and stands out in striking contrast to the " geniality " of the leading journal . We appreciate its learned comments , and the Masonic world will be glad to find that so powerful a paper takes a just and impartial view of the aims and objects of the Order .
From the TIMES , 29 th April . The Installation of tho Prince of Wales as Grand Master of the Freemasons was an impressive , and , in some respects , an instructive ceremonial . Theoretically , no ono knows who Freemasons are or what are their ceremonies and principles ; but in practice we all know that they are very fair representatives of Englishmen in
general , and that their only peculiarity is to discharge certain praiseworthy duties of hnmanity in a more picturesqne and expensive manner than is thought necessary by other people . We would not for a inonent disparage the value of the " Craft . " There is a singular passion in human nature for anything in the form of order , association , and discipline . Nothiusr of this sort can be too much
for him , and in his enjoyment of the society of his fellows and of their common ceremonial he is quite unconscious of the appearance ho may present to tho eyes of critical outsiders . Grown-up men , however grave , are still as happy as children in enacting some imaginary play , and in ono form or another they insist on having it . Even Bishops find it necessary occasionallv
to revert to these innocent instincts of infancy , and the Pan-Anglican Synod , which has just been annonnccd for 1877 , may be considered as a kind of ecclesiastical Grand Lodge . Tho Freemasons , however . aro by far tho most successful in gratifying this innate passion , for it is difficult to say whether , in this country at least , tho picturesqueness or the innoconco of the Fraternity predominates .
These are tho two qualities to be mainly desired iu any grati . fication of the natural impulse of which we are speaking , and they were exhibited in perfection in the ceremonial wo report this morning . To tho uninitiated , indeed , there is something amusing in the extraordinary number of "Grand" Oflicers and Officers who seem to have been concerned in the affair . Few people ,
probably , were awaro that there were so many magnificent dignities scattered obscurely about the country . The Prince of Wales is a great personage , but even his dignity seems scarcely equal to the demands of such a mass of attendant grandeur . But , no doubt , such titles have their significance within the Brotherhood , and nc exception whatever can be taken to the aprons , collars , and other bits
of finery with which the imaginary hierarchy displays its magnificence . Blue and crimson ribands worn in due order by concentric circles of human beings , even when they are men and not women , have a pretty effect , and tho Freemasons appear to carry the art of disci , pliued ceremonial to great perfection . Whatever can be done by ornamented male nature in the wav of processions and salutes was no
doubt accomplished yesterday with even greater success than by Roman Catholics or Ritualists . Ten thousand Englishmen wore their Masonic clothing and performed thoir Masonic mysteries with unprecedented effect . It was a perfectly innocent enjoyment , and it is pleasant to see that so many men can thus find genuine enjoyment iu becoming very young again .
But all this display seems to be the dress in which some of the best impulses of good-fellowship and charity aro clothed , and , as the new Grand Master yesterday said , so long as tho " great and ancient Order" conliue themselves to those objects they will flourish . " Loyalty aud Charity" are their watchwords , and so long as these characteristics aro maintained they will be a
useful as well as an agreeable Brotherhood . The significance of the Prince ' s reception yesterday mnst be measured , not by what might appear its intrinsic importance , but by tho circumstances which it illustrates aud interprets . It is always welcome , even thongh needless , to elicit a display of the cordial and genial character of English loyalty , and of the heartiness with which the generous disposition of tho Prince of Wale 3 is appreciated by the
mass of his futnro subjects . Ilia welcome yesterday was evidently animated by a strong feeling of persoual regard , and if anything were needed to confirm this sentiment it would be the gracefulness with which he intimated his acknowledgment of it . The Fiwmnsnrs mnst excuse our passing amusement at their odd ceremonies ; but such au association lusters , no doubt , t ' jat spirit of independent thought and action which sustains the free judgment of indi .
The Press And The Installation.
viduals , and even tho Heir Apparent may bo reasonably satisfied when he is welcomed with far more thau official applause among tho chosen representatives of the largest association of Euglish gentlemen . But , as Lord Carnavon intimated in his address to the new Grand Master , his reception at this moment is a still more special significance ; The "Craft" appear not unreasonably sensible of the reflection
which , however unwillingly , was thrown npon them by the retirement of tho Grand Master whom the Prince of VTalea succeeds . Lord Ripon had received no ordinary honour in being elected to a post which the Prince of Wales is willing to occupy , and on a sudden , at the dictate of another and a hostile society , ho threw np his office . The Craft appear to
be perfectly tolerant of variations of creed in their members ; but Lord Ripon ' s resignation reminded them in the mnst pointed manner that they are treated by the Romau Catholic churches as an irreligious , seditions , and even anti-Christian organisation . The other day tho Grand Orient Lodge of Italy , from which a message of congratulation was yesterday read , opened a Masonic " Temple" in Rome .
It was a great event in the annals of the Brotherhood , and was proportionately horrify ing to the ecclesiastical authorities who had hitherto exclnded Freemasons with far more jealousy than brigands and Red Republicans . There have , perhaps , been some excuses in foreign countries for this extravagant jealousy of anything which seemed like a secret society ; but Lord Ripon informed the
" Craft" that the same unreasoning and liberal jealousy t wa 3 maintained even in England . Tho reception of yesterday was in great measure a national demonstration against this unjustifiable prejudice . The Prince of Wales in accepting tho office of Grand Master has proclaimed to all the world that Freemasonry , at least in England , is a perfectly innocuous , loyal , and virtuous association j and the
" Craft , " in welcoming him , have similarly proclaimed their possession of these qualities . It is strange that the lesson of such demonstrations should be so obstinately overlooked , not merely by the Roman Catholic Church , but even by some foreign Governments and Legislatures . Of all the enterprises on which legislative and administrative time can be
wasted , the most useless , except in exceptional emergencies , is that of attacking secret associations . Tho only way to counterbalance them is to open to men in the ordinary institutions of tho country the means of obtaining all the political objects they can reasonably desire , and all minor associations will then become , like the Freemasons in England , mere organisations for the cultivation of
mutual good-feeling and chanty . It is quite possible that under the repression of past tyranny Freemasonry was really used on th e Continent as a means of revolutionary agitation . Men were in want of some organised means of mutual action , and the first secret society at band was employed for their purposes . In this country there has been no occasion for any such agency , and the result is
seen in the ceremony of yesterday . The society against which the Pope fulminates all the terrors of this world and the next for its supposed hostility to everything loyal and sacred , meets in innocuous splendour in a great Music Hall , welcomes with enthusiasm the Heir to tho Throne , and makes solemn protestation of its loyal , religious , and charitable principles . Does not such an example say more for tolerance than for excommunication ?
From the STANDARD , 29 th April . Yesterday was a clay to be marked with white in tho annals of Freemasonry . In the midst of an assemblage of brethren perhaps the largest and tho most imposiug since the initial ceremony itself from which the Society is accustomed to date—the building of the Temple at Jerusalem by King Solomon—surrounded by all who are
of the highest rank in the brotherhood , and including mauy states * men , nobles , and men illustrious by birth , station , or talents , tho Heir of England was installed iu the high placo of Grand Master of tho English Freemasons . The proceedings having been duly ' tiled , ' it is not for us to attempt to penetrate into the mysteries enacted under tho lofty dome of the Albert Hall . We may be sure , however , that
nothing was wanting which could lend solemnity and splendour to the occasion . Seven thousand Freemasons , all of the highest degrees ; the choicest experts of the Craft , the hierarchy of the Order , were gathered from all parts of England and Wales to do honour to the Grand Master , and take part in the rites . Besides these were present delegates from the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland , from
Germany , from France , from Sweden , from Denmark , from every country in Europe where Masonry is represented ; it may be even from that Sicilian Lodge of which Brother Mastai Ferretti was onco a member . Vast as the Albert Hall is , however , it was not nearly large enough to accommodate tho thousands more who , from no idle spirit of curiosity , but from zeal for the Craft , or a desire to acknowledge
the honour which it has received through the Prince of Wales ' s acceptance of the Graud Mastership , desired to be present on the auspicious occasion . These , and all good Masons , must be content to know that the solemn function of the Installation has been performed with all the " pride , pomp , and circumstance " which were appropriate to tho ceremony , and to the chief actor in it , and will
rejoico at the recognition which their institution has received at tho hands of Royalty . It is , not , indeed , the first time that a Prince of the Blood has so honoured the fraternity . A long succession of our English Kings were Freemasons . A Prince of Wales was installed Grand Master in 1702 , and most of the Royal Dukes , his uncles and brothers , were among the initiated . The lato Dnke of Sussex filled
for many years the high office which the Prince of Wales yesterday assumed . In other countries whero Freemasonry has flourished the princes of the reigning houses havo in all ages been reckoned of tho fraternity , and among those still living are tho Emperor of Germany , the King of Italy , tho King of Belgium , and the Kinrr of Sweden .
Although the ceremony of yesterday was strictly private , and in no degree partook of any political significance , tho unusual degree of t ' clat wlikh it has necessarily received from the rank of those engaged iu it , cannot but attract towarda it a good deal of public
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Press And The Installation.
chief magistrate for this important office , the Grand Master was paying a well deserved compliment , not only to the noble Corporation of which the Lord Mayor is the head , but to the merchant princes of the greatest city in the world . The chief magistrate of tho city is a thoroughly
representative man , and the high honour accorded to him ¦ will be appreciated by the vast body of Masons who hail from the commercial centre of the metropolis . Sir Michael Costa and Sir Albert Woods were distinguished by honorary rank , and this too was a graceful act , which
will no doubt be highly appreciated . In spite of the scoffs of the Times , eminent persons in all the walks of life are anxious to deck themselves with the highest insignia of the Craft , and the fact that such honours as Masonry can confer are eagerly sought for by men of
acknowledged repute in the world should at least convince our cynical critic that there must be something after all of substantial value in the Fraternity . It is pleasing to find that our contemporary the Standard has latterly made Masonic intelligence a feature in its columns .
Its article on the Installation Ceremony is exceedingly able , and most friendly in its tone , and stands out in striking contrast to the " geniality " of the leading journal . We appreciate its learned comments , and the Masonic world will be glad to find that so powerful a paper takes a just and impartial view of the aims and objects of the Order .
From the TIMES , 29 th April . The Installation of tho Prince of Wales as Grand Master of the Freemasons was an impressive , and , in some respects , an instructive ceremonial . Theoretically , no ono knows who Freemasons are or what are their ceremonies and principles ; but in practice we all know that they are very fair representatives of Englishmen in
general , and that their only peculiarity is to discharge certain praiseworthy duties of hnmanity in a more picturesqne and expensive manner than is thought necessary by other people . We would not for a inonent disparage the value of the " Craft . " There is a singular passion in human nature for anything in the form of order , association , and discipline . Nothiusr of this sort can be too much
for him , and in his enjoyment of the society of his fellows and of their common ceremonial he is quite unconscious of the appearance ho may present to tho eyes of critical outsiders . Grown-up men , however grave , are still as happy as children in enacting some imaginary play , and in ono form or another they insist on having it . Even Bishops find it necessary occasionallv
to revert to these innocent instincts of infancy , and the Pan-Anglican Synod , which has just been annonnccd for 1877 , may be considered as a kind of ecclesiastical Grand Lodge . Tho Freemasons , however . aro by far tho most successful in gratifying this innate passion , for it is difficult to say whether , in this country at least , tho picturesqueness or the innoconco of the Fraternity predominates .
These are tho two qualities to be mainly desired iu any grati . fication of the natural impulse of which we are speaking , and they were exhibited in perfection in the ceremonial wo report this morning . To tho uninitiated , indeed , there is something amusing in the extraordinary number of "Grand" Oflicers and Officers who seem to have been concerned in the affair . Few people ,
probably , were awaro that there were so many magnificent dignities scattered obscurely about the country . The Prince of Wales is a great personage , but even his dignity seems scarcely equal to the demands of such a mass of attendant grandeur . But , no doubt , such titles have their significance within the Brotherhood , and nc exception whatever can be taken to the aprons , collars , and other bits
of finery with which the imaginary hierarchy displays its magnificence . Blue and crimson ribands worn in due order by concentric circles of human beings , even when they are men and not women , have a pretty effect , and tho Freemasons appear to carry the art of disci , pliued ceremonial to great perfection . Whatever can be done by ornamented male nature in the wav of processions and salutes was no
doubt accomplished yesterday with even greater success than by Roman Catholics or Ritualists . Ten thousand Englishmen wore their Masonic clothing and performed thoir Masonic mysteries with unprecedented effect . It was a perfectly innocent enjoyment , and it is pleasant to see that so many men can thus find genuine enjoyment iu becoming very young again .
But all this display seems to be the dress in which some of the best impulses of good-fellowship and charity aro clothed , and , as the new Grand Master yesterday said , so long as tho " great and ancient Order" conliue themselves to those objects they will flourish . " Loyalty aud Charity" are their watchwords , and so long as these characteristics aro maintained they will be a
useful as well as an agreeable Brotherhood . The significance of the Prince ' s reception yesterday mnst be measured , not by what might appear its intrinsic importance , but by tho circumstances which it illustrates aud interprets . It is always welcome , even thongh needless , to elicit a display of the cordial and genial character of English loyalty , and of the heartiness with which the generous disposition of tho Prince of Wale 3 is appreciated by the
mass of his futnro subjects . Ilia welcome yesterday was evidently animated by a strong feeling of persoual regard , and if anything were needed to confirm this sentiment it would be the gracefulness with which he intimated his acknowledgment of it . The Fiwmnsnrs mnst excuse our passing amusement at their odd ceremonies ; but such au association lusters , no doubt , t ' jat spirit of independent thought and action which sustains the free judgment of indi .
The Press And The Installation.
viduals , and even tho Heir Apparent may bo reasonably satisfied when he is welcomed with far more thau official applause among tho chosen representatives of the largest association of Euglish gentlemen . But , as Lord Carnavon intimated in his address to the new Grand Master , his reception at this moment is a still more special significance ; The "Craft" appear not unreasonably sensible of the reflection
which , however unwillingly , was thrown npon them by the retirement of tho Grand Master whom the Prince of VTalea succeeds . Lord Ripon had received no ordinary honour in being elected to a post which the Prince of Wales is willing to occupy , and on a sudden , at the dictate of another and a hostile society , ho threw np his office . The Craft appear to
be perfectly tolerant of variations of creed in their members ; but Lord Ripon ' s resignation reminded them in the mnst pointed manner that they are treated by the Romau Catholic churches as an irreligious , seditions , and even anti-Christian organisation . The other day tho Grand Orient Lodge of Italy , from which a message of congratulation was yesterday read , opened a Masonic " Temple" in Rome .
It was a great event in the annals of the Brotherhood , and was proportionately horrify ing to the ecclesiastical authorities who had hitherto exclnded Freemasons with far more jealousy than brigands and Red Republicans . There have , perhaps , been some excuses in foreign countries for this extravagant jealousy of anything which seemed like a secret society ; but Lord Ripon informed the
" Craft" that the same unreasoning and liberal jealousy t wa 3 maintained even in England . Tho reception of yesterday was in great measure a national demonstration against this unjustifiable prejudice . The Prince of Wales in accepting tho office of Grand Master has proclaimed to all the world that Freemasonry , at least in England , is a perfectly innocuous , loyal , and virtuous association j and the
" Craft , " in welcoming him , have similarly proclaimed their possession of these qualities . It is strange that the lesson of such demonstrations should be so obstinately overlooked , not merely by the Roman Catholic Church , but even by some foreign Governments and Legislatures . Of all the enterprises on which legislative and administrative time can be
wasted , the most useless , except in exceptional emergencies , is that of attacking secret associations . Tho only way to counterbalance them is to open to men in the ordinary institutions of tho country the means of obtaining all the political objects they can reasonably desire , and all minor associations will then become , like the Freemasons in England , mere organisations for the cultivation of
mutual good-feeling and chanty . It is quite possible that under the repression of past tyranny Freemasonry was really used on th e Continent as a means of revolutionary agitation . Men were in want of some organised means of mutual action , and the first secret society at band was employed for their purposes . In this country there has been no occasion for any such agency , and the result is
seen in the ceremony of yesterday . The society against which the Pope fulminates all the terrors of this world and the next for its supposed hostility to everything loyal and sacred , meets in innocuous splendour in a great Music Hall , welcomes with enthusiasm the Heir to tho Throne , and makes solemn protestation of its loyal , religious , and charitable principles . Does not such an example say more for tolerance than for excommunication ?
From the STANDARD , 29 th April . Yesterday was a clay to be marked with white in tho annals of Freemasonry . In the midst of an assemblage of brethren perhaps the largest and tho most imposiug since the initial ceremony itself from which the Society is accustomed to date—the building of the Temple at Jerusalem by King Solomon—surrounded by all who are
of the highest rank in the brotherhood , and including mauy states * men , nobles , and men illustrious by birth , station , or talents , tho Heir of England was installed iu the high placo of Grand Master of tho English Freemasons . The proceedings having been duly ' tiled , ' it is not for us to attempt to penetrate into the mysteries enacted under tho lofty dome of the Albert Hall . We may be sure , however , that
nothing was wanting which could lend solemnity and splendour to the occasion . Seven thousand Freemasons , all of the highest degrees ; the choicest experts of the Craft , the hierarchy of the Order , were gathered from all parts of England and Wales to do honour to the Grand Master , and take part in the rites . Besides these were present delegates from the Grand Lodges of Scotland and Ireland , from
Germany , from France , from Sweden , from Denmark , from every country in Europe where Masonry is represented ; it may be even from that Sicilian Lodge of which Brother Mastai Ferretti was onco a member . Vast as the Albert Hall is , however , it was not nearly large enough to accommodate tho thousands more who , from no idle spirit of curiosity , but from zeal for the Craft , or a desire to acknowledge
the honour which it has received through the Prince of Wales ' s acceptance of the Graud Mastership , desired to be present on the auspicious occasion . These , and all good Masons , must be content to know that the solemn function of the Installation has been performed with all the " pride , pomp , and circumstance " which were appropriate to tho ceremony , and to the chief actor in it , and will
rejoico at the recognition which their institution has received at tho hands of Royalty . It is , not , indeed , the first time that a Prince of the Blood has so honoured the fraternity . A long succession of our English Kings were Freemasons . A Prince of Wales was installed Grand Master in 1702 , and most of the Royal Dukes , his uncles and brothers , were among the initiated . The lato Dnke of Sussex filled
for many years the high office which the Prince of Wales yesterday assumed . In other countries whero Freemasonry has flourished the princes of the reigning houses havo in all ages been reckoned of tho fraternity , and among those still living are tho Emperor of Germany , the King of Italy , tho King of Belgium , and the Kinrr of Sweden .
Although the ceremony of yesterday was strictly private , and in no degree partook of any political significance , tho unusual degree of t ' clat wlikh it has necessarily received from the rank of those engaged iu it , cannot but attract towarda it a good deal of public