The Royal Visit To Brighton.

THE ROYAL VISIT TO BRIGHTON .

AMIDST "ten thousand" welcomes from the loyal residents of Brighton , and of the crowds of visitors who at this time of the year flock into the qneen of southern watering places , onr Most Worshipful Grand Master His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales paid his promised official visit , on Tuesday last , for the purpose of installing his august brother the Duke of Connaught as Provincial Grand Master of Sussex Freemasons . Everything

combined to render this royal visit an event to be remembered in the annals of Brighton history , and in the history , too , of the Craft in which the Heir Apparent and other members of the Royal Household take so deep and genuine an

interest . This solicitude for the welfare of Freemasonry is so frequently alluded to in the post-prandial speeches to which it is our lot to listen at Masonic banquets that the brethren need nothing here to impress them with the fact

in a general way . But when an event of such imposing magnitude as that of Tuesday last occurs , something more than a passing reference to it is demanded at the hands of a journal especially associated with , and essentially

representing , the welfare of the Craft . Nearly ten years have elapsed since it was our privilege to assist at a ceremony similar in its character , though scarcely so momentous , as that which is reported in our columns of to-day , when the

Grand Master visited Norwich for the purpose of installing Lord Suffield as Provincial Grand Master of Norfolk . Many of the " veterans " will recollect that during that selfsame week the late Duke of Albany honoured the Prov .

Grand Lodge of Wiltshire with his presence , at the annual meeting of that Province held at Warminster , under the presidency of its respected chief , the Lord Methuen . Ever since that time , up to the date of the

initiation of Prince Albert Yictor at the Royal Alpha Lodge , some twelve months ago , our Grand Master and his royal brothers have manifested a desire on every available occasion that has presented itself of personally

identifying themselves with the Order ; and we have it still fresh in our memories how that the Duke of Connaught—who on Tuesday was installed as Grand Master of the Province that bears his name—has likewise displayed his zeal and assiduity in Masonry by presiding

at Festivals , both of the Boys' and Girls' Institutions . These auspicious occasions are even yet looked back upon as pleasant reminiscences by those who were fortunate enough to witness them , but all have been far eclipsed by

the splendid and brilliant gathering of the present week . Brighton broke into the most beaming of smiles on the day appointed for the pageant which , other than in a purely Masonic sense , was to render it one of

the most memorable in the history of the town , " Royal weather" in its truest form graced the whole of the proceedings from beginning to end , and amidst the most genial gleams of sunshine that

have been vouchsafed to us in this one of the coldest of leafy months " we have experienced for many years ; the "whole place was bathed in a flood of colour , sunshine , animation , and enthusiasm . From end to end of the route

traversed by the Royal Party , the utmost loyalty was exemplified by the dense masses of spectators on either side of the two miles of "front "—as Brightonians endearingly call their grand and unrivalled Esplanade—and this is all the more significant , from our own point of view , from the fact

The Royal Visit To Brighton.

that the visit was not in its usual way a municipal one , but essentially Masonic . True , the local municipality was represented by the presence of the Mayor and several members of the Corporation , by whom the Royal guests were most cordially welcomed to the town ; but , after all , the occasion was one of intrinsic interest , and exceptionally so , to the Craft . On their arrival at the railway station the Royal visitors were presented with an address of welcome from the Corporation of Brighton , which was read by the Town Clerk ( Bro . F . J . Tillstone ) , the text of which was as

follows : — To His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales , K . G . —May ifc please your Royal Hisrhness , —We , the Mayor , Aldermen , and Burgesses of the Borough of Brighton , respectfully offer to yonr Royal Highness a sincere and cordial welcome to onr town , and we desire to express

the great pleasnre it affords the people of Brighton that you are ou this occasion" accompanied by your son H . R . H . the Prince Victor Edward of Wales , and your brother H . R . H . the Duke of Connaught and Earl of Sussex . The inhabitants of the county of Sussex generally , as well as those who are members of the Masonio body ,

were much gratified on learning thit H . R . H , the Duke of Cnnnauehfc had been appointed to , and had accepted , the office of Grand Master of the Freemasons of this Province , and it iaa great additional gratifi . cation to them that yonr Royal Highness has been graciously pleased to intimate your intention of personally performing , in this Borough ,

the ceremony of installing in office the new Provincial Grand Master . We beg , in onr name and that of the inhabitants of Brighton , to assure your Royal Highness of the loyalty and affection whioh we , in common with all Her Majesty ' s subjects , entertain for Her Moat Gracious Majesty the Queen , for your Royal Highness , and for the other members of the Royal Family .

The Prince of Wales made the following reply : — Mr . Mayor and Gentlemen , —I thank you sincerely for the cordial welcome which you have given me here to-day , and for the kind words in which you allude to the presence of mv son and brother . I had great satisfaction in offering for my brother ' s acceptance the post of Provincial Grand Master of Sussex , and it haa afforded mo

much gratification to be able to perform the duty of installing him into his important office . I have to express to you my warm acknowledgments for the loyal terms in which you allnde to the Queen , and the members of my family ; and let me add thafc those

sentiments are in perfect harmony with the kind reception whioh has invariably been accorded to me by the inhabitants of Brighton on all of those occasions upon which it has been my good fortune to visit this town . Then , amidst the cheers of the privileged ones upon the

platform , and the larger crowd outside , the procession moved away to Hove , by way of Queen ' s Road , West Street , and King ' s Road , travelling as far as The Drive , Old Steine , Castle Square , and the Pavilion . As we have said , all along the route the royal and Masonic party was received with every demonstration of welcome , though

perhaps the enthusiasm at no point of the route broke into the boisterous ebullition we are accustomed to in London and other large towns . The Dome and Corn Exchange were elaborately decorated , and the spectacle presented at

the installation when Bro . His Royal Highness Arthur William Patrick Albert , Duke of Connaught and Strath - earn , and Earl of Sussex , was installed amidst the full blaze of that ceremonial , and in the presence of over two

thousand members of the Craft , was imposing in the extreme . The opinion expressed by the residents in Brighton accustomed to take part in public demonstrations there is , that " nothing heretofore witnessed in the Dome

has surpassed the picturesqueness of the scene at this period , and it will long live in the memory of those who were privileged to be present . " The ceremony attracted to itself an interest and importance quite unique from the spectacle of the installation of one Royal brother