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Article FESTIVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. ← Page 2 of 3 Article FESTIVAL OF THE BOYS' SCHOOL. Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Festival Of The Boys' School.
below will be found an account of the proceedings at the Festival itself .
The Festival afc tho Crystal Palace , wa = * attended by a large and distinguished company of Indies and brethren . The banqnet was one of the best ever provided in connection with the Boys' Festivals , which , considering the season of the year at which they are held , possess advantages entirely their own , as compared with the
anniversaries of the other Institutions . The banquet was not onl y well supplied , but was also efficiently served , a most important feature in connection with the most elaborate menu , and we heartil y add our congratulations to the many accorded to Bros . Bertram and Roberts on the success which attended their efforts .
At the conclusion of the banquet grace was sung by the musical quartette—Miss Margaret Home , Madame Raymond , Bro . Arthur Thompson and Bro . Franklin Clive—and then the Chairman proceeded with the toasts . The first , Her Majesty the Qneen , was one , he was sure , would be received in the way which ,
according to his experience , it always was received amongst Freemasons . There mig ht bo other nations in which Freemasonry was under some suspicion , or where its secrecy vvas liable to some misapprehension , bnt it was not the caso in England . He ventured to say the Queen had no more loyal subjects than the Freemnsons of
this country . He felt all were tolerabl y well satisfied with the monarchinl institntion under which they lived . It was rnly on such occasions as the crisis just passed throngh that thoy conld fullv realise how much they owed to the personal influence of the Sove . reign , and he bad no doubt that when the history of the recent transne .
tions cauie to be laid fully before them , they , with the whole countrv would have reason to be satisfied , as they had been before , with the great constitutional knowledge and jndgmeut displayed by her Majesty . The toast , having met a hearty response , was followed b y the National Anthem .
The Chairman next proposed H . R . H . the Prince of Wale- * , K . G ., & c , M . W . G . M ., the President of the Institntion whose Festival they were that day celebrating . For many reasons it was not necessary he should waste time in stating why the tonst should be heartil y received . They should drink it as loyal citizens , and not only shonld
they honour it as the health of one who would one day sit on the throne of this country , bnt also as the head of the Order—one who had at all times taken a great interest in all that related to Freemasonry . Ho was snre there were many present who could sav much more on this subject than ho ; who conld tell them how
much the Charity whose Featival they were that day celebrating and the other Masonic Charities , owed to the exertions of the Prince of Wales , ably assisted as he had been b y other members of the Royal Family . His Royal Highness had recently shown his interest in the Craft by personally initiating his eldest son into Freemasonry .
Bro . Colonel Shadwell H . Gierke next proposed the health of the Chairman . He was privileged in submitting a toast which ho was Confident would be received by every person in the room with the gieatest enthusiasm . He was qnite sure his brother Masons would agree with him , and that the ladies would believe him , when he said
it was a very great advantage , and certainly a very great pleasure that among the earnest and good men enrolled among us were a very large number of noblemen and gentlemen of the hi ghest stations in the country . These noblemen and gentlemen occupied thorns-elves in furthering the interests and welfare of their Soverei gn and their
country , and still found time to act as trne nnd earnest Masons , coming among tbe brethren to advance the interests of the Order , and the Institutions associated with it . In fact , he misrht describe them as true specimens of the English working man . Of this truism the noble Chairman of tbe day was an excellent example ; he
belonged to one of those exalted houses which had provided old and tried statesmen in the pasfc , who had contributed to the great success of the country , and was himself a statesman who had for many years given his services for the benefit of his conntry and his Queen . Yefc among his multifarious duties ho had found time to be Grand Master
of the Province of Derbyshire for upwards of a quarter of a centnry , and had presided over that Province with the greatest skill and ability . The Marquis of Hartington had that day been good enough to come among them to preside over the Festival of the Boys ' School , and Bro . Gierke felt he mig ht , on behalf of the Institution , offer him the heartiest thanks of all associated with ifc . He was sure
Lord Hartingtou ' s presence that night wonld be productive of much good to the Institution , and trusted that at future Festivals they might always have such a distinguished nobleman to preside over the meeting . The Marquis of Hartington replying said , he need scarcely say he
felt much indebted to Bro . Shadwell Gierke for the way iu which be had proposed the toast , and to the brethren for the way in which they had received it . He admitted he felt he could hardly take credit for what had been said about the way in which he had discharged his Masonic duties . It was true he had hacl the honour of
being Provincial Grand Master of Derbyshire for more than a quarter of a century , and if the affairs of that Province were—as he honestl y hoped and trusted they were—in a satisfactory state , the credit was eniirely due to the distinguished brethren who had successivel y occupied the position of Deputy Provincial G . Master , and who had
relieved him entirely , or almost entirely , of the duties which ought more properly to have devolved on him . He bad , as had been -jaiil by Bro . Gierke , made excuses , some of them gnod excuses , for his neglect of his Masonic duties . He blamed himself that he had so long resisted the frequent applications which hacl so kindly been nvide to
him to take the chair on such an interesting occasion as the present , and it seemed that in overcoming his diffidence in this respect with regard to the present Festival , he had shown something approaching
to the gift of prophesy . He had always excused himself on the plea that his official engagements in Parliament were very severe , aud that his time was so constantly occupied that it was impossible for him to undertake other than absolutely
Festival Of The Boys' School.
necessary duties . For reasons which he felt he need nofc then trouble them with , ho had , somo months before , acceded to the request of the distinguished and most energetic Secretary of their Institution , Bro . Binckos , that he wonld take the chair ; trusting that Pvovi ' - ' enco would , in some way or other , enable him to fulfil the
responsibilities which he thus undertook . Providence had helped him , ancl he was enabled to carry out his promise at the commencement of what he hoped would be to him a substantial and satisfactory holiday . He had to apologise for having kept them waiting thafc day . He was late only because he had bufc just returned from
Windsor after performing his final duties in connection with the f ormal resignation of his political post . He proposed to depart = omewhat from the order in which the toasts had been arranged ; >\ nd to take the opportunity of at once bringing to their notice the most important one of tbe day . Not having attended , as he had
explained , on any similar occasion in the past , he did not know what had been said in proposing this toast , or what sort of speech it was customary to make . Ho could but feel that those who had attended on many of- theso occasions , must have found a very
considerable similarity in the topics brought before them ; while he was afraid thafc anything he might be able to say would be even moro well worn than what they wero accustomed to hear . Ho could not omit the consideration thafc
they were in the midst of a very extraordinary and sudden change in onr somewhat variable country , ov that the temperature of tha ronm . in which they were seated , and likely to be seated for some time , was somewhat high , while the grounds outside the beautiful Palace appeared to be more inviting than listening to speeches ,
whether new or stale ; ho did not , therefore , propose to detain them very long with observations on what was really the toasfc of the evening . There were difficulties in tho way of his dilating afc any length npon purely Masonic subjects . All the world knew they possessed recondite and innumerable
secrets , but the presence of the numerous ladies whom he was pleased to see around him prevented his entering into a discussion of any of them as to which they would be so glad to obtain information . He could therefore only speak upon those topics connected with the Craft which were known to the world at large . He had
alread y said , in proposing the first toast , there were countries in which Freemasonry , on account of the secresy of its proceedings , laboured under some suspicion , and was connected in the minds of the governments and ruling powers of those countries with the proceedings of other secret societies ,
bufc enough was known of English Freemasons to satisfy everybody that their secrets were in no degree antagonistic to any of the fundamental princip les on which society rested , or thafc they were antngonistic to any of the principles either of morality or of religion . Ifc was known to all the world thafc some of the first
principles of the Craffc were contained in the words " Brotherhood " nnd "Benevolence , " and it was in furtherance of and in endeavouring to carry into execution those princip les they were met that evening , There may have been times—now long past , when society and the world was not so large , and when Freemasonry was nofc so
largewhen it was not necessary that tbe charity they inculcated should be organised as ifc was necessary it should be organised now . In those times it mieht have been possible for Brother to appeal to 1 rother , or , at all events , for one in distress to obtain the assistance and sympathy he needed from his own Lodge ; but everything was so large
now . and their own body was so large , that some organisation of the benevolence and tho charity which is an essential principle of the Order was absolutely required . They all knew that indiscriminate charity ancl indiscriminate benevolence practised . by individuals was likelv to do more harm than good , and ho could but feel that but for
the organisation which had been introduced into the Masonic Charities , Masonic benevolence might have tended to have had the same effect . Therefore he felt they owed a deep debt of gratitude to those brethren who in times gone by , and still more so at the present , devoted themselves to the work of organising Masonic charity . Asa
consequence of their exertions they had three splendid Masonic Institutions , of which that whose Festival they were then celebrating was , if not the leading one , at all events in the very first rank . He would nofc detain them with any history of the Institution , as no doubt very many of those present were better acquainted with such details
than he was ; but there were one or two facts which would be of interest to those who were perhaps not fully acquainted with them . The present was the Eiehty-seventh Festival of the Charity . During the eighty-six years the Institution had been in existence the number of boys who had received its benefits was 1 , 657 , that was to
say , 1 , 657 sons of Freemnsons had received the education given by the Institution . When first founded there were only twenty-five boys , who , in a somewhat irregular and unsettled manner were receiving education at various schools throughout the country . There were now 215 lads in the School of the Institution at Wood Green ,
while arrangements had been made , by providing fresh buildings and other accommodation , for the reception of fifty additional boys . It was hoped that in October of the present year a number of additional candidates would be elected for admission in January 1886 , and he need scarcely say thafc for the completion of these buildings
funds were most urgently reeded . The ceremony of laying the copestone of this increase to the bnildings of the Institntion was to be performed by a lady well known for her benevolence , ancl for the leal which she had takeu in works of public utility of every description —the Baroness Burdett-Coutts . The Institution was , be believed ,
essentially and completely a Masonic Institution—a few outside benefactors they might have had , but he believed only to a very small extent . They asked for no assistance from the State ; tbey a * kwl for no assistance from any other Institution ; they asked
for assistance only from the Masonic body . All they hacl asked from outside bodies had been that they mig ht take advantage of the libeial and generous procedure of the Universities , and had availed themselves—that was to say the Institution had availed itself—of fche facilities which had been given by the Universities of Oxford
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Festival Of The Boys' School.
below will be found an account of the proceedings at the Festival itself .
The Festival afc tho Crystal Palace , wa = * attended by a large and distinguished company of Indies and brethren . The banqnet was one of the best ever provided in connection with the Boys' Festivals , which , considering the season of the year at which they are held , possess advantages entirely their own , as compared with the
anniversaries of the other Institutions . The banquet was not onl y well supplied , but was also efficiently served , a most important feature in connection with the most elaborate menu , and we heartil y add our congratulations to the many accorded to Bros . Bertram and Roberts on the success which attended their efforts .
At the conclusion of the banquet grace was sung by the musical quartette—Miss Margaret Home , Madame Raymond , Bro . Arthur Thompson and Bro . Franklin Clive—and then the Chairman proceeded with the toasts . The first , Her Majesty the Qneen , was one , he was sure , would be received in the way which ,
according to his experience , it always was received amongst Freemasons . There mig ht bo other nations in which Freemasonry was under some suspicion , or where its secrecy vvas liable to some misapprehension , bnt it was not the caso in England . He ventured to say the Queen had no more loyal subjects than the Freemnsons of
this country . He felt all were tolerabl y well satisfied with the monarchinl institntion under which they lived . It was rnly on such occasions as the crisis just passed throngh that thoy conld fullv realise how much they owed to the personal influence of the Sove . reign , and he bad no doubt that when the history of the recent transne .
tions cauie to be laid fully before them , they , with the whole countrv would have reason to be satisfied , as they had been before , with the great constitutional knowledge and jndgmeut displayed by her Majesty . The toast , having met a hearty response , was followed b y the National Anthem .
The Chairman next proposed H . R . H . the Prince of Wale- * , K . G ., & c , M . W . G . M ., the President of the Institntion whose Festival they were that day celebrating . For many reasons it was not necessary he should waste time in stating why the tonst should be heartil y received . They should drink it as loyal citizens , and not only shonld
they honour it as the health of one who would one day sit on the throne of this country , bnt also as the head of the Order—one who had at all times taken a great interest in all that related to Freemasonry . Ho was snre there were many present who could sav much more on this subject than ho ; who conld tell them how
much the Charity whose Featival they were that day celebrating and the other Masonic Charities , owed to the exertions of the Prince of Wales , ably assisted as he had been b y other members of the Royal Family . His Royal Highness had recently shown his interest in the Craft by personally initiating his eldest son into Freemasonry .
Bro . Colonel Shadwell H . Gierke next proposed the health of the Chairman . He was privileged in submitting a toast which ho was Confident would be received by every person in the room with the gieatest enthusiasm . He was qnite sure his brother Masons would agree with him , and that the ladies would believe him , when he said
it was a very great advantage , and certainly a very great pleasure that among the earnest and good men enrolled among us were a very large number of noblemen and gentlemen of the hi ghest stations in the country . These noblemen and gentlemen occupied thorns-elves in furthering the interests and welfare of their Soverei gn and their
country , and still found time to act as trne nnd earnest Masons , coming among tbe brethren to advance the interests of the Order , and the Institutions associated with it . In fact , he misrht describe them as true specimens of the English working man . Of this truism the noble Chairman of tbe day was an excellent example ; he
belonged to one of those exalted houses which had provided old and tried statesmen in the pasfc , who had contributed to the great success of the country , and was himself a statesman who had for many years given his services for the benefit of his conntry and his Queen . Yefc among his multifarious duties ho had found time to be Grand Master
of the Province of Derbyshire for upwards of a quarter of a centnry , and had presided over that Province with the greatest skill and ability . The Marquis of Hartington had that day been good enough to come among them to preside over the Festival of the Boys ' School , and Bro . Gierke felt he mig ht , on behalf of the Institution , offer him the heartiest thanks of all associated with ifc . He was sure
Lord Hartingtou ' s presence that night wonld be productive of much good to the Institution , and trusted that at future Festivals they might always have such a distinguished nobleman to preside over the meeting . The Marquis of Hartington replying said , he need scarcely say he
felt much indebted to Bro . Shadwell Gierke for the way iu which be had proposed the toast , and to the brethren for the way in which they had received it . He admitted he felt he could hardly take credit for what had been said about the way in which he had discharged his Masonic duties . It was true he had hacl the honour of
being Provincial Grand Master of Derbyshire for more than a quarter of a century , and if the affairs of that Province were—as he honestl y hoped and trusted they were—in a satisfactory state , the credit was eniirely due to the distinguished brethren who had successivel y occupied the position of Deputy Provincial G . Master , and who had
relieved him entirely , or almost entirely , of the duties which ought more properly to have devolved on him . He bad , as had been -jaiil by Bro . Gierke , made excuses , some of them gnod excuses , for his neglect of his Masonic duties . He blamed himself that he had so long resisted the frequent applications which hacl so kindly been nvide to
him to take the chair on such an interesting occasion as the present , and it seemed that in overcoming his diffidence in this respect with regard to the present Festival , he had shown something approaching
to the gift of prophesy . He had always excused himself on the plea that his official engagements in Parliament were very severe , aud that his time was so constantly occupied that it was impossible for him to undertake other than absolutely
Festival Of The Boys' School.
necessary duties . For reasons which he felt he need nofc then trouble them with , ho had , somo months before , acceded to the request of the distinguished and most energetic Secretary of their Institution , Bro . Binckos , that he wonld take the chair ; trusting that Pvovi ' - ' enco would , in some way or other , enable him to fulfil the
responsibilities which he thus undertook . Providence had helped him , ancl he was enabled to carry out his promise at the commencement of what he hoped would be to him a substantial and satisfactory holiday . He had to apologise for having kept them waiting thafc day . He was late only because he had bufc just returned from
Windsor after performing his final duties in connection with the f ormal resignation of his political post . He proposed to depart = omewhat from the order in which the toasts had been arranged ; >\ nd to take the opportunity of at once bringing to their notice the most important one of tbe day . Not having attended , as he had
explained , on any similar occasion in the past , he did not know what had been said in proposing this toast , or what sort of speech it was customary to make . Ho could but feel that those who had attended on many of- theso occasions , must have found a very
considerable similarity in the topics brought before them ; while he was afraid thafc anything he might be able to say would be even moro well worn than what they wero accustomed to hear . Ho could not omit the consideration thafc
they were in the midst of a very extraordinary and sudden change in onr somewhat variable country , ov that the temperature of tha ronm . in which they were seated , and likely to be seated for some time , was somewhat high , while the grounds outside the beautiful Palace appeared to be more inviting than listening to speeches ,
whether new or stale ; ho did not , therefore , propose to detain them very long with observations on what was really the toasfc of the evening . There were difficulties in tho way of his dilating afc any length npon purely Masonic subjects . All the world knew they possessed recondite and innumerable
secrets , but the presence of the numerous ladies whom he was pleased to see around him prevented his entering into a discussion of any of them as to which they would be so glad to obtain information . He could therefore only speak upon those topics connected with the Craft which were known to the world at large . He had
alread y said , in proposing the first toast , there were countries in which Freemasonry , on account of the secresy of its proceedings , laboured under some suspicion , and was connected in the minds of the governments and ruling powers of those countries with the proceedings of other secret societies ,
bufc enough was known of English Freemasons to satisfy everybody that their secrets were in no degree antagonistic to any of the fundamental princip les on which society rested , or thafc they were antngonistic to any of the principles either of morality or of religion . Ifc was known to all the world thafc some of the first
principles of the Craffc were contained in the words " Brotherhood " nnd "Benevolence , " and it was in furtherance of and in endeavouring to carry into execution those princip les they were met that evening , There may have been times—now long past , when society and the world was not so large , and when Freemasonry was nofc so
largewhen it was not necessary that tbe charity they inculcated should be organised as ifc was necessary it should be organised now . In those times it mieht have been possible for Brother to appeal to 1 rother , or , at all events , for one in distress to obtain the assistance and sympathy he needed from his own Lodge ; but everything was so large
now . and their own body was so large , that some organisation of the benevolence and tho charity which is an essential principle of the Order was absolutely required . They all knew that indiscriminate charity ancl indiscriminate benevolence practised . by individuals was likelv to do more harm than good , and ho could but feel that but for
the organisation which had been introduced into the Masonic Charities , Masonic benevolence might have tended to have had the same effect . Therefore he felt they owed a deep debt of gratitude to those brethren who in times gone by , and still more so at the present , devoted themselves to the work of organising Masonic charity . Asa
consequence of their exertions they had three splendid Masonic Institutions , of which that whose Festival they were then celebrating was , if not the leading one , at all events in the very first rank . He would nofc detain them with any history of the Institution , as no doubt very many of those present were better acquainted with such details
than he was ; but there were one or two facts which would be of interest to those who were perhaps not fully acquainted with them . The present was the Eiehty-seventh Festival of the Charity . During the eighty-six years the Institution had been in existence the number of boys who had received its benefits was 1 , 657 , that was to
say , 1 , 657 sons of Freemnsons had received the education given by the Institution . When first founded there were only twenty-five boys , who , in a somewhat irregular and unsettled manner were receiving education at various schools throughout the country . There were now 215 lads in the School of the Institution at Wood Green ,
while arrangements had been made , by providing fresh buildings and other accommodation , for the reception of fifty additional boys . It was hoped that in October of the present year a number of additional candidates would be elected for admission in January 1886 , and he need scarcely say thafc for the completion of these buildings
funds were most urgently reeded . The ceremony of laying the copestone of this increase to the bnildings of the Institntion was to be performed by a lady well known for her benevolence , ancl for the leal which she had takeu in works of public utility of every description —the Baroness Burdett-Coutts . The Institution was , be believed ,
essentially and completely a Masonic Institution—a few outside benefactors they might have had , but he believed only to a very small extent . They asked for no assistance from the State ; tbey a * kwl for no assistance from any other Institution ; they asked
for assistance only from the Masonic body . All they hacl asked from outside bodies had been that they mig ht take advantage of the libeial and generous procedure of the Universities , and had availed themselves—that was to say the Institution had availed itself—of fche facilities which had been given by the Universities of Oxford