The New Province Of Bedfordshire.

land Past Provincial Grand Warden North and East Torks , and others . Among tho Visitors was Brother Butler Wilkins , Grand Standard Bearer . A Provincial

Grand Lodge having been regularly opened , the Installing Officer explained the object of the meeting , and tendered his congratulations to the Masons of Bedfordshire on

having been formed into a Province , whereby they would acquire many advantages they had not previously enjoyed . He also congratulated them on having had Colonel W . Stuart appointed as their first Provincial Grand Master , as

he was an old and tried Mason , competent to settle any questions of difference which mig ht arise in his district without entailing the unpleasantness of taking them to Grand Lodge . Brother Colonel Stuart was then formally

installed as Provincial Grand Master , and the othei Officers for the year invested . Brother Lieut .-Colonel Henry Lindsell was appointed Deputy Provincial Grand Master , and Brother E . C . Prior Provincial Grand

Secretary , while Brother James Fisher ( Treasurer of the Stuart Lodge , Bedford ) was elected as Provincial Grand Treasnrer . After the closing of the Lodge a banquet

followed at the Swan Hotel , at which the Provincial Grand Master presided , the usual toasts being proposed in due course .

The toast of the Queen having been honoured , Col Stuart proposed that of the Grand Master . Freemasons drank with peculiar pleasure to the health of tho Most Worshipfnl the Grand Master of England . The toast was

one always appreciated in Freemasonry . At the present time thoy had a person of the highest rank in the landnext to Her Majesty the Queen—ruling them in Freemasonry , while most of his family wero associated with

the Order . The grandfather of the Prince of Wales was a Freemason , as also was each of his uncles . William the Third had been regularl y admitted into the Order , and the gavel used at the time of his initiation was still in use .

He ( Colonel Stuart ) had himself used it , at the time of the admission of the late Duke of Albany . They had much to thank the Prince of Wales for , as ruler of Freemasonry . If he wns not so often among them as some desired , it

was because his many other engagements prevented it . Afc the time of his installation His Royal Highness had said the brethren must recollect he had many other duties

to perform , and he might not always be able to be present when they desired it . He did his best , however , to meet their wishes . The next toast was one which

would come a little nearer home , as it included some of those then present . It was the health of the Pro Grand Master , the Deputy Grand Master and the Grand Officers of England . Those who had known the Craft for a few

years must know that the post of a Grand Officer was not a sinecure . The present Grand Officers were as zealous as any body of officials could be . Their life was one of end less motion , their presence being required first in the north

then in the south , and then in the east or west . It was b y this means that Grand Lodge was kept informed of the way in which Freemasonry was being conducted throughout the country . It would be a bad time for Freemasonry if

ever there was a lack of concord between the blue and the purple sections of the Craft . At present the brethren of tho purple were always ready to help as far as they were able , while the brethren of the blue were pleased to look

up to their regularly constituted rulers . Bro . Rev . Spencer Stanhope replied , tendering his heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Grand Officers . That was the fourth time during the past few days he had had to return thanks for the

Grand Officers of England at similar meetings . On each occasion the toast had been heartil y received , bnt nowhere more heartily than in the good olcl town of Bedford . He congratulated the brethren " of Bedfordshire in being formed

into a Province , and felt that Masons generally must be gratified at the way in which the affairs of Grand Lodge were conducted . Masonry was ruled over b y two great noblemen , —one of them , the Pro Grand Master being- the

greatest statesman of the country ; his presence in Grand Lodge was always a signal that brethren would hear some good words of advice . His remarks anent the Grand Orient of France , and the denunciation of the Pope would

always be remembered by those who heard them . Colonel Gierke then assumed the gavel to propose the health of the Provincial Grand Master . He felt the brethren of th .

distrfcfc were to be congratulated on the honour conferred on them by the Most Worshi pful the Grand Master in the appointment of so esteemed a brother to rule over them , and also on being drawn together by that great Masonic

The New Province Of Bedfordshire.

bond—a Provincial Grand Lodge . In future tho brethren of the county would be able to associate together and work for the welfare of the Craft , and themselves , in a manner which was not possible before . They would be

ablo to combine for purposes of benevolence , and in many other ways would they find the benefit of their present condition . They should be especially thankful in having so distinguished a brother appointed to preside over them . Colonel Gierke had the honour of knowing Colonel

Stuart ' s father when he was Masonic ruler of the neighbouring Province of Hertfordshire , aud felt that the son inherited all the good qualities which were then displayed by tlie father , and that his rule would be a kind and

fraternal one . Bro . Gierke then spoke of the previous Provincial Grand Masters of Bedfordshire , to whom we have referred above , and concluded by expressing his conviction that the present Master , though he had not

quite so quiet a time before him as his predecessors must have enjoyed , would prove himself capable of attending to whatever duties he was called upon to perform . Colonel Stuart , ia reply , said it was very easy to say what one

could of another , or to talk to the best of one s ability on behal f of any particular cause , but to speak on behalf of one ' s self was very difficult . For any one to show he "was really grateful for the honour conferred

on him by the proposition of his health , and at tho same timo to show that the kindness of the proposer of the toast had carried him too far was indeed a task . He had been connected with Freemasonry for many

years ; indeed , it was as a schoolboy he first became associated with it , while he had taken office as soon as In : was eWible- Since his initiation he had never missed attending to Masonry , except for about two years , when he

was travelling abroad . He regretted he was not one of the original members of the Stuart Lodge , at Bedford , hut ho had joined it on his return home six months after its foundation . He was pleased to be honoured with the

appointment as Provincial Grand Master ; would endeavour from time to time to visit the different Lodges , and hold his Provincial Grand Lodge each year in different parts of the county . At the foundation of a Province

there was of necessity a large number of Masons worth y of being honoured , but as there was only a limited number of . offices to distribute among them , it must take two or three years before all were supplied with the

honours they were entitled to . He must ask for the consideration of the brethren in this respect . When the gavel of the Province had been placed in his hands , it was not

only a mark of honour , but also one of responsibility . He was responsible to them and to the Grand Master of Ens-land for what was done in the district under his

care . He assured them that whatever he did he should do to the best of his ability , honestly and conscientiously . He should endeavour to promote , as far as possible , the Masonic attribute of Charity—not only the support of

the one or two Institutions they were specially asked to maintain , but Charity in its fullest sense . If Masonic Charity was a little more prominent in the every-day life of brethren as they strove to make ifc in their more

public acts , it would prove of great benefit to mankind . He had passed a good many years in Freemasonry , and hoped that so long as he was spared he might have health and strength to continue doing so . The chairman next

proposed the Provincial Grand Lodge of Bedfordshire . The present was the first occasion on which the toast had ever been given , and he hoped it would now be well received . He also hoped that next time it was proposed the brethren

would be able to say it was deserving of a hearty reception . The honour of being appointed to Provincial office was something , bufc it carried an amount of responsibility

with it . Col . Stuart regretted that his Deputy had been too unwell to stay to the banquet with them , but hoped he would be present on many future occasions ; ho had done much towards the establishment of the Sfc . Andrew ' s

Lodge afc Biggleswade , and in other ways had worked for the welfare of Freemasonry in the county . He thought that all of the Lodges of the Province were well represented among the Officers appointed thafc clay , and hoped the

Provincial Grand Lodge , to which thoy were about to drink success , would prove of great advantage to them in bringing the Masons of the Province into closer

association with each other . The Province was a very difficult one to get about , the railways having evidently been arranged by men who were not Masons , or at le . tsfc men who did not stud y the convenience of brethren who might