Grand Masonic Gathering At Bournemouth.

J . M'AVilliam , P . M . Treas . ; J . F . Bryant , P . M . ; Peter Luck , P . M . 195 ; W . Smith , P . M . 170 , P . P . S . G . D . Dorset ; John Lundie , P . M . 170 ; B . J . Kerridge , P . M . 622 ; H . T . Bath , P . M .

319 ; AV . Bvmblecombe , Sec . 319 ; and H . Brounckes , J . 132 . Grace was said by the Chaplain , Bro . the Rev . P . H . Newnham . At the conclusion of the banquet ,

The R . AV . Chairman said that he would commence hy saying that excuses for non-attendance had been received by the Deputy Grand Master from the Earl of Carnarvon , Prov . Senior Grand AVarden ; from Sir Henry Drummond Wolff , Bro . E . Haviland-Burke , MP , and many others

who were unable to be present . He was sure they would be very sorry that they could not attend . He now begged to propose to them a toast which he was sure they would receive with the utmost enthusiasm . He asked them to drink " The Queen and the Craft . " ( The toast

was received with enthusiastic expressions of loyalty . ) The R . AV . Chairman said the next toast he had to propose to them was that of "The Prince of AVales and the Royal Family . " His Royal Highness was Past Grand Master of

Masonry , and had proved himself anxious to come forward on every occasion as a supporter of their Craft , and to take an active interest in patronising their mysteries . ( Cheers . ) The R . AV . Chairman said the next toast he had to ask them to drink was that of " The Most

AVorshipful Grand Master the Earl de Grey and Ripon , the Very AVorshipful Deputy Grand Master the Earl of Carnarvon , and the Officers of the Grand Lodge of England . " ( Cheers . ) During the past year the Earl of Zetland , who presided over their Order for upwards of a

quarter of a century , had retired from the Grand Mastership , and he had carried with him into his comparative retirement the good wishes of the whole of the Masons of England . ( Cheers . ) He had been succeeded by a nobleman who , from the zeal he had displayed towards their

Order and from the conduct he had evinced , would prove a worthy successor to him . ( Hear , hear . ) He was sure that from his popularity in the mode in which he had discharged the office of Deputy Grand Master for some time , he would perform most efficient service as their Grand

Master . Let them therefore wish him a long and prosperous reign over them , and drink his health as their chief . ( Cheers . ) The toast of the Deputy Grand Master brought them much nearer home , because they had in him a nobleman who resided in that county . It was true he

was Provincial Grand Master of a county removed from this , hut they knew him also as the Deputy Grand Master of England , and as one who was deservedly popular in Hampshire . He need only state as a proof of the interest which he took in the interests of the Craft , that

a very short time ago he went all the way to Lancashire for the purpose of installing a Provincial Grand Master of that county , and from the reception he met with there and the enthusiastic mode in which the proceedings were conducted , he ( the chairman ) thought they must conclude that his name was received with as

much enthusiasm in Lancashire as in Hampshire . ( Cheers . ) To the officers of Grand Lodge they were greatly indebted for the mode in which they discharged their duties , and they were proud in having amongst them a brother so highly esteemed and so justly popular as Bro .

Stebbing . ( Cheers . ) It did not become him to eulogise Bro . Stebbing ' s merits in the presence of those who knew him so well , and he would only say that he had always taken the most active interest in the work of Grand Lodge , and as Vice-President of the Board of General Purposes he

was concerned for the general welfare ofthe Craft . They were delighted to see him amongst them that evening , and they could only regret that he was not enabled to be present at the time ofthe opening of the lodge . He would ask them to

drink the toast , coupling with it the name of Bro . Stebbing . ( Cheers . ) Bro . S . R . Stebbing , P . S . G . D ., said he was extremely obliged to the R . W . Chairman for the kind remarks he had made in proposing the

Grand Masonic Gathering At Bournemouth.

toasts of the Grand Officers , and to the brethren who had been pleased to receive those expressions with so much enthusiasm . He assured them he had great pleasure in meeting the Lodge of Hengist that day , because he had a kind of hereditary connection with it , as his father took

an active part in the consecration of the Lodge of Christchurch thirty years ago or more ; and apart from this , it was extremely pleasant to meet the brethren on such an occasion , for when their provincial meetings were held at some distance they had not the opportunity of joining

them so often as they could wish . It was very gratifying to find that at the present time their Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master were two great statesmen in this country , and it said very much for Masonry that they were men filling high and responsible offices in the

Stateone having the responsibility of being in office , and the other being responsible for keeping in order those who were in office—( laughter)—and that those men could lay aside those great responsibilities and join in Masonic work with all the earnestness of the smaller brethren in the ranks of the Order and of the leisured men

throughout the country . ( Hear , hear . ) Bro . Stebbing proceeded to speak at some length on the circumstances attending the enrolment of His Royal Highness the Prince of AVales as a member of the Craft . He thanked them heartily for the kind manner in which they had received the toast . Bro . Binckes would tell them how the

Grand Officers of England were foremost in assisting those " charitable institutions in which consisted the cement of Masonry , the glory of theirfraternity , thepractical charity of their Order . ( Cheers . )

Bro . Binckes , P . G . S ., said the toast that he had to propose ought to have fallen to D . P . G . M . Deacon , but unfortunately he had been ill for some time and was unable to attend that day . As D . P . G . M . of a neighbouring province , he ( Bro . Binckes ) had been ordered to take his place , and

he hoped , therefore , they would forgive him if he did not do justice to the toast , which was that of " The R . AV . Provincial Grand Master , Bro . AV . AV . B . Beach , M . P . " ( Cheers . ) He asked them to drink a bumper to the Grand Master for the manner in which he had conducted the business of the day

in consecrating the centenary of the lodge . He was highly esteemed and appreciated by them for the work which he did , for it was their privilege that they really stood upon their merits—that no matter what was a man's rank and position , unless he had a love for the Order and worked well , he

did not meet with that reception which had been given to the R . W . Provincial Grand Master , not only in that lodge , but at that table . ( Cheers . ) The R . W . Chairman said he begged to thank his worshipful brother for the very kind manner in which he proposed the toast , and also to return his

most hearty thanks to all the brethren present for the cordial reception they had given to it . He assured them that it was a matter of great gratification to him to be able to attend there that clay ; it was indeed a double gratification because he had been lately called upon to discharge ditties of a

two-fold kind , for within the past fortnight he had been required to constitute a new lodge , and now he was called upon to join in celebrating the centenary festival of a lodge which had existed for that peiiod in this province . ( Hear , hear . ) He was certainly deeply indebted to those who had

assembled around him that day to give their support . It would not have been creditable to this province had they not been surrounded b y many who joined with them in giving a cordial greeting to that lodge on such a happy occasion . They were also indebted to those who had come from a distance in order tn

render their support , and particularly to the brethren of the province of Dorset , who were so nearly allied to this part of the county . ( Hear , hear . ) He trusted there would be an opportunity afterwards of expressing tlieir gratitude ; it was sufficient then to say that they were , one and all , glad to see them

present , and that they were proud to join with them in offering their common congratulations to the Lodge ol Hengist on that occasion . ( Cheers . ) Being thus assembled in order to celebrate the centenary of that lodge , it was natural they should think , as no doubt all of them had done , of those past events which had happened since that lodge

was constituted . Those events had been brought so vividly home to them that day in the excellent address of their Chaplain that it would be useless for him to attempt to allude to them . If ever there had been an occasion on which the vicissitudes of a lodge had been brought before them more forcibly than at any other time it would seem to be in connection with the history of this lodge . From time

Grand Masonic Gathering At Bournemouth.

to time it appeared that some blight had been cast upon it , but the members of their Order seemed to have been enabled to recover from their temporary abeyance and to have started with new zeal and new lustre in their onward course . ( Hear , hear . ) AVhen some temporary disaster baffled them

nothing daunted , they started afresh , and the result had been the auspicious proceedings which they joined in celebrating that day . ( Cheers . ) When they thought for a moment how often that lodge had been nearly sunk , as might have been the case with other lodges from time to time , to what cause

ought they to attribute the constant resuscitation which had occurred and had enabled it to preserve itself ? To that energy , to that good feeling , to that zeal for their Order which must have animated the minds of the brethren who were determined to preserve it ; and that must have arisen from the love

which they bore to their Order , and from the resolution they had entered into to maintain its prosperity to the best of their ability . ( Cheers . ) It would have been indeed a scandal to the brethren of a lodge if , when its destiny was in their hands , they suffered it to sink into oblivion and be

forgotten ; they would be pointed back to as unworthy members of their Order who permitted a lodge to sink amongst them when by stretching out their hands and doing a little they could preserve it . ( Hear , hear . ) He was sure they were greatly indebted to those worthy members for the trouble

they had taken and the zeal they had displayed . In them must have been instilled deep love for their common Order ; they must have been aware that on them lay this intrinsic and important duty —that as they had been instructed in the mysteries of the Craft , that as in them had been inculcated

those excellent lessons which it was the pride of the Order to inculcate in every brother at his initiation and on his making progress in the Craft—so they must act up to them if they wished to preserve their credit among men and Masons . ( Hear , hear . ) Those principles were such that they had enabled

their Order to maintain itself for ages upon ages ; they were principles which would inevitably enable it to hold its ground against any attacks that might be made upon it , because they were such as no assaults could prevail against . When they reflected for a moment that that excellent principle of charity

was one of the mainstays of their Order , could they wonder that Freemasons were zealous indeed to protect it ? Could they wonder that one of their greatest boasts was that they possessed something beyond a name , when they had those excellent charitable institutions which were the pride of their

Order ? It was that principle of charity , together with all those other excellent attributes which were connected with the Craft , that had enabled them to stand combined ; and if they only held fast to those principles , if they only let them be imprinted on their hearts , they would make them better citizens

of their country and would enable them to fulfil their duty in life better than they would otherwise do ; for though Freemasonry boasted itself to be universal , and to include those of every degree , of every religion , and of every political creed , yet there were certain lessons which were enjoined

upon Masons—that they were to he loyal to their Sovereign , and to show reverence to the great Creator of all . Meeting together as they did on such a happy occasion as the present , they could not but hope that many of those who now attended would have another opportunity of witnessing the

progress which the Lodge of Hengist would make , and they wished it every prosperity and success . ( Cheers . ) Bro . S . R . Stebbing , P . S . G . D ., said he had to express his obligation to the lodge for having been good enough to proffer to him that day a very

distinguished position , which he had not , from very pressing circumstances , had an opportunity of fulfilling . He knew , however , that the duties of that position were performed in a far superior manner by his eloquent friend Bro . Binckes , who deserved his sincercst thanks . He ( Bro . Stebbing ) wished to

make a few remarks founded on what had taken place that evening , and not to drift into something of a heavier character , which perhaps he might have done if he had had the opportunity of addressing them earlier in the day . He looked upon this as a proud day for the Lodge of Hengist . He

looked upon it as not an unmeaning compliment to say that this was the great event in the history of the lodge , for although no doubt during the hundred years that it had existed there had been sonic ebbing and flowing of the tide , as there would be in all human institutionsit was here that day in its

, strength and its power . It had grown up a goodly tree from the root which was planted by those good old Masons of a century ago ; and when he saw they had brought it to its present perfection he thanked them in the name ofthe Masons of

Hampshire that they had done so good a work . ( Cheers . ; One hundred years in Masonry was nothing , and therefore he could not call it an old lodge ; but he could compliment them that they had reached an age to which few institutions in this country ever