Grand Masonic Gathering At Bournemouth.

attained , for they knew that many societies connected with science and art , and with all the social circumstances which caused men to form institutions and embody themselves together for some special purpose , had soon faded away and been forgotten ; and it wasa very rare circumstancewhen any

association of that kind existed for so long a period as a hundred years —( hear , hear)—and although he had been told that in the Lodge of Hengist there had been vicissitudes and some things to sigh about , yet it had outlived them all , and " memory filled the past , " whilst " hopelooked brightly on the future . "

( Cheers . ) In another hundred years he believed the spirit they had implanted in the lodge would continue to exist . He paid very little compliment to its present members , but a grateful tribute to those who started it , who lived with it , grew up with it , and handed down from father to son , and

perhaps from brother to brother , those principles of Freemasonry which had made it survive the attacks of time , overcome all transient and temporary discords , and live to be the goodly thing it was , as it should live on for ever . ( Cheers . ) It told him that that which had wrecked so many lodges had

not wrecked the Lodge of Hengist—the love of office , the worthless ambition , the desire of the members to have something they did not get quite so soon as they thought they had a right to do . ( Hear , hear . ) They had not had the trappings with which the person of their brother was so worthily

adorned , and which he had worn so well as a man of rank and station , as a working Mason in their Order , and those who had not had those trappings so soon as the others—the quiet Mason , the generous-hearted social soul who had sat in the lodge and had not desired these things , had been

the pillars of the lodge , and had enabled it to live up to its good old age . ( Cheers . ) It reminded him of a saying in Scripture that ought to wrap itself around their hearts when they thought of these things—that it was not the ambitious or the coveteous man , not the man desirous of honour and

decoration , but the quiet and humble spirit who had the right sort of Masonry within him , and kept them right when their too-soaring desires carried them along : " Consider the lilies of the field how they grow ; they toil not , neither do they spin ; and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his

glory was not arrayed like one of these . " The quiet Mason , who was the lily of the valley , kept the lodge together , whilst often the aspiring brother too soon wrecked the ship and cast her upon the shore . ( Hear , hear . ) He hoped he might not be thought to have seized an unfitting time for making th se

remarks , for having been associated with Masonry —and he might even say with that lodge—for more than a third part of that hundred years , he might be permitted to indulge in an old man ' s garrulity to say something which really was mixed up with Masonry , to point their attention to the shoals and

quicksands which existed , and to encourage them to continue to build upon the rock of true Masonic principles . ( Cheers . ) It was that spirit in this and in all other lodges which had kept them together , and which would make them survive , as their good old Masonic words said , " the wreck of mighty

empires , and resist the destroying hand of time j " and they need not fear if that silver chord ran through the hearts of the brethren , and made them love Freemasonry for what it was worth , and love the lodge for those great principles which it upheld . ( Hear , hear . ) It was very pleasant to belong to

Hampshire , and boast of being a Hampshire Mason . There were twenty lodges in the county , of which five had reached the goodly age to which the Lodge of Hengist had advanced , and it was a matter of no small pride to their R . W . Chairman that , whilst he had added a twentieth lodge to the roll over which he so ably and creditably presided , five of those

lodges had existed above a hundred years , to the great honour of the province , and indeed to the great credit , pride , and splendour of all Freemasonry . Although Masons were so numerous and spread over ever every part ofthe globe , although Masonry existed in every land and among every people , they still realized the

truth-Ten thousand thousand arc our tongues , Yet all our joys are one . Masonry was everywhere found ; its roots were under every sea , it bloomed on every shore ; but there were not many lodges that blossomed for a hundred years . Surveying the Masonic firmament ,

they saw countless stars , but how few planets . They had added another planet that day , and it was such lodges that formed the pillars of their Order , and made them proud of their Institution . They had shown that Freemasonry not only occupied their hearts , but that it had taken a deep root , and

formed a strong basis in connection with that lodge , and whether they entered into a discussion as to whether Masonry took its rise in 1718 or went back * ° countless ages and tried to fix a time and place when Masonry originated , there could be no doubt ° f this , that among the guilds of ancient days there were societies that had secret signs and symbols ,

Grand Masonic Gathering At Bournemouth.

that were bound together by signs and tokens , and existed by the influence of brotherly love and the practising of those princip les which were inscribed on their banner in the immortal , words of truth ; and from them they learned that knowledge which in the dark times was often promoted by its being

kept among kindred spirits , and handed down from child to child , from sire to son , from brother to brother , and which could not have been kept for perpetuation to society and for the advantage of the people among whom they lived , if they did not possess that soul-stirring principle which should

keep them combined and united . They found this in the ever-springing principle of charity—that spirit of benevolence without which neither Masonry nor anything else in this world , save that which came from the Most High , could have existed , and without which Masonry would be no more than an

ephemeral beefsteak club . ( Laughter and cheers . ) Masonry—which in olden times had been the receptacle of knowledge and the means of preserving the arts and sciences—was kept together by the spirit of benevolence ; and when Sir Christopher AVren left it , and handed it down to them as Speculative Masons , they made it a moral Institution—they

devoted themselves to establishing active principles of moral teaching , and they had handed down to this age an enlightened and practical Masonry . Whether the origin of the Craft dated back to the time of Noah or to the building of Solomon ' s temple it could not have lived except for that everspringing charity .

Her towers and monuments may fade away ; Her true and social life shall ne ' er decay . That true and social life was given to Masons , and they must hand it down by their practice in the lodge and out of the lodge , that the world should tell a Mason by his acts , and that the lodge should

live by the strength which the practice of those acts should give to it . God grant that might ever be so in the Lodge of Hengist . Let them go on as they had done and prosper , and might God bless and further their good and mighty work . ( Loud cheers . )

Bro . the Rev . P . H . Newnham , the AV . M .-elect , responded to the toast . He said he thought he belonged to that class of unlucky men who , pursued by an adverse fate , never rose to their feet without having to make an apology . ( Laughter . ) His present apology was a very serious one , as he had

to apologise for himself . He felt he had no right to stand there , for he was only the deputy of their worthy and AVorshipful Master , the oldest Mason in the Lodge of Bournemouth , and who had been put into the chair that year in order that he might fill it at this centenary . He would thank them very

sincerely and in as few words as possible for the very kind manner in which the lodge had been spoken of , not only by Bro . Stebbing , but by the R . AV . Grand Master and every other brother . Speaking not only for himself , but for the brethren of the lodge generally , he could assure them they

had but one object in view—that the Lodge of Hengist should in coming years be a repository of true Masonry in every sense—a true Masonic work in its ritual , a true Masonic institute in its history , and a true Masonic benefit in its charities . ( Cheers ) . He thought it was Baron Aldcrson ,

who , when asked how long a sermon should be , replied , " Twenty minutes , with a leaning to the side of mercy . " ( Laughter ) . He could not help thinking he had been guilty in this respect , for he had indulged himself in three sermons , and had devoted to each a very liberal measure of time

according to that proportion . He thought he should best carry out the principle of brotherly love by sitting down at once . ( Laughter . ) The R . W . the Chairman next proposed "The Masonic Charities , " coupling with the toast the name of Bro . Binckes . ( Cheers . ) They were

delighted to see Bro . Binckes present . He had had the pleasure of knowing him for some years , and he could hardly do justice to the energy he had displayed in advocating the cause of charity . He had done so from no selfish motive , for he had never lost an opportunity of placing before the brethren

the claims of other charities in connection with his own . They were deeply indebted to him for coming amongst them that day , and he ( the Chairman ) would ask them to drink his health in connection with the Masonic Charities . ( Cheers ) . Bro . F . Binckes , Secretary of the Freemasons '

School for Boys' , said nothing would have given him greater pride than to have his name associated with those institutions , the prosperity of which they had so generously wished . In his not uneventful yet not very protracted career in connection with Masonry , he had taken great interest in the various questions which agitated their Order from time to

time , but whatever he might have done in other capacities he had felt no such pleasure as in furthering those institutions which the Right Worshipful Chairm 111 had described as the pride and glory of the Order . ( Hear , hear . ) They might have heard various opinions as regarded the internal policy of Freemasonry , but there could be no point of dispute

Grand Masonic Gathering At Bournemouth.

when they came to consider the great binding tie which , after all , was charity ; for charity , they were told , was the ground both of faith and hope , and it was the great object they had to bear in mind in their Masonic career . He would wish to deviate a little from the stereotyped mode of appeal . They

were met that day under no ordinary circumstances and on no ordinary occasion—that of celebrating a centenary—that was to say , the lodge had through various vicissitudes existed for 100 years , and it was now in a condition of great and flourishing prosperity . One of the prominent facts brought before

their notice that daywasinconnectionwith one ofthe brethren who discharged the duties of AVorshipful Master of the lodge for fifteen years , he alluded to the late Bro . Bayley , whose name was held , he had no doubt , in great affection . ( Hear , hear ) . He thought Bro . Newnham laid great stress upon the

fact that he proposed that subscriptions should be sent from the lodge towards the Boys' School . ( Hear , hear ) . He would not say "hear , hear" to that , although his natural feelings prompted him to do so , and he thought they would give him credit for showing a natural delicacy in this matter .

( Laughter ) . He thought nothing redounded to Bro . Bayley ' s credit so much as that proposition , which he had no doubt was unanimously acceded to . Bro . Bayley whilst he belonged to the Lodge of Hengist made a name for himself , and received eminent mention on that account as well as | by

reason of other propositions which he made , showing that the school was very dear to him . ( Hear , hear ) . He was glad to see that their immediate Past Master , the son of their oldest Past Master , who was now their AVorshipful Master , had volunteered to accept office and represent their lodge as

Steward at the anniversary festival to be held in March next . ( Hear , hear ) . He was sure that very graceful and spontaneous act on the part of Bro . Rebbeck , jun ., would not be without due appreciation by the lodge , nor without advantage to the school of which Bro . Bayley was a very good

friend : and he ( Bro . Binckes ) had no doubt he would be well supported by the lodge . He was also told that Gosport would render every support , but he was now desirous of tendering to Bro . E . W . Rebbeck , son of their oldest Past Master , who was now their Worshipful Master , very heartfelt thanks ,

as also to Bro . Eyre—but he need not say that the Boys' School never looked in vain for help from the Province of Hampshire . ( Cheers ) . He wished also to express his thanks to the Right Worshipful , the Provincial Grand Master , for his assistance in a sudden emergency in Marchlast , when the Prince

of Wales presided over their festival . He ( Bro . Binckes ) had to go over the work again , and to appeal to the brethren of the Order , especially the Provincial Grand Masters , and the Grand Master of that province was the first to come forward and further the success of that festival . ( Hear , hear ) .

He ( Bro . Binckes ) was greatly delighted with what they had done in the past , and he felt in a delicate position in making a further appeal . There were one or two ma'ters brought prominently before them that day which afforded grounds for interesting observations . They had the old question of the

"Ancients" or "Moderns "—the question ofthe establishment of their Grand Lodge in 1717 , the secession in 1742 , and the union in 1818 . All those matters had been brought before them , together with subsidiary and minor occurrences during the time that those great events occupied the attention

of the Masonic world ; and it was , he considered , a singular fact , as a matter of Masonic record , that the first payment made in the shape of a Masonic charity was on behalf of the Boys' School . Singularly enough , the Marquis of Carnarvon , many years gone bye , attempted to do something towards

educating and apprenticing tne sons of Masons . The subject was taken into consideration , but it was found to be too serious a one for the Masonic body to entertain at that time . In 1740 , when the secession took place , the old body , who called themselves the " Moderns , " established the Gitls' School , and

the Boys' School , of which he was the representative , owed its origin , he supposed , to the spirit of rivalry in those who were the seccders , and who took the name of "Ancient Misons . " They had read a great deal of history repeating itself , and of events recurring in cycles , and many of the Boys '

Schools had their origin in the Seceding Body , who took an active part in the reform of Masonry , and who had survived and found that those efforts had become matters of legislative action . They had seen the results of those efforts in the great amelioration of their Masonic system , and the Boys '

School , as he had said , took its rise fro m th Seceding Body . lie did not want to bring before them any matters of dispute , but he would say that the Seceders were not altogether wrong , and as Bro . Newnham had said , looking back

dispassionately they would find that that seccession was the means of doing a great deal of good . Freemasonry , as the historian of that day said , had created a great deal of rivalry ; the result- was unmitigated good , aud brought about that happy