Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Installation Of The Provincial Grand Master Of Essex.
' nsr your new Provlnc ' al Grand Master every good fortune n the chair which he fills . I need not wish him ability , I need not wish him tact , and conciliation , and firmness all combined , because I know he possesses those qualities , and I know that he will exercise them for the good of you all . Mor need I , I think , in conclusion , remind you that you have also duties to him , and lhat it is by obedience to ru ' e ,
by loyalty to the commands of your Provincial Grand blaster , by rendering him every assistance , both in your lodges and individually as Masons , that you can not only lighten the burden which , from time to time , will rest upon his shoulders , but also promote the cause of Masonry in this Masonic Province of Essex . Lord Tenterden then rose and said , after the cheering
with which he was greeted had ceased : Brethren , before we proceed with the business of the day , I cannot retrain from saying a few words of very earnest thanks to our Pro Grand Master for the kind manner in which he has spoken of me to you , and I also thank ycu , brethren of the Province of Essex , for the welcome you have been good enough to accord to me . The Rev . S . R . Wigram , P . G . C , was then appointed
by his lordship D . P . G . M ., and the following brethren were appointed to the other offices in the province : — Bro . 1 . Earle , W . M . 214 Prov . G . S . W .
„ D . M . B . Wheeler , W . M . 276 ... Prov . G . J . W . „ Rev . H . F . Heaton , 1734 ... Prov . G . Chap . Andrew Durranr , P . M . 27 6 ... Prov . G . Treas . „ T . J . Railing , I . P . M . 51 ... Prov . G . Sec „ G . D . Clapham , P . M . 1543 ... Prov . G . Reg . „ S Leverett , P . M I 28 o .. . J p QSD „ A . Sturgeon , P . M . 1343 ... ) „ H . J . Sansom , W . M . " io 24 ... ) p rov G I D „ G . W . Patmore , W . M . 1437 ... j 1 rov < V * -J ' *
„ T . Nicholson , P . M . 1457 ... Prov . G . S . of W . „ Albert Lucking , P . M . 1000 ... Prov . G . D . of C „ ] . A . Wardell , P . M . 1000 ... Prov . G . A . D . of C . „ J . J . C . Turner , f . W . er ... Prov . G . Org .
„ A . F . Ginn , W . M . 276 Prov . G . Sd . B . „ T . King , W . M . 160 Prov . G . Purst . „ C . Blyth , P . M . 433 Prov . G . A . Purst . „ T . S . Sarel , 276 Prov . G . Tyler .
„ J . S . Brown , 276 ; A . Mead , " ) 27 6 ; F . M . Williams , i 54 _ t ; C Stewards W . Whitechurch , 1280 ; G . C alewaras - Harvey , C 97 ) Lord Tenterden afterwards said he thought it would not be fitting or becoming of him if he allowed Grand Lodge to depart without saying a few words to the memory of
their departed Bro . Bagshaw . He had had the pleasure of the acquaintance of Bro . Bagshaw , and he knew how zealous he was on behalf of Freemasonry , and when he was racked with the disease of which he died le attended Grand Lodge regularly , rather than the province of Essex should not be represented . He , therefore , moved a vote of the deep regret of the province at the loss of their late Grand Master .
The vote having been seconded , was put to Grand Lodge , and carried unanimously , and Bro . Matthew Clarke , Past Deputy Grand Master of the province , was entrusted to convey it to the family of the late Bvo . Bagshaw . Lord Tenterden then proponed a vote of thanks to the Earl of Carr . arvon for performing the ceremony of installation .
Bro . thc Rev . S . R . Wigram , Deputy Prov . Grand Master , seconded the motion , which was then put and carried . The Earl of Carnarvon , in reply , said it would be very wrong if , after having already engaged so much of the time of the Provincial Grand Lodge , he were to make anything of a reply to the words which had fallen from the chair , and from the excellent brother who had seconded them . He simply said that it had been a double pleasure
to be there , from his personal friendship for him and from his knowledge of him as a Mason . A vote of thanks was also passed to Bro . Matthew Claikc , Past Deputy Prov . Grand Master , for the way in which he conducted the business of the province during the absence of the late Bro . Bagshaw . Bro . Ernest Emil Wendr , representative of the three
Grand Lodges of Berlin , piesented the congratulations of those lodges to Lord Tenterden on his installation as Prov . Grand Master for Essex . On the motion of the Rev . S . R . Wigram , a vote of thanks was passed to the magistrates of the district for allowing the use of the Shire Hall for the purposes of the 1 'rov . Grand Lodge on this installation of Lord Tenterden .
Ten guineas was voted to the local dispensary , and Prov . Grand Lodge was then closed . The brethren then adjourned to the Corn Exchange to banquet , under the presidency of the Prov . Grand Master . "Hie usual toasts were afterwards proposed . In giving the toast of " The Q . ueen and the Craft , " Lord Tenterden said : Brethren , there is an old saying 'hat shoit reckonings make long friends . I think that
expression may be supplemented by a further adage , that short speeches make pleasant meetings . The first toast on our list needs no comment , the mere mention of it ensures a hearty welcome in this loyal Province of Essex , brethren , I give you " The Queen and the Craft . " After the National Anthem , the Provincial G . Master ^ gain rose and said : Brethren , when this Provincial G . **< l- ; e was last communed , it was for the purpose of Placing on the shore of Essex one of those life boats that
" 5 < 1 been launched ] by the Craft , as a thankoffering for 'he safe return of their Grand Master from his Indian tour . A more fitting memorial could not have been selected than ' ' which was decided 011 by the Grand Lodge , when we , e niembcr that during the time our Craft was left without * head the Prince of Wales was found ready and willing to J ?^ the helm of the boat and labour for our rescue . I say "e helm of the life boat , for lam able to say , having been m ° "gst the Masonic advisers of H . R . H , for some years
Installation Of The Provincial Grand Master Of Essex.
past , that H . R . H . does personally administer and govern the Craft to our great advantage . We have in the Prince of Wales no mere gilded figurehead at the top of the Craft , but we have instead the good head of an excellent man of business . The fact of the Prince of Wales being an admirable man of business has been testified on several occasions to the world at large , but more especially at the
Exhibition last year at Paris , when he acted as President of the British section . The success of the English porlion of the Exhibition was almost entirely owing to his exertions and his desire that there should be an adequate representation of the arts , products , and manufactures of the United Kingdom . I feel that I utter an expression gratifying to all of those present when I offer you an opportunity of
shewing in Essex your appreciation of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales . Brethren , I give you the toast of " H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M . of England . " The Provincial Grand Master then proposed " The Health of the Installing Master . " It was only those , he said , who knew how many and how various were the engagements of a man in Lord Carnarvon ' s position who
could really appreciate how truly fraternal an act this was on his part . When he ( Lord Tenterden ) first went to the University of Oxford , the name which was the pride of the college , as the first classman of his year , was that of the Earl of Carnarvon . ( Applause . ) Since then , when matureyears had verified the promise of the schools , they still found the noble Earl in the first-class in life ,
firstclass as a statesman , as a classical scholar , and as an orator , and as a Freemason ( cheers ) , and he had recently added to his other honours that of poetry . ( Applause . ) There was one measure which , as it met with universal assent , he might here mention without hesitation , which showed how the Earl of Carnarvon had made his mark on the world—an achievement indeed which deserved to be
even emblazoned oh the time-honoured escutcheon of the Herberts . He referred to the great work of the Confederation of the Dominion of Canada . The Earl of Carnarvon found the British North-American Provinces scattered , weak , and disunited across thc great bicadth of the American Continent ; he left them a consolidated dominion , the very jewel of our Colonial Empire . ( Cheers . ) Many
of them were aware how genially , with what courtesy and ability , their most distinguished brother presided in Grand Lodge ( hear , hear ); they had all of them seen that day hoW i he could preside in a Provincial Grand Lodge , and he was sure that he need say no more to commend the toast of his health to their most hearty welcome . ( Cheers . ) The Earl of Carnarvon , in reply , said he was afraid the
Provincial Grand Master had very greatly exaggerated his poor merits in every single case to which he had been pleased to allude . He could not _ accept the flattering compliments his lordship had been pleased to pay him in that difficult sphere of politics where men much oftener reaped censure and abuse than they did praise , and he doubted how far he could venture to appropriate to
himself even those compliments which had been paid him in the quieter , the serener , tbe more domestic sphere of other matters . But one thing he could say—that it was with infinite satisfaction and pleasure that he was asked to take the part of Installing Master there thatday . He came with the greatest satisfaction to himself to discharge a duty in which his sympathies were so strongly ,
so personally enlisted , and independently of the satisfaction he felt at having placed Lord Tenterden in the chair , and having offered to him the sincere homage of his good wishes in the task which he was henceforth undertaking in this province , he also had received with infinite pleasure and satisfaction the kindly , and the more than kindly , welcome which the Province of Essex had been
good enough to give him . ( Cheers . ) It had been his fortune to attend many provincial meetings in many parts of England , but this , at least , he would say , he had never attended any where he had been received more kindly and cordially than he had there that day , and when he left them he should carry away the recollection of the heartiness with which an Essex body of Freemasons could make
their brother Mason welcome . ( Loud cheers . ) The Provincial Grand Master then proposed " Lord Skelmersdale , and the rest of the Grand Officers . " He said that it was not a mere idle compliment that they paid this mark of respect , for Lord Skelmersdale was an earnest Mason , and was actually suffering his present illness through having come down to Walton-on-the-Naze to
inaugurate a new lodge . Lord Skilmersdale regretted very much that he was not present this day , but he was compelled to be absent through having Her Majesty ' s commands to attend upon her on her visit to the Agricultural Show . Lord Kensington and others had also expressed their regret at their absence . The Grand Officers well manned the Craft , and he did not know how the
Freemasons would get on without such brethren as Sir Albeit Woods , Thomas Fenn , and Bro . Maityn , Past Grand Chaplain . He would particularly mention with regard to this toast , Bro . Alston , Past Grand Warden , whose father before him was , as he was , a worthy President over the Craft . Bro . Alston was one of the oldest Grand Officers , and the oldest living Grand Officer in the Province of Essex , and it was his name he would couple with this
toast . Bro . Alston , in reply , said : the Grand Officers present have felt it a pleasure as wc 11 as a duty to support the chair oa this auspicious occasion . To myself , personally , I may say that it has been a matter of intense interest to see placed in the chair of this province a Irothir whom I have known so long , whose fiiendship I so value , and
whose career I have so much admired , and we one and all of us feel most grateful to you for the hearty welcome which you have accorded us , and for the excellent cheer with which you have provided us . Your Provincial Grand Master has referred in terms which demand my warmest acknowledgments to one inexpressibly dear to me who once occupied his chair , I will only say that if he
Installation Of The Provincial Grand Master Of Essex.
could be present to-day he would fully ratify and confirm and approve the choice which His Royal Highness had made . For myself I will say that though I stand before you now as one , I believe , of the oldest members of the Grand Lodge of England and for some years before that I was a member , and a working member , of thc Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex .
In coming before you today I have ventured to put on . some of the clothing which belong to me in Grand Lodge , and I trust you will accept it as a compliment from me that I should have done so . I can truly say that to my Masonic connection with this province , and it is not my only connection with this county , I owe some of the happiest recollections and experiences of my life ; and time .
which tries and proves all things , has only added to the halo with which those recollections are surrounded . I know the province of Essex of old . It is a glorious Masonic province ; Masonic virtues shone always bright here , and they will continue to do so , and for the comfort of your excellent Prov . Grand Master I will say that in no respect were the Masonic virtues more conspicuous than in the
loyalty and the devotion which you were always ready to show to your Prov . Grand Master . In coming among , you again to-day I miss many old accustomed faces , but others have taken their place , and are now engaged in spreading the tenets of Masonry throughout the province ; but I rejoice to find many of the old lodges which I knew of old . I have been glad to see that grand old lodge , the Angel
Lodge , at Colchester , so well represented . I rejoice to find that the lodge at Chelmsford has been deemed worthy of being associated with the interesting ceremony of this day , and many other lodges which I could name are still working with great advantage to themselves and to the Craft throughout the province . When I first knew the province there were but seven lodges ; I believe there are now
seventeen . I need not refer to anything as better proving the success of the efforts made by your late most excellent Prov . Grand Master to spread Masonry throughout the province . You have now had placed in your chair a brother who is destined to inaugurate an era of new prosperity ; his untiring energy , his zeal for Masonry , and his excellent social qualities will be sure to attract to Masonry many
others who have not yet joined you , and I feel certain that under his fostering care a great future is in store for Masonry throughout the province . Brethren , I will detain you no longer , but assure you that I wish and pray that there may be a bright future for your Prov . Grand Master , and that Masonry under his beneficent presidency may prosper yet more than it ever has done in the province of
Essex . The Earl of Carnarvon then proposed " The Health ot the Provincial Grand Master . " He said : Brethren , I have had a toast placed in my hand ? , for which I thank those who have arranged the procedure of to-day . No toast could be more grateful to me to propose ; no toast I am satisfied could meet with a greater enthusiasm on your
part . Brethren , we can none of us forget thc cause which has called us together to-day ; we can none of us forget who now occupies the chair of this province . I have already had occasion more than once within the last few hours to offer the expression of my own hearty good wishes for the success of my noble friend in the new duty that he has undertaken . I am veiy sanguine as to the mode in
which he will discharge those duties . He has the guarantee , so to speak , of his whole past in his favour . My noble fiiend succeeded to a title and an already distinguished name . He was not a man to rest idle upon hereditary honours . His life has been , emphatically I should say , a life of hard , unsparing , laborious woik . The frivolities , even the lighter pleasures in life , which
form so large a portion of the existence of other men , have passed comparatively by him ; he has scorned a life of inglorious ease , and he has devoted time and thought and the energy both of mind and body to the service of the State . This has not been all . Step by step , patiently anil by solid work , my noble friend has risen in the profession that he adorn ? , tiil at last he has arrived at the highest
point of all—the highest post which I conceive any one in that profession can hold in England—the position of permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign Office . Brethren , none but those who have had some experience as Ministers in a large department can tell how deeply indebted the country is to the peimanent civil officers who practically manage and administer those departments .
But if there be one officer in a great department upon whom hinges , so to speak , the whole administration of that deparlment , and all abroad that that administration involves and carries with it , it is the permanent Under Secretary . All day , every day , day and night I may say , the State has calls upon him . He is the adviser of his political and parliamentary chief ; he is the hinge upon
which all of that great office , and with the office that great service , in a great measure turns ; and this I may truly say from experience , that among all that band of highly-educated , able , laborious mtn to carry on the woik of our public offices , whose merits receive far less recognition when somitiro . es contrasted by the showy and the tawdry qualities of those who are so deeply indebted to
them—I speak it in all humility , because I have had the benefit of similar advice as my noble friend has given to a succession of Foreign Secretaries . I say nothing about those who have served in a great department , as a parliament lry head can be aware how deeply indebted the Crown and the countiy ate to those who fill such a situation as my noble friend now fills . And therefore ,
brethren , I say that a great Masonic province like this may gratefully and well appreciate when it can command thc services of such a Provincial Grand Master . I know how heavy the claims of public business are upon any one in my noble friend's position , but I have always found this in life , that those who are really the busiest find the greatest amount of time to give to other persons . I remember hearing a story of Count
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Installation Of The Provincial Grand Master Of Essex.
' nsr your new Provlnc ' al Grand Master every good fortune n the chair which he fills . I need not wish him ability , I need not wish him tact , and conciliation , and firmness all combined , because I know he possesses those qualities , and I know that he will exercise them for the good of you all . Mor need I , I think , in conclusion , remind you that you have also duties to him , and lhat it is by obedience to ru ' e ,
by loyalty to the commands of your Provincial Grand blaster , by rendering him every assistance , both in your lodges and individually as Masons , that you can not only lighten the burden which , from time to time , will rest upon his shoulders , but also promote the cause of Masonry in this Masonic Province of Essex . Lord Tenterden then rose and said , after the cheering
with which he was greeted had ceased : Brethren , before we proceed with the business of the day , I cannot retrain from saying a few words of very earnest thanks to our Pro Grand Master for the kind manner in which he has spoken of me to you , and I also thank ycu , brethren of the Province of Essex , for the welcome you have been good enough to accord to me . The Rev . S . R . Wigram , P . G . C , was then appointed
by his lordship D . P . G . M ., and the following brethren were appointed to the other offices in the province : — Bro . 1 . Earle , W . M . 214 Prov . G . S . W .
„ D . M . B . Wheeler , W . M . 276 ... Prov . G . J . W . „ Rev . H . F . Heaton , 1734 ... Prov . G . Chap . Andrew Durranr , P . M . 27 6 ... Prov . G . Treas . „ T . J . Railing , I . P . M . 51 ... Prov . G . Sec „ G . D . Clapham , P . M . 1543 ... Prov . G . Reg . „ S Leverett , P . M I 28 o .. . J p QSD „ A . Sturgeon , P . M . 1343 ... ) „ H . J . Sansom , W . M . " io 24 ... ) p rov G I D „ G . W . Patmore , W . M . 1437 ... j 1 rov < V * -J ' *
„ T . Nicholson , P . M . 1457 ... Prov . G . S . of W . „ Albert Lucking , P . M . 1000 ... Prov . G . D . of C „ ] . A . Wardell , P . M . 1000 ... Prov . G . A . D . of C . „ J . J . C . Turner , f . W . er ... Prov . G . Org .
„ A . F . Ginn , W . M . 276 Prov . G . Sd . B . „ T . King , W . M . 160 Prov . G . Purst . „ C . Blyth , P . M . 433 Prov . G . A . Purst . „ T . S . Sarel , 276 Prov . G . Tyler .
„ J . S . Brown , 276 ; A . Mead , " ) 27 6 ; F . M . Williams , i 54 _ t ; C Stewards W . Whitechurch , 1280 ; G . C alewaras - Harvey , C 97 ) Lord Tenterden afterwards said he thought it would not be fitting or becoming of him if he allowed Grand Lodge to depart without saying a few words to the memory of
their departed Bro . Bagshaw . He had had the pleasure of the acquaintance of Bro . Bagshaw , and he knew how zealous he was on behalf of Freemasonry , and when he was racked with the disease of which he died le attended Grand Lodge regularly , rather than the province of Essex should not be represented . He , therefore , moved a vote of the deep regret of the province at the loss of their late Grand Master .
The vote having been seconded , was put to Grand Lodge , and carried unanimously , and Bro . Matthew Clarke , Past Deputy Grand Master of the province , was entrusted to convey it to the family of the late Bvo . Bagshaw . Lord Tenterden then proponed a vote of thanks to the Earl of Carr . arvon for performing the ceremony of installation .
Bro . thc Rev . S . R . Wigram , Deputy Prov . Grand Master , seconded the motion , which was then put and carried . The Earl of Carnarvon , in reply , said it would be very wrong if , after having already engaged so much of the time of the Provincial Grand Lodge , he were to make anything of a reply to the words which had fallen from the chair , and from the excellent brother who had seconded them . He simply said that it had been a double pleasure
to be there , from his personal friendship for him and from his knowledge of him as a Mason . A vote of thanks was also passed to Bro . Matthew Claikc , Past Deputy Prov . Grand Master , for the way in which he conducted the business of the province during the absence of the late Bro . Bagshaw . Bro . Ernest Emil Wendr , representative of the three
Grand Lodges of Berlin , piesented the congratulations of those lodges to Lord Tenterden on his installation as Prov . Grand Master for Essex . On the motion of the Rev . S . R . Wigram , a vote of thanks was passed to the magistrates of the district for allowing the use of the Shire Hall for the purposes of the 1 'rov . Grand Lodge on this installation of Lord Tenterden .
Ten guineas was voted to the local dispensary , and Prov . Grand Lodge was then closed . The brethren then adjourned to the Corn Exchange to banquet , under the presidency of the Prov . Grand Master . "Hie usual toasts were afterwards proposed . In giving the toast of " The Q . ueen and the Craft , " Lord Tenterden said : Brethren , there is an old saying 'hat shoit reckonings make long friends . I think that
expression may be supplemented by a further adage , that short speeches make pleasant meetings . The first toast on our list needs no comment , the mere mention of it ensures a hearty welcome in this loyal Province of Essex , brethren , I give you " The Queen and the Craft . " After the National Anthem , the Provincial G . Master ^ gain rose and said : Brethren , when this Provincial G . **< l- ; e was last communed , it was for the purpose of Placing on the shore of Essex one of those life boats that
" 5 < 1 been launched ] by the Craft , as a thankoffering for 'he safe return of their Grand Master from his Indian tour . A more fitting memorial could not have been selected than ' ' which was decided 011 by the Grand Lodge , when we , e niembcr that during the time our Craft was left without * head the Prince of Wales was found ready and willing to J ?^ the helm of the boat and labour for our rescue . I say "e helm of the life boat , for lam able to say , having been m ° "gst the Masonic advisers of H . R . H , for some years
Installation Of The Provincial Grand Master Of Essex.
past , that H . R . H . does personally administer and govern the Craft to our great advantage . We have in the Prince of Wales no mere gilded figurehead at the top of the Craft , but we have instead the good head of an excellent man of business . The fact of the Prince of Wales being an admirable man of business has been testified on several occasions to the world at large , but more especially at the
Exhibition last year at Paris , when he acted as President of the British section . The success of the English porlion of the Exhibition was almost entirely owing to his exertions and his desire that there should be an adequate representation of the arts , products , and manufactures of the United Kingdom . I feel that I utter an expression gratifying to all of those present when I offer you an opportunity of
shewing in Essex your appreciation of H . R . H . the Prince of Wales . Brethren , I give you the toast of " H . R . H . the Prince of Wales , M . W . G . M . of England . " The Provincial Grand Master then proposed " The Health of the Installing Master . " It was only those , he said , who knew how many and how various were the engagements of a man in Lord Carnarvon ' s position who
could really appreciate how truly fraternal an act this was on his part . When he ( Lord Tenterden ) first went to the University of Oxford , the name which was the pride of the college , as the first classman of his year , was that of the Earl of Carnarvon . ( Applause . ) Since then , when matureyears had verified the promise of the schools , they still found the noble Earl in the first-class in life ,
firstclass as a statesman , as a classical scholar , and as an orator , and as a Freemason ( cheers ) , and he had recently added to his other honours that of poetry . ( Applause . ) There was one measure which , as it met with universal assent , he might here mention without hesitation , which showed how the Earl of Carnarvon had made his mark on the world—an achievement indeed which deserved to be
even emblazoned oh the time-honoured escutcheon of the Herberts . He referred to the great work of the Confederation of the Dominion of Canada . The Earl of Carnarvon found the British North-American Provinces scattered , weak , and disunited across thc great bicadth of the American Continent ; he left them a consolidated dominion , the very jewel of our Colonial Empire . ( Cheers . ) Many
of them were aware how genially , with what courtesy and ability , their most distinguished brother presided in Grand Lodge ( hear , hear ); they had all of them seen that day hoW i he could preside in a Provincial Grand Lodge , and he was sure that he need say no more to commend the toast of his health to their most hearty welcome . ( Cheers . ) The Earl of Carnarvon , in reply , said he was afraid the
Provincial Grand Master had very greatly exaggerated his poor merits in every single case to which he had been pleased to allude . He could not _ accept the flattering compliments his lordship had been pleased to pay him in that difficult sphere of politics where men much oftener reaped censure and abuse than they did praise , and he doubted how far he could venture to appropriate to
himself even those compliments which had been paid him in the quieter , the serener , tbe more domestic sphere of other matters . But one thing he could say—that it was with infinite satisfaction and pleasure that he was asked to take the part of Installing Master there thatday . He came with the greatest satisfaction to himself to discharge a duty in which his sympathies were so strongly ,
so personally enlisted , and independently of the satisfaction he felt at having placed Lord Tenterden in the chair , and having offered to him the sincere homage of his good wishes in the task which he was henceforth undertaking in this province , he also had received with infinite pleasure and satisfaction the kindly , and the more than kindly , welcome which the Province of Essex had been
good enough to give him . ( Cheers . ) It had been his fortune to attend many provincial meetings in many parts of England , but this , at least , he would say , he had never attended any where he had been received more kindly and cordially than he had there that day , and when he left them he should carry away the recollection of the heartiness with which an Essex body of Freemasons could make
their brother Mason welcome . ( Loud cheers . ) The Provincial Grand Master then proposed " Lord Skelmersdale , and the rest of the Grand Officers . " He said that it was not a mere idle compliment that they paid this mark of respect , for Lord Skelmersdale was an earnest Mason , and was actually suffering his present illness through having come down to Walton-on-the-Naze to
inaugurate a new lodge . Lord Skilmersdale regretted very much that he was not present this day , but he was compelled to be absent through having Her Majesty ' s commands to attend upon her on her visit to the Agricultural Show . Lord Kensington and others had also expressed their regret at their absence . The Grand Officers well manned the Craft , and he did not know how the
Freemasons would get on without such brethren as Sir Albeit Woods , Thomas Fenn , and Bro . Maityn , Past Grand Chaplain . He would particularly mention with regard to this toast , Bro . Alston , Past Grand Warden , whose father before him was , as he was , a worthy President over the Craft . Bro . Alston was one of the oldest Grand Officers , and the oldest living Grand Officer in the Province of Essex , and it was his name he would couple with this
toast . Bro . Alston , in reply , said : the Grand Officers present have felt it a pleasure as wc 11 as a duty to support the chair oa this auspicious occasion . To myself , personally , I may say that it has been a matter of intense interest to see placed in the chair of this province a Irothir whom I have known so long , whose fiiendship I so value , and
whose career I have so much admired , and we one and all of us feel most grateful to you for the hearty welcome which you have accorded us , and for the excellent cheer with which you have provided us . Your Provincial Grand Master has referred in terms which demand my warmest acknowledgments to one inexpressibly dear to me who once occupied his chair , I will only say that if he
Installation Of The Provincial Grand Master Of Essex.
could be present to-day he would fully ratify and confirm and approve the choice which His Royal Highness had made . For myself I will say that though I stand before you now as one , I believe , of the oldest members of the Grand Lodge of England and for some years before that I was a member , and a working member , of thc Provincial Grand Lodge of Essex .
In coming before you today I have ventured to put on . some of the clothing which belong to me in Grand Lodge , and I trust you will accept it as a compliment from me that I should have done so . I can truly say that to my Masonic connection with this province , and it is not my only connection with this county , I owe some of the happiest recollections and experiences of my life ; and time .
which tries and proves all things , has only added to the halo with which those recollections are surrounded . I know the province of Essex of old . It is a glorious Masonic province ; Masonic virtues shone always bright here , and they will continue to do so , and for the comfort of your excellent Prov . Grand Master I will say that in no respect were the Masonic virtues more conspicuous than in the
loyalty and the devotion which you were always ready to show to your Prov . Grand Master . In coming among , you again to-day I miss many old accustomed faces , but others have taken their place , and are now engaged in spreading the tenets of Masonry throughout the province ; but I rejoice to find many of the old lodges which I knew of old . I have been glad to see that grand old lodge , the Angel
Lodge , at Colchester , so well represented . I rejoice to find that the lodge at Chelmsford has been deemed worthy of being associated with the interesting ceremony of this day , and many other lodges which I could name are still working with great advantage to themselves and to the Craft throughout the province . When I first knew the province there were but seven lodges ; I believe there are now
seventeen . I need not refer to anything as better proving the success of the efforts made by your late most excellent Prov . Grand Master to spread Masonry throughout the province . You have now had placed in your chair a brother who is destined to inaugurate an era of new prosperity ; his untiring energy , his zeal for Masonry , and his excellent social qualities will be sure to attract to Masonry many
others who have not yet joined you , and I feel certain that under his fostering care a great future is in store for Masonry throughout the province . Brethren , I will detain you no longer , but assure you that I wish and pray that there may be a bright future for your Prov . Grand Master , and that Masonry under his beneficent presidency may prosper yet more than it ever has done in the province of
Essex . The Earl of Carnarvon then proposed " The Health ot the Provincial Grand Master . " He said : Brethren , I have had a toast placed in my hand ? , for which I thank those who have arranged the procedure of to-day . No toast could be more grateful to me to propose ; no toast I am satisfied could meet with a greater enthusiasm on your
part . Brethren , we can none of us forget thc cause which has called us together to-day ; we can none of us forget who now occupies the chair of this province . I have already had occasion more than once within the last few hours to offer the expression of my own hearty good wishes for the success of my noble friend in the new duty that he has undertaken . I am veiy sanguine as to the mode in
which he will discharge those duties . He has the guarantee , so to speak , of his whole past in his favour . My noble fiiend succeeded to a title and an already distinguished name . He was not a man to rest idle upon hereditary honours . His life has been , emphatically I should say , a life of hard , unsparing , laborious woik . The frivolities , even the lighter pleasures in life , which
form so large a portion of the existence of other men , have passed comparatively by him ; he has scorned a life of inglorious ease , and he has devoted time and thought and the energy both of mind and body to the service of the State . This has not been all . Step by step , patiently anil by solid work , my noble friend has risen in the profession that he adorn ? , tiil at last he has arrived at the highest
point of all—the highest post which I conceive any one in that profession can hold in England—the position of permanent Under Secretary at the Foreign Office . Brethren , none but those who have had some experience as Ministers in a large department can tell how deeply indebted the country is to the peimanent civil officers who practically manage and administer those departments .
But if there be one officer in a great department upon whom hinges , so to speak , the whole administration of that deparlment , and all abroad that that administration involves and carries with it , it is the permanent Under Secretary . All day , every day , day and night I may say , the State has calls upon him . He is the adviser of his political and parliamentary chief ; he is the hinge upon
which all of that great office , and with the office that great service , in a great measure turns ; and this I may truly say from experience , that among all that band of highly-educated , able , laborious mtn to carry on the woik of our public offices , whose merits receive far less recognition when somitiro . es contrasted by the showy and the tawdry qualities of those who are so deeply indebted to
them—I speak it in all humility , because I have had the benefit of similar advice as my noble friend has given to a succession of Foreign Secretaries . I say nothing about those who have served in a great department , as a parliament lry head can be aware how deeply indebted the Crown and the countiy ate to those who fill such a situation as my noble friend now fills . And therefore ,
brethren , I say that a great Masonic province like this may gratefully and well appreciate when it can command thc services of such a Provincial Grand Master . I know how heavy the claims of public business are upon any one in my noble friend's position , but I have always found this in life , that those who are really the busiest find the greatest amount of time to give to other persons . I remember hearing a story of Count