The Province Of Essex.

Bro . Lord BROOKE rising again said : Your Royal Highness and brethren , time is getting on and there arc several important toasts before us . The next toast 1 have to give you is one that you will receive with great heartiness 1 am sure , it is that of "The Right Hon . Lord Carnarvon , the Most Worshipful Pro Grand Master ; the Rig ht Hon . Lord Lathom , the Right Worshipful Deputy Grand Master ; and the Grand Officers ,

Present and Past . " ( Applause . ) Now brethren it is very difficult for me , comparatively a young Mason , to speak in sufficiently strong and powerful terms of the great services those brethren have done towards Freemasonry in this country . I know , however , that Lord Carnarvon and Lord Lathom would have been present here to-day had it not been for duties which rendered it impossible for them to attend . But , brethren , we

have amongst us a most large and brilliant attendance of Present and Past Officers of the Grand Lodge —( applause)—and I should not be doing my duty as your spokesman and as your Grand Master if I did not return thanks , for you , most cordially to them for their kind attendance amongst us . ( Cheers . ) With this toast I would couple the health of Lieut .-General the Hon . Somerset Calthorpe , Past Grand Warden , and lean only say how

very glad we are to see him here . His name is one well-known in my own old home in Warwickshire , and I can assure you it is a pleasant thing for me to see him sitting so near me at this table . There are many other Grand Officers whose names I could mention as being personal friends of my own , whose presence here to-day I view with the greatest satisfaction , and I may say all of them have our most cordial and sincere thanks . ( Loud cheers . )

The Hon . SOMERSET CALTHORI-E said : I beg on behalf of Lord Carnarvon and the other Grand Officers present and past to convey to you our best thanks for the honour you have done us on the present occasion . I beg personally to thank Lord Brooke for the courteous terms in which he has coupled my name with the toast . I think , brethren , it is unnecessary for me after the eulogistic terms in which the Provincial Grand Master has

introduced this toast to you to say anything in reply , beyond that I am sure in the future as in the past it will be the endeavour of the Grand Officers of the Craft to do everything for the advantage of the Order . On their behalf I beg to thank you for the courteous way in which you have proposed the toast and the hearty manner in which you have responded to it . ( Cheers ) . Lord BROOKE : Your Royal Highness and brethren , the next toast

which falls to my lot to propose is if I may so call it the toast of the afternoon , it is the toast of " His Royal Highness the Duke of Albany , K . G ., " our Installing Master to-day . ( Loud cheers . ) I will not inflict upon you a long speech , because I am quite sure that my words would not be adequate to convey to you our hearty and kindly feeling towards his Royal Highness on this occasion . It has been an act of great kindness towards myself , brethren ,

on the part of his Royal Highness to come down here to day . I know how many duties always fall to his Royal Highness's lot , and how ready he always is to discharge them , no matter at what personal inconvenience . ( Cheers . ) Therefore when at your request I appealed to his Royal Hig hness and asked him to come and give us the great privilege of his presence here to-day I felt that if he possibly could he would not refuse my

request . ( Cheers . ) I feel it to-day a very great honour and pleasure in having been installed by his Royal Highness . I will not weary you with my past history , but I may go back a little bit , to tell you that my earliest recollections of Freemasonry are connected with his Royal Highness , that when at Oxford I went through the first ceremonies of Freemasonry I was assisted into the brotherhood by his Royal Highness . ( Cheers . ) Therefore , some

time having elapsed , it is a matter of peculiar pleasure to me , as you may imagine , that his Royal Highness should put the finishing touch to my Masonic experience . Now , brethren , it is needless for me to recount the many occasions on which his Royal Highness has taken part in Masonic ceremonies , but we all know that his Royal Highness at the present moment occupies a distinguished position amongst Freemasons , that he has filled

many and most important offices , not only in the Grand Lodge but as Master of many well known and important lodges in the country , and brethren , we return to his Royal Highness on this occasion the warmest , the deepest , and most heartfelt thanks we possibly can for honouring us here in Essex . ( Loud cheers . ) In this assembly on this peculiarly Masonic occasion it is perhaps difficult for me to allude to the pleasure which I am quite

certain his Royal Highness s visit must have given to the town of Colchester at large . It is a matter of deep regret to his Royal Highness , as to all of us I am sure that so unfortunate a day should , to a certain extent , have marred the proceedings , but not withstanding the inclemency of the weather , we have been able , I trust , we Freemasons of Essex and the inhabitants of Colchester , have been able to give his Royal Highness a reception , though

perhaps not so magnificent as we could have wished , yet still to a great extent not unworthy of the town of Colchester —( applause)—and have shown his Royal Highness that it is with the very deepest feeling of affection that we have entertained him to-day . ( Loud cheers . ) I will not detain you longer , but give you "The Health of His Royal Highness the Duke of Albany . " ( Much applause ) . The toast was received with much enthusiasm .

The Duke of ALBANY who rose amidst renewed and hearty cheering said Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master and Brethren , I return you my most hearty thanks ; first , to the Right Worshipful Grand Master for thekind and too flattering terms —( " No , no " )—in which he has alluded to me , and next to you all here present for the kind manner in which you have received the toast proposed . I have already told you , and I can only repeat it again ,

that it has been a very great pleasure to me to come here to-day , not only for the purpose of installing an old friend , but also for the purpose of visiting Essex . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) I very much regret that the weather has been so unpropitious that I have not been able to sec the beauties of the city ; but although that has been impossible . I observed the whole way through the town on all sides the kind welcome which has been extended to me . (

Applause . ) Brethren , the pleasing duty devolves on me now of proposing a toast which with all due deference to your Master I must really call the toast of this day . ( Hear , hear . ) Lord Brooke has unfortunately taken out of my mouth the very words I had intended to say . I was going to allude to the long Masonic connection I have had with your Provincial Grand Master . ( Laughter . ) He has told you all about that , and I can oniyspeak of him now and propose his health as that of a very old and very intimate friend . ( Cheers . ) I had two years ago the pleasure of installing him , if I may use

that term , by acting as his "best man ' at his marriage . ( Laughter and cheers . ) And now to-day I have had the pleasure of installing him as head of this distinguished province . ( Cheers . ) I do not know what will be the next step . ( Laughter . ) No one can wish him joy to-day more sincerely than I do , and at the same time I must congratulate this province on having such a Master at its head . ( Cheers . ) Brethren , I give you the toast of "The Health of your Worshipful Provincial Grand Master , Lord Brooke . "

The Province Of Essex.

The toast was received with enthusiastic cheering , followed by " three times three , " led by his Royal Highness . Bro . Lord BROOKE who rose to reply amidst renewed cheering said : Your Royal Highness and brethren , I have at the commencement of my speech to make an important announcement to you , which is that his Royal Highness is going to smoke a cigarette —( laughter)—and he hopes that any

of you wishing to smoke will do the same . ( Applause ) . Well , brethren , after this portion of my speech , I will proceed to return thanks to his Royal Highness and to you tor the very kind and cordial manner in which you have received my name . ( Hear , hear . ) I can only say that I return thanks for this toast with mixed feelings—with feelings of extreme pleasure at being placed in the important position in which I have been placed by my friend ,

if he will allow me to call him so , his Royal Highness the Duke of Albany ¦ —( hear , hear)— -and also with feelings of regret , which you will well understand , brethren , that I have been preceded in my office by one who endeared himself much not only to the Freemasons in this most important neighbourhood , but to all Freemasons with whom he was brought in contact everywhere , and whose death we now deplore . I mean the late Lord

Tenterden . ( Loud cheers . ) I know that the late Lord Tenterden was most zealous not only in his duties as a Freemason , but also in any work to which he put his hands , and it would be I think very unseemly of me if on this occasion I did not pay a tribute to his memory —( hear , hear ) —a tribute which I am sure will be appreciated by all those whom I address . ( Cheers . ) You will therefore understand my feelings of diffidence in succeeding Lord

Tenterden , for I am well aware that a very large and important province of this sort requires a great deal of attention , and I hope when it comes to real work and business you will not find me wanting whom you have placed in this important position . ( Loud cheers . ) I feel that I shall receive your indulgence and forbearance to the very greatest extent . ( Hear , hear . ) Brethren , if you will allow me , having responded for my own health ,

before I sit down I will propose another toast , and that is "The Health of the W . D . P . G . M ., Bro . Fred . A . Philbrick , Q . C ., P . G . D ., and the Prov . Grand Officers Present and Past . " ( Loud cheers . ) Bro . Philbrick is already well known to you , and has already in these early stages of my office contributed most materially to my assistance . ( Hear , hear . ) It is needless for me to dilate upon the merits ol Bro . Philbrick , but 1 am quite

sure that his re-appointment as Deputy Provincial Grand Master is one that will afford the greatest pleasure to you —( Cheers , ) —and I myself felt that when I asked Bro . Philbrick to undertake my duties for me in my absence and to give me his counsels in the business of the province , I should not find him either a bad friend or wanting in willingness to work with and assist me . ( Cheers . ) I know also that the rest of the Provincial Grand Officers have

been well chosen , and , as I have said before , from the kind co-operation which they have given me to-day , I am sure they will co-operate with me on other occasions . ( Cheers . ) I will not detain you any longer , but give you the health of Bro . Philbrick and the other Officers of the province . ( Loud cheers . ) Bro . F . A . PHILBRICK , Q . C ., who met with a cordial reception , said Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master , your Royal Highness and

brethren , on behalf of the Grand Officers of the Province of Essex , I beg to offer you their sincere thanks for the honour you have done them and for the confidence which you have reposed in them . ( Hear , hear . ) Mourning as the province has done during the past two months the loss of its head , we rejoice to-day that we find ourselves reconstituted as a Masonic organisation under the auspices of your lordship —( applause)—and we feel , and deeply feel , the

signal honour that has been conferred upon the province , and let me add upon Masonry in general by the fact that his Royal Highness the Duke of Albany has not only graced this interesting ceremony by his presence but has performed as we have witnessed the office of Installing Master in the lodge . ( Loud applause . ) Brethren , our Right Worshipful Grand Master has referred to the feeling of loyalty which annimates Masons in general

and the Province of Essex m particular , and I am quite sure that if another incentive were wanted it had been furnished by to-day's proceedings—( Hear , hear)—and I know I am uttering the wishes and the hope of every Grand Officer who now owes his appointment to your lordship when I say that no exertion on their part shall be wanting in order to contribute to the welfare of the Craft in the province and to maintain that high standing which the

Craft now so justly occupies in the eyes not merely of the Masonic world but of society in general . ( Applause . ) On behalf of the Provincial Grand Officers I thank you for the honour you have paid us , and I assuse your lordship we hail this commencement of your reign over the Royal Craft in Essex with feelings of unmitigated satisfaction —( applause)—and I trust that the Great Architect of the Universe may grant that that reign may be

a long and prosperous one , and happy to yourself as the Sovereign of the Order in Essex under the Grand Master of England , and happy to the Craft over which you are this day called upon to preside . ( Loud cheers . ) Lord BROOKE : I shall now ask the Deputy Provincial Grand Master to take the chair in my place . His Royal Highness and myself I regret to say are obliged to leave you ; but before I leave let me say—I think I may

do so on his Royal Highness s behalf , for he has already said it , and I most certainly may say on my own behalf—how fully we have enjoyed the proceedings of to-day . ( Cheers . ) 1 can only tell you that I shall return back to Easton Lodge with very pleasant recollections of this day's proceedings . His Royal Highness and Lord Brooke then retired ( about 4 . 20 p . m . ) amidst protracted cheering , and were escorted to the railway station , their

departure in a closed carnage accompanied by the same escort as before being witnessed by a very large crowd , who cheered lustily , while the band stationed outside the Exchange played the National Anthem , and a salute was fired by the guns of the Royal Artillery at the barracks . Bro . PHILIIRICK , Q-C ; having assumed the chair on the departure of Lord Brooke and the Prince said : Brethren , I am placed in a very trying

and difficult position , and 1 appeal to your kindness and sympathy . The Right Worshipful Provincial Grand Master sincerely regretted that he could not personally ask you to do that which it has unfortunately fallen to my lot to propose , namely , to drink "The Health of the Visitors . " ( Applause . ) Long as we shall remember this day in the annals of Freemasonry in Essex

one of the most pleasing reminiscences will be the number of distinguished brethren whom we have had the honour to entertain . ( Hear , hear . ) , Brethren , I venture to give you—and I know I carry the sentiments of all my brethren of the province with me— "The Health of the Visitors , " and I couple with the toast the name of Major-General Laurie , who is Grand Master of the Dominion Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia . ( Loud cheers . )

Bro . Major-General LAURIE : Most Worshipful Sir and brethren , as I have been called upon in my capacity of Grand Master of the Colony of Nova Scotia to address you in reply to this toast , I would say a word or two in connection with Nova Scotia , which is perhaps little known , and because little known I think rather misunderstood . I have found in that