The Province Of Essex.

THE PROVINCE OF ESSEX .

The circumstances under which the recent annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of' Essex was held were of an exceptionally interesting character . In the first phce it followed within a few weeks after the Festival in aid of the Royal Masonic Institution for Boys , in which the Provincial Grand Master and the lodges under his obedience had borne the chief part

in securing lo that deserving Charity a most triumphant celebration . In the next place it had been resolved that the meeting should be made the occasion for recognising the very valuable services which one of the most popular , most respected , and most capable of Essex brethren had rendered to the Craft generally and the Province particularly . The gathering , indeed ,

was one of the most successful that has ever taken place in this well-ordered and long-established home of Freemasonry , and all who bore a part in the proceedings had good . reason to be proud not only of what was passing in their presence , but likewise of their connection with a district which has been so fortunate throughout its whole career , and has at the same time so

fully merited its good fortune . On this particular occasion there was , as might well have been expected , a very full attendance of Provincial Ofiicers and members of lodges , and the re-appearance once again in their midst of Hro . PHILBRICK , Q . C , the Deputy Grand Master of the Province , was regarded with the utmost pleasure , demonstrating , as

it did , that there was at length an end to those cares and anxieties in respect of one of his children which had prevented his attendance last year . As for the proceedings , they were of the usual character , but , as we have before remarked , of more than the usual interest . The reports which were submitted and approved showed that the Province was in a very prosperous

state . There were substantial balances in hand , both on the General and the Benevolent Fund Accounts , while the statistical returns gave a steady increase in membership from 1657 to 1725 . Moreover , in his address the Prov . Grand Master expressed the pleasure it had g iven him to recommend the establishment of , the Leigh Lodge , and the satisfaction he felt at the

measure of success it had already received . At the same time he referred to the lodge lhat was about to be constituted in the Wyvenhoe and Rowbridge'district , and which in course of time he had every reason to hope would prove a credit to the Province . 'But above all he congratulated the brethren on the loyal support they had accorded to him as chairman at the

recent Festival . of the Boys' School . The contribution obtained in behalf of that Institution by the 56 Stewards—ladies and brethren togetheramounted to ^ 2235 , and considering that Essex , which was an agricultural county , had not beeh in the most prosperous circumstances for some time past , he regarded such an amount as expressive in the highest degree of thc

good will of the Masons of the district towards our Charities and himself . Lord BROOKK also dwelt on the eminent services rendered by Bro . A . LUCKING to the Province , and expressed his great gratification at being the medium for presenting to that brother the testimonial which the members of the Province had raised in token of the regard in which they held him , and as a

recognition of what he had done to promote the well-being of I-reemasonry in Essex . . We heartily congratulate Bro . Lord BROOKE and our Essex brethren generally on what passed at their recent gathering . The latter have prospered under the distinguished brethren who have been successively appointed to preside over their interests , but we question if , in the whole

course of their career , they can point to any occasion on which the proceedingsihave redounded so largely to their credit as at the meeting held last month under the banner of the Priory Lodge at Southend . May their future career exhibit always the same dutiful regard forthe interests of the Masonic Order !

The Craft In Suffolk.

THE CRAFT IN SUFFOLK .

It is to be regretted that Bro . Lord HENNIKER , Prov . Grand Master of Suffolk , was prevented by illness from attending the meeting at Clare , last month , of his Prov . Grand Lodge . Very general sympathy was expressed with his lordship at the circumstances which had detained him a prisoner at home , and the reports of the proceedings , which have doubtless

been forwarded to him , have probably in some measure reconciled him to his enforced absence . But had he been present he could not have been otherwise than immensely gratified by the evidence furnished by the several accounts and reports that were laid before the brethren of the

prosperous condition of Freemasonry under his rule . In particular , the 12 th Annual Report of the' Committee of the Suffolk Masonic Charity Association , which was submitted . by Bro . J . M . HARVEY , showed that during the present , as during the preceding years , the brethren of the Province had been generous iiv their- support of our ' Institutions . The

The Craft In Suffolk.

amount raised by the brethren who acted as Stewards jat the Festivals of these Charities has undoubtedly been exceeded in previous years , but this , as was explained by Bro . HARVEY in his speech , is to * be accounted for by the unusually large sum which was raised last year , and the bulk of which was handed over to the Royal Masonic

Benevolent Institution . Still , for a Province which musters onl y 22 lodges , and which , be it remembered , is regularly represented at the various anniversary gatherings , a sum of between £ 500 and . £ 600 is highly creditable , and the Province which annually contributes it , and occasionally a larger amount , is worthy in all respects of our commendation . But while everything passed

oil' admirabl y at this annual meeting , and the general condition of the Province was shown to be so satisfactory , an announcement by Bro . Lord HENNIKER ' respected Deputy , Bro . the Rev . C . J . MARTYN , must have created a certain feeling of regret amongst those who heard it . Bro . MARTYN ' S connection with Suffolk has been so beneficial to the Province , and so

honourable to himself , that the mere mention of the possibility that that connection might be severed , as Bro . MARTYN had gone to reside in the West of England , must have been heard with regret . Bro . MARTYN has

always been an earnest and popular Mason , and in the event of his finding it necessary to resign his office of Deputy Provincial Grand Master , Lord HENNIKER will have no easy task before him to find a successor who shall as worthily occupy that important post .

Consecration Of The Longsight Lodge, No. 2464, At Birch.

CONSECRATION OF THE LONGSIGHT LODGE , No . 2464 , AT BIRCH .

The consecration of the above lodge took place on Wednesday , the 2 nd inst ., at the Club Buildings , Birch , Lancashire . There was a very large attendance oL influential brethren , including— " * " *'* ' * '''•* Bros . J . H . Sillitoe , P . G . S . B ., P . G . W .,- J . B . Lonsdale , P . S . G . W . ; G . ' Callowway , P . J . G . W . ; John Chadwick , P . G . S . B ., Prov . G . Sec ; Rev . J . 0 . Jelly , P . M ., Prov . G . Chap . ; F . Hilton , P . G . D . C . ; James Schofield , P . A . G . D . C . ; J . Smith , P . J . G . D . ; H . J . Robinson , P . G . R . ; J . Newton , P . A . G . Sec . ; George

Macfarlane , P . G . S . of W .-, G . S . Smith , P . M ., P . G . Org . ; Ernest Moss , P . G . S . B . ; Peter Wills , P . A . G . D . C ; W . Hoyland , P . G . P . ; T . Armstrong , P . D . G . D . C ; M . Thomas , P . P . G . D . ; E . Timperlcy , P . G . D . ; J . W . Abbott , P . P . G . D . C ; J . Andrew , P . P . S . G . D . ; W . H . Peak , P . P . G . D . C ; W . Goodacre , P . G . S . B ., P . G . Sec . West Lanes . ; Richard Newhouse , Prov . G . Sec . Cheshire ; John Clayton , P . P . J . G . W . ; A . Wolstenholme , P . P . G . D . ; H . Lane , P . P . S . G . D . ; W . Goldthorpe , Prov . G . Reg . ; and H . H . Warbutton , P . P . S . G . D .

Having assembled in the lodge room , the Consecrating Officer , Bro . Col . Le Gendre N . Starkie , P . G . M ., with his assistant officers , together with such of the Prov . Grand Officers as were present , entered in procession , and the Presiding Offictr took the chair , and opened the lodge in the Three Degrees , and he appointed Bro . Lonsdale , P . S . G . W ., as S . W ., and . Bro . Galloway , P . J . G . VV ., as J . W . He then addressed the brethren with regard to the object for which they had assembled , after which the Chaplain , b y his direction , offered up prayer .

Bro . J . CHADWICK , P . G . S . B ., P . G . Sec , addressed the Presiding Officer . ' The PROV . GRANH MASTER replied , and gave directions that the brethren of the new lodge be arranged in order , and that the Prov . G . Reg ., Bro . J . H . Robinson , might read the petition and warrant . The brethren approved of the officers named .

The following oration was delivered b y Bro . the Rev . J . O . J ELLY , Prov . G . Chap .: Brethren , —We know of no institution in the world ' s history which has such an enduring basis as that on which our art rests—the practice of every moral and social virtue . In every country , wherever it has received fair play , it has been found a civilising agent bf the highest order . Its . origin , lost in the darkness of a far-off past , gives'it a claim to our highest veneration , having had

an important influence on the progress of society and in the setting forth of those fairest principles which confer peace and happiness on the human race . There is no better witness of human progress than the improvement of methods in the construction of buildings , which Masonry has seized upon to bring home to us , those excellent qualities which each onward step has been taken to exemplify . When art and science were in infancy , all was dreary and desolate , happiness and peace were hardly known ; then it was needful to hide from the many dangers to

which mankind was subject , either in the depths of the forest or the caves of the earth . In those solitudes the mind , seeking for satisfaction , at length was able to devise rude forms of protection , whereby the light of day could be enjoyed without fear . Men began to build strong houses which could assist them in preserving inviolate the lives of those dearest to them . In like manner our art strives to implant those simple principles by which alone we can preserve contented minds , by teaching us that there is One alone in that Grand Lodge ( which

all- good Masons hope . to reach ) , who confers on . those who Humbly approach Him the knowledge of what is essential to his eternal welfare . Once our race was utterly unprotected , exposed to wind and storm , a prey to the savage bird of the air , or the devouring beast of the field . So we enter this world , utterly unequipped for the battle of life , until we are illumined by the ' light which is from above , and have received such training as the Grand Geometrician of the Universe has in His Almighty wisdom bestowed upon us . Poor and . disn * ial must our lot Have been had not o \ ir wise . 'Creator