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Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
—proceeding to attempt in their presence to expatiate upon their merits individually and separately , at tlie same time I may , on behalf of the Leopold Lodge , assure them how deeply sensible we are of the honour they confer upon this lodge by their presence here this evening .
Our Bro . J . B . Monckton , whom I am happy to congratulate on his being a member of the Prince Leopold Lodge , is one who has been so long a time connected with Freemasonry and the Grand Lodge , that he is now one of the highest officers in the lodge , and he fills a post which it is an
honour for every member of tlie Craft to aspire to . I believe he is at the head of the Board of General Purposes , which exercises tlie greatest possible influence upon tlie Craft generally , throughout the country . Our Bro . John Hervey ,
Grand Secretary , we have seen here before , and hit ' . " . ' ' " •° "' . "' i : » me on previous occasions , hot I MU , —e ... ' "' " ^ -eivc none the less cordial a welcome on this occasion . I
may say of him he is one of those who the more we see the more we want to sec . Having said so much , I will , on behalf of the members of the Prince Leopold Lodge , thank our brother Grand Oflicers for being here this evening . The toast having been enthusiastically received ,
Bro . J . B . Monckton said : —A remark had often been made , but he had never felt its force more than he did at that moment , that it was easy to propose a toast , but difficult to respond to it ; if , in his case , the difficulty had been increased bv the over kind way in which the W . M . had spoken of the Grand Officers and the many
things he had said in their and his own favour , he would , perhaps , get out of his difficulty by changing the venue and saying as little as possible of himself , and as much as possible of the W . M . Not very long ago they had talked together of Freemasonry , and the iV . M . had asked him what he thought of his ( the W . M . ' s ) going into the Craft . He told the W . M . what he
sincerely thought—that if ever there was a man who ought to be a Freemason it was he . The W . M . did join Freemasonry , and what the brethren had seen that night , whether they were old Masons or young Masons , justified him ( Bro . Monckton ) in saying he defied them to be able to shew that
they had ever seen a Master installed into the chair do his work better thsn— 'he doubted whether they had seen it done as well as—the W . M . had done it that evening . The W . M . had told him beforehand , with a certain amount of modesty which he hardly knew what to make
of , that he was going to perform the ceremony of initiation , but that he did not know whether his style of doing it would agree with that of the Emulation Lodge of Instruction . He ( Bro . Monckton ) could not see where the difference lay ; in fact , he had never seen anything more
completely , admirably , or masonically done , and could not conceive how it could be if the W . M . had been one of the preceptors of the Emulation ( hear , hear ) . For the rest , he thought it only iair to say , as a good old Mason , that not only did ihe W . M . do well , but the subordinate
officers did well , which was a very important point indeed . Masters often worked well , but a Warden , Deacon , or the Inner Guard made a mess of every thing . But in the Prince Leopold Lodge he had just seen the work done bv every one in a clean , neat , businesslike , workmanlike
manner , lie congratulated ihe brethren who were instrumental in producing this result , and lie fi . lt it due to these brethren to p ; iy this little tribute to tlie exertions of both the W . M . and his officers . Thanking the brethren for the toast , and also for his election as a member of the
lodge , he was proud to recollect the very small share he had in assisting to get the warrant , but he was much nrjre proud to see that ilv tree he had been slightly instrumental in planting had g ; o . wn to hi : so capacious as this lodge had done ( cheers ) . There were then loud cries for I lie
Grand Secretary , which being persisted in , Bro . John Hervey said : —1 appear lo be pressed into the service , but I think it is rather in an unlair manner , because it is always understood that when a Grand Officer returns thanks
for a toast his answer is final , and that no othei should bine the lodge by a speech , but if I may say one or two words , I congratulate the lodge on it :, having progressed , and t xprcv . s the gratification I myself feel on seeing that it has pro-
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
gressed , in the manner it has in one short twelvemonth . We met here only last year at this time for the purpose of consecrating this lodge . It was then a small twig , as it has been termed . I certainly was pleased and gratified at
consecrating the lodge ; I was pleased to think of , and to augur its future—to fancy , " in my mind ' s eye , " that it would become a great tree in time , and to hope under the presidency of the then W . M . that it could not fail of success . Now I
come here on its first anniversary ; I see a gathering round this room that any old lodge in the Craft would be proud of . I see round the table not only old Masons , but I see a party of young Masons , many that I am totally
unacquainted with , many that though now I am totally unacquainted with / vat any rate I may look forward at some future period to be better known to ; and ¦ I congratulate Bro . Howe , your I . P . M ., upon the success which has crowned his exertions . I do therefore think
I may fairly congratulate myself on . the growth of this young twig , and which—well , I was going to say , which I had planted here . I congratulate myself , inasmuch as it is always a gratification to be associated with a society which from a small beginning takes large dimensions ,
and shows that by its intrinsic worth and merit it has grown to the size it now is . I will not weary you further , but I will say that it has afforded me very great satisfaction to be here to-ni ght . I told Bro . Howe that nothing should prevent my being here . I determined nothing should
prevent my being here to see what you had clone , to congratulate the lodge on the success it has achieved , and to congratulate myself on having been the first , if 1 may so term it , I cannot say originator ot the lodge , but at any rate the one who brought the lodge into existence , and to see
it as it is now , flourishing , prosperous , and as I hope it will be for many years to come , carrying on the work of Freemasonry as our Bro . Monckton has told you , in an admirable manner . Bro . Howe , I . P . M ., proposed " The Health of the W . M ., " and said he had had the pleasure of
enjoying his friendship for many years . He also had had the honour of introducing him into Freemasonry , and could assure the brethren that he had watched with sincere pleasure the interest he had taken in that noble institution , and in all that concerned the Prince Leopold Lodge . The
W . M . really assisted in laying its foundation stone ; he had continued to help in its erection and he had now climbed to the top of the ladder to see that the roof was safe . He ( Bro . Howe ) could not pass by the present opportunity without congratulating the members of the
lodge on placing its direction in the hands of so able and proficient a brother as Bro . Green . He knew he would do his duty as W . M . with honour and dignity , for he had the qualifications which were necessary for the highly important office . When at
the end ol his year of office they came to take stock ( to use his own commercial phrase ) of his work , he thought they would be able to say , in all sincerity , that the W . M . had discharged his duties to the advantage of the Order , and to his own lasting credit . 'Ihe W . M . said : it would be
impossible for me to return my thanks in anything like adequate language . J shall therefore cum press the few words 1 have to say into as smal . a compass as possible . I can only assure you 1 am fully sensible of the compliment you have paid me , and the kind and cordial manner
in which you have responded to the toast of my health . 1 can only assure you that I am deeply sensible of the responsibility I have undertaken , in conjunction with my oflicers . 1 am also deeply sensible that I shall fall far short of the requirements of a possessor of this chair . At
I lie same time J can assure you my utmost ell ' orts will be given to the duties connected with the office . It will be my highest pride and ambition to be able to hand over to my successor the warrant of the Prince Leopold Lodge in the same unsullied manner in which it has come into
my hands . 1 can only hope that this night is somewhat of a promise of the future , and if 1 can struggle through my year of office with satisfaction to the oflicers and members of the lodge , J shall feel to have done so with credit to myself . Their approbation will be all that I shall s .-ek for . Secure of that , I shall be secure
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
of what I strongly desire . I shall simply tell you , perhaps , in addition that I shall do all in my power not only to maintain Cite efficiency of the lodge but its dignity . I trust that ] may at all events be excused for saying that much . Those who have been connected with the
lodge during the last twelve mouths know I shall not make a tyrannical Master . But at the same time , I have such a hi gh appreciation , not of what is due to myself , but what is due to the chair , to the office to which it has been your pleasure at the present time to appoint me ,
and with that feeling I trust you will allow me to repeat what I have already said , it will be my object to maintain the dignity of the chair . With the dignity of the chair , . of course I . couple the dignity of the . lodge . Without the one , the other cannot proceed . Brethren , I beg to thank you
very much for the kind manner in which you have responded to the toast of my health . The W . M . next proposed " The Visitors . " He said were it not that for the last twelve months , I have worn that jewel which is the emblem of equality- ,
I should be almost tempted to describe the next toast as the toast of the evening , for I am sure that / there is nothing that affords the members of the Prince Leopold Lodge a greater amount of satisfaction and gratification than having the pleasure of welcoming their visitors on such
occasions as the present , and f hope that we may upon this occasion be permitted to indulge in a certain , if not a considerable amount of pride at seeing assembled around our board this evening , such a goodly array not only of visitors , but of what you may term the very luminaries of
Freemasonry . We have here , brethren , not onl y several officers from Grand Lodge , but such a list of visitors as may well fill the bosom of any Master of a lodge with the utmost possible amount of pride . I may perhaps first of all be allowed to depart somewhat from the usual
order of proceeding , so far as to ask your indulgence while I express my own personal and individual thanks to those kind friends and brethren , who have travelled so many hundreds of miles , as they have done , in order to support me on the present occasion . I may perhaps be
permitted to refer in the first instance to my good brother , Walter Monckton , who has come I cannot say how many hundreds of miles from the very wilds of Western Kent . Well you laugh , brethren , but I can assure you that until the last few months there was no railway nearer
to Bro . Monckton ' s house than some nine miles , and he had to collect his most unnatural material and to send his most ungodly manufacture long distances before he could get it conveyed to a proper market . But I am happy to inform you that his untiring energy , and the London
, Chatham and Dover Railway between them ( laughter , ) they have now managed to get a line within a very short distance of his house , and therefore it is as much due to the London Chatham and Dover Radway , as it is to anything else that we have been able to secure his
presence here this evening . I also see near me , Bro . Grime , I . P . M . of a lodge in Lancashire , and Bro . Newbold , who have travelled all night in order to see the light of day here . 1 cannot express to them the deep sense that I entertain , myself , of their fraternal regard in travelling so
far m order to be present here . I cannot pass over our Bro . Aangridge , Alaster of Tunbridge Wells Lodge : and I must mention , with your permission , one of my very oldest friends , one who if 1 can look back through the vista of the past , I was going to say , to that time when I
first came to London unknown , a poor boy from school , without a friend , without one to whom 1 was known in this vast metropolis , but Providence led me , through one friend whom I had , to make the acquaintance of Bro . James Davv . I am sure it is a source of the very greatest
gratification , that having known him through all these years , I should have the pleasure of mentioning his name here to night , and of assuring him in his presence , how delighted I am to see him . J feel J trespass-very considerably on your
time , but on such an occasion as this , 1 am sure you will pardon reflections of this nature . There are numbers of brethren here to whom I should like to tender my unfeigned thanks for their presence , but I know they will , with me , look at the clock and accept tlie will for the deed .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
—proceeding to attempt in their presence to expatiate upon their merits individually and separately , at tlie same time I may , on behalf of the Leopold Lodge , assure them how deeply sensible we are of the honour they confer upon this lodge by their presence here this evening .
Our Bro . J . B . Monckton , whom I am happy to congratulate on his being a member of the Prince Leopold Lodge , is one who has been so long a time connected with Freemasonry and the Grand Lodge , that he is now one of the highest officers in the lodge , and he fills a post which it is an
honour for every member of tlie Craft to aspire to . I believe he is at the head of the Board of General Purposes , which exercises tlie greatest possible influence upon tlie Craft generally , throughout the country . Our Bro . John Hervey ,
Grand Secretary , we have seen here before , and hit ' . " . ' ' " •° "' . "' i : » me on previous occasions , hot I MU , —e ... ' "' " ^ -eivc none the less cordial a welcome on this occasion . I
may say of him he is one of those who the more we see the more we want to sec . Having said so much , I will , on behalf of the members of the Prince Leopold Lodge , thank our brother Grand Oflicers for being here this evening . The toast having been enthusiastically received ,
Bro . J . B . Monckton said : —A remark had often been made , but he had never felt its force more than he did at that moment , that it was easy to propose a toast , but difficult to respond to it ; if , in his case , the difficulty had been increased bv the over kind way in which the W . M . had spoken of the Grand Officers and the many
things he had said in their and his own favour , he would , perhaps , get out of his difficulty by changing the venue and saying as little as possible of himself , and as much as possible of the W . M . Not very long ago they had talked together of Freemasonry , and the iV . M . had asked him what he thought of his ( the W . M . ' s ) going into the Craft . He told the W . M . what he
sincerely thought—that if ever there was a man who ought to be a Freemason it was he . The W . M . did join Freemasonry , and what the brethren had seen that night , whether they were old Masons or young Masons , justified him ( Bro . Monckton ) in saying he defied them to be able to shew that
they had ever seen a Master installed into the chair do his work better thsn— 'he doubted whether they had seen it done as well as—the W . M . had done it that evening . The W . M . had told him beforehand , with a certain amount of modesty which he hardly knew what to make
of , that he was going to perform the ceremony of initiation , but that he did not know whether his style of doing it would agree with that of the Emulation Lodge of Instruction . He ( Bro . Monckton ) could not see where the difference lay ; in fact , he had never seen anything more
completely , admirably , or masonically done , and could not conceive how it could be if the W . M . had been one of the preceptors of the Emulation ( hear , hear ) . For the rest , he thought it only iair to say , as a good old Mason , that not only did ihe W . M . do well , but the subordinate
officers did well , which was a very important point indeed . Masters often worked well , but a Warden , Deacon , or the Inner Guard made a mess of every thing . But in the Prince Leopold Lodge he had just seen the work done bv every one in a clean , neat , businesslike , workmanlike
manner , lie congratulated ihe brethren who were instrumental in producing this result , and lie fi . lt it due to these brethren to p ; iy this little tribute to tlie exertions of both the W . M . and his officers . Thanking the brethren for the toast , and also for his election as a member of the
lodge , he was proud to recollect the very small share he had in assisting to get the warrant , but he was much nrjre proud to see that ilv tree he had been slightly instrumental in planting had g ; o . wn to hi : so capacious as this lodge had done ( cheers ) . There were then loud cries for I lie
Grand Secretary , which being persisted in , Bro . John Hervey said : —1 appear lo be pressed into the service , but I think it is rather in an unlair manner , because it is always understood that when a Grand Officer returns thanks
for a toast his answer is final , and that no othei should bine the lodge by a speech , but if I may say one or two words , I congratulate the lodge on it :, having progressed , and t xprcv . s the gratification I myself feel on seeing that it has pro-
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
gressed , in the manner it has in one short twelvemonth . We met here only last year at this time for the purpose of consecrating this lodge . It was then a small twig , as it has been termed . I certainly was pleased and gratified at
consecrating the lodge ; I was pleased to think of , and to augur its future—to fancy , " in my mind ' s eye , " that it would become a great tree in time , and to hope under the presidency of the then W . M . that it could not fail of success . Now I
come here on its first anniversary ; I see a gathering round this room that any old lodge in the Craft would be proud of . I see round the table not only old Masons , but I see a party of young Masons , many that I am totally
unacquainted with , many that though now I am totally unacquainted with / vat any rate I may look forward at some future period to be better known to ; and ¦ I congratulate Bro . Howe , your I . P . M ., upon the success which has crowned his exertions . I do therefore think
I may fairly congratulate myself on . the growth of this young twig , and which—well , I was going to say , which I had planted here . I congratulate myself , inasmuch as it is always a gratification to be associated with a society which from a small beginning takes large dimensions ,
and shows that by its intrinsic worth and merit it has grown to the size it now is . I will not weary you further , but I will say that it has afforded me very great satisfaction to be here to-ni ght . I told Bro . Howe that nothing should prevent my being here . I determined nothing should
prevent my being here to see what you had clone , to congratulate the lodge on the success it has achieved , and to congratulate myself on having been the first , if 1 may so term it , I cannot say originator ot the lodge , but at any rate the one who brought the lodge into existence , and to see
it as it is now , flourishing , prosperous , and as I hope it will be for many years to come , carrying on the work of Freemasonry as our Bro . Monckton has told you , in an admirable manner . Bro . Howe , I . P . M ., proposed " The Health of the W . M ., " and said he had had the pleasure of
enjoying his friendship for many years . He also had had the honour of introducing him into Freemasonry , and could assure the brethren that he had watched with sincere pleasure the interest he had taken in that noble institution , and in all that concerned the Prince Leopold Lodge . The
W . M . really assisted in laying its foundation stone ; he had continued to help in its erection and he had now climbed to the top of the ladder to see that the roof was safe . He ( Bro . Howe ) could not pass by the present opportunity without congratulating the members of the
lodge on placing its direction in the hands of so able and proficient a brother as Bro . Green . He knew he would do his duty as W . M . with honour and dignity , for he had the qualifications which were necessary for the highly important office . When at
the end ol his year of office they came to take stock ( to use his own commercial phrase ) of his work , he thought they would be able to say , in all sincerity , that the W . M . had discharged his duties to the advantage of the Order , and to his own lasting credit . 'Ihe W . M . said : it would be
impossible for me to return my thanks in anything like adequate language . J shall therefore cum press the few words 1 have to say into as smal . a compass as possible . I can only assure you 1 am fully sensible of the compliment you have paid me , and the kind and cordial manner
in which you have responded to the toast of my health . 1 can only assure you that I am deeply sensible of the responsibility I have undertaken , in conjunction with my oflicers . 1 am also deeply sensible that I shall fall far short of the requirements of a possessor of this chair . At
I lie same time J can assure you my utmost ell ' orts will be given to the duties connected with the office . It will be my highest pride and ambition to be able to hand over to my successor the warrant of the Prince Leopold Lodge in the same unsullied manner in which it has come into
my hands . 1 can only hope that this night is somewhat of a promise of the future , and if 1 can struggle through my year of office with satisfaction to the oflicers and members of the lodge , J shall feel to have done so with credit to myself . Their approbation will be all that I shall s .-ek for . Secure of that , I shall be secure
Reports Of Masonic Meetings.
of what I strongly desire . I shall simply tell you , perhaps , in addition that I shall do all in my power not only to maintain Cite efficiency of the lodge but its dignity . I trust that ] may at all events be excused for saying that much . Those who have been connected with the
lodge during the last twelve mouths know I shall not make a tyrannical Master . But at the same time , I have such a hi gh appreciation , not of what is due to myself , but what is due to the chair , to the office to which it has been your pleasure at the present time to appoint me ,
and with that feeling I trust you will allow me to repeat what I have already said , it will be my object to maintain the dignity of the chair . With the dignity of the chair , . of course I . couple the dignity of the . lodge . Without the one , the other cannot proceed . Brethren , I beg to thank you
very much for the kind manner in which you have responded to the toast of my health . The W . M . next proposed " The Visitors . " He said were it not that for the last twelve months , I have worn that jewel which is the emblem of equality- ,
I should be almost tempted to describe the next toast as the toast of the evening , for I am sure that / there is nothing that affords the members of the Prince Leopold Lodge a greater amount of satisfaction and gratification than having the pleasure of welcoming their visitors on such
occasions as the present , and f hope that we may upon this occasion be permitted to indulge in a certain , if not a considerable amount of pride at seeing assembled around our board this evening , such a goodly array not only of visitors , but of what you may term the very luminaries of
Freemasonry . We have here , brethren , not onl y several officers from Grand Lodge , but such a list of visitors as may well fill the bosom of any Master of a lodge with the utmost possible amount of pride . I may perhaps first of all be allowed to depart somewhat from the usual
order of proceeding , so far as to ask your indulgence while I express my own personal and individual thanks to those kind friends and brethren , who have travelled so many hundreds of miles , as they have done , in order to support me on the present occasion . I may perhaps be
permitted to refer in the first instance to my good brother , Walter Monckton , who has come I cannot say how many hundreds of miles from the very wilds of Western Kent . Well you laugh , brethren , but I can assure you that until the last few months there was no railway nearer
to Bro . Monckton ' s house than some nine miles , and he had to collect his most unnatural material and to send his most ungodly manufacture long distances before he could get it conveyed to a proper market . But I am happy to inform you that his untiring energy , and the London
, Chatham and Dover Railway between them ( laughter , ) they have now managed to get a line within a very short distance of his house , and therefore it is as much due to the London Chatham and Dover Radway , as it is to anything else that we have been able to secure his
presence here this evening . I also see near me , Bro . Grime , I . P . M . of a lodge in Lancashire , and Bro . Newbold , who have travelled all night in order to see the light of day here . 1 cannot express to them the deep sense that I entertain , myself , of their fraternal regard in travelling so
far m order to be present here . I cannot pass over our Bro . Aangridge , Alaster of Tunbridge Wells Lodge : and I must mention , with your permission , one of my very oldest friends , one who if 1 can look back through the vista of the past , I was going to say , to that time when I
first came to London unknown , a poor boy from school , without a friend , without one to whom 1 was known in this vast metropolis , but Providence led me , through one friend whom I had , to make the acquaintance of Bro . James Davv . I am sure it is a source of the very greatest
gratification , that having known him through all these years , I should have the pleasure of mentioning his name here to night , and of assuring him in his presence , how delighted I am to see him . J feel J trespass-very considerably on your
time , but on such an occasion as this , 1 am sure you will pardon reflections of this nature . There are numbers of brethren here to whom I should like to tender my unfeigned thanks for their presence , but I know they will , with me , look at the clock and accept tlie will for the deed .