Consecration Of The Cama Lodge, No. 2105.

now the Empress of India . She had reigned over India for 50 years , and during that time India had been progressing . He hoped it would continue to progress , and Indians were very thankful to their noble Queen , the F . mprels of India , and , generally speaking , to John Bull , who had the honour of bring ing a little bit of education from west to east . If it had

not been so he would not have been speaking at that place at the present time . Indians were proud of the English nation , and of their Queen . Long mio-ht she live to rule over India , a country which consisted of 250 millions ol people , and , as she ruled over man } ' other colonies , he felt there would be no colony more loyal or devoted than India .

In proposing " The M . W . G . M ., " the WORSHIPFUL MASTER referred to the installation ceremony at Albert Hall in April , 1 S 75 , when the Prir . ce of Wales was installed in the presence of 8000 Masons , a sight which he never would forget . He was proud that the warrant of the Cama Lodge

was signed by the Prince of Wales , the future Emperor of India . He should do his best to keep that warrant safe , and hand it over to his successor . Since his Royal Hig hness had been placed on the throne of King Solomon the Craft had prospered by leaps and bounds , and his Royal Highness took so much interest in Masonry that he had initiated his own son . .

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER , in giving the next toast of "The Pro G . M ., Dep . G . M ., and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " said the brethren who held these hig h offices studied the comfort of the Craft , and in order to perforin their duties travelled miles and miles . The brethren were therefore proud of their Grand Officers .

Bro . H . SADLER , G . T ., who was called upon to reply , said it was very seldom the Grand Ty ler had the privilege of responding for the Grand Officers . Although he was a Grand Officer , that rank did not confer on him a vote in Grand Lodge . On that account he was always rather diffident of considering himself a Grand Officer at dinner tables . There were certain times when he had to be a Grand Officer ; but that was not at the

dinner table . He was sorry he was not able to reply in terms eloquent and deserving of the special honour now done the Grand Officers . Speaking , however , for the Grand Officers , he was perfectly honest in expressing the opinion that all the Grand Officers did their duty to the best of their ability , and took great pains , especially some of them , in order to reflect the greater honour on their illustrious Grand Master .

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER next gave the toast of " The Provincial Grand Master , Sir Francis Burdett . " The genial disposition of the Right Worship ful Brother , and the zeal he always showed for the welfare of the Craft , had won for him the heart of Masons in general , and the Province of Middlesex in particular . He had the honour to know Sir F . Burdett for a long time as " our popular captain . " He had often seen him travelling

miles and miles , setting aside his personal comfort , and for the love of the Craft striving his best to pay visits to the lodges of the province . Whenever he could not stop the whole time , he had seen their beloved popular chief paying even flying visits to lodges . Of course , then , he ought to be popular among the brethren , Sir F . Burdett having gone into many higher Degrees

in Masonry . He ( the W . M . ) had got somewhat higher than some of the brethren present , and there he had been taught that all human beings were equal , and that was the motto of Sir F . Burdett . That was the reason that Sir F . Burdett was getting more popular year by year . Long might he live , with good health and wealth , to preside over the Craft in Middlesex , and as a ruler of the Craft in general .

Bro . Sir F . B URDETT , replying , said he felt so gratified with what the W . M . had said of him , that he could hardly find words to respond properly . As far as he had been concerned himself as Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex , it had always given him the greatest pleasure not only to reign over the Province of Middlesex , but to meet the brethren of the Order wherever he went , and whenever he could find them . The W . M . had said

he ( Sir F . Burdett ) had been genial and kind to them in every possible way ; but he should be the veriest cur in the world if he was not grateful for the kind way in which he had always been received in the Craft in Middlesex and in all the other Orders . He could not express his extreme gratification at being among the brethren whenever he could find time to do so . It had , perhaps , been the proudest time of his life , which had now been a

pretty long one , to find himself at the head of the Province of Middlesex . He was the first Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex . Members of the then lodges in Middlesex came to him and asked him if he would consent to be put in nomination for that distinguished office , and he felt very gratified at the compliment then paid him ; but he had no idea at that time that the Province of Middlesex would attain to such hig h distinction . He had for a

lone time been representative of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in the Grand Lodge of Eng land . He knew all the lodges , and the principal members of the lodges in Ireland , before he came over here . When he came over to this country he found himself surrounded by many brethren who were very kind and affectionate , and he could not resist the application made to him to be Provincial Grand Master of Middlesex , although he knew the

difficulties attaching to the office . It was through the instrumentality of the Royal Union Lodge at Uxbridge , the Villiers Lodge at Isleworth , and other lodges , that he became Provincial Grand Master , and he felt very much flattered and honoured by the application . He knew he should be cordially assisted in his endeavours to carry out the onerous duties of the office ; and with that feeling he had done his best to make the province a

flourishing province . He did not suppose there was a province which was more flourishing . The province started in 1867 , and there were then but three lodges in Middlesex . A fourth was started at Teddington , of which he was the first VV . M . He had since watched the progress of the province , and not only had he seen it increase in the number of its lodges , but in the

quality of the members who had been its stable support . He looked upon the province as a powerful province , as powerful as any province in England , although there were larger provinces . The W . M . had said he looked upon quality as stronger than quantity , and he was quite certain that were that was the case they would have lodges which would be an honour to the province and to Masonry generally .

The W . M . next gave "The Deputy Provincial Grand Master , Bro . Raymond H . Thrupp , and the rest of the Provincial Grand Officers , " and expressed his regret that Bro . Thrupp had been compelled to leave in order to catch his train . He , however , was glad to find that others of the Consecrating Officers remained , and he could not but speak with much

gratification of the way in which the work had been performed , and in which those brothers who remained , Bros . Woodward , Lovegrove , Saunders , Walls , and Axford , took part . He should always remember that evening , and that he had been honoured with the presence of so many distinguished officers . , Bro . W OODWARD , in replying , said that the institution of another lodge showed that Masonry was not going backward , but forward . More men 1

Consecration Of The Cama Lodge, No. 2105.

would be brought into the Craft , who would learn the duties thev owed to each other in a way that men of the outer world did not understand . Bro . H . LOVEGROVE said this was the second time he had acted as one of the Consecrating Officers of a lodge in the Province of Middlesex . On the former occasion , he said , as he was the first Junior Warden to open the lodge , he hoped it might be many years before he would be the

Prov . G . S . W . to close the lodge for the last time . He repeated it now , and by it he meant that he trusted that the Cama Lod ge had many years of prosperity before it ; that it would assist in diffusing the light of Freemasonry , and be a great light in the Province of Middlesex ; that it would be a great lodge in which the Anglo-Indian population would meet . He was always partial to persons not born in this country , to foreigners

generally , and to those who ^ were subjects of the Empress and India . He felt that Freemasonry acted as a bond of union between them and us . He sincerely trusted that when this lodge assembled at its next installation , Bro . Cama might not wear the purple and gold , but the purple of the Grand Lodge of England . It would be his pleasure during the next two months to induce every member to attend Grand Lodge on the first Wednesday in March who was admissible , and to vote for Bro . Cama as

Grand Treasurer . He was not going to allude to Bro . Cama ' s gifts to Charity—they had had enough of that—but Bro . Cama was a good Mason all round . Apart from the ground of Charity , it would be a graceful act on the part of English Freemasons—having elected London Masons and a provincial Mason already as Grand Treasurer—to go in for one of their fellow-subjects beyond the sea , and elect Bro . Cama , not only as a representative of India , but of the Colonies and Dependencies of the British Crown .

Bro . Sir FRANCIS BURDETT proposed " The Health of the W . M . " They had been much gratified that evening in having the opportunity of installing Bro . Cama , and although he was not a native born in this country they were only too happy to acknowledge him as the Master of this lodge , and to see him presiding over them as the representative of the Empress of India . He ( Sir F . Burdett ) had had the pleasure and the honour of being

initiated in Bro . Cama s country , not so far north as Calcutta , but down in the Madras and Mysore country . It was rather in a rough condition that he received the light of Masonry , but notwithstanding it made a great impression on him . Knowing what they did of Bro . Cama , and what he was prepared to do , they were sure that under his presidency the lodge would be as prosperous as any lodge in the Province of Middlesex , a province

which now held a high position in the Order generally . He hoped Bro . Cama would be present as a P . M . of the lodge for many years to come . The WORSHIPFUL MASTER , in responding , said he was very proud of holding the position of first Master of the Cama Lodge . He thanked the founders for electing him . The lodge took the name of the first founder of the Cama family , who was the grandfather of the grandfather of him ( the

W . M . ) He ( the W . M . ) and the Senior Deacon were both chiefs of that noble family . He felt that he had taken a great responsibility on his shoulders , but as far as he was concerned he would do his best to make this lodge reach the same standard as the other lodges in the province . In doing that he knew he would have the help of his brother founders and the other

members of the lodge . If they all worked with a united purpose they might rest assured the lodge would prosper . It was his duty to keep up the prestige of the lodge for the sake of the name of the lodge . In conclusion he wished all the brethren from the bottom of his heart "A Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year . "

The WORSHIPFUL MASTER , in proposing "The Visitors , " gave them a most cordial welcome , and assured them that they would have the ri ght hand of fellowship whenever they came . If they were in India they would be received there with the same heartiness as he and his co-reli gionists had been received here and elsewhere .

Bro . Dr . TANNER said that he was initiated in India the same as Bro . Sir Francis Burdett , but it was as far back as 1852 . He had rather a vivid recollection of the rough manner in which the ceremonies were conducted in those days . He was present at the installation of the W . M ., and the consecration of the first Parsee lodge formed in Bombay , which had been a very grand success . It had been a great pleasure to him to come again among an oriental race ; it reminded him of days and years gone by when he was present at the opening of the first Parsee Lodge in Bombay .

Bro . PALMER , S . W ., responding to the toast of "The Officers , " assured the VV . M . that he would endeavour to tread in his footsteps , and lo carry out the true traditions of Masonry , and to assist the W . M . to the utmost of his ability . All the officers would do the same , and he trusted that at the conclusion of the VV . M . ' s year of office he would be able to say he had been well and worthily supported . On his own behalf he returned his very sincere and hearty thanks for the kindness shown to him in placing him as S . W . of the lodge .

The Tyler s toast concluded a most enjoyable evening , during which Madame C . Blackwell , Madame Read , and Bros . Dutton , Frier , Read , and R . De Lacy , of St . Paul ' s Cathedral choir , under the direction of Bro . John Read , J . W ., treated the brethren to some charming vocal and instrumental music . The lodge was furnished by Bro . George Kenning .

Provincial Grand Lodge Of Derbyshire.

PROVINCIAL GRAND LODGE OF DERBYSHIRE .

The annual meeting of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Derbyshire was held on Thursday afternoon , the 10 th inst ., and attracted one of the largest Masonic gatherings ever held in the town of Derby . The whole of the 20 lodges in the province were represented , some of them very numerously , and the appearance presented by the spacious and recently redecorated

hall , when the brethren had been duly marshalled and the dignatarics of the Provincial Grand Lodge had taken their appointed stations , was remarkably imposing . To the great disappointment of all concerned , the R . W . Prov . Grand Master , the Most Hon . the Marquis of Hartington , M . P ., was unable to be present , but , happily , the genial and accomplished

Deputy P . G . M ., R . W . Bro . Haughton Charles Okeover , P . G . W . England , was in attendance , and directed the day ' s proceedings with his wonted judgment . The chair of the Deputy P . G . M . was occupied by Bro . Thos .

Cox , P . P . G . S . W . and P . G . Treas ., and the other Provincial Grand Officers present were Bros . William Walters , P . G . S . W . ; Charles Maltby , P . G . J . W . j Edwin Belfield , P . G . Reg . ; W . Naylor , P . G . Sec ; J . Crossley , P . G . S . D . ; Joseph Bland , P . G . J . D . ; Percy Wallis . P . G . D , of C ; F .