-
Articles/Ads
Article MASONIC JUBILEE PRESENTATION; Page 1 of 1 Article MASONIC JUBILEE PRESENTATION; Page 1 of 1 Article THE "DAILY TELEGRAPH" ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 1 Article THE "DAILY TELEGRAPH" ON FREEMASONRY. Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Jubilee Presentation;
MASONIC JUBILEE PRESENTATION ;
A p leasing event , unique in the annals of Freemasonry •tu ,. Preston district , was celebrated on Thursday evening , t | ie 12 th inst ., when Bro . J . j . Greaves , P . M ., P . P . G . O . past Lancashire , received a congratulatory address on relebrating" his 50 th anniversary as a Mason , was presented with a handsome jewel , and entertained at a banquet given ¦
| , js honour . Bro . Greaves was initiated in the Preston Lodge of Unanimity ( West Lancashire Province ) , on March 12 th , 1 S 35 . The lodge then held its meetings at the King ' s Arms Hotel , but now assembles at the Bull Hotel . In the Assembly-room at the latter hotel the presentations took place , and the banquet followed in an . dioining- room . The lodge was opened by Bro . H .
Ormandy , W . AI . 113 , when there were nearly 50 brethren nre « ent , including , besides Bro . Greaves , Bros . Major \ H . H . Whitehead , 113 , P . P . G . J . D . ; the Rev . A . B . 13 ' av-n , P . M . 314 ; the Rev . J . P . Shepperd , Prov . G . C . . . \ : E . Barber , P . M . ; W . VV . Cottam , P . P . G . S . of W . ; id . Fryer , P . P . G . S . W . ; J . Whiteside , P . M . ; S . W . Sumner , P . M . ; R . C . Robinson , P . M . ; J . de Pennington ,
p M ., * and T . Nevett , P . M . 113 ; A . Beattie , P . M . ; W . Troughton , W . M ., G . W . Daivson , S . W ., and E . T . Pearson , J . VV . 343 ; VV . J . Bilsbrough , P . M ., and A . Squires , P . M . 333 ; C . Coope , and VVatson , 350 . Bro . FRYER ( an lix-Mayor of Preston ) , as the Senior P . M . of the Lodge Unanimity , made the presentation . He alluded to the special character of the occasion , and
mentioned that out of 15 members of that lodge eligible with himself for the office of Master in 1 S 67 , only four now survived . To be 50 years a Mason was then no ordinary occurrence , and he had great pleasure in handing to Bro . Greaves an address , which fittingly recited his long and honourable career and expressed the respect wliich was felt ( or him , not only by the members of that , his mother lodge ,
but also by all who had come in contact with him . The address , which had been beautifully engrossed and framed , read as follows : — ' * To Bro . Jeremiah James Greaves , P . M . 113 and 37 , P . P . G . O . East Lancashire . "We , the brethren of your mother lodge , Unanimity , No . 113 on the register of the Grand Lodgeof England ,
desire lo convey to you our most hearty good wishes and roost sincere congratulations on this the 50 th anniversary of your initiation into the secrets and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry , at the same time expressing our earnest hope that it may please the Great Architect of the Universe to preserve you among us for yet many years , that so you may continue to afford in the future , as in the past , a bright
example of those moral and social virtues which are the distinguishing characteristics of the true and worthy Mason who upholds in his life the genuine tenets and principles of our Mystic Order . " In addition to the active services which you have rendered to this lodge as its Worshipful Master , and during many years its Organist , whereby you have merited the
approbation and gained the respect and esteem of all your brethren , you have in another lodge and in another province displayed that zeal for the interests of Freemasonry which has been so conspicuously illustrated in this lodge , with which you have been more closely and permanently connected . As Worshipful Master of Lodge Anchor and Hope , Uolton , No . 37 , and in the higher dignity of Provincial
Grand Organist of East Lancashire , you have fulfilled the duties of those offices with credit to yourself and to the general benefit of our Fraternity . "Such an anniversary as the present is naturally rare in any lodge , and has no recorded precedent in the annals of Unanimity , 113 . "We feel especial pleasure that it should occur for the
f : rst time in the case of so worthy a brother , being well assured that all with whom you have been associated in the course of your long and honourable Masonic career unite with us in recognising your sterling merit as a man and as a Mason , and in appreciating those high qualities which nave so endeared you to us , the brethren of the lodge in which Masonic light was first revealed to your eyes , who
now desire to ^ testify our regard by assembling to commemorate this auspicuous day , and by presenting you with this address , which may serve as a permanent record of our fraternal regard . "Si gned ( on behalf of Lodge Unanimity , 113 ) , " H . ORMANDY , W . M . 113 . "C . FRYER , P . M ., P . P . G . S . W .
" VV . W . COTTAM , P . M ., P . P . G . S . o £ W . "A . B . BEAVEN , M . A ., P . M . 314 . "T . R . J OLLY , I . P . M ., Hon . Sec . Dated this 12 th day of March , A . L . 58 S 5 , A . D . 1 SS 5 . " . Bro . FRYER proceeded to invest Bro . Greaves with the 1 . HI ! ' ¦?* ' ch he said had been subscribed for by Masons in an the four local lodges , and he hoped he would long live to
wear it as a memento of his golden wedding with 'I r- ° Freemasonry- ( Applause . ) f u »? ' "R EAVES feelingly responded , and expressed heartl i . nks for the beautiful gifts . He little thought when ne became a Mason that he should live to see the 50 th anniversary of his initiation , or , having seen it , that he snould receive any such marks of esteem . 1 0 R " 'A presided at the banquetand the 1 iiicaiucu inc anil uic
,. , L ° * > , . ., ... __ n _ uauquc .-, "retnren present wore in their button-holes sprigs of u-7 M ln , flower > presented by Bro . W . Troughton . The u -uai loyal and Masonic toasts were honoured , -ror , ' A" B- BEAVEN proposed "The Health of cnnrit- reaves ' " ^ referred , in happy sentences , to the now ? f En _ land fifty years ago , when only one man A Pr ornl ** ent , the present Prime Ministerwas heard of ,
^ . , re „;„ e through Macaulay's review of an essay , which cv _ r „ sp -. !< e of Mr Gladstone as "the hope of the enou T » , . > for "horn Sir Robert Peel was not Tory mak , ( daughter ) . He disclaimed anv intention to Posit ! po J , tlcal allusion , and humorously referred tothe P . ™ ' . s o £ ° . ther Public men living at the time when Bro . Gre —•¦ "_ ¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦ puunc men living at tne time wnen uro .
SDML .- Wa * "" tia'ed , some of them being in the nursery , hich i " - _ dlrectly ° £ Bro . Greaves , Bro . Beaven paid a lorAlI te . to hls consistency as a Mason , and his zeal Cralt n " ry '" the Mark and K ° yaI Arch » as wel 1 as in the nor fnrM ^ , ' 1 hey esteemed him not for zeal alone , his hon valuabl <* musical services , but most of all for chall . n j , and respectable career , touching which he Greavr . ** - ° P ! n ! on o £ tI-0 Se who had known Bro . _ cnia !_ outs ' de- an _ who would , he was sure , testify to his Mason ™ u Worth J U 5 t as free , y as 1 , is brethren in freem described Bro . Greaves as the Nestor of SBeerV , 1 ry ! n preston , and concluded an excellent < - w by asking all present to drink Bro . Greaves ' s
Masonic Jubilee Presentation;
health , with the sincerity with which they wished that he had yet many years before him , during which his faculties would be as bright and his usefulness as great as at present . ( Applause . ) The toast was drunk with musical honours .
Bro . GREAVES again thanked the brethren for the honour he had received , and described the feelings which animated him after he returned to his lodgings in Cannon-street Preston , on the night when he had been made a Mason ! He expressed his gratitude to Bros . Fryer and Beaven , and trusted that when called from this sublunary abode they and all the brethren would be admitted to the Grand Lodge above to reign with the world ' s Great Architect for ever and
ever . ( Applause . Bro . SHEPPERD read a fraternal greeting just adopted by the brethren of the Royal Preston Lodge , who were holding their meeting at the Castle Hotel , l'he letter was signed by Bro . Edward Payne , VV . M . Bro . E . BARBER read a letter of congratulation from Bro . Geo . Parker Brockbank , P . M , 37 . Bro . BROCKBANK alluded to the services of Bro .
Greaves to that lodge , and also to his labours as Prov . G . O . of East Lancashire , 1 S 3 S-43 . He well remembered Bro . Greaves as Organist of St . George's Church , Bolton , for his return to Preston caused a great void in Bolton . The letter , which was full of interesting reminiscences , was handed to Bro . Greaves , who received it with deep emotion and surprise . 1 he songs , " Many happy returns of the day " and " A Fine Old English Gentleman " were given , and , with other toasts and songs , passed a pleasant evening
memorable to the Freemasons of Preston . The menu card was printed in blue and silver . Ttbore a full copy of the address , and opposite Bro . Greaves ' name in the toast list were the words— ' You have deserved high commendation , true applause , and love . " Bro . Greaves has been Organist at the Preston parish church for over half-a-century . Wiien the Provincial Grand Lodge of VVest Lancashire met in the Public Hall , Preston , in December , 1 SS 3 , Bro . Greaves presided at the grand organ .
The "Daily Telegraph" On Freemasonry.
THE " DAILY TELEGRAPH" ON FREEMASONRY .
The following from the Daily Telegraph oi the 17 th inst ., apropos of the initiation of Prince Albert Victor of Wales , will doubtless both interest and edify our readers , the more especially as it may be taken to represent very fairly the views of a leading journal of the day on the
beneficent influence of Freemasonry . We are afraid , however , we cannot compliment the writer on the accuracy of some oi his statements , which savour of recklessness rather than of that careful _ research which the consideration of so mysterious a subject as Freemasonry demands . He is quite right in stating that during the earlier part of its career " the records of the Craft are occasionally vague
and not always to be relied on , " and he would have done well to bear this in mind ere he ventured to assert that " undoubtedly Henry VII . and Henry VIII . were Freemasons , and Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren Masters of lodges . " There is absolutely nothing to show that any of these personages ever had any sort or kind of connection with the Craft , save to this extent—that Henry
VII . and Henry VIII . were patrons of architecture , while Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren were both distinguished architects . There is reason to believe that Wren was in some way connected with , if indeed he was not initiated into , Masonry—as we understand the expression —in our old lodge of Antiquity , No . 2 , which held its meetings in the early years of last century under the very
shadow or bt . Pauls Cathedral , there is , as we say , some very fair circumstantial evidence in support of this view , though there is nothing positive or direct to establish his membership or initiation . Of Inigo Jones as a Freemason less still is known , and still less of the two Henries mentioned by the writer . However , this error apart , which may be attributed to a kindly excess of zeal in
behalf of Masonry , the article is both just and complimentary , and will be all the more acceptable to our friends by reason of the contrast it offers to the anathemas which are every now and then flung at us from other quarters : " Ever since the Prince of Wales was initiated into the rites of Freemasonry by the King of Sweden at Stockholm in 186 S , his Royal Highness has taken a close personal
interest in the welfare of the Craft . He has not been content to appear occasionally among the brethren as a mere ornamental patron of their ancient and wide-spread Society , but has worked in lodge with industry and assiduity , and is , indeed , apart from other high qualifications , an accomplished Craftsman . When , on the resignation of the Marquis of Ripon , the Prince accepted the duties and
responsibilities of Worshipful Grand Master , eight thousand officers in Masonry assembled at the Albert Hall to witness a sight which for splendour and impressiveness was probably never equalled among Free and Accepted Masons since the time of King Solomon , Hiram , King of Tyre , and Hiram Abiff . His Royal Highness has served the office of Worshipful Master in the Apollo University Lodge
at Oxford , in the Prince of Wales' Lodge—in which he initiated his brother , the Duke of Connaught—and in the Al p ha Lodge , in which he will to-day receive his eldest son , Prince Albert Victor . "Freemasons throughout the world—wherever brethren are known to one another bjr the occult mysteries which bind them together—will rejoice at the latest accession to an Order which , though founded on the principle of the equality
of mankind , is yet full of veneration and respect for rank and precedence . Prince Albert Victor will be the seventeenth ot the Blood Royal of Great Britain and Ireland to join the Freemasons since the year 1737 , beyond which period the records of the Craft are occasionally vague , and not always to be relied on . Without going outside ' the confines of England , the historians of the Society
claim for it an antiquity further back than the invasion of the Romans under Julius C-esar . St . Austin , assumed to beazealous Mason , helped to found the cathedrals of Canterbury , Rochester , St . Paul's , and St . Peter's , Westminster , all in the seventh century ; and , if the records may be trusted , the Craft has continued to flourish here , with the
exception of a period of comparative stagnation during the Heptarchy , from those days to these . According to Anderson's account , St . Augustine , Alfred the Great , St . Dunstan , and Edward the Confessor were all Grand Masters before the coming of the Normans . Nevertheless , the list of the holders of this exalted position among the brethren is not generally accepted without reservation until the end of
The "Daily Telegraph" On Freemasonry.
Oueen Anne ' s reign . Undoubtedly Henry VII . and Henry VIII . were Freemasons , and Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren Masters of lodges . An historic list of Grand Masters , however , accurate beyond all possibility and dispute , only begins with the Grand Mastership of Henry Sayer in 1717 , followed by that of George Payne in 171 S . In the year following the ollice was conferred on Dr . Desaguliers , who initiated Frederick Lewis ,
twentieth Prince of Wales , eldest son of Kin . ; George II ., at the Palace of Kew , on the 5 th of November , 1737 . If weare tn place implicit reliance on the Memoirs of Lord Hervey—Pope ' s " Sporus " —Hie character of Prince Frederick Lewis was not above criticism . Certain it is that his father , a vain and selfish old
man , despised him , and he was hated by his mother , the generally acute Queen Caroline . The Prince , however , was popular with the multitude , and that he must have been popular with the Craft is manifest from the fact tint the Book of Constitutions for thc year 173 S was dedicated to his Royal Highness .
"The uninitiated are in the habit of asking—If Freemasonry be such an admirable institution , why is it not thrown open to every one ; and , furthermore , if it be good for men , why are not women also entrusted wilh its seciets ? To this the Freemasons reply that were the privileges of the Order to be indiscriminately dispensed its mysteries , becoming familiar , would lose their value anil sink into disreg ird ; and , when pressed , they are fain to admit that on ore
occasion a lady was actually passed through the degrees . f the Craft and emerged a full Freemason . It would ip ^ e . ir that at some time during the second quarter of the eighteenth century the meetings of Lodge 44 used to lie held at Doneraile House , the seat of Lord Doneraile , i , i Ireland , his lordship being then Worshipful Master . Lord Doneraile had a sister , the Hon . Elizabeth St . Lcgerafterwards the Hon . Mrs . Aldworth—and the young lady
so managed affairs thatshe possessed herself of all the secrets of the lodge workings . The St . Legers , it will be remembered , were an enterprising family . " Handsome Jack Sellinger , " one of the founders ol the " Hell Fire Club " and the Doncaster St . Leger , a boon companion of the " First Gentleman in Europe , " inherited all the curiosity and liveliness of the Doneraile blood . Some say that the Hon . Elizabeth secreted herself in a clock-case , others that
she witnessed the working through a crevice in the wall of the apartment sacred to the mysteries of the Craft . What were the members of Lodge 44 to do under the circumstances ? Having discovered her , had they let her go fiee she might have revealed secrets , close kept since the days of the building ot the Temple , to all the parish , and so to society at large . We may suppose that her brother , the Worshipful Master , and the officers and brethren
assembled were hard put how to act for the best . Women might not become Freemasons . Yet here was a woman who , so far as a knowledge of some of the most important secrets , never revealed to the ou ' er or popular world , was already one . The Constitutions did not provide for such a contingency , and it became necessary to create a precedent . Thereupon the Honourable Elizabeth St . Leger , only daughter of Arthur , first
Viscount Doneraile , was brought before the authorities of Lodge 44 , and solemnly inducted into the secrets and mysteries , the signs and tokens of a Free and Accepted Mason . VVhat was imparted to the lady is not likely to be made public . For , as one of the most learned of Masons had laid down , " of all the arts which Masons practise the art of secrecy particularly distinguishes them ; and that it is agreeable to the Deity himself may be easily conceived
from the glorious example which He gives in concealing from mankind the secrets of His providence . The wisest of men cannot pry into the Arcana of Heaven , nor can they divine to-day what to-morrow may bring forth . " Indeed Harpocrates and Angerona were not more sacred to silence among the Greeks and Romans than is all that goes on in a lodge close-tiled to the discreet Freemason . Whatever was told to Miss St . Leger , under the seal of
secrecy , she possessed the conscience and prudence never to let pass her lips . The Irish Masons revere her memory , and her likeness in full Masonic clothing is still preserved . " When , at the Royal Alpha Lodge , to be held at Willis ' s Rooms to-day , Prince Albert Victor is received into the Craft by . his father , he iwill become the member of a society Jllustrious alike for Its antiquity and " respectability , " and for the innumerable works of charity with
which its name is associated . The word " respectability , " is used advisedly . It is a word understood and applied according to its best and truest meaning—respect-worth y by the Craft at large . Freemasonry is , in this sense , before all and above all , a respectable institution . Its tenets teach the principles of honour and the practice of virtue . The Society aids and assists the sick and the poor , and the widows and orphans of its members . Fond of
good fellowship and lavish in the cause of Charity , the typical British Freemason is a good man and a decent citizen . Although it is a secret Society , religion has nothing to fear from an institution based on belief . Only lately the English lodges have cut themselves adrift from the Grand Orient of France , not , as has becn erroneously supposed , because the Orient favours freedom of thought , but because the Grand Commander of French
r reemasonry and his officers refuse to admit that the very life of the Institution is founded on the Masonic acknowledgment of faith in the Great Architect of the Universe . Forthe Grand Commander of the Orient , or for any lesser Mason , native or foreign , to pretend that the Craft in its purity is possible without a profession of faith is to misunderstand the first principles of Masonry , to misinterpret its injunctions , and to misread its records . Freemason *
are , or should be , brethren wherever they meet . The Craft , like Art , speaks a universal language , understood by all races of the initiated—East , West , North , and South . In the past it has left its traces upon almost every sacred Jewish and Christian fane famous in the annals of architecture . When Freemasons really handled the tools of the mason's trade they were a guild by themselves , protected by every enlightened monarch throughout the civilised world . And now that there are Speculative Masons more
particularly devoted to ethics and morality , Kings and Princes equally delight to honour an institution which up . holds the safety of the State and thc stability of the Throne . As of other learning , so of the knowledge of Freemasonry , there is no Royal road to all that it teaches . With ttie aid of an instructor , however , as able and accomplished in th : lessons ' of the Craft as his illustrious father , Prince Albert Victor enters upon his Masonic career under a most auspisciousstar , "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Masonic Jubilee Presentation;
MASONIC JUBILEE PRESENTATION ;
A p leasing event , unique in the annals of Freemasonry •tu ,. Preston district , was celebrated on Thursday evening , t | ie 12 th inst ., when Bro . J . j . Greaves , P . M ., P . P . G . O . past Lancashire , received a congratulatory address on relebrating" his 50 th anniversary as a Mason , was presented with a handsome jewel , and entertained at a banquet given ¦
| , js honour . Bro . Greaves was initiated in the Preston Lodge of Unanimity ( West Lancashire Province ) , on March 12 th , 1 S 35 . The lodge then held its meetings at the King ' s Arms Hotel , but now assembles at the Bull Hotel . In the Assembly-room at the latter hotel the presentations took place , and the banquet followed in an . dioining- room . The lodge was opened by Bro . H .
Ormandy , W . AI . 113 , when there were nearly 50 brethren nre « ent , including , besides Bro . Greaves , Bros . Major \ H . H . Whitehead , 113 , P . P . G . J . D . ; the Rev . A . B . 13 ' av-n , P . M . 314 ; the Rev . J . P . Shepperd , Prov . G . C . . . \ : E . Barber , P . M . ; W . VV . Cottam , P . P . G . S . of W . ; id . Fryer , P . P . G . S . W . ; J . Whiteside , P . M . ; S . W . Sumner , P . M . ; R . C . Robinson , P . M . ; J . de Pennington ,
p M ., * and T . Nevett , P . M . 113 ; A . Beattie , P . M . ; W . Troughton , W . M ., G . W . Daivson , S . W ., and E . T . Pearson , J . VV . 343 ; VV . J . Bilsbrough , P . M ., and A . Squires , P . M . 333 ; C . Coope , and VVatson , 350 . Bro . FRYER ( an lix-Mayor of Preston ) , as the Senior P . M . of the Lodge Unanimity , made the presentation . He alluded to the special character of the occasion , and
mentioned that out of 15 members of that lodge eligible with himself for the office of Master in 1 S 67 , only four now survived . To be 50 years a Mason was then no ordinary occurrence , and he had great pleasure in handing to Bro . Greaves an address , which fittingly recited his long and honourable career and expressed the respect wliich was felt ( or him , not only by the members of that , his mother lodge ,
but also by all who had come in contact with him . The address , which had been beautifully engrossed and framed , read as follows : — ' * To Bro . Jeremiah James Greaves , P . M . 113 and 37 , P . P . G . O . East Lancashire . "We , the brethren of your mother lodge , Unanimity , No . 113 on the register of the Grand Lodgeof England ,
desire lo convey to you our most hearty good wishes and roost sincere congratulations on this the 50 th anniversary of your initiation into the secrets and mysteries of ancient Freemasonry , at the same time expressing our earnest hope that it may please the Great Architect of the Universe to preserve you among us for yet many years , that so you may continue to afford in the future , as in the past , a bright
example of those moral and social virtues which are the distinguishing characteristics of the true and worthy Mason who upholds in his life the genuine tenets and principles of our Mystic Order . " In addition to the active services which you have rendered to this lodge as its Worshipful Master , and during many years its Organist , whereby you have merited the
approbation and gained the respect and esteem of all your brethren , you have in another lodge and in another province displayed that zeal for the interests of Freemasonry which has been so conspicuously illustrated in this lodge , with which you have been more closely and permanently connected . As Worshipful Master of Lodge Anchor and Hope , Uolton , No . 37 , and in the higher dignity of Provincial
Grand Organist of East Lancashire , you have fulfilled the duties of those offices with credit to yourself and to the general benefit of our Fraternity . "Such an anniversary as the present is naturally rare in any lodge , and has no recorded precedent in the annals of Unanimity , 113 . "We feel especial pleasure that it should occur for the
f : rst time in the case of so worthy a brother , being well assured that all with whom you have been associated in the course of your long and honourable Masonic career unite with us in recognising your sterling merit as a man and as a Mason , and in appreciating those high qualities which nave so endeared you to us , the brethren of the lodge in which Masonic light was first revealed to your eyes , who
now desire to ^ testify our regard by assembling to commemorate this auspicuous day , and by presenting you with this address , which may serve as a permanent record of our fraternal regard . "Si gned ( on behalf of Lodge Unanimity , 113 ) , " H . ORMANDY , W . M . 113 . "C . FRYER , P . M ., P . P . G . S . W .
" VV . W . COTTAM , P . M ., P . P . G . S . o £ W . "A . B . BEAVEN , M . A ., P . M . 314 . "T . R . J OLLY , I . P . M ., Hon . Sec . Dated this 12 th day of March , A . L . 58 S 5 , A . D . 1 SS 5 . " . Bro . FRYER proceeded to invest Bro . Greaves with the 1 . HI ! ' ¦?* ' ch he said had been subscribed for by Masons in an the four local lodges , and he hoped he would long live to
wear it as a memento of his golden wedding with 'I r- ° Freemasonry- ( Applause . ) f u »? ' "R EAVES feelingly responded , and expressed heartl i . nks for the beautiful gifts . He little thought when ne became a Mason that he should live to see the 50 th anniversary of his initiation , or , having seen it , that he snould receive any such marks of esteem . 1 0 R " 'A presided at the banquetand the 1 iiicaiucu inc anil uic
,. , L ° * > , . ., ... __ n _ uauquc .-, "retnren present wore in their button-holes sprigs of u-7 M ln , flower > presented by Bro . W . Troughton . The u -uai loyal and Masonic toasts were honoured , -ror , ' A" B- BEAVEN proposed "The Health of cnnrit- reaves ' " ^ referred , in happy sentences , to the now ? f En _ land fifty years ago , when only one man A Pr ornl ** ent , the present Prime Ministerwas heard of ,
^ . , re „;„ e through Macaulay's review of an essay , which cv _ r „ sp -. !< e of Mr Gladstone as "the hope of the enou T » , . > for "horn Sir Robert Peel was not Tory mak , ( daughter ) . He disclaimed anv intention to Posit ! po J , tlcal allusion , and humorously referred tothe P . ™ ' . s o £ ° . ther Public men living at the time when Bro . Gre —•¦ "_ ¦ ¦¦¦¦¦ ¦ puunc men living at tne time wnen uro .
SDML .- Wa * "" tia'ed , some of them being in the nursery , hich i " - _ dlrectly ° £ Bro . Greaves , Bro . Beaven paid a lorAlI te . to hls consistency as a Mason , and his zeal Cralt n " ry '" the Mark and K ° yaI Arch » as wel 1 as in the nor fnrM ^ , ' 1 hey esteemed him not for zeal alone , his hon valuabl <* musical services , but most of all for chall . n j , and respectable career , touching which he Greavr . ** - ° P ! n ! on o £ tI-0 Se who had known Bro . _ cnia !_ outs ' de- an _ who would , he was sure , testify to his Mason ™ u Worth J U 5 t as free , y as 1 , is brethren in freem described Bro . Greaves as the Nestor of SBeerV , 1 ry ! n preston , and concluded an excellent < - w by asking all present to drink Bro . Greaves ' s
Masonic Jubilee Presentation;
health , with the sincerity with which they wished that he had yet many years before him , during which his faculties would be as bright and his usefulness as great as at present . ( Applause . ) The toast was drunk with musical honours .
Bro . GREAVES again thanked the brethren for the honour he had received , and described the feelings which animated him after he returned to his lodgings in Cannon-street Preston , on the night when he had been made a Mason ! He expressed his gratitude to Bros . Fryer and Beaven , and trusted that when called from this sublunary abode they and all the brethren would be admitted to the Grand Lodge above to reign with the world ' s Great Architect for ever and
ever . ( Applause . Bro . SHEPPERD read a fraternal greeting just adopted by the brethren of the Royal Preston Lodge , who were holding their meeting at the Castle Hotel , l'he letter was signed by Bro . Edward Payne , VV . M . Bro . E . BARBER read a letter of congratulation from Bro . Geo . Parker Brockbank , P . M , 37 . Bro . BROCKBANK alluded to the services of Bro .
Greaves to that lodge , and also to his labours as Prov . G . O . of East Lancashire , 1 S 3 S-43 . He well remembered Bro . Greaves as Organist of St . George's Church , Bolton , for his return to Preston caused a great void in Bolton . The letter , which was full of interesting reminiscences , was handed to Bro . Greaves , who received it with deep emotion and surprise . 1 he songs , " Many happy returns of the day " and " A Fine Old English Gentleman " were given , and , with other toasts and songs , passed a pleasant evening
memorable to the Freemasons of Preston . The menu card was printed in blue and silver . Ttbore a full copy of the address , and opposite Bro . Greaves ' name in the toast list were the words— ' You have deserved high commendation , true applause , and love . " Bro . Greaves has been Organist at the Preston parish church for over half-a-century . Wiien the Provincial Grand Lodge of VVest Lancashire met in the Public Hall , Preston , in December , 1 SS 3 , Bro . Greaves presided at the grand organ .
The "Daily Telegraph" On Freemasonry.
THE " DAILY TELEGRAPH" ON FREEMASONRY .
The following from the Daily Telegraph oi the 17 th inst ., apropos of the initiation of Prince Albert Victor of Wales , will doubtless both interest and edify our readers , the more especially as it may be taken to represent very fairly the views of a leading journal of the day on the
beneficent influence of Freemasonry . We are afraid , however , we cannot compliment the writer on the accuracy of some oi his statements , which savour of recklessness rather than of that careful _ research which the consideration of so mysterious a subject as Freemasonry demands . He is quite right in stating that during the earlier part of its career " the records of the Craft are occasionally vague
and not always to be relied on , " and he would have done well to bear this in mind ere he ventured to assert that " undoubtedly Henry VII . and Henry VIII . were Freemasons , and Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren Masters of lodges . " There is absolutely nothing to show that any of these personages ever had any sort or kind of connection with the Craft , save to this extent—that Henry
VII . and Henry VIII . were patrons of architecture , while Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren were both distinguished architects . There is reason to believe that Wren was in some way connected with , if indeed he was not initiated into , Masonry—as we understand the expression —in our old lodge of Antiquity , No . 2 , which held its meetings in the early years of last century under the very
shadow or bt . Pauls Cathedral , there is , as we say , some very fair circumstantial evidence in support of this view , though there is nothing positive or direct to establish his membership or initiation . Of Inigo Jones as a Freemason less still is known , and still less of the two Henries mentioned by the writer . However , this error apart , which may be attributed to a kindly excess of zeal in
behalf of Masonry , the article is both just and complimentary , and will be all the more acceptable to our friends by reason of the contrast it offers to the anathemas which are every now and then flung at us from other quarters : " Ever since the Prince of Wales was initiated into the rites of Freemasonry by the King of Sweden at Stockholm in 186 S , his Royal Highness has taken a close personal
interest in the welfare of the Craft . He has not been content to appear occasionally among the brethren as a mere ornamental patron of their ancient and wide-spread Society , but has worked in lodge with industry and assiduity , and is , indeed , apart from other high qualifications , an accomplished Craftsman . When , on the resignation of the Marquis of Ripon , the Prince accepted the duties and
responsibilities of Worshipful Grand Master , eight thousand officers in Masonry assembled at the Albert Hall to witness a sight which for splendour and impressiveness was probably never equalled among Free and Accepted Masons since the time of King Solomon , Hiram , King of Tyre , and Hiram Abiff . His Royal Highness has served the office of Worshipful Master in the Apollo University Lodge
at Oxford , in the Prince of Wales' Lodge—in which he initiated his brother , the Duke of Connaught—and in the Al p ha Lodge , in which he will to-day receive his eldest son , Prince Albert Victor . "Freemasons throughout the world—wherever brethren are known to one another bjr the occult mysteries which bind them together—will rejoice at the latest accession to an Order which , though founded on the principle of the equality
of mankind , is yet full of veneration and respect for rank and precedence . Prince Albert Victor will be the seventeenth ot the Blood Royal of Great Britain and Ireland to join the Freemasons since the year 1737 , beyond which period the records of the Craft are occasionally vague , and not always to be relied on . Without going outside ' the confines of England , the historians of the Society
claim for it an antiquity further back than the invasion of the Romans under Julius C-esar . St . Austin , assumed to beazealous Mason , helped to found the cathedrals of Canterbury , Rochester , St . Paul's , and St . Peter's , Westminster , all in the seventh century ; and , if the records may be trusted , the Craft has continued to flourish here , with the
exception of a period of comparative stagnation during the Heptarchy , from those days to these . According to Anderson's account , St . Augustine , Alfred the Great , St . Dunstan , and Edward the Confessor were all Grand Masters before the coming of the Normans . Nevertheless , the list of the holders of this exalted position among the brethren is not generally accepted without reservation until the end of
The "Daily Telegraph" On Freemasonry.
Oueen Anne ' s reign . Undoubtedly Henry VII . and Henry VIII . were Freemasons , and Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren Masters of lodges . An historic list of Grand Masters , however , accurate beyond all possibility and dispute , only begins with the Grand Mastership of Henry Sayer in 1717 , followed by that of George Payne in 171 S . In the year following the ollice was conferred on Dr . Desaguliers , who initiated Frederick Lewis ,
twentieth Prince of Wales , eldest son of Kin . ; George II ., at the Palace of Kew , on the 5 th of November , 1737 . If weare tn place implicit reliance on the Memoirs of Lord Hervey—Pope ' s " Sporus " —Hie character of Prince Frederick Lewis was not above criticism . Certain it is that his father , a vain and selfish old
man , despised him , and he was hated by his mother , the generally acute Queen Caroline . The Prince , however , was popular with the multitude , and that he must have been popular with the Craft is manifest from the fact tint the Book of Constitutions for thc year 173 S was dedicated to his Royal Highness .
"The uninitiated are in the habit of asking—If Freemasonry be such an admirable institution , why is it not thrown open to every one ; and , furthermore , if it be good for men , why are not women also entrusted wilh its seciets ? To this the Freemasons reply that were the privileges of the Order to be indiscriminately dispensed its mysteries , becoming familiar , would lose their value anil sink into disreg ird ; and , when pressed , they are fain to admit that on ore
occasion a lady was actually passed through the degrees . f the Craft and emerged a full Freemason . It would ip ^ e . ir that at some time during the second quarter of the eighteenth century the meetings of Lodge 44 used to lie held at Doneraile House , the seat of Lord Doneraile , i , i Ireland , his lordship being then Worshipful Master . Lord Doneraile had a sister , the Hon . Elizabeth St . Lcgerafterwards the Hon . Mrs . Aldworth—and the young lady
so managed affairs thatshe possessed herself of all the secrets of the lodge workings . The St . Legers , it will be remembered , were an enterprising family . " Handsome Jack Sellinger , " one of the founders ol the " Hell Fire Club " and the Doncaster St . Leger , a boon companion of the " First Gentleman in Europe , " inherited all the curiosity and liveliness of the Doneraile blood . Some say that the Hon . Elizabeth secreted herself in a clock-case , others that
she witnessed the working through a crevice in the wall of the apartment sacred to the mysteries of the Craft . What were the members of Lodge 44 to do under the circumstances ? Having discovered her , had they let her go fiee she might have revealed secrets , close kept since the days of the building ot the Temple , to all the parish , and so to society at large . We may suppose that her brother , the Worshipful Master , and the officers and brethren
assembled were hard put how to act for the best . Women might not become Freemasons . Yet here was a woman who , so far as a knowledge of some of the most important secrets , never revealed to the ou ' er or popular world , was already one . The Constitutions did not provide for such a contingency , and it became necessary to create a precedent . Thereupon the Honourable Elizabeth St . Leger , only daughter of Arthur , first
Viscount Doneraile , was brought before the authorities of Lodge 44 , and solemnly inducted into the secrets and mysteries , the signs and tokens of a Free and Accepted Mason . VVhat was imparted to the lady is not likely to be made public . For , as one of the most learned of Masons had laid down , " of all the arts which Masons practise the art of secrecy particularly distinguishes them ; and that it is agreeable to the Deity himself may be easily conceived
from the glorious example which He gives in concealing from mankind the secrets of His providence . The wisest of men cannot pry into the Arcana of Heaven , nor can they divine to-day what to-morrow may bring forth . " Indeed Harpocrates and Angerona were not more sacred to silence among the Greeks and Romans than is all that goes on in a lodge close-tiled to the discreet Freemason . Whatever was told to Miss St . Leger , under the seal of
secrecy , she possessed the conscience and prudence never to let pass her lips . The Irish Masons revere her memory , and her likeness in full Masonic clothing is still preserved . " When , at the Royal Alpha Lodge , to be held at Willis ' s Rooms to-day , Prince Albert Victor is received into the Craft by . his father , he iwill become the member of a society Jllustrious alike for Its antiquity and " respectability , " and for the innumerable works of charity with
which its name is associated . The word " respectability , " is used advisedly . It is a word understood and applied according to its best and truest meaning—respect-worth y by the Craft at large . Freemasonry is , in this sense , before all and above all , a respectable institution . Its tenets teach the principles of honour and the practice of virtue . The Society aids and assists the sick and the poor , and the widows and orphans of its members . Fond of
good fellowship and lavish in the cause of Charity , the typical British Freemason is a good man and a decent citizen . Although it is a secret Society , religion has nothing to fear from an institution based on belief . Only lately the English lodges have cut themselves adrift from the Grand Orient of France , not , as has becn erroneously supposed , because the Orient favours freedom of thought , but because the Grand Commander of French
r reemasonry and his officers refuse to admit that the very life of the Institution is founded on the Masonic acknowledgment of faith in the Great Architect of the Universe . Forthe Grand Commander of the Orient , or for any lesser Mason , native or foreign , to pretend that the Craft in its purity is possible without a profession of faith is to misunderstand the first principles of Masonry , to misinterpret its injunctions , and to misread its records . Freemason *
are , or should be , brethren wherever they meet . The Craft , like Art , speaks a universal language , understood by all races of the initiated—East , West , North , and South . In the past it has left its traces upon almost every sacred Jewish and Christian fane famous in the annals of architecture . When Freemasons really handled the tools of the mason's trade they were a guild by themselves , protected by every enlightened monarch throughout the civilised world . And now that there are Speculative Masons more
particularly devoted to ethics and morality , Kings and Princes equally delight to honour an institution which up . holds the safety of the State and thc stability of the Throne . As of other learning , so of the knowledge of Freemasonry , there is no Royal road to all that it teaches . With ttie aid of an instructor , however , as able and accomplished in th : lessons ' of the Craft as his illustrious father , Prince Albert Victor enters upon his Masonic career under a most auspisciousstar , "