Consecration Of The Cornish Lodge^ No. 2369.

warrant for a new lodge in London . There were now no less than 371 lodges in the Metropolitan area , therefore every petition had to be considered very carefully . In many cases they had to be refused , but in the present instance , he was happy to say the efforts of the petitioners had been successful . There vvere many lodges called class lodges , but although the laws of Freemasonry did not allow class distinctions , still there were many lodges which were for the special convenience of certain professions , or callings , or localities . They had lodges in London

composed of brethren coming from particular parts of England , others composed of certain Volunteer regiments , others of members of learned societies , and so on , and now they were about to form a lodge , which he hoped would be a very excellent and successful one , whose members it was proposed to recruit from the distant County of Cornwall . In that county he happened to know Masonry was very well conducted and well organised , and he had no doubt that the same Masonic excellence vvhich existed in that distant province would be found in the

lodge in London , and that the Cornish Lodge , No . 236 9 , would , through its members , show the same high Masonic abilities as were displayed in the Cornish district . The brethren were fortunate in having their petition well supported by their district . The Provincial Grand Master of Cornwall vvas one of its founders , as was also the Deputy Provincial Grand Master , and many other excellent brethren . As they had a large field from which to obtain members who would become an

honour to the Order , it would be their own fault if they did not make the Cornish Lodge worthy of the Province of Cornwall . The warrant of the lodge was committed to their charge , and he was sure that in placing it in the keeping of Bro . Nicholas West , whom he had known for several years , it would be perfectly safe , and that the lodge would be made as great a success as the brethren desired it should be .

The Rev . J . STUDHOLME BROWNRIGG then delivered the following oration :- — It is one of the results of modern civilisation that great cities like London are attracting more and more every day the influence , the wealth , the interests , and the ability of the whole nation . In every country the Metropolis is becoming more and more the centre vvhich forms public opinion , and directs either for good or evil the course of public events . At the beginning- of the present century things vvere very different . Then London vvas isolated to a very great extent from the more remote provinces , and

each had to think and act for itself to a very large extent . I am not prepared to deny that there vvere some advantages in this . We moved perhaps more slowly , but there vvas less danger of hasty and ill-advised action . However , we must take the world as it is , and have faith that an all-wise Providence is making all things work together for one good . Still this very concentration of power reminds us that vve are each one of us units , more or less significant , vvhich make up the power and strength of the whole . If London is absorbing- the provinces in one sense , the provinces are themselves in

another sense absorbing London . Their representatives here are sharing most fully the responsibility of its guiding and controlling influence . London is no longer the capital of Middlesex , but the Metropolis of the British Empire . Therefore , vve welcome gladly in London the formation of any organisation vvhich tends to preserve the individuality and the nationality of the various races vvhich make our country vvhat it is . Specially is it important that the ancient Britons should not lose touch vvith their great and glorious past . The great Celtic family has never forgotten the traditions of its ancestors .

Separated into the four great divisions of Scotland , Ireland , Cornwall , and Wales , centuries have only made us prouder of our origin . We claim to have given to the Saxon and to the Norman a character which they did not bring vvith them . Like Greece of old , vve have conquered and are conquering the invaders , whether Saxon or Norman , by making them Britons . Let us ever continue this course to bring their thoughts home to the present occasion . You are forming to-night a lodge of Cornishmen in London . See that you stand out collectively and individually in

exhibiting all the sturdy ^ qualities of the ancient Briton , and bear your part in moulding and strengthening the national character . S . Cadoc , an ancient Briton ( not , I fear , a Cornishman ) , but still an ancient Briton , described some thousand years ago impatience as the characteristic of theCelticrace . Well , impatienceisnotalwaysabadthing ; it is an excellent thing when used as a corrective of lukewarmness , when controlled by a highminded singleness of purpose and sense of duty . And if the Celt errs on the side of impatience , does not the Saxon perhaps err equally ( I am inclined to say more ) on the side of apathy . It has been said vvith some truth that no one can arbitrate fairly between England and any

other foreign power vvith whom she is at dispute , because it is impossible not to be influenced by the knowledge that England vvill submit to any pecuniary loss , and is not easily roused to action , and this knowledge exposes every arbitrator to the strong temptation of deciding against England . So let us not be ashamed to bear our part as antient Britons and as Masons of bringing into the natural character some of that impatience of all that is untrue , all that is dishonourable , all that is mean , all that is below those high ideals vvhich vve are ever putting before ourselves . Such impatience , combined vvith wisdom and Charity , vvill be an honour and not a disgrace .

At the close of the ceremony Bro . Nicholas J . West , P . P . S . G . W . Cornwall , was installed first W . M . Bro . West appointed the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe to act as Past Master during his year of office . Bro . J . Henwood Thomas , the S . W ., being absent through illness , Bro . W . Lake , P . P . G . Reg . Cornwall , was temporarily invested in his stead . Bro . John Roberts vvas invested as Junior Warden . Bro . W . Lake was unanimously elected Treasurer . The other officers were Bros . Chas . Greenwood , Secretary ; Molesworth St . Aubyn , S . D . ; C V . Burgess , J . D . ; C . Rawle , I . G . ; the Rev . R . F . Hosken , Chaplain ; J . L . Barrett , Director of Ceremonies ; and John Curnow and Robert Bullen , Stewards .

Votes of thanks were afterwards proposed to the Consecrating Officers , who were also elected honorary members of the lodge . The Grand Master of Canada was then elected an honorary member , as was also the Deputy District Grand Master , Bro . Ray . Bro . WALKEM , in acknowled ging the compliment , said he left England when he was quite a child , and he came before the brethren now , in a sense , a perfect stranger . He vvas glad to make the acquaintance of the distinguished brethren

among whom he had come . He was happy to say he came over to this country in time to be present at the last meeting of the Grand Lod ge of England , andhe need hardly say that his being able to attend there vvas a treat . He had thought that he would be able to get back to Canada in time for the meeting of his own Grand Lodge . When he did get back he would be able to tell them what he had seen and heard of Masonry in England , and the manner in vvhich the representative of their Grand Lodge was received in the Grand Lodge of England . It was

also a grand pleasure to him to be at the consecration of that lodge , because although he had not the honour of being born in Cornwall , his father was a Cornishman . Though he had been born in England , he had no other nationality but that of Canada , but he thought he mi ght fairly say he vvas half Cornish , and on that account he was glad to become a member of the Cornish Lodge . It vvas a matter of sincere gratification to him to see the ceremonies performed as they had been that day . It had some resemblance to that which he had performed on different occasions , but he must say that that which he had seen that day vvas more

interesting , and he should endeavour to assimilate as far as possible the ceremonies he had to perform vvith that vvhich had been executed so splendidly , with so much solemnity and beauty and character , by the Grand Secretary of England . A ceremony of that kind might be done in such a way as to deprive it of its character , and it was particularly pleasing to him to see it rendered not in the ordinary way , but vvith the grand impressiveness vvith vvhich it had been executed by the Grand Secretary . He should carry home a most pleasant recollection of his visit to England and of his visit to the Grand Lodge of England , as well as his visit to the ceremony of consecration of the Cornish Lodge .

Bro . RAY , Deputy District Grand Master , also returned thanks , and said he cou'd not do so in a better way than by endorsing the language of the Grand Master of Canada .

The Earl of MOUNT EDGCUMBE , in thanking the W . M . for appointing him to act as I . P . M . for the year , said he was not attending the lodge altogether in a private capacity , but in some measure as representing the Province of Cornwall , whose name that lodge was going to bear in the future , and to which province

Consecration Of The Cornish Lodge^ No. 2369.

many of its members looked back as their home . He thought that the bond of Masonry was not one of geographical consideration or a consideration of a place , because if a stranger came he was always well received , whether he was a resident in London or whether he passed the greater part of his life in Cornwall . He vvas extremely glad to be present , because one of his chief reasons vvas that he wanted to see the ceremony performed as it had been by Col . Clerke . It would be a guide to himself in the performance of the ceremony which he had very frequently to

do in his own province , but he did not suppose he should have much opportunity of doing so in the future , because the 30 lodges in existence in Cornwall covered pretty well the centres where those lodges worked . He , however , was sure that if any brethren now present should be at any time in the county of Cornwall , he would receive as hearty a welcome as those from Cornwall received in London . He knew the time of the Grand Master from Canada in England was very short , but should he at any time be here again , he trusted he would not forget that he vvas of Cornish extraction , and would come to visit the county from which he

sprang . A long list of names of intending initiates and of joining members was then proposed and seconded , and the lodge vvas closed . The brethren afterwards adjourned to Freemasons' Tavern , where a banquet vvas partaken of . After the banquet grace vvas sung , and the usual toasts vvere proposed , that of "The Queen and the Craft , " being duly honoured .

Thc W . M ., in giving " The Health of the M . W . G . M . of England , the Prince of Wales , " said the br ethren all knew that vvas a toast of itself that really required no words of his to commend it to the brethren . The only thing he thought they could say with all heartiness was that they hoped' he would long live to hold the office of M . W . G . M .

The W . M ., in g iving the toast of " The Pro Grand Master , the Deputy Grand Master , and the rest of the Grand Officers , Present and Past , " said the brethren had the pleasure of having in their midst five very distinguished Grand Officersthe Consecrating Officers , Col . Shadwell Clerke , Bro . Philbrick , Bro . Pigott , Bro . Brownrigg , and Bro . Matier .

Bro . PHILBRICK , in reply , said in obedience to the W . M . ' s indisputable command , though in the presence of his superior officer in Grand Lodge , the Past Grand Chaplain , he thanked the brethern most heartily for the toast of " The Grand Officers of England . " Among the first on the toast list vvas the honoured name of Lord Carnarvon , whose interest in Masonry was as clear and sustained , whose care for the great concerns of the Craft vvhich affected its best interests was

as vig ilant as ever it was in the days when he was enabled to be a constant attendant at Grand Lodge . He need not turn to his distinguished brother on his left ( Col . Shadwell Clerke ) for corroboration of his statement that , amidst the greatest concerns of State , when Lord Carnarvon vvas one of the Ministers of the Crown , the Pro Grand Master always found time in the scanty leisure at his disposal to devote to the

Craft questions that came before the Craft . No wonder , then , that an interest and regard had followed him in the illness from which he was still suffering , no wonder that the wishes and hopes of the great Masonic body vvere with him for his speedy restoration to health . Of Lord Lathom he would say this—Tell me what is thought of a man by his neighbours , and I will tell you what that man is . No more beloved head of a province vvas there in England—and there vvere

many , as he had seen from their welcome of the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe that day—than in his province was Lord Lathom . He was in Lancashire vvhat the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was in Cornwall . As for the rest of the Grand Officers , he need not say much . He could refer to his distinguished brother the Grand Chaplain , who gave that wonderful oration , and his equal , if not more distinguished , friend who performed the great ceremony of consecration of that day to show them

vvhat the Grand Officers were . If he was not in a boasting vein he should say that they vvere all as good , and , if they asked their private opinions , rather better . ( Laughter . ) But whether or no , the Grand Officers of England who had had the honour of Grand Office , he would not say thrust upon them , but who had achieved the ' honours of Grand Office , had the deepest interest in the prosperity and welfare of the Grand Order of vvhich they vvere officers . Nothing to them could be

more grateful than to see a lodge founded as that Cornish Lodge was ; nothing to them could be a greater surprise than to look down the list of founders of the lodge and see among them the traditional Tre , Pol , and Pen . They knew that Cornish note was perfectly true in that lodge , and rang as they hoped it would ever ring with an honest , true sound . The best wishes of the Grand Officers as a body vvas for the lodge and with the lodge , and when they opened the lodge that

day the question was asked what inducement they had to leave the East . What did the wise men do ? They came from the East , but where did they go ? He was quite sure in that lodge he need not pause for an answer to the question . The brethren would show their wisdom in entirely adhering to the old Masonic tradition by holding to the standard , and by remembering that if the lodge was founded as it vvas—with the great bond of Masonry underlying the whole and the main

foundation-stone , yet vvith the bond between the members—that they all hailed more or less from the West , and the connections and ties vvhich Masonry sealed and enhanced , and the Grand Officers wished the lodge the greatest possible prosperity , and rejoiced to be present at its consecration . He trusted that it might be a disguished addition on the already glorious roll of the lodges on the register of the Grand Lodge of England .

Bro . the Rev . J . STUDHOLME BROWNRIGG , P . G . C , in proposing " The Foreign Grand Lodges , " said he was very proud that toast was entrusted to him , but the first thing he should do was to find fault vvith the title , " Foreign Grand Lodges . " There was no such thing as " foreign " in Masonry , and the lodges to which he was about to allude were certainly not foreigners . They could not call the antient Britons foreigners , and least of all could they call Canada a foreign nation . He

remembered being initiated when the separation of Canada was green in their memories , and many Masons thought they had experienced a great loss . The loss of Canada vvas talked about as the beginning of the sapping of great English Masonry . They were told that one after one they would lose their English colonies . Well , that was quite true . One after one they became separate Grand Lodges ; but they had found what they did not formerly know , that the foundation of every

colonial Grand Lodge vvas not a loss but a gain , because it vvas extending and increasing the power of the English speaking nation , and , therefore , he joined in that toast , " The Health of the Grand Master of Canada . " He would ask the Grand Master of Canada to forget the past , and to think only of their welcome in the present . Bro . Walkem must remember that they were something like the

old families whose eldest daughter was leaving home for marriage . The eldest daughter was always the hardest to lose , because as one after one they married the son-in-law was welcomed , and the daughters came home again vvith the old affection for home , like the Grand Master of Canada . They felt that they should no longer look on a new colony as a loss , but rather as a gain .

Bro . RICHARD WALKEM , G . M . of Canada , in reply , said the enthusiastic way in which his name had been received made him feel as if he was transported 3000 miles again to the country where he was always enthusiastically welcomed , not onl y on account of his official position , but because he believed that during the few years he had occupied the position of Grand Master of Canada he had

done his duty so as to win the regard of the brethren over whom he presided . Bro . Ray , the Deputy D . G . M ., could bear testimony that wherever the Grand Master travelled he vvas received by the brethren in a most enthusiastic and loving manner . As he had said before , he felt transported back home again by the hearty reception he had just had . He had been 44 years away from England , but he recognised that he came back among his kindred , not only his kindred as a matter