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As Past Grand Master , the government of the Craft , as provided for in the Constitutions , then devolved on His ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE OE WALES ,

and a deputation of three members of Grand Lodge was appointed to invite His Royal Highness to act as Past Grand Master until a new election could take place . The deputation reported , at the following communication in December , that " His Royal Highness had been graciously pleased to

accept the Grand Mastership . " He was then proclaimed amid the acclamations of the assembled brethren . The installation took place at the Royal Albert Hall on the 21 st April , 1875 , and it may be truthfully said that no event in the annals of Masonry had ever created such wide-spread interest . The vast hall was densely packed with brethren

composed of representatives from almost every lodge under the English jurisdiction , and with deputations from foreign Grand Lodges , forming altogether a spectacle which will be remembered b y every Mason who had the privilege of being present . This unique gathering was followed by others of a

similar character , notably , the great assembly of Masons at the Albert Hall on the occasion of Her late Majesty ' s Jubilee , on the 13 th June , 1887 , when the fees for admission amounting to ^ 6 , 321 were divided amongst the three Masonic Institutions , and a similar function on the occasion of Her

late Majesty ' s Diamond Jubilee , the disposal of the fees of admission being in this instance voted—one half to the Prince of Wales ' s Hospital Fund , and the other half divided equally between the three Masonic Institutions . Both the

INSTALLATION ( IF U . K . II . THE I'HIM'E OF WALK . AS GUANO MAS'l'Kll .

Royal Masonic Institution for Girls and the Roval Masonic Institution for Bovs have celebrated their centenaries during the Masonic reign of the Prince of Wales , and have both enjoyed the privilege of being presided over on these occasions by His Royal Highness . On the occasion of the Girls' School Centenary in 1888 , the Craft was startled by the announcement

that the sum of £ 5 1 , 500 had been subscribed , but this hitherto unprecedented contribution was completely overshadowed at the Centenary of the Boys' School ten years later , when the enormous sum of £ 141 , 203 Nvas announced as the result of the efforts of the supporters of this Charity—probably the

largest amount ever subscribed at any meeting of a charitable institution . It was not only at great gatherings of this nature that his Royal Highness made his presence felt . Although bis high position and many duties , both official and social , created incessant demands on his time , and necessitated his delegating a portion of the work of the Grand Master to his deputies ,

yet he has always been accessible , and has exercised a very real control in all essential matters connected with the government of the Craft . No important step has ever been taken by the Boards and Committees , or the executive , without submitting the questions to the head of the Order , and the various documents to which his signature has been

GIIANI ) MASTEICS CHAIIi , USED IIV THE PlilNTE .

required have always been promptly affixed ; indeed , His Royal Highness ' s business-like conduct of affairs and his conscientious attention to all matters brought under his notice could not have been excelled , and his twenty-seven years of rule will remain as an example to his successors for all time .