Untitled Article

The Lodge was then called from labour to refreshment , and adjourned to the Draught-room * where a banquet was prepared that would have reflected credit upon any caterer of the old country , and about forty Brethren sat down , under the presidency of the W . M . Bro . J . S . Gundry . After the removal of the cloth , the W . M ., with a few introductory and appropriate observations , proposed the usual Masonic toasts of "The Queen and the Craft : " " The - Earl . -of Zetland , M . W . G . M . : " " The Earl of Yarborough ,

R . W . D . G . M ., and the present and P . G . Officers of the United Grand Lodge of England , " all of which were received and responded to with true Masonic cordiality and respect . The W . M . then called upon the Brethren present to do due honour to his next toast , " The health of Bro . C . B . Fooks , P . M ., " who had so ably presided that evening at the inauguration of the Lodge ; he felt assured that he was expressing the sentiments of every Brother present , in saying that his exertions that evening reflected as much credit upon himself as honour to the Craft .

Bro . Fooks returned thanks , and expatiated upon the principles and universality of Freemasonry , and instanced the fact that two Brethren ( Bros . Purnell and Stericker , of the Old Globe Lodge , Scarborough , No . 236 ) , who had landed upon the shores of New Zealand from England but a few hours since , were this evening surrounded by a band of real friends right glad to welcome them . The W . M . next called upon the Brethren for a bumper to the health of the Chaplain , Bro . R . B . Paul , to whom they were so much indebted for carrying out in all their integrity the ancient usages and customs of the Order , giving , in deed and in truth , a solemn character to that ceremony which he had that evening conducted—the consecration and dedication of the Lodge .

The Rev . Chaplain returned thanks in an eloquent and feeling address , and expressed the pleasure it had afforded him to take part in a ceremony so gratifying to the heart of every Freemason , and although he had withdrawn for many years from the Masonic ranks , yet he was still a Freemason in heart and mind , and his best energies would always be devoted to the good and well-being of the Order . Bro . Fooks , being then intrusted with the Master ' s gavel , rose and proposed the health of the "W . M ., whose zeal for Freemasonry was of so sound a character , that he felt assured it would not only advance the interests of the Lodge over which

he presided , but would tend greatly to the extension of the principles of the Craft . The W . M . thanked the Brethren for the very cordial and fraternal manner in which they had responded to the last toast . He deeply felt the importance and responsibilities of the duties attached to the office he had undertaken , and especially during the first year of the existence of the Lodge , as a character might be given the Lodge during that year which it would ever afterwards retain ; but he trusted , that with the cordial co-operation of his Officers , which he was confident

of receiving at all times , and the fraternal zeal of the Brethren generally , those duties would be greatly relieved of the arduous character , with which he was sometimes prone to invest them , and that the welfare and discipline of the Lodge would be well maintained during that time he had the honour to rule it . The W . M . concluded b y earnestly enjoining the Brethren to disseminate those pure principles upon which Freemasonry is founded , not only when called together in a Masonic character , but in the world generally , by their conduct in the discharge of the ordinary duties of social life .

The W . M . then gave " the health of Bro . A . J . Alfort , W . M . of the New Zealand Lodge of Unanimity , and prosperity to that Lodge , " which was received in a manner that must have been peculiarly gratifying to the Worshipful Brother and members of that Lodge , nearly the whole of whom were present . Bro . Alfort returned thanks , and expressed his earnest hope that the bond of union which existed amongst Freemasons would be exemplified by a perfect feeling of unity between the two Lodges . After the healths of " Bros . Isaac Luck and John Marshman , S . W . and J . W .

of the Lodge ; " " Bro . Capt . Simeon , the Secretary ; " " Bro . J . C . Watts Russell , the Treasurer ; " and " the Assistant Officers of the Lodge , " had been severally proposed and acknowledged , Bro . Alport gave " Prosperity to the St . Augustine Lodge , " to which the W . M . responded . The W . M . then gave the concluding