Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ireland.
self to do justice to it , and that that brother was unable to attend . The resolution was as follows : — " That the thanks of this meeting are due to tho members of the Ladies' Committee , the Education Committee , and the Finance Committee of this Institution , for their zealous and efficient discharge of the responsible duties they have had respectively to perform ; for their constant attendance , and the lively interest they have uniformly taken in everything conducive to the prosperity and progress of
the children of the Masonic Female Orphan School . " AVith respect to the labours of the Education Committee , he read a letter from Professor Wilkinson , head master of the training school of the Church Education Society , Kildare-place , which stated that he . had examined the pupils in various branches , geography , arithmetic , grammar , history , & c ; and he felt it due to state that , after a searching inquiry , the answering gave him great satisfaction . The children . he ( ProfessorAVilkinson ) thought ,
possessed a large amount of information , ancl what they had learned they understood .- He ( Mr . Bushe ) also read a letter from Bro . Dunne as to the efficiency of the pupils in music . That gentleman considered that , taking into consideration the length of time they had been studying , and their relative ages , they had a practical knowledge of music Bro . Keating had testified to their efficiency in arithmetic Having slightly touched upon the labours of the Finance Committee , he referred to the vote of thanks to the Ladies' Committee . He felt that
the vote would be carried by acclamation . They had not yet come to the time when women were admitted into the Masonic Order . He had heard it stated there were serious objections to them , and he confessed he was in favour of admitting them until he was convinced the other way by a lady . ( Laughter . ) He was speaking to a lady on the subject , and she wondered that a man like him , who had had such experience of women ( laughter ) , did not know that the two great passions of woman
were , in the first place , to obtain possession of a secret , and the next passion to disclose it . ( Laughter . ) He then thought it wisest to shut out the sex from the Order . He would change his topic , and say , when misfortune came and disgrace threatened them , to whom did they turn for aid ? AVoman , he thought , was the best friend of man It was thought that Masons met but to batch treason . He believed the ladies who entertained that opinion would be much disappointed if they could attend a
meeting and see the steady old gentlemen who formed it . ( Laughter . ) If they were to be brought up for conspiracy his advice was , if they knew their guilt , to confess it , and he would arraign the Grand Master with being the head ancl front of their offending . Their conspiracy was to render all the assistance in then- power to their deceased friends' children , and he was there to say that , when death entered the dwelling of a Masonic brotherthe members of the Order who had read the parable of
, the good Samaritan , would not pass by destitution when they saw it . AVith respect to their love of festivities , it was well known it was the habit of Masons to retire from labour to refreshment , and as long as they observed a spirit of moderation they might not fear the charge . ( Hear , hear . )
Bro . THOS . MOSTYN , seconded the resolution . The ladies' committee of their school , he said , presided over the domestic arrangements of the school , and devoted their valuable time to the benefit of the poor orphans who were under the charge of the Masonic body . To the Education Committee they owed the advanced and improved state of education which existed in the school , ancl he would mention a fact which would show how efficiently the committee had discharged the duties intrusted
to them . He would mention one fact , which would he to the credit of tbe finance committee , and that was , the cost of each pupil in the institution was only 6 d . per day for food and everything else . They had heard the statement made by the secretary with reference to the diminution of the funds below those of I 860 . That was not right or proper , and it was disheartening to the committee . There were in Ireland upwards of 300 lodges , claiming under the Grand Lodge , and they had
only contributed £ 103 within the last year . There were in Ireland between 15 , 000 and 20 , 000 members of the order , and they had only subscribed £ 389 . Originally the building contained only twenty-throe children , and now there is accommodation for forty , but tho committee could only take in thirtyfour , and they were obliged to use the utmost economy . He thought it was the duty of the brethren to enable the committee to replace the £ 900 taken from the funded property , but he was sorry to say that only £ 179 had been subscribed for the purpose . If every member in Ireland would contribute but
Ireland.
2 s . 6 d ., they would be able to supply the deficiency , and to increase the number of pupils iu the school . The Hundredth Psalm , "Bless the Lord , O my soul , " was next exquisitely rendered by the pupils . The R . AV . the D . G . M ., JOHN F . TOAVNSEND , LL . D ., proposed the next resolution , which was as follows -. — " That the cordial thanks of this meeting are due to the M . W . the G . M ., for the additional proof he has given of the deep interest he -takes in
the welfare and progress of the children of the Masonic Female Orphan School , by his kind attendance on the present occasion . " Bro . Sir EDAVABD BOEOTJGH , Bart ., seconded the resolution . The G . M . then proceeded to present to the successful pupils the several prizes awarded to them . The National Anthem was then sung by the children—the entire assemblage standing—after which the processisn was reformed , and retired in the order in which it had entered the hall . The band played a grand march as the brilliant assemblage broke up .
Colonial.
COLONIAL .
NEAV BBUNSWICK . PBOA-INCIAL GEAND LODGE . Pursuant to proclamation , the Provincial Grand Lodge met at the Masonic Hall , in the City of St . John , on St . John ' s Day , December 27 th , 1861 , there being present the R . AV . Alexander Balloch , Esq ., Prov . G . M ., in the chair ; the Officers and Past Officers of the Prov . Grand Lodge ; the Masters , Past Masters ,
Wardens , and members of the respective lodges in this province on the Registry of the Grand Lodge of England , as well as a number of transient brethren . The Grand Lodge was opened in due forn and with solemn prayer . The minutes of the last Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge having been read and confirmed , the R . W . Prov . G . M . addressed the brethren as follows : —R . AV . GEAND WAEDENS AND BBETHEEN , —The opportunity of again hailing
you affords me much felicity ; the compliments of the season to all of you , with my best wishes for your future prosperity and happiness . Since I last addressed you . a warrant , No . 1188 , for Zetland Lodge to be held at Shediac , has been received , and from the zeal which has been displayed by the members , I have no doubt of its prosperity . This addition to our list of lodges , I regret to state , has been met by a drawback ; the brethren of Union Lodge ( No . 866 ) , held at Milltown , St . Stephen's , having returned their warrant . The W . M ., in his letter on the subject to the Prov . G . Sec , states : " in a few days I will write to the Prov . Grand Master , and give our reasons for so doing . " He has not , however , fulfilled his promise . Mv opinion is . that this
step has been taken in consequence of the misunderstanding that arose five or six years ago between No . 866 and jthe American Lodge St . Croix , held at Calais . The Secretary of Alley Lodge ( No . 962 ) , held also at St . Stephen's hy letter dated 9 th inst ., informs me " that the Records , together with all the documents belonging to the lodge had been stolen . The members had in contemplation to return their warrant , but decided on laying the whole matter before me , and ask for
advice ancl instructions . AVithout delay I replied to the Secretary , advising them not to be too hasty , but to weigh the matter well before they determined on surrendering their warrant , and I am iu great hopes that they will be guided by my advice . V . W . Bro . Edward B . Peters [ has tendered me his resignation of office , and I will this day instal a new Provincial Grand Secretary . As I stated to you , two years ago , it would be greatly to my advantage to have a resident of the City as my
deputy , with whom I could have daily intercourse , if required . At the urgent request of several influential members of this Prov . Grand Lodge , JI have determined to waive my own interest in the matter by continuing D . Prov . G , M . Wetmore in office until next annual meeting , when an entire biennial change of office-bearers will take place . I have every reason to suppose that all the other lodges on English Registry throughout this Province are in a state of prosperity .
The R . AV . Prov . Grand Master appointed the following brethren to be Prov . Grand Officers for the ensuing year , who were thereupon duly invested and proclaimed according to ancient custom : —
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ireland.
self to do justice to it , and that that brother was unable to attend . The resolution was as follows : — " That the thanks of this meeting are due to tho members of the Ladies' Committee , the Education Committee , and the Finance Committee of this Institution , for their zealous and efficient discharge of the responsible duties they have had respectively to perform ; for their constant attendance , and the lively interest they have uniformly taken in everything conducive to the prosperity and progress of
the children of the Masonic Female Orphan School . " AVith respect to the labours of the Education Committee , he read a letter from Professor Wilkinson , head master of the training school of the Church Education Society , Kildare-place , which stated that he . had examined the pupils in various branches , geography , arithmetic , grammar , history , & c ; and he felt it due to state that , after a searching inquiry , the answering gave him great satisfaction . The children . he ( ProfessorAVilkinson ) thought ,
possessed a large amount of information , ancl what they had learned they understood .- He ( Mr . Bushe ) also read a letter from Bro . Dunne as to the efficiency of the pupils in music . That gentleman considered that , taking into consideration the length of time they had been studying , and their relative ages , they had a practical knowledge of music Bro . Keating had testified to their efficiency in arithmetic Having slightly touched upon the labours of the Finance Committee , he referred to the vote of thanks to the Ladies' Committee . He felt that
the vote would be carried by acclamation . They had not yet come to the time when women were admitted into the Masonic Order . He had heard it stated there were serious objections to them , and he confessed he was in favour of admitting them until he was convinced the other way by a lady . ( Laughter . ) He was speaking to a lady on the subject , and she wondered that a man like him , who had had such experience of women ( laughter ) , did not know that the two great passions of woman
were , in the first place , to obtain possession of a secret , and the next passion to disclose it . ( Laughter . ) He then thought it wisest to shut out the sex from the Order . He would change his topic , and say , when misfortune came and disgrace threatened them , to whom did they turn for aid ? AVoman , he thought , was the best friend of man It was thought that Masons met but to batch treason . He believed the ladies who entertained that opinion would be much disappointed if they could attend a
meeting and see the steady old gentlemen who formed it . ( Laughter . ) If they were to be brought up for conspiracy his advice was , if they knew their guilt , to confess it , and he would arraign the Grand Master with being the head ancl front of their offending . Their conspiracy was to render all the assistance in then- power to their deceased friends' children , and he was there to say that , when death entered the dwelling of a Masonic brotherthe members of the Order who had read the parable of
, the good Samaritan , would not pass by destitution when they saw it . AVith respect to their love of festivities , it was well known it was the habit of Masons to retire from labour to refreshment , and as long as they observed a spirit of moderation they might not fear the charge . ( Hear , hear . )
Bro . THOS . MOSTYN , seconded the resolution . The ladies' committee of their school , he said , presided over the domestic arrangements of the school , and devoted their valuable time to the benefit of the poor orphans who were under the charge of the Masonic body . To the Education Committee they owed the advanced and improved state of education which existed in the school , ancl he would mention a fact which would show how efficiently the committee had discharged the duties intrusted
to them . He would mention one fact , which would he to the credit of tbe finance committee , and that was , the cost of each pupil in the institution was only 6 d . per day for food and everything else . They had heard the statement made by the secretary with reference to the diminution of the funds below those of I 860 . That was not right or proper , and it was disheartening to the committee . There were in Ireland upwards of 300 lodges , claiming under the Grand Lodge , and they had
only contributed £ 103 within the last year . There were in Ireland between 15 , 000 and 20 , 000 members of the order , and they had only subscribed £ 389 . Originally the building contained only twenty-throe children , and now there is accommodation for forty , but tho committee could only take in thirtyfour , and they were obliged to use the utmost economy . He thought it was the duty of the brethren to enable the committee to replace the £ 900 taken from the funded property , but he was sorry to say that only £ 179 had been subscribed for the purpose . If every member in Ireland would contribute but
Ireland.
2 s . 6 d ., they would be able to supply the deficiency , and to increase the number of pupils iu the school . The Hundredth Psalm , "Bless the Lord , O my soul , " was next exquisitely rendered by the pupils . The R . AV . the D . G . M ., JOHN F . TOAVNSEND , LL . D ., proposed the next resolution , which was as follows -. — " That the cordial thanks of this meeting are due to the M . W . the G . M ., for the additional proof he has given of the deep interest he -takes in
the welfare and progress of the children of the Masonic Female Orphan School , by his kind attendance on the present occasion . " Bro . Sir EDAVABD BOEOTJGH , Bart ., seconded the resolution . The G . M . then proceeded to present to the successful pupils the several prizes awarded to them . The National Anthem was then sung by the children—the entire assemblage standing—after which the processisn was reformed , and retired in the order in which it had entered the hall . The band played a grand march as the brilliant assemblage broke up .
Colonial.
COLONIAL .
NEAV BBUNSWICK . PBOA-INCIAL GEAND LODGE . Pursuant to proclamation , the Provincial Grand Lodge met at the Masonic Hall , in the City of St . John , on St . John ' s Day , December 27 th , 1861 , there being present the R . AV . Alexander Balloch , Esq ., Prov . G . M ., in the chair ; the Officers and Past Officers of the Prov . Grand Lodge ; the Masters , Past Masters ,
Wardens , and members of the respective lodges in this province on the Registry of the Grand Lodge of England , as well as a number of transient brethren . The Grand Lodge was opened in due forn and with solemn prayer . The minutes of the last Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge having been read and confirmed , the R . W . Prov . G . M . addressed the brethren as follows : —R . AV . GEAND WAEDENS AND BBETHEEN , —The opportunity of again hailing
you affords me much felicity ; the compliments of the season to all of you , with my best wishes for your future prosperity and happiness . Since I last addressed you . a warrant , No . 1188 , for Zetland Lodge to be held at Shediac , has been received , and from the zeal which has been displayed by the members , I have no doubt of its prosperity . This addition to our list of lodges , I regret to state , has been met by a drawback ; the brethren of Union Lodge ( No . 866 ) , held at Milltown , St . Stephen's , having returned their warrant . The W . M ., in his letter on the subject to the Prov . G . Sec , states : " in a few days I will write to the Prov . Grand Master , and give our reasons for so doing . " He has not , however , fulfilled his promise . Mv opinion is . that this
step has been taken in consequence of the misunderstanding that arose five or six years ago between No . 866 and jthe American Lodge St . Croix , held at Calais . The Secretary of Alley Lodge ( No . 962 ) , held also at St . Stephen's hy letter dated 9 th inst ., informs me " that the Records , together with all the documents belonging to the lodge had been stolen . The members had in contemplation to return their warrant , but decided on laying the whole matter before me , and ask for
advice ancl instructions . AVithout delay I replied to the Secretary , advising them not to be too hasty , but to weigh the matter well before they determined on surrendering their warrant , and I am iu great hopes that they will be guided by my advice . V . W . Bro . Edward B . Peters [ has tendered me his resignation of office , and I will this day instal a new Provincial Grand Secretary . As I stated to you , two years ago , it would be greatly to my advantage to have a resident of the City as my
deputy , with whom I could have daily intercourse , if required . At the urgent request of several influential members of this Prov . Grand Lodge , JI have determined to waive my own interest in the matter by continuing D . Prov . G , M . Wetmore in office until next annual meeting , when an entire biennial change of office-bearers will take place . I have every reason to suppose that all the other lodges on English Registry throughout this Province are in a state of prosperity .
The R . AV . Prov . Grand Master appointed the following brethren to be Prov . Grand Officers for the ensuing year , who were thereupon duly invested and proclaimed according to ancient custom : —